How can you stop stress eating when…
Inflation is at an all-time high.
The stock market is volatile.
There is a war in Ukraine.
And quarterly earnings are due next month.
There is so much to be stressed about and often a lot of us turn to food to cope with that stress.
The problem is when you get to your middle-aged years – you cant get away with scarfing down a bag of chips and not notice some weight gain.
A large majority of weight gain in your middle-aged years comes from stress eating.
But there are lots of things you can do to stop it and start feeling confident again in the way your body looks.
Stress Eating: Why You Do It
If you want to know how to stop stress eating, you need to know why you do it in the first place.
Stress eating works to alleviate stress in the short term because you get a big dopamine hit.
And while it feels good in the moment, you are often left feeling worse than you did before.
The feelings of guilt and shame kick in, all of which compounds leading to more stress and more stress eating over time.
Time Magazine did a great piece that explains the dopamine process.
In my line of work, almost all of my clients are high performers with demanding jobs and a busy family life.
They barely have time to eat lunch and they often end up stress eating throughout the day to cope with their high demanding lifestyles.
Tip #1: Prepare Ahead of Time
The first thing I recommend to all of my stress-eating clients is to prepare ahead of time.
The reality is the stock market or your job isn’t going to change anytime soon.
The stress is going to keep coming and you need a solution to deal with the next time you want to go for that bag of chips.
You need to prepare what I like to call your stress emergency bag.
John Hopkins wrote an article where they describe a similar strategy.
In this bag or lunchbox, you are going to fill it with healthy snacks that are under 300 calories each.
The reason I say under 300 calories is that I know you are going to get stressed multiple times throughout the day.
And if you go for healthy snacks that still have a lot of calories, it’s going to add up quickly.
So let’s prepare for the worst-case scenario and say that you will end up stress eating 3 times tomorrow.
Well, if you pack 3 healthy snacks that are 200 calories each, you’ll end up with 600 calories of damage.
And while that is not an insignificant amount of calories, one bag of chips alone could run you up to 800 calories!
So read the nutrition labels and pick out three healthy snacks that are around 200 calories each.
This way, when you get stressed inevitably tomorrow, you are prepared with snacks that are going to do less metabolic damage than that bag of chips.
Tip #1: Satisfy Oral Fixation
The second tactic I recommend to my high performers is to introduce things that are low in calories but satisfy oral fixation.
Half the reason you stress eat is because the chewing process releases dopamine and relieves your stress.
So believe it or not, simply chewing a piece of gum or sucking on a cough drop is going to downregulate your cravings for food.
It’s the same reason gum is used so heavily for cigarette smoking.
Make sure to bring a pack of gum with you to work and keep it in your pocket so that as soon as you get that stress-eating craving – you stop it with a piece of gum.
You’ll train your brain over time and you’ll actually start to crave the gum when you are stressed instead of the bag of chips.
It’s all about conditioning and changing habits.
Tip #3: Keep the Junk Food Out of Reach
The last tactic I recommend to my clients is to simply keep the junk food out of reach.
You need to keep this stuff out of your house to begin with if you don’t want to reach for it.
There was a great Psychology Today article that recommends this tactic as well.
The same applies at work.
At some point, there was a decision made to buy the bag of chips from somewhere.
If you don’t buy the foods which you often stress eat that are unhealthy, then you are less likely to consume them.
There will always be access to food that you can find to stress eat.
However, not purchasing any – puts a dent in your access.
Bonus Tip: Reward or Consequence
If you need a little harsher motivation, I have even had my clients set up an account that I can access.
And each time they stress eat, I donate a pre-determined cash amount to their political arch-nemesis.
And if they make it through the day without stress eating, I roll the funds over to their stock portfolio cash position to use as they please to make more money.
Sometimes, the behavior needs consequences and you may need to set up harsh punishments for yourself if that is what it is going to take to get you to stop stress eating.
Stress Eating & Weight Gain: Take Action Now
Your late 30s into your 40s and 50s is when you really will start to notice a shift in your body composition.
The sooner you can get on it and start making changes now, the faster you will start to feel confident again in your body.
Be sure to check out my other videos and articles about how to lose body fat, make healthy recipes, and change your lifestyle to feel younger again.
All of my clients have been able to turn their life around and there is no reason that you can’t either.
You’ve gotten this far with a successful career, a beautiful family, and stock dividends that are going to pay you until the day you die.
Life is good but it could be a whole lot better if you start making changes now to live a healthier lifestyle and show up for your kids and spouse.
Shoot me an email or leave a comment below if there is anything I can help you with during your personal journey.
Cheers and we’ll see you next time!