so i was just wondering what you guys do when you are stressed out?im terribly prone to going off plan, not exercising when life gets hard, and its about to, again.
it may only be one week long, but it could potentially destroy all my good work of the last month (even if i dod only loose 3lbs in the last 2 weeks)
so any tips?
for keeping up exercise when every hour of the day is full
and for eating good when you have friends visiting who are food monsters,
and for not drinking too much when you are going out 3 nights to be socialble.

Hmm....

Stress - MAKE yourself exercise. It really helps make you feel better. Tell yourself you'll just do 10 minutes... and see if you don't get into it enough to want to finish your workout.

Drinking - drink light beer or rum and diet coke, eat sensibly through the day to allot calories for the drinks; drink water between every alcoholic drink; tell the waitress you're pregnant and are keeping it a secret so she'll bring you a diet coke in a highball glass

eating - why do you need to be a food monster when you have visitors who are? you can let them be them, and you can watch your portions and make your own choices. It's harder, yes, but this isn't an easy journey. Then again, if it's very important to you that you eat like your friends on this occasion, make a compromise with yourself, or allow yourself some indulgences so that you still feel like you're having fun. It all depends on how strict you want to be with yourself.

That's all I can think of Just keep going! This too shall pass!

suitejudy Don't go givin' away my diet secretes! LOL. I used the preggers trick on friday night, and managed to have to "pee" everytime a round of shots was ordered. At least I kept myself on plan...

When I get stressed I crave food (like lots of people). I eat the mini quaker rice cakes. I use to think they tasted like styrafoam but I get the chocolate and cheese ones so when I an mucny I eat those instead of chocolate bars or cheetohs. They have 60-70cal per serving. So you don't have to feel too guilty about snacking. I have to agree... as far as the excercise goes, even if you don't have time, MAKE TIME. Even if it's only half of what you normally do, when you start you'll realize how good it feels and you'll puch yourself to make the time happen.

Haha I usually say I'm on antibiotics to my friends and then they know not to even try and pressure me to drink.

thanks some great ideas...
unfortunetly its not like i dont want to exercise, i really want to, but im one of those people who burn the candels at both ends and get sick. For example my day today (which is similar asll week) 9-11lecture 11-1:30 library making notes, for essay, aplnning, reading books 1.30-2 walk home. 2-2.30 have some lunch 2.30-4.45 work on essay 4.45-5 (now) break 5-6 write presenation 6-6.30pm dinner 6.30-9pm do my tv essay, bibliography ect.
then ill have a shower and go to sleep.
its not like i do not want to, normally i have a busy life but i MAKE time, this week all time is spent on things, i cant even see my boyfreind this week due to pressure of uni work and a friend visiting. But hey its only one week, i gotta hope im burning cals by working my *** off!

Yeah, you are burning calories all the time anyway. Exercising just helps you burn more.

shantroy - I couldn't for the life of me remember who's trick that was -- it was YOU! you can tell I'm so impressed by it I've held on to it since it came up in discussion a while back. It's just so deceptive and it WORKS, I love it!

Can you take breaks and do a little walking or even Yoga? I find Yoga to be an EXCELLENT stress reliever. 10 minutes of stretching always sets me right. Take the stairs whenever you can.

I am a HORRIBLE social eater/drinker. I try to plan my week around when I might be with friends and I try to 'save up' for those times by cutting back on other times. You could try limiting your number of drinks... Or my favorite is cutting my drinks with Seltzer water - the flavored ones are fantastic. I use seltzer to cut cranberry juice in half for a treat during the week (when I am being 'good') and on the weekends, I pour it into my alcoholic drinks to cut back on the calories. (I have heard of adding seltzer to wine for 'wine spritzers', but I haven't tried this yet.) Sometimes, when I am 'drinking' with friends, I will just have Cranberry/Seltzer and skip the alcohol completely... But I don't do that too often... I LOVE booze. I love beer... I love wine... I love mixed drinks...

Also - My friends are all trying to eat healthier - so when we get together we try to have healthy options - fruit and veggie platters - reduced calorie dips, etc. Can you get your friends in on this sort of thing?