In Times of Trouble, Pass the Chips

Bunny has had quite a stressful few days.

Family emergencies. Calls from crying relatives in the middle of the night.

Not conducive to sleep, to rational thinking, nor to healthy eating.

Also not conducive to attending a Weight Watchers meeting, so once again, we have no Project Sailaway weigh-in this week.

Things are better now, but let’s look at how Bunny (a documented emotional eater) handled this stressful situation in terms of food.

This family situation was brewing for a couple of days. The third day was hell, then the problem was resolved with a big bang that evening.

Bunny did OK the first two days. Let’s walk her through Hell Day.

She managed to have her favorite breakfast shake:

peanut butter
banana
chocolate whey powder
flaxseed
Blue Diamond unsweetened chocolate almond milk

before receiving a panicky phone call, at which point she ran out of the house, leaving behind her Trusty Cooler, which she stocks daily with her arsenal against unhealthy snacking:

carrots
yogurt
a Luna protein bar
a piece of fruit
water

When Bunny finally made it to work, it was approaching lunchtime, and she had a choice:

(a) Her regular HerbaLife protein shake made with soy milk, or
(a) Leftovers from a meeting.

Less-than-perfect choice #1–she went for the leftovers.

Even so, presented with a platter of turkey and corned beef sandwiches, she selected a turkey sandwich.

Moving down the buffet line, there was a platter of tomatoes, ranch dressing and mayonnaise. She took four tomato slices (Bunny just loves tomatoes) and a teensy dab of mayo. That’s probably what she would have done in any case.

At the end of the line, these were her options:

(a) a bowl of tired-looking fruit
(mostly melon and red grapes–not Bunny’s favorite)

(b) a bag of Lay’s potato chips.
The hard stuff. Trigger food alert!!!

(c) a bag of Baked Lay’s.

(d) a plate of rugala.
(You know, those little desserty pastry things with chocolate and nuts.)

The correct choice would have been either (a) the tired fruit or (e) none of the above.

Less-than-perfect Choices #2 and #3: Bunny went for (b) and (d). The hard-core chips and the rugala.

Let’s be real here. On a day like this, and actually on most days, there was no way Bunny was going to walk past Lay’s potato chips. It would have been the same for crunchy Cheetos or Baskin Robbins Butter Pecan ice cream. These are classic Bunny trigger foods. It just wasn’t going to happen.

In fairness, she didn’t have a ton of either. Maybe a half-cup of chips and one little rugala.

Later that afternoon, Bunny locked eyes with a jar full of Hershey’s Kisses. Another trigger food, but this time she won the battle. She also declined politely when her boss offered her a piece of Godiva chocolate.

Great control under the circumstances. There’s hope for you yet, Bunny!!

Then, the family drama broke. Heaving a tremendous sigh of relief, Bunny and Buff toddled off to a baseball game they didn’t think they’d be able to attend until the happy news came through.

Normally, Bunny’s stadium food has been a protein bar and Diet Coke.

This time, since she was without her Trusty Cooler (yes, she could have run to the store and bought a protein bar, but she just didn’t feel like it after such a horrible day), she made less-than-perfect choices #4, #5 and #6: pepperoni pizza, white wine, and a handful or two of Buff’s popcorn.

She only ate two of the four pieces of pizza. Well, that’s something.

The next day, Bunny was back on track.

So, how do you think Bunny did?

Where do we start?

Bunny lost of a lot of weight with Weight Watchers, and then later with the Adkins diet. 

Recently, she tried Weight Watchers Online. That was a great idea, she thought, because she works long hours, and hubby keeps her hopping from this event to that event when she’s not working. That was, as they say, an Epic Fail because Bunny can’t be trusted. Bunny needs accountability. She needs to be checked up on, either by regular weigh-ins at the doctor, or perhaps by someone who is following her around, writing down every bite she takes, every move she makes, onto a blog for the world to see.

She needs to weigh herself once a week. She doesn’t own a scale, so that means either the doctor or the gym. She’s not ready to deal with her nag of a doctor yet, and she should go to the gym anyway, so that’s the preliminary plan.

But first, she must change her mindset and control what she eats. There’s nothing mystical about losing weight. You burn more than you consume.

Bunny’s challenge has always been that the voices in her head take over, and she eats things she shouldn’t eat, and more than she should eat. She’s sure this is an eating disorder of some kind, she’s definitely an emotional eater, but she can lose weight quite successfully if she can stay in control of her head, and not let it fall under the control of whatever nasty little fat-loving demon resides in the deepest recesses of her psyche.

So, we start with making healthy choices and going to the gym.

 ew…