Nov 17, 2025

 by Mike Bevard

Ready for a little good news → bad news → really good news about stress eating?

The good news:

Stress eating is NOT a sign of weakness.
You’re not broken.
And you’re definitely not the only one who has ever ended a rough day elbow-deep in a bag of chips.

The bad news:

Stress eating is literally wired into your system.
Your hormones have a LOT to say when life gets chaotic.

When you’re stressed, your body pumps out cortisol — your main stress hormone.
Short term? Helpful. Long term? It messes with you big time:

• It spikes ghrelin (your “I’m hungry” hormone).
• It lowers leptin (your “I’m full” hormone).
• It pushes your brain to chase dopamine (hello, comfort food).

No wonder willpower feels useless sometimes!

The REALLY good news:

You can short-circuit that wiring starting today.
There are simple strategies that put YOU back in the driver’s seat… and that’s a big deal when you’ve got goals to crush.

Why Stress Cravings Happen

If this sounds familiar, it’s not just you:

• Cravings for specific comfort foods (not “any food”)
• Feeling mentally drained, tense, or “wired/tired”
• Obsessive thoughts about the craving
• Hunger that comes out of nowhere — even if you just ate

That’s stress physiology, not lack of willpower.

How to Disrupt the Cycle (Starting Now)

1. Do a quick 10-second self-check.

Pause and ask:
“Am I actually hungry… or am I stressed, tired, or overloaded?”

This pulls you out of autopilot and back into awareness — and awareness is the first step to control.

2. Change your state.

Do something — anything — that interrupts the stress loop.

Here are a few powerful options:

✔️ Take a 5-minute walk or stretch break
✔️ Do 10 slow breaths
✔️ Take a warm shower
✔️ Play with your dog/kids
✔️ Tackle a quick 2-minute home task (the “clean one thing” trick works surprisingly well)

These shift your nervous system out of stress mode and reduce the urge to eat.

3. If you still want the food… enjoy it intentionally.

Have a small serving, and pair it with protein or fiber to prevent a blood sugar crash.
(Ex: Instead of a full pint of ice cream, try this: Scoop ½ cup ice cream into a bowl and eat along with a handful of berries or protein shake)

This is a far better strategy than white-knuckling and then binging later.

Here’s the big picture:

Stress eating doesn’t mean you lack discipline.
It means your biology is doing what biology does…

But you can retrain it.

And when you learn to recognize the early signs and interrupt the cycle, you build confidence — the kind that shows up in better energy, better nutrition choices, and momentum toward your goals.

You’ve got this. One small decision at a time. 

Get After It!
Coach Mike

PS- If you’ve been feeling stuck, tired, or unsure where to start, we make fitness simple, sustainable, and built for real life. Reach out to us by texting 402-405-2797 to speak with a coach.