Stress forces us to go on an eating spree. According to a survey, 40% of adults respond to stress by consuming junk food or overeating. Half of these people claimed that their higher stress levels forced them to overeat at least once a week.
That is an alarming statistic once one considers that Americans are among the most stressed people in the world. While the global average of people who feel ‘’a lot” of worry the day before is 39%, about 45% of Americans who were surveyed reported experiencing stress on the previous day.
Although there are many ways using which stress forces us to the dining table, this article is dedicated to address and avoid its binge-eating effect. Below mentioned are three tips and tricks which I have used to sidestep stress eating.
Here’s hoping you find them as beneficial as I did.
#1: Recognize the triggers
Boredom is one of the primary triggers for emotional eating. Provided you’re always busy on your smartphone and can’t leave it on the phone charger station for more than a few minutes, having nothing to do for a few hours might lure you towards food to fill that vacuum.
Similarly, it is easy to eat mindlessly when you’re feeling fatigued. Some people seem to develop a voracious appetite after a long (and unpleasant) day at the office. They might think that overeating might help them in taking their mind off of the events of the day.
To avoid boredom or fatigue from having a negative impact on your waistline, get busy. It is as easy to get active as it sounds. You might start reading your favorite book, playing a game on PlayStation, or simply go out for a walk. Anything that will divert your mind away from food will help.
#2: Do some exercise
As research tells us, people who are physically fit are more resistant to the effects of stress, one of which, as you already know, is binge-eating. And by exercising, I don’t mean that only going to the gym and lifting weights qualifies as an exercise.
Instead, if your home is on the fourth floor, climbing stairs will increase your pulse rate. Provided you live in a house with a beautiful lawn, you can turn to gardening to take your mind away from food.
Anything that would put your feet to work while your smartphone is on the charging station for phones is enough to avoid the lure of binge-eating.
#3: Try meditation
There are a lot of studies out there that draw a direct line between mindfulness meditation and treatment for emotional eating. These studies show that people who engage in meditation have been able to get a grip on their binge eating and emotional eating habits.
One mindfulness meditation that you can everywhere at any time is simple deep breathing. All you have to do is to sit in a relatively quiet place, close your eyes, and start breathing. Just focus on your breath as it enters and leaves your nostrils.