3 Why can’t we stop stress-eating?
‘ALL I CAN do is eat chocolate at the moment. I’m on a 250g bar a night. And rising,’ tweeted Nigella Lawson last week (later hashtagging #fattenthecurve).
Nigella, I hear you. Let me tell you what is not on lockdown at the moment: my fridge. As the world has been flipped upside down, my diet – normally controlled and health-conscious – has gone haywire. The chia seeds in my kitchen, relics of a bygone era (two weeks ago), are taunting me.
In this strange new world of social-distancing, I am becoming closely acquainted with my new best friends, Easter eggs (the big ones), which I am consuming as ‘snacks’. Crisps, croissants and cakes have graduated from treats to daily necessities. I am skipping meals and then eating three in one sitting. So you have 40 loo rolls? Well, I have 16 The Coconut Collaborative rice puddings in my fridge. I’ve forgotten what vegetables taste like – and what moderation means.
Judging by the tweets and memes, Nigella and I aren’t the only ones. Several of my friends – smart women with a competent grasp of adulthood – are in the same state of nutritional chaos. One told me she’d bought three packets of fish fingers – and eaten the lot in a day. Another had ice cream and a bottle of wine for dinner, explaining, ‘There is no normal right now. It’s all gone pop!’ ‘I just ate a cheese sandwich for no reason. Didn’t even enjoy it. I can’t stop eating,’ one friend texted. ‘It’s like Christmas in hell.’
But the thing about Christmas is, it comes to an end. You can repent for December’s decadence with the enforced abstinence of January. Right now, we have no idea how long this unsettling, frightening, bizarre state of affairs will last.
If you’ve found your eating has got out of control, understanding why is the key to managing it. ‘This “end of the world” mentality can lead people to think “to hell with the consequences”,’ says Clive Meindl, a cognitive therapist specialising in eating disorders, addiction, depression and anxiety. ‘People often overeat, or eat junk food, when they are looking for comfort – sugary foods can help quieten those inner voices. Boredom can also be a trigger. When you’re stuck inside and the fridge is nearby, snacking is an understandable distraction. The problem is that when you’re eating on your emotions, it’s a short-term fix rather than a long-term solution.’
Convenience, and the panic-buying stoked by hysterical supermarket shelf-stripping, is also a contributing factor. But that doesn’t have to mean cupboards stuffed with biscuits and crisps. ‘As a registered dietitian, I feel it’s important to firmly state that “convenience foods” that are frozen, tinned or packaged can support a healthy balanced diet, and we shouldn’t be afraid [of them],’ says Rachel Clarkson, Harley Street’s leading consultant dietitian in the area of personalised nutrition. She advises stocking up on frozen and tinned vegetables and higher protein grains such as quinoa, chickpeas and lentils.
Another factor contributing to our ‘eat like nobody’s watching’ mentality is that, well, perhaps nobody is. If that’s you, then remember how nourishing routine and connection are. Make an effort to be the caring adult to your reckless inner child; have a bath, call someone, cook something. Self-care doesn’t need to be complicated.
What we really need to remember, however, is to go easy on ourselves, a day at a time. When that comes to food, it might mean getting your greens one day; living off Wotsits another. Food, in all its wildly different forms – sweet and salty, simple and extravagant, straight from the ground or the corner shop – is a joy and a glorious intermission from the grinding fear, panic and irritation many of us are feeling. As one friend, cooped up with her family and already being driven up the wall, joked: ‘Food is my only distraction since murder is illegal.’ And I think we can all agree, a family-sized chocolate bar is better than that.