Disordered behaviors around food are different for everyone – but stress and anxiety were a root cause of mine back when I was a teenager. So while my eating got out of hand for a variety of reasons over time (body image issues, stress/anxiety, social influences) stress was always a trigger for binge eating. And binge eating was always a trigger for overexercising or purging or weight gain or self-hatred.
If stress factors into your binge eating, it might help to have a list of different behaviors to choose from if you notice stress creeping up into your day. What’s a different, better behavior you can do instead of reaching for food?
Note: If you’re not well-nourished on a given day and are truly hungry, that needs to be addressed first. If you haven’t had a balanced breakfast or lunch or dinner at the point that you’re noticing stress, you need to feed your body first. Get fat/protein/carbs/color on your plate. Make sure you’re emotionally satisfied, and you feel your intuitive eating fullness cues such as a comfortable stretch of your stomach, a natural slowdown in eating, and understanding you could stop eating and feel satisfied. Then you can address the stress.
Now, back to the stress.
Here are a few different behaviors to choose from instead of binge eating:
This is based on what’s worked well for me. The realistic quality of these suggestions depends on the time of the day you’re dealing with stress, but it’s a start. Customize your own list as you learn what works well for you.
Go for a walk. Walk alone with a podcast or music in your ears to tune into something other than what’s in your own head. Or walk your dog(s) or walk with a friend – spend time with other meaningful beings in your life. This can also get you out of your own head.
Do a puzzle. This is an option I really wish I had thought of back when I was in a hole with disordered eating. I’ve loved puzzles so much in my post-recovery years – they’re so meditative. And they’re such an obvious alternative when it comes to doing something healthier with your hands – instead of the shoving in of food, there’s the gentle sifting and sorting and piecing together of pieces.
Paint your nails – or trim and file your nails. Again, another alternative motion with your hands. This time, in self-care style. Take the time to self-improve in a small way, and it’s often enough time to divert and dissolve any stressful thoughts and feelings.
Dry brush, then get in a warm bath with a book. Dry brushing involves using a firm, dry brush on your skin, moving it in sweeping motions toward your heart to stimulate circulation and also exfoliate. It can help your skin feel smoother and more energized, potentially promote lymphatic flow (which can help clear waste and support immune function), and can even support pain reduction. (When I was recovery from ACL surgery, I would dry brush around my healing knee to reduce persistent achiness.) Then get in the bath with a book you’re enjoying! This is such a simple, soothing way to lose yourself in something else for at least half an hour.
Leave. The. House. Binge eating is such a private problem, that sometimes you just need to get the f*** out of where you are. Go work (or study) in a space where you can more easily get in the zone, in public. Go to the library or a coffee shop, somewhere where there’s gentle background chatter and noise, the bustle of other bodies. Maybe put on some headphones with music, however you need to get in the zone of what you’re doing and fall into that flow.
Whatever action you choose – from this list or from your own personal list – make sure it’s proactive. Stressful periods of the day are the perfect times to be building your self-awareness. To catch yourself in the act (“I feel my stress building up and I see myself wanting to reach for food”) – and to actively, consciously, willfully choose a different behavior. Know yourself. Choose better for yourself.
