Health for Hearts United
Leadership Institute
How Stress Influences What You Eat
Jackie Robinson, Ph.D.
How stressed are we?
One survey showed that ¼ of adults rate their stress levels at level 8 on a 1 to 10 point scale.
Can stress lead to eating more?
Some people will eat less when stressed. However, a large percentage will engage in emotional eating also
called “stress eating”. It can take two forms:
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eating associated with negative emotions – anger, depression, anxiety, loneliness
The aftermath of stress – positive emotions – feeling relieved, rewarding yourself
Under what circumstances are we likely to engage in emotional eating?
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To distract us from emotional upset such as anger, anxiety (mindless eating that leads to comfort)
To distract from boredom
Reward – we have learned to associate food with rewarding ourselves
“Automatic pilot” stress eating – reaching for a comfort food when you get home from work or when you
are working on a project
What causes emotional eating?
Stress triggers 30+ hormones that go into the bloodstream to help us fight or flee the stressful situation. One of
them is cortisol, a hormone that triggers a desire for high fat, sweet, and salty foods (FSS to give us quick
energy). The US environment is often called a toxic food environment because of ultraprocessed “Supersized”, high-fat, high-calorie, flavor enhanced, low priced packaged fast foods that increase the addictive
properties of these foods. We associate these foods with feeling good-in fact they stimulate the part of the brain
that is stimulated in people with drug addictions. FSS also suppresses the part of the brain associated with
emotions so they help us feel better. We need a substitute for FSS!
What can we do about stress eating?
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Instead of mindless eating try mindful eating – attention to the present moment and the sensation/purpose of
every bite (google mindful eating)
If you do “automatic pilot” eating, make sure you have healthy snacks in the house (not chips, cookies, etc.).
Then make sure you follow these steps. Ask yourself:
 AM I HUNGRY?
Go ahead and eat a meal that includes vegetables, fruits, protein and carbohydrates.
IF YES↗
IF NO ↘
Realize that you are not hungry but are engaging in comfort/distraction/reward eating.
Get something sugar free to drink and wait 5 minutes. If you still want to consume
Something, get something else sugar free and wait another five minutes. Do several
times to address craving. If it doesn’t go away, get healthy snacks – carrots, celery, etc.
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De-stress/relax everyday – this really helps with feelings of anxiety and depression
o Exercise de-stress -start small (10 min. goal) and work your way up to 30, 40, 50 min., 1 hr.
(be sure to check with your physician to make sure your health will allow for exercise)
o Relaxation de-stress – 10 (and gradually increase) minutes of doing nothing, meditating on
scripture, mindfulness exercises with deep breathing, etc.