You CAN Prevent Stress Eating

Many of us overeat at stressful times, especially during the holiday season. When you're under stress, your body produces higher levels of cortisol, a hormone that tends to make you crave sweet and salty food. 

Here are some tips to help you prevent stress eating: 

1. Recognize when you're stressed.  Clenched teeth, hunched shoulders, headaches and shallow breathing can all be signs of stress.

2. Enjoy your food! Slow down and savor the tastes, smells and textures of your food. You will feel satisfied and comforted sooner.

3. Be aware of your surroundings. Pay attention to who you're with & where you're at so that it's not just about the food, but more about the experience.

4. Focus on choice. Notice what is going on for you physically, mentally and emotionally that led to your choice to eat.

5. Learn from the past. If the last time you were stressed, you ate an entire bag of cookies and then felt guilty, eating only added to your stress. This time, take some steps to control portions, like buying only one cookie instead of a dozen.

6. Question. Take a moment to reflect on what you are about to eat. Ask yourself if this is really what you want to put in your body.

7. Rate your hunger. When we tune in to physical hunger signals, we can distinguish physical hunger from emotional hunger. Give your hunger a rating on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being not hungry at all and 10 being starved. If your hunger is at a 0 or 1, wait to eat until the rating moves up. If you are at a 9 or 10, you have waited too long; when we are overly hungry, we're much more likely to overeat.   

8. Find other ways to handle your stress. If you find that you're overly stressed, look for ways other than food to reduce your stress. Options include: seeking help from a therapist, confiding in a friend, writing in a journal, joining a support group, asking your family to pitch in to help reduce your household responsibilities.

Exercise has also been proven to reduce feelings of stress & anxiety, so if you're not already exercising five days a week, make a commitment to increase your activity level.