Overeating is different from stress eating. Often overeating is carried through to adulthood from habits we learned as children. Those old mantras of “clean your plate” and the tales about the “starving children around the world” we all heard really do have a mental impact on us. We feel that we have to eat everything in front of us or must eat until we’re uncomfortably full.
According to new data from the American Psychological Association 38% of American Adults report overeating or eating unhealthy foods because of stress within the last month. 49% of those Americans report stress eating at least once a week or more! In those situations, the comfort food we typically grab is fatty fried foods, high starch foods, carbohydrate-loaded sweets, and anything that gives us that temporary “buzz” or “calm” sensation we experience from highjacking our digestive system. While occasional stress eating isn’t enough to throw a regular diet off the rails, that bi-weekly binging or once-a-week cheat can really undermine all the success we’ve previously achieved.