Ok guys, today I'm down and out... as on many occasions. I've been dieting well most of the time, trying to stick to my diet plan (currently low carb, IP ish type). The issue right now, and maybe I'm typing so I'm not eating at this moment, is stress eating.
I was fine when I got up this morning, no plans to eat anything unusual, not even that hungry. Then the day progressed and through various stress inductions, including criticism of my housekeeping, late bill issues, etc. piling on today I really feel the need to eat EVERYTHING. I am by habit an overeater, a mass consumer, perhaps a binge eater and emotions cause a threefold effect. When upset sometimes I find eating, though temporary comfort is better than the emotional turmoil. It will of course be the most destructive food possible, past any possible hunger limits and sometimes I welcome this mass destruction because it beats how I might behave without it. I'm assuming on some level some of you totally get me here.

So, I'm holding out for now and have tried distraction, eating healthy things and of course giving in. Tell me, what works for you?

So sorry to hear you're having such a rough day!! For emotional eaters like us food is a best friend. It will always be there for us when we need it, unless we refuse it. In those moments I try to distract myself. Like take a walk (though it's much to cold lately.) Maybe read a book, do laundry, make a few phone calls, visit a friend, run errands, etc. What helps me most though is to try not to buy things while shopping that could throw me off track to begin with. If I really want sweets it's very unlikely I'll actually get in the car to go get some.

Even if we fail and stumble we have to remember that we have worked so hard to get where we are right now and one bad meal or one bad day won't ruin all that hard work. We need to go a little easier on ourselves when we fall.

You could try having some healthy low calorie food like veggies, followed by a small amount of what you want. I like to plan for my higher calorie foods, so I would measure the amount I'm going to eat onto a plate, then close the rest up and put it away before eating anything. Then I try to enjoy it properly, not in front of the TV or anything.

But I calorie-count, so my diet might be quite a bit different from yours.

I relate whole heartedly. Eating to deal with stress plays a huge role in my life because just like you it works on some level! Hey, this is how I always dealt with stress. Sure, it brings on more heartache with it but in the moment it's the only I know how to do.

It's foolish to think that a diet will fix this. You can vow to change what you eat every morning when you wake up, but how does that help you deal with your stress? Doing this just causes MORE stress! The key is to learn the skills and tools to know how to address your real needs, which are emotional and psychological. Our excess is weight is only a symptom of emotional eating, changing our diet and losing weight does not treat the real problem we have which is emotional eating. Treat the problem, the weight will fix itself.

For me Intuitive Eating has been life changing. It teaches you how to start listening to your body's actual needs and gives you the tools to learn how to deal with your emotions in a constructive way making it unecessary to turn to food. Take a listen here on this short video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPcySDVHMzg

Totally relate to stress eating. For me, I've just learned that nothing much is going to change as I go through life managing my weight: I will always use food as an antidote to stress. Knowing that, I try to choose wisely and minimize the damage and deal with my life and stress before I even need to turn to food.

Progress. Not. Perfection.

I really have to limit the sweets in the house and really gave up my baking as an art form....because I'd create these amazing baked concoctions but then also be eating and sampling as well

If I buy ice cream for the kids, I know I'm also going to be eating a good deal of it....so I buy popsicles for them, which they love, and I hate, so it works out well.

Right now there's Christmas goodies from my parents in the house...homemade, at that....and I've been living on that because I've been busy, stressed, tired, and emotional for like a week now...

NightAngel26, have you tried Overeaters Anonymous? Its great for developing strategies to combat this. Works for me....

For me, I definitely stress eat, but I can seem to quell the cravings if I just loosen the reigns a little bit rather than a lot.

Like last night I was overly tired and just felt like eating in front of the tv so I had a small cup of low sugar hot cocoa, some cashews, a spoonful of honey and an apple. Not too bad, but more than usual.

That doesn't mean I don't sometimes overeat on things I really shouldn't have, but sometimes if I let myself feel like I've let go just a bit it helps me stay on track until a time when it's really worthwhile to go off roading, like this weekend at the movies!

But, I don't count calories and I exercise pretty consistently so I am able to feel pretty good about the days when I loosen the reigns just a bit, whereas before when I was counting calories I felt horrible because I had numbers telling me I'd failed.

The thing is, I lose weight without calorie counting, even if I loosen the reigns sometimes or have off roading days, so if I just eat things I know are healthy then it's hard to overdo it on the calories too much.

It depends on your eating habits really, but for me I beat stress with a little extra healthy food and some self care. It's not always 100% effective though, but if you're able to avoid overeating 80% of the time then you're doing pretty well.

I think a lot of us will always have an issue with stress eating.

What has helped me a great deal is listening to Tony Robbins. He is a motivational speaker who has helped many people do many things they didn't think possible in many different aspects of life. One of his specialties is helping people like us lose weight. He presents things in a no-nonsense manner, and he makes a lot of sense! You can find him on YouTube.

Thanks for responding to my post everyone! There are some great ideas here, some I've tried, some not.

Jesslan Rose- I too have tried distractions and agree, as I'm from VT...the cold makes the outdoors distraction less interesting.

faiora- I totally get the concept of putting things away after portioning but sometimes I'll go back...in fact even a small amount of something makes it likely.

wannabeskinny- Yeah I know stress and needing to cope...just doesnt seem like theres an answer to how I guess.

needtolose2- tony robbins, sounds familiar? motivational speaker I'm guessing?