My 'Aha' Moment

Ugh. I’m so disappointed in myself. At first, I thought I was only craving a burger and fries because I was upset over my breakup, but no it goes way beyond that. I’ve realized that my food cravings only occur when I’m studying in the library. We have a cafeteria upstairs and I’m literally obsessed with their sandwiches and French fries, which are super fatty. On the bright side, now that I’ve realized my trigger, I’ve come up with a few strategies to reduce these hunger cravings and eat healthy while still being able to study in the library. I’m going to try and pack richer, more flavorful meals that are comforting to me and hopefully those will prevent me from running up to the cafeteria when my hunger pangs strike. I’ve realized I really really crave fried, fatty food when I’m studying or stressed. I tend to reason myself into thinking that if I eat a big fatty meal for lunch, I won’t have to take breaks to go get food and can study 6 hours straight. Really really unhealthy habit. So instead of packing salads and veggies, which aren’t really appetizing to me when I’m really stressed out during studying, I’m going to pack meals like pasta or frozen meals that are more appealing to my palate. They are a little carb-heavy, but it’s much much better than denting my wallet AND clogging my arteries with cafeteria food. And it’s a good start to what I’m hoping is progressive changes to my eating habits. I’m going to try and employ this strategy this upcoming week and I’m hoping that these work. I think that if I can successfully stop eating so much at the cafeteria, I’m definitely going to accelerate my weight loss. While I’m super disappointed in my lack of self control when it came to fatty food this week, I’m glad I’m able to recollect my thoughts and re-adjust and plan ahead instead of totally being dejected and giving up on my diet like I have in the past. I think that not giving up is really challenging during setbacks and this was a really good exercise in how to overcome roadblocks. I’ve been a junk food addict for the past 3-4 years now and I knew this habit wouldn’t be easy to break. I’m glad I’m trying my best and taking baby steps. I’m glad I was able to look back at my eating this week and reflect on how I can improve. No major damage was done this week and I think I’m even starting to look a little slimmer around my waist but like I said, if I can stop making trips to the hospital cafeteria, that weight loss will be even more drastic in the future.