Eating and stress ... help!!

[FergieTCat]

Maybe I'm being too hard on myself, but I just can't seem to break the habit of binging when I'm stressed or upset.

I had a vile week at work last week, and went over my points every day. Not only was I stressed, but apparently (and unbeknownst to me because my period has been haywire lately) I was PMS as well. I guess, therefore, I didn't deal with the stress as well as I could have plus I was having my monthly food attack.

Anyway ... I just wish I could figure out a way to relieve stress without eating junk (and even eating lots of 1 point snacks adds up ... as I've discovered). I know that eating won't help, and I knew logically that it wasn't going to help when I was in the throes of my stress attack, but I did it anyway.

ARRGGGGHHHHH!!! And so, the scale was up 3 pounds last week, but some of it was probably water retention.

Thanks for listening. Any advice or sympathy would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tlgoblue]

OH Donna!
I'm so sorry to hear you are in a funk! I know exactly how you feel. I'm a terrible stress eater, too. (especially at T.O.M. ) I wish I had a magic wand to make it all better. One bit of advice I have (I just learned this myself this weekend ) is to know your triggers and either change your response to them, (i.e. just let them go), or avoid them all together.
Usually stress is exacerbated by our feeling out of control. If you know your triggers for stress, you can take control of how you deal with them. You may just find that whatever you do, nothing helps. That's when avoidance becomes a useful tool. Face it, most things in life are beyond our control. Avoiding stressfull situations which you can't change, is not a sign of failure or weakness, but smart strategizing and prioritizing. Good luck!

Never Surrender!
Tracy

 

[nativetxn]

Donna, we all face days like this, sometimes we succeed in fighting the cravings and sometimes we don't.

I think the secret is to not beat yourself up about going over points or eating off plan foods. You went over your points last week, that is in the past. Don't punish yourself for that--doing that will only stress you more.

Worry about <i>right now</i> don't worry about the past, you can't do anything about that now. Right now you are back on track and looking for solutions. I'm very proud of you for doing that, it is a sign of determination.

Learning different ways of dealing with stress is important for all of us. We just have to try different things until we find a method that works. You have been very successful with your weight loss, sweetie, you've got what it takes to succeed. You will find a way around these situations, I'm sure.

Do you have a stash of "legal" foods at work for emergencies? Something that you can grab instead of something out of a vending machine or from the cafeteria? That might be a good thing to have close by at work, a little supply of legal low point foods.

Can you listen to music at work? Listening to music that we love is a good way to deal with stress. Keeping a walkman and earphones in your desk or locker might be a good idea.

Can you take and exercise "break" while at work? Simply walking up and down the stairs a few times could be enough to relieve some of your stress.

Do you have a "buddy" you can confide in at work? That would be helpful. If you had someone you could vent to at work would help you a lot.

You could always call me if you want. I'm always around if you need to talk.

I'll bet that our fellow WISHers can come up with even more ideas for helping you deal with stress.

Just hang in there. Look at that beautiful gold clipart you have. You have been very successful at losing weight. 30 pounds gone is quite an accomplishment. Remember and celebrate your success and learn from your slip ups. You're going to be fine. We're all going to help you. Don't give up.

Katholyn

 

[Beanie]

I am sorry to hear you are eating due to stress...I have a stash of "legal" stuff I can eat, so if I get the "urge to purge", I can eat that and be okay...