By Dave Townley
Stress eating is one of the most common reasons why we gain weight, and why we also have difficulty losing it. Stress eating means overeating in response to emotional stress and turmoil. Every time we eat because we are upset, overwhelmed, irritable, tired, frustrated or pressured, we are eating to combat stress, and using food for comfort as we attempt to soothe our emotions.
The two major effects of stress eating are:
1) The soothing influence of food never lasts for long, and we have to keep eating more and more to try calming our emotions.
2) We invariably eat more calories than our body needs, which results in our weight increasing. As we see our weight increasing, we become more stressed and anxious, which leads to more eating and more weight gain.
This is how we can stop stress eating forever:
Stress Eating Remedy #1 - Exercise to work off stress
Many of us are not aware of the fact that there are other strategies which we can employ rather than food to resolve the problem of stress and turmoil. There are other options which work much better, and one of them is exercise. If we engage in a rigorous workout, we will burn a lot of energy, both physically and emotionally. This will immediately relieve tension and stress and make us feel more calm and relaxed. By simply exercising for 15-30 minutes each day, it will diminish any emotional food cravings.
Stress Eating Remedy #2 - Banish stress verbally or with writing
Another way to relieve stress and tension is to express our feelings either by writing or verbally. If we write or speak out our anxieties, frustrations, anger or sadness, we will be relieving ourselves of negativity and purging the things which constantly irritate and frustrate us. This will help us to work through any negative emotions and adopt a positive approach which will make us less likely to resort to food for comfort and relief.
This is a simple solution to stress, we simply have to write or speak about issues which are affecting our emotions. For example, if we have something to say to another person who has upset or done something that has irritated us, we should either imagine they are in front of us and tell them exactly what we want to say or alternatively put pen to paper and write a letter to express issues which need to be resolved. Obviously we do not send the letter as this is purely an exercise to rid ourselves of emotional turmoil and it would only lead to further stress related problems.
Stress Eating Remedy #3 - Relieve stress with calming relaxing activities
Another excellent way to avoid stress eating and relieve stress is to focus on activities which will calm our body and mind. For example, yoga, meditation, stretching and deep breathing can result in a calmer, peaceful state of mind and help relieve stress mentally and physically.
Other stress relieving and calming activities are creative hobbies such as gardening, painting, sketching, needlework or knitting. Music is often a soothing influence, or perhaps a relaxing warm bath, or a steady stroll on the beach or park. Relaxing with a good book or watch light-hearted movies can be uplifting and relieve tension and stress too.
It is important however to employ these activities before we eat anything. If we are already in an anxious, frustrated, angry or pressured state of mind, this is the worst time to eat because we will be eating to relieve stress. We should take steps to calm and relieve stress and tension first, and then eat when we have our emotions under control and feel calmer
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