7 helpful ways to kick stress eating and cravings to the curb for good

The other day I heard mention of a show that I used to absolutely love when I was a child. Once a week I’d watch the Wonder Years with my little brother. On that night, I’d single-handedly finish off an entire pint of coffee-flavored Haagen Dazs ice cream. I used to look forward to that experience all week long…
 
And now ever since I’ve been reminded of that show, I’ve had an insatiable craving for coffee-flavored Haagen Dazs ice cream! But the problem is, a pint of ice cream doesn’t quite align with my health goals these days. My logical mind is telling me not to do it but another part of me won’t stop imagining the experience. I may be a health coach but I am also human…so what am I to do?
 
In the case of my latest Haagen Dazs fixation, stress was not the trigger. In this instance, it was nostalgia. And of course the brain doesn’t forget old habits and routines so easily. But emotions and stressors can also trigger very strong food cravings. There are food cues and triggers all around us. Whether it’s triggered by a form of nostalgia or from a stressor, emotional eating and cravings can really derail our progress towards meeting our health goals.
 
How emotional eating and cravings can be harmful
It’s very easy to lose control when you’re surrounded by delicious, tempting foods. This doesn’t make you an addict. It just makes you human. Unfortunately, these tempting foods are not often the healthiest foods. I’m not sure about you but it’s been a while since I’ve craved a carrot, a watermelon, or a head of lettuce! If you’re like most people, you crave those comforting high calorie “junk” foods. Weight gain can result. And increased fat can lead to systemic disease.
 
This is not even to mention the fact that stress eating does not effectively address the underlying stressors. The stressors remain unresolved once that slice of pizza has been devoured. To make matters worse, stress eating becomes a cycle, where stress leads to indulgence and indulgence leads to more stress. This is where shame, guilt, and self-esteem issues arise. So after hearing all this, is it really worth it to indulge?  
 
I get it. When you’re in the midst of a strong craving, none of the above really matters. The only thing that matters in the moment is getting a hold of the desired food item. But with a little preparation and a few extra tools in your healthy living toolkit, there might just be some hope!

7 common reasons we stress eat and better ways to manage it
 
1.) Displacement eating
I was fortunate to have worked on an inpatient mental health and addictions unit for many years. This means that I had the opportunity to attend and lead many addictions groups.  One thing that I heard over the years that really stuck was that relapse does not happen once we’ve taken that first hit, or in this case, that first bite. Relapse actually happens the minute we’re triggered. It happens the minute we’ve made up our minds that we are going to swing by McDonald’s on the way home. Relapse happened hours before that first bite, when your boss upset you and you didn’t defend yourself. Relapse can happen after feelings of helplessness.
 
Instead of taking action in the moment to feel better (and no, I don’t mean bopping your boss in the nose!), you decided you were going to seek a more positive experience later on to counteract this negative experience. You didn’t assert yourself or take control of the situation in the moment. It felt bad. So as an alternate coping mechanism, you’ll just treat yourself later on instead. In this case, you’ll do so with food.
 
Comfort foods exist because they are effective. They do the trick. They make us temporarily feel better. But rather than displace a negative experience by overeating, you can make an agreement with yourself that you will do your best to handle stressors in the moment as they arise. Nip a problem in its bud at its source. Do this before it brews and before it results in stress eating.
 
2.) Increased cortisol levels
Chronic stress leads to increased cortisol levels. And cortisol makes us crave all those irresistibly delicious foods. It can also cause increased insulin levels, which is not ideal for weight loss! To keep your stress levels in check, perform regular self-care. Take warm relaxing baths. Light candles. Listen to light music. Meditate and deep breathe. Prioritize sleep. Get regular exercise. Connect with friends and family regularly. Engage in your community.
 
3.) Emotions
Next time you’re headed to the pantry, give yourself 5 minutes to ask yourself if you are physically hungry or emotionally hungry? Is this just an urge to alter your current state? Is it to numb your current state? Are you bored? Frustrated? Lonely? Sad? Mad? Tired? Anxious? Excited? Now ask yourself, besides eating, how else you can overcome these feelings right now.

I know that when I’m bored, food is what’s on my mind more often than not. But when I’m deeply enthralled with something or when I’m “in the zone”, I completely forget about eating. It’s the furthest thing from my mind. It’s on those days that I really realize how little food I actually need during the day to get by.
 
Reflecting on the cause of your emotional eating is the first step towards addressing it. This is where keeping a food diary and practicing mindfulness can be really helpful. Write down what immediately precipitated your craving. Write down how you are feeling. And then see if there’s a healthier way that you can fulfill that need.
 
Being mindful when you eat also means slowing down and savoring every bite. It means paying closer attention to hunger and satiety signals. And it does not mean being distracted by other things while you mindlessly graze!
 
4.) Abundance and availability
It’s only natural for us to want to gorge when there’s plenty of tempting food available. Instead, plan your meals and your portions. Don’t even allow the unhealthy foods to have access to your pantry. Don't make them easily available to yourself. Don’t auto save payment methods for food delivery. Make yourself walk across the house to get your credit card that’s buried deep inside your purse or wallet. Retrain your taste buds to crave the healthier versions of your favorite desserts.
 
5.) Our nature
Let’s face it. Food is always on our minds. It was probably also always on the minds of our wild ancestors. And it’s probably also always on the minds of every animal living on the planet. Anything that’s linked to survival is often in our thoughts (i.e. safety, social connection, reproduction). But we are not made to indulge 24/7, year round. In nature, year round gorging is prevented because of limited growing seasons. Herein lies the problem...

We’re designed to indulge when we can. But we’ve made it possible to do so year round, 24/7. There’s no more feast or famine. Humans have, for the most part, found a way to eliminate the famine part. Ironically, aside from those who are still unnecessarily food insecure, we are now being killed slowly by feast rather than by famine.
 
Knowing this, we can mimic the feast or famine approach by altering our environments. Make resisting temptation easier by not keeping these foods around. Make it harder to get a hold of them. Make healthy choices easier.
 
6.) Deprived of nutrition (not calories!)
Sometimes I’m just craving a certain type of food. As far as I know, no particularly strong emotions are involved in such instances. It could be because these days, it’s common to be nutritionally deprived but not calorie deprived.
 
By meeting our nutrient needs, some of our cravings may subside. For example, if we eat high quality protein, our cravings for fatty, salty foods may decrease. Try filling up on healthy nutritious foods first. And then tell yourself you’ll allow some indulgence if the craving still doesn’t subside. Keeping in mind that logic rarely prevails during a craving, you can still plan ahead for it and work it into the 80/20 Rule. And buy only a limited amount of the comfort food!
 
7.) Nostalgia and old habits
As in my case with the Haagen Dazs, nostalgia kicked in and triggered an intense food craving. Another example of a nostalgia-related craving originated when as kids my dad bribed us with McDonald’s whenever we agreed to go on outdoor excursions with him. It’s no wonder that after my outdoor jaunts I often have a craving for a big greasy burger and fries!
 
For me, addressing nostalgia-triggered food cravings is easier than the other types. Usually once the trigger has passed, so does the craving.

Healthier alternatives
Find healthier ways to release those feel good hormones that stress eating provides. Distract yourself. Stop imagining the food and the experience of eating it.  Call a friend. Listen to some good music. Go for a walk. Play with your kids. Take your dog for a walk. Pick up a good book. Turn on your favorite show. Listen to a podcast. Remind yourself of how the pleasure of indulgence will only last a few minutes at best, but the guilt will last far longer. Remind yourself of your motivation for trying to lose weight. Imagine how good it’ll feel to finally fit into that flattering outfit you’ve been eyeing!
 
Demonstrate to yourself that you’re fully capable of keeping promises to yourself. You can value yourself and your health more than that doughnut (and why is that doughnut even in your house to begin with?!). Intermittent fasting works for me because it allows me to be in control again. If it’s not my eating window then there are zero food decisions to be made. I find this liberating. No amount of stress can break my fasting period. An added bonus is that when I’m physically hungry after a fasting period, the healthiest foods suddenly become very enticing!
 
Takeaway
Accept that life happens. Sometimes a food craving is just so strong that you cave.  Just make sure it’s only sometimes.  You may be surprised that a craving will pass after you’ve tried a healthier coping skill to address the stressor. It may pass once the trigger has passed.

Work with your nature, never against it. Realize that it’s only natural to have the urge to stress eat and indulge. Forgive yourself for being human. But even though you're human you still don’t have to be a slave to food. We can use our uniquely human foresight to beat this. We can plan ahead for such instances and then try better the next time. Unlike animals, we can alter our own environments for success. You got this!