Is Stress Sabotaging Your Diet?

brain to refuel your body as soon as possible.

A Need For Comfort Can Interfere with Your Diet and Create Stress

When things are stressful, what can we do? How can we feel better? How about brownies, donuts, candy, ice cream, pizza, mashed potatoes, and fried chicken? This type of comfort food is always quick to the rescue in our time of need.

Over the years, we’ve comforted ourselves by gravitating toward this kind of food, thinking, “You only live once, so I might as well enjoy myself now!”

In addition, when tension and anxiety are high in one aspect of life, it’s not unusual for other areas to seem trivial or less important. We more than likely crave these particular foods because carbohydrates release the hormone serotonin, a brain chemical that makes you feel good.

Here are a few diet tips to relax and stay healthy during moments of stress:

Create a “Stress Snack Eating” Kit. Assemble an actual kit that has healthy snacks. Keep this kit around your office or at home and break out when needed. Make sure that you have portion-controlled foods in there that are low in calories in case you over-indulge. Also put in a few non-food items, such as an iPod loaded with comedian sketches.
Keep Away from Unhealthy Snacks. This becomes very important when you know you’re going to have a stressful day. Researchers have shown time and time again that snacks in sight are snacks that are eaten.
Enjoy Health Comfort Foods. My favorite is popcorn (made in a pan or air-popped) made at home with a bit of butter spray, salt, and garlic.
Exercise the Stress Away. Yes, go out for a walk, take a spin class, go for a run — research shows that a bit of exercise can help you fend off unhealthy eating and reduce stress.