I'm Glum, Chum

Friend or foe?

So it's been gray and cold here for days and my mood has not been that good. It's an extremely tough time to be transitioning/maintaining, because I do so want to "comfort eat" to try and make myself feel better. I know intuitively this will not work, and will ultimately make me feel worse. But the desire is there and I'm trying the best I can to quell it.

My strategy has been to keep the kitchen stocked with healthy low-carb/low fat/low sugar/low calorie foods, so my options are limited to what's available for me to grab. My inventory includes:

String cheese, soy milk (for anxiety), baby carrots, V-8 juice, thin-sliced lean turkey deli meat, albacore tuna, 1% low-fat cottage cheese, no-fat Greek yogurt, fresh berries (blueberries/raspberries/strawberries), 100-calorie pack almonds, walnuts and pecans (I crush a few to put in my yogurt concoction), 100-calorie bag popcorn, low fat whole wheat Wheat Thins, whole grain English muffins and whole grain Eggo waffles (I'll have 1/2 English muffin or 1 waffle if I need some carbs), generic bran flakes, and assorted rice crackers. I steer clear of all chocolate and candy.      

I have five different kinds of teas and a few bags of high-end gourmet coffee. The coffee costs about $13/pound but I believe it's worth every penny. I have found cinnamon tea is a good appetite suppressant and a good flavored coffee like apricot and cream, Maine blueberry, pumpkin spice or toasted coconut satisfies a sweet craving. A certified caffeine junkie, I start in with coffee at 5:00 a.m. and keep going throughout the day. The tea comes in at night. (Amazingly, I still sleep like a rock at night. Hard to believe, eh?)

I have my Beck book, "Think Like A Thin Person" for reading at night, and my blog to work on and my Facebook Optifast friends to connect with daily. I also like looking over the CuisineLite magazines. So I'm trying to keep myself occupied and not think too much about the gloomy weather. It's time for another hot soak in the tub, and I may head out today for some more luxury bubble bath. There's about 3 inches of snow on the ground, and I'll get my exercise when my husband and I go sledding this afternoon. So I have things to do to keep me happy that don't involve eating.

January and February in Ohio is always tough, so the downswing in my mood is understandable. I just need to rely on the tools the clinic has given me to get through this period. Keep "legal" foods in the house. Drink hot or cold tea and lots of water. Get some exercise. Having a strategy in place definitely helps a bit. I'll get through this. Sunny skies will return -- they always do.