He keeps warning me. My sweet husband.
Reminding me that it got me into trouble in the first place.
It’s not just the hours of being sedentary.
It’s the mindless snacking when I get frustrated with writing.
For years my fingers sought out popcorn or chocolate or trail mix each time my brain hit a wall.
It’s like I thought eating would unlock creativity.
But in 2013 I typed a whole novel without (much) reverting to mindless munching. When I snacked I limited my options. Sliced an apple. Worked without needing something in my mouth.
But now.
NOW!
“It’s happening again, honey.” My faithful husband. I don’t like it that he notices. Even though I’ve asked to help me make good choices and maintain the weight loss. Even though I don’t want to return to bad habits.
I still hate it when points out what I’m doing.
Even though I need it I don’t want to hear it.
What happened between 2013 and 2015 that has me panicking, thinking I can’t think without food in my mouth?
Why do the habits of the past haunt me instead of the habits I fought so hard to establish the last two years?
At least today I returned the trail mix to the kitchen. Put the M & Ms back in their bag and closed it.
But not soon enough.
It’s not soon enough when I don’t even know how long I gave in to mindless munching.
If I’m going to be a write AND be healthy this has to stop.
Could use some prayer, my friends. I need a mindset change.
PS My thoughts led me to research a bit about food that actually do support creativity.
And just for fun:
One more note–I wrote this post last week on a particularly bad day. There is something about public admission of the struggle that helps a gal be more intentional. A few tips that have helped me since writing this post:
- Take time to make a real meal and take a break to eat so you don’t get hungry and graze all day
- Take incremental breaks and make a cup of no calorie tea to sip on while you work. (Peppermint and licorice help curb sugar cravings)
- If you choose to indulge, count out your snack and don’t bring the rest to the computer with you. (Today I counted out five M & Ms and only five.)
- When you are tempted to combat your work frustrations with food, pray for help instead.
- If you need a snack walk away from the computer, have something healthy and small.
- A great pick-me-up is a small orange or tangerine. Today I peeled and ate a cutie. The citrus fragrance lifted my mood, and the bright flavor, low calories, and nutrition of the treat contributed to my craving AND my health.
Tagged: mindless munching, mindless snacking, snacking while working, why do we snack while we type? Does snacking help creativity?
Paula's Blog 
Sounds like you are on track. Prayers going up Paula.
Peace
Thank you my friend!
Oops, I’m very much the same with munching! Course, we could always chew a piece of gum. Nothing wrong with that 🙂 Much love and success to you, Paula.
Except gum usually makes my jaw ache. lol
Paula-I have been learning a lot about nutrition, clean eating, etc. the past 5 months. One thing I have learned is that if you eat a piece of fruit for instance with a healthy fat, it satisfies without making you crave more (like candy does). I eat a sliced apple with almond butter everyday and it really satisfies. I also dip peppers in hummus or have 2% greek yogurt with a little honey and cinnamon and add berries. All healthy and satisfying. I’ll be praying for you.
Thank you for your prayers! I do think all that baking while the kids were home helped undo some of my forward momentum on healthy cravings. Yesterday I had a banana and peanut butter–but I used to avoid bananas because they are so sweet and high in calories. I also avoided them because they gave me a slight tummy ache. Do you have an opinion on them? I’ve been eating more since we started buying organic. I don’t know if it is the Body Balance I take daily or the fact the bananas are organic, but they no longer upset my stomach.
For me, and this is just me, candy cannot be in the house, I have dessert out of the house, at parties or weddings. Sweets call out to me so I must not be close enough to hear them.
Wise advice as usual, my friend.
Then again . . . Sarah has been here making pies and buying ice cream. lol
That’s the problem with bad habits, they creep back when we’re not looking.
Why are bad habit so easy to establish and so hard to be free of?