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stress and eating

O god please, everytime I stress I need to eat. Anyone have some good advise? Relaxatioin?

Mon. Nov 7, 4:23pm

My best idea.... put diet soda in a popsicle mold.

When you are stressed, crunching down feels really good. Having a calorie free popsicle works wonders.

Some people do gum (I don't though; it hurts my jaw).

I also do Flavor Ice Lite popsicles, they are 2.5 calories a piece, and sweet.

Monday, November 07, 2005, 8:50 PM

Popsicles give you a sugar rush and then you're soaring high, able to deal with your stress and then you crash. Try something nutritional like almonds and an apple if you must. Even 3 deep breathes and a glass of water can help. If you don't have time to workout, blast the best music you have.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005, 12:41 PM

how to deal

Yes, I agree with all the suggestions offered above, I too have the same problem. Anytime I feel bad I just look for something to eat. But not really eat just snack. We need to work on the actual problem of stress and get a solution, not just another food to kinda fix it.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005, 3:55 PM

gum

several packs if I have to

amanda911

Tuesday, November 08, 2005, 4:07 PM

what is stress?

I like the solution of deaing with the problem other ways besides food. I am trying yoga, and taking the dog out for a walk after. Can anyone tell me why we get stressed out? Is it because something becomes a threat to us, and we can not deal with it??

Tuesday, November 08, 2005, 4:20 PM

and what would a good solution be????????????

Tuesday, November 08, 2005, 4:21 PM

Unfortunately there is no "one true solution" to dealing with stress otherwise we'd all be doing it and not feeling the jittery urge to munch :-)

I need to walk and kick piles of leaves and mutter to myself. I need to pet a warm, soul-sucking, fuzzy puddle of kitteny goodness. I need to be held and petted and feel warm and secure. I need to clean my house until every ounce of surface area can pass the white glove test. I need to cook a houseful of food....ooops....that's the one I should learn to not do.

Call it a legacy of my farm upbrining, but my dad would come banging in the house around lunchtime, hollerin' mad at something, and if my mom didn't have the table groaning with food he'd be even madder, or he'd be in a good mood and we'd all have this huge, happy lunch. But no matter what we'd better have a big meal ready. Living on the farm meant I worked hard enough to have thirds and still be rail-thin, so the consequences didn't manifest til I moved out and got a desk job in the city. However no matter if he was in a good mood or a bad one, we were always apprehensive about my dad and always cooking, cooking, cooking. So there are plenty of times when I respond to stress by cooking piles and piles of food.

It's something I've had to learn to get past. No one is going to yell at me for not cooking enough food (although I can handle a dinner party for 20 and not break a sweat), and no one is going to praise me for it either (unless I am hosting said party). It's a response that I have to apprehension and I need to realize that it's not part of my life anymore and I can choose to respond differently. But it's soo familiar and there's something sooo comforting about making a big meal....

It's not easy to chose a different way or people wouldn't have to struggle with it. We all have our own built-in responses that are older than our memories and which have become a part of us. At the risk of sounding like a 12-step program, learning to recognize it is one step closer to learning to respond in a better way.

I try to rein it in, and if I can't let go totally, to try to modify my cooking sprees so that they're healthier, benefit someone else, or are smaller.

Best of luck to everyone - reading other's stories helps me come up with new and more constructive ways to live and be healthier.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005, 7:46 PM

point of clarification

To the person who commented on popsicles: yes, popsicles do give you a sugar rush, that's why I suggest making them with diet soda, or buying flavorice lite (made with splenda)

Wednesday, November 09, 2005, 6:01 PM

stress eating and stress cooking

thanks for sharing your history, truly, it jolted me cuz your mom there is ME now... my husband (a very nice person but loves to eat) is now very stressed over his job, which sucks but he's stuck with. he has stress eaten ever since we arrived here in the U.S. for this new posting of his, and when i don't have a good meal ready, i can tell that he's unhappy. he just fixes himself a sandwich or whatever. this anxiety in turn makes me eat more than usual. what i found out: EATING WHEN STRESSED TURNS INTO FAT FASTER! so i try now not to eat. what has helped me: going into the Bible, praying, and now i am going to turn to exercise, thinking only positive thoughts about myself and my situation. i can't do this alone, but what i can do, i will have to do even if one baby step at a time.

Friday, November 11, 2005, 7:10 AM

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