Is Stress Eating Holding Your Business Back?
If you’re a business owner, you know the pressure. The decisions that keep you awake at night, the weight of responsibility and the constant demands. You’re working long hours, trying to stay on top of never-ending to-do lists, and you’re wearing numerous hats (in some cases, just to keep your head above water). It’s highly likely you’re tired and maybe a little burnt out too, but you have to keep going, as your livelihood (and your employees if you have them) depends on it.
For many, somewhere between the morning coffee and the afternoon slump, you reach for biscuits, chocolate, crisps, anything to give you a boost, and as time goes on and this habit becomes ‘normal’, your relationship with food potentially shifts. Maybe you skip lunch, then overeat in the evening. Maybe you’re living on junk food, sugar and caffeine. Maybe you’re using food to feel better to get through the tough moments.
Whatever the reason, the truth is, this erratic or habitual eating is your body trying to cope with stress, and it’s costing you more than you realise.
Why This Happens (And Why You’re Not Weak)
Stress and food are deeply connected, and research from the University of Leeds found that this pattern can begin in childhood. So if you’ve been managing stress with food for years, it’s not just a bad habit; it’s a ‘security blanket’ you learned to rely on early on.
When you’re stressed, your body seeks quick relief, and sugar provides it. Your mood lifts and you feel better for a moment, but then comes the crash. You feel more tired, more irritable, and less able to cope, so you reach for sugar again and again, and get caught up in a never-ending cycle.
The Real Cost to Your Business
When you find yourself running on sugar crashes and stress, what happens to your focus? Your patience with your team? Your ability to make good decisions? Your energy by 3pm?
Studies show that people caught in this cycle:
- Experience higher rates of anxiety and depression
- Struggle with concentration
- Feel overwhelmed more easily
And if that’s you, you know how that affects your business and your life as a whole. The shame can be the worst part: you eat to feel better, only to feel worse about eating. You feel guilt and frustration; the emotional weight becomes exhausting and drains your mental energy from what you’re actually trying to build.
It’s Not Just About Food
What’s important to understand is that it isn’t really a food problem. Food is simply how your body tries to manage stress and difficult emotions. When we lack the right mental tools to manage our emotions, we tend to rely on what we know and what feels good in the moment. And while this may work initially, it’s not a permanent solution, and the more we rely on it, the harder it becomes to break the cycle.
There’s a Way Through This
You don’t need to white-knuckle your way through this, and it’s certainly not about willpower. The first step is understanding why you’re reaching for food, then you need support to manage stress differently. When you better understand the need you are trying to meet, whether that’s rest, or safety, or to feel heard, the cravings change, and you will find that eating patterns shift naturally, though you do need to get some skin in the game, as it all starts with you taking the first step.
A Practical First Step
If this is resonating with you, start by asking yourself the following questions:
- When do you reach for comfort food?
- What’s happening in that moment?
- Are you stressed? Overwhelmed? Tired? Avoiding something?
Just noticing, without judgement, is the beginning of change. Then ask yourself what one thing that you can do differently to start changing the pattern. It’s not about restriction or diets. It’s about breaking the cycle from the inside out.
About the Author
Dr. Olubunmi Aboaba is a global wellness strategist and award-winning expert in addiction, burnout, energy alignment, and sustainable personal transformation. Known widely as Dr. Olubunmi, she blends scientific understanding with integrative healing to support high achievers, executives, and individuals at all stages of their journey toward freedom and fulfilment.
Her unique approach, rooted in what she’s titled, The Recovery Code, integrates modern science, neurochemical insights, and ancient wisdom to address not just symptoms, but the energetic and psychological patterns that underlie addiction, burnout and chronic stress. Dr. Olubunmi’s work acknowledges that true recovery is about restoring balance between mind, body, spirit, and energy systems.
A sought-after speaker and coach, Dr. Olubunmi has helped clients from diverse backgrounds, including corporate leaders, creatives, and celebrities, overcome lifelong challenges and redefine their relationship with purpose and well-being.
Her work has earned recognition, including the Platinum Award for Holistic Therapy, and she continues to innovate recovery support through personalised programmes, keynotes, and educational content.