Are you a stress eater or stress starver? It seems you can divide people into these two groups: those who starve themselves over stress and those who can't stop eating when they are stressed. Regardless of which one you are, both are damaging to your body and metabolism and will end up causing extra issues such as such mistakes in your work and mood swings. The problem of course is, once we are in a moment where stress is affecting our eating habits, how do we go about changing it? There is no easy answer but we can offer some advice.
The first and most important thing is to be aware of your body and changes. Often we do not realize stress is affecting our diets and we simply keep going about with the bad habit. Stress eating is a little bit easier to identify since you will notice yourself returning again and again for a snack or maybe you open a bag of something and next thing you know it is empty with little to no memory of how it happened. Stress starving is a little bit different though. Stress starving you might find yourself into a project for hours and hours, skipping alarms, phone calls and everything else; then all of the sudden you are dizzy or tired or maybe in a horrible mood. We all have our cues. If you are a stress eater, the easiest thing you can do is simply not buy the snacks, or only provide yourself snacks you are ok with yourself overindulging in from time to time. A stress starver, the best option is to set timers every 3-4 hours to remind yourself to eat something. If you are lacking an appetite, a few almonds or a bite of a protein bar will help keep your blood sugar up without upsetting your stomach.
Of course controlling the eating habits is only part of the problem. Often when we notice a change in our eating habits it is a push for control in our lives. Ask yourself, “Do I feel in control?” If the answer is no, ask yourself, what do you not feel in control of or comfortable with at this moment. Is it something you can change? If not, how are going to deal with the situation? Give yourself time to think through what needs to be done, writing it down if needed before continuing with your day.
Another advice for stress eating habits is the acronym STAR. If you are experiencing high levels of stress that are affecting your habits and it is not something you can change or control to your liking, or perhaps you just can't shake the feeling, follow this acronym's steps.
S: Stop what you are doing. Go outside, get some fresh air, walk around the office, get up and make a cup of coffee or get some water. Shake yourself out of your physical space a little.
T: Take a deep breath. Once you are away from your work space, breathe in deeply, extending your arms overhead and exhaling completely while bringing your arms back down. Stretch your body, crack your back, let out an audible sigh, this will further allow you to break out of your routine.
A: Ask yourself what are you really looking for? If you are overeating, drink a full glass of water, if you are not eating, take a few almonds and ask yourself what is it that you need to have done to make yourself feel better. Do you have a foreboding deadline approaching? Are you stuck working through a problem? Figure out what is the issue at hand.
R: Redirect yourself. Once you have figured out what the thing is that you need to be doing, set your intention to complete the task at hand. If it is not something that can be completed in the day, then set your intention on what you will accomplish before the day is over.
Using these above methods will help you not only with your eating habits, but with stress management in general. The more often we observe and question our behaviors the easier it will be for ourselves in the future to identify behaviors that are less than ideal for our health and well being. This also plays into your mindfulness exercises. Remember when we discussed trying to find where emotions were lodging themselves in your body and how it was making your body feel? Stress response eating is linked to this. So the next time you are practicing your mindfulness exercises and body scans you can start to add your stomach and how your emotion affects it. You just might be surprised at how quickly you will learn how to face what is ailing you.
Are you a stress eater or starver? How do you manage your eating habits when you are stressed? Reach out to us at info@bullionite.com with your comments or questions!