Skip to main content

Is Your Stress Eating You Down?

Stress Eating

What exactly is Stress Eating? Stress eating, also known as "head hunger", is when you consume when you're bored or when emotions are running really high. Unlike other forms of food craving, stress eating is often impulsive and usually happens at the subconscious level. You may begin to experience feelings of guilt, depression, anxiety, or sadness after experiencing a major event in your life such as the loss of a job, a marriage, the birth of a child, or being involved in a serious accident. It is a psychological coping mechanism.

There are many reasons that people may start to experience stress eating. A traumatic life event, extreme stress, depression, anxiety, sadness, or boredom can all cause a person to experience body hunger. When your body starts to crave unhealthy foods, these same emotions may be triggered as well. This can lead to overeating, rapid weight gain, or even obesity.

In this article I will explain what is stress eating and how it can be stopped. One of the most common signs that someone has an over-stimulated mind and body is that they eat more than usual. They will often eat three times as much as normal for no apparent reason. If you notice this happening to you, here is what you can do. First, if you cannot stop the eating, here are some things you can do.

- Take L-carnitine, a special kind of amino acid, that increases the levels of ghrelin and leptin in the body. The ghrelin hormone is responsible for coordinating hunger signals from the brain with increased cortisol levels. Your body wants to have enough energy and nutrients so it will send out hunger signals to the brain informing you to eat. If your brain receives increased ghrelin and leptin levels, it will override your hunger signals and eat more.

- If you are under stress, do something to decrease your emotional level and physical hunger. Take up calming activities like yoga, tai chi, or meditation. You might also try to learn relaxation techniques like deep breathing, yoga, or meditation. Also, practice regular exercise. If you are under constant emotional stress your body releases increased levels of cortisol, which causes increased physical hunger.

- There are certain foods that actually stimulate cortisol production and cause increased hunger. These are junk food, caffeine, alcohol, and sugar. All of these things stimulate cortisol production because your brain doesn't want to eat. However, your body also needs the carbs that these sources of food provide to maintain normal glucose levels in the blood. Therefore, if you are under stress eating junk food or any source of caffeine or alcohol will stimulate stress eating and cause you to binge.

- It's not what you eat, but how you eat. Stress is caused by many factors including the way you were raised, your experiences growing up, and even how you were treated as a child. So, the best way to battle stress eating is to take a good look at yourself and try to figure out which problems are bothering you. For example, did you ever know that children who are brought up in severe emotional stress are prone to developing chronic diseases such as anorexia and bulimia? Or that women who were married or in long-term relationships and/or working in the office more than 40 hours a week are at a greater risk for heart disease? In both cases, what really matters most is changing the way you feel and addressing the emotions that are causing you to eat.

So, does this mean you should completely give up all hope of stopping your stress eating habit? No, absolutely not! The key is knowing which problem or circumstances will make you feel better and which bad thing will make you feel worse. In most cases, it's not that big of a deal, and if you can change one thing, it will be getting rid of the bad thing.

Popular posts from this blog

How to Manage Stress

Stress they and your kids will suffer; it's a sad fact that stress them will lead to lack of sleep. Lack of sleep can be a serious threat to your mental health. There is an old saying "A tired mind is a productive mind." So make time to relax, take a deep breath, put your feet up or on the couch, take a shower, listen to music, meditate, whatever helps you relax and calm the anxiety and depression. Try to be positive and optimistic and if you can, try to avoid stressful situations when possible. You want to break the cycle of anxiety and depression. And the easiest way to do that is to avoid the stress and anxiety. When we are confronted with a stressful situation, what do we do? We try to fight the stress, either by taking a nap or in other ways. When we have a choice, we turn to the television or computer or both. When the choice is between working and being with our children, we choose the TV or the computer. When the choice is between going to work and being with our ...

Choosing Facial Eczema Cream and Ointments

Facial Eczema (PE) is an inflammatory disease that causes low production of skin, irritation and sometimes burning and even death. Facial Eczema is most commonly caused by a toxin (sporansmines) produced by the Sporales moulding on pasture in warm, damp conditions. The toxins are airborne and can become airborne in dust particles and settled in the lower respiratory tract when breathing air, and they become even more airborne when a person coughs or sneezes. The toxins can also be swallowed when a sufferer eats food with a crusty taste resembling mold or slimy cheese. The toxins then enter the bloodstream when the sufferer inhales them via the mucous membranes of the mouth and nose and travel to different parts of their body. This allergic reaction triggers the release of histamines (also known as lignins) which cause the skin to become inflamed and dry. Normally there are normally some immune cells that protect the face from irritants such as pollens, but under certain conditions the ...

What Are the Causes of Chest Pains?

What are chest pains? Simply put, they are a feeling of discomfort in the chest area. This can occur without any warning. The most common reason for their occurrence is stress. Stress can result in chest pains that may not be so easy to identify. This article will discuss some of the more common causes of these chest pains. First and foremost, a person who is stressed out will typically feel a constant sensation in their chest that is referred to as chest pain. It typically begins in the upper left chest and gradually moves down to the right chest. In addition, it may also occur in the shoulders or even in the abdomen area. A heart attack is often mistaken for this type of chest pain, however, it is not a proven diagnosis. Heart attacks usually occur in the lung area or in the neck area. Both of these areas contain blood vessels that supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart. If a heart attack occurs, the person will experience chest pain along with palpitations or sweating in the area. An...

How To Reduce Stress - Simple Techniques

People have different ways of coping with stress and in the pursuit of how to reduce stress levels, it is important that we consider all the possible options available. The first step towards reducing stress levels is to adopt a mindfulness practice. The easiest way to practice mindfulness is to simply be aware of the present moment. In this state of consciousness you are more open to possibilities and less susceptible to being distracted by the many external factors of which we are often unaware. The second step on the road to improving our mental health and stress levels is to engage in some form of mindfulness exercise or mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness can be practiced anywhere, anytime. However, it seems to work best when it is done while you are sitting quietly in a comfy chair, reading a book, or watching the television. If you are able to dedicate thirty minutes each day to doing some form of mindfulness meditation, you will find yourself much more relaxed and focused on th...

Common Allergens And Their Symptoms

Testing for food allergies is an important step to determine if you have a reaction to a particular food or drink. An intolerance to foods that are common allergens will cause a negative response to the same foods when they are consumed. The most common food allergies include peanuts, shellfish, wheat, cow's milk and tree nuts. Each of these foods contain different sets of proteins that can cause a negative reaction. Some common allergens include: Allergic reactions can be triggered by several factors. Exposure to allergens is one of the main factors. In the past, food allergies were often attributed to poor digestion or other unknown reasons. Today, however, doctors have identified specific genes or cells within the immune system that can cause allergic reactions. It has been proven that people with these genes are more susceptible to food allergies. If testing for food allergies is done according to the specific foods identified in the digestive system, then it is more likely to ...