Do You Stress Eat or Have Food Cravings?
Let’s explore the journey of breaking free from stress eating and reclaiming control over our well-being.
In moments of turmoil, it’s easy to turn to food for comfort. If this is you, you are not alone. This blog was inspired by a dedicated health seeker who was brave enough to ask for help around her pattern turning to (unhealthy) food as a coping strategy.
“This past little while has thrown me off the healthy course I was proudly on. I am trying to manage some new stress from some personal issues and I feel like all of my hard work has gone out the window. I have fallen back into using food as a coping tool. Now, in addition to feeling shameful and guilty, I have to deal with the bloating, migraines, cramps which I now know are related to me eating sugar and wheat. I am desperate to learn how to break these unhealthy habits and coping mechanisms. They feel so ingrained and almost feel impossible to break when stress arises. Just knowing what to change doesn’t lead to results when the life throws something hard at me.” – anonymous dedicated optimal health seeker
Sound familiar?
You are not alone. It happens to everyone. And the more you build your resilience and learn to tune into your fulfilment frequency, the less you will find yourself half way through your Supersized Big Mac Combo before you remember that you have everything you need, within you, to overcome your stressors in a healthy and resilient way. The goal is to keep the perspective (and resulting actions) that you don’t need to turn to food to cope and you can enjoy control over you dietary choices to continue to SOAR.
“In times of stress we do not rise to the occasion, we revert to our training” (paraphrased from an anonymous Navy Seal). The longer we have used our less healthy habits to cope in the past, the more they can blindside us. It’s okay if you slip. It’s about learning to get up faster each time.The reason we make unhelpful choices has biological, psychological, social and spiritual underpinnings and SOLUTIONS! The first step is always the CHECK-IN and Know your State task. This provides valuable information on what steps to take next.
During times of personal and professional stress, we often move towards the overdrive or burnout states. And in these states, we are more vulnerable to slipping back to less ideal health behaviours.
Navigating Biological Triggers:
Stress unleashes a hormonal storm, with adrenaline and then cortisol flooding our systems. While short bursts of these hormones serve us well in acute situations, prolonged exposure can wreak havoc on our minds, bodies and spirits. Prolonged elevated cortisol levels not only impair digestion but also fuel cravings for hyperpalatable foods high in sugar, fat, and calories. To counter these forces that work against your best intentions, consider a strategic approach when you are in overdrive or approaching burnout: 1) Remove tempting treats from your environment. It’s hard to fight the biological craving during these times. When things settle down, and you have moved towards a more resilient state, you will be able to do it again. 2) Prioritize sleep to rebalance leptin and ghrelin. These hormones lead to overeating due to cravings for sweet, starchy, salty food. Rebalancing these through higher quality of sleep may make it easier to return to your preferred food choices.
Addressing Psychological Traps:
Stress exposes our vulnerabilities, amplifying unhelpful beliefs and triggering repetitive relational patterns. In the throes
of our emotional traps, we often find it’s temporarily too difficult to keep swimming against the unhealthy current or we seeking solace in stress eating. But by increasing self-awareness through daily check-ins, we can spot these pitfalls more easily. Our goal is to maintain a bird’s eye view of our thoughts, feelings, relationships and actions, recognizing our state and triggers so that we can navigate around them with greater ease. For some, these are blindspots that may require some professional assistance to uncover but you can start with looking for the top three traps I see in highly functioning health seekers: unhelpful beliefs, repetitive relational patterns, emotional avoidance.
Confronting Social and Environmental Influences:
Food and socializing often go hand in hand, creating unconscious associations that can sabotage our efforts. During stressful times, seek out activities and companions that support your health goals, minimizing exposure to tempting triggers. Unpairing these activities takes effort, especially when stress amplifies their allure. But by consciously choosing alternative outlets for unwinding when we are in overdrive or approaching burnout, we can break free from these entrenched associations and forge healthier connections.
Combatting External Pressures:
The food industry capitalizes on stress, bombarding us with ads for hyperpalatable foods. More than $10 billion is spent annually on advertising for foods that are considered hyperpalatable (eg: potato chips, crackers, ice cream, soda, candy, and food with high amounts of sugar, salt, and fat) which means that they stimulate brain reward pathways that make it
more difficult to resist them when we are not at our best. Just watching a 30-second video ad or seeing photos on social media of these foods can spark cravings which are much harder to resist when we have less reserves.
To counter this onslaught during your more vulnerable states like overdrive or approaching burnout, preserve your mental reserves for what truly matters by avoiding scrolling social media and consuming television where food ads can bombard you, Once you’re in a resilient or fulfilled frequency, you’ll find it easier to manage these external pressures and can return to your guilty pleasures with greater ease.
Everyday Strategies for Mindful Eating:
Daily mindful eating practices work to counteract stress-induced cravings. Focused attention on components and flavours of the meal, combined with deep breaths can increase satisfaction gained from food to curb overeating and improve digestion. Mindful eating also helps us realise when we’re eating not out of physiological hunger but as a response to psychological turbulence. This observation of your actions creates a greater capacity for reclaiming control over our eating habits and will eventually be your ally in times of stress and optimal wellbeing alike.
As we embark on this journey towards resilience and fulfilment, be kind and curious about your state and allow yourself the grace to accept your setbacks as detours on your path. You are rewriting your relationship with food. It’s a marathon, not a race. In the face of stress and temptation, feed your body, brain and spirit with nurture and know that you are not alone.
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