5 tips to avoid stress eating
I hope you're having a great week, and if you celebrate St. Patrick's Day, I hope you have something fun planned! I've always loved St. Patrick's Day. It's a good excuse to go out and have some fun. This year, my friend will be coming here to visit me, so it will be even more fun! I'm just hoping that the weather will cooperate because most of the things I want to do are outside, and it's supposed to be cold and possibly rain. Either way, it will be fun.
Stress eating is something that most of us have experienced at one time or another, and some of us experience it more often than others. You might find yourself constantly snacking when you are working hard at work or eating a lot of sweets or snacks when you are feeling overwhelmed. It's so easy to give in and allow ourselves to eat these foods during stressful times, but it't not that great for your health goals.
So, what can you do when you find yourself stress eating or planning to stress eat?
Find a different way to deal with your stress. There are many things that you can do such as journal, go for a walk, meditate, or talk to someone. Whatever it is, the idea is to find something to take your mind off of whatever is stressing you out and do a different activity that helps relieve stress.
Avoid keeping foods around that you know you will want to eat when you are stressed. For example, if you find yourself eating a whole bag of chips when you're feeling stressed, don't buy the chips.
Try to find healthier alternatives. If you know you're going to stress eat, find something that will satisfy your craving, but won't affect your health goals as much. You might try eating fruit instead of something sweet or dipping veggies or sweet potato chips into guacamole. Trail mix is a good option too (as long as you watch your portion size) because it can be sweet and salty, but is also filling and has some good nutrients in it.
If you're able to watch your portions, allow yourself to have a small portion of what you're craving. Try to eat something healthy before so you can avoid eating too much. Then, measure out a single portion of your stress eating food.
Practice mindfulness. Are you aware that you're eating to comfort yourself? Just being aware of this is a great step. Then, ask yourself why you're eating and how you feel about it. Just being aware of why you're stress eating might make you think about it and slow down or rethink it.
And, don't stress over the fact that you were stress eating, lol. It's not going to completely mess up your health goals, as long as you don't make it a daily habit. That is when it becomes a problem.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your week!
