can you say STRESS EATING???? i'm having a tough time today. grazing. i started yesterday. as far as the AMOUNTS i'm eating, it's not really a problem, but it's just the fact that I'M DOING IT that's making me NUTS. and that's one of the things i'm munching on.

yes, i should be drinking, but instead i'm not.

sooooooo. how about if i click SUBMIT NEW THREAD and wander into the kitchen and make some tea??? yeah. that sounds like a plan. and then i'll try not to eat until about 4.... since i've been MUNCHING and completely thrown off my schedule.

maybe the fact that i haven't had a protein shake for a couple of days has something to do with this... i find that, looking over the day's food, having even 1/2 of a protein shake seems to stabilize me. keeps me out of trouble better than if i didn't have one.

hmmm,,. something to look at...

in the meantime.. a big hot mug of tea.

and cross your fingers for me... or tape my mouth shut.

Well, Ms Jiff, this is a very timely thread for me too, since I just made myself a big mug of tea to keep from munching ... chai tea with a splash of FF milk and SF vanilla syrup ...

I'll take you up on the "no eating until 4 PM" deal -- when all else fails, I do just what you do -- make myself eat (or not eat) by the clock.

The problem with stress eating is that once it starts, it never ends. It's a "hunger" that can't be satisfied with food. Easy to say, not so easy to deal with, I know!

I'm not going to tape your mouth shut or cross my fingers for you -- I'm gonna hang in there with you until 4 and then we both can eat our planned, healthy meal/snack. OK?

chai sounds GREAT...

ok... 50 more minutes. and a meeting at 3:30 which will probably delay my 4 pm meal.

and what's on the food schedule?? something YUMMY!!!!! duck [no skin] a little bit of baked potato, and some yummy yummy roasted asparagus with some pecorino romano. really worth waiting for and enjoying...

almost done with this mug of tea... need another one... and maybe even a third!!!! who CARES if i run to the bathroom for the next 3 hours?????!!!!!!!

thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!

YOUR meal torpedos my cottage cheese and yogurt right out the water! Geez, how about posting your daily menus and giving us all a chance to DROOL?! (and get some good ideas -- I am in a major food rut!)

Speaking of baked potato..... I'm thinking of trying a small baked potato for my dinner tonight. What do you doctor your's up with? I used to like just butter and a few chives.

P-38: if you're anything like i was after surgery: DON'T DO THIS!!!! those little suckers didn't sit right for more than a year... and if you're having problems, i'm not sure this is the best choice...

but if you're determined to have a BITE OR TWO... go easy on the fats. you're too early to eat much fat + carb combination without nasty results...

and the skins????? oh dear no. too tough to handle for you right now. trust me on this one.

oopsss... sorry meg... didn't mean to neglect you, but i panicked over P's impending baked potato [which probably would work fine, but i fuss, you know]

now, don't get fooled into thinking that i actually COOK this stuff... mom and i go out to dinner every sunday, and i bring home all my leftovers. yep.. this past sunday it was duck with a baked potato. i have one more meal from it [that makes a total of 3 from 1!!!]

well, i DID make the roasted asparagus. in the toaster oven. washed them. dried them. spread them out on a foil-covered toaster oven pan, drizzled them with EVOO, and let them cook for about 10 minutes at 450.

then blotted them on paper towels, and sprinkled romano on them. and nothing to clean up!!!!!

other meals??? hmmmm. yesterday it was chicken fingers wrapped up in lettuce leaves with a little bleu cheese, carrot, cucumber. that was yummy too. and the 3rd meal from saturday's lunch!!!!

the answer for me, meg, is that i'm ALWAYS EATING LEFTOVERS!!!!! so i make sure i order something i like!!!! and then add a salad or veggie. or brown rice.

but i have to tell you that if i had a family and actually COOKED, it would sure be nice to have something only once...

Well, shoot, I thought you were a gourmet chef all this time! Actually it does all sound delicious and I need to get out of my food rut and try some new recipes. And new veggies. DD just bought the South Beach Diet cookbook and says it has a lot of interesting recipes with different veggies, so I may have to check that one out.

My latest treat is Dannon Carb Control yogurt, fruit, and LF cottage cheese.

meg. i actually am <or was?> an excellent cook, but there's just absolutely no point in doing it any more. no one 's around to eat it. and it's really hard for me not to taste everything. so it's just as well.

i'm sure those wonderful SB folks have some great ideas. i love veggies.. so many wonderful ways to fix them. last month i steamed some small artichokes, and then split them, and sprinkled them with the same ingredients that my grandmother used to stuff them, and then heated them up again. they were fabulous!!!

stuffed zucchini... very good. either with seasoned veggies or some kind of meat mixture. bake the small ones, stew the larger ones.

roasted veggies on ANYTHING. sandwiches. salads. side dishes.

there was one recipe i saw that i've wanted to try for YEARS because it looked so interestingl...

ya take a thinly pounded chicken breast. then you dice up some skinned tomatoes, season them with maybe some garlic, basil, whatever. and then you use the tomatoes to stuff the chicken breast. roll them up tightly and wrap them tightly [that seems to be the key] in good quality plastic wrap. maybe even two layers!!! And seal them tightly on the ends.

then put these little bundles into simmering water for about 10 minutes.

and then unwrap them and serve. doesn't this sound interesting??? if anyone tries this, let me know how they turn out!!!!!

This is my worst problem. My weight loss has stalled in the past months because of stress eating. I have actually gone to doing WW again just to get myself under control. I don't gain, but I am not losing. I am also starting an exercise plan. I have never been very good at this, so wish me luck!!

I was pregnant in January and I guess my motabolism sped up because I was actually eating constantly and still losing weight. The problem is, I had a miscarriage in May and kept eating like that and now have to stop!!!

I just tasted Chai tea for the first time yesterday!!! Yummmyy! I am getting some of that today at the store. Is one kind better than another. I really think drinking that will help with the munching, especially the carb munching which is my biggest problem.

oh davoswoman.l... soo osorry to hear of your loss. that's really hard to handle. but we're with you.

as for the chai.. i'd vote for the tea bag stuff. not the stuff that has lots of sugar and milk products., we're not here to drink our calories, are we?? the tea bag stuff [i can get GOOD EARTH and my grocery store just started stocking CELESTIAL SEASONINGS chai. i've bought the CS, but haven't tried it yet. both have 0 calories... so it's up to you what you do with it.

good luck!!!! and come back more often.. we all need wisdom and help and the yakking.

Oh, all I tried was the tea bag Chai and added a little splenda. It was wonderful. I meant to get some today but forgot. Will have to look tomorrow.