Stress eating/studying eating

[Rose]

Hi all,

 

I am working full time + studying and it’s really stressful for me. I don’t find studying particularly interesting so I constantly “motivate” myself with food. If I am stuck on a topic, I go get a snack, or if I feel lazy to read a chapter, or it feels particularly boring, I get a snack. I crave salty or sweet things.
 

I work out 5 times a week, but because I work and study in front of a computer all day, I burn around 1500-2000 calories per day. I eat way way more than that.

 

In around 3 weeks time, I already gained at least 5 kg.

 

I feel horrible, unhealthy, and most of my jeans don’t fit me anymore. 
 

Is there anything I can do to help with that? 

Edited February 15, 2023 by Rose

[Serenity]

I have found out that I also had a strong tendency to stimulate myself emotionally with the pleasure generated by the food I eat. It's a coping mechanism because you do not want to deal with the discomfort you feel in the present situation without it.

 

It's basically a maladaptive coping mechanism, so I suppose you could try to find another coping mechanism, or work directly on what makes you feel so bad.

[Mandy]

Eat three meals and two snacks, snacks consisting of only fresh fruits and veggies. Cut out all the rest of the snacking. 

[Loop]

⬆️ That & sitting with, letting it go, & noticing the desire. Allow the judgements about it to drop, allow it to be ok if you do or you don’t eat something. Keep letting the gaps between going to the eating & noticing/ letting it go get bigger, until it stops arising. Switch to focusing on breathing & let the body breathe however it feel like it wants to when the desire comes up. 
 

[Rose]

5 hours ago, Serenity said:

work directly on what makes you feel so bad

I think it’s better not to look under this particular rock 😅

5 hours ago, Serenity said:

another coping mechanism

This could work, I need to look up some alternatives to eating. I used to smoke back in university, but I guess that won’t work now 😅

Edited February 16, 2023 by Rose

[Rose]

4 hours ago, Mandy said:

Eat three meals and two snacks, snacks consisting of only fresh fruits and veggies. Cut out all the rest of the snacking. 

 

 

4 hours ago, Loop said:

noticing the desire

The problem is that when I start eating, it’s like I am in some different world, it happens automatically and I am not aware of when it happens. Like some kind of trance. I seem to become aware only after I’ve done it.
 

As a side note, I remember reading that INFJs are known for, when they are stressed out, regress on their inferior Se function  and do things such as binge eating, binge shopping, whatever over stimulates their sensory pleasures.

Edited February 16, 2023 by Rose

[WhiteOwl]

It is a habit. Your body starts to crave sugar more after just one day. Know that it will take maybe 10 (+-) days where you will feel more irritated and bored etc when you cut it out, but that afterwards it will be a lot more easy. In the big picture thats nothing and that time goes so quickly. And yes have a replacement veggie or something more healthy that you like ready.

[Loop]

@Rose

 

The more you express about it, & bring mindfulness toward it, the less the you’ll get caught in it, as you aren’t really the craving.🤍 

[Mandy]

If it's that you aren't making a conscious choice to eat at home and setting meal and snack times won't work, I would just stop buying just about anything that's not fruits and veggies or that does not require preparation. 

[Serenity]

14 hours ago, Rose said:

I think it’s better not to look under this particular rock 😅

 

 

I would suggest that you take a look at it and don't leave it unaddressed. 

 

I totally understand if this is not the right time, though. But overall, if these emotions are there, it's because they have a message for you. And this message is very important because emotions are there to guide us. They are there to bring us clarity on the life situations we go through.

 

However, if you are in a situation where you can't take care of the root cause, you can try to find a coping mechanism that is much healthier than binge eating or smoking. I wouldn't really recommend smoking because of the negative consequences that can compound due to this habit.

 

For example, implementing a steady yoga practice might be a better solution. I am currently testing how well this would work, and so far the results are not bad. 

Each yoga sessions make me feel relaxed, and somewhat this serenity brings a lot light in my daily life. 

[Rose]

8 hours ago, Mandy said:

just stop buying just about anything that's not fruits and veggies or that does not require preparation. 

I don’t want to be negative here, but I have a small supermarket/convenience store in my building open 24/7. A slice of cheesecake is just one elevator ride away 😭. Is there any ways to stop me from just going and buying new snacks? 

[Mandy]

1 hour ago, Rose said:

I don’t want to be negative here, but I have a small supermarket/convenience store in my building open 24/7. A slice of cheesecake is just one elevator ride away 😭. Is there any ways to stop me from just going and buying new snacks? 

That's a different thing than what you were describing which is eating mindlessly. You gotta make some decision to leave and purchase something. An apple on the counter is still way easier than taking the elevator out to purchase cheesecake. Buy a bunch of fruit and put it out where you can see it. Wash it so it's really easy to grab. It takes only three days to totally curb any sort of food cravings. Better to take seven, but it only takes three. Just eat basic stuff and plan your meals and snacks for three days, and you'll reset yourself. Shop to prepare for that or a week if you feel up to that long, then don't buy a single thing until after the three days. Make a plan and stick to it. Then after three days or a week, your habits are reset and you can give yourself some more freedom. 

 

If you are guilting yourself after eating enough to feel full, you are never allowing the satiated feeling. So your mind continues thinking it's unsatiated, even though you are full. Allow yourself a moment to truly feel the hunger when it arrives, the craving AND the satiation when you're full. 

[spiritual dreams]

On 2/15/2023 at 10:53 PM, Rose said:

In around 3 weeks time, I already gained at least 5 kg.

I'm trying to gain 5 kg. can we swap bodies xD

[almond]

I'm also trying to gain but there isn't a trying, just allowing. You know what is it what your health needs. I love what Mandy said as well. 

I suddenly found drinking water like a chore, so we have to come up with better ideas and feel better about good things for wellbeing

[almond]

9 hours ago, Rose said:

I don’t want to be negative here, but I have a small supermarket/convenience store in my building open 24/7. A slice of cheesecake is just one elevator ride away 😭. Is there any ways to stop me from just going and buying new snacks? 

take the stairs! 

really though.. if you change the route even a little it also helps make a difference how to feel about this.

[almond]

On 2/16/2023 at 9:11 AM, Rose said:

As a side note, I remember reading that INFJs are known for, when they are stressed out, regress on their inferior Se function  and do things such as binge eating, binge shopping, whatever over stimulates their sensory pleasures.

I didn't know this, might explain my binge cookie-eating and tea habit recently, thanks for sharing :/ 

[Phil]

What if you aren’t stuck, lazy, horrible, unhealthy, bored, uninterested, (able to be) negative, an INFJ, and don’t have sensory pleasures?

Would there still be cravings and something needed to stop you? 

[Rose]

@Phil no, if all of that was not the case I wouldn’t have the craving. But I can’t see how I couldn’t have sensory pleasures though? 

[Rose]

On 2/16/2023 at 3:53 PM, Mandy said:

Just eat basic stuff and plan your meals and snacks for three days, and you'll reset yourself

But basic stuff is not so good. How can I snack on celery or a cucumber? Those things don’t taste good at all by themselves, better not to eat at all.

 

And I like having something with tea, a chocolate or a cookie, I can’t have tea with fruits. Or is there some other alternative I am not thinking about? I also like drinking matcha lattes, but I also can’t just drink matcha latte without something on the side.

[Mandy]

@Rose For my fruits and veggies snacks, I'm not usually eating celery sticks and cucumber, I'm usually getting more calories than that, I'm eating two apples and two medjool dates, or two bananas plus some other fruit, or a large orange, and apple and a cup of grapes. You "can" snack on just celery and cucumbers if you want to, you just don't want to. Either make peace with the consequences of consuming more calories than you burn or find a way to enjoy yourself without eating all the treats you're accustomed to having. What I have found is that with some creativity and open-mindedness you can get a lot of pleasure out of eating really healthy. When you do certain things like combining sugar, refined grains AND fat, and you're doing that more than once a day, you're really upping your hunger levels and packing on extra calories. Test those things out for yourself. If I ADD refined fat or sugar into a meal, I sometimes get more hungry much quicker than if I ate the meal without it.