I'll make this short as I have to go out. I feel like I've gotten my eating uncomtrol and am winning the battle with binging. But I noticed under extreme stress my old habit come back fill force. I am nj and we are preparing for the hurricane. I'm with two young kids and quite scared. And starting last night I've been devouring junk . Insane amounts of only crap. I wanted to get this last 15 lbs off by Xmas but I've told my self I will go back to dieting after the hurricane. I also expect we will be without power for days.
I just can't believe how under stress how easily I fell into binging over eating and poor eating habits. I really thought I had this beat.

I know what you're talking about all too well. We are stuck in the middle of a trying to buy a house and it's been crazy. Not to mention summer really threw off my workout schedule and it's been a time crunch so my diet has been off too. I could feel bad about not having a loss to show for the last few weeks. My weight has bounced up and down but no crazy gains. I know it's not forward momentum, but I am not going backwards and that's something to be happy about!Definitely growth! Back in the day, I would have been beating myself up about it but we're human. Ya know? It's times like this where I think we can learn about ourselves and the affects that stress can have on us. Without seeing it and recognizing the effects of stress, you can't begin to head that behavior off in the future.

Don't get down. Look at it in a more of a science experiment sense, observe your curious behavior and take stock of it for what it is. Then experiment with things that might help it when you start to observe the behavior again. You've done so well and there's no reason to think you won't continue to do as well. You can change or at least moderate this behavior.

I will be thinking of you guys. We've been watching this storm pass us by but unfortunately we have family and friends in the storm path. I know it's scary but just buckle up and do what you can to stay safe. FEMA is setting up on the outskirts of where the storm will hit. Many storm-prone communities will be loading up supplies and getting them out to our neighbors who were hit. You aren't alone. Prayers, good thoughts, and wishes being sent!

I know what you mean. In times of stress, the temptation is really strong to eat the house down. I have a strategy that sometimes works, though: This seems wierd, but I keep telling myself to think like a thin person would. I don't know one "naturally" thin person who eats more when stressful events occur. My husband has never had a weight problem, and he certainly doesn't eat more during times of stress (if anything, it has the opposite effect). So, I try to get into the role of "thin person" and play it well.

This brings about the question: What do thin people do when they are stress? Assuming they don't drink or smoke?? What is their secret!?!? lol

I am also in NJ and have two small kids... very scared! (I had to cancel my daughters baptism and party that was planned for Sunday, grrr.) And I totally hear you about the eating... although I don't know why I do it b/c it just makes me feel worse! I'm afraid this weekend I'm going to go wild with food.

RJ 1980, I saw your post on another thread about canceling the baptism party. I'm sorry that on top of storm prep which is stressful enough that you need to rearrange the party time.
My DH has to work Sunday and I'm afraid of being home alone in a storm of this size which they are saying we havent see the likes of in decades. I don't know what to expect. I'm picturing some of the photos from hurricane Andrew (remember that in FL?) or Katrina...I'm scared that this will be far worse than I have seen (as they keep saying that all over teh news) and that I'm going to be stuck on a roof top surrounded by 15 feet of water with a 4 year old and a 15 month old.
I know what you mean about feeling worse after eating, but I just keep doing it! Not only do I feel mentally bad because I'm over eating which is working against my weightloss efforts, but since I've made so many changes to my diet over the past 6-9 months, my body cant handle the junk like it used to. Lets just say al the chocolate I put away this morning is not agreeing with me.
I just want to beat myself over the head and scream STOP!! But its like eating is completely distracting me from how scared I'm getting. I hope this hurricane is not going to be as bad as they are saying.

I made a joke to bf this morning that my weight at least helps to keep me being blown away in a hurricane (doh!)

be prepared, but don't let it freak you out.

I understand. We had an enormous forest fire threatening our town 2 months ago and I did the same thing. In fact, I gained back 15 lbs which I am now in the process of losing again.

Do your best and stay safe!

Don't be stressed out about the hurricane! Turn off the local news!

Seriously.... I live in hurricane country and trust me, they can be bad, but it will never be as bad as the local news indicates it is!!!!

If you have water (which you may need if flooding affects the quality of your drinking water) and you have food to tie you over for a few days at home (and you probably do, even without going out and shopping for it) and you have batteries so you can listen to the radio to hear the news or music or whatever, then you will be fine.

Seriously!!!

The best parts of hurricanes is what happens afterwards.... beautiful weather and even if there was a bad storm, people are so helpful and kind and willing to share so much with you.

After hurricanes here, everyone's fridge is melting, so everyone is having BBQs and partying and inviting the neighbors and friends over to eat all the food before it spoils. Don't eat it now, wait until it's over!!!

You'll be fine... just turn off that TV set... you still have 48 hours to enjoy the weather before it turns bad.

I think skinny people exercise when they get stressed. LOL, myway of dealing is to eat everything in sight and put my butt on the couch. Yikes!
The only thing I can think to do is don't fall into the "after this date" or "after this happens (hurricane), i'll go back on my diet" - it's almost like it's giving yourself permission to binge. For years I always found excuses to avoid changing what I eat for special occasions... well, it's Thanksgiving.. well now it's Christmas, but after christmas, I'll definitely start eating better... Well, it's DH birthday (Jan).. well, it's Valentine's day... " there always seemed to be a reason! I am REALLY trying to avoid that this time... but we'll see what happens when midterms come around.
Good luck and stay safe!! Besides, your and your family's safety might be a bit more important than your calorie count right now....

A skinny friend of mine used to FORGET TO EAT. So, perhaps that is what happens to skinny people under stress...they fret and food doesn't enter their minds?

I too am in NJ, but I don't have babies or live coastal. I live one long block from the Passaic River and my basement tends to flood in large storms...we have not had the $ to do a pump or drain, so I expect some water this weekend. Over eating, however, is the last thing on my mind.

If you are feeling driven to over eat, try to get your mind off the stress/trigger and keep your hands busy.

I do hope everyone prepares for the weather.

Hugs to all.

Depends on who they are. Just b/c a person may be thin doesn't mean they have it all together or have constructive coping mechanisms. Stress is something we all have to work to manage. There's nothing special about a thin person. They have just had a calorie deficit a little longer than a heavier person. We're all screwed up in our own special way.

During hurricane Ike, I bought a cheapie little mp3 player at walmart that had an fm radio. I got to listen to news and weather updates on that thing for several days using only a couple AAA batteries. Good luck!

I wish you all the best in surviving the storm. I'm filled with anxiety over it as well.

I use knitting and drinking hot tea as coping mechanisms when I'm really stressed out. Doing lots of both right now!

I'm just sitting here, me, computer, radio. Kids are sleeping, DH is working til 11pm. We just moved last week, and our new place is surrounded by trees. I'm really nervous about one coming through one of the big beautiful windows that are all over the place. The fact that there are so many windows was one of the things I loved about this place when we moved in...last week.
Weirdly enough all I've done is snack and read about hurricanes, or how to improve my running time. Don't ask, I'm a strange bird! I can't find half the stuff we own, because its all in boxes. I do have other hobbies besides eating, but all my sewing supplies are packed somewhere. Besides who am I kidding, even if I'm doing something else, its like this itch I need to scratch when I want to snack. I try to ignore it and distract myself but it just keeps lurking there. What a PITA!!