Cracking under Stress
This semester has been incredibly stressful for me. On top of the regular life challenges such as taking care of a house, a yard and twin-four-year-olds who refuse to be told what to do anymore, I’ve been writing a dissertation, rekindling a huge and scary dream, and dealing with the loss of funding for my dissertation research (which means no income, no health insurance and huge tuition bills). Can you say “YUCK!”
When I get stressed out, I get the munchies. Yes, I admit I’m a stress eater. I somehow think it will make me feel better to down an entire bag of tortilla chips instead of taking just five. Unfortunately, I don’t crave beef, cabbage and white rice when I am stressed. Instead, I want all of those high oxalate comfort foods that I usually don’t look twice at. Or I want to pig out on the medium ones that I feed to my sons. Since I don’t keep most high oxalate foods in the house, I usually do okay until I go to a party or meeting with “forbidden foods.” The strange thing is, I don’t usually even think of them as forbidden foods. I think of them as those nasty destroyers of health. But get me in a “poor pitiful me mood” and they suddenly become forbidden, and I really want to eat them.
In the past few weeks I’ve had to pull out a few old tricks to keep me on track–tricks that usually help me start to feel strong and in control again. I thought I’d share them with you, in case you need a few new tricks before heading into the holiday season (or while throwing out your kid’s Halloween candy! OY!).
Five Strategies for Success on the Low Oxalate Diet:
1.) Take a 3×5 inch card and write down your top 5 or 6 goals for being on the Low Oxalate Diet. Keep this card in your pocket or purse and read it often! If you are about to head into an office party or a big family gathering, pull it out and read it once more before heading to the buffet line. Keeping your goals in mind makes it much easier for you to resist overindulging in oxalate.
2.) Practice positive self talk when you are temped by something that probably has too much oxalate. For example, tell yourself “It’s more important for me to get out of pain than it is for me to eat this chocolate chip cookie.” Or how about “This chocolate chip cookie will only give me a minute of pleasure but being pain-free will feel good for the rest of my life.” Write down two or three positive self-talk statements and practice using them, even if you are only mildly temped to eat too much oxalate. This will make it much easier for you to remember to use positive self-talk when you are strongly temped to overindulge.
3.) Practice mindful eating. This means really paying attention to your food and the act of eating it. Mindful eating might include a few rules such as a.) no eating while standing, b.) take small bites, c.) chew slowly, d.) pay attention to taste and texture and e.) don’t eat in front of the television or in a movie theater. The more you make mindful eating a habit, the easier it will be to stick to this way of eating when times are stressful. If you never eat while standing or while watching the television, you are much less likely to find yourself sitting on the couch half way through a huge bag of popcorn without even remembering what it tastes like.
4.) Give yourself credit every time you resist eating too much oxalate, especially if you really wanted that high oxalate goody. You are doing great! Every low oxalate meal you eat, every day you stay in your target oxalate range, you are moving toward greater health. You deserve credit for each victory along the way. Make it a habit to congratulate yourself or to acknowledge your hard work each time you keep to your goals. As you build strength and confidence in your ability to resist eating too much oxalate, it will become easier and easier to resist eating too much oxalate!
5.) Get right back up and start again if you overindulge in oxalate. Just like people who diet to lose weight, we tend to have self-sabataging thoughts when we diverge from our eating plan. We might think “Oh, I already ate one chocolate chip cookie. I might as well have a brownie, too.” Instead, try a more gentle and reasonable approach. “I ate a chocolate chip cookie and I feel bad about it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t start over right now. I can stop eating tonight, and tomorrow I’ll keep my oxalate levels really low. I may have a minor set-back, but it’s not the end of the world. I can do this.”
I hope these strategies help you face the coming season of temptation with more confidence! They come from one of my favorite books, The Beck Diet Solution, which I plan to review for this site some time soon (when my stress levels go down – HA!). Until then, I’ll just say I highly recommend it! If you’re interested, US readers can purchase The Beck Diet Solution here, UK readers can purchase The Beck Diet Solution here, and Canadian readers can purchase The Beck Diet Solution here. Take care and happy Low Oxalate Dieting!
Photo credit goes to Bernard Goldbach for Stress.
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