The Crafty Diet

Maintaining, they say, is the worst part of dieting. And, congratulations, if you have gotten that far. I have found however, that maintaining over weight is much easier than maintaining lost weight. For me it's not really the food itself but rather the feelings. If I am moody, I want chocolate. If I am anxious, I want chips.  If the kids drive me crazy I eat bread??? If I am eating alone, I have bigger portions or a second serving. If I had a bad day, I go straight for the ice cream. And if my husband and I go out on a romantic date, we want to try or share everything on the menu.  So really, if I could just be like Spock, with no emotions for a while, I could lose weight. But I don't think technology is that advanced yet. Daily stressors are really the culprit.

Recently, I discovered  something both interesting and scientific confirmed by  Dr. Oz and Dr. Henry Cloud.  Both share how stress really affects your body chemistry.  It can even shut down other body functions such as thinking and weight loss to name two that affect my life.  I call them "emotional outbursts" and "I need something crunchy to eat." It makes perfect sense to me after trying to watch what I eat (or rather, stop eating what I watch) I suffer from severe crankiness as a side effect. Complicate that by, a full day of work, an exemplary model of sibling rivalry every afternoon, and general exhaustion saturated with the fight or flight syndrome; it's no wonder the scale and I don't bond!  I have to say though, that I am on the verge of a breakthrough.  I really have had the suspicion for years but haven't had a chance to document it.

I normally do not make new year's resolutions, I can't take the pressure; however, I've got to try something, right?  A possible means of success for me is a Crafty Diet. What happens is when I am creating, crafting, painting, sewing, beading, felting, planning, gluing, I am oblivious to everything around me. I am not interested in eating, sleeping, working or minding others. Time flies and I don't care if the kids are fighting, dinner is burning, the phone is ringing, or my husband has turned out all the lights.  I count it pure joy! For me, it really is especially since joy and crafting are both stress reducers, didn't you know? Of course, the wee hours used to be the best time for crafting --everyone leaves you alone! Lately though, I am so tired that I am good for nothing creatively. What's worse is, if I do stay up creating, by the time I go to bed, I can't sleep because the creative juices are overflowing and my mind is going a mile a minute. But I digress, the strategy is to document my theory; when I want to snack, make a craft instead!  Then let's see if my pants fit. Anyone on board?