Is Stress Sabotaging Your Healthy Eating?

If you’ve ever felt like stress hijacks your best intentions, you’re not alone.We all know fruits and vegetables can lower our risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and even cognitive decline. Yet 90% of Americans still don’t eat enough vegetables, and 80% don’t get enough fruit.

It turns out stress is one of the biggest—yet most overlooked—reasons why.

When you’re overwhelmed, your brain gravitates to the easiest option. That could mean ordering takeout, grabbing a bag of chips, or simply skipping the grocery store altogether.

Stress makes the road to health feel longer and steeper than it really is.

A recent study explored whether planning ahead could help. Over 140 college students were asked to write down:

• How much produce they planned to eat tomorrow

• When they’d eat it

• What obstacles might get in the way

• How they could overcome them

  
  

The group who planned ended up eating more fruits and vegetables—when their stress was low. But when stress was high, planning didn’t significantly increase their produce intake.

This doesn’t mean planning is useless. It means the combination of stress + behavior change can be tricky. Changing habits isn’t linear or instant. It’s more like two steps forward, one step back. And that’s normal.

What does this mean for you?

If you find yourself stuck, remember: Stress eats will happen. Plans will fall through. The key isn’t perfection—it’s learning. When a plan fails, it’s not proof you can’t do it. It’s simply information. What got in the way? What might you try differently next time? This is how resilience is built—one honest reflection at a time.

And if you need help making those adjustments, that’s where coaching shines.

Closing Thoughts

In my 15 years of guiding people toward healthier lives, I’ve seen how stress can tangle even the clearest intentions. Clients often feel defeated when they can’t stick perfectly to their plans. What I remind them—and what I’ll remind you—is that growth lives in the messy middle. You don’t have to control every variable. You just need to keep showing up, noticing what’s true, and adjusting as you go. Over time, small shifts compound into transformation.

References

1. Stewart H, Hyman J, Young S. Satisfying Fruit and Vegetable Recommendations Possible for Under $3 a Day, Data Analysis Shows [Internet]. [cited 2025 May 22]. Available from: https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2024/september/satisfying-fruit-and-vegetable-recommendations-possible-for-under-3-a-day-data-analysis-shows

2. Fruit and vegetable intake [Internet]. [cited 2025 May 22]. Available from: https://www.who.int/data/gho/indicator-metadata-registry/imr-details/3417

3. Ju Q, Gan Y, Peng H, Li B, Nie S, Schwarzer R. Does stress compromise fruit and vegetable intake? A randomized controlled trial testing a model with planning as a mediator and stress as a moderator. Nutrition. 2025 Jan 1;129(112581):112581.