- Image by Amit Gupta via Flickr
We all need to eat, but the problem starts when you eat for comfort when you are anxious or stressed. Stress and anxiety can be a bad aspect of your life if you react to it by overeating. This can lead to weight gain and health problems as well. I was one who was a comfort eater and when things went wrong for me I would take pleasure in my food.
Finding out what your stressors are is very important so you are aware of why you are overeating. Sometimes we can’t change the stressors eg a bereavement but we can control how we react to it. We often hope that the comfort we get will make the underlying problem go away but unfortunately it just makes it worse or creates other problems.
What are comfort foods? Well high fat foods like french fries, sugary foods like cakes and carbohydrates like bread are comfort foods. Maybe that is why hamburgers are such a popular choice as they are a combination of comforts foods.
Firstly we need to recognize we have a problem. Trying to work through these will help overcome overeating and also by finding alternatives to eating such as exercise (choice an exercise you really like to do) or distraction techniques may help us in the long run.
Don’t let stress and anxiety make you fat and unhealthy, both emotionally and physically. If you find you can’t help yourself then seek help from professional counselors. Also try relaxation and visualization techniques and remember that overcoming emotional eating is really taking control of your emotional well being and not just your weight.
Practice good eating habits and get regular exercise, find new ways of problem solving along with a positive attitude will all help you to free yourself of your overeating for good.
I love the thought of “eat and become stress-free” but when reality check sinks-in, comfort foods thus take a toll. You are right, a combination between good food and exercise is one way to avoid stress.