I’ll admit it, I’m a stress-eater. What this means for me is that when I’m stressed, I like to comfort myself with unhealthy food and instant gratification. The amount of stress I’m under tends to equate out to how many chicken nuggets I consume.

Accurate Representation of Me After One Stressful Day

If you’re curious, my favorite comfort foods are any form of carb, a fountain Coke from McDonalds, or any kind of deep-fried chicken. I’ll also admit that I haven’t mastered the art of self-control. This means that when I stress-eat, I really stress-eat. Then, after a comfort food binge, I get stressed about not taking proper care of my body, putting me in an endless stress cycle.  This isn’t meant as self-deprecation, this is a confession and step one in addressing a problem of unhealthy overeating.

While I know I’m not alone in combatting stress with nuggets, how closely related are stress and weight gain?

First, it’s crucial to consider the effects of comfort eating itself. Specifically, “unhealthy comfort eating” which is the “behavior of consuming foods high in calories, fat, or sugar, and is a common behavior among approximately 39% of American adults, particularly women” (L.E. Finch, et al, pp. 29-30). This reassured me that I’m truly not alone with this bad habit.

Part of what makes comfort eating such a difficult habit to break is because individuals, myself included, tend to eat their favorite foods during these binges.

It’s been found that eating your “favorite foods under stress triggers dopamine and results in feelings of pleasure or that ‘feeling better mentality’ especially immediately after consumption” (R.R. Klatzkin, et al. 2).

Breakfast Food Could Not Be More Comforting

This would explain why I stress eat chicken nuggets; they’ve always been one of my favorite foods.

The article, “Negative Affect is Associated with Increased Stress-Eating for Women with High Perceived Life Stress (PLS),” looks more closely at the relationship between stress, unhealthy comfort eating, and behavior. To understand the results of this study, some terms need to be defined.

Cognitive restraint refers to the “intentional restriction of caloric intake to lose or maintain weight. Negative affect (NA) refers to the habit of experiencing life in a negative rather than positive way.” This study found that, “greater perceived life stress enhanced the hyperphagic [overeating] effects of stress-induced negative affect. These findings are clinically relevant, as individuals with high chronic or perceived life stress show more NA, depression, and emotional eating than individuals with low chronic or perceived life stress. This may be explained by the feeling of emotional relief that follows stress-eating” (R.R. Klatzkin, et. al., pp. 1-6).

These findings imply a connection with weight gain and stress eating. The more stressful and negatively you perceive life, the more likely you are to associate potentially unhealthy foods with stress relief.

Sushi is A Personal Favorite For the Nights You Want to Go Out to Eat and Avoid Greasy Foods

Stir Fry is Great Because You Only Have to Wash One Pan

While I may respond to stress by increasing my calorie intake, others respond to stress by under-eating and skipping meals; because eating habits in response to stress are so individualized, the habits are difficult to measure making the available research somewhat inconsistent and limited (R.R. Klatzkin, et al., pp. 1).    In other words, results may vary and just because I may gain weight due to stress-eating, it doesn’t mean you will.

What I took away from this research was that I would benefit from replacing my comfort food choices with some healthier alternatives as well as thinking more positively. I anticipated coming to this conclusion, but I was unaware of how habitual these habits can become and of the direct impact perceived stress could have on my eating habits.

Pomegranate Seeds Are My Go-To Healthy Snack

The most beneficial realization I came to was perceiving stress and my experiences as more positively may encourage me to eat healthier and take better care of my body when it needs it the most, with the occasional chicken nugget.

Zucchini Can Be Used In Place of Pasta or Fries If You Can’t Limit Carbs, Like Me

In All Honesty, These Brownies Weren’t Very Good

I’m always looking for new tips, recommendations, and food-porn inspiration, comment some below!

Sources

Klatzkin, Rebecca R. “Negative Affect Is Associated with Increased Stress-Eating for Women with High Perceived Life Stress.” Physiology & Behavior, vol. 210, Elsevier Inc, Oct. 2019, p. 112639–,doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.112639.

Finch, Laura E. “Cookie or Clementine? Psychophysiological Stress Reactivity and Recovery After Eating Healthy and Unhealthy Comfort Foods.” Psychoneuroendocrinology, vol. 107, Elsevier Inc, Sept. 2019, p 26-36, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.04.022.