Stress can be a problem in itself, of course. But stress can sometimes lead to unhealthy lifestyle patterns—which lead to more stress! As you read the following ways in which stress can affect our nutritional choices, ask yourself this: when feeling overwhelmed, have you found yourself doing any of the following?
1- Drinking Too Much Coffee: When burning the candle at both ends, people often find themselves using coffee drinks to jump-start themselves in the morning, and a pattern of all-day coffee drinking often ensues.
2- Eating the Wrong Foods: Due partially to increased levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, stressed people tend to crave foods high in fat, sugar and salt. Think about it: how often have you turned to your good friends Ben & Jerry after a long, stressful day?
3- Skipping Meals: Another thing overly stressed people tend to do is skipping meals. Have you ever found yourself rushing out of the house without a healthy breakfast (picking up a latte doesn’t count!), or realizing you’re starving in the late afternoon because you didn’t eat enough?
4-Mindless Munching: Conversely, stress also makes us prone to emotional eating, when we eat when we aren’t hungry, or eat foods that are bad for us. Have you found yourself mindless snacking on junk food, or eating when you aren’t hungry, because of stress?
5-Forgetting Water: With busy lives, it’s easy to forget to drink your water. In fact, a good portion of Americans drink little actual water, and get water intake only from soda or coffee. Do you get a full eight glasses per day, or even four?
6- Fast Food: People these days eat at home less than in generations past, as it’s easier to just drive through a fast food place or go to a restaurant than to go home and cook something. Unfortunately, this gets expensive, and is often unhealthy.
7-Crash Diets: Because of weight gain from stress, some people intentionally eat less food than they need, or try dangerous fad diets in order to lose the excess weight. Diets that aren’t balanced with fruits and vegetables, protein and healthy carbohydrates can often be bad for your health in the long run, even if they look attractive short term.
