Managing the Munching Meltdown

I live in a house with three boys, one husband, three dogs and one leopard ghecko.  For three days I have been living in a house with no water.  No showers.  No toilet.  No laundry.  No dishwasher.  No teeth brushing.  You get the picture.  I hope this all ends tomorrow, but I would not bet on it.  So, I am trying to prepare to move out until our plumbing/sewer disaster is fixed.  Because of this little inconvenience I have not cooked any meals, so that Cooking Light #3 will just have to wait!

This is what I did do yesterday as plumbers, workmen, and quotes ranging in the five digits were all being thrown at me . . . tried to “buck up”, tried to get rid of the pounding in my head and did find myself opening the pantry door for handfuls of nuts with each bit of bad news.  And we all know I wasn’t hungry.  The only thing that saved me from gaining ten pounds in two days was the fact that we did not have any unhealthy junk or comfort food in the house.  I would hate to know the exact amount of mixed nuts I actually consumed during the course of the day yesterday!  

We often eat for all sorts of reasons, least of all being hunger.  We can eat out of boredom, sadness, anger, depression, loneliness, or in my case, stress.  I may not be speaking for all of you, and hope I am not.  This may not be an issue for you, and I’m so glad!  So, don’t pick this habit up if it’s not your issue!  If you do find yourself in the midst of mindless munching, WebMD has some tips to manage emotional eating.  I admit I know all of these tips by heart and have often done these tips.  However, I also admit that sometimes knowing what to do and actually doing it is really hard!  If you find yourself in the middle of a complete meltdown and finding yourself in the pantry far too often at least recognize it for what it is and see if any of these tips can draw you away from the pantry or fridge.

• Recognize emotional eating and learn what triggers this behavior in you.
• Make a list of things to do when you get the urge to eat and you’re not hungry, and carry it with you, according to the Tufts Nutrition web site. When you feel overwhelmed, you can put off that desire by doing another enjoyable activity.
• Try taking a walk, calling a friend, playing cards, cleaning your room, doing laundry, or something productive to take your mind off the craving — even taking a nap, according to the Tufts Nutrition web site.
• When you do get the urge to eat when you’re not hungry, find a comfort food that’s healthy instead of junk food. “Comfort foods don’t need to be unhealthy,” says Wansink.
• For some, leaving comfort foods behind when they’re dieting can be emotionally difficult. Wansink tells WebMD, “The key is moderation, not elimination.” He suggests dividing comfort foods into smaller portions. For instance, if you have a large bag of chips, divide it into smaller containers or baggies and the temptation to eat more than one serving can be avoided.
• When it comes to comfort foods that aren’t always healthy, like fattening desserts, Wansink also offers this piece of information: “Your memory of a food peaks after about four bites, so if you only have those bites, a week later you’ll recall it as just a good experience than if you polished off the whole thing.” So have a few bites of cheesecake, then call it quits, and you’ll get equal the pleasure with lower cost.

Credit:  www.webmd.com/diet/features/emotional-eating-feeding-your-feelings?page=2

So, on to the packing.  I’m hoping to be back in my kitchen soon.  Having no water for food prep in the kitchen is also no fun!  But, I’m hoping this will all make for a good story!

Are you an emotional eater?  What do you do to de-stress?  Don’t you wish you were a boy and could just tinkle behind a tree?