Stress Eating

After nearly a year of eating clean.  After nearly a year of breaking up totally with refined sugar and artificial sweeteners.  After nearly a year of feeling my best - I had a bout with stress eating.

It. Was. Awful.

I don't stress about much.  I worry, don't get me wrong.  I obsess, even.  I tend toward perfectionism in many things.  But I don't stress.  Not for years.  What good does it do?  I'm not sure if I have a deep, well-thought-out opinion on fate or predestination or anything.  But I do believe things happen for a reason and you'll be a happier person if you take what you are given and make the best of it.

All that to say, that a series of events - and I mean one thing right after another - in the past 10 days have pushed me to stress eat.  And bite my cuticles (a habit I thought I had beaten some 3 years ago).

It's midnight, and I'm up.  Not because of stress, but because of the adverse effects of a bunch of junk in my body.  I am so used to eating only healthy, wholesome, real Paleo foods, that any stray from my usual fare upsets my system.  I might get a little bloated or have a less-than-pleasant bathroom experience when I eat something that isn't what I'm used to, but in the past, it has been rare and I have recovered quickly.

My theory is (and I have no research or scientific evidence to back this up...did I mention it's midnight?) that I keep my system free of all the potential inflammatory foods, all the preservatives, all the insulin-spiking sugars and artificial sweeteners and when I choose to go off plan for pizza - which is the one thing I will gladly suffer for!, I bounce back because it's in and then it's out.  And I am back on track the very minute the pizza is gone.

But this time - it's been a bit of this and a bit of that and it's piling up in my body.  I can feel it!  I had pizza and then I had a rice cracker or two.  And then I ate some cashews that were roasted in some oil that I can't process anymore.  And then I had a handful of popcorn.  Then half a dinner roll.  And then .... eek... and then.  And THEN it was my son's birthday and I made cake and bought ice cream - full dairy Blue Bell (the greatest ice cream at the grocery store) ice cream.  He's 17 and although he eats what I make him, he is a bit of an athlete and 100% teenager and expects cake and ice cream on his birthday! 

So, after 10 days of stress eating, I ate a big ole slice of cake and a monstrous scoop of ice cream...twice!

And I am paying the price.

*I stopped typing here about 4 days ago because I was so tired I thought I was going to fall asleep in the chair....*

Here we are 4 days after the birthday cake food orgy and I am in recovery!  Thank goodness!

I knew the morning after my midnight keyboard rant that I had to get my diet back under control.  I have been so deliberate about everything I cook and eat for the past 4 days and I am finally starting to feel like myself. 

I have been suffering from the worst pain in my knees and rotator cuff.  Stuffy sinuses.  Flat hair.  Bendy nails.  Gas.  Bloating.  And not sleeping for crap!

But after just 2 or 3 days of Paleo eating, I was sleeping like a baby again - all through the night (such a joy!).  All of the inflammation in my joints is gone - except my bothersome knee that enjoys causing my problems more than it should, but it is SOOOOO much better.  I am no longer bloated and I believe all the nastiness is out of my body.  I am still a little stuffy, but I am clearly on the path back to good health.

My lightbulb moment?  That eating clean, wholesome, real food that follows a Paleo diet is about so much more than weight loss!  Surprisingly, I didn't gain any weight during all of this stress mess, but I felt lousy.  I wonder if allowing myself the pizza during a time of stress weakened my resolve and let me slide a little too far down that slippery slope?  Or if a year just isn't enough to totally break up with sugar and the emotional habit of stress eating? 

Whatever the case, I am so thankful that I was able to stop before I went back to all my old unhealthy habits.  If I hadn't had this past year to enjoy the benefits of clean eating, I am certain I could have easily gone through the drive-thru or grabbed a diet soda or one of the sugar laden coffee drinks I used to need every afternoon. 

Cleaning out my system of all the addictive foods, fats, preservatives and sugars has put me in control for probably the first time in my adult life!  Once an addict, always an addict, I guess - but I was able to recognize it, make better choices and get back to health.  I'm kind of proud of myself!

I share this because I know quite a few people who have started and stopped "dieting" over and over and over.  I even know people who struggle going 100% Paleo for that all-important first 30 days.  And I want everyone to know that there are HUGE rewards in store for you if you can just eliminate all the grains, gluten, dairy, soy, legumes, refined sugars and artificial sweeteners for 30/60/90 days beyond losing a bunch of weight.  Health and vitality and great hair days and self-confidence and the feeling of being in control.  A lightness and feeling 10 years younger and physical abilities that I thought were lost. 

It's worth it to try ... or to try again!  And I can say without a doubt - it's NOT worth it to stray and go back to your old habits.  No cracker or piece of cheese or dinner roll or piece of cake is worth feeling yucky. 

I will still eat pizza every month or so - it's my choice and now I am certain that I can do it without a lot of consequences IF I eat clean, eat pizza and get right back to eating clean.  The saying goes, "It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle" and the saying is 100% right!