About Stress Eating

So my boss wants to meet with me for 20 mins tomorrow and I have no clue what this is about. Neither does her assistant. Why!? I honestly never know if I'm doing fine, or am in deep trouble so I feel like it could be anything.

Anyway, when I hit a stressful bump in the road of life, I tend to want to eat something fattening. Sugary, savory, whatever, but that famililar desire to hide behind food sparks.

What do you do to fight these little moments? I'm just counting on my own will power right now. I had a small cup of coffee with skim milk in it, which I tend to have at that time normally anyway, so no real slip up as of yet. It's 11.50am here in NYC, so I'm just about at lunch time anyway, phew!

So, today I'm writing to ask you all for help. How do you fight the urge to "comfort snack"? And also, how do I stop those random thoughts about whether I'm in trouble at work or not?! I'm trying to just breathe and have faith in myself and my work. Stay in the present moment and that type of stuff. I MUST stay in a zen-y place about work stuff!

Thank you for listening!
Remember, we will succeed together, one day, meal and bite at a time!
xoxo,
missnutmeg

Practicing Safe Snacks!

In making my life easier to stick to plan, I'm trying out new snacks that are "safe" in terms of points, but still satisfy cravings for sweet, salty, whatever.

Many times I catch myself staring at cookies, candies, pastries, anything and everything lying around at home or the office that is really not going to help me get fit. But you know that nagging feeling too right? "I just want something sweet... a few bites of something..."  And then 20 mins later, you find yourself stuffed and annoyed and blah and wondering, "What just happened?"

Some ideas to practice SAFE SNACKS!

1. When in sweet doubt, go bananas.
My trick for when you're on the fence, right about to make a not so good decision, grab a banana! Bananas have become my go to fruit, my safety fruit, a security blanket when faced with processed sweets. Bananas are sweet, (super sweet if quite ripe) and also substantial. They feel more filling to me since they're not a watery fruit.

2. Salty and starving? Cheese It.
I don't really love actual cheez-its (sorry Sunshine Foods!) but a good alternative that actually fills me up are Triscuits with a piece of low fat or nonfat hard cheese on it. They have lots of fiber to keep you full and the cheese provides great protein and calcium. Don't have low fat cheese around? Just cut full fat varieties into slimmer slices.

3. Sweet and Savory, I'm going nuts!

My new thing as of this morning is home made trail mix. Forget wondering what kinds of preservatives are in store bought trail mix, just make your own. Mix equal parts almonds, cashews or walnuts, and dark or light raisins. If you MUST have chocolate in there, please use dark semisweet chocolate chips, but really, skip them if you can manage. I keep a Tupperware of these out on a counter at home and a Ziploc of them in my drawer at work. Refill weekly!

4. Get Zen. Calming tea
Toward the end of work when I'm saving calories/points for dinner I need something super low-cal to calm my cravings. My best bet is always a nice herbal tea. Green tea is supposed to boost your metabolism at all ages, and chamomile is super soothing. In winter I like to add slices of fresh ginger which makes herbal teas just a bit more astringent -- good for preventing colds and sore throats. (You can always count on Indian gals like me for all those herbal and Ayurvedic tricks!)

So there you have it, 4 ideas that are getting me through each day. Be sure to practice safe snacks!
If you have other great snack ideas that work for you, just leave a comment here or email me at missnutmegblog@gmail.com.

Remember, we will succeed together, one day, meal and bite at a time!
xoxo,
missnutmeg

Relearning How to Eat

It's day 6. I'm learning a lot about my hunger signals and how to react. I am trying to eat every 4 hours, but honestly? I'd love to munch in between those times too! Does this mean I'm not having enough at those meals? Maybe.

The other major lesson I’m learning is what we’ve all heard Jennifer Hudson say on Weight Watchers before, “you CAN eat the foods you like and still lose weight”…

Now, just like you, I NEVER believed that. Well, now I think I’m starting to get it. It’s really about restraint and satisfaction. People like us hear the words “portion control” and we’ve heard it SO many times before that… well, your ears don’t HEAR it anymore!

On this blog, I’m really hoping to help find new ways for me, and hopefully you too, to understand these concepts.

So, my dissection of the idea of self control: You know how sometimes you go shopping and look a nice top or shoes and admire them, but you don’t actually buy them? You’re happy to just go home and think about it, possibly buy them later? THAT’s the trick!

We just have to do the same thing with food. You can appreciate the yummy, even have a little bit, and then step away to “think about it” and later you might not need any more. With practice, you can learn to find the joy in admiring something from a little more distance, and finally decouple the desire for HAVING that item. Know what I mean? It’s two separate things, like:

Oh I really like those shoes! Vs. Oh I want to buy those shoes!

Applied to your eating:
Oh that's a pretty muffin! Vs. Oh I want to eat that muffin!

A subtle difference, which makes ALL the difference. 

So case in point, I actually had Nutella last night. GASP, I know! But I had only a little spread on only one single slice of whole wheat bread. Now, is this something I think I should have daily? Definitely not. I ate this because I was definitely hungry after dinner, as in, my stomach was truly empty and not just bored. And I knew I had points left to still use in the day and I had climbed 11 flights of stairs at work that day.

So there you go! You can still have a taste of something rich, without totally blowing your diet.
My advice to you, eat slowly, enjoy each bite. Don’t multitask while you eat. Make eating more of a refined ritual where you take your time.

How about you? Got any fun ideas for fitting in yummy favorites without derailing your diet?

Or have you been able to retrain the way you eat? Comment or email me at missnutmegblog@gmail.com to let me know!
xoxo,

missnutmeg