Is Stress Eating Causing You To Gain Weight?

Stress in an inevitable part of everyday life and unfortunately, it cannot be avoided completely. We all have our own unique ways to deal with the stresses and strains that life brings, but some may be better for us than others may. For example, how many times does someone eat a whole pack of chocolate biscuits or drink a large glass of wine when they get in from a difficult day at work? We’ve all done it, and sometimes without even realizing. However, is this stress eating the reason why you have put on weight lately or are finding it harder to lose weight?

Eating can make us feel good when otherwise, we are struggling to, but often it comes with some added guilt later on. We know it’s bad for us, yet we continue to do so. We are using food as a way to fill the emotional gap or need that we are currently lacking.

While this may make us feel better temporarily, it is not good for our waistline. The types of food that we are likely to find comforting are not healthy options; we hardly think ‘I’m stressed; I’m going to eat a fruit salad’. It is more likely to be something with an obscene amount of calories in, like a whole pack of biscuits or crisps. If we’re trying to lose weight by exercising and eating well, one stressful day can be enough to undo a week of good work.

Eating can be an automatic action and that is always appealing after a hard day at work/looking after children/whatever stressors are present. When we are exhausted often, the last thing we fancy doing is cooking a healthy meal when it is so easy to order takeaway or purchase convenience food. When we lack the time, energy or patience to cook properly unhealthy options are often chosen. Unfortunately, these tend to be the highest in calories and the worst options for us.

This isn’t to say we should never eat junk food when we are feeling down or stressed. Every now and again, it can work wonders for our mood and won’t do too much damage to the waistline. However, the problem arises when it becomes the primary coping mechanism.

Every time you have a stressful day at work, you turn the kitchen cupboard for comfort. This is the hallmark of emotional eating, and condition that plagues thousands of people can lead to serious health problems, as a result of weight gain, obesity and lack of nutrition in the diet.

Ideally, there needs to be a new coping mechanism learnt to replace this unhealthy one.

How can we manage stress eating to limit the effect it has on our health and waistlines?

The obvious answer is to remove the stressor from your life, but this isn’t always possible. Instead, try other coping mechanisms and follow the tips below to understand your eating habits.

Keep a food diary, which includes how you are feeling when you eat. You will soon start to see patterns emerging of the types of feelings that lead to unhealthy eating.

When reaching for the chocolate, stop and think. Are you actually hungry? Often we are not hungry and a glass of water can fill the gap.

Try to sleep properly as everything is harder when you are sleep deprived.

Try to distract yourself; instead of focusing on how stressed you are and how much you want to eat unhealthy food, try to shift your attention to something else. Before you know it, you will have forgotten all about the junk food in the cupboard.

Most importantly, don’t deprive yourself and be too self-critical. Everyone has bad days and sometimes junk food will help. As long as it is only occasionally and is not your main coping mechanism then you should be fine.

If your emotional eating is out of control, consider looking to a trained therapist for help.