Question:
Stress Eatting : Need help with

I'm having a lot of health/emotion issues stemming from a recent auto accident and I find myself stress eatting. I cannot control the urges and since I'm being realistic with the fact that I cannot control myself - I at least want to control the kind of foods I pick up when I walk into the kitchen. Most of the time I don't even realize I'm eatting till it's too late and the food is in my mouth. I've been eatting cheese sticks, peanuts and pretzels and misc candy. I have made an appt with a neuro-psycologist to help with the stress and emotional issues. I'm hoping that it will then allow me to regain control the eatting. I have no more "junk" food left in the house (candy & pretzels) and will be going to the store to get more appropriate foods. Please help by giving me some good food choices that I can have around to snack. I kindly request constructive responses only. Thanks for your help in advance.    — adeas (posted on June 8, 2004)

June 7, 2004
I'm sorry to hear of your auto accident. I hope you weren't injured such that you can't perform some regular exercise. This will help with the stress. It's great that you are getting the junk out of the house. You can select some good food choices for snacking but that will only help to an extent. You will need to fix the bigger problem - stress eating - to make you a long term success. Remember that grazing is one of the sure fire ways to gain the weight back. Do you see your surgeon? Can you go to a local support group, even OA? I wish you the best. I read your profile and you've come a long way.
   — Yolanda J.

June 7, 2004
I'm so sorry about your accident and hope you are recovering well. You've done absolutely the right thing by getting the junk out of the house and by going to a counselor to help with the "head" issues. Here are some things that might help with a snack attack but if any of them are "triggers" for you, don't bring them in the house. Cheddar cheese or colby cheese cubes (low fat if you can stand it), part skim milk mozzarella cheese sticks, beef jerky, natural peanut butter (no sugar added, sliced deli turkey and chicken, sugar free popsicles, fresh crunchy veggies, boiled eggs, cottage cheese. Nuts would be good unless they are a trigger for you because they can be pretty high in fat. Have a salad made up and ready to eat. When you go shopping, and bring the food into the house, you might just take an hour or so and go ahead and get it in a "ready to eat" state like cutting the veggies really small, cutting the beef jerky into small pieces, etc. I've found that if I have something like that already prepared, it definitely helps keep me from making poor choices. Drink LOTS and LOTS of fluids and I'd go with something that has some flavor like decaf tea with Splenda, Crystal Light, any of the flavored waters, etc. You might also try adding some extra protein drinks. I've found that they really stave off the hunger and if I'm not feeling hungry, I definitely am not as inclined to "stress eat." The psychologist should be able to help you with other actions you might take other than eating but maybe you could just try getting out of the house or calling someone on the phone, or even logging on to the computer and reading the Q&A here and the message board and looking at all the before and after pictures. For me, reading doesn't work because I can read and still think about food at the same time and TV is a bummer because it's about 99% food commercials! Hope some of the suggestions help and I hope things get better for you soon.
   — scbabe

June 7, 2004
Sorry to hear of your accident, hope you are feeling better soon. It is a great thing that you have removed all the junk food from your house. Now when you find yourself, wanting to grab something to eat, if you must, grab one and take it "on the go" even if you just walk outside around the house, down the street, etc. When I find myself getting the urger for a snakc...I clean a bathroom. I think all of us can agree, no one thinks of food as you scrub a toilet! Just ask my family, I have 2 1/2 baths and they are spotless! If you aren't physically able to clean the bathroom due to yur accident, try a walk anything, as long as it's not around food. Heck, come online and talk to someone...keeps those fingers otherwise occupied...we can help! Good Luck to you! Sherry S
   — sac287

June 8, 2004
Sorry about your accident. I'm proud of you for recognizing your self destructive behavior and seeking professional help. That takes a strong person. I do have one or tow suggestions (which help me) that I hope you will feel are helpful. First- if at all possible, make a grocery list of healthy food items (some ideas, cold cuts, pre-prepared chicken breast slices, cottage cheese, SF yogurt, fruit, salad veggies, celery, carrots, nuts, beef jearky) and GIVE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE to do the shopping for you. Don't shop yourself. It leads to you giving in to temptation of buying those lovely junk foods. If someone can't shop for you, then BRING A FRIEND and give them the list to keep you accountable. If you don't have the food in the house- you can't eat it. My last suggestion is that you try to incorporate a little behavior modification...put any tempting foods (even if they're healthy and you're over eating them, way out of reach, so that you can't unconsciously get them. If you have to work to get them, you'll realize what your're doing Second, make a 'deal' with yourself that before you eat, when you feel 'hungry' that you'll drink one big glass of liuqid (your choice of any calorie free drink). This will curb any false hunger pangs and make you feel more full which may keep you from munching on as much food. Lastly, If you find yourself migrating towards the kitchen, try to take a detour and do something physical (iron, lauundry, dusting, walk on a treadmill) instead. Busy hands can't eat. Good luck to you in this difficult time.
   — LMCLILLY

June 8, 2004
I hope your feeling better and have a speedy recovery. I tend to "stress" eat when I'm bored, and I also crave junk. What I do is I keep soy chips at home, and when I crave junk I eat 3-4 of them. They are very filling and satisfy my junk food urges. A couple of brands that are very good are Genisoy (look like mini rice cakes)and Michael Seasons (look like doritos). Good luck. Oh here are the links for these products, but I usually buy mine at the grocery store. http://www.genisoy.com/dot-net/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=12&tabid=14 http://www.seasonssnacks.com/seasons_sweet/template_ms_soy.cfm
   — vllgmz4

June 8, 2004
I know what you mean. When my kids are driving me crazy, I find myself standing in from of the pantry looking for something to eat and not even remembering opening the door. One trick I learned over on the grad board is if you're having an overwhelming craving for something you shouldn't eat, drink a protein shake first. Tell yourself, I can have "_____" after I drink the shake. Nine times out of ten, you won't want it anymore.
   — mom2jtx3

June 9, 2004
For snacks, I always have low-fat cheese, sunflower seeds (ONLY in the shell), SF popsicles. I agree with Linda - always do a protein shake if you think you want to eat something illegal. I even keep a tub of Nectar here at work! <br><br> Lastly, you never know when a stressful situation might come up, so you are smart to work on the behavioral side of this issue.
   — kultgirl

June 9, 2004
You have a lot of good responses so far, however, I wanted to applaud for identifying and admitting to a "problem" related to eating as most of us "hide" this. I keep celery, cauliflower, sweet carrots and olives in the fridge for thos stressful or PMS days. Also, lean strips of turkey ham or other cold cuts are not bad as they are low in calories. You will be find because you know you have a small "problem" and are seeking help for it.
   — Anna M.