Hi, guys! Good morning!
Did anyone else have a WTF Monday? Seriously. WHAT happened yesterday? I even planned out my day, nice and neat the night before with every intention of dominating my To Do list and rocking life. Well, yesterday was a big ol’ WTF on all fronts. Barely anything got done and nothing was working out… technology issues, random delays, miscommunication, yada yada. I was in such a bad mood and needed a seriously attitude adjustment, so I finally said “F it” and gave up for the day.
I ended up getting Qman early from daycare and cracking open a bottle of wine, which we drank outside in the sunshine on our back deck, so the rest of Monday ended up being much better. Let’s hope Tuesday is a much more productive day!
Anyway, my day was semi-stressful (well, mostly just annoying), so I found myself reaching for a lot more junk/sugar than I normally do. Stress eating is definitely something that’s a work in progress for me, but I know when I’m aware and prepared, I’m better able to deal with it.
Here’s a recap of my Monday In Meals with a few strategies that help me make better/healthy-ish food choices when I’m stressed out and want to eat everything in sight.
- Breakfast: Overnight oats made with cottage cheese, almond milk, cinnamon, and raisins
- Workout: Treadmill workout (on CNC Instagram)
- Snack: Toast with a smashed hard-boiled egg with Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend on top. FYI: If you don’t live near a Trader Joe’s, you can Amazon Prime it right to your front door!
- Lunch: Leftover Rotisserie Chili Lime Chicken (recipe from Real Food Slow Cooker Recipes – save 30% with code CARROTS30) with roasted broccoli, Kabocha squash, and buffalo sauce + 2 Cookie Dough Protein Balls
- Snacks: Chocolate Chip Larabar + another Cookie Dough Protein Ball + a big pear + iced almond milk latte <— 100% stress eating
- Dinner: Southwest Chicken Lettuce Wraps (insanely easy and delicious – recipe on CNC tomorrow)
- Dessert: Wine
How I deal with stress eating (via stream of consciousness):
- Acknowledge the feeling: I’m stressed. This sucks.
- Pep talk: Don’t freak out. This has happened before, and you can handle it.
- Portion control: Ok, you’re stressed out and you want ALLTHESUGAR. It’s okay. How about we enjoy something delicious that is portion controlled? That way, we don’t eat the entire box/bag because it’s tough to keep in together when you’re stressed. [insert favorite portion controlled treat] My current favorites: Chocolate Chip Larabars, Brownie Crunch thinkTHIN bars, Whey2B! Cookies.
- Repeat pep talk and move on to other strategies, including eating something healthy (my go-to is fresh fruit), take Murphy for a walk, change locations (i.e. run an errand) <— depends on the situation and current stress level
Question of the Day
Are you a stress eater? How do you deal?
21 Comments
Depending on the type of stress I’m dealing with I either want all the junk or can’t eat it all (typically, I want everything). I eat my worst when I’m overtired though, reaching for carbs on top of carbs and all the sugar I can find to try and spike my energy. In the end I just feel like crap though!
I definitely crave sugar when I’m stressed or really tired! I don’t really keep sweets in the house though, so I have to really seek it out, so I’m fine with it if I go buy a treat since I know it’s limited in amount and I don’t do it often (definitely did this last weekend when I ate a cookie the size of my head for lunch….)
I’m definitely a stress eater. It usually manifests with my spoon inside the almond butter or peanut butter jar. haha! I can’t say I was stressed yesterday (it was my birthday and I chose to take the day off work and just do my thing!) but we also entered mercury retrograde over the weekend, which could definitely have played a part in all those issues you ran into yesterday. 😉
I’m a tired eater and stress eater. When I’m tired, I usually don’t realize I’m eating sugar until after the fact. But when I’m stress eating, I always get out and change sceneries so I can clear my head.
This has been me for the last month. My dad went in to the hospital around that time and i was there every day with not much to do except worry and visit the cafeteria…I gained about 7 lbs and i am now trying to get it off! Great tips!! Ive been trying to use this point where I tell myself “dealing with the current problem is enough…dont add to it by overeating and feeling disgusting and unhealthy on top of it all!!”
Ok- what am I missing here? Where is the stress eating in your day? All you mention is a latte which I don’t think counts! 🙂
Oh my gosh, I had a VERY WTF Monday. Cravings all over the place, no energy and no motivation at work. SO weird, but glad I wasn’t the only one!
Your opening paragraph was my morning too! I prepared everything Sunday night for Monday morning, except I forgot to set my alarm. Work up at 4:55 and class starts at 5. With only being 10 minutes late, I ran over to the medicine balls, grabbed one for overhead wall ball when suddenly I felt something POURING on my head. It was leaking sand EVERYWHERE and I was covered!!!! Not really a good way to start my day 15 minutes into it.
Hey Tina! Can you give the recipe for the cottage cheese over night oats! 🙂 sounds good. Thanks, plus your stress eating day don’t look too bad 😉 mine can be much worse sometimes!!
I try to delay any added snacks by acknowledging what event is stressing me/overwhelming me and think of ways I can be proactive and take more control of the situation (making a to-do list, playing out scenarios, etc). But sometimes the only answer is to be patient- which sucks- but I try to tackle one of those ‘back burner’ tasks while waiting. Or nap. Nap=time machine to next snack.
I’m TOTALLY a stress eater. The talk through in your head is very helpful. I chew gum when I’m stressed and feel like eating but I’m not hungry. The problem is too much gum gives me GI side effects that make me even more unpleasant to be around, so I have to keep that to a minimum. I also try to get a big drink with a true lemon drink packet in it instead of drinking more coffee which tends to make me anxious. I want the coffee to fuel getting through whatever it is, but I know I’ve got to back off on it.
okay unless you ate way more than you say you did, this doesn’t really look like a ton of food, so no big! 🙂 i used to be a stress eater in a big way. i don’t remember the last time i did though. i attribute it to working out first thing in the morning, which sets even the most stressful of days up for success. if i really feel like i’m going to stress eat, i go for a walk and clear my head, or better yet, think of solutions to my actual problem.
I am definitely a stress/anxious eater. I’ve recently gotten in the habit of chewing gum instead of reaching for food.
I crushed waaaay too many Red Hot Blues after my Monday yesterday. I’ve been working on taking the dogs for a walk when I’m stressed, but sometimes the urge is insurmountable.
My stomach is an empty pit when I’m stressed, anxious and generally tired too! I seem to be able to rationalize any food choice. To control this, if I know I’m not really hungry, I will distract myself with a different task or drink a big glass of water or a coffee to distract my taste buds. If that doesn’t work, I’ll have a portion controlled snack usually a protein or lara bar. Breathing also helps. Stop what you are doing, look out the window and take ten big, deep breaths.
I was happy to read about someone else who stress eats, but then when I read what you ate, that’s like “healthy” to me. I think you have nothing to worry about.
I’m a bored eater. If I don’t have anything planned for the day I want to eat everyyyything. If I get too stressed I listen to a podcast to keep my mind off things. 😀
I saw someone post on Facebook that there is pink moon tonight which is apparently supposed to make us relaxed and peaceful. Maybe yesterday was a stressful moon day? Lol! It was definitely a crazy day.
I am a stress eater. I often find myself reaching for unhealthy foods in the evenings when I’m unwinding. Last night was seal salt Pop Chips + M&Ms. Like, what the heck?? I try acknowledging the feeling and the moment and literally saying to myself, “Kaitlyn, you have goals and can eat tomorrow. Let it pass.”
Sorry you had such a rough day. I am definitely a stress eater as well, I usually try to acknowledge that the stress is why I want all the sweets, and then have a little bit of chocolate/ice cream/whatever it is I am focused on. It is not foolproof, but I find acknowledging that it is stress eating helps me to rein it in a little. A little wine and relax time helps too:)
I was not a stress eater until I found myself alone with a baby in Japan while my husband was away…..so months and months. The anxiety totally turned me to a sweet tooth stress eater. I did start taking magnesium and B6 which I believe was helped but it’s tough!