Many people tend to eat more when they are feeling stressed. Not only can this increase in calories cause weight gain, but stress may also slow down our metabolism and release chemicals and other hormones that can cause us to store fat.
We all endure stress at some point in our lives, but it’s how we handle that can make or break our weight loss goals. Here’s a few tips to help you handle stress and the overeating that may go along with it.
Relaxation Techniques
The trick here is to find something you enjoy doing that relieves stress. Find a hobby such as yoga or gardening. Set aside time to play with your kids. Talk to a friend or create a journal. Not only will you be relieving stress with many of these techniques, but you may even burn a few calories in the process.
Remove “Trigger” Foods
Keep trigger foods, any food that you will binge on, out of the house. These types of foods, usually highly processed snacks such as cookies, chips, sugary cereals, etc, are usually the first thing you grab when stress eating. By removing these foods from your kitchen you will effectively put an end to binging on them. To make this technique even more successful, try replacing these trigger foods with healthier options so you still have something to snack on.
Expect Setbacks
In other words, don’t be hard on yourself. If you slip up once it’s not the end of the world. One night of stress eating is not going to ruin all your dieting efforts. Pick yourself up and get back on track.
