Wednesday, August 1, 2012

My Return to Work = Return of Old Challenges

Cue the sad puppy eyes and pouty bottom lip.

My maternity leave has come and gone. I have returned to work.
I know how you're feeling, little fella.
And with my return to work .. I've found some old habits are coming back .. Some not so good habits. My job isn't the easiest or the greatest. It can be frustrating, difficult, and very stressful. It can also be lonely and the hours worked can be long ... And I used to eat my way through my shifts to keep myself happy. I'd run to the nearest Tim Hortons (across the street) and get donuts, muffins, bagels with cream cheese, iced capps, you name it - I got it. The snacks served as distractions from difficult work-related situations and helped cheer me up when things got a little too down for me.

Fast forward to now, with my new lifestyle change, and you can see the problem.

Sure, if I ate nothing during the day time and saved all my daily points for my nightly shifts, I could still keep that old habit going. I could keep eating those muffins and drinking those iced capps and not have to worry.

But that is a REALLY sucky plan.

I've learned how to deal with regular day-to-day issues, those ones that used to trigger a trip to the kitchen. I have ways around my emotional eating habits. I know how to handle that little inner voice telling me to reach for the baddies ... At home.

Now comes a new, fresh challenge for me: learning how to master those nasty emotional eating habits at work.
I'll have to learn not to let any bad days lead me back to the Tim Hortons. I'll need to teach myself to cope through difficult situations (breathing, listening to a favorite song, going for a walk, calling my hubby, talking to a good friend ..)

For now, things are going well. I've been leaving my debit card at home and bringing healthy munchie-type snacks (like sliced fruits) that are within my daily points allowance. I go for walks on my breaks to keep myself occupied (AWAY from the Timmies!). And I drink lots of my yummy lemon-water to keep the "satisfied" feeling in my tummy.

So far, so good! I'm keeping a positive mindset and powering through. I'm confident that in no time at all, I'll have this work-eating demon's butt kicked!!

Does anyone else have a similar demon they're fighting? Any tips?! Please share!

2 comments:

  1. Your biggest fan minus 20lbs :)August 1, 2012 at 1:52 PM

    I'm having the reverse problems you are. I'm not on vacation from work and my brain keeps saying... ahh you're on vacation, which means you get to do what you want for a change right?? My answer to myself is... I WANT to stay healthy. We'll see how that worked when I get back from the in-laws!

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  2. Trust me I know it's tough but it's sounds like you dealing with it in the proper way by bring healthy foods and walking on breaks. Is there a gym at your work?? Working out on your lunch break might help to get the aggresion out but I'm not sure if that's an option for you?? or what about reading a good book on lunch that's always a distraction for me.

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