Confession : Sometimes eating really does make me feel better.

This has been a bad day and a half. Yesterday, we met with a CPA for our small businesss..we owe taxes..in a big way. *ugh* And I enter some things wrong in quickbooks and I will have redo a bunch of the work that I did. *double ugh* Then we got in a shipment of instruments (we run a gemological shop) from China...17 out of 25 are useless. We have customers who are not going to be happy campers. We are not happy campers. And when the factory finally understands what we are trying to say..they are not going to be happy campers.

A few weeks ago I had to take my cat to the vet to have an abcess drained. We though everything was fine. Yesterday we noticed it was starting to bulge out again. Take him to the vet today..he has to have more surgery and they think it's probably cancer in his muscle. I love my kitty.. he is the sweetest furriest black kitty. I think I will go change my avatar to his pic after I finish this. I don't even want to think about the vet bill tomorrow.

And.. I started my period a week early today.

Now I know...there are worse days! And I know that someone is about to tell me how their day is worse or how someones day in some part of the world is ALWAYS worse. And I know this.. and I count my blessings.. I really do. But sometimes, we just need a little comfort anyway. Since my dh is just as stressed out as I am, it wasn't coming in that direction. Most of my friends and family don't get the whole small business thing.. they just think I stay home and watch soaps and eat bon bons. (Why they think this when they know I work on Christmas and New Years...I don't know. I think just don't want to lose that whole work from home fantasy lol)

I admit it...I was weak. I turned to McDonalds..salty horrible terrible no good comfort food. First fast food I have had in weeks and weeks...and then it was due to traveling. And then... I had a cup of mocha ice cream (at least it was low fat ice cream lol)

And the really really bad part is.... it was GOOD. And I DO feel better. And I don't even feel guilty about it. Shouldn't I feel guilty? Shouldn't I be sorry?? Shouldn't it have made me feel horrible? What's wrong with me??

ejm I have the same problem sometimes. I give myself permission to not feel guilty because that always makes the cravings worse. If I give myself permission then I can go on to the next day without all the guilt (which in turn makes me want to eat more).

Dear Friend,
I'll say you've had some trying days! It sounds like you have enough stress for both of us right now.
I had a few days this week when I was struggling and got some wonderful replies from all these terrific people in the forum. So I'll tell you what they told me. We all slip and eat things we know aren't healthy for us. (And some bad things we eat we REALLY enjoyed!) But don't beat yourself up about what you ate. Just focus on trying to make a few better choices in the days ahead. We are harder on ourselves than anyone else would be.
You can get through this and hold on to your desire for a healthier life. Hang in there and come talk often. We'll be here waiting to help!

Why should you feel guilty? Examine it that way. I mean, do you eat like that every day? Did you gain back the 33 pounds you've lost from that one meal? So what's the reason for feeling guilty? Guilt only hurts our successes. Instead focus on the successes.

As long as that one meal doesn't turn into another... and another... and another... then just move on and get back on track. Where some folks fail is that their "little slip" turns into a big slide, and they wake up months later wondering what happened.

So, dust yourself off, forget the guilt--just get back on the plan! You'll be fine.

Jay

Im the same way.. food really does make me feel better.. but you know what? you cant change the fact that you have already eaten and what you have eaten. so , instead of putting your energy into feeling guilty.. pick up and move on. . put your energy and focus back on the positive things. and i believe things will move forward for you. thank you for being very candid.. its comforting to know that im not the only one that will turn to food for comfort. but we can get through it, and we can only come out shining on the other side.. right!!! best of luck, and wishes to you

-LA

Hi ejm!

I'm sorry that you had such an awful day! I agree with you that sometimes food DOES make you feel better. I'm discovering that a lot of times when I am stressed out I crave all of my trigger foods (cheese, chips, chocolate), and it seems that eating them makes me feel better...at that moment. Later, like you found yourself, the guilt steps in, and Ifeel badly about myself.

I have found some things that are helping me. They may help you, too! Plan a "forbidden" food right into your day. Plan in the calories and GO FOR IT! You will have your food, and you won't have gone over your calories allotment. Try this on a day when you aren't stressed and can actually enjoy your special treat. I did this the other day with a piece of Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake (860 calories a pop!). When I had finished I was MORE THAN satisfied with my chocolate craving AND I had stayed on my calorie plan as well. Now, I didn't get much else besides Eggbeaters and yogurt and fruit and some carrots for the rest of the day, but I proved tp myself that I COULD have a tasty something that I wanted without guilt if I PLANNED for it.

Something that I now do every day id eat something of my food budget EVERY THREE HOURS. This way I am never super hungry, and my blood sugar stays on an even keel. I am not diabetic, but I was experiencing some symptoms of low blood sugar when I let too much time go between meals. I snack throughout the day and have mimi-meals rather than eat just three main meals. It really helps, and I haven't binged on anything in the weeks since I started doing this.

Make sure you are getting enough fiber. Fiber makes you feel full and satisfied. Also, make sure that you have some protein at each meal. I LOVE a teaspoon of peanut butter on a brancrisp cracker because it makes me feel satified and full, too. When I drink extra water the fiber expands in my stomach, and I feel even fuller and satisfied with a mimimun of calories.

Hope these suggestions help!

I hope you have a better day tomorrow!

Cheryl

Hi emj!

Like everyone else has said, don't feel guilty; just get back on the wagon and keep plowing on. We all have setbacks, but it is way more important that don't use that setback as an excuse to throw in the towel altogether!

And as far as other people having worse days then you, who cares? Those people aren't you! I would be a basket case if I found out something was wrong with one of my kitties (I have six).

I guess in a nutshell, what I'm saying is that you are being way too hard on yourself in way too many aspects! You're doing great with your weightloss and you will see it through!

Confession: I love candy holidays

I can barely help it. I went and bought the malted milk ball eggs in a big bag. HOWEVER, I bought them on the 12th and they're still more than 1/2 full. This is an accomplishment for me. And I've not been the only one eating them.