Aug 08
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
I had my first migraine headache today. Actually, I had it on Friday and it lasted through the weekend until a nice emergency room doctor gave me a large shot of morphine this morning. I can feel it creeping back now.
My reactions are mixed. On the one hand, it was nice to finally have a health problem that wasn’t the fault of my weight. (At least, I don’t think obesity can cause migraines.) On the other hand, once the pain started getting under control, I wanted comfort food. And for me, comfort food does not entail salad.
I’m supposed to see my personal doctor tomorrow morning (got my appointment bumped up from the 15th–yea!), so I’m going to ask her for weight loss advice at the same time we’re going over migraine prevention tips. I’ll let you all know if she has any words of wisdom.
Speaking of words of wisdom, I’m asking you, my readers, for a few as well. When you are watching what you eat, how do you nurture yourself? In other words, how do you nurture yourself and comfort yourself when snarfing a huge piece of chocolate cake or a thick slab of country fried steak smothered in sausage gravy is out of the question? I can usually self-soothe fairly well with reading, but of course that doesn’t feel terrific when you have a migraine, either. Any other ideas? Anyone?
chocolate cake comfort food country fried steak health problem migraine headache morphine nurture obesity personal doctor salad sausage gravy watching what you eat weekend
August 8th, 2007 at 1:07 am
I’m diabetic. I have to watch what I eat all the time. So I changed what my comfort foods are. Instead of pizza, I can substitute string cheese, pepperoni, and seasoned tomato paste. Unbreaded, fried squash instead of french fries. That sort of thing. Not to mention two of my favorites: coffee and sugar-free energy drinks.
On the non-food front, the right movie, good music, long baths and thoughtful walks are great soothers, too.
August 17th, 2007 at 1:02 am
Thanks for the tips and for sharing what works for you. Sounds like you’ve found some really good ways to self-comfort both with healthier foods and without food at all. Keep up the good work!
August 29th, 2007 at 1:23 am
Books. I buy books. While my grocery budget has actually gotten smaller now that I’m no longer able to have processed foods, those savings are stacking up in my bookshelves. I’ve had to go through a radical diet change for health/allergy/weight reasons and, even though I’m feeling much better, I still crave salt, sugar, carbs, pretty much everything the doctor said is going to kill me. I don’t know those cravings will ever go away. I haven’t smoked a cigarette in almost 20 years, yet every so often it takes every ounce of willpower I can muster to not give in and light up.
HOWEVER… I found that an occasional binge won’t undo all the good I’ve done. I had a VERY small piece of pie, and took 10 minutes to savor every single nibble. It helped. My sweet tooth was satisfied, and my new eating regime was still intact (or mostly so). Sometimes I just have to give in so I don’t give up completely and wind up in the hospital.