Stress Eating is no longer an Excuse

Over the past 6 months every good habit I had worked hard to practice when it came to good eating went out the window. That was fine. There was a lot of stress in my life and we were going through a major change in moving from one state to another and from pastoring one church to another. That produced stress, and the way I often deal with stress is by EATING!

So for the past 6-8 months I've had an excuse and I have taken full advantage of it which has resulted in gaining about 25-30 pounds. But now that I have been here in Michigan for 4 full months, I think it is time to rid myself of the "stress eating" excuse. That doesn't mean that there is no more stress in my life. In fact, the stress just never seems to really subside all that much. If it's not one thing producing stress, it's another. That's why I can't use the "stress eating" excuse any longer because if I wait until the stress is all gone, I will be waiting a long, long time. After all, winter is coming and I have a feeling that my first experience of trying to keep up with falling leaves followed by falling snow and falling temperatures isn't going to lessen my stress level any.

So beginning next week, Laura and I are returning to the only diet that has really worked for the both of us. It's the EAT LESS...MORE OFTEN diet. In other words, I will eat every 2 hours throughout the day but it will be something small and mostly healthy. Then we will include a small dinner which still leaves room for a couple of snacks at night. It is amazing how many good 100 calorie snacks that are out there like the mini microwave popcorn packets and 100 calorie ice cream bars. When we go to a restaurant, we'll order one meal and an extra salad and then split the meal. This allows us to lose weight and save money all at the same time.

We did this diet a few years back and it really worked for us. We felt better. We slept better and I looked better (I say "I" instead of "WE" because Laura always looks good!!!). The first two weeks of getting back on this diet will be a little tough because I'll be hungry all the time. But after about 2 weeks, I guess my stomach will shrink or something because little snacks throughout the day will tend to satisfy me just fine.

So starting next week, no more "stress eating" excuses. And hopefully, over time, you will be seeing less and less of me!