[pearwoman]

I am sitting here wondering what to eat for lunch and thinking about how badly I feel. Sometimes, relatives just get to me with their habits and hurtful ways. Instead of eating junk like I wanted to, I got online for support from people on this great forum. Reading the posts of other people made me feel less alone in my struggle. I didn't see any other threads like this and I would love to hear from others about how they deal simultaneously with family stress and struggling to eat healthy.

[AmyMCGS]

Good job-- getting online to chat instead of eating is a great choice. (I tend to eat junk food WHILE I'm online!)

Having a two year-old who says "taste, mommy?" every time I eat anything helps. I have to keep in mind now that if I'm eating it she's eating it, so that has helped me to keep much less junk food in the house. If you don't have a young child available, maybe thinking about having someone there with you might help.

Another trick I try is to get my hands busy-- I like to clean something, preferably something that really needs scrubbing, when I'm upset. It's a good way to vent that frustration without putting extra calories in my mouth.

The best thing I do is journal everything I eat. I have a cheapo weekly calendar with large daily blocks, and I write down everything I eat and drink. I also record my weights and sometimes notes about why I ate what I ate-- ie: "dinner at mom's", or "daughter is sick". Nobody ever reads it but me, but, still, reading back over a daily diet of " 6 cans soda, 1/2 bag chips" is definitely motivating for me. It makes me accountable for every calorie.

[CatherineM]

My two biggest emotional hurdles were a negative-oozing, sabotaging mother, and a dark cloud seeing roommate who's major hobby in life is doctors and medicines. I guess I handle both by not handling either. I broke off communication with my mother. It was easier than I would have ever thought, although it did require a whooper of a story to cover my "disappearance." As for my roommate, when she gets to talking about her aches and pains, or a new doctor or medicine she is going to try, or just generally is in a foul mood, I put my headphones on. I listen to contemporary christian music, and tone her out. It keeps me relaxed and from saying things that escalate into a fight. It has been better for both of us. I call it having a "bubble of calm." I literally tell myself that nothing can happen that will upset me so long as I am alive and breathing, staying OP, and trying to get healthy. It is so important to me, that I have made it my full time job for now. Anything else has taken a back seat. Make getting healthy more important than anything else. It is the best present that you can give yourself and your family. I don't consider it any different than a family doing without for several years so a parent can get a college degree. It is an investment in the future, and you are worth it.