i found out yesterday that a friend of mine passed away friday night. it was really sad and he was about my age, which is very young to die.

the odd part was, that i didnt overeat. i know this sounds petty after hearing about a death to be thinking about my diet, but hear me out. i am an emotional eater. i always have been. when something bad happens, i run for the cookies. i didnt do it this time, even though for about 5 minutes i had the urge. after i got over the idea to running to the cookies, i burst into tears for a good 45 minutes. its almost like since i didnt have the food to comfort me, i had to face my feelings. im still sad today obviously but i feel like my grief subsided a little after i cried. it was like facing those emotions instead of trying to comfort myself with food helped me come to terms with what had happened.

who knew we could get so dependent on food emotionally?

I am sorry for your loss. You and your friend's family are in my prayers. And I am glad you didn't turn to food, very proud

Tthanks Michelle. It's been a tough weekend. Im actually glad that I didn't turn to food, and not because of my weight loss. I feel like not having that crutch has helped me deal with the situation instead of just comforting myself with food.

I know what you mean by facing your emotions. When I have a really long to-do list, I either get super sleepy or bored-hungry. Usually, I choose to snack on garbage as an attempt to procrastinate "I'll start after this bag of popcorn, after this sandwich, etc." Now, I just deal with all the crap I have to do. Granted, not as quickly as I would like, but still, it's better than eating as a way to procrastinate!

Good job on keeping away from the food and congrats on learning something about yourself!

I can totally relate. I don't use the tragedies that have happened in my life as an excuse per say but when my husband passed then my parents passed, I did turn to food in a major way so to be able to say no to that and deal with your grief, to me is a big thing and again, I am proud of you

Sorry...losing a friend is soooo hard.I still struggle with this every day.Just knowing they are no longer on this earth makes me very emotional, 5 years later.Stay strong chickie!!

I think it's great that you've been able to avoid the emotional eating at such a difficult time. It's something I've been struggling with through this whole summer and am trying to get a better handle on. It's also good that you were able to recognize that you've been able to handle your grief without the food crutch. You and your friend's family will be in my prayers.

Thank you to everyone for the supportive words.

Harrismm - exactly, just thinking about the fact that we will never speak again makes me want to cry. death always seems to sneak up on us, we're never ready.

michelle - i am so sorry to hear about your husband and parents passing. i cant imagine the pain you have been through. you are very strong to have made it through. i also agree that not turning to food during an emotional crisis is one of the hardest things. its amazing how often ive gotten emotional during this journey, because i am not really and emotional person. i never realized how much of myself and my feelings related to food and weight.

I'm so sorry for your loss. You did really well by not comforting yourself with food during such a difficult time. I spent 20 years numbing myself with food. It's a hard habit to break.

Thank you, Julia!

Sorry to hear about your loss. Good for you to keep in control of your eating, even during such a difficult time.

So sorry to hear about your friend.