Eating the Angel Way in times of stress

Let's be real.  When I am tired, when I have a pile of papers on my desk that all insist on immediate attention, when I have to talk to human beings more than once or twice a day, I am stressed.  And when I am stressed and hungry, I don't think broiled fish with spinach & horseradish with brown rice.  I think chili cheese dog.  And then I feel yucky and stressed.


And we call that Tax Season.


As Annie, Karen, and other brilliant people have said, when you are stressed, you need a layer of comfort, and you need a little sweetness.  But remember that a layer of comfort is not necessarily a pound of mashed potatoes and a little sweetness is not necessarily a pint of ice cream.  And never mix them --- I learned that the hard way.


One thing I've gotten from Eating the Angel Way on a fairly regular basis is a new perspective.  It's shifted my paradigm!  (I haven't used that word this year, so I just threw it in.)  Now, when I'm stressed and need a layer of comfort and sweetness, I often DO think of Greek yogurt with blueberries.  And I savor it like those chicks on the TV ads who get paid to eat yogurt and look like they are having an orgasm.  And I feel satisfied and NOT YUCKY.  I get the layer of comfort without the layer of grease.  What can I say?


I do keep Hershey's kisses in the office too.  Sometimes I want a little milk chocolate, and since I've quit saying no to my ornery self, I've been able to eat one or two pieces rather than a whole bag.  And believe it or not, there are days I don't eat any at all.


I feel better grounded in Eating the Angel Way right now, and I'm hoping that grounding will help me pick the right comfort and the right sweetness for me.  And if that is occasionally a bowl of mashed potatoes topped with ice cream, then so be it.  But only occasionally.

Update: AWE Week 2 day 4

Usually when I don't keep up with the healthy eating blog, it's because I've been pigging out on fast food and ice cream. Not this time. I'm eating well! Really. I've been eating the angel way for about a week and a half now. I think I've managed at least one rainbow each day & I'm enjoying lean protein with each meal.

What makes this exceptional is that I am swamped with work. Since last Wednesday, I have worked over 50 hours in the regular office alone. In addition, I've put in at least 8 hours (probably more) at the church. This is in addition to family, Carolina School for Inquiry board (although I cut the meeting for the first time in two years), friends, and cats. So there has been little or no time to blog about it.

In some ways, "testing" the angel way of eating during tax season is unfair. This is the most stressful time of the year. I have a low grade headache all of the time. I am short-tempered and sensitive. I quit my job on a daily basis. However, it is amazing to me that I feel so much better than I usually do at this time. Better than I usually feel at a less stressful time. I am not hungry, but I am not eating a lot. I am able to drive past a dozen or so fast food restaurants on the way to work with only a little twinge of a voice whining, "But I really NEEEEEED a steak egg & cheese biscuit!!!!" I don't even want any of the fast food lunch offerings. If I forget to bring lunch (or run out of the stock in the office) I eat Wendy's chili and a side salad. But I'd rather have the pretty salad I bring from home, with tuna (admittedly canned) or chicken.

I haven't tried to eat less, but I've lost about ten pounds. It's probably not really ten pounds. It's probably a combination of a perverse scale, water weight, and real weight loss. But I feel better, my skin looks better, and even with the massive amount of stress, I feel better.

Thanks, Annie & the Angels.