Breakthrough realization on one of my issues with food and eating. It may be one of yours, too.

I have a naturally high stress level. It may be anxiety or pressure from work or pressure I place upon myself.

I was watching something online about a woman who had lost a lot of weight and she said that she felt a relief from stress when she ate something crunchy that challenged her jaws. She had enjoyed chips, crackers, ..anything crunchy because those things provided a necessary relief from stress. Try rubbing your jaws with your fingertips. Do you feel tension there?

She then described how she now always keeps very fresh crunchy things nearby such as celery, carrots, bell peppers, and other low calorie things that gave her that same sensation.

I didn't thing much of it until the last week when I found myself slipping into some old habits with crackers. I tried substituting carrots and craisins. It was amazing how much I enjoyed them at a new level. A lightbulb went off in my mind that answered at least one of the questions I had about overeating and impulse eating.

Hopefully this will be of value to someone else.

yes it helped me....I'm currently in ym stress mode, testing season for my kiddos and my eating has been out of wack for 3 weeks now and my weight has basically stalled and increased some....

I am praying to get on track this spring break so I can make it the last 11 weeks of the school year....I think I will take some of the suggestions you wrote, thank you!

Absolutely true! I tend to get stressed at the end of the day as I recap what I need to do, the various issues my stepchildren have, our hectic military lifestyle, etc. I tend to be a planner and uncertainty makes me anxious, which leads to more stress. If I'm in a stressful point in my life (like now) I'd find that I want to eat those junky foods at bedtime - chips, pretzels, Cookies.

Now if I really can't shake the urge to eat I do a small plate of raw veggies with hummus or I do a small bowl of a crunchy Cereal with lots of seeds before I head upstairs. It really does help with both the desire to eat and the release of some of that stress.

Once upon a time I loved to run and would "run out" all of that tension. Now I'm a lazy slug but attacking my food really does seem to distract my mind and help me not only feel more at peace before bed, but also relieves that emotional attachment to snacking when I'm stressed.

I always try to find other ways to relax first, because I'm reluctant to go backwards and encourage a habit of nighttime eating in myself. But for those nights when it just won't shake, it really does seem to help a bit.

Thanks for sharing, I'm glad I'm not the only one!

~Cheri

I am into snacking on peanuts, the chili flavored ones. The down side is the calories. So I love the suggestion of veggies and ranch dressing.