So many of us turn to food for comfort when the world goes sideways. Reaching for a bag of chips, a carton of ice cream, or a box of cookies when you are feeling spread too thin feels like an easy solution.

The problem is that the quick fix of sugar, fat and carbs is momentary and literally leaves you feeling worse once the food high settles – which is always, inevitably does.

The reason we reach for junk food to mend a broken heart, ease a high-demand job, or quell our fears is physiological and evolutionary. Those are some pretty serious motivators – so let’s start by getting educated and creating a game plan for what to do instead of leading up on the carbs, fat and calories.

No matter how loudly your mind and body scream, “FEED ME CRAP!” you know that a stress binge will leave you feeling sluggish, defeated and chubby.

So why do we do it?

When we are stressed, our body goes into fight or flight – pumping hormones like adrenalin and cortisol into our blood.  This causes an increase in respiration, blood pressure, heart rate and blood flow to your muscles.  This uses a lot of energy.  You then have serotonin receptors in the lining of your stomach – and serotonin is a feel-good hormone.  To keep it simple, when we feel crummy, there’s a hormonal shitstorm happening within our bodies.  Fat-filled sugar-dense foods soothe that storm and make us feel better temporarily.

So what do we do about it?

Each and every one of us has a basket of crap to deal with each day: finances, relationships, health issues, a pandemic; life is brimming with a never-ending series of triggers!  But we are powerful beings!  We are smart enough to know what’s happening in our minds and bodies, and we are capable of making better choices.  If we want to be our healthiest and happiest selves, we have to make active decisions to take care of ourselves.

Here are six ways you can keep a bad day or moment from driving you to the kitchen:

1. Get outside.  One of the quickest and best ways I know to circumvent a binge eating disaster is to get outside. Go for a walk, a run, a bike ride or a swim.  Get moving. Or just sit on your balcony or porch with a good book and a cold glass of water.  Breathe in the air, soak up some sun and let nature relieve your stress instead of pushing you to eat. There are no calories in enjoying the gras or dirt under your feet, nor the sun on your back.  Get away from the kitchen and head outside.

2. Attack a clutter project. Close your eyes and pick one annoying pile of clutter that irritates you every time you see it. Grab a trash bad and a box and go after it. It could be as small as a drawer or as big as a closet in the basement. It could be a week’s worth of unfolded laundry or those messy shelves in the garage. Time is precious and often we are too overwhelmed to keep up with the little stuff. And it’s the little stuff that starts feeling insurmountable. So distract yourself from a crummy day by cleaning it. Toss the garbage out. Give stuff away.  The satisfaction you get from attacking that one eyesore will keep your hands, eyes and mind too busy for snacks.

3. Visit a friend. Stress can keep you feeling isolated. Think of the friends you haven’t seen in a while and check in on them. Ask how they’re doing. Getting together with people you love helps you change your attitude and your perspective.

When stress pushes you towards a passive solution and you feel like you are going to give in to a slow swim in a pool of calories, you can fight back by making an active choice.  These are just a few suggestions. There are about a million other ways you can shift your focus: from washing your car or your dog, to planting a garden, or trying a new healthy recipe. There are arts and crafts, visiting a local park, being a tourist in your own town, running errands, writing in a journal, meditating: the options are endless really.  What these things all have in common is that they remove you from easy access to your junk food, get your body and/or mind moving somehow and distract you.  You could literally do just about anything that fits those three parameters and start feeling better.

Why not proactively write yourself a list of all the things you could do to combat a crummy day, so the next time life throws you a wrench, you’re ready for it?

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