Not Burying My Face In A Pan Of Brownies Is Real Progress!

I'm an "emotional eater" as many overweight people are. Instead of working through the stresses life inevitably brings to each one of us, I run to food to soothe and comfort my frayed nerves and take the edge off any negative feelings. For me, the key to losing the weight and then keeping it off, is identifying my emotional "triggers". This week was a great example of this. The first part of the week, I was tracking every bit, every morsel, every calorie I was consuming in my food journal. I was feeling really good about my progress and then suddenly (it seemed) I fell off tracking all together. I still ate according to plan, but I didn't track my calories for the last part of the week. Why the inconsistency this week? Well, looking back over my week, I can identify some major emotional triggers that could be the reason for my veer off course:

Here's a sample of some of my emotional triggers this week:

1) I got sick with a terrible bronchitis.

2) I had to reschedule a job interview because I was so sick I could not stop coughing and I was running a fever and I didn't think it was fair to expose anyone to my illness.

3) I was called in for a second job interview for a different job and was told it could not be rescheduled, so I had to do a two hour interview while sicker than a dog.

4) My husband was diagnosed with skin cancer. This is his second bout with it and they performed a biopsy this week. They think it's basal cell carcinoma, not melanoma, THANK GOD, but it's stressful and scary waiting for the lab results to come back in. Also, he was in quite a bit of pain from the biopsy.

5) My mother and my mother-in-law came for a visit at the end of the week to attend Grandparents Day at my daughter's school. I love them, but even the best company can be draining when you're recuperating from illness.

6) A client of mine made a mistake and I may not receive a paycheck for the months of work I did for her.

7) My husband decided to quit his his job and return to college full time to get his Master's in teaching. He's now looking for part time work that can fit into his new class schedule. This will have a MAJOR impact on our finances, as you can imagine, and while I support him, I am beyond scared.

I'm sure there were other stresses, but these are the main ones that come to mind. It's amazing what one week can bring! So, I guess when I look at this list, I understand why the careful tracking went out the window. In an effort to be more kind to myself (I'm my own worst critic), I'd say the fact I didn't bury myself in a pan of brownies this week is REAL PROGRESS.

I'll take it.

Thank God, no matter what stresses and emotional triggers I may encounter, I'll never be this weight again!