Today I received news concerning family members that is sad but not unexpected.  The news brought with it stress and bad feelings and a general icky-ness that I couldn’t quite shake.

I found myself unable (or unwilling) to ignore the fridge.  I cleaned my son’s plate at dinner, I had the remainder of a bottle of hard cider that I had successfully ignored for weeks, and later in the evening I found ice cream in the freezer that I didn’t know was there.

Why is it that I eat practically perfectly for weeks, and then when something stressful happens, I find myself without a shred of willpower?

I don’t eat when I’m bored, I don’t eat mindlessly.  But boy, do I eat when I am stressed.

Luckily, I realized pretty quickly what I was doing and why.  I didn’t do too much damage and I feel that now that I’m aware of what I’m doing, I can stop myself.    I hope.

Tomorrow I will go for a run to be safe, because that always makes me feel better when I am stressed.

What are your triggers for over eating?  Is it stress?  Or boredom?  Or something else?  What do you do to get back on track?