When you’re stressed do you turn to food? Reduce anxiety and learn to manage your stress without turning to food.

Overweight people who have anxiety and stress in their lives tend to have an unhealthy relationship with food. They use food as a best friend rather than eating for nourishment and energy. It is so easy to see why people find comfort in food. Food never talks down to you. Food never makes you feel bad. It makes you feel great, temporarily.

We know that food does not cure anxiety, but it does cause a temporary relief from the feelings of stress. Eating carbs and sugar foods give you the boost of happy feeling hormones. The problem is that the feeling is only a temporary fix for anxiety and stress. The food itself adds more problems like increasing your heath risks and weight gain from bingeing on junk foods.

The same foods that an overweight person uses for comfort are also causing the yo-yo diet syndrome. Once the stress has lifted, they feel guilty for eating the foods that were not on their diet plans, and they either give up or start a new diet. The process continually repeats as they lose weight, damaging their metabolism, becoming insulin resistant and setting themselves up for failure.

So are you an anxious eater?

• Do you crave carbohydrates when you had a bad day?
• Do you hit the vending machines when you have a run in with someone at your work?
• Do you have a habit of snacking when you’re not hungry?
• Do you feel a sense of relief after eating donuts, a candy bar or chips?
• Is your mind preoccupied with food when you are stressed?
• Do you use food when you are depressed or sad?

Reduce anxious eating to lose weight

• Balance negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Think realistically about life.
• Challenge your fears.
• Handle your problems immediately to eliminate stress.
• Watch TV or read a good book when you need to occupy your mind.
• Journal your thoughts and stressors or talk with a friend.
• Exercise, take a walk.
• Take a break from a stressful situation. Go outside, breathe the fresh air. Relax.
• Find a weight loss community online that you can relate with.
• Discover new hobbies and activities that you can enjoy in the place of eating.
• Try yoga, meditation, or breathing techniques to clear your mind and reduce stress and anxiety.

If we can learn to manage stress, we will be able to gain control over our eating habits and our lives. Learn to listen to you body and only eat when you’re hungry. Stressful eating is only a temporary fix to reduce anxious feelings. Long term solutions to stress related eating and weight loss includes changing your reaction to stress and finding a healthy balance.

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