Had a stressful conversation with my parents just now.

(Need to borrow $$ on behalf of my young adult kiddo to retain the probate attorney to deal with her Dad's - my Ex - estate. My Dad apparently thinks I'm incompetent and any attorney requiring a retainer is a cheat and a snake... ::sigh:: )

Anyway, my job has moved me to working 100% remotely (work from home) so I found myself heading for the kitchen on autopilot looking for carby things to suck down.

(I stopped myself before actually pulling anything off the shelves... no need for an intervention or anything.)

It just goes to show that even after years of therapy and a HUGE amount of progress on this front, these things will reach up and grab you even if you think you killed and buried them.

However, it also shows that the years of therapy have not been wasted in that I stopped myself before actually eating anything. :)

My theory is if they ain't there, you can't eat them. I am dealing with a probate as executor right now too. One can do it alone, but attorneys make it a lot easier and faster. Not cheaper. Just easier and faster.

Well, I do eat carbs and hubby isn't on a diet, so there's always stuff in the house that isn't very healthy. But up until now I hadn't really had to fight the stress eating monster.

My idiot ex died without a will even though his health was for crap and he was in and out of hospitals for several years before his death. So it's more complicated than I care to deal with without representation.

Building new habits after surgery helps a lot. But a year of good habits (or two, or even five or six) still pales compared to a few decades of bad food habits.

But any time we consciously exercise control of our eating is a good win.

The part that brought me up short was how fast I went on autopilot. I never consciously thought "hey, I want something bad for me" I just found myself digging in the pantry. I'm just glad I recognized what was driving the action before I actually started eating crap. LOL.

I'm liking that you caught yourself not all the stress and drama you are dealing with! Good job reacting in the moment!

You are strong. Our emotions will always want to control us and I think we'll be learning not to let it happen forever sometimes.

Yeah, I feel like stress eating is a pretty natural tendency for most people. I mean, food tastes good and nourishes us (well - the right food on both counts, right??), so to turn to it for comfort when the going gets rough seems like a pretty easy jump to make. My new motto is "you can always have tea". (Still hungry/stressed/sad/whatever? Then have another cup!) :P

Antichick, you've got to buy / read this book (which I am reading now):

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

At https://amzn.to/2H2eNVf

It's a real eye-opener in terms of how we build new habits, the strength of old habits, how habits are built, how to maintain and strengthen them, etc.

Spoiler: It's not how we have grown up thinking that we can change our most powerful behaviors.

Thanks! I'll add it to my reading list. :)