I did a little bit better at exercising, which was my goal last week.  At least gave it ye olde college try, even though 50% of the time, I didn’t make it past 15 minutes.

I decided to spice up a few of my Nutrisystem dinners – the other night, I made stuffed peppers via a “recipe” found on the Nutrisystem website.

NS Cajun Chicken & Rice
diced tomatoes
Parmesan cheese
1 bell pepper

Looks pretty good, no?  SO easy to make & very tasty.  Not exactly the from-scratch ones I typically make, but close enough that it felt like real comfort food.  Plus, it counted as two veggies, which meant I only had to think of a third veggie or fruit (y’all know how taxing these damn vegetables are on me since everything I like is fried, buttered, or swimming in syrup).

This week felt monumental in my weight loss, as it began teaching me HOW I use food psychologically.  I am an emotional eater to the extreme.  Bad day?  I want nothing more than a Dominos pizza, beer, & warm chocolate chip cookies.  On Friday, I started nearly salivating for the weekend, thinking of curling up on the feather bed with Nate, Harrison, 20 blankets, & a plate of cookies & M&M’s to watch a movie because that’s our typical weekend initiation ritual.  Every time I felt like I was slipping or overwhelmed, I closed my eyes & pictured the scene – & realized, shamefully, that I was looking forward to the food most of all.  & that I associate food with quality time with my husband, Friday night, & a well-deserved reward at the end of the week.

Really.  Really?  An entire plate of cookies, mixed with peanut butter M&M’s as a “reward” for working?  I MUST BE KIDDING MYSELF.

So I came up with a plan of action – the stuffed peppers to make me feel like I ate something “heavy,” Nutrisystem’s lemonade, & popcorn (of the bare-bones variety) during the movie.  It was tough.  I won’t lie – I even asked Nate if we could order a pizza.  (thankfully, he asked me if that was what I really wanted & somehow, I lied through my teeth & told him “no”)  Even while eating my pepper, the back of my mind screamed for pizza.  The popcorn screamed for a splash of M&M’s.

But you know what?  I survived.  I didn’t go to bed hungry that night.  I did feel a little cheated, but then this morning came…

& I’ve lost another 1.5 lbs, racking my 3-week weight loss to a surprising 9.5 lbs.

I don’t feel cheated anymore.

Any other emotional eaters out there?  Or do you eat for another reason?  What do you do to combat the urges?  How do you look your precious M&M’s & meatloaf in the eye & say, “Darling, it’s not you.  It’s me!”