1. Crystal February 28, 2014 at 3:33 am

   Thanks for the shout out yesterday! It was a great reward after the day I had. I work as a nurse on an ICU unit. I walked into our break room, the beginning of a 12 hour shift, to drop my stuff off before report and found that our Director had brought 2 HUGE boxes of Duncan Donuts (assorted)!!! Before, I would eat 2-3 donuts, hoping no one would walk in to either catch me in the act or take a donut I had already had my eye on and planned to eat next while stuffing my mouth with the current one. Then I would come back in a couple hours and eat 2 more, if there were any left. Making excuses in my head of how much I worked out the day before to make up for the extra calories, how my day was so stressful that I deserved it, or that I’m one of the skinnier people on my unit and am doing the others a favor to eat so many. And by the end of the day, I would feel bloated, tired, and upset with myself. Yesterday, I saw the donuts, and my first thought was, “Crap, of course we have donuts today because I’ve actually been eating right for the past week.” Then I had remembered the pod cast and thought, “I’m not in this alone. There is someone else out there looking at these same donuts, with the same struggle. I’m going to be fine.” I walked out and took a deep breathe, never to have a second thought. Until, lunch…. I took my lunch late and was starving. My patients were really sick and keeping me SUPER busy so I was stressing and really tired. I sat in the break room by myself and ate my nutritious lunch while staring at the box of donuts. After eating my lunch I opened the box and found that there were two left. I had one thought of , “heck with it.” and then closed the box immediately and realized that I would only be eating them because I’m stressed and tired and not because I was actually hungry. I overcame the small moment of weakness. Never eating one donut the whole day and sticking to my own diet. After work and crawling into bed I saw that you had posted a new pod cast for the day with one of your shout outs to me! My husband and I listened to it together and afterwards I shared this donut story with him. It made the day complete and I felt rewarded for not letting into one of my crazy behaviors. THANK YOU!!! Keep doing what you’re doing! I’m listening…

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   1. Laurie@CompulsiveOvereatingDiary Post authorFebruary 28, 2014 at 9:58 am

      Brava Crystal! Thanks for stopping by on “Bravery Day” to share your doughnut victory. Your work hours are long, and you are in a very selfless, caring profession where it is not surprising you feel rattled, tired and stressed at times. I’m proud of you! Here’s a trick that sometimes works for me. I always carry a little notebook, a tiny, purse or pocket sized one. If I run into a treat unexpectedly, like in a break room, I picture how it would taste, right now, stuffed hurriedly into my mouth on the run vs. eaten in a leisurely manner in an appropriate setting. A freshly baked doughnut can be wonderful. So, if I was tempted by this, I would jot it down in my notebook. Then later, referring to my book, I would make a date with friends or my hubby to go to a sit-in bakery and have the BEST, fresh-baked doughnut with freshly brewed coffee at a time of peace and refreshment. Then, instead of feeling deprived, I’d be making a choice to have the treat later, at a better time. Thanks again! Great job lady, and say thank you to all of your co-workers too. After my bike accident, I spent some days in the critical care unit and a caring nurse makes all the difference in tough times. (Just make sure the nurse also cares for her/himself). Hugs. Take care of yourself, I care.

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2. Cheryl Carter March 1, 2014 at 10:18 pm

   First off I gotta say to Crystal, YOU GO GIRL! Totally awesome way to handle that donut situation. You should print your post up there off and tape it to the mirror in your bedroom or the frig door and read it every day (especially if you’re at home and are tempted) because it’s such a TRIUMPHANT story. Then the next time you’re faced with a similar situation, use that story in your mind as a “touch stone.” Lay hold of that victory you had, claim it again, and let it be your power to win another battle. Being tired AND stressed is one of the worst triggers there are for me. In fact, I blogged about the same thing today. And in your job I can imagine you feel that way a lot. I’m so encouraged by your story. It was a real blessing to read about it.

   Laurie, I loved the idea of noting your temptations in a notebook and then deliberately going about enjoying whatever the prize is later on in a perfect setting. It feels like taking it out of the realm of TEMPTATION and turning it into an ANTICIPATION. The more we can switch our food issues from a negative to a positive, the better chance we have to make life-improving changes, imho. I’m going to buy myself a tiny notebook and stick it in my purse and do just that. Thank you for that suggestion.

   I’ve been thinking a lot about BE since your comment on my blog. How you can use the work to balance your weight loss efforts. Think I’m going to have to write a little something about that tomorrow.

   Great podcast again!

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   1. Laurie@CompulsiveOvereatingDiary Post authorMarch 2, 2014 at 9:31 am

      Great suggestion for Crystal, Cheryl! It is a wonderful idea to document your victories with concrete reminders of your strength.

      Also glad you liked my notebook tip. It has saved me more than once. I expand on it in the next podcast, episode 13 at https://compulsiveovereatingdiary.com/day13/

      As always, I can’t wait to see how these ideas pour out from your talented little writer fingers in your blog.

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