How to stop stress eating

Have you ever had one of those days? Something went wrong at the office, your significant other won’t see your point of view, or maybe a relationship is getting you down. Whatever happened, you spent all your energy on it and you now need a little release. Something for YOU.

I bet you’ve had one of those days before. And I bet you’ve gone to food to feel better. Let’s face it, Ben & Jerry’s makes you feel soooo gooood doesn’t it? And how could it not? It’s chocolate and vanilla ice cream, with fudge brownie and gobs of chocolate chip cookie dough. I’m feeling good just talking about it!

I’m not going to wax intellectual about food being a drug and letting food by thy medicine. That’s all good and fine. But what I want to talk with you about today is how to break the habits of emotional eating. I want to show you how to avoid the trap of going to food when you’re stressed, frustrated, or depressed. I want to give you a solution. You’ll see some very positive results if you put to use what I’m about to share with you.

There are 6 steps to conquering stress eating. Let’s get started shall we?

Step 1 - Decide and Determine
You have to decide that you want to stop stress eating. That may sound 3rd grade to you, but not many people actually do it. Then you have to determine what has prevented you from stopping. Maybe it’s work. Maybe it’s fussy kids or a friend that you’re not getting along with. Whatever it is, acknowledge what has been the roadblock to your success.

Step 2 - Shift the pain
Pain and pleasure. We’re either moving towards pleasure or away from pain. That’s our human nature. If you’re a stress eater then you are associating eating with a nice warm fuzzy feeling. That feeling could be the freedom to chose, making you feel good, food tasting delicious, or some other warm fuzzy feeling.

Your success relies upon shifting the pleasure of eating to absolute pain. Downright, miserable pain. You see, when you get home after a rough day at the office you might eat some pizza. Obviously this should not be on your nutrition plan. But it tastes good doesn’t it? And every last bite is worth it, right? You may be thinking pizza is well deserved after a rough day. You don’t think about how the pizza will make you feel after you eat it. Or the 20 pounds you gain over the years. You only associate the pleasure of it after a hard days work. And that MUST stop.

Step 3 – Pattern Interrupt
This is a simple but powerful step. When you go to bed at night you likely have a ritual. Wash your face, brush your teeth, a little reading, and lights out. It’s a pattern. And over time you develop the habit. The same goes with emotional eating. When X happens, you go to food. It’s clockwork. You’ve conditioned yourself to do so. And that pattern MUST be broken.

A pattern can be broken by consciously replacing whatever the feeling is with the new feeling you want. You can RE-condition your actions to develop new habits. It’s really that simple.

You’ve done this before whether you realize it or not. Think of a time when you’ve been depressed. Your demeanor takes a specific pattern. Your shoulders slump, your eyes drop and you talk softly with a negative tone. You’re conditioned to do so. But what happens if you go see a funny movie when you’re down? You laugh. You slap your knees and smile. It may not last but for a moment. But you DID break the pattern. And over time you can shift your patterns. And that my friend, is change.

Step 4 – Create a New Pattern
What’s the alternative? If you’re not going to eat when you’re stressed or emotionally weak, what are you going to do? Think of every possible option. Write them down. I’ll help you with your first one. Exercise! But make it your own. Give yourself some options and begin to create a new pattern.

Step 5 – Take Action
You must take action. Now! And again, and again, and again. You must focus and reinforce your new pattern. If you can do this over and over again with emotional intensity you’ll condition yourself to change your old pattern.

Step 6 – Test
Ok, you’ve done the first 5 steps. Now you need to see if it works. And the best way to do this is test it. You can do this in real time or you can sit and imagine yourself in the moment. How do you feel? How would you act? What do you feel inclined to do? If it’s not in line with your new pattern, then you must go back and repeat one of the steps. Maybe you didn’t create a new pattern that was powerful enough. Maybe you didn’t take action on that pattern. Whatever it is, redo that step.

Do you know the only type of person that likes change?

A baby with a wet diaper.

But you’re capable of change. You CAN change! It’s not a matter of if you can, but if you’re motivated to. If I put a gun to your head and said to stop stress eating you’d do it wouldn’t you? Of course you would! It’s a matter of life and death now. And that’s what helps change. The more serious your motivation is, the easier change will come.

These steps will help you change your behavior and stop your stress eating. If the desire is there and you commit to implementing these steps into your life, you will make a radical change. You’ve got the formula. Now go and act!

To your nutrition success,

Tim Chudy