If you’re anything like me, you’ve easily eaten a whole family-sized bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos in one sitting while stressing over an exam. Despite what various media outlets and movements aimed at promoting excessive, over the top “intuitive eating” are saying, it is not okay to stress-eat your feelings. Your mental, physical, and emotional health with regard to food should be balanced. Restricting what you consume to the point of starvation or overindulging in high-fat, low-nutrient dense foods both cause various health risks that could lead to a number of different health risks.
I have the worst habit of opening up a bag of chips or ordering take-out food when I’m stressed over something that I feel like I have no control over. We’ve all been there- stress is an inevitable part of life that we can’t avoid, it leaves us restless, anxious, and hopeless. The ways to deal with stress are skills that we need to achieve in order to live our best lives.
Over the Fall semester of last year, I gained 20 pounds. The source? Late nights eating fatty, starchy, high-calorie foods that would increase the dopamine in my brain and unlock pleasure centers that needed to be satisfied after a long day’s work. It wasn’t until quarantine happened when we were forced to stay home, that I realized my eating at school was an issue that needed to be fixed. I was no longer as stressed because all of my classes were online and I had no other responsibilities, so naturally, I became a lot more self-aware of what I was doing to my body.
Over the past six months I lost thirty pounds and it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be- I just ate correct portion sizes, did not restrict any food group, allowed myself pleasure-food in moderation, and worked out a couple of nights a week. Now that I’m back at school and my classes are more rigorous this semester- I’m finding it harder to not reach for that bag of flaming hot Cheetos that are buried away in the depths of my dresser. It may be hard for you too, reader, but think about the effects all of that oil, grease, and excessive calories will do to your body and mental health. Reach for the sliced cup of fruit instead and save the fast food for the weekend- your body and mind will thank you.