Stop the World I Wanna Get Offffffffffffffffffffff!

Today was one of those days when it really doesn't suprise me that I'm overweight. It was a day full of intense stress, 8 year old children in tears or threatening to hurt themselves, and excessive M & M's knicked from the secretary's secret stash. It was a day where I felt completely and totally useless.

I can't fix everything, that much I know. But I'm a Libra and I like balance and frankly, in my job, in this particular school I work at, there is none. It is constant chaos -- and that is putting it mildly.

And yet, I feel as if it's all just one big fat excuse not to be better than I am. I am very good at making excuses. My best ones at the moment have to do with making it to the gym. By the way, I've finally figured out that I'm never going to make it there in the evening after school, so my new commitment is going to involve going at least 3 days a week in the morning. I seem to do okay dragging my arse out of bed at ridiculous hours. And then the 4th and potentially 5th day will be whenever I choose. I'm even going to allow myself to choose walking the dog (provided I actually walk the dog!) if I choose. A good walk though, no cop outs.

And who knows, maybe 99% of my stress will go away when I start working out again..........

That's all from the trenches,

FGS

Wahooooooooo!

I'm going to take a page from Mouse's book here and do a little Good, Bad, Ugly!

Good: My thesis is in the mail!!!!!!!! All 56 pages of the first three chapters. The easy part is next, so I'm not stressing AT all!
Bad: I ate more junk food in 72 hours than I have in the last oh, let's say, 2 years!
Ugly: The scale this morning!

I just wanted to do one :).

Sigh. My gym back is packed. And believe me, I'm going. I wish I had a week off work right about now to clean my house! You should have seen the pizza boxes and piles of dishes left over from my academic stupor. But, it's over now! And a wee small tiny bit of that super stressed feeling has gone away. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok. Time to get ready for early morning meetings. And throw some pork in the crock pot for tonight's dinner!

Bye Y'all!
FGS

ps.

You know, I think I failed to mention that I chopped off all of my hair for Locks of Love a few weeks back!!!!!! It's short and sassy now and I like it.

Bits and Bobs

It's Monday again. My favorite day. Pfft. Ok, I like Monday's when they aren't chaotic and out of control. Oh, and have I mentioned that I enjoy living in a swing state? I swear I'm getting calls every two minutes to vote for this and that. Peeps, I'm voting, you don't have to worry!

So I've joined Lauren's challenge! Heck, maybe a challenge will be just what I need. I am not really clear on all of the details of the challenge which means I'd best get my butt back over there and read the rules! Okay! All clear now! 10 weeks! The challenge is 10 weeks and it ends on December 22nd.

The question is, what exactly are my goals for this 10 weeks period?

Let's start with the obvious!

• GYM,GYM, GYM! I'd like to say I'll be able to go everyday. But peeps, I'm finishing my thesis here and so I'm going to make my goal of gym fun for 3 times a week.
• Food - okay, I eat very well my big issue is portion size. Sigh. I'm so good about fiber and I'm addicted to yummy, healthy shakes. The issue, and my weakness? CHEESE! And chips..... So, I'm not going to give up these things. I'd be stupid to say I was going to give these things up! Nuts! But, I can control how much I'm eating. Hmmm and maybe I can try some soy cheese.......
• Mind. I need to control my stress! I think that might help me out on a lot of fronts.

Overall, I'm not entirely sure what my weight loss goal is here. I suppose I will have to think about that!

Ok, off to take a bath and relax!!!!!!!!!

Laterz!

And happy birthday to Paddington Bear!

OMG! I missed my blog-o-versary!

Totally figures!

I seem to have trouble remembering my name these days with all the stress I'm having at work. Why I thought it was at the end of the month, I'm not entirely sure. But please help me celebrate with some yummy, guilt free cake...

Mmmmmmmm cake! Not that I wouldn't stop myself from eating it right now. Willpower? What's that? Pfft.

So I read that stress has a lot to do with forgetting things. Which could very easily explain my lack of memory these days. Have I mentioned I'm stressed out at work? I can't remember......

That's about all I'm capable of this morning. I'm listening to Manu Chao and thanking my lucky stars it's finally Friday. One more day with screaming children. If I make it through the day without quitting that is...

With that super positive news, I'm off! Have a lovely, choclatey-cake filled day!

And Happy Blog-o-versary to me!!!!!!!

FGS

Just one more piece!

I am an emotional eater peeps. Yeah, I admit it. And the stress of my job, coupled with the fact that I seem to have forgotten I am paying $40 bucks a month for a gym membership, have made this fact all the more lucid in the last few weeks.

I decided to blog about it after reading Fat Bridesmaid's post and thinking about to the last couple of weeks. A bagel in the staff lounge after I had just eaten breakfast, having an extra piece of pizza even though I'm not hungry. And the list goes on.... I guess I didn't realize how much the gym helped me manage a lot of these stress/comfort/emotional eating episodes. Work is taking it's toll right now. So much so that I found myself at home with a bottle of red wine and a heap load of sushi (among other things) on Friday night. And really, do I wonder why?

Breaking habits is clearly hard to do.

So how do I get control again?
Captain Obvious would like to point out my shiny, unused gym membership.
Thank you Captain Obvious.
But seriously,what about those times when the gym doesn't cut it? Knowing that controlling emotional eating is one of the keys to successful long term weight loss, it kind of freaks me out that I can't seem to get a handle on it!

What does the world have to say about comfort eating?

• educate yourself
  
• get rid of clutter that drains excess energy (ooooooooh! that makes so much sense)
• pretend you are Stuart Smalley (I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darnit, people like me!"
• exercise. (Duh. Easier said than done. Can someone hit me with the motivation stick?)
• take a test to see if I'm an emotional overeater......(okay,shockingly I have healthy attitudes toward eating!)
• get researchers at Case Western to call you and remind you that fatty snacks aren't going to improve your mood
• know your triggers
• find yourself some emotional support here and here and here
  
• change what you eat when you are emotionally eating (popcorn and carrots...?)
  
• make a plan of action for when you get stress (I promise to walk the dog, not walk to Wendy's)

*Minor disclaimer - research was done via google at 6am. Not responsible for any bad information posted on my blog prior to partaking of coffee. Will verify sources after caffeine.*

So it's a start...admitting my problem and educating myself are the first steps. Now I need to find alternative ways to manage my stress eating. Like moving to a tropical country and selling beers on the beach. Not much stress in that is there?

Sigh. And I'll keep blogging. No matter how frustrated I am.

FGS