I have issues with eating to relieve stress and depression. I need a way to either change my appetite or shutdown these urges. I also here magnesium helps with that, what's a good source of magnesium that doesn't have a high calorie count.
Hello!
I'm really sorry to hear that you have things going on in your life right now that are causing you to stress and be depressed. If you want to be more specific about those problems and need advice that you think I could answer on this blog to help other people who read this blog and are going through the same kind of things, send me an email (jtrainfitness@gmail.com) and I'll help you out with that. I promise.
Hang in there champ. Things get better, even when they don't. Try not to let things get you down, and just smile through the b.s. If you're not laughing about things, you'll cry about them...and the issues you face on a day to day basis are often times not even worth worrying about. Just roll right through them and get things done.
But let's get into your question about eating to relieve stress and depression. This is an extremely common issue in my opinion, and would bet that a great majority of people do this.
Eating is a very emotional thing when you think about it. When was the last time you smelled food in passing and were immediately reminded of some holiday gathering where you were with family members having a good time? Or maybe that smell reminded you of the great times you had hanging out with friends? It could also just be that you enjoy the taste of a certain food that isn't necessarily good for you, and eating it just makes you feel comfortable and relaxed. I bet that you've experienced one or more of these very recently.
The instant gratification and mental transportation towards that zone of comfort you feel makes you want to keep going back to the thing causing you to forget the stress and feel that comfort (the eating), and thus you start to overeat (and will probably introduce more stress in your life from the guilt you feel afterwards).
This can be a very dangerous thing of course, as it can lead you to ingest way more calories than you should (and therefore possibly destroy any body transformation goals you have), and may have other detrimental health outcomes if the food you turn to for stress and depression relief is of poor quality.
Here's my advice on what you should do if you find that you're eating emotionally:
- Do not put yourself in an environment where you can turn to that food: Do not purchase that food when you go to the supermarket. Only purchase foods that you absolutely need for your body transformation goals to stock in your cabinets / refrigerators / etc. Do not go to places that have that food available to you either. If you cannot access the food, you won't be able to turn to it in states of stress and depression.
- Do not view food as a leisure activity or as a means to escape stress and relax: Most people view food as pleasure and not purpose. I understand that it, at first, is very weird to ever think of food as a tool as opposed to something that satisfies your appetite and gives you instant gratification in the process. It will be hard, but when you see food, you need to see it for what it really is. It's just a piece of meat, just a piece of sugar, and / or just a piece of pure fat. There's nothing special about it past the glorification you are giving it in your mind. Your mind is making you think that it's more important than what it really is. It's not a social tool. It's not some otherworldly relic to be admired and worshiped. It's just food.
- Pick up a new hobby that doesn't involve things that will lead to detrimental outcomes: Find something that you could turn to when you feel down that doesn't involve eating or harming yourself. The good thing about hobbies is that if you find one that you're passionate enough about, you start to use them as outlets to keep your mind off of the stress and depression you're feeling. Moreover, finding a nice hobby can occupy your time and give you more positive feelings for which to counteract the negative emotions you are feeling from other parts of your life.
- Eat something every day you enjoy: If you're on a strict diet already, I can understand how all of the negative emotions and stress can build up from not eating the foods you enjoy on top of the stress you already have to deal with in your every day life. This can lead to an even greater perception of stress and eventual binge eating from how impossible it starts to feel trying to stay on your diet. So what I reocmmend is to plan eating a food you enjoy (in a small quantity) every day. For me that was a Dunkin Donuts cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter and a large half sweet tea every day for 2 and a half years or so. While it may not have been the best for my diet, it really helped give me a mental break from dieting so hard and refreshed my mind back into conforming to my diet. The fact that I planned this meal every day also made me look forward to it and focus on how good it was going to taste which in turn made me not focus on other stressors in my life. Also, consider having a day or two during the week where you eat whatever you want. One day of bad dieting won't necessarily destroy your diet, and having something to look forward to won't make you feel that your efforts of staying on a diet are hopeless. It will also make you think that while the days you diet hard and feel the most stress might suck, that it's going to feel absolutely amazing once the days that you've planned to eat whatever you want come around.
- Do not focus on only the bad things in life (Not really eating related, but I feel it fits): Your brain is very good at reminding you about the problems you have going on (since they need to readily be solved) and making you forget about the positives. Holding on to negativity and feeling sorry for yourself as you focus on all of the problems in your life and what you're not doing that you wish you were is something that's easy to do since your brain wants you to make sure you're trying to resolve them. But you also have to remind your brain that you also probably have a lot of positive things going on in your life, and choose to focus on those instead.
So there you have it. That's my advice on emotional eating. It's hard to not eat emotionally, since our emotions are tied so closely to the act of eating. Don't look at eating as an event, or something special. Just look at it as a job that needs to get done for you to be the most optimal version of yourself, and find other things to turn to when you're feeling stressed or down. It won't happen overnight, and my tips are harder to do than they sound, but just make sure that every day you try to make a step forward to put yourself on a path towards kicking this habit. I'm here for you if you need any help with that.
As for your magnesium question, I've actually never heard of that so I shouldn't give an opinion on it. Foods high in magnesium though include dark leafy greens (which are low in calories like you requested), beans, lentils, fish, and seeds (source: www.healthaliciousness.com). There are other foods as well. My advice for controlling appetite however is to drink lots of water and eat lots of food high in fiber (beans, brown rice, vegetables). Those kinds of foods fill you up to the point where even looking at food will make you feel sick. Consider also adding healthy fats to foods that are fast digesting (sweet carbs, liquids) to slow down their digestion. But remember a little bit of fat goes a long way.
Hope that helps! Thank you so much for your question! Good luck buddy!
-Jtrain
*Have a question about natural bodybuilding / fitness / nutrition / stress? Email me at jtrainfitness@gmail.com and I will answer it on this blog! Be sure to enter your email to receive alerts for when the next blog post has come out, and be sure to tell your friends about this blog!*
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