I’m always reading stories from overweight women and how desperate they are to control their weight. I sit in Weight Watchers meetings every Sunday morning and hear the same story from each of us. We all have the same excuses and we all do the same thing.
I confess that I am the epitome of the stressed out, thoughtless dieter. I am never hungry. Really. I am never famished and I could probably fore go food for an entire day and never notice except that food is my way of coping with stress, frustration, anger and sadness. In short, I am always surprised at what I’ve eaten at the end of the day because most of the time I’m not thinking about the food I’m putting into my body. I’m thinking about life.
As a footnote (or food-note) I am also now aware that I do an awful lot of eating standing up. What’s with that? I can’t even take it to the table?
A lot of changes in the last year have added to my stress level and my unhealthy lifestyle.
- I left my job of 15 years and started my own company. Yup, right in the middle of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
- My mother got sick.
- I turned 50. YIKES! Midlife crisis in full swing.
- I started a “Work at Home” job.
- I went back to school.
- Money, money, money issues.
During the summer of 2011, I spent virtually every free moment in the hospital with my Mom, who is thankfully recovering from her bought with cancer. I, along with my siblings, lived in a fog of running from job to hospital to doctors and in between we ate whatever.
If you saw the movie Super Size Me you already know what happened. I gained weight, I felt awful and I damaged my health. Now I’m trying to reclaim that.
So is the problem my stress level or my approach to food? Score two points if you said both. (Score three if you said it out loud.)
Everyone has stress. Being able to manage it and make good lifestyle choices I think is about education and behavior modification. It’s all about priorities.
Most emotional and stress eaters, me included, can pound down cookies or crackers without even thinking what went into our mouths. It’s a learned reaction. I can find myself wandering in the kitchen just because I’m not doing anything else. Suddenly I realize I’m about to eat peanut butter out of the jar or I’m opening a package of some snack just because it’s there. Then I feel bad that I didn’t control myself. Then I eat because I’m mad or depressed. Oh God, this is a crazy circle.
My #1 Solution: Think about EVERY item I put in my mouth.
This is so hard! There is a lot of documented evidence that people who keep a food journal — if you’re in Weight Watchers they call this tracking — lose a lot more weight. How much more? Twice as much! Seriously, given that statistic why don’t I track?
My #2 Solution: Stock the kitchen with better choices.
I’ve never done the 12-step program but I suspect they tell you rehab that the easiest way to avoid drinking is to not have alcohol around. That isn’t easy for someone who has to eat. But it makes great sense to clean the kitchen of items that are tempting. I can’t have potato chips, cookies or candy in the house. I simply cannot control myself at this point.
What can I have? A lot of stuff. Obviously I’m pushing out the snack items, but I’m trying to incorporate a lot more whole foods and raw foods in the house pantry. In my opinion you can only feel so bad about overdosing on whole foods.
My #3 Solution: Attitude Change.
I need to be a priority in my own life. For now and for the next few weeks while I try to acquire a healthy routine I need to be first! I need to be more important than anyone else in my world. I need to have time to be thought-ful and I need to feel good about saving my life. Because ultimately that is what is at stake here.