Feeding My Feelings

Let me start off with saying: I had a bad week! I was sick. I was stressed out. I didn’t do my hair. I didn’t try to eat healthy. Instead I ate: Pringles, Combos, chocolate chip cookies, Twizzlers, fruit snacks, pretzels, chocolate and ice cream. It’s like this week, I did not care (even though I am so close to reaching my mini goal of losing 10lbs) that I was sabotaging myself by eating a bunch of junk food : ( You might being wondering: “How did I find myself in such a quagmire?”. Well most of it boils down to one word. Feelings. My feelings to be exact. I will have to admit over the years, I have let my emotions control my eating habits. Stressed out with work-have another piece of cake. Fighting with a friend-eat a whole bag of tortilla chips. Mad about something I did or didn’t do or both-eat some chocolate, then a little more and then a bunch more. Find out he’s just not that into me-watch a chick flick and somehow manage to simultaneously cry and gulp down 2 to 3 bowls of popcorn. But it didn’t just happen with my emotions. Bored on a Saturday night- mindlessly watch garbage on TV while eating too many servings of pasta. In order to procrastinate-oh but I have to make this and eat this and eat that first. Also, for some reason it pains me to see food go to waste, I would rather eat to the point of being way past full-"But there is still a little more left!"
But after eating my way through too many tortilla chips, my friend and I wouldn’t magically make up. By eating two jumbo pieces of chocolate cake, things at work didn’t suddenly calm down. Eating 20 chocolate Kisses doesn’t make me Super Woman or Perfect Girl. And I am not going to choke on a piece of popcorn and end up in the ICU, which makes Him realize he does have feels for me and then he rushes to my side. Food doesn’t, can’t and won’t do any of those things (except for that last thing-that could be legit). Yes, it can temporarily make me feel better but it’s only temporary. I am gonna eventually wake up from my food-induced high and realize I have only pushed myself further from my health goals.

So even though I've had a few (ok, a bunch) set backs in this area recently, I had been doing better the last couple of months. Maybe reviewing some of my good advice will give me the push I need to get back on the straight and narrow:

"After you realize what you have done, comes the hard part... These 3 steps have helped me to cut down on over eating:
Reason: Why did I eat that much or why did I pick such an unhealthy choice? Like with me, there is usually something causing this behavior. Whether you were stressed, down, bored or just doing it out of habit.

React: Ok, you have figured out why. Now you can either feel bad and then eat some more ~or~ accept that you are human and made a mistake and then get down to the important task of fixing the root of the matter.

Replace:
· There are some problems we might just be stuck with for some time. But instead of using that as an excuse to eat, think of “constructive” stress-relieving/ time consuming activities you can try. Had a stressful day at work or you find yourself with a completely free afternoon? Try painting, walking, writing, reading a good book, swimming, singing, a dance class, or talk to a friend on the phone.
· Also, if you are like me and just seeing a box or bag of something sitting there all on its lonesome drives you nuts, it may be a good idea to not buy it in the first place. Purchase healthier alternatives instead.
· For those times when you really are hungry, instead of eating right out of the box, bowl, pot etc. try: using a measuring cup (so you'll be conscience of exactly how much you are eating), take out a predetermined portion and then put the rest away (out of sight, out of mind). "

Will let ya'll know if I'm doing any better with this in a couple of days!

Thanks!