Keeping Stress at Bay

Stress is such a huge trigger for so many people I know who are dealing with weight issues. I think stress eating is one of the topics I seem to talk the most about with people.  It fascinates me how each individual reacts and deals with stress.  For myself I’m trying to make sure that stress and stress eating will not define or derail my weight loss journey, which is much easier to think than make happen.

This last week put all my stress strategies to the test.  It was one of those weeks where things out of my control started going on around me.  Although I didn’t have control over them happening they were adding to the stress and tension I was carrying around.  First was the news that my Nan had to go back to the hospital again, and at 94 years old no matter the reason this is not something I take lightly.  This news was followed by discovering my car had scratches on it in about the same spot that I had fixed in December.  This left me thinking and feeling like the repair shop had ripped me off.  Next was finding out that we were being reclassified down at work which means that my title changes and I become red circled.  Essentially it means that I will not be getting a raise for at least six years (if my math is right).  Finally the last event was going to the repair shop and being made to eat a little crow when they showed me that the damage on the car was actually new damage.  So not only did I feel bad for thinking they had ripped me off but it also meant someone else had hit my car.

Historically a week like this last one would have sent me into binge mode.  I would have turned to all my favourite, fast, fatty and bad-for-me foods.  Things like chips, pizza and wings would have been at the top of the list of what my brain would tell me I was craving.  The weigh-in that would follow such a week would have been a nightmare and very much dreaded.  I’m sure others can relate to this where everything just gets derailed and you are left trying to clean up the wreckage after the fact.  This would generally lead me to even more frustration and feelings of disappointment in myself.

The reality of this past week for me though was actually quite different this time around.  I spent a great deal of my time acknowledging what was going on.  I made choices that helped guide me successfully through the week.  They were based on strategies I had come up with prior to all of this.  Preplanning these strategies quite literally saved this week for me from being a train wreck and I figured if there was ever a topic I should write about my stress strategies is probably an important one.

Strategy 1 – Writing

                I always deal with things better when I see them written.  It takes it out of my brain and calms me down.  It gives me a little space from the problem and lets me look at it like I would a character in a story I’m writing.  It helps me to work the problem rather than get lost in the emotion of it.

 

Strategy 2 – Reading

                When I had written my emotions and thoughts out but was still struggling I decided to pick up a book and tried to lose myself in the words.  Fiction has often saved me from things going on in my life by giving me a place to escape to; a world that I can always shut down if it is not going my way.  This week I found that wasn’t working all that well either.  I had a hard time focusing on the words and found reality kept pulling me out of my imagination.  Luckily I had one more strategy ready to go.

 

Strategy 3 – Distraction

                For this last strategy I turned to one of my favourite computer games, Sims 3.  The mindless distraction of controlling a digital person was a great way to keep my mind off wanting to eat the entire chip aisle at Safeway.  I can lose hours playing the game which normally isn’t a good thing but when I am trying to protect myself from my old habits I’m not going to complain.  It ate up time that would have been used for stressing by keeping my hands busy.

 

The results of these 3 strategies for me this week were amazing.  It was a huge boost to my confidence because it validated the work I had done on planning my strategies ahead of time.  I was put to the test and I survived.  It was proof I needed to know that the changes I’m making are sticking and becoming a part of my daily lifestyle.  It also left me feeling like I had some control instead of feeling like I was just spinning out.  Of course the most obvious benefit for me (but not the most important) was the fact that it also left me with a weight loss this week, which is always a huge bonus.

 

I wanted to share my strategies because stress control/management is not something unique to me.  All week I watched fellow co-workers deal with the news of reclassification in different ways.  It is around us all the time and I think whether you are dealing with weight issues or anything else stress sneaks in to affect us all.  So I end this entry with a question/challenge – what are you strategies for dealing with stress?  Share them with me so we can all learn from each other.  If you don’t have any strategies in place I highly suggest taking some time to come up with some that will work for you.  Stress in inevitable but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.  It can be controlled and overcome with a little work, support and practice.