Getting Back On Track After The Holidays

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!

Our first Christmas in Hong Kong was peaceful and relaxing, which is exactly what our family needed. We got to FaceTime with family and friends. We played games and had fun building the girls' new LEGOS. The twins new ball, playpen has also been a hit with the whole family. The older girls would rather play in the playpen than with their own toys. I'm so glad that they have been having fun and enjoying their new gifts. Overall, we’ve had a great week celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus.

Honestly, I find it very difficult to make myself a priority during the holiday season.

Am I the only one!? 

I feel like ever since Thanksgiving, something shifted in my brain. For weeks, I’ve been in holiday mode. I’ve been busy taking care of everyone else and getting ready for the holidays, that unfortunately I have not made much time to take care of myself. As a result, my healthy eating habits have suffered and I’ve just eaten whatever was quick and easy, like sweet snacks or treats. Not to mention, I’ve been emotional eating, because I miss my family and friends back in the USA.

Has anyone else experienced a similar struggle?

Now that your family and friends have gone home, it’s time to begin to make yourself a priority again!! That’s right, you don’t have to wait until January 1st to begin to make healthy choices again. I am looking forward to transitioning out of holiday mode and back into our regular routine.  

Here are some of the things I do to quickly get back on track, following a holiday or any other occasion that has caused me to fall off the wagon.

Tips To Get Back On Track

1. Forgive yourself. 
This is so important. Please don't skip this step. Your holidays might not have gone anything like you planned. Whether it was good or bad, you must forgive yourself for everything that has taken place over the past few weeks (or months). Guilt and shame don’t help anything! Truly forgive yourself and move on.

2. Pray for God’s help.
I have never been able to accomplish my weight loss goals without God by my side. Spend time in prayer asking God to help you make healthy choices. Ask Him to give you the strength you need to say no to the food that isn't good for you. God will hear your prayers and He wants to be your source of strength on this journey.

3. Throw away the junk.
Go through your house and throw or give away anything that isn't good for you. I know you're going to say I am wasteful, but it's better to put these foods into the garage than in your body. Purging your house of the sugar and treats that you can't stop thinking about, will leave room for you to fill up your cupboards with healthier snacks.

4. Meal plan. 
One way to get on track is to plan out your meals in advance. This will ensure that you have healthy food options for you to eat. I wrote a whole blog post about this, so check out my "Holiday Meal Planning" post for additional meal planning tips.

5. Find accountability. 
Tell your family and friends that you are getting back on track and ask them to help you on this journey. Ask them for their support and to help you say no to unhealthy foods.

Saying NO to Emotional Eating

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It's been a long day and all I want to do is eat right now. I want a big bowl of ice cream with caramel and chocolate sauce on top. This isn't a pregnancy craving. It's emotional eating!! 

In the moment, I'm feeling sorry for myself. I'm feeling overwhelmed. I'm feeling stressed. I'm feeling embarrassed. All of these feelings have led to my overwhelming desire to eat a giant bowl ice cream.

I know that eating ice cream will taste good and make me feel so much better. However, that is a lie! As soon as I'm done eating the pleasure is gone and I will be left feeling sick.

Tonight, I'm say, "No!" to ice cream.

Instead of eating, I'm trying to write down my feelings in my journal and on this blog post. So far, it's helping a lot. It's helped to calm me down and let the overwhelming desire for ice cream fade away.

Today, I rejoice in my victory over emotional eating!! Knowing that I will face these same challenges tomorrow.

What victories did you experience throughout your day? 

Notes to Self

Tuesday I went off plan. It wasn't intentional, but it just kind of happened. We were meeting my Dad for lunch and instead of taking the time to make something healthy for myself, I just opted to eat what everyone else was eating for lunch. I had plenty of pointsplus for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. However, instead of adjusting the rest of my day accordingly, I let myself go and ate whatever I wanted throughout the rest of the day.

As a result of my poor food choices, I spent Tuesday evening in a lot of physical pain. There is a good chance that I have some gallbladder stones that tend to act up when I make bad food choices. I have not had an attack like this in a long time. While I was doing everything I could to ease my pain, I decided that I need to begin to write notes of encouragement to myself, so that this won't happen again.

Yesterday, that is exactly what I did!

I wrote two notes to self, "If you feel like going off plan" and "If you feel like overeating". In my note, I described how it felt to eat off plan on Tuesday. I reminded myself of how far I have come and to continue to keep up the good work.  I also mentioned just how awful I feel when I overeat or eat off plan.

I don't want this slip up to keep me from reaching my weight loss goals, but I want to learn from them. The next time I feel like overeating, I can pull out my note to self and be encouraged to make a healthy choice. I am excited to see how well these notes work in the coming months as I continue to lose my baby weight.

As I have more time, I plan to write additional notes to myself. I have a list of ideas below.

- If you feel discouraged

- If you feel like you are ugly

- If you feel defeated

- If you feel like you are having a fat day

- If you feel like going off plan

- If you feel like overeating

Are there notes that you need to write to yourself? What other ideas do you have? What would your note to self say?

Learning from a Bad Weekend

I finally have internet again! All weekend we were at a lake house without any internet and yesterday, the internet was down at my house, which was so frustrating. It feels good to finally be back! I really hope that you all had an amazing Easter weekend!! Let me tell you a little bit about mine...

Orginally, me, Jon, and Olivia were going to go camping over Easter weekend. However, that didn't work out. Instead, we went away with our friends to a lake house for the long holiday weekend. Like I said, there wasn't any internet or cell phone service. It was the perfect change that we needed from our normal day to day routine, so that we could relax.

I am sad to say that I didn't do a very good job of staying on plan while we were gone.

I should have, because I planned the menu! However, Pinterest got the best of me and I made a lot of recipes that were not Weight Watchers friendly. In addition, as soon as I left my apartment, my vacation mindset kicked in. I felt like I deserved a break from making healthy choices.

I brought healthy snacks for myself, but I did not choose those foods to eat! Instead, I ate what everyone else was eating.

Also, being gone all weekend meant that I was not able to weigh in at Weight Watchers. It always throws me off when I am not able to have an official weigh in with Weight Watchers. Not knowing what I weigh makes me eat like crazy, because I assume the worst (that I have gained weight). Those negative emotions then drive me to eat more than I ever wanted to in the first place!

By the end of the weekend I felt awful! I felt sick to my stomach, because I am not used to stuffing my face like I did. I also felt shame, because I know how to make better choices than I did.

Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to know that I am not perfect! I am struggling to lose my baby weight just like the rest of you. I had only been 9 pounds away from my goal weight, but after this weekend, I'm pretty sure I will have more than that to lose.

Now what? I'm going to forgive myself and move on. I'm going back to the basics of the Weight Watchers program: tracking what I eat, drinking water, and exercising. These are just little things, but they will make all the difference for me!

Do you need to get back on track? Did you have a bad Easter? Christmas? Thanksgiving? How much longer will you wait before you start to make healthy choices again?

On a happier note, here are some pictures of my family that were taken on Easter Sunday!

Jon and Olivia after church on Easter Sunday

Me and my baby girl

Weekly Weigh In - My "Bad" Weigh In

Life here has been so busy that I haven't had a lot of time for writing blog posts! So while I have a minute let me give you some quick updates.

This past week, my weigh in did not go as expected! All week long I had been weighing myself to make sure that I stayed on track. I thought that I had lost at least a pound or two. However, when I weighed in on Saturday morning the scale showed that I had only lost 0.4 pounds! I was so frustrated. I had worked so hard this week and I wanted it to really show up on the scale.

I am ashamed to admit that my bad attitude lasted all day Saturday. I was pouting, because things had not gone my way. On top of my bad attitude I made a lot of bad food choices and gave into emotional eating, because of how I was feeling.

On Sunday morning, I talked to one of my Weight Watchers members at church. She has done such an amazing job on Weight Watchers, but got off track a little this past week. I was trying to encourage her that it's not about the number on the scale. She has worked hard and a few bad days doesn't mean you should give up all together!

As I spoke these words to my friend, I felt like I needed to hear them more than she did! This is one of the main reasons that I love being a Weight Watchers leader! Here I was trying to give her advice about staying on plan when I had just spent all day Saturday having a pity party for myself. I knew immediately that I needed to get back on track!

I am happy to say that I have been on plan all week!

Why am I sharing this with you? Because I know there are many people out there, just like me, who are trying to lose weight. Do not make the same mistakes that I did this past weekend!

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My new favorite picture of me and Olivia!

On a completely different note, Olivia woke up really early this morning. I thought she was hungry, but as soon as I touched her skin I could feel that she had a fever. Sure enough after taking her temperature it said that she was about 100.1...my poor baby.

Please pray that Olivia feels better soon and that my husband and I don't get sick too!

I was so concerned about Olivia's fever that I almost forgot that today is her 5 month birthday!! Time is going by so quickly that I need a pause button to stop and take it all in!!

Struggling to Stay On Plan

I'm sorry for the lack of blog posts recently! I was not expecting to fall off the grid like that! I am trying to break through my writer's block, while I write this blog post for you.

There has been a lot of sickness going around in our family. Two weeks ago, Olivia was sick. Last week, Jon was sick. After Jon, Olivia was sick again all this week. I am doing my best not to get sick, but we will have to wait and see how that goes.

On Monday, Jon and I celebrated our 6th year of marriage! I am looking forward to celebrating this milestone with Jon this coming Saturday. If you want to know more about God has used church to change our lives, please click here.

Picture 1: On our wedding day 2006; Picture 2: Olivia's baby dedication 2012

Not only that, but I have my own personal issues that I am dealing with right now. I am not going to go into too much detail right now, but these situations are extremely emotional.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because I want you to see that I am human just like you!! With all these things going on in my life, good and bad, I have fallen off of the Weight Watchers wagon. I was doing great until Monday night or Tuesday, when I just didn't have the strength to say no to food anymore.

So, this week, I have been eating because I am bored, tired, angry, worried, upset, and more.

How am I going to get back on plan today?
1. I am going to spend time with my Lord in prayer. I need to share my worries and emotions with the Lord and leave them with Him. I also need to keep scripture close to me, so that I am reminded that I have a mighty and powerful God. As I see God for who He is, it will help to put my situation into perspective.

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:13

2. I am going to get back on track today! So many people, me included, wait until tomorrow to get back on track. Do you know what kind of damage you can do in just one day? Even if I mess up a little today, I will not have blown it like I would have if I was just waiting for tomorrow. I am going to choose one part of the Weight Watchers plan to focus on today that will help me be successful, like tracking everything I eat.

3. I am going treat myself with something other than food! When life is hard, I turn to food. When life is good, I turn to food. I need to learn how to celebrate or relax in other ways. Today, I am choosing to go and get my haircut! Jon has been trying to get me to get my hair done for weeks, but I told him that I was too busy. However, a haircut is the perfect way to treat myself for all the hardwork I have been doing over these last few months. Maybe next time I will get a pedicure or take a bubble bath, because I am a priority and I need to do things that I enjoy! I will to take pictures to show you my new do tomorrow.

Thank you for letting me be honest and share with you about what has been going on in my life! This has helped me so much!


Just for fun, here is a recent picture of Olivia with our Christmas tree. She is already 3 1/2 months old!

Filtering Out The Negative

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Today, I want to give you the meeting summary from my Weight Watchers meeting on Saturday, April 28, 2012.

How to Be Your Own Best Friend
Is self-compassion the missing ingredient in your weight-loss plan?
Article By: Megan Gressor 

Whether positive or negative-your thoughts can impact your results on the scale. Are you often too critical of yourself? When you go off-Plan, how do you treat yourself? How do you learn to like yourself more? The same way you befriend anyone else: Take the time to get acquainted; look for the good; and be kind, supportive and non-judgmental. Here are more ways you can give yourself the love you deserve every day.

1. Make a list of your many positive qualities
Read your list often. It could include anything from being a good singer to a loving parent. List every attribute that makes you a worthwhile, likable individual.

2. Pay yourself a compliment every day
Focus on a different attribute — your clear complexion, pleasant voice, good fashion sense — and say out loud: "I love my ___." It may sound forced at first, but it's a useful counter to self-doubt.

 3. Do things you know will help you feel better about yourself
This could be anything from getting a new hairstyle to losing that first 10 pounds. Tackle the easiest first, to build confidence in future efforts.

4. Give yourself (nonfood) regular treats
Buy yourself flowers, take spontaneous day trips. You'd do these things to make loved ones feel good; aren't you worth the same consideration?

5. Spend time with those who care about you
You'll soon share their good opinion of yourself! If there aren't as many supportive people in your social circle as you'd like, consider ways of expanding it to increase your chances of positive feedback. Ask yourself: "Who will help me feel good about myself?" Apart from your immediate circle, consider neutral outsiders.

6. Avoid situations that reinforce self-doubt
This could involve re-examining long-established relationships — perhaps with a critical relative or colleague who is continually reinforcing damaging self-perception. Are you forever seeking another's approval but never getting it? Rather than simply taking the criticism, you could:
• Retreat from the relationship a bit.
• Stop hoping for approval.
• Respond more assertively to harsh remarks (Example: "I feel bad when you call me 'stupid.' I would prefer that you addressed me with more respect.")

7. Try a little kindness 
Instead of beating yourself up whenever you goof up, give yourself the benefit of the doubt, same as you would anyone else. Focus on your achievements, not faults. Chances are, once you start looking, you'll be surprised at just how many there are!

Beat the Stress Eating

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This morning, I want to give you the meeting summary from my Weight Watchers meeting on Saturday, February 25, 2012.

Instead of reaching for food when you are stressed or emotional, try one of these great ideas!

1. Organize yourself, figure out exactly what to do and execute a strategy for getting things done. If you are not good at this, ask a friend who is good at this stuff to help you.

2. Take a bath

3. Go for a walk

4. Go to the gym

5. Meditate

6. Drink tea

7. Call a friend and talk out what is going on with you.

8. Write in your journal/blog

9. Stretch or do yoga

10. Zone out and watch a movie that you like

11. Curl up with a good book

12. Take your dog for a walk, or pet your cat if you have one

13. Clean your house

14. Do some volunteer work– get out of your head by helping some other people out. Serve food at a soup kitchen, volunteer to play with kids at a homeless shelter, walk dogs or play with cats at the local animal shelter.

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15. Buy a meal for a homeless person in your neighborhood and bring it to them

16. Call someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time

17. Call a much older relative or friend. The advice of people older than you with so much more life experience can be incredibly valuable.

18. Listen to music that you can lose yourself in

19. Get out of your apartment or house and be out in the world with people, don’t isolate

20. Draw, paint, do something artistic

21. Walk around the block then attack your to do list.

22. Promise yourself a non-food reward for everything you cross off your list, such as 10 minutes to zone out on the internet.

23. Get a massage

24. Take a shower

25. Water your plants

26. Find something to break, like sticks or branches you find outdoors. Rip up an old tee-shirt. Anything that can feel cathartic and release some tension. Just don’t hurt anyone.

27. Relax your jaw. Your jaw is the strongest muscle in your body and because of that, you hold a lot of stress in it. Massage your jaw muscles and try to relax them.

28. Cry

29. Scream into a pillow

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30. Dance

31. Go to a spin class, kickboxing class, or to the boxing gym– something that exerts energy

32. Go for a drive through a neighborhood that you like

33. Go out to a movie

34. Smell flowers

35. Color hard with crayons– releases stress

36. Garden

37. Go to the beach and look at the ocean

38. Think about people you love, call them, tell them your woes or don’t tell them your woes, just connecting can be healing

39. Paint your toenails

40. Window shop

41. Play a musical instrument

42. Make Love

43. Write or read affirmations.

44. Give yourself a foot massage

45. Go for a good run!

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46. Write kind notes or emails to people for no reason

47. Walk outside and smile at 10 strangers

48. Write a letter to your higher self or your higher power or the Universe…

49. Slowly inhale to the count of 5 then exhale to the count of 5. Do this for 5 minutes.

50. Let it go.

Triggers

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It is no secret that I struggle with emotional eating. As a result, this Proverbs 31 devotional really hit home with me!

When I first joined Weight Watchers in October 2008, I did not know anything about trigger foods or emotional eating. All I knew was that food made me feel better. Food made me happy and was there for me when no one else was around. I knew that most of the weight I had put on was because I was lonely and depressed. However, I was shocked to learn that I had a problem with emotional eating.

For the last three years, I have been battling my triggers. I have been trying to learn to recognize the things in my life that trigger me to eat. I also began to learn to deal with my emotions in other ways than just eating. Am I perfect? No. I still have days, even now, when I know I am emotionally eating. However, I am proud of myself for being able to recognize that I am emotional eating. This has been a huge step in the right direction!

If you struggle with emotional eating, like me, take some time to think about the triggers in your life that have you running to the pantry. I had to begin to turn my emotions over to God. He really is the only one who can handle them. Begin to pray that God would give you strength and wisdom to recognize your triggers and to resist them when they come along.

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Triggers
January 19, 2012
Lysa TerKeurst

“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” Ephesians 3:17-18 (NIV 1984)

I was elated one day when the number on my scale dipped below the plateau weight I’d been stuck at for two weeks. I did a little happy dance and thought, “Finally, I’m making some real progress in this journey. It’s going to be such a great day. I’m super motivated. Bring on the raw veggies. Nothing’s gonna stop me now!”

Too bad things didn’t stay that way. Life, like math, can be unpredictable. I’m no math whiz, but I do remember there being these things called polynomials. Polynomials are algebraic expressions that include real numbers and variables.

That’s the way my food issues are—they contain real numbers and variables. I suspect yours do as well. And while we must pay attention to the real numbers by eating less and moving more, we would do well to consider the variables in our lives as well.

Variables are those daily triggers we didn’t account for but will detour even the best of intentions. Triggers can be as large as the stab of loneliness from a broken relationship or the memory of a childhood trauma. Triggers can be as small as a discipline “chat” with a teen out past curfew or stumbling across fresh doughnuts in the office break room. They can prompt the thought, “Life will be better if I eat that.”

Triggers have nothing to do with physical hunger or the need for legitimate nourishment. They are lies that we’ve thought so routinely they’ve become well-worn paths to careless eating. Life is not made better because we overindulge in an unhealthy choice.

The best thing we can do in these triggered moments is to pause. Pause and ask ourselves, “Do I want to eat this right now because I need nourishment or because I’m feeling empty emotionally or spiritually?”

If I need nourishment, I can choose a healthy option. If I’m just feeling empty, I must realize food can fill my stomach but never my soul.

The only way to negate an emotional eating trigger is to match it with truth. The truth is this: “I’m not physically hungry right now, but I need to be filled in another way.”

The Bible tells us that we can be rooted in love, not emptiness; that we have power to choose truth; and that as we comprehend the love of Christ, we will be filled to the measure of all the fullness—not of that brownie—but of God (Ephesians 3:17-19). And here’s the great thing about truth: it contains no variables! Truth is stable, secure and a surefire way to get me through the unpredictable moments of life.

Take time to pause and use God’s truths to challenge your triggers. And, when you’re truly physically hungry, that pause will give you the moment you need to choose a healthy snack. Then you will be truly full.

Dear Lord, please help me to battle each of my triggers today with truth. Your truth. Moment by moment. I understand that food can fill my stomach but never my soul. Only You can fill my soul and I am thankful for that. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The Hunger Scale

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Here is the meeting summary from 06.21.2011.

Are you neglecting your tummy? Does your stomach tell you when it is hungry and when it is satisfied?

In short…yes it does, the bigger question is do we listen?

Majority of the time when we eat, it is not because we are physically hungry. We tend to eat due to emotional hunger. We are bored, lonely, tired, happy, sad, depressed, stressed…..are you starting to get the picture?

So what would it take to really start to understand and respond to our hunger levels? Below you will find a hunger scale to kind of help you rate and determine at which level you are before eating.

The Hunger Level Scale
Level 1 — Famished; your stomach is completely empty; you’re weak and light-headed.
Level 2 — Starving; you’re uncomfortable and irritable and unable to concentrate.
Level 3 — Uncomfortably hungry; stomach is rumbling.
Level 4 — You’re slightly uncomfortable and just beginning to feel the signs of hunger and can’t wait to eat.
Level 5 — Neutral and comfortable. You’re more or less satisfied.
Level 6 — Completely satisfied.
Level 7 — Satisfied and feeling full.
Level 8 — Uncomfortably full. You feel bloated and are starting to feel uneasy.
Level 9 — Very uncomfortable and full. Feel like loosening your clothes.
Level 10 — Completely stuffed and miserable. Feel nauseous and need to take some kind of stomach relief; can’t function and you want to lie down.

Keeping this scale in mind before and during eating will help you to control your food intake and ultimately, result in weight loss. Our body is designed to help us know when and when not to eat, however on a regular basis we override the system. To be successful in your weight loss journey, becoming in tune with your body and knowing your hunger levels is extremely beneficial. This next week really try to listen to what your stomach is telling you.

Don't Eat Your Way Out of the Pit

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While Jon and I were gone in the Northwest we faced some incredibly challenging circumstances. After the initial shock of what had taken place I had the urge to eat come over me! I said it out loud to my sister-in-law, Teresa, that I was starving. However, as I began to think about it…how could I eat at a time like this? I refused to eat, because I knew that in that moment if I went and got some cake that I would have fallen to emotional eating.

As I let the weight of the circumstances fall heavy on me I began to realize that I really was not hungry at all. The truth was that these circumstances had upset me so much that I felt sick to my stomach. I tried to eat a few pillow mints and felt like I was going to throw up. It was not until the next day when my stomach finally began to settle that I knew I should eat, even though I was not feeling hungry.

This devotional from Lysa TerKeurst is so relevant to my life and the struggles that I face every day with emotional eating. I honestly believe that many times I eat, because that’s what I am used to doing in these kinds of stressful situations. It is the only thing that I can control in that moment.

Changing your old habits is a process and takes time. Be gracious with yourself as you make these kinds of changes, because no one is perfect. Cling to the Lord, because He will be faithful to complete every good work in you.

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Don’t Eat Your Way Out of the Pit
May 26, 2011
Lysa TerKeurst

“Three times a day, he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” Daniel 6:10b (NIV)

Have you ever been in a pit? Yesterday I was. And you know what pits make me feel besides frustrated and down? Hungry.

Usually my pit comes when circumstances roll into my life that I can’t control.
Circumstances that affect me, but that are beyond my control, make me want to find comfort in things I can control. And eating sure does feel like an easy to get comfort.

But, in these situations, what feels comforting going in my mouth often doesn’t settle well with my heart.

Overindulging in junk food makes me feel guilty. And once guilty joins me in my pit, it only compounds my issues. So, if we can’t eat our way out of a pit with junk food, what can we do?

If I’m truly hungry, I grab a healthy option. Then, I intentionally look for something for which to be thankful and get my mouth busy praising God.

Even though I may not feel like praising God in the midst of my pit, something starts to shift in my heart and in my attitude when I see blessings in the midst of burdens. Each thing for which I verbalize my thankfulness is like a stepping stone out of the pit.

And this isn’t just my idea. It’s biblical. Look what happened when Daniel took this approach to the pit he found himself in.

In Daniel 6:10, Daniel had just learned that if anyone was caught praying to anyone else besides King Darius, they would be thrown into the Lion’s Den. That’s a serious pit! But Daniel’s reaction is amazing.

He went home, threw his windows open, and prayed anyway. I’m not thinking he did this because he felt good. I’m imagining he felt like anyone would feel in overwhelming circumstances. But he rose above his feelings to make a choice.

And do you know what he chose to pray?

“God, save me!”

“God, it’s not fair!”

“God, this is too much!”

“God, smite my enemies and wipe them out!”

“God, You know I can’t handle this without extreme doses of chocolate!”

No. None of the above.

What Daniel prayed is a powerful lesson for me.

Daniel prayed, Thank You God. “Three times a day, he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” (Daniel 6:10b, NIV)
Since Daniel’s response is so opposite of the way most of us would react, it makes me stop and ponder. Our initial responses are usually a by-product of the rituals we’ve established in our life. Daniel had made it his habit to be thankful.

Therefore, who God is and what God provides was front and center in Daniel’s heart — even in the midst of heartbreak.

I am so challenged and inspired by this. Where do I run when life presses in on me? Who or what am I really dependent on? Do I have a habit of inviting guilt to join me in my pit? What might happen if I stopped grabbing for comfort and instead embraced the perspective change of thanksgiving?

Yes, life will be full of pits. But, that doesn’t mean I have to be a pit dweller or a pit eater.

Dear Lord, I know it is normal for us to sometimes find ourselves in a pit. But we don’t have to stay there and we don’t have to try and eat our way out. Thank You for providing Your timeless Word to point to the way, the truth and the life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Taking on Emotional Eating

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I did not have a good weekend on Weight Watchers. This is not the first time this has happened to me, so I know that this happens. However, I still need to process it so that it does not happen again!

The hardest time for me to stay on plan are the few days before that time of the month. Do you know what I am talking about ladies? Or am I the only one? I get the munchies and feel like a bottomless pit that can never get full!! I eat and eat, but nothing ever seems to satisfy those very deep cravings that I have. I would eat one thing after another, never feeling full. In fact, I felt so guilty that I even confessed to my husband that I had blown my points for the day! He is extremely gracious with me and encouraged me that it would be okay.

What was my problem I wondered? Can I really just blame this on that time of the month?

No.

Last weekend, you could say that I was experiencing emotional eating. I have been very busy with work, church, friends, Bible study, chores, and hanging out with my hubby. All of these are good things, but when I am trusting in myself to get everything done it always ends up hurting me in the long run.

Thankfully, God longs for me to give my burdens and worries to Him, because I do not have the strength to carry them!! Last weekend, my pride kept me from asking God for help in the area of food and it cost me. He longs for me to take care of my body/temple, but I can only do that with His help.

Monday morning, I set out to get right back on plan. I ate a healthy and filling breakfast and brought lots of healthy and filling foods with me to work. I was so happy that I was able to stay on plan, but more importantly I was at peace knowing that I have handed over my burdens to God and left Him worry about them.

Emotional vs. Physical Hunger

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/are-you-really-hungry-physical-vs-emotional-hunger

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Thank you so much for your prayers! My first day working at Weight Watchers was great! I mainly observed what goes on behind the scenes, but I think it is going to be a great fit!!

This is the perfect day to review the notes from the Weight Watchers meeting last week!

Here is a summary of my Weight Watchers meeting February 8, 2011.

In the meeting room this week we talked about being able to identify the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger. Let’s make it a goal this week to take the time to diagnose our hunger before it is too late. Below is a chart to help you do just that.

The Eight Traits of Emotional Hunger

Emotional and physical hunger can feel identical, unless you’ve learned to identify their distinguishing characteristics. The next time you feel voraciously hungry, look for these signals that your appetite may be based on emotions rather than true physical need. This awareness may head off an emotional overeating episode.

Source: Virtue, Doreen. Constant Craving A-Z. (Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 1999).

Emotional Hunger

1. Is sudden. One minute you’re not thinking about food, the next minute you’re starving. Your hunger goes from 0-60 within a short period of time.

2. Is for a specific food. Your cravings are for one specific type of food, such as chocolate, pasta, or a cheeseburger. With emotional eating, you feel you need to eat that particular food. No substitute will do!

3. Is "above the neck." An emotionally based craving begins in the mouth and mind. Your mouth wants to taste that pizza or chocolate doughnut. Your mind whirls with thoughts about your desired food.

4. Is urgent. Emotional hunger urges you to eat NOW to instantly ease emotional pain with food.

5. Is paired with an upsetting emotion. Your boss yelled at you. Your child is in trouble at school. Your spouse is in a bad mood. Emotional hunger occurs in conjunction with an upsetting situation.

6. Involves automatic or absent-minded eating. Emotional eating can feel as if someone else’s hand is scooping up the ice cream and putting it into your mouth ("automatic eating"). You may not notice that you’ve eaten a bag of cookies (absent-minded eating).

7. Does not notice or stop eating, in response to fullness. Emotional overeating stems from a desire to cover up painful feelings. The person stuffs herself to deaden her troubling emotions and will eat second and third helpings, even though her stomach may hurt from over-fullness.

8. Feels guilty about eating. The paradox of emotional over eating is that the person eats to feel better and ends up berating herself for eating cookies, cakes, or cheeseburgers. She promises atonements to herself ("I'll start my diet tomorrow.")

Physical Hunger

1. Is gradual. Your stomach rumbles. One hour later, it growls. Physical hunger gives you steadily progressive clues that it’s time to eat.

2. Is open to different foods. With physical hunger, you may have food preferences, but they are flexible. You are open to alternative choices.

3. Is based in the stomach. Physical hunger is recognizable by stomach sensations. You feel gnawing, rumbling, emptiness, and even pain in your stomach with physical hunger.

4. Is patient. Physical hunger would prefer that you ate soon, but doesn’t command you to eat at that instant.

5. Occurs out of physical need. Physical hunger occurs because it has been four or five hours since your last meal. You may experience light-headedness or low energy if overly hungry.

6. Involves deliberate choices and awareness of the eating. With physical hunger, you are aware of the food on your fork, in your mouth, and in your stomach. You consciously choose whether to eat half your sandwich or the whole thing.

7. Stops when full. Physical hunger stems from a desire to fuel and nourish the body. As soon as that intention is fulfilled, the person stops eating.

8. Realizes eating is necessary. When the intent behind eating is based in physical hunger, there¹s no guilt or shame. The person realizes that eating, like breathing oxygen, is a necessary behavior.

So when hunger comes calling, the first thing to do is to identify whether or not it’s physical by looking for these signals. If it is, focus on those great Power Foods as our first line of defense, then use the strategies we talked about to make sure we’re eating to the point of satisfaction … the point that feels good!

Now we didn’t spend too much time on what to do if it’s not physical hunger. For that we have this week’s challenge located on the back of your WW Weekly. It suggests we add the phone numbers of friends who are most encouraging to our weight loss journey to our ‘speed dial’, so we can call them during times when our emotions send us to the fridge. I would even suggest making a list of 5 things you can do instead of eating when emotional hunger comes calling … post it on your fridge & at work, and use it! Next week I’ll ask what you listed or who you’ll call.
NEXT WEEK we’ll be making over our kitchens to support weight loss, so don’t miss the meeting.

In the mean time remember: “When hunger comes call, check the caller id before answering!” If you’re not physically hungry, then food is not the answer!

My Struggle with Closet Binge Eating

Last week I walked into my weekly Weight Watchers meeting, just like it was any other day. But I walked away floored by the information that had been shared with me. I have known now for quite a while that I am an emotional eater. What I did not realize until last week is that I am also a closet binge eater. However, I believe that emotional eating is deeply connected with binge and closet eating. On Friday I posted the Meeting Summary notes from last week’s Weight Watchers meeting. If you have not read them…you should! This could be an issue for you too and you just have not realize it yet. Please go read the notes, then come back and finish reading the rest of this blog...I’ll wait for you.

Well, are you a closet and/or binge eater? I am both.

As a binge eater, I will be very good at times and have self-control while other people are around. I care very deeply about what other people think of me. I am always wondering what people think about me when I eat something. I wonder what they think when I go for that second cookie. But, when I am alone, there are times where I find myself eating everything in the house. I probably binge eat alone to save face in front of other people.


For me, closet eating started at an early age. My Mom would go to the store and come home with snacks for everyone. I would eat them. Rarely would I eat them in front of everyone else, but I would take them in my room to eat them or I would scarf them down so no one would see that I was the one who had eaten the last cookie. Mom would ask us where the snack(s) went to and I would lie and tell her that, “It wasn’t me.” Little did I know it would start habit patterns that would continue on even into adulthood. To this day, this is my biggest struggle even at Lifetime, because I have a tendency to hide the food I’m eating.


At any moment my emotions can trigger either one or both of these negative eating habits. My main trigger emotions are stress, depression, and boredom. This past Saturday evening was so challenging for me, because I was sad and homesick while my husband was at work. This is a bad combination for me. Normally, when I get like this I just eat until I feel sick to my stomach. But this time I knew that this was not true hunger and I refused to give in to the demands of my emotions. I began to fight back by trying to distract myself. I brushed my teeth, turned on music, called a friend, got on the Weight Watchers message boards, and drank some water. The Lord gave me the victory, because Saturday I only ate one point over my Daily Points allowance!

If you do not know your trigger, trust me that it is worth it to take the time to find out. Daily we need to be on guard so that we can say no to unhealthy eating habits like these listed above. God is the source of all strength and we can do nothing apart from Him, so make sure to bring Him into your weight loss. I am here to testify that He is faithful!

Stop Drop and Take Control

Here is a summary of my Weight Watchers meeting on August 3, 2010.



Ever find yourself binge eating uncontrollably? How about the sneak eating- hovering over the kitchen sink in the middle of the night so there is no crumb evidence? We have no problems eating an apple in front of others but an ice cream cone-NO WAY?

Lets learn a way to conquer these times. The best thing that you can do once you’ve realized you have lost control is to

1. Stop what you are doing.
2. Drop what you are eating
3. Have a plan to take control!

Identifying and understanding eating triggers can help you prevent this from happening. A trigger can be defined as something that sets in motion a course of events.

When it comes to eating triggers, they fall into three separate categories: trigger foods, trigger feelings, and trigger environments.

• Trigger Foods
A trigger food is a specific food that sets off a course of overeating where control is lost and excessive amounts are consumed. The most common trigger foods are sugar/fat combinations (e.g. ice cream, cookies) and fat/salt combination (e.g. nuts, potato chips). Food triggers are fairly uncommon and should not be confused with favorite foods (foods that are highly preferred), comfort foods (foods that are linked to a sense of home and contentment) or food cravings (desire for a food that has not been consumed in a long time). With a true food trigger it is the food, not an emotion or situation, that triggers the out-of-control eating. For example, open the bag of potato chips and it will be gone, regardless of mood, time of day or place. To help manage trigger foods, it is important to identify the food and avoid it altogether, at least for a certain period of time, and then reassess periodically.

• Trigger Feelings
A trigger feeling is an emotion, good or bad, that sets off a period of overeating. Unlike food triggers, which initiate overeating of a specific food, after an emotional trigger any available food will do. To manage trigger feelings, it is important to first identify the specific emotion that initiates the overeating and then develop positive strategies to cope with that emotion without using food.

• Trigger Environments
A trigger environment is a specific situation or place that sets off a period of overeating. Common examples include walking into a movie theater, going to a buffet restaurant, attending a sporting event or visiting a relative. To manage trigger environments, it is important to identify the specific location, people or events that set off the overeating. As with trigger foods, avoidance is an effective strategy for many people. For example, if the movie theater is a trigger, then going to a play or museum may be a better option. If visiting relatives in their home sets off an eating frenzy, ask to meet in a restaurant or elsewhere. When avoidance is not an option, it is important to develop tactics that minimize the likelihood of overeating.

Bottom Line – Inevitably, eating triggers happen. When this occurs, it is important to recognize them for what they are and think about how you could avoid it from occurring in the future. Behind every behavior – even negative ones – there is a positive intention. When you use food as a bandage for an emotional wound, you're seeking out a positive feeling. That feeling might be comfort, relaxation, happiness or entertainment. But whatever it is, you're eating in the hopes of achieving a positive state of mind. Think about the negative feelings that have caused you to use food as a bandage in the past. What positive feelings were you hoping to achieve by eating? Now try to imagine reframing these positive emotions with positive activities, rather than framing them with food. For example, what could make you feel less stressed, happier, more relaxed? Maybe you could frame these emotions with a call to a friend, a long walk, a good book or a hot bath. Keeping your hands distracted is a good technique and maybe keeping your mouth happy with a piece of sugar-free gum or candy. How many non-calorie activities can you come up with to help you heal an uncomfortable emotion? Be creative! After all, a cookie lasts as long as it takes to chew it, but a healthy lifestyle lasts a lifetime!

So what is going to be your plan to take control? Are you going to go for a walk, are you going to drink water, are you going to chew gum, are you going to phone a friend? It is important that the next time you find yourself eating uncontrollably, and you realize that you shouldn’t be, there has to be that next step. Have a plan for what YOU will do the next time you find yourself there.

Remember : WHAT YOU EAT IN PRIVATE SHOWS UP IN PUBLIC!

Emotional vs. Physical Hunger

Here is a summary of my Weight Watchers meeting on January 26, 2010.

We eat when we are hungry. We eat when we are happy. We eat when we are sad. We eat when we are bored.

This week’s topic was to try to learn and be able to identify the differences between physical hunger and emotional hunger.

The Eight Traits of Emotional Hunger

Emotional and physical hunger can feel identical, unless you’ve learned to identify their distinguishing characteristics. The next time you feel voraciously hungry, look for these signals that your appetite may be based on emotions rather than true physical need. This awareness may head off an emotional overeating episode.
Source: Virtue, Doreen. Constant Craving A-Z. (Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 1999).

Emotional Hunger
1. Is sudden. One minute you’re not thinking about food, the next minute you’re starving. Your hunger goes from 0-60 within a short period of time.

2. Is for a specific food. Your cravings are for one specific type of food, such as chocolate, pasta, or a cheeseburger. With emotional eating, you feel you need to eat that particular food. No substitute will do!

3. Is "above the neck." An emotionally based craving begins in the mouth and mind. Your mouth wants to taste that pizza or chocolate doughnut. Your mind whirls with thoughts about your desired food.

4. Is urgent. Emotional hunger urges you to eat NOW to instantly ease emotional pain with food.

5. Is paired with an upsetting emotion. Your boss yelled at you. Your child is in trouble at school. Your spouse is in a bad mood. Emotional hunger occurs in conjunction with an upsetting situation.

6. Involves automatic or absent-minded eating. Emotional eating can feel as if someone else’s hand is scooping up the ice cream and putting it into your mouth ("automatic eating"). You may not notice that you’ve eaten a bag of cookies (absent-minded eating).

7. Does not notice or stop eating, in response to fullness. Emotional overeating stems from a desire to cover up painful feelings. The person stuffs herself to deaden her troubling emotions and will eat second and third helpings, even though her stomach may hurt from over-fullness.

8. Feels guilty about eating. The paradox of emotional over eating is that the person eats to feel better and ends up berating herself for eating cookies, cakes, or cheeseburgers. She promises atonements to herself ("I'll start my diet tomorrow.")

Physical Hunger
1. Is gradual. Your stomach rumbles. One hour later, it growls. Physical hunger gives you steadily progressive clues that it’s time to eat.

2. Is open to different foods. With physical hunger, you may have food preferences, but they are flexible. You are open to alternative choices.

3. Is based in the stomach. Physical hunger is recognizable by stomach sensations. You feel gnawing, rumbling, emptiness, and even pain in your stomach with physical hunger.

4. Is patient. Physical hunger would prefer that you ate soon, but doesn’t command you to eat at that instant.

5. Occurs out of physical need. Physical hunger occurs because it has been four or five hours since your last meal. You may experience light-headedness or low energy if overly hungry.

6. Involves deliberate choices and awareness of the eating. With physical hunger, you are aware of the food on your fork, in your mouth, and in your stomach. You consciously choose whether to eat half your sandwich or the whole thing.

7. Stops when full. Physical hunger stems from a desire to fuel and nourish the body. As soon as that intention is fulfilled, the person stops eating.

8. Realizes eating is necessary. When the intent behind eating is based in physical hunger, there¹s no guilt or shame. The person realizes that eating, like breathing oxygen, is a necessary behavior.

Once you have determined which kind of hunger it is you have to set a plan. If you are physically hungry you need to eat. Try to prevent just grabbing anything by planning ahead. Make yourself a secret stash in your car, desk, purse etc. That way you know exactly how many points you are using. You never know when hunger will strike!

If it’s emotional hunger what are you going to do? Come up with a plan to help distract your mind from your emotions. One technique is to always keep your hands busy. Get moving and distract yourself from your thoughts!

Don’t Feed Your Feelings!

Here is a summary of my Weight Watchers meeting on September 29, 2009.

Don’t Feed Your Feelings!

Remember this week as you start getting those hunger pains to:
1) Evaluate whether or not it is a physical hunger pain or if its emotional.
Ask yourself what it is you are really seeking. If it is physical hunger, then you should eat something. A good sign is that your stomach will begin to growl. If you determine it to be emotional then...

2) Find a distraction. Do something to help you resolve the emotion that doesn’t involve eating!

For example:

• Journal- write whatever it is that’s bothering you down on paper or in an email. Sometimes just writing it all down can be a great way to “let it all out.”
• Vent- call a friend or family member and just tell them what is going on. It just might make you feel better!
• Find a hobby- do something with your hands. (Knit, sew, crafts, garden, etc.)
• Take a relaxing bubble bath. The warm water helps soothe those achy muscles.
• Clean house- everyone loves that squeaky clean atmosphere.
• Read a book- a novelty book, one that you enjoy and are interested in. Let it take you away!
• Exercise- go for a walk. Maybe even just stretching can help take away some of that unwanted stress.
• Go shopping- even if it’s just window shopping, it can help you get through those emotions.