Ugh... finals getting closer. Deadlines. Papers. Projects. School stress has always led me to eating. What to do, what to do?

Need to vent right now.

I will not eat useless things when I'm not really hungry.
I will not turn back to pop to get me through caffeinated nights.
I will not order pizza to save time or content myself with salty/unhealthy foods.

What do you do?

I know this question is asked often, but I need some NOW motivation for this. These last weeks of the semester are going to kill me.

Eeek! Stress is never fun! I am an emotional eater too lame! Honestly I just have to keep repeating to myself that I am not hungry just stressed/bored/whatever. Make sure you write down what you're eating and try to plan your food out for the day. Remember, you can do it!

Instead of soda, have you thought about drinking green tea?

I am in the SAME boat! Normally when I get stressed like that I like to take a long walk with a big bottle of water. If I try to supress my cravings with snacks it just turns into a binge, I have to get OUT of the kitchen and away from the fridge. Calling my mom and friends helps too. Good luck with your exams, try not to freak

Sometimes I find chewing gum helps entertain my mouth when I feel like I just need to munch on something... if I start to feel like I want to eat I will often just have some gum first and see if I am really still hungry 30 or 45 minutes later.

Good luck with finals - I'm sure you will do great! Drink water and get plenty of sleep too!

I used 5 hour energy when studying for my finals last year, and I went through loads of 5 gum, and the occasional walk around the block helped me get my mind off of all the stres. Good luck! I'm sure you'll do fantastic.

Well it's 9:24 and I've made it through the day. I kept track of my calories, weighed, and measured everything; and even just now after munching through a big bowl of popcorn with butter and salt, Sparkpeople tells me I've eaten 1082 calories today. I'm not actually feeling hungry right now, but I can have another little snack if I'm feeling hungry in a couple hours after a bit more homework.

I think it's going to help me in these next weeks to just keep track of absolutely everything I put in my mouth. I'm pretty good at intuitive eating, but not if I'm stressed out. Keep myself on the ball here.

Hang in there, it sounds like you're attacking it with the right attitude and conviction!

I am in the same boat in terms of school stress, but the opposite in terms of eating. I can't make myself eat when I'm stressed out so I've been lucky if I eat 1000 calories a day. I'm literally force feeding myself now. I lay out all my food for the day and force myself to eat it all by the end of it. It goes against the whole intuitive eating thing, but I need more calories than that. My body doesn't enjoy being starved, even if I'm not enjoying eating.

eat healthy snacks that are yummy as well...like bananas, dried fruits, mixed nuts...eat tons of almonds....they're good for your brain =)

I'm not in school any more, but I'm going through a super stressful time at work right now, so I definitely get what you're going through

I just try to keep reminding myself that there's always going to be stress in my life in one way or another - whether it's finals, a tough week at work, family stuff in the future. It's not a unique situation, so I can't really justify wasting a bunch of unnecessary calories on it.

I do the same thing! I literally just study at the library. Because I'm a study-eater. I like to snack while I study always And it seems to be fritos that get me! So steer clear of the kitchen!

Well I'm going to go to bed now! Wanted to snack but wasn't hungry so I'm all set. I'll drink some water and hit the sheets. Tomorrow is another day and this thread helped me get through today, horray!

Perhaps I can post throughout tomorrow too and this can keep me accountable again. No classes tomorrow. Just homework AAAALL day and then a *gulp* Halloween party. I'm going to make sure I eat before I go.

I'm right here with you! School is piling up and there just seems to be SO much going on, so many things I have to do, or think about, or memorize, so many dates I'm struggling to keep in order, I wish everything would slow down. But today the gloomy day feel just got me down and in attempt to make myself feel somewhat normal again, I let myself overeat on bad foods. Now I am regretting every second of it, and every ounce I put in my mouth. I feel physically heavier, and my already chaotic mind is now dragging along after me, all because of that one little slip up.

Everyone, spare yourself MORE stress and keep to your plans! I'd rather have school stress only than school stress and munchie regrets!

In the past I have been really bad about eating high sugar foods because I thought it would help me not feel so "tired"....this isn't the perfect solution, but when I get feeling that desperate I just take a caffiene pill. That way I don't turn to soda or coffee for a fix...or something even worse!

Ugh. I weighed this morning and I'm at 175.7... I think it was just about 4 weeks ago that I last weighed so my stressed lifestyle has sure caught up with me over the past month. I hate that I gained! I was so close to getting to the 160s. I do suspect that some of it is water retention from eating nasty foods but...

Well, one day at a time! I started this morning with oatmeal and a 1/2 tbs of brown sugar, and half an apple that I didn't finish yesterday. So breakfast = 257 calories... on a ball. I'm going to make a run to the store and pick up a few of my "essentials" so that I can eat properly again. Namely, more oatmeal, a lot of frozen vegetables and fruits, lettuce, some bananas, and some chicken. I'm not going to buy any bread because peanut butter jellies have been my staple the past month because they are so quick to throw together and make as I'm leaving, but not really filling, for me anyway.