6 Ways to Stop a Bad Day From Driving You to Eat

Many women turn to food for comfort when their world goes sideways. Whether it's reaching for a bag of chips, a pint of ice cream, or a box of chocolate when you're feeling frustrated, stressed, or overwhelmed, when emotions are running high, it can feel like the easiest solution.

The problem is that the quick fix of sugar and carbs is momentary and will leave you feeling worse once you come down from that "food high".

The truth is no matter how loudly your brain screams, "I NEED THE CHOCOLATE!” somewhere deep down you know that emotionally eating or turning to food is not going to solve the problem.

 It's both evolutionary and physiological. Stress causes your body to automatically increase respiration, blood pressure, heart rate, metabolism, and the blood flow to your muscles. Basically when you're stressed, your whole body goes into “fight-or-flight mode", triggering a release of a hormone called cortisol, which increases your appetite (and not for chicken breast or broccoli).

Unfortunately, all that stress is also suppressing your production of ghrelin, which is the hormone that helps keep your appetite in check. So now you're craving something salty or sweet, and once you start, you just can't seem to stop. Your brain is craving energy-dense foods that are typically high in calories, loaded with added sugar, fat and simple carbs because they provide the quickest energy boost and trigger those feel good hormones.

 First, know that EVERYONE has their own basket of B.S. to deal with on the daily --- work, relationships, family, health issues, and more; life is brimming with a never-ending series of triggers.

The good news is we are also powerful human beings, smart enough to know what’s happening and capable of making better choices. And it all starts with awareness. If you want to become your healthiest and happiest self, then you have to be willing to make different in the moment choices that will support your goals and leave you feeling empowered.

 1. Get outside. One of the quickest and best ways I know to circumvent an emotional eat is to get outside. Go for a walk, a run, a bike ride. Sit on your balcony or porch with a good book and a cold glass of water. Breathe in the fresh air, soak up some nature, and let your surroundings relieve your stress, naturally, instead of driving you to eat. There are no calories in the grass, trees, or sand. Moving away from the kitchen is the key.

 2. Attack a clutter project. Close your eyes and pick one annoying pile of clutter that irritates you every time you see it. Grab a trash bag and a box and go after it. It could be as small as a drawer or as big as a whole closet. Maybe it's a week’s worth of unfolded laundry or messy shelves in the garage. Time is precious and we're often too overwhelmed to keep up with the little stuff. Then the little stuff starts feeling insurmountable. So clean it up! Organize it. Toss it. Give it away. The satisfaction you'll get from removing the clutter will keep your mind and hands too busy for snacks while naturally relieving stress.

 3. Visit a friend. Stress can keep you isolated. Think of the friends you haven't seen in a bit and make a quick date for a short walk or a cup of coffee, arrange for a FaceTime or Zoom call. Getting together with people you love automatically changes your attitude and your perspective. My friends make me laugh and always know just what to say to pull me out of a funk. Perspective is important to me, so when I chat with a friend I can be assured of some great perspective, quick thinking solutions and a few laughs. I can’t tell you how much better that solution feels than eating. Friendship and love trumps food. Every time.

 4. Run some errands. Make a list of three tasks that you’ve been putting off. Now grab your keys and hit the road. Once you're out of the house, you won’t have access to the food that was calling your name. Plus, you’ll enjoy a de-stressing session while making your life a little bit easier by tackling your weekly meal prep grocery shopping, returning those library books, or getting a full tank of gas. And that’s what I call a win-win!

 5. Write it out. When you're in the eye of the storm it can feel challenging to know where the stress is even coming from. Journaling is a great way to raise awareness by writing out your thought and feelings. You'll begin to see the root cause of the stress so you can start to identify what you need most in that moment. Maybe it's a safe space to dump fears, worry and frustration. Maybe it's realizing what is in and outside of your control so you can let something go. Maybe it's honoring a healthy boundary. It's much easier to see the solution when you're able to identify the problem.

 6. Change your sheets. Okay, here’s one that might seem a little odd but hear me out. Fresh sheets feels like a new beginning. They smell good. They feel good. And I don’t know about you, but I sleep better on fresh sheets. I wake up feeling refreshed, renewed and recharged. The simple act of stripping the bed and putting on clean sheets says, “That’s over and I’m ready to start fresh!” Plus, if you flip the mattress you get a little strength training in. Clever am I right? That's what I call that “multi-tasking minutes.”
 

Bottom line: what all six of these techniques have in common is that they stop you from turning to food and put you back in the driver's seat so you can start to make better choices. Action is distraction my friend. And you deserve to feel like the rockstar you are by making choices that better serve the whole you. There are all kinds of ways you can redirect your energy, from bathing your dog to playing in the garden. The goal is to pause long enough to feel in control, because when you feel in control, you act in control. And that's a key component of reducing emotional eating.

Are you tired of starting over every Monday, hopping from diet to diet, wondering if you'll ever get it "right" so that you can lose the weight, FOR GOOD? Join me inside my FREE women’s-only Facebook community: Eat Better with Coach Mindy, where I’ll show you how to stop yo-yo dieting and find balance with food and fitness, so you can eat better, think better and feel your best!.