I just realized that I last posted on the 9th and it’s the 11th. The last couple of days are a blur of work, commitments, stress-inducing crisis, and more work. I’m physically and emotionally exhausted. I can’t speak in depth about the stress-inducing crisis because it involves an organization with which I’m involved, but I can assure you that it isn’t the one where I work. I feel a tad overcommitted this week, and by tad I’m underexaggerating. Not only did I work every day but I had evening meetings on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Even Tai Chi on Wednesday wasn’t its usual relaxing self but something else I needed to do, somewhere I needed to be.
I am so glad to be home tonight just puttering around the house, cuddling the dogs and watching my Phillies play the Miami Marlins.
Whenever I had weeks like this in the past, I used food and overeating to help me deal. There is no empirical evidence that compulsive eating every actually helped me deal with anything even once, but it was my crutch so, excuse or no, I used it. That’s not my way anymore.
Recovering from any addictive disorder means not falling back into the addicting substance or behavior. When the going gets tough, the tough need to develop new coping mechanisms. This week, I decided that I would treat myself well with a massage. I earned it, I deserved it, and, most of all, I needed it. I went this afternoon after leaving work and it was worth every minute of time and every dollar I spent. My body feels so much better and I’m definitely not physically holding onto the stress any more.
I passed the cupcake bakery on my way to and from the massage therapist but I didn’t stop in and buy something with too many calories to console me for my tough week. Although I thought about it, I decided that the best tasting cupcake in the world wasn’t worth eating when I’d worked so hard to lose weight this week.
Food wise, I had an excellent week. Yes, even with all of the crap going on and my general, over-extended busy-ness, I stuck to my plan to eat mostly “full” liquids for breakfast and lunch and then low carb meals for dinner. Honestly, I didn’t eat very substantial meals for dinner either, often having some yogurt or fruit or something light. Tonight I could have put together a salad (see recipe that appears below) but I wasn’t all that hungry when I got home and had a couple of carrots and some hummus for dinner instead.
It isn’t always easy to find new ways to deal with the random stuff that often comes with life. I’m glad when I can pick a substitute behavior instead of eating, and that’s honestly the key thing to remember. What I do is not as important as what I choose not to do. Whichever coping mechanism or coping assistance I employ, the only sure thing that I need to lock onto is that I need to choose not to overeat. Everything else is secondary.
Now for the recipe, that I absolutely plan to make for dinner tomorrow. I have the ingredients prepped and ready to go. This recipe comes courtesy of Karen (Betty Bear). Many thanks!
Kale Salad
1 bunch of kale (the original recipe asked for lacinato, aka elephant, kale, but curly is easier to find and tastes just as good)
⅓ c. pine nuts, toasted
⅓ c. dried cranberries or cherries
3 oz. ricotta salada cheese, grated (mild feta works fine)
1 T. minced shallot
1 ½ T. lemon juice
5 T. extra virgin olive oil
Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil and shallot. Wash kale and remove stems. Slice horizontally VERY thinly. Toss kale, pine nuts, cranberries and cheese. Toss with dressing.
Notes: this makes a LOT of salad, enough for 5 or 6 people. If you’re making for yourself, prep everything else but only do as much kale as you want for your salad and add other stuff accordingly.
Weighty Matters 
Yum! I’m going to try that one!
It’s great that you’ve really managed to put your eating issues into your consciousness so that you are aware of them and can make conscious choices more easily. When issues are still hanging out in the back of our minds and we haven’t thought them through and brought them into the light, they have so much more power to influence our thoughts, feelings, and actions. It’s great how much control you have with your awareness. Good for you!
The salad looks good! I might have to see if my current housemates want to give it a whirl.