As some of you may know I am opening a new business in the coming months. It has created a new stress in my life as I transition from one chapter in my career to another. The new business is a passion project and a good move financially, but like anything new it comes with a boat load of stress. From infrastructure, to employees, to contracts, to legal matters. It all adds up. How have I been dealing with this stress? Food. New food to be specific. Not good because using food for stress equals bad choices.
What New Food Am I Talking About?
This new food is wonderful and beautiful creations from local businesses in my area that have jumped on the keto train. Lovely decadent deserts that take me back to when I was a carb monster. Everything is low carb and zero sugar which fit my lifestyle, unfortunately they full of sugar alcohols and calories. Keto is great, but you can’t eat a dessert every meal and expect to feel like a million bucks.
Based on these new foods I have also been more open lately to some of the packaged keto treats on the market today. Often these are not only loaded with sugar alcohols and calories, but they have preservatives and other chemicals I lobby against. I completely picked ease and taste as a coping mechanism, putting it above my health.
Using Food for Stress Issues
The first major issue with using food to help with stress is you’re sacrificing your physical health for a few moments of relief from the stress. It feels good in the moment, but that often passes. The excess weight and gut issues your creating will stay for much longer than that.
According to the Cleveland Clinic using food as a coping mechanism can also damage your mental health. An article on their website states, “to deal with such feelings as stress, boredom, or anxiety, or even to prolong feelings of joy. While this may help in the short term, eating to soothe and ease your feelings often leads to regret and guilt, and can even increase the negative feelings.”
You’re creating a circle that will be impossible to dig your way out of. At the end of that 360 is guilt and all that stress you started with. Food, no matter how good it tastes, will not fix the stress in your life.
Other Tips Beside Using Food for Stress
There are millions of articles about ways to alleviate stress. It’s become an industry all on its own. One article I came across from the American Psychological Association had some practical points that may be of help if you can incorporate them into your normal life.
Some of the tips I would be willing to try is journaling. Keeping track of your stressors and how they made you feel may have you take a different perspective on them. Another was setting boundaries between your stress and the things that give you pleasure. Work hard to make sure the two don’t mix so you have something to look forward to.
My Personal Tips to Avoid Using Food for Stress
For me personally as I try to deal with this new stress in my life, I’ve found a few things that will keep me away from the food. My first is spend time with people who will support you. Obviously with a site called Married to Keto my number one support person is Wendy. She can help talk me off those cliffs and make me realize a cupcake won’t make it all go away.
My next mechanism is to try something new. This will sound funny but the other day I grabbed one of those adult coloring books and spent some time occupying my mind with that. I’m not the next Van Gogh, but it did quiet my brain for a while.
Breaking my routine has also helped and falls along the same line as try something new. Each day I get up at the same time, eat breakfast at the same time, shower at the same time, etc. Lately I have been mixing up how I do things throughout the day. I find it breaks my thinking patterns as well. I’m routine oriented so this isn’t that easy, but it does help.
Realize the Behavior
In my reality I can have all the tips in the world, but what I need to do is stop justifying eating when I’m stressed. I need to realize that doing that is just a coping mechanism for a few moments of peace. That is much easier typed than said. But like all of you, I’m doing my best.
Bill
