Step off the Scale: Break Free From Dieting

5. Stress Eating Meditation: 3 Minutes to Calm Your Cravings

Ashlee Wright

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The three-minute meditation for stress and emotional eating shared in this episode provides a powerful tool to break free from the diet cycle and develop a healthier relationship with food. This guided practice helps create space between emotions and eating behaviors through mindful breathing and self-compassion.

• Finding a comfortable position and relaxing your forehead to reduce tension
• Taking deep breaths to center yourself and return to the present moment
• Observing your feelings without judgment to understand emotional triggers
• Using affirmations like "I am in control of my choices"
• Placing a hand on your heart to practice self-compassion
• Repeating the mantra "I am calm, capable and in control"
• Returning to this meditation whenever you need to pause and reset

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Resources:

Download the Top 10 Dieting Mistakes Keeping You Stuck

The Emotional Eating Reset



Speaker 1

Welcome to Step Off the Scale , the podcast where we are redefining health and happiness beyond the numbers . I am your host , ashley Wright , a dietician for over a decade , mom of two and craft beer lover . Together , we'll say goodbye to restrictive diets and learn simple strategies to help you actually enjoy your food again without guilt . Now let's dive in together

Welcome to Step Off the Scale

Speaker 1

without guilt . Now let's dive in together . Hello and welcome to another episode of Step Off the Scale . I am so excited to be here with you today and if you're new here , I want to welcome you and tell you that you are freaking awesome , and if you love this episode that I'm about to share with you today , send it to a friend . I am on a mission to help as many women as I can get off of the dieting cycle that they are so incredibly tired of and have a healthier relationship with food , so if you would share it with somebody , I would be ever so grateful , and you are sending a blessing to them . One cool thing that I want to share with you before we get into today's episode is that you can actually text me . In the show notes that you see below , you'll see this little link that says send Ashley a text . It comes right to me and I read them all and it's so exciting . I got my first text from a listener that read this is fabulous , love what you're doing , keep it up . The first three are fire

Introducing Today's Meditation

Speaker 1

, emojis and claps . If you are the person out there listening right now who sent this to me , you are wonderful and you made my whole week . So if you're listening and you want to go ahead and send me a text , I would love to hear from you .

Speaker 1

Today I have something special I wanted to share with you . I recorded this meditation for stress eating and emotional eating quite a while back . It's part of my stress eating survival kit that I put together , which you can get more info on that in the show notes , and meditation has been something that has been so incredibly helpful to me and , quite frankly , has changed my life , and I wanted to share this with you today . So you have a meditation to go to when you're having those days where you're just super frustrated with food . You're having those moments where you're stress eating or emotional eating is kicking in more than you'd like it to . So just know that there's always a way to come back to center , and I wanted to share this meditation with you today , so that way , you can always have something to go back to whenever you need it . So give it a listen . I hope you enjoy the meditation . Go back to whenever you need it . So give it a listen . I hope you enjoy the meditation .

Speaker 1

Welcome to your stress eating guided meditation . Today we're going to do a three minute meditation together and I'm going to walk you through everything . So no worries . But all you need to do is just listen to my prompts , and I promise you it'll be much easier than you think it is going to be . So here's what we need to do is just listen to my prompts , and I promise you it'll be much easier than you think it is going to be . So here's what we need to do .

Speaker 1

Begin by finding a comfortable position . You can sit in a chair , on the floor or even lie down Whatever feels best for you . Once you're settled ,

Guided Meditation for Stress Eating

Speaker 1

gently close your eyes . One trick that I have found works really well for me is if I think about relaxing my forehead . So whenever you start to feel those moments of stress , focus on relaxing your forehead , and I promise you it will definitely help .

Speaker 1

So what we want to do next is take a deep breath in through your nose , hold it for a moment and then slowly exhale through your mouth . Let's do that two more times . Breathe in deeply and slowly exhale One more time , in through your nose and out through your mouth . Now allow your breath to return to a natural rhythm . Just notice how it feels as the air moves just in and out of your body . Feel the gentle rise and fall of your chest and the sensation of your breath calming you as you breathe , begin to relax your forehead . Notice any tension there and , as you exhale , release it . Let the muscles around your eyes soften , relax your jaw . Drop your shoulders away from your ears and just let your body settle .

Speaker 1

Now bring your attention on how you're feeling right now , without judgment . We just are observing . We just are observing . Are you feeling stressed , anxious ? Are you craving something ? Did something crazy happen at work today ? Whatever it is , it's okay . All we're doing right now is just noticing it . If thoughts arise , gently acknowledge them and let them pass by , just like the clouds in the sky pass by .

Speaker 1

Now come back to your breath . Each breath is an opportunity to ground yourself and return to this moment . Now silently repeat to yourself I am in control of my choices . I release the need to turn to food for comfort , the need to turn to food for comfort . I am capable of managing my stress . With each inhale , breathe in calmness and , with each exhale , release the stress or tension that you're holding in your body . Imagine that that stress is leaving you with every out breath and it's just dissolving up into the air . Now place a hand on your heart , feel the warmth of your hand . This is a moment to show yourself compassion . Say to yourself I am human and it's okay to experience cravings and emotions . I release the guilt around food and emotional eating . Take another deep breath in , hold it for a second and exhale , letting go of any remaining tension , and know that in this moment , you are calm , capable and in control . Say it again I am calm , capable and in control . Slowly begin to wiggle your fingers , wiggle your toes and , when you're ready , open your eyes , take one last deep breath . One last deep breath , feeling lighter , calmer and more centered . You can return to this meditation any time you need to pause , reset and manage your stress eating . This meditation is meant to help you reduce your stress and help you with emotional eating in just a few minutes , and it helps you with more mindfulness and self-compassion , so return to it whenever you need to .

Speaker 1

Thank you so much for spending your time with me today on Step Off the Scale . I know that life can be crazy busy and I truly appreciate you taking the time to be here with me today . And just a quick reminder that your worth is not defined by a number on the scale and you don't need to follow restrictive diet rules to feel good in your body . You deserve to feel freedom , confidence and a life where eating feels easy again . If today's episode resonated with you , I'd love for you to subscribe ,

Closing Thoughts and Gratitude

Speaker 1

leave a review or share it with a friend who needs to hear it . Your support means the world to me and it helps this message reach more women who are ready to break free from diet culture and live a happier life in their own body . Take good care of yourself and I'll see you next time .