Week 5 Day 1

Confession: I haven't worked out in a week!!

That is because I have been snowed in for a week!!!! If there is anyone who isn't from OK and hasn't heard about the snow I'll give you a quick synopsis.
Monday: Forecast of 20" of snow....All of Tulsa freaks out and run to the store to buy anything and everything!!!
Tuesday: 12am the snow begins....and continues until about 6pm. Ending at a total of 14inches.
Wednesday: The city "attempts" to clear the roads.
Thursday: Roads are still not clear and the news is urging people to stay in.
Friday: The parking lot to my apartment complex is finally plowed only to have 6 more inches of snow fall.
Saturday: The "Main" roads are drive-able but the neighborhoods and side streets are still a mess.
Sunday: The wether is finally above freezing and the roads are finally drive-able.

Thankfully I went grocery shopping on Monday, mainly because it was my typical day to go shopping and though I didn't want to fight the crowds I did and got what groceries I could find. For the next two days I was cooped up in my house with nothing to do but play online, watch TV and eat. As you can tell I am snowed in, unable to work out and fighting the urge to eat our of boredom!!! When I finally got out of the house (only to go to work) I was faced with the being bored at work and eating out of boredom there. So it was a rough week for me. I also found myself wanting to go to the gym...I don't know if it was because I was looking for a reason to get out of the house or if I really did miss working out.

In the middle of snow week one of my friends texted me with a question that got me thinking. "How do you combat emotional eating when you are snowed in?" I didn't have an answer...I did feel her pain though. I have been there stuck at home with nothing to do and want to eat cause I'm bored, or upset with whoever is in the house with me, or find out something stressful but can't do anything because you are stuck. All you do is just wander through the kitchen and stare at the fridge, freezer, pantry until you find something to ease the pain. So I put it to serious thought....how do I fight this? What should I do? My only saving grace this week was that my kitchen was full of healthy food, so anytime I did want to eat it was healthy, because I had no other options. What I realized it's not the fight in the moment its what you do that leads up to that moment. It's the baby steps I've been taking over the past six months that have made me strong enough to fight emotional eating. So to my readers out there who are fighting the same battle here are the baby steps that I have taken to help me fight emotional eating.

1. Kitchen Makeover: Ok so its not quite a baby step but if you have the money and will power get a trash bag and go through you're entire kitchen. Read each label and look for things that are bad for you like HFCS, words you don't understand in the ingredients, large calorie amounts per serving, preservatives etc. Buy the book "Eat This, Not That; Supermarket Survival Guide" read it then make your shopping list and go shopping on a full stomach.
2. Start saying "NO": I know that seems weird but you have got to start saying "No" to things. For example I've started saying "No" to go out with friends after work. I was spending too much money and eating way too much crap. However, there are the times when saying no is not an option. Just be prepared and try to plan ahead.
3. Find a new outlet for stress: I haven't quit found it yet, but trying different things has helped. Because I am trying new things, I'm eating less emotionally. I still have weak moments when I know I am emotional and finding an outlet doesn't work and I need something. Therefore the emotional eating has gone down...and I'm aware of it. Before I would just chow through a pizza, bag of chips, etc and not even realize it.
4. Working out: I know I need to work out to stay in shape and help with my weight loss. However, I have found when I do work out I eat less emotionally. It's not the perfect cure because there are moments when emotions are through the roof and I can't just drop everything and run to the gym.
5. Accountability: Doing this on my own has been near impossible. Being able to talk to others in the same situation as me has given me the motivation to lose weight. Also, making it a point to post my weight on a weekly basis, being in the challenge and having to be accountable to the other competitors keeps me in check.

I know they don't seem like baby steps but they are, I started out by breaking them down even more. For example saying "No" to friends started with saying "No" once a week and I built up from there. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not being anti social, I am just saying "No" to things that I know would cause me to eat more than I should...or eat crap I shouldn't be eating) I've also had to start saying "No" when I'm out and offered various things...or cut the evening short when I know it's going to turn into food fest at IHOP. Another baby step was making my goal to work out twice a week. What would happen I would get all excited about working out and go for a whole week, then get sore and bummed that I didn't lose 10 lbs and stop all together. When I started just making it a point to get to the gym on a weekly basis I found myself going more often and wanting to go more than twice a week.

It was taking these baby steps that kept me from going nuts while being snowed in for four days.

Hopefully this week will return to normal and I can get back in the gym and move forward.

I did gain a pound...but considering all the odds against me I'll be ok with it.