Stress Eating

I have been seeing a therapist weekly since my surgery on 9/23/2014 and she has helped me immensely with eating issues. This entire summer I have been so stressed out at work that I was on the verge of quitting, I don't even want to get up in the morning to go to work. I have been eating crap foods (peanut M & M's and way too many nuts). I feel like I am out of control! I recently joined a gym and have been going 4-5 times a week but my job stress is taking a toll on me. How do you all control stress and stress eating?

I will be honest, its incredibly hard.  BTW we share our surgery date.  Make a better choice....when I get stressed, I walk around the block, drink a bottle of water, eat celery.....do something that allows you to "do" something but doesn't have a negative impact on your health.  My work environment is large and I can walk down a couple of floors and literally find the water cooler and drink water and walk back to my office. I put a refrigerator in my office and its full of carrots, celery, cheese sticks, etc....stuff that isn't horrific.  

I don't know what else to say, just bull your way mentally through it, you have come too far to derail yourself now!

I had surgery a month after you, and I struggle with stress/emotional eating too. 

What has really worked for me so far when I start to feel out of control is getting back to liquids only for a couple of days. The structure of that really helps me refocus and remind myself what listening to my body is like. 

I think the trick for me with this is NOT looking at it as a punishment for being "bad" or eating badly, but as an opportunity to get back in control. 

When my work and personal stress get really bad, I may have one or two liquid days every week for a couple of weeks. So far, it's been something I go back to regularly every couple of months, and may continue to do long term if it continues to be helpful as a focus. 

I also try to first go for a walk/run/bike ride/something when I get home if I've had a stressful day. It takes up time I would otherwise be stressing and anxious about eating and puts it to use. It doesn't always keep me from eating too much when I get home, but it definitely helps!

best of luck to you. We got this!

Boy, I sure can relate to the stress issue, and the drive to over-eat when stressed.  I've gone thru a nasty stress-period which resulted in my quitting my job in July.  Now I have the stress of re-adjusting to my life without work. 

I'll list a few things that helped me. 

1. Don't give in to carbs - that'll be the beginning of the end.  Carb cravings are my biggest enemy.  If I am driven to eat, I  eat protein or veggies. 
2. Keep the commitment to dense proteins first, then healthy veggies. 
3. Plan healthy snacks.  I eat broccoli slaw with a  yogurt, balsamic vinegar and sweetener dressing that is tasty and helps me thru the stress.
4. I'm religious, so the following helps me, and hopefully it will be helpful to others.  An American philosopher once said "Remember who's driving."  Its God's job to run the universe.  All we have to do is show up and do our best.  We are not in charge, and when we try to be, we get in trouble.  This always helps me step back and not take things so seriously.

Best of luck with your work situation.  Take care of yourself.  Remember, your health is more important than any job!

Carol

I empathize.  Stress and emotional eating are big components of my eating disorder.  So, I feel you, truly.

Is there something constructive that you can do at work to reduce the source of the stress?  If not, then I'd like to echo the suggestions of others.  Find substitutes for the eating, or at least the eating of junk.

I'm working on being more mindful more consistently.  When I'm stressed, I can shove a handful of something in my mouth, chew and swallow before i'm even completely aware of what I'm doing.  So, practicing mindful eating when I'm not stressed helps to set the foundation so I can, hopefully, bridge it over to when I'm stressed.

When I'm upset or stressed and want to reach for the food, it definitely helps if I stop and do a little calming breathing.  If that doesn't work, then having healthy snack foods instead of crap will at least alleviate the bad effects.  (I'm an M&Ms addict too, so I know their powerful lure.)

If you can, get up and take a walk, substitute a little healthy activity for the stressful situation and see if that helps too.

Hang in there!

Mary

This might sound a little hokey to you, but I swear it works well... try meditation (Mindfulness). Even 5 minutes a day can do wonders. Mindfulness during eating goes a long way too. Try this "experiement" to get what I mean by Mindful eating. Take a raisin and put it in your mouth- no chewing or swallowing. Note very specifically everything, texture, changes in flavor, etc. and do this for a couple of minutes. I know, sounds yucky but you will see what I mean when you do it. If you go for that M&M, do the same thing. It will cut your crap eating down significantly. I am not sure if you are similar to me, but when I shovel in the crap after the first few bites it becomes utterly mindless and I don't really get the same enjoyment factor. If you are looking for an MP3 to help with meditation I would recommend John Cabot Zinn. My favorite is one called "body scan"- great to do in bed right before you go to sleep. My other favorite that I use specifically to deal with stress is "Mountain"- I literally will envision this when the bosshole at work is causing grief and it is crazy effective. The last little tidbit is that when you first try doing it (should you try it) do NOT judge yourself at all- just go with it. You get better! On one of his CDs he offers a how to kind of track, so maybe start there. Yes, it will sound very hippie like... but it totally works!

Try spending 5-10 minutes of peace and quiet, meditate for a few minutes daily. I also found very helpful, someone on this site recommended coloring. I went on amazon and bought a Mandalas coloring book. When I'm stressed or want to eat out of control, I'll reach for my coloring book and it helps me forget.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1612434576?colid=HI2IB9ZB9ZG7&coliid=I1F2AIGXNLFSZR&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl

I bought a coloring book called a Mandalas book at Barnes and Noble and some colored pencils and when I want to stress eat I pull out that book and it takes my mind off of eating.  It really works!  The front of the book describes the pictures you are coloring as a form of meditation.  I don't know about that but it does keep my hands busy and out of the pantry!!