Emotional Eating... What am I really shoveling here?

Today - day 1 on this new "diet".
I finished the day with a binge on Pillsbury Waffles.

I quit smoking a few months ago. Back then, if I got upset, I would go have a cigarette to calm down. Now...I eat carbs. This has added 15lbs to an already too big me.

Looks like I need a new set of coping skills/tools...or maybe I need a new job, new boyfriend and less stress provolking teenagers.

For those here that cope in healthier ways, please share how you do it.

 

Thanks in advance!

Laura

 

 

This sounds silly, but I blow bubbles -   the kid kinds - out on my porch and I watch them float through the air - VERY Therapeutic in many ways - one: helps shed stigmas and worries about "people watching" and it takes me back to kid times - and I love to play -  this is even better when my kids are popping them, BUT sometimes, you need the quiet to let your mind hear the breeze and the sounds around you !

Original Post by moneymeister:

Today - day 1 on this new "diet".
I finished the day with a binge on Pillsbury Waffles.

I quit smoking a few months ago. Back then, if I got upset, I would go have a cigarette to calm down. Now...I eat carbs. This has added 15lbs to an already too big me.

Looks like I need a new set of coping skills/tools...or maybe I need a new job, new boyfriend and less stress provolking teenagers.

For those here that cope in healthier ways, please share how you do it.

 

Thanks in advance!

Laura

 

 

1.  Get rid of tempting high carb snacks.  They will getcha every time.  Until you can control your binge attacks (which will come with practice), they are NO-NO no. 1!!

 

2. This works.  I swear. I have both quit smoking, and lost weight.  When you feel the urge to attack the snack, walk around the block at least once.  This serves three purposes. i) it elevates your metabolism which in turn, decreases your hunger. ii) trains your body to expect physical activity when a craving hits and iii) gives you a tangible weapon to combat the craving.  Walk more than 1 block if you want to.

 

3. Drink at least 8 cups of water a day.  I am sure you have heard this ad naseum, but in my experience, water is the best weight loss tool you have.  Yes, you will pee a lot. But its worth it.  I like to keep 500 ml bottles of water on hand, that way if I drink at least 4 a day, I know I have filled my water quota.  It suppresses false hunger pangs (often a by-product of dehydration), allows metabolic functions to occur smoothly and flushes toxins.  

 

 

I would also recommend not having a house filled with waffles and similar for a while.  If all you have in the cupboards/fridge are healthy, low-cal foods and a bowl full of fruit then there's a limit to how much damage you can do when upset.  If you live with others (teenagers?) that like to eat junk then declare your home a 'healthy eating household' and ban it from the threshold.  It's a small sacrifice for them & it could save your life.

Other ways to cope with stress...  I have a garden that I attack with loppers and secateurs.  Very therapeutic to be severing limbs from trees and decapitating bushes!  :-)  You could try taking up a physical hobby.... yoga is good for relaxation and is more energetic than you might think.   'Laughter is the best medicine' is also true.   Interrupting a stressed out mood with a comedy DVD can sometimes put things into perspective. 

Welcome!

Line_e74 , that bubble blowing sounds like something I would love to do!  It is a little cold here as yet but as it warms up I think I will take up bubble blowing myself!

Laura, as an ex-smoker, I congratulate you on stopping.  A nurse once told me that it would be better to gain 100 pounds than to continue smoking.  Unfortunatley, I did.  Gain 100 pounds, I mean.  I quit about 10 years ago and it was the hardest addiction I have ever successfully quit.  Food is the hardest one that I still struggle with BUT, with the help of this site, I can see some light at the end of the tunnel.  I have lost about 20 pounds since the beginning of the year and there are many, many more successful people who have gone one to reach their goal and re-gain their health and control over their weight.  We can do it too.

I don't have any magic fix that I use myself but I have been watching the McKenna show on TLC I CAN MAKE YOU THIN and he has a lot of gyrations (not really gyrations but tapping in sequence and pressure points) that are suppose to help.  Maybe you could catch it in reruns if you are interested.  I am giving it a try.  There are no calories in pressing the middle fingers and thumbs together or in tapping your cheek, your collarbone,your cheek , your collarbone, the side of your hand, the back of your hand, looking down to the left, looking down to the right, circle your eyes in one direction, circle your eyes in the other direction, keep tapping the back of your hand, hum a song, count to five, hum a song.  There are no calories involved in doing that and IF someone sees you...well, once you are in a straitjacket it will be harder to ingest calories at all...JK, of course.

I hesitate to admit that I am actually giving this a try in he privacy of my own home.

I love the bubbles thing!

one of my ways of coping w/stress is cleaning...I know it sounds strange..but I tend to get stress related eating attacks at home too...so I clean..this makes me feel like i'm doing something productive...takes my mind off food...and I end up w/a clean house...not to mention your doing something physical and burning some calories too.

going for a walk or taking a long hot shower/bath are also good ways I've found to de-stress too

Congrats on quitting smoking! Yep, another former smoker here. I sure found it easier to quit smoking than to quit stuffing my face....go figure that one. I haven't had a cig in five years but fell into a bowl of ice cream last night. sigh...Interestingly enough, after an aguement with my teen. I like all the stress ideas. De-stressing when it comes to teens is just the worst. I've made it thru one and going thru another. They know how to push those buttons!

Hang in there!