Triple D Health and Fitness

When stress happens in our lives, we look for a way to hide from it. The most common way to do so is to eat our stress away. You may be asking, why do we do this? Here are some reasons why you stress eat:

Comfort-Stress can be really uncomfortable and eating high calorie foods can lead to comfort. When comfortable we tend to not worry about what’s stressing us out.

A Quick Distraction- Stuffing our face with food can be a real distraction from stresses in life. Eating can take our focus away and provide a time away from thinking about what’s stressing us out in the first place.

Dopamine Hit- We all know how good it feels when dopamine occurs. Nothing quite brings us dopamine like food. The sweetest of treats probably work best, so you may catch yourself slamming down donuts, cookies, and cakes at a furious pace.

Low Energy- When stressed out you may have felt your energy levels dip. This energy drop can have you craving high fat, high sugary foods to get your energy back up quickly.

Stress eating is normal and will occur. Your job in these situations is to be mindful and think before you act on those feelings. It’s other, more healthy ways to fight off stress like exercise and meditation. Try these practices instead next time stress comes your way.