Tips To Help You Stop Stress Eating

Stress eating is consuming food in response to stress, especially when you are not
hungry. Similarly, emotional eating is eating in response to feeling. Emotional eating
means that your emotions—not your body—dictate when and how much you eat.
Plan of Action for Excessive Snacking Many people are experiencing an increase in stress during the COVID-19 (coronavirus)pandemic.

“This increase in stress, combined with being confined to your home and within a few
feet of your kitchen for prolonged periods of time, puts you at greater risk for turning to
food to manage your emotions or cope with boredom,” says psychologists.

Here are some tips to help you combat these unhealthy eating habits.

* Create a meal schedule

Choose set times of the day that you will have meals and snacks, and stick to the
schedule. Before you eat, take a moment to check in. Ask yourself if you’re actually hungry, or if there’s something else at play, such as boredom, sadness, anxiety or frustration. Try the carrot or apple test: Would you eat an apple or a carrot right now if that was the only option in front of you? If not, you’re probably not eating out of physical hunger.

*Plan out your meals in advance

Plan your meals in advance not only when you’ll eat, but what you’ll have. The evening
before, commit to your food plan for the next day by either writing it down with pen and
paper or entering it into a food tracking app.
Work in an “eating free” or “food free” space as much as possible. If you can, get out of
the kitchen when you’re not preparing food or intentionally having a meal or snack.

*Increase stress-relieving activities.

Tap into your recharge and recreation toolbox by doing activities like yoga, meditation,
or exercise. Do more of those things, and you’ll be less likely to reach for food to keep you busy or to help you de-stress.

*Focus on the food environment.

Keep the foods you tend to eat when you’re stressed out of the house or out of sight!

*Don’t be too restrictive.

Allow yourself to have a planned snack or treat, just be sure it’s planned and not driven by your emotions. If the urge to eat is overwhelming, distract yourself with activities that are incompatible with eating. Great options are deep-breathing exercises, drinking water, physical activity, a bath or shower, video chat with a friend (out of the kitchen), knitting, reading, coloring… the list goes on. Be creative!