Anyone else can’t stop stress eating?!

[LikeSilentRaindrops]

There’s a definite link from my childhood around emotional eating and I go in peaks and troughs with managing it as an adult.

But now, in lockdown with two small children / wfh stresses etc etc, I just can’t stop eating (sweet) things! I didn’t realise how addictive this behaviour actually is - it’s a physical craving for more and more chocolate. I’ll eat any chocolate product, however large, totally mindlessly until it’s gone.

Anyone else doing this, so I don’t feel quite such a failure? And anyone else managed to get through this/ change this behaviour?

Yeah, currently guilty of this right now!! Actually the majority of people I know are doing this to a greater or lesser degree as far as I can tell!

My main solution is to now send my husband to the shops in my place, and eventually I'll run out of goodies in the house to munch.

Also drinking a lot of coffee, which comes with its own issues.

If you find anything else that works, please share.

You are definitely not alone in this!!!

Thanks @Notlostjustexploring that makes me feel a bit better!

Agreed on the not buying things, but, like an addict, I’m amazing myself at my creativity - yesterday I made a chocolate cake from coconut flour and cocoa powder 🤦‍♀️ It didn’t even taste that good!!

Hahahaha!!!! I do that!!!! I've managed to scare up chocolate puddings and crumbles from basically scavenging ingredients in the cupboard. I can be very single minded sometimes!!!

I think I'm going to make myself some egg muffins and graze on them. Break the sugar habit first then break the snacking!!!

Actually, you know what. I'm going to hold off until lunchtime. See if I can do that. Baby steps and all that.

I’ve just had 4 Viennese fingers with my coffee! God, I’m such a self saboteur!!

I’ll try and hold off on anything else for the rest of the day in solidarity 👊

Just had an Easter egg. Also with my coffee.

I suspect I'll have more luck when the chocolate isn't in the damn house.

Although I think I'm running down the snacks in the house. There is other stuff, but it belongs to husband and sprogs and I'm usually pretty militant about not touching someone else's food.

Okay, I can definitely make it to lunch now. I shall replace chocolate with cleaning my kitchen. Definitely needs it!!!

I wonder if that's the key? Completely fill up your day with other stuff?

I think I need to substitute maybe - every time I think of chocolate, have some water. Or something 🤷‍♀️

I suspect the mindlessness of it is a big part of the problem, but I don’t know you get mindful!

I hear you on the self control - if it’s there, it has to be eaten...

I think if I started trying to be mindful right now my brain would probably explode. Too many thoughts right now that want to intrude that I'm currently keeping at bay!!

There isn't really a good substitute for chocolate unfortunately. A cup of tea? A cup of tea and standing in some fresh air for a couple of minutes? Then some chewing gum?

I'm hoping that as I've now recognised I'm doing it will at least partially stop me.