Stress = Eating

I had a really good day, food wise. I managed to stick under my 1700 calorie limit and come closer to my 50/30/10 carbs, proteins, fat percentage. I didn't make it to the gym, but I made my family a very healthy Turkey Wrap for dinner and that seemed to fill me up. Fast forward to 1130 at night. I get the call from my mom that she's been rear ended and needs me to come to the scene. I'm thinking she's injured or that the pickup truck is totalled. I race over there, only to find that she wanted me to take her ice cream and put it in the freezer, and that aside from a broken seat and the tail gate, the truck was still driveable. My stress levels spiked for many reasons. I came home, and just wanted to eat everything. I chugged a big cup of water, but that did NOTHING for the urge to eat. I made myself a peanut butter sandwich (figuring that some protein and fiber and fat might take the edge off). That did the trick but eating just that one sandwich put me over on my calories. I'm still riding the stress wave, so I am drinking another big cup of water before I eat anything else.
I had noticed this correlation before. About half an hour into studying for a big test or writing a major paper, I would be craving chips and soda and hamburgers and chocolate. I never made the connection to just STRESS before, so this is something I need to research and try and find a way to outwit my body.

Keep your Damn Tofu

I’ve been told I have to rethink the way I think about food. It’s merely fuel for our bodies, calories in, calories out. But for me, it is so much more than that! I love food! I love the way it tastes, I love the way it smells, I love the many ways it can be prepared! I love that you can cook chicken five different ways, and it tastes different everytime. I love that putting bleu cheese on a steak makes that steak MORE delicious. Speaking of cheese... YUM! I love the way food brings people together and how it brings comfort and happiness into our lives. I get the worst food cravings. I will have a yen for cheesecake and nothing else I put in my mouth is satisfying until I am eating cheesecake. The cravings happen most often with my mother’s cooking. She makes the best vegetable lasagna, the best enchilada casserole and the most delicious ricotta stuffed shells. It's a problem when I'm not living near her because she never writes down any of her recipes and so there's no way to make those dishes. I've tried, but its never the same. I have no doubt that self restraint with food is going to be my greatest challenge in losing weight. I love to eat! I love to eat food other people have prepared!


The challenge of maintaining healthy eating habits has never been a priority for me. This is especially true during the school semester. I am notorious for staying up late studying and then driving to fast food places to gorge on the tasty deliciousness of hamburgers or burritos and hot salty French fries at freakishly early hours of the morning. I know what time every place opens, and now that I'm living closer to the college, and closer to the 27/7 fast food places that cater to college students, it's going to be more tempting than ever. I know that I am going to need help with this, so I am setting up an appointment with the nutrition and fitness councilors at the Rec center to get a better idea of where my health is, and how to get it to where it needs to be. I’m absolutely certain that cheesecake will not be on the menu, which makes me sad. However, when I think about my mom not taking care of her diabetes and dad talking about death like it's enevitable and SOON, the sacrifice of cheesecake seems totally worth it. As long as I’m still allowed to have chocolate…