Soothing Stress Eating?

I dont get cravings but I do get the head stress soothing hunger and I am working hard on changing that! If I don't work on my head through this process I know for me the weight loss won't last forever. I'm trying to figure out how to deal w stress without eating to deal. I've done well w deep breathing. Omg that sounds so funny .... But I did discover non fat no sugar frozen yogurt has only 20 calories per once and a kiddie cup only has 2.5 ounces!!! Now that's not helping the head but damn it taste so good!

How do we get rid of the stress hunger? My scale hasn't moved in over a month ( other than up and down 3 lbss all month)

There is a book out there called "50 Ways to Soothe Yourself without Food".

Here is the link to amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Ways-Soothe-Yourself-Without-Food/dp/1 572246766/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344683783&sr=8-1&keywords= 50+things+to+do+instead+of+eating

Did you read this book? I've been tempted to buy it, but have been afraid it's the same old thing I've always heard: take a hot bath, go for a walk, call a friend....

I am part way through it.  It's not 50 suggestions.  It's more therapeutic.  It is made up of 8
sections.  They are: 

Why is eating so soothing
How to get started
Mindful meditation techniques
Change your thoughts, change your eating
Soothing sensations to relax and calm the body
Soothing yourself with distractions
Soothing yourself with social relationships
Soothing emergency help

Each section has subsections.  Its' interesting & worth the buy, IMO.

I personally didn't find anything earth shattering in it. I bought it because sometimes I get clients who just don't find that the usual suggestions (or even a few that I make that are somewhat unusual, based on the individual client) help very much and I thought I might there might be at least a couple of ideas I could use. The book content is not what you probably would expect from the title. For the first time ever, I returned a book to Amazon.

Edited to add: the book might be more useful for someone who has never worked with a counselor and is looking for ideas on how to avoid urges to eat. I would suggest just going to the bookstore and spending a few minutes flipping through it. It is a small book and you will get a very good idea of what is in it very quickly (if you read fast, you can probably read through the entire book in a half hour or so!)

Lora

Thanks Lora. I think I'll take your advice & flip through it the next time I'm at the bookstore as opposed to ordering it from amazon. After a decade of therapy and eating disorder treatment before my WLS I have to remember that I already know a lot and I have to rely on the tools I already have.

Call me crazy but I don't think the key is to get rid of the hunger. The hunger is a habit. You've made an association in your brain between being stressed out and eating.

The best way, I've found, to get rid of a bad habit is to replace it with a good habit. This takes some...well...habitual behavior.

I chose walking. I am a boredom eater. So when I would get bored and my mind would unnecessarily wander to the fridge, I made myself go on a walk instead. This was not easy. I didn't WANT to go on the walk. In fact, most of the time I promised myself if I was still "hungry" after the walk I could have a meal.

It took months of doing this over and over and over and over again but guess what? Walking has become my boredom mechanism (it always was my stress reliever).

So don't work on addressing the hunger. It will be there. Recognize it. Then replace it with something else.

You are absolutely right and I love the walk idea!!! It makes perfect sense. I need to do something to get out of my head. Under lots of pressure these days. I'm starting at the gym tomorrow too!

Thanks all! I sooooo appreciate your words!