[BetterLikeMel]

I posted this in another thread, but I know that this category gets more views and I thought maybe my findings would be best shared here...

So, this week has been majorly stressful for me - my boyfriend got rushed to hospital on Tues night so I've spent a couple of days with no sleep/very emotional... and on top of that I got a job offer which needed an immediate answer (it was less money, so not easy to say yes or no straight away). Having to make that decision without involving him, and also in my current wrecked state isn't easy.

Normally I would have grabbed convenience & comfort food, but for the last two days I've only eaten enough to get my body ticking over (weetabix, porridge, etc). I know a lot of worriers go in for not eating, but this has never been me. I just drank my first coffee in 2 days... I normally drink 4 a day. It's like my brain was so focused on everything else that it didn't care what I was eating.

I want to try and channel this after this week, when things are right again, and remind myself that I don't have to spend my whole life thinking about my next meal (I'm one of those people ) and try to focus on the fact that my body needs food to survive and function, and not because it likes pepperoni pizza.

** edit
After another day of him being kept in the hospital, I found myself again only eating to survive... I almost feel as though I've been on a mini-detox although I'm now craving fresh food (fruit and salad) like you wouldn't believe. Yesterday I ate a bowl of cereal, a tuna sandwich and then half a sandwich for dinner... I probably ate my calorie intake as the sandwiches weren't exactly low-cal options and it was enough to sustain me. I'm going to make an effort to eat normally today, especially as bf is out of hospital and seemingly OK.

[ButterCup85]

I'm that way, always have been. When I'm super stressed my body will not allow much food in. And, when it's bad I throw it up. No matter how hard I try to eat and keep it down. Just make sure you are eating what your body needs, when you can. It may seem like a good thing, but at the same time when I would go a week or two that way it was hard to get back to eating normal. It isn't very healthy to let your body starve, even if you don't feel it. So just be careful eat when you can and try to hit your caloric needs.

Also, I'm sorry you're stressed, there are many relaxation techniques out there (I know lol) don't let it continue too long. You need to take some time for yourself and calm down.

[BetterLikeMel]

Thanks ButterCup, thankfully, all the stress seems to have pretty much evaporated overnight... and I'm now starving...!! Luckily it only went on for a couple of days, and if it'd still been into today that I was feeling overwhelmed, I think I would have forced myself to have some fresh food at least.

[lin43]

BetterLikeMel, I'm so sorry for the stress you're going through. Whether the stress is about something bad (your boyfriend's hospitalization) or something good (the job offer), it's still stress. In 2005, my father died, I started a new career (not just job---career), and I had a significant, devastating relationship problem all within the space of about four months. For the first and only time in my life, I was not focused on food. I lost 7 lbs. in one week without thinking about it or trying (I only weighed myself because I noticed a loss by the fit of my clothes and couldn't understand it).

That mindset didn't last, though. My theory is that mild stress makes many of us eat more but extreme stress has the opposite effect. Before 2005, I always marvelled at those who said they couldn't eat because of stress; in my mind, I was always thinking that I eat more when I'm stressed. However, since 2005, I now understand that the level of stress is what makes the difference.