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Michael 
Posts:9
Newbie
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| 08/04/2009 8:03 PM |
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Okay guys and gals, I need some help. I have a really stressful job(military) and junk food is my stress relief. This makes it really hard for me to stick to the zone. I will usually eat 8-12 blocks a day on the zone, and for the rest of the day I will get a fast food burger or have a home cooked meal that is usually high in carbs (raviolis with red sauce, hamburger helper, ect) I'm kinda half way there right now, but I can't seal the deal and eat only on the zone.
I know all about the disease and death that comes from eating unhealthy, and I try to think of that and of being in better shape, being healthier for my family, but nothing works. It's an addiction for me, and my job really is so stressful(most guys I work with get off of work and drink themselves stupid to deal with the stress, or smoke A LOT of cigarettes).
I get very little time at home with my wife, so when I am off of work going to work out to relieve stress just feels like more work to me.
I've tried yoga and counseling to help relieve the stress, but in the end the only thing that makes me feel better is eating some crap food.
How do you all stick to the zone when you are having a rough day? |
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Jana
Posts:484
Zoner
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| 08/05/2009 7:42 AM |
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Hi Michael
The thing that keeps me in the Zone is that I FEEL soooo good!!! The first week was tough as I was a sugar-holic (pre-Zone) and I found that I would go in the baking cupboard and grab a handful of baking chocolate chips or something else sweet just to stave off that sugar need. I got better as time went on but it was Sue K's chocolate brownie batter smoothie recipe that really helped me through as its Zone-friendly and helped me beat my sugar need by fulfilling the chocolate need....I didn't miss the sugar when I was getting the chocolate. I would make a batch and divide it into thirds to eat as snacks and freeze it. When the sugar or chocolate urges hit I would have the 1/3 smoothie (1 complete block) for a snack and the craving was gone AND I was still in the Zone!
Now I'm the opposite of when I started....if I have sugar, sweets, breads, etc I feel ill afterwards. I actually wake up the next day feeling 'hungover' from the unfavourable carbs. This, for me, is the biggest motivator to stay in the zone....I want to feel energetic, healthy and strong every day.
If you can find a way to modify your junk food need to be Zone-friendly it will get you over that hump. Then when you've eaten in the Zone for awhile you will notice the difference of how that junk food is making your body feel....the trick is you need to get it completely out of your system for awhile to feel the difference.
Exercise is also a good release for me. I know you mentioned you don't like to take the time away from your wife to exercise when your time together is already so limited....but maybe you could walk together? That way you get to talk and do something healthy together....and it will help with the cravings and stress to do something physical.
Enter the Zone and you won't regret it!
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Michael
Posts:9
Newbie
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| 08/05/2009 3:53 PM |
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| Hi Jana, thanks for the great advice. I too am a sugar and chocolate-holic (got that from my mother, lol). Can you give me that brownie recipe? |
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Sue K 
Posts:10748
Zone Expert
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| 08/05/2009 4:11 PM |
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Hi Michael, it's in the first page of this thread:
http://www.zonediet.com/Community/Forums/tabid/121/forumid/3/postid/32875/view/topic/Default.aspx
Enjoy it! |
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Jana
Posts:484
Zoner
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| 08/07/2009 4:04 PM |
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You're welcome Michael. Sue has already directed you to her super-yummy smoothie recipe....hope you enjoy it.
As for the burgers.....I make my own homemade burgers (3oz extra lean ground beef, or sometimes ground turkey, and 1/3tsp olive oil mixed to give it more moisture) and I freeze them. Then when the rest of the family is having hamburgers I pull one of my own out of the freezer and have it on half a multi-grain hamburger bun with lots of lettuce and pickles, a slice of non-fat cheese and maybe a little mayo. That way I don't feel deprived and enjoy basically the same meal as everyone else. The bun is not favourable but since I do this less than once a week I find it doesn't take me out of the zone. I assume you have 4 block meals so you could have a 4oz burger instead and still put some non-fat cheese on it if you want. This works for me!
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