Anxiety

I'm sorry your day was full of anxiety! Seems like you handled it like a pro even though it was so difficult. Change is hard to deal with even if it is good.

This is why transfer addiction is sooo common. Many times we will trade in the eating for sonething else. I am guilty as charged for shopping waayy more now instead of eating.

I do still notice feelings of panic or rejection/lonliness are 2 of my biggest triggers. IT IS A SCARY NEW WORLD!!!! It will take much trial and error to figure things out....but you will.

Great job resisting the food urges Cheryl!! You have so much change going on in your life right now, one day, or one minute at a time. What ever it takes!!

Good for you in recognizing what was going on and dealing with it! It sounds like you are well on your way to reaching your goals, both in weight loss and lifestyle changes.

I see good things for you!

There are a lot of thrift stores in my area. Often when the anxiety hits - I go for a retail therapy there. I limit my spending to "20-30" at a time (often it is much less), spent 2-3 hours "shopping". And go home. That way - I not only spend less that is would on real therapy - but I also get "junk" that I can use - or a few months of weeks later - give away or donate.

Reading trashy novels are great also...

I'm late to the post, but all of this really hits home with me. I think for the past few months I've been dealing with all this 'pent up energy'... otherwise termed as anxiety!

And I too, hit the thrift stores... it takes much longer, and it's easier on the pocketbook. And, I'm finding that my tastes are different each time I go... I seem to come home with similar styles or colors... casual or more dressy. I find it kind of fun to see where my eye goes depending on my mood and the weather (literally right now)

I'm often there at lunch... it seems that's the best time for me to unwind without any pressures from work or home.

But it's real... this anxiety/ restless feeling that almost makes me obsess over food because I can't stop thinking about it... even if I never put an extra bite into my mouth at the time.

Sigh... Soon you will be on that farm working your tiny petite butt off and will forget to eat!!

Have I mentioned that I'm really happy for you that you are going to be living together again on your own animal-filled island??! While I know it won't be nearly as romantic as it sounds... there's gotta still be a ton of Romance to be had! How fun!

I hope the romance comes soon ;)

Wife has been living on her own... I got here yesterday to a sink full of dishes, dirty sheets on the bed and mud tracked through the living room. There were flowers FROM A NEIGHBOR welcoming me. Luckily I had a couple of hours of quiet time to work through that.

My donkeys and goats will be here May 6. That is probably when the good times begin ;)

One of my kids is in college the the other two are grown, but I can SO relate! It doesn't matter how old they get, they're still our kids and it's hard. Lots of change is going on in your life and you did good. I think the thrift shopping is a great idea! I have to throw myself into something because my mind goes straight to food too, so I'm going to try that myself.

Thank you for writing this. It truly resonates with me - when I'm feeling really stressed I still want food. I have succumbed a couple of times. The good thing is that I don't feel good pretty quickly (thank you WLS), and that memory has helped me stay away from using food to quell my emotions. I like the thrift store shopping idea - that's right down my alley.

With that said, I'm SURE that you will soon be enjoying being back with your wife and living on that beautiful farm!

It is a scary world. But so much easier after losing the weight. I am not saying it is perfect. Learning new ways to deal with anxiety is hard.

When my daughter went away to school. I lost it. I was so sad. I mean I had to pull over and sob on the side of the road. It was hard.

Her and my relationship is so much better. Not that is was bad before. It just was missing something. It is hard to let our kids grow up. When our job is to be mother or father for so many years as our title.

Learning who we are is kinda scary. But it is fun to. It is okay to cry when they go back to school. I think sometimes we buried our feelings for so long by eating or other addictions. That we covered them up and really didn't actually deal with them.

Life changes are hard. Some are wonderful to see.

One day at a time. Be proud that you actually see something that can turn into a problem. And learn how to change it.