Determine what stimulates you to overeat

Weight Loss Tip 82 – Focus on your cues

Stress

We all have triggers and comfort foods,  We all have had that moment during the week when we are at our weakest.   Our stressors or anxiety lead us to eat more than we intended.  Most men and women increase the amount they eat when they are exposed to emotional or work-related stress.  If you have an emotional or stressful event, you turn to your comfort foods for relief.   

We are using food mostly as an antidepressant to temporarily alleviate our or treat an emotional state such as depression in order to create a short-lived euphoria caused by the sugar or fat buzz.  The temporary stress could be caused by credit card debt woes in your relationships or even a high operational tempo at work.  Unfortunate foods can be as addictive as a drug.  Foods act similar to antidepressants by increasing serotonin levels, and thus they reduce anxiety and depression.   

The bottom line: Food can increase serotonin levels and thus ease emotional distress.  This emotional relief is why people don’t stop eating when they are full and hence overeat.  This overeating is why we gain more weight and crave comfort food when we are stressed.