"Hungry, hungry, want to eat"

There must be a parrot in here. I can't see it but the sneaky feathered fiend keeps repeating that phrase, over and over and over.

It's that same old connection again. I'm stressed so I want to eat. I want to eat right this minute... and to eat bad things. It is beginning to make me aware of just how big a part this particular scenario must have played over the years in my becoming the fat lass. Thankfully, I can now recognise the connection and can (usually) take steps to avoid my old automatic responses.

Today is a case in point. I got very (oh yeah!) uptight after a morning meeting with my boss ended when he dumped another load of work onto my already groaning shoulders. All my willpower got called in to get me to avoid the vending machine on the way back to my desk. I ate my apple instead. So far, so good.

Then, once I'd buckled down to the 'urgent' task he'd just given me, I ate some baked bread-sticks (about five of the mini ones at around 5 kcal each) and had a mug of hot hibiscus and ginger herbal tea. OK, so I make the half-time score Fat Lass 1: Vending Machine 0.

I've just finished my lunch - extra-low fat Philly-style cheese with lovely crisp celery sticks, juicy cherry tomatoes, fresh fruit and a low fat yoghurt. Just what I needed. Healthy, delicious and... not at all what I actually 'wanted'. I'm still stressed and still decidedly 'fancy hungry'. But hey, for now at least,the score remains Fat Lass 1: Vending Machine 0.

What was that? "What does 'fancy hungry' mean? Ah, that's a rather dangerous old family term for wanting something nice but not being sure what nice actually is. You could try several things one-by-one, all of them bad, and none of them were actually the right one. This leaves you still feeling 'fancy hungry'. Repeat as necessary! Probably another factor in the generation of a fat lass.

It has been a timely reminder that I must keep my stocks of low(ish) calorie, healthy snacks topped up at work. And I must make sure I bring a healthy packed lunch each and every day. Without these I think I'd have been sunk today. As it is it has been quite a struggle. Still, I'm on the winning team and praying there won't be an own goal before the whistle blows.