Dear Maddi: How do I stop snacking when I am stressed?

Psychologist Maddi Genovese explains how to tune into our needs to curb the stress eating habit.

Maddalena Genovese - 04 March 2022

Psychologist Maddi Genovese explains how to tune into our needs to curb the stress eating habit.

Psychologist Maddi Genovese explains how to tune into our needs to curb the stress eating habit. Photo by Kobby Mendez on Unsplash.

Dear Maddi: How can I stop reaching for food (especially unhealthy sweets) when I'm stressed? I constantly find myself getting up from my desk and wandering into the kitchen for a snack, when I should be studying. I would basically rather do anything over studying, so it is hard for me to actually start the task at hand, especially because I keep going to get snacks, eating them, plan to start studying after, and end up wanting more food instead. I hate that I'm like this. What can I do?

Signed, Stress Eater 

Dear Stress Eater, thank you for your letter. I am no stranger to the occasional bowl of ice cream when I am faced with a tight deadline! Emotional connections to food are woven into the fabric of our social experience and living through a stressful pandemic has made many vulnerable to increased snacking and weight gain, 42.3% of Canadians to be exact (Dalhousie University, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, 2021). The good news is that you can curb this habit by relearning to listen to your hunger cues and meeting your true needs by diversifying your options beyond food. 

First off, a note about craving unhealthy sweets. A powerful reason for this continued urge is what registered dietician Beth Czerwony from the Cleveland Clinic’s Digestive Disease & Surgery Institute has called food euphoria. High fat, high sugar or highly processed carbohydrate foods temporarily activate the pleasure centers in the brain and trigger the release of “feel good” neurotransmitters like serotonin and beta-endorphins. A powerful physiological and psychological bond is then formed between junk food and pleasure, which in turn sustains the habit of snacking to feel better. These are the same pleasure centers at work with substance abuse, so no kidding it is so difficult to kick the habit. 

TIP #1: Consider avoiding the temptation by not buying the treats in the first place, instead of trying to resist them when they’re easily accessible at home. Replace the unhealthy sweets with these healthy snacks from Canada's Food Guide to get you started. 

So how can you stop snacking when you are stressed? You can start with two very simple questions whenever you get the urge: 

  • Am I hungry? 
  • How hungry am I? 

Hunger is your body’s way of telling you that you need fuel. So learning to slow down and pay attention to the presence (or absence) of the physical signals of hunger (e.g., growling in your stomach, hollow feeling, loss of energy) is the first step to learning to naturally regulate your intake of food and feeding your body when it is running out of fuel. 

DID YOU KNOW…? For many, habitual snacking has also led to cycles of restrictive eating in an effort to compensate for the uncomfortable feelings that surface after snacking excessively. This may have left your body without fuel when it really needed it, further fueling the urge to eat excessively when food is around or when you are feeling stressed. 

Ensuring your body is fed when it is signaling physical hunger, and offering it nutritious, and delicious food options is just as important as curbing your snacking habits. Understanding if and how hungry you are is the second. Dr Michelle May, author of the Eat What You Love: Love What You Eat book series suggests the use of The Hunger and Fullness Scale as a helpful tool to discern your level of hunger. 

The Hunger and Fullness Scale ranges from 1 to 10. When your hunger is a level 1, you are in dangerous territory. You are at high risk for snacking excessively because you are so hungry you could eat a horse! At this stage you might want to take a few bites and then pause before eating more. On the other end of the scale, a level 10 means that you are so full that you are in pain and feel sick. Feeling satisfied and comfortable is a level 5. At this point, you cannot feel your stomach at all, and you no longer feel the hunger cues. 

TIP #2: The ideal time to eat is when you are between a 2 and a 3 on the hunger scale. At this stage you are significantly hungry, so food will be pleasurable and satisfying, but not so hungry that you feel the urge to overeat. 

If you still want to snack when you are at a 5 or higher, you know that something other than physical hunger triggered it. Now that you have this insight, Dr May suggests the following three options in her book Eat What You Love Love What You Eat: A Mindful Eating Program To Break Your Eat-Repent Repeat Cycle: 

  1. Eat anyway.Even people who eat instinctively sometimes snack when they are not physically hungry. The next time this happens, take the time to really enjoy and taste what you are eating, or take the next 9 minutes to check out Neuroscientist Judson A. Brewer’s TedTalk and his app Eat Right Now on how mindful curiosity can help you deal with cravings and become disenchanted with your snacking habits.
  2. Redirect your attention.When youmake a conscious decision to focus on an activity other than eating, you can buy yourself time for the thoughts of food to pass. This is especially helpful when you are dealing with environmental triggers (e.g., your desk, your homework, TV). For some ideas, here are 101 Things to Do Besides Eating. 
  3. Meet your true needs. Delay reaching for food and take some time to figure out what triggered your urge to snack. Addressing the underlying need will ultimately make the triggers lose their power over you. It will also help you feel more in control, and take better care of yourself because your true needs will be met rather than distracted by food.

Here is a head start on some of the most common physical and emotional needs that can trigger the urge to snack. Try ruling these out before reaching for food. 

  • Thirst: many people feel like eating when, in actuality, they need water. Many are chronically, mildly dehydrated but don’t realize it. If you continually struggle with fatigue and lack of stamina, you may be living in a state of slight dehydration. Boosting your level of energy by ensuring that you drink enough water might help you curb the urge for sweets when you are feeling fatigued. Consider drinking a glass of water or a cup of tea before you eat, if you suspect you might be thirsty rather than hungry. 
  • Fatigue: you want to eat because you are tired and you feel like you need energy to keep going. Sleep deprivation causes shifts in the appetite suppressing hormones ghrelin and leptin, and the stress hormone cortisol. These shifts have been found to stimulate hunger, increase cravings for sugar, fat or both, and an inability to inhibit snack consumption says behavioural neuroscientist Erin C. Hanlon, PhD (2016). Something she and others have also referred to as hedonic eating. Could lack of sleep be making you more vulnerable to snacking? Try to get enough sleep each night to reduce fatigue as a trigger and during the day, instead of eating try taking a break and having a 20 to 30 minute nap. 
  • Oral fixation: some people feel compelled to snack because they experience a strong urge to chew. This is more of a matter of habit rather than actual hunger. If the urge is strong, yet you know that you have already adequately eaten, look for other ways to satisfy it like chewing sugar-free gum or sucking on ice. Chewing gum can curb the urge to snack by tricking your body into thinking it’s getting more than it is. 
  • Pain: eating certain foods might release endorphins, which have pain relieving properties but as you probably already know, this is only temporary. Depending on the type and source of pain, and with your doctor’s permission, consider gentle physical activity, a massage, relaxation techniques or mindfulness. Talk to a health professional for advice. 
  • Hormonal Cycles: hormonal changes in women may cause them to eat a disproportionate number of calories with a preference for certain foods like chocolate and carbs. Unfortunately this can lead to guilt and binging. Dr May suggests allowing the natural ebb and flow of hunger and cravings (i.e., you might eat a little more than your usual during these periods of time) without the extra guilt. Consider how frustration and shame further feeds the cycle of snacking. Without guilt, you will notice how you will want to eat less the following week so the extra calories of these highly hormonal days will balance out with lower caloric intake when your hormones are not as heightened. 
  • Stress: similarly to the effect of lack of sleep, hormones may play a role in excessive snacking by increasing the desire for sugary and fatty foods when you are stressed. Pause, breathe… and check in. What is stressing you out? Make a list and prioritize your tasks. Don’t be afraid to let go of commitments that are no longer feasible or necessary. Perfectionism? High expectations? What about trying some self-compassion? Self-compassion is not about indulgence. Among many other things, it is taking an attitude of respectful, kind curiosity to your relationship with eating so that you may learn to meet your true needs and gradually change the hold that snacking has on you. Listen to clinical psychologist Dr Melissa McCreery’s podcast episode Self-compassion and Overeating on this very topic. 
  • Boredom: eating can be a way to pass the time, occupy your attention, or put off starting a mundane or unpleasant task. Sound familiar? When you are bored and need something to do, remind yourself that eating is only one option to deal with boredom. Take a few moments to come up with some interesting alternatives to snacking when you’re bored, such as doodling, a little word puzzle game, sudoku, or texting a friend. Do it now - don’t wait until that urge for a snack hits. Keeping a list of these alternative ideas in an easy-to-find place will give you a reminder of other fun options. 

TIP #3: I love this strategy by Dr May, if when you are bored you find yourself wandering to the refrigerator or the cupboard try putting up a sign that says: “if I am not hungry, what I am looking for is not in here.”

Stress and boredom are only two of the many emotional needs for snacking. Loneliness, worry, anger, shame, body dissatisfaction are among many others. Some of these feelings are more severe than others and might need professional attention. As a student you have access to a diverse array of health services on campus. Have a look at the list of resources below for some suggestions. 

To sum up, dear Stress Eater, when you feel like snacking again, instead of automatically wandering to the kitchen, make a conscious choice to eat anyway, redirect your attention, or meet your true needs. Try not to get trapped into thinking you have to stop snacking right away and completely. We know it’s a little harder than that. Instead, try to think of it in terms of making a step, any step towards curbing this habit. Over time practicing new responses will help your habits lose their usual appeal and new responses will become more natural. 

Please note: the suggestions in this article are not intended to replace professional care for individuals with diagnosable eating disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder. If your difficulties with food are longstanding, are causing you severe distress, or are interfering with your ability to lead a functional life, please consider seeking medical care and psychological counselling for your concern.

Written by Maddalena (Maddi) GenoveseCounselling and Clinical Services Satellite Psychologist for the Faculty of Scienceand edited by and edited by Suman Varghese Counselling and Clinical Services Satellite Psychologist for the Faculty of Arts and FGSR.

Dear Maddi… welcomes submissions from students at the University of Alberta! Read more articles and submit your question online.

Additional Resources