Stress Eating

Confession: I have an incredibly unhealthy relationship with food. When stressed out, some people go for a run/walk or vent to friends...I do those things sometimes, but mostly, I eat. This is a habit I need to break and one that I've known that I need to break for a REALLY long time. I know what's healthy and what I should eat and what I shouldn't, but when stressed, all I want is wings, a coke, and lots of ice cream (or some other unhealthy combo). When stressed, the last thing I care about is what I'm doing to my body. So bad, especially for someone who knows better! After I've scarfed down the 100 grams of fat, sugar, and the million calories, I feel really upset with my self. It's pretty darn ridiculous.

Anyway, this is changing. When I got into medical school, among other fears, there was one that kept rolling around in my mind. I kept thinking, "Oh Gosh! I'm going to gain an unbelievably large amount of weight and ruin my arteries and heart from this stress eating thing I do." I can't let that happen, I won't let that happen! So, I made the decision to start paying closer attention to my food choices and working out more (at least 3x a week). It's been pretty successful so far. Of course there are weeks where I may only go to the gym once or twice or eat a cupcake, but that's better than when I went weeks without making it to the gym or eating a cupcake once a day everyday (okay, I never did that, but you get my point). It's all about intention (remember that post). I should also note that since I've started being more aware, I haven't been under much stress....until yesterday and today!

With my last day at work fast approaching (tomorrow, in fact!), there has been a lot that I needed to get done to complete transitioning the new staff member. Along with that and other job factors (too boring to discuss here :)), it has caused me an intense amount of stress and anxiety. Yesterday wasn't so bad, but coupled with today, I really just wanted to eat and cry.

By 3:30pm today, I'm ready to pull all my hair out! So, before leaving for the afternoon, I convinced myself that I didn't care, I can have one day to indulge. All I wanted was sushi, a coke, and fried ice cream!  And, I was sure I was going to get it! I took the exit that would lead me to my favorite sushi restaurant and too my surprise, I drove right past it. This is going to sound crazy, but I don't know what made me do it. I was so sure, and as I got closer, I just didn't. I did ask a friend if she wanted to join me, she said no, so maybe that had something to do with it...but, I eat alone at restaurants all the time!

Anyway, I went home, ate baked chicken strips, sautéed (in coconut oil) asparagus, green and red peppers, onions, and tomatoes, and corn.

I also really wanted a dessert so I opted for my banana and peanut butter smoothie: 1 cup almond milk, 1/2 serving of all natural peanut butter, 1 banana, and ice.

And voila, I feel so much better and I don't feel completely gross. I always feel better when I opt for healthier options, but, at the moment I can never think of the gratification I get later, rather, I want instant gratification from crap food. I'm excited that I was able to not give in to my unhealthy desire and I hope it's something I can keep up! For me, it's not about always denying myself ice cream, a cupcake, or wings, it just can't be my go to food when I'm not feeling great! Taking control of one's health is not easy and I understand that there are lots of barriers that can prevent someone from being healthy (contrary to how those fitness gurus make it look), but I do think if you're ready, it's possible. So here's to trying!

Now to conquer my disdain to working out...remember why I started this blog? Well, I've yet to accomplish that goal, but I do intend to do something about it.

If you have any tips on how you handle stress eating, let me know!

xoxo
Rosa