Planning for Stress

I have had a really, really stressful week. Anyone who works in the Education system will tell you that the last few weeks of school are incredibly stressful. And so, being that I work in public ed, things at work right now are stressful-with-a-capital-S. (In fact this is why I have hardly blogged at all this month, because May is crazy! And we have another week of school after this one!)

To compound things, my personal life has also been stressful-with-a-capital-S of late. I am not going to go into the whys and wherefores, because it would only be whining, and that is not the point of this post anyhow. But suffice it to say that today and yesterday I have been in as high a state of stress as I typically ever get, and after a pressure-cooker of a morning, I decided to leave the building during lunchtime, just for a change of scenery. Plus, I needed some cash because we have 3 teachers getting married this summer and 4 new babies coming and everyone is collecting gift money right now. So I got in my car and headed for the ATM.

The moment I got behind the wheel, I was struck with a tremendous craving for fat, salt, and sugar. I decided that what I needed - right that minute - was a big greasy double cheeseburger with extra mayo, and a large order of french fries, and a diet soda (fortunately, regular soda is not a weakness of mine). "And after that," I told myself smugly, "I am going to stop at the corner store and buy a bag of double-dipped chocolate covered peanuts for dessert!"

Now don't think for a moment that these thoughts were running through my head unchallenged. One does not embark on a mission to change one's lifestyle without ingraining thoughts in one's head to support said mission, and naturally my rational mind chimed in at once with all sorts of logical and rational reasons why I should not eat a 1000 calorie calorie lunch sprinkled with chocolate covered peanuts! But (and any of you who have dieted can attest to this), the rational voice sounded like this:
"You need to make the right choice, now, Susan, you have worked hard to lose those 60 pounds and the other 60 are not coming off on a diet of cheeseburgers and fries. Remember, it is about choices. You are in control here. You decide what you are going to eat."

and the irrational voice sounded like this:
"I WANT FRENCH FRIES! I NEED CHOCOLATE! I DESERVE IT! I FEEL LIKE CR*P AND THIS WILL FIX IT! AAAARRRGGGHHH!"

And while this debate was roaring in my head I was driving, ever nearer, to the fast food restaurant. And I could feel myself sliding. And I didn't care.

Has this ever happen to you before? I'll bet it has. And who usually wins? Well, the screamer does, of course, because when your emotions are in a high state, it is really hard to ignore the tantruming baby that is our inner child. It's the same reason that you are more likely to snap at your kids or give in to their whining if you are stressed out from work or the family finances. We are emotional creatures, us humans, some more than others, granted; but we are all emotional people, and many of us are emotional eaters. This is why it is really important that you plan ahead how you are going to respond when you are under stress, emotional, and attacked with a craving to eat something you shouldn't - because it is going to happen.

I have several self-reminding techniques that I use to help me in these situations. One technique I have (which works both at home and at work), is to go take a quick 5 - 10 minute walk. The exercise clears my head and has the added bonus of raising endorphins, which helps combat the emotional high tide. Another thing I do (at home) is go to my bathroom and read my mirror (see my March 4th post for the why). Sometimes I have to stand there a long time talking sense to myself. I have spoken with others who use techniques like drinking a big bottle of water, calling a friend for support, etc. It's good to have an arsenal of ideas handy.

There are two techniques that I used in the car today, and both of them are good ones that usually work. First of all, I turned on my radio to the Christian music station. A really good song was playing called "Voice of Truth," and since I know the song I started signing with it, and within a minute my mental state started to turn around. (I find that often if I turn on the radio or punch up my CD player, the right song for the moment will be on. I do not call this coincidence, I call this the Grace of God.) The second thing I did was hook my fingers under the waistband of my pants and tug a little. This a physical cue that works well for me, because it reminds me either that my pants are getting looser, or that I am in a smaller size pants than I used to be. Today I am wearing my black jeans which are actually a little bit loose, and when i tugged on them I said out loud, "If you eat that lunch these jeans are going to be snug all afternoon!"

About that time I reached the drive-in menu, and if I had reached it 2 minutes earlier I am quite sure that I would be writing this blog entry with my pants unsnapped, but fortunately I had regained my sanity by then, and I ordered one of those yummy salads with the grilled chicken on top, instead. It was not because my willpower came through, either, because willpower is no good at all when your stress level is through the roof. It was because I have methods in place to deal with these situations, and however silly they may seem, they work more often than they don't! Try it out - and maybe the next emotional storm that hits you won't capsize your dieting boat.