Stress eating is almost as predictable as drinking a glass of water when your thirsty. The boss calls you into his office and reprimands you for failing to complete a project. First thing you do when you leave his office is head to the break room so you can empty all of your spare change into the vending machine and soothe your bruised ego with a Snicker's Bar hummm. But how long does that soothing feeling last?

You get home and you and your spouse have a disagreement about money. You can't sleep so now it's 2 o'clock in the morning, you find yourself in a dark kitchen stuffing your mouth with the leftover pie by the light of the refrigerator hummm. But how long does that soothing feeling last?

In both of these scenarios that soothing feeling probably doesn't last more then 15 minutes after the last delicious bite. If one of these situation sounds like something you do when stress takes its toll, then it's likely you're a stress eater. Stress eaters like comfort food - pastas, chocolate, and potato chips (all the stuff that's unhealthy, but temporarily relieves your brain from the situation at hand).

You're not alone so, stop feeling guilty about your stress reflex eating. It's normal for us to engage in the habit of soothing ourselves with food. We associate food with good times - family dinners, holiday gatherings - it's no wonder when we need to feel better, we eat!

But you don't want your stress to get the best of your waistline, either. The added weight will add more stress to your life. The best thing to do is begin focusing on how and when you eat so that you can alter your bad habits and find suitable, smarter replacements.

You might recognize that you're a mindless eater. Many people come home from a hard day at work, plop down on the couch with the TV remote in hand, and mindlessly polish off an entire gallon of ice cream or a whole box of cookies before they realize what they've done and then, regret it.

If you're a stress eater, try to make better choices and be mindful of how much you consume. Instead of a loaf of white bread, try a couple of slices of whole grain bread. Eat it slowly and your brain will deliver the benefits of serotonin longer, keeping stress a bay while you recover from the day's events. Here are a few more healthy choices you can make beginning today.

- Eat your vegetables

- Have a piece of fruit

- Low fat yogurt

- Spinach salad

- A handful of nuts

- Avoid refined sugars.

Use this information and you won't need to call stress eaters anonymous anymore

And I'd like you to invite you to use this information beginning today to make healthy choices to manage your stress eating.