Hungry, hungry, hungry--STRESS!

[DeBora4BobbyL]

With all the stress in my life, which cannot be changed, I am hungry all the time. I understand how the body works under extreme stress, and hunger is one of them. I cannot balance all the stress in my life as well as my finances of 2 households in 2 different states and battle my DD and SIL for custody of the kids, plus a serious situation at work (cannot give details or the media would get involved), and so much more. Anyone have any ideas for me to be able to meet my hunger needs and not starve and yet be able to lose weight?

[trainlady]

I think the "Eat Clean Diet" would work good for you!
The book is by Tosca Reno.
You eat a small meal/snack every two to three hours.
Lots of proteins and good for you carbs, no junk food.
Eating that often might help since you are feeling hungry all the time. You pack a cooler with enough good foods to last thru your work shift so they are always handy. I think you would like this one!!

You know how I have trouble sticking to ANY diet, but I DID like this one as compared to Weight Watchers. That was not enough food for me and I was always hungry.

www.eatcleandiet.com


hugs, train

[DeBora4BobbyL]

The bad thing is that I KNOW why we have hunger when we are stressed. I am battling between needing to lose weight and not caring because I need my food! I know it is all psychological.

[Mish]

Well for me I gained 1 pound back. That diet does make sense,.I am trying to keep track of what I eat ect.
Mish

[RobertaD]

I'm with you there DeBora I need to lose 20-40 lbs and I know I do but at times I don't care and eat out of spite and stress as I get little help with the house, kids and earning money.

DH has filed for disability for many reasons but there are things he could step up and do around the house and help out with running the kids, etc. and even sort through his stuff that he doesn't use anymore and try to sell to bring in some money.

I don't get enough sleep and don't have the time to excerise though I do try to move more during the day.... use stairs, park away from the door, etc. but it isn't enough to move the scale.

Roberta

[Lifestar]

DeBora, I have the same problem, and hav suffered a loosing battle for the past 20 years. I think you just have to get to the place where you're so disgusted that you put yourself first despite all the other crap. You no longer eat to stuff the stress down. You eat to fuel yourself for the fight.

I finally got to that point recently. I joined weight watchers. I Knew all the right things to do, like you do... I just never did them. I gave up on ME. But now I'm ready to carve that 40 minutes out for myself. I like the support of the meetings, listening to others successes and failures, and finally not afraid to feel like the fatest person in the room. I'm going to reunions andinviting old friends for dinner and it's OK.

I'm feeling so much freer and happier, and able to balance the stress better. I am stuffing my face with fresh veggies, and crunchy salads instead of carb and fat laden foods, or getting out of bed at night to heat up left-overs because I cant' sleep due to the problems of the day, and the next day, running through my head. . It's summertime and it's refreshing to eat the produce and drink the iced beverages that fill me up.

Eat less calories, move more and burn more calories. That's the simple truth, but you can't do it till you're in that place of putting YOU first no matter what. I know enough aboput your life that I can picture you saying "yeah right"... but that is the best advice I have for you. Love yourself first.... (I've lost 5 pounds this week) and I love it!

[cyncerp]

You DO know that you are not hungry...you are feeding something that has nothing to do with hunger. You feel better when you eat, because you are focusing on something other than the stress in your life. Work toward fixing the stress, or you will continue to use your drug of choice....FOOD! Decide that if you want to eat, you will eat carrots, celery, nuts or a piece of fruit. If you don't want to eat these things, you ARE NOT HUNGRY!!!! It is up to only you, to take control of your eating. Over eating only makes things worse, right? The problems are still there, food doesn't fix it.

[Sammi1961]

DeBora, I am a stress eater too. Plus I never get enough sleep. I try very hard to eat healthy and make good choices but sometimes I just give up and eat ice cream or a whole box of milk duds. I wish I had a magic solution. I need to lose about 40 pounds. The "Eat Clean" diet that Donna mentioned sounds intriguing. I did try weight watchers and did lose weight on it but I was hungry all the time and know it just wouldn't work for me in the long run since I was always so hungry. With all you are going through, you are under a tremendous amount of stress. Can I ask what you do when you have a craving for junk food but don't have any in the house? I have tried keeping all junk out of the house but when that craving hits I just go to the store.

[KSJEn6891]

Originally Posted by trainlady

I think the "Eat Clean Diet" would work good for you!
The book is by Tosca Reno.
You eat a small meal/snack every two to three hours.
Lots of proteins and good for you carbs, no junk food.
Eating that often might help since you are feeling hungry all the time. You pack a cooler with enough good foods to last thru your work shift so they are always handy. I think you would like this one!!

You know how I have trouble sticking to ANY diet, but I DID like this one as compared to Weight Watchers. That was not enough food for me and I was always hungry.

www.eatcleandiet.com


hugs, train

You make valid points here. I was going to suggest a handful of fruits / vegetables to nibble on through out the day. If you have to have something sweet, make it caramel sauce over apple slices, and a few nuts (if not allergic). Make your own trail mix, add flax cereal (either granola and/or w/Strawberries & raspberries)...this way you are aiding in heart health while stressing out too.

Drink lots of water (or water diluted coffee / tea / juices)
You would be amazed at how full you can feel just drinking water.

Another tip, that helps me is to keep multi packs of different flavored gum within reach of where ever I am. I have a 15 stick pack in my purse, one in my car, one in DH's SUV/Truck, one in my MC jacket, two 5 stick packs on my desk, extras in a desk drawer, and about 2 box packs of 15 sticks in the pantry by the kitchen.

I also try to keep the Fiber One bars and the Special K snack bars in the joint pantry for afternoon snacks or mid-day meals...DH uses them at work for mid morning - mid afternoon snacks at work.

I also quit trying to diet - I would get severely depressed when the weight wouldn't drop after a few months...now I just watch what I eat - label reading more, try to exercise more - this is part of my biggest challenges, and eat healthier portioned meals / snacks. I know I am going to fault er, but I tell myself "it's okay, we'll try harder tomorrow or the next day." And when I get something as simple has hand mopping a small bathroom floor cleaned, I tell myself "COOL! We did a little more physical activity than we thought we would."

Part of staying healthy is knowing what "our" trigger foods are, what type of exercise we get, and the amount of sleep we acquire in a day; week; month, and year.

Maybe what you could try doing if you aren't getting enough exercise at work is trying walking on your lunch break - if you are up and about all day long, try taking a power nap at your lunch break.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

I just did hypnosis on someone on a new diet. I will be honest in that between the drug of my choice, food, and dealing with the safety of 2 children, I will eat and make sure 2 kiddos are safe. The problem is that I totally understand how the brain works. Stress triggers cortisol to release a hormone to bring on a hunger trigger. I also know that around the age of 30, the hippocampus makes your metabolism change so you gain weight easier. My problem is that I eat to release stress and I eat because it is what I do at my age. lol