Stress occurs in our lives every day for different reasons. Each person deals with their stress differently. One common trend with patients trying to lose weight is that their stress outlet is eating food. This is the opposite direction of the healthy life they are trying to lead, but a hard habit to break. Follow these tips to reduce stress while losing weight
- Instead of picking up the fork or spoon, pick up a book or crossword puzzle to get your mind off the stress and on something you enjoy.
- Easing stress may be psychological. Having something in your hand or your mouth may be associated with easing the mind. Try having a glass of water or chewing a piece of gum to satisfy the association without adding the calories.
- Do you find yourself more stressed due to other people or stress eating with other people? Suggest ways to be active that don’t involve eating, such as taking a walk together.
- Remember, the stress will still be there after the food is consumed, and in some cases you will be more stressed after eating something that is not helping your weight loss cause. Take a deep breath or drink a glass of water.
Everyone has a different stress release. The blog is open to readers to offer up their own bits of advice. Feel free to leave a comment on how you reduce your own stress.
