How to prevent stress eating if you need to lose weight: 10 Dos and Don’ts

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Are you trying to lose weight and you are prone to stress? Learning to prevent stress eating may be more realistic than stopping an overeating episode after a rough day!  

Reasons for stress eating can be different for everyone. I strongly encourage you to seek help from a registered healthcare professional if you are dealing with stress/emotional eating. Please refer for more information to the NHS link on Emotional Eating: https://www.uhsussex.nhs.uk/resources/managing-emotional-eating/ . You don’t have to do this alone. Professional help is worth your time!

Here is some context of the relationship between stress eating, weight loss and biology:  

• Neurons that produce dopamine are a crucial part of the brain’s rewarding system and decision- making process. Studies have shown chronic stress may reduce dopamine release after unpleasant events .
  • What’s the role of food? The dopamine reward system may be less effective for people with excess weight . Research has shown that seeing and consuming high fat/sugar processed foods may increase dopamine release .
  • In other words, your brain high calorie processed foods as a way to increase the rewarding euphoric feeling you need after surviving a bad day. As a result, you may end up eating bigger portions of these foods than you need because of stress and sabotaging your weight loss progress.

• Cortisol is a hormone that increases when you are stressed. Because cortisol increases appetite and cravings for high fat foods, stress could slow down weight loss . Also, when cortisol levels are higher in your blood, ghrelin (the hunger hormone) levels and activity increases too . This is why learning to prevent stress eating can be easier than stopping it!

• Leptin is a hormone that helps you feel full. After a stressful event, this hormone is reduced. This is another reason it may take longer than usual to feel full when you eat after a stressful day .

Here are 10 lifestyle and dietary tips to help you prevent stress eating:

Dos:

1. Keep a food diary with events that trigger fast food/processed snack cravings

Journaling can be an excellent tool to prevent stress eating in the future and support your weight loss journey. The goal is not to stop eating something you love after a rough day. Your food diary can help you find out what kind of events trigger your high calorie food cravings and help you develop realistic strategies to deal with them.

 Here is what you can write in your diary:

– What happened?

– How did I feel?

– What food/snack am I craving for?

– What fruit/vegetable can I eat with the food I am craving?

– List of pleasant activities to distract myself

– What healthy snacks can I easily prepare right now with ingredients I have in my house?

– Did I eat all my main meals today?

2. Control your caffeine intake

Being hydrated throughout the day is super important for health and appetite regulation. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a couple of cups of caffeinated drinks per day. Just keep in mind that caffeine may trigger cortisol production . Too much caffeine may be the culprit behind your increased appetite!

3. Make balanced main meals

• Meals with protein, healthy fats, and fibre can help you feel full for hours and are key to preventing overeating when stressed.
• Click here for tips to feel full between your meals. You will find the information you need to create filling main meals.

4. Pleasant activities that help you feel accomplished

• Spending time on your hobbies is a brilliant way to increase dopamine production naturally.
• Activities that don’t involve food (museum visits, park walks, movies, redecorating your house) can distract you from snacking very effectively and help you burn some extra calories!
• With outdoor activities, you can enjoy the mental health benefits of sunlight!

5. Exercising can prevent stress eating!

Exercising has so many health benefits and it doesn’t have to be connected only with weight loss! Working out may also stimulate your dopamine-rewarding system, reduce stress, and increase your sense of self-control^.

6. Sleep well!

  Lack of sleep can increase cortisol and ghrelin levels . It is perfectly normal to have fast food cravings if you are regularly not sleeping well.

• Click here to learn how nutrition can improve your quality of sleep and your mood!
• Regular physical activity can also help you to sleep better .

Don’ts:

1. Don’t try to replace high-calorie snacks with alcohol. What is Drunkorexia?

Alcohol is high in calories (sometimes higher than the processed snacks you actually want to eat). It can really increase your appetite for several reasons.

Drunkorexia is the tendency to replace food with alcohol or reduce your food energy intake to save calories for more alcohol and/or use diuretics to avoid weight gain. Apart from all the adverse effects of increased alcohol intake (including several types of cancer), this behaviour can result in a problematic relationship with food, a diet with fewer nutrients than you need. Research is still ongoing !

2. Don’t eliminate your fun foods.

Depriving yourself of snacks you enjoy will very likely lead to an intense overeating episode later. Restricting fun foods can be a mindset that doesn’t support a healthy relationship with food.

What can you do then? Keep your fun foods as a part of your meal plan, but don’t keep a stock in your cupboards. Purchase every week only the amount you will need.

3. Avoid over-exercising

Over-exercising can increase your appetite a lot later. Create a sustainable exercise routine that suits your lifestyle, and enjoy a high-protein balanced meal after working out.

Ask for professional help to determine which exercise types can increase your appetite and what exercise intensity/ duration triggers your cravings. Over-exercising does not look the same for everyone!

4. Don’t beat yourself up when you occasionally cannot prevent stress eating

Please be patient with yourself. If eating more than you need has been your primary coping mechanism to control stress, “rewiring” your habits will take time. Blaming yourself will only trigger more anxiety and cravings. Instead, you can focus on optimizing your main meals and take one step at a time. Remember to celebrate every small win!

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