Hello! Happy Monday!
I hope you all had a great weekend. I was fortunate enough to grab a few free tickets to the symphony through my department.
We saw a really great show and one of the pieces was definitely about the prehistoric animal archaeopteryx. The composer writes:
Unfolding continuously out of the explosive first movement, the middle movement (Lakebed Memories) explores this melody dreamily, conjuring the lakebed in southern Germany where the archaeopteryx fossil was discovered. The work’s final measures transform the soloist fully from dinosaur into bird, with the melody floating high above an orchestra of fluttering textures.
(source)
Super fun!
Workouts
Fri – Stage 3 of the New Rules of Lifting for Women, (full-body strength training) + 40 minutes on the elliptical.
Sat & Sun – Rest.
Eats
Fri – Over by 59, macros 36 carb/26 protein/38 fat
Sat – Under by 198, 47/25/28
Sun – Over by 267, 34/29/37
Plan: I had an episode of stressed eating on Sunday night. This is something that I occasionally experience, so I had made a list of activities to distract or relax myself, like journaling or taking a walk. The only problem is that I don’t ever really do them. Maybe I should keep the list in a kitchen drawer? Rubber banded to the peanut butter?
1) Chili.
I’ve waxed poetic about my husband’s chili enough that it really deserves its own “omg, chili!” tag. This time it was served over a bed of steamed kale.
2) After seeing Chocolate Covered Katie’s Healthy Eggnog, I was really jonesin’ for it…which is interesting as I have never had eggnog before (a fact that endlessly scandalizes my husband).
I followed her recipe, substituting homemade yogurt for the tofu and omitting the lemon juice (the yogurt is pretty tangy on its own). I think the blended tofu would have swallowed up the flavors more because this was way too salty – I even used kosher salt, which is larger and less salty than regular table salt. Bummer.
3) I went to a holiday party at my husband’s office and ate a bunch of these fun little cakes.
Goals
Brain – I wanted to write a bit about how I’ve been learning about makeup, but I forgot to take photos. I will write more later this week!
Body - I had written about resuming calorie counting, since I gained a few pounds above my normal fluctuations. I’ve been regularly eating above my goal, but still lost a pound, which makes me wonder how much I was eating before. I’m also happy to say that my measurements haven’t changed much, which brings me to a public service announcement: Progress isn’t just a number on a scale, especially if you’re doing any strength training. Y’all have heard it before – muscle weighs more than fat.
Because – Still crocheting like a crazy person. When I’ve used up all of our afghan yarn, I’ll post some before and after photos 
Do you have any tips for reining in stress eating?
ps – Somehow I keep forgetting to mention that I received my acceptance letter for grad school! Hooray!
oh, rubber banding that list to the peanut butter is a fantastic idea… that i should DEFINITELY try! haha
It’s like I blackout when I stress eat – then all of a sudden I’m like, “where’s the PB????” I think having the list attached would really help.
Congrats on grad school! What are you going for? I’ve been eyeing Katie’s eggnog recipe, too
Thank you, Alisha! I’ll be studying accounting.
Yay! Congrats on grad school! Love the tip about kale under chili, as well. I eat chili all the time, but have never thought to serve on top of a vegetable
Thanks, Sun!
It’s so sad that chili doesn’t usually come with lotsa veggies – they’re such a good companion!
Congratulations! That’s awesome! I like going for a walk to de-stress. Even now that the weather has cooled, I jump on my treadmill! Thanks for the PSA
I need to hear it everyday!
Thank you, Natalie!
Walking is a really good idea! My husband is a big walker and it’s something that I’m trying to understand
Ugh, I hear you with the stress eating. It’s so tough to not give in when you’re feeling stressed. I have flavoured teas and I try to hold out as long as possible and sip on them. It often works and my need to eat will subside after about 20 minutes.
Tea has been a common answer and something that I’ll definitely have to try. Hopefully it will chill me out enough to gain control of the situation
Love this post! Dinosaurs, symphony, grad school, chilli and egg nog!!! Sounds like a great week! And I love make up. I don’t wear much of it or all that often. But it is amazing the difference a little bit of cleverly applied makeup can make for your confidence!
You’re so right about makeup! I don’t wear that much (I don’t think?), but it really does make a big difference, at least when I look in the mirror.
In the past, I used to wear makeup whenever I felt bleh, and it always helped! Fake it to make it
Brush your teeth! That usually works for me
This is a really good idea! Toothpaste mouth makes everything taste bad!
Most important part of this post..THE END! Congratulations on grad school, so exciting!! I am so jazzed about your free tickets too, what a blast!
Thank you, Brittany!!!
Aah Congratz on getting into the grad school! I’m so excited for you! Yeah… I’ve like gained quite a few pounds and even lost like 1/2 inch around my waist. Doing weights does weird things to you (or super intense bootcamp class in my case- I did notice my quads/ hamstrings getting uber muscular).
As for stress eating- I usually turn to stress tea drinking! Sounds ridiculous but tea has no calories and it’s delish. Perfect for destressing as well.
Thanks, Nadiya! And congratulations on the inch loss! That’s an awesome accomplishment!
Tea is a really great idea! The warmth is super relaxing and it takes a bit of time to make, so that would give me a moment to chill out.
There are so many things I want to respond to in this post but idk if I can…so much…
The chili…drool
Congrats on going down a pound. You may be eating more but if you’re building muscle is consuming more calories!
CCK’s recipes can be very hit or miss for me. Bummer about the eggnog, but I think eggnog is always kind of gross.
I have zero tips for reining in stress eating. I am the worst. I have to throw away nutella, cheddar cheese, etc. during stressful times.
Also: “Maybe I should keep the list in a kitchen drawer? Rubber banded to the peanut butter?” LOL
At first, my husband compared eggnog to “melted icecream,” which I thought sounded awesome. But then he changed his mind and said more like a “runny custard,” which sounds less awesome. Gross, actually.
Isn’t it strange how stress manifests differently for different people? I tend to bottle it up, then eat a jar of peanut butter. Chris, on the other hand, will get kind of sullen and impatient.
Congrats about your acceptance letter! So awesome! And I think that is so cool about the symphony … my degree is in music, so I think its cool you got free tickets! Yay for free!
Thank you, Jane!
I didn’t know you that you studied music! I think you had mentioned playing the clarinet? That’s so neat!
wowza that tree is gorgeous!!
congrats on grad school!! what field are you going in?? MBA?
GJ on the workout, what a machine!
i also have problems with stress eating
i used to say “it’s okay we got a big test coming up” but then i realized i couldn’t keep doing it because we have tests every 3 weeks LOL.
i guess for me, when i want to stress eat, i intentionally choose to eat OVER THE TOP rich foods. like a dish with a creamy sauce, or a super rich dessert (e.g. la madeleine’s vanilla french berry tart w/ creme brule yumm). so what ends up happening is not only do i satisfy my desire for rich food, i actually OVER-satisfy. that way after not much food i’m like bleggh this is too rich i can’t eat too much of it. OR i don’t get hungry until a lot later with how rich the food is. OR i feel like crap fro eating it then all i crave the next 2-3 days is salads…. then it all evens out for me.
and when i’m just craving sweets (not necessarily during stress)- i eat SUPER SWEET candy for the same reasons. have you ever tried that?
this used to be REALLY bad for me!! i gained about 10 lbs from the first year of med school, but ended up losing it soon enough and then some- once i tried to not agonize over stress eating. because what used to happen when i beat myself up about stress eating, the more food was on my mind which was ALL the time- then i would think about restricting from sweets or whatever, but the more i think about how i CAN’T eat it, the more i WANTED to (which i did, hence the initial weight gain).
but the approach i’ve taken that resulted in the weight loss, was HONORING my body signals. if i want something, i eat it. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, i also try to honor when my stomach’s telling me hey I’M FULL AND STOP! every time before i eat, i usually try to ask myself- are you really hungry?
same when i eat, i try to pay close attention to my stomach and see when i’m full.
that’s what worked for me, hope it helps!!
but really, don’t beat yourself about it, everyone does it!!
Thank you so much for this response, Tiffany!
I’ll be getting a Master’s of Science in Accountancy. Super glamorous
Those tips are such good ideas! I think one reason that I eat SO much when I stress eat is that none of it is really satisfying; I eat little snacks, not a full meal, so my brain is not as full as it should be.
I definitely know what you mean about wanting salads after eating too much rich food – it’s like you just want to clear all of that heaviness out of your system.
Thank you again! I hope you have a great day
Congrats again on grad school–that’s super exciting! When I feel like I’m about to start stress eating, I drink a huge glass of cold water and brush my teeth.
Thank you, Carrie!!
Brushing teeth is a really great idea! Nothing tastes good with toothpaste mouth.
Congrats on your acceptance to grad school, you must be so excited!
Thank you, Claire!
Salty eggnog? Travesty! I LOVE eggnog, with all my heart–Silk’s soy version is pretty darn good. Sweet, spicy, creamy nutmeg-goodness. CONGRATS on grad school!!
P.s.–A symphony about dinosaurs? Okay, that could get me slightly interested in classical music ;D
RIGHT?!
Thank you, Allie!
Silk’s version is so good! One of the best parts of the holidays
Congrats on the acceptance!!
And I’m TOTALLY stealing your idea for chili over kale. So fun!! I’d never have thought of that.
Thank you, Sara!
Yes – the kale is a great way to add veggies to an otherwise beany meal
The symphony sounds awesome, a great way to get into the holiday spirit! And congrats on grad school
P.S. My momma makes homemade eggnog and she’s never added salt… I’ll have to check out CCK’s recipe but not sure why you’d add salt? And Soy Nog by Earth Balance is a great boxed variety!
Thanks, Allison!
I’ll have to check out Earth Balance’s nog. I’ve tried Silk’s and it’s so good!
Congratulations on grad school! I don’t stress eat as much these days. Maybe because I’m not in school/no longer procrastinate while studying for finals? Who knows. Though that doesn’t mean I don’t get stressed out still! I try and keep myself busy as best I can if I feel like I’m about to eat for no reason. Cleaning something always works for me!
Cleaning! Cleaning is a really great idea! You avoid a bad habit AND get a clean apartment. Thanks for the suggestion, Angela!
Jealous on the symphony! Heck yes for grad school, girl!
Thank you, Nikki!!
Congrats on grad school acceptance!
Hmmm . . . not sure about the stress eating, except that if I’m going to eat, I just try my best to make it something healthy. I’ll grab an apple or an orange. lol–rubber band ideas to the peanut butter! Otherwise, I try and deal with the stress itself. For me that usually entails slowing down, stretching, doing a little yoga, taking a few deep breaths . . . .
Thank you, Michelle!
Slowing down is really good advice. I think that I’m often so caught up in the moment, that stepping away for a few moments would help tremendously.