Dealing With Stress

Tough day. Woke up sad, but with a schedule to keep. In the midst of more profound thoughts, I regretted the Halloween candy from the night before. I dressed for the cold weather, brought coffee in my sealable metal cup, and sallied forth.

After taking care of some business, I set out on a walk. In a bit of serendipity, I ran into with a friend with her terrific big black dog and we had a very nice couple of miles chatting about our kids. We parted, and I continued a stroll around the picturesque and slightly goofy town, gawking at people's yards and remaining Halloween decorations. There was enough to look at to keep me on the surface and able to avoid introspection. I wasn't going to consciously escape to the ipod, but breathing hard and noticing old tree stumps carved into eight-foot bears was absorbing enough.

I treated myself to a full breakfast out.

I totally love breakfast - bacon and eggs and potatoes and toast and coffee.  This was a great breakfast. A vegie and cheese omelet, with lot of vegies.  In recent years, I haven't had a chance to eat that way very often. I ate both pieces of toast - so unnecessary - and most but not all of the potatoes. My normal low-carb leanings would have me skipping the bread and potatoes and not feeling bad about the eggs and cheese and bacon. Today, I rationalized I was walking it off, plus I wouldn't need to eat again until dinner.

I had a total brainfart so that I left my phone on the table when I left, went back to get it (right where I left it), and several blocks further on realized I had paid, but had not left a tip. This would be the effect of total self-absorption into my own little stressful world. I thought I was calm, but instead I was just autofunctioning on the surface, doing my best not to think, and thus missing some important things.

Sadly - I got hungry in the early afternoon. I'm not totally sure I was hungry, but I was not up to fighting it back and trying hot tea instead, so I had a jar of a terrific lentil soup I got at Whole Foods a while ago. I need to stock up on more shelf-stable long-storing soups - many of them are calorie bargains, and they are very satisfying.

A nice family dinner cooked by my mother was fairly guilt free. Afterwards, I shared Halloween candy with the kids, and then hit my evening chocolate gorge when I got back home. According to the accounting from my device, I did walk off more than I ate for the day, and tomorrow I'll try for an even bigger gap. Except - tomorrow is a birthday cake! And no doubt, ice cream as well.  Just because its there doesn't mean I have to eat it (yeah, right).

Let's be real - this weekend is mostly a matter of getting through it. Any excess calories burned at all is a bonus. Hooray.