Are you a foodie or are you a Stress Eater? - Somdeep Mishra

 Disclaimer:

The following article is a result of limitless caffeine abuse in the middle of the night and the writer/author/beginner/tenderfoot constantly struggling with his thoughts before going to sleep. There are various such occasions where you can easily witness the coffee kicking in and the writer/author/beginner/tenderfoot totally going over the line. Anyhow, the subject of the following blog is of extreme knowledge. So, make sure to read it with a relaxed mind and get something out of it. The blog is named GREATER TODAY for a reason. It's solely dedicated to assure the well-being of the millennia and the generations to come. (I might get paid for this later.)

So, it was the devil's hour and I was in my truest of forms (These days, the noiseless night period is the only time I'm myself.) and I found myself cramming down a bowl of ...I don't even know, I've gone too far when it comes to experimenting with food. (Although, i think it was some sort of noodles with probably a samosa on top garnished with chocolate syrup.... I don't know ..something like that.) And I realized, MAN  I'm really not chewing anything am I? I'm just gobbling up Junk as if I've been hungry for ages. It was almost as if it was some sort of food abuse.

Stress eating, or also known as 'Emotional eating' means that our emotions, not our body, dictates us when and how much we eat. Cortisol hormone or commonly known as the stress hormone, when secreted in high levels, causes us to crave for fatty and sugary food(Trivia alert).

(I sometimes think I go over the line with my un-asked for humor. Can it be a confidence issue? maybe check out my previous blog to find out.)

 

Why do we stress eat?

It's not just stress that causes us to consume unbelievable amounts of calories at one go. In fact it can be a list of emotions that may trigger Stress Eating:

1. When apparently you have nothing else to do: Do you ever find yourself in a 'to and fro' motion between your couch and the refrigerator, opening the door, getting disappointed and shutting it back? Cuz same. When we have nothing to do, and the productivity insecurity comes into play, we subconsciously search for distractions to divert our mind from that awful feeling of self doubt. And what better distraction than some junk food, that might as well pamper our taste buds?

2. Habits: Some of us think its mandatory to have a bowl full of ice cream once we end a dead-or-alive relationship. Some of us think its a sin to not gobble upon some deep-fried snacks on a rainy day (Damn, I'm really ruining the cheap thrills for you all ain't I?)

3. When you're just DONE!: I'm sure, once in your maddening life, you finished an important test and went like: " Dafuq was that??" And it is moments like these that you don't wanna remember and, to cancel out the unimaginable disappointment before it stains your heart and leaves a traumatic scar, You decide to "Treat yourself". Food seems to be the answer to a lot of guilts, BUT DEAR GOD THE PLEASURE!

4. When you have a friend like me: Everyone has that one really cute friend who always makes you eat your favorite cheat dish, whenever you seem like you had rough day. Maybe because they wanted you to be happy, maybe they just wanted to eat again. Who knows?

Why only Junk food?

Have you ever been stressed and went like:- "Damn, that veggie salad could really help? No right? That's because we aren't biologically hungry, we're 'emotionally hungry'. When we lose ourselves, as a compensation we quickly search for things that'll make us forget about the mishap. Eating something that we love secretes a hormone known as 'Serotonin' which stabilizes our mood and calms us down. And that is why we look for quality taste rather than quality nutrient.

Is it really that bad tho?

See, honestly, I should be preaching about eating healthy and focusing on your calorie intake, but is it really worth it though? I say, it's okay if it's food that makes you feel better after a tiring day full of disappointments. You know what, I love food so much. How honest of it to courageously indicate that it has gone toxic, when it does. It tells you right away, that: No sir, look at me, I'm not sure if I'm good for you and I'm not sure if you should confide in me in these tough times because in future, I might trouble you from the inside and you might end up questioning those times when you had great expectations from me. It doesn't mislead you. Wish it was that way with us humans, but nevermind. So yeah, it's okay if you confine in your little room with your dog on your lap and just listen to music and wonder how much better life would've been if Sirius Black hadn't died in Harry Potter (Now don't stress eat over that,  you fool)

But yeah, we know for a fact that, anything done par its limit has never benefited the human race. So more often than never, in moments of stress, sometimes choose to punish yourself and focus on rectifying the problems, rather than using them as an excuse to have a moment of pleasure of ANY KIND. It'll only do you good, and eventually you'll see that, you're no more an emotional eater. Which was never a very good thing to do begin with.

Amen.

microwave tings