One of the main reasons I ended up overweight was because I couldn’t stop eating due to stress! As soon as I ran into stress, I would immediately start wishing for all kinds of bad things! This didn’t help me at all since I live in Philly (think Philly cheesesteaks and Philly pretzels), and there are plenty of quality delivery restaurants within a few mile radius of where I live (lol)!
The good news is that I was finally able to beat my stress eating… and I’ll show you how I did it below and I hope these tips help you beat this dangerous habit too!
fast stress buster
One of the things I learned on a stress and anxiety relief program is that you should always have a few quick de-stress exercises to turn to whenever you encounter stressful situations.
Now, these types of exercises must be able to be done instantly and at any time. The only exercise I went to almost every time was simple deep breathing exercises.
By doing deep breathing exercises, you will decrease tension, stress and anxiety. Also, another benefit is that deep breathing will also directly help to decrease cravings.
The kind of deep breathing he always did was very simple. All you have to do is slowly inhale through your nose for 3 seconds and exhale through your mouth for 6 seconds. Repeat for one to two minutes. You should feel a sensation of warmth followed by an incredible feeling of relaxation and inner peace! Not to mention, you can do this ANYWHERE at ANY TIME!
Prevention snack
Another tip to help overcome the stress response with food is to identify common times in your everyday life where you may encounter stress (like coming home to your spouse… JUST JOKING!) high-stress meal or snack. fiber content before this time.
Protein and fiber are 2 quality nutrients that are not only great for weight loss, but also help keep you full and satisfied…which of course will help curb your cravings.
Some examples of these types of foods that I would personally choose would be a whey protein shake and an apple. Easy!
Alternatives
This hack combines 2 troubleshooters in one! The first problem solved is keeping bad foods out of reach to begin with, and the second, of course, is curbing cravings. This trick is to have alternatives to the usual foods that you crave!
For example, one of the things I LOVED to eat when I was stressed was cereal. Give me a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and the IRS could come knocking on my door and I wouldn’t care one bit (LOL)!
So what would be a smarter, healthier version of this specific craving you had? Easy: Get healthier bread (like Ezekiel bread), brush it lightly with a little olive oil, sprinkle on a little cinnamon, and pop it in an oven or toaster oven until toasty. Healthy, delicious, quick, satisfying, and oh yeah, did I mention: HEALTHY!