Rough Day :(

[jodiel]

Yesterday was a really rough day for me. I did end up under my calorie goal for the day but it was still rough. Something happened here at work that made me feel very uncomfortable and it caused me to really want to eat. I had some peanuts in my bag and ended up eating them although I wasn't hungry. I keep an ounce in my bag in case I do get hungry in the afternoons and never even thought about stress eating. Then I went home, ate supper, then ate some crackers then ate a 100 calories bag of popcorn, then ended up eating a few bites of watermelon.

I did make myself go out and walk and I felt better after that. Although I did eat some after my walk. I felt really bad that I let this situation get to me like I did and feel like I should have handled it differently. Maybe if I had, my emotional eating wouldn't have gotten the best of me. This is the first time since surgery it has happened and I'm wondering what I can do to stop it from happening again.

Why is it that when I got so uncomfortable, I immediately turned to food as my comfort. So aggravated with myself for letting myself turn to food. I should have exercised harder, more, longer? I don't know. I tried distracting myself with a book, but that didn't work either. I was so glad to go to bed last night so the day would be over and done with.

[Hdek]

Sorry that you had a rough day. I haven't had surgery, but I think that just you realizing that you made a mistake will make you more aware of the situation if it rises again. I think everyone has made mistakes as long as we learn from them we will be ok. You are doing awesome with your weight loss I wouldn't be to hard on yourself unless it becomes a habit. Just say aware and I wish you the best of luck.

[Mbenson5]

That sounds just like me - every time something stresses me out, I want to go get pizza or something that will be "comforting". That's partly why I got to the top of my weight. I don't have a good solution because really, I'm in the same boat - a month out tomorrow and still don't know what to do with all of these feelings I can not medicate with food anymore. I'm glad you posted this because maybe some of the others who are further out will have some good advice. Hang in there! =)

[Funegirl]

Find something to fill it instead, this may sound strange but I was never a comfort eater actually I don't eat with stress, depression, etc... I have always just eaten too much at meals and LOOOOVVEEEE breads and pastries, hey my mom was french pastry was a staple lol. I do a lot of crocheting for various charities, if you don't know how to knit or crochet find something else like doing your family tree. I realize you can't do these things at work, so instead of peanuts in your desk at work, maybe keep string cheese in the fridge, that way you would have to get up and go to your refrigerator at work, you get a walk out of it and maybe you will change your mind by the time you get there, just a thought

[DanaArt]

I'm not a stress eater at work, but once I come home I feel like eating bread with cream cheese. I'm not even sure why. What I started to do is as soon as I felt I needed that, I would FORCE myself to go for a walk. Or on rainy days use the treadmill. I have also on occasion taken a break from my desk at work and gone to walk for a few minutes. My job encourages that actually, though I know not every job does. I've gotten to the point though that my health is more important then any job.

[Sunflower]

We are all works in progress, and we learn from our mistakes. You only got your sleeve in April and you've already lost a lot of weight, so it would appear that you've got it right more than you've got it wrong. Forgive yourself and learn from the experience.

[b.good]

The book Mindful Eating may have the practices your looking for. Good luck with it

[purplelace70]

Have you since thought of a way you could have handled the work thing to your advantage. Best to learn from our experiences and it sounds like you are trying. I retired early because of work issues (politics) but you know these situations are everywhere so now I just try to decide if it is something I need to resolve or just let it go and put it in the past. Sounds like you can eat quite a lot, did you feel uncomfortable after. One of the things that stop me is my stomach won't let me. I believe that being mindful is very important. Give it a day, sleep on it, and I hope it works out OK for you. You are doing great and we are a work in progress, it took us a while to get here and there are lot's of lessons along the way.

[xxtac66]

I'm not a psych but I did minor in it. You had a bad day and struggled with old behavior which is completely normal and expected. Exercise is a great stress reliever but when it is not possible to do that, try journaling. Get it all out. Another thing I would suggest is learning to soothe yourself through breathing exercises and meditation. You can do this in public if you have to and nobody will know what you are doing. Learn to release the emotions that are attacking you and find a happy place. This will not solve problems necessarily, but it could help you to break the cycle of behavior that you no longer want to have with your sleeve. Counteract the triggers. I hope things will go better for you :-) Hugz!

[lynn3076]

Hang in there and you will have a better day tomorrow, at least you realized it and have a new look for what to do next time.

[aboutime4me]

You've come such a long and wonderful way on your journey and this is a place of stumbling that you've come across. I think it's something we all have to face at one time or another. Don't be too hard on yourself, but look at the situation square in the eyes, ask yourself the why, and how and what and move on from here. It's an issue we have to deal with, this emotional eating. I think it happens in stages and never all at once. If you're that mired down by it, perhaps you should seek counsel outside of here or a support group to help you. Don't worry...you will reach your goal and even if it takes three steps forward and one step back, you'll get there on the emotional eating issues too. Keep us posted!

[EricV]

Hey, if we were perfect none of us would be here, It's cool, the BIG thing is you realized what happened and you can deal with it. It's one day, make corrections, come here and talk to us, go down in your basement and scream if that makes you feel good. We are here for you, scream at us. You're doing great.

[DNA]

my therapist and i are working on things that I can do when I get stressed/anxious etc... instead of trying to GET HIGH from food. It's hard. I like to do a lot of things but there is nothing like the feeling of food so I totally get where you are coming from!

[BCmomabear]

I appreciate your situation, as I think it is a reality from time to time for all of us. Sometimes, it's better to just curl up in bed with a good book and make the world go away. I did this a lot during my liquid prep period pre op. When I go up to bed, turn on the ceiling fan, put on my favorite nightie, brush my teeth and snuggle down, the world goes away and my hunger diminishes. Works for me. Some days it just feels good to bail... but not on a regular basis.