Stress Eating

To begin this week I want to ask each of you a question.  What do you do to relieve stress?  This week was particularly stressful for me and I am not afraid to admit that I am a stress eater.  The result?  Well I just came from my weekly weigh in and I have gained 2 pounds.  This in turn will cause me stress which will cause me to stress eat.  It is a viscous cycle.  There has to be a reason I sabotage myself this way.  The only reason that comes to my mind is success.  I think that in order to BE successful you need to FEEL successful.  For me, feeling successful can come in the smallest ways.  I set  "mini goals" for myself each week that have nothing to do with food but can help me to feel successful.  This way I am more inclined to want to feel successful in other ways as well.  Lately I have been feeling very unsuccessful in my professional life and this has led to many unwanted pounds.  I am at a loss as to what to do.  This past week I have really thought about my life.  I am 32 years old and I can't even afford to live on my own anymore.  I have not had a teaching contract in 2 years now and that has forced me to move in with my sister and brother in law just to survive.  This hasn't been easy on them either, which causes me more stress because I can see what a burden I am in their lives.  I know what you are thinking...pity party.  I agree.  I hate feeling sorry for myself and it feels like I am doing that all the time now.  I feel guilty for feeling bad especially when I see that there are others who have it harder than me.  I want to feel happy and fulfilled and be satisfied with what I have.  I just can't seem to make myself do this.  My mini goal this week is to find something that makes me happy each day and celebrate it.  I know that I am the only one who can change my circumstances so I need to go out and change them.  I can't let myself feel trapped in this life.  I have to achieve greatness on my terms.  The first step for me is getting out of the call center.  Teaching job or not, I need to get out of the environment that broke me in the first place.  I vowed I would never go back to a call center and yet here I am in one again.  It is sucking the life force out of me.  I firmly believe that in order to succeed in my weight loss I will need to find another job.  And so the hunt begins.  Until next time....