Just a little at a time...

Well friends, I weighed in today like every Monday and to my surprise, I lost 3.8 pounds. Huge success for me, but still had a little voice in the back of my mind saying "wouldn't it have been nice if this week was the big 5-0?" Not sure I did anything different this week than the other weeks, but I'll take it and run with it. My total now is 49.6 lost; lets not get too excited, I'm still waaaaaayyyy overweight...BUT, I see myself making some lifestyle choices that are growing on me and slowly becoming a part of my daily routine. For one, there is more produce in my house and much less on the processed foods front. I think my family is benefiting from this too. I will say that the addition piece hasn't gotten much easier. I struggle with ways to cope when I'm feeling anxious, sad, depressed, excited... I think you get the point. I have found that I fill the food void by doing things that I probably shouldn't, like shopping and buying useless things. I'd love to say that I've replaced the void with exercise or meditation but I'm just going to be honest here- I haven't. I am struggling to find that one thing to take on that gives me a little bit of relief. I just completed the first 3 chapters of my dissertation and I thought that writing would be therapeutic for me, but instead that has proved to be a huge stressor that makes me want to eat more. I really want to hear from you all...what do you do to fill your "void" or "emptiness". For me, it used to be food but as I look for other things to quiet me down I find that they aren't always the best choices, for example- wine. Now, I did read an article that says a glass of red wine a day is like exercising, but I'm thinking the jury is still out on that one.