How to Know If You're Stress Eating ~FYI, it's totally normal to stress eat sometimes~
•What Exactly Is Stress Eating, Anyway?
Simply put, stress eating is "the act of eating when feeling stressed and seeking comfort. Biochemically, stress eating is when your body is eating because of the increase in cortisol (the stress-response hormone).
Cortisol triggers cravings for pleasure, or for sweet or salty indulgent foods.
•When you're stressed, your body releases cortisol, which triggers the release of glucose (aka quickly accessible energy that's stored in your body). That's because, in an evolutionary sense of the stress response, your body needs glucose to support your muscles running away from that metaphorical lion chasing you.
"So, your body is like, 'Hey! I need to run! I need glucose!' & cortisol responds, 'I got you!”. Then, since you're suddenly using up your rainy-day stores of glucose, your brain thinks you need to eat high-glucose foods ASAP to mitigate it, & you reach for foods high in glucose (aka sweets or carbs).
•When does stress eating become a cause for concern? When people try to numb the feelings of stress with food instead of dealing with the stress. There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to feel better about a stressful situation & having that cookie or ice cream can make you feel better. But you also have to deal with the stress & have other ways to deal with it when food isn't going to make you feel better in the long run.
How to Reduce Stress Eating
•First things first: Remember that health is different for every person. That means certain ideas here may work for you, take inventory, & see if you can encourage positive changes that work for you. When in doubt, you can always work with a dietitian or nutritionist to come up with a more concrete plan.
Use the Four Ps of Stress Eating
* Pause. Take a second to identify the type of hunger you're experiencing.
* Pry. Reflect,& learn what specific emotion is trying to come up. Fear? Anger? Sadness? Rejection? Loneliness? Anxiety?
* Pick. This is about choice; really deciding if eating is the best thing for you in that particular moment.
* Persevere. Whatever that choice was, move on!
NEED MORE COACHING ON THIS! MESSAGE ME!!!
~COACH B
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