Are you a "stress" eater?

All of us deal with stress on a daily basis and while some people turn to alcohol, drugs or gambling to deal with their stress,others turn to food.

Most of my clients experience this towards the end of the day. They manage to follow a healthy eating plan up until they leave work but as soon as they arrive home their diet changes radically.

In order to deal with this stress with a healthier outcome, you must first identify the areas in your life that you find most stressful. I'm a firm believer in writing down your thoughts on paper, which is why I write on my blog daily. Taking 10 minutes to write something down on paper sometimes is all that is required to minimize the stress.

Stress is something that feeds our negative thought patterns. In order to create a positive cycle you must be able to change one part of that negative cycle. If you usually turn to food immediately after a stressful situation, make yourself a cup of herbal tea instead. While the tea is brewing, sit down and write down how you are feeling at that moment. This may sound impossible at first, but remember that you must break that cycle and anything that you do different is going to seem "weird" at first. It will take some time, practice and patience but eventually you will discover that you can deal with your stress with a healthier option.

Food, like alcohol/drugs, only suppresses those feelings but those feelings will seem larger in the end. You not only will have to not only deal with the original stress, but you will also have to contend with the guilt you will be having for eating that chocolate bar as a result of a tough day at the office.

The more often you can combat stress with a positve instead of a negative outcome, the more you will be better equiped the next time around.