• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Amy Hoogervorst

Integrative Health and Wellness Coach

  • WHAT IS HEALTH COACHING?
  • ABOUT AMY
  • SERVICES
  • BLOG
    • FAITH AND SPIRITUALITY
    • MIND-BODY CONNECTION
    • MOVEMENT, EXERCISE AND REST
    • NUTRITION
    • PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
    • PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
    • RELATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNICATION
  • GET STARTED
    • SCHEDULE A FREE CALL
    • ACCESS FREE RESOURCES
    • VIEW ARCHIVED VIDEOS

Oct 26, 2017
MIND-BODY CONNECTION· NUTRITION

Walk Away from Stress Eating

stress eating doesn't have to derail our healthy habits. walk away

Stress eating can hit at any time. Faced with a challenge, or boredom, or discomfort, we find ourselves pawing in the pantry or digging in the fridge. And then we eat whatever might give us temporary pleasure, not because we’re physically hungry.

Most often, we reach for the high carbohydrate, high fat, high sugar foods.

That’s because when we’re stressed, high levels from the hormone cortisol triggers cravings. We want salty, sweet, and fried foods because they give us a boost of energy and pleasure.

But that stress eating, or emotional eating, leaves us feeling out of control, guilty, and angry at ourselves for getting off track.

Further, the original issue remains; we’re still angry, bored, exhausted, lonely, stressed, or upset. And now we’ve added guilt and a sense of helplessness to the mix.

How to Walk Away from Stress Eating

We’re far from helpless, though. Some mental shifts – beginning with awareness of others and ourselves – and some strategies can take us in a new direction.

First, know that food companies market their foods by connecting them with our emotions. They promise an added emotional benefit – comfort, belonging, adventure, energy – from eating or drinking their product.

Usually they’re ads for processed or fast food, and they cause us to over-eat or impulsively eat. They also affect our children.

Notice the ads you’re confronted with on television, billboards, and online. What’s the underlying message?

Awareness about ourselves also is key to reduce stress eating.

When icky, uncomfortable emotions arise, check in with yourself. What’s the feeling? What is the impulsive reaction to the frustration, anger, boredom, unease? In what other ways could you soothe and reward yourself besides food? What other techniques could help minimize the impact of stress and disrupt the cycle of stress eating?

What could you do in that moment to offer yourself some compassion and kindness?

Eat Mindfully to Avoid Stress Eating

Once you’ve discovered your triggers, it’s time to create some strategies.

Try to eat only when hungry. Fill up on nutrient-dense, healthy food at mealtimes, focusing on getting enough protein (30-40 grams per meal), healthy fats and smart carbohydrates.

When you do eat, slow down. Eat mindfully. Notice your food. Taste and slowly chew each bite. Eliminate other distractions such as the television or social media. Multitasking at meals can cause us to overeat.

Keep a food diary. Track what you eat and when, to see if you can identify some patterns. Also, knowing you’ll be writing down what you eat may give you enough pause for that impulse to eat something unhealthy pass.

Try not to get too hungry or too tired. Those extremes can cause some people to get off track. Carry healthy foods with you in case you get delayed – so you have something healthy on hand and don’t need to stop at a vending machine or fast food.

What other techniques do you use to avoid stress eating? I’d love to hear from you. Comment below.

Welcome! I’m Amy, an integrative health coach, offering grace and space for a healthier you. This article is Step 26 in the “31 Steps to a Healthier You” series. You can access all posts in the series here.  And I hope you’ll want to stick around for a while. If so, please subscribe at this link so you’ll get updates.

Tweet
Share
Pin

Don’t Miss out

Join our newsletter to get all the latest!

Previous Post: « For Better Health, Chase Your Dreams
Next Post: Deepen Your Spirituality for Better Health »

Primary Sidebar

MEET AMY

Hi! I'm Amy Hoogervorst, a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, integrative health coach, and creative entrepreneur offering grace and space for a healthier you. Read More…

Latest on the Blog

Women have a higher risk of Alzheimer's than men but often don't recognize what they can do to reduce that risk. Image is of a woman with outstretched hands, as if to hold a computer-generated image of a brain

Of every three people in the United States living with Alzheimer’s, two are women. And, even factoring in women’s longer lifespans, they’re twice as likely as men to develop the disease. But a recent poll indicated that many women don’t know about their elevated risk, nor what they can do to reduce it. It’s time […]

Let’s Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Latest on Instagram

"You can never change just one behavior. Our behav "You can never change just one behavior. Our behaviors are interconnected, so when you change one behavior, other behaviors also shift." - B.J. Fogg, social scientist and author of "Tiny Habits"

#tuesdaythoughts #behaviorchange #habits #integrativehealthcoach #graceandspaceforahealthieryou #quotes #wellcheck #inspiration #information #mindful #awareness
Still thinking about the conversations, ideas, and Still thinking about the conversations, ideas, and welcome I experienced Saturday @wildgoosefest, and I know this experience will stay with me for a long time. 💟

So grateful to my friends @secondbreathcenter for inviting me to the Goose as part of a panel discussing "Mothering as a Verb." 

We talked about ways we've been mothered; ways that we've mothered other people, pets, ourselves, ideas, and things including vocations; and how spiritual practice has supported us in and through that.

What's spiritual practice? It's practical tools and strategies that help you connect more with God, yourself, and others. These mind-body practices can help transform our way of thinking, feeling, and behaving away from fear and control ➡️ toward faith, hope, and love.

For example, through the years I've mothered my creativity, my vocation, and my children with the practices of journaling, mindfulness meditation, and centering prayer. These are some of the ways I refill my tank.

What are ways you fill your tank?

Second Breath offers classes and practices rooted in the Christian wisdom tradition and modern neuroscience. I first experienced those classes in 2018 and this fall will be facilitating an online group going through "The Inward Journey" together. If you're interested in knowing more (or getting a discount code for a class!) send me a DM.

For now, I'm treasuring my weekend, what I learned from many different speakers throughout the day, and the gift of these new sisters and their stories. 

tl;dr - I went to the Wild Goose festival and, as part of a panel formed by #secondbreathcenter, spoke about "mothering as a verb." It was deep, authentic, and meaningful. 

#graceandspaceforahealthieryou
#secondbreath #mindbodypractices
#spiritualpractice #mindful #christianwisdomtradition
#authenticity #consciousfacilitator #integrativehealthcoach #wholeness #faith #spirituality #welcome
Farmers' market haul 🍅 (I kept forgetting to g Farmers' market haul 🍅

(I kept forgetting to go!! So I set a reminder this week to get there.🙌🏼😁)

#woohoo #tomatothursday #isthatathing #eatlocal #nutrition #eattherainbow #fruitsandveggies #graceandspaceforahealthieryou #integrativehealthcoach #summer #summereats
🍅 and 🍉 in one dish? Yes! July is here. What 🍅 and 🍉 in one dish? Yes! July is here. What summer foods are your favorites?

#graceandspaceforahealthieryou #summereats #nutrition #july #smallplates #storiestreetgrille #heirloomtomatoes #watermelon #eattherainbow #letseat #nutrition #integrativehealthcoach
Follow on Instagram

Tags

accountability anxiety best self books challenge choices coaching dreams exercise faith faith and sweat fitness friends goals habits health health coaching healthy eating healthy food healthy lifestyle holidays inflammation memories mindful mindfulness mindset movement nutrition perseverance personal growth PhotoOrganize Me photos recipes resources rest self-care sleep social media stewardship stories stress sugar wellness what i learned Youngevity
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • DISCLOSURES
  • CONTACT
© 2022 Amy Hoogervorst - All Rights Reserved

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Amy Hoogervorst
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.