Ways to Know You’re Stress Eating & What to Do About It

When it comes to losing weight, stress eating or emotional eating can quickly derail even the best laid plans.

How do you know when you're stress eating? Typically something triggers you. This could be anything from getting a rush project at work to finding out a loved one is sick. Your heart starts racing and you start searching for food. You mindlessly start putting food in your mouth without much thought to the taste or the quantity. And once you start eating, you just can’t stop. We’ve all been there. It’s not fun. But if you plan ahead and stay aware of what you’re doing, it can definitely help!

Here are some ways to prevent a stress eating spiral:

• Distract yourself
  Take a walk, phone a friend, get in a workout, clean the house.
• Occupy your mouth
  Brush your teeth, chew gum, drink water, pop a mint.
• Take a moment
  Stop and take a moment to realize that you’re stress eating and ask yourself why. Journal, talk to yourself or meditate. Getting to the root cause can help prevent future slip-ups.

Stress eating is so common. But you can manage it with the right mindset. 

What do you do to stop stress eating?