High-Fat Foods Melt Stress. Another Lie We Tell Ourselves.

photo by Geoff604

Mac ’n’ cheese is calling my name. It’s yelling for me to scrap my ideas of eating a big, healthy salad tonight. It wants me to tuck into a huge bowl and scarf down the creamy, cheesy noodles. It probably prefers I throw in a handful of chopped-up bacon and a heavy pour of cream. And I’m sure—yes, positive—it really hopes I end my meal with a fudgy brownie. Or three.

I’m doing my darndest to avoid its siren call. I’m pretending crunchy lettuce with slivers of radishes and strings of carrots is just as inviting. But it’s not. Not when you’re stressed. And I fall right into that verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown category thanks to my good-for-nothing knees and my impending move. Cue ominous music.

The good news: I’m not alone. Researchers at the Obesity Society’s annual meeting presented findings that suggest women with chronic stress—think ongoing troubles like being out of work, going through a divorce, or caring for someone sick, not fleeting things like, ahem, a move—are more likely to eat high-fat foods. The women were also more likely than their peers to lack the self-control needed to keep their eating habits in check.

Sure, you say, everyone eats when they’re stressed. Not so. I have had plenty of friends who starve themselves lose their appetite when they’re super-frazzled or anxious. How that whole thing works, I’m not so sure. Who doesn’t love to drown their sorrows in a bulk bag of Twix?

(As an aside, some people get their stress calories from other sources. Case in point: The Man just popped a chill-out beer and flopped onto the couch. “Do you ever feel like your to-do list is so long you can’t even start checking things off?” he sighed.)

According to the researchers, women who are always stressed might not be able to differentiate between honest-to-goodness hunger and the hunger pangs you get when you feel crappy. I’d like to add another scenario: boredom. Since my activities are severely limited due to these bum knees, I find that going out to eat or preparing a good meal gives me something exciting to do besides flip to the other side of the couch. OK, I’m being overly dramatic about that, but you get the point.

So, about that mac ’n’ cheese…

If I gave in every time I felt stressed, I’d have a heckuva lot more weight bearing down on my knees. And since full-out exercising is off limits, I’d be even bigger. That even bigger would hurt my knees all the more. And that’s one, giant circle I don’t ever hope to orbit.

So, what do you do when stressed: Eat everything in site or swear off food for good? Is it easy or hard to pick a healthy meal over a higher-fat version?