One of the main reasons I ended up overweight was because I couldn’t stop stress eating! As soon as I encountered stress, I immediately started wishing for all sorts of bad things! This didn’t help me at all since I live in Philly (think Philly cheesesteaks and Philly pretzels), and there are plenty of quality delivery restaurants within a few miles of where I live (lol)!

The good news is that I was finally able to get over my stress eating…and below I’ll show you how I did it and I hope these tips will help you get over this dangerous habit too!

fast stress buster

One of the things I learned in a stress and anxiety relief program is that you should always have some quick stress busters to turn to whenever you encounter stressful situations.

Now, these types of exercises must be able to be done instantly and at any time. The only exercise I went to almost every time was simple deep breathing exercises.

By doing deep breathing exercises, you will decrease tension, stress, and anxiety. Also, another benefit is that deep breathing will also directly help decrease cravings.

The kind of deep breathing he always did was very simple. All you have to do is slowly inhale through your nose for 3 seconds and exhale through your mouth for 6 seconds. Repeat for one to two minutes. You should feel a sensation of warmth followed by an incredible feeling of relaxation and inner peace! Not to mention you can do this ANYWHERE at ANYTIME!

Prevention Snack

Another tip to help overcome your stress response with food is to identify common times in your daily life when you may encounter stress (like coming home to your spouse… JUST KIDDING!) fiber content before this time.

Protein and fiber are 2 quality nutrients that are not only great for weight loss, but also help keep you full and satisfied…which, of course, will help curb cravings.

Some examples of these types of foods that I would personally choose would be a whey protein shake and an apple. Easy!

Alternatives

This hack combines 2 problem solvers in one! The first problem solved is keeping bad foods out of reach to begin with, and the second, of course, is decreasing cravings. This trick is to have alternatives to the usual foods that you crave!

For example, one of the things I LOVED to eat when I was stressed was cereal. Give me a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and the IRS could knock on my door and I wouldn’t mind one bit (LOL)!

So what would be a smarter, healthier version of this specific craving I had? Easy: Get healthier bread (like Ezekiel bread), brush it lightly with a little olive oil, sprinkle with a little cinnamon, and pop it in an oven or toaster oven until toasted. Healthy, delicious, fast, satisfying, and oh yeah, did I mention: HEALTHY!