Day 15- Stress (Don't sweat the small stuff)

I let stress pretty much control my day. It all started this morning at 8:30 am after I dropped my son off at school. I received an email about a certain situation and I was on the phone all morning trying to straighten it out. I did not reach the party on the other end till later this afternoon. I am a natural worrier and having anxiety, on top of it all, does not help matters. I have heard that stress contributes to weight gain, so I googled it tonight. Here is what I found: "There are several ways in which stress can contribute to weight gain. One has to do with cortisol, a stress hormone. When we're under stress, the fight OR flight response is triggered in our bodies leading to the release of various hormones. Whether we're stressed because of constant, crazy demands at work or we're really in danger, our bodies respond like we're about to be harmed and need to fight for our lives (or run like heck). To answer this need, we experience a burst of energy, shifts in metabolism and blood flow, and other changes. If you remain in this state for a prolonged amount of time due to chronic stress, your health becomes at risk. Aside form a host of other dangers, chronic stress can also cause weight gain." Lovely. The silly part is, the thing that caused me stress today was not a real serious matter. But my nature is to worry, and therefore I STRESSED over it. Sheesh. Luckily, I did not turn to bad food. I actually turned to NO food. I skipped lunch just because my stomach was in knots. This is not good. By the time 6 pm came, I had calmed down enough to fix my son and I dinner. This is something I need to work on. It did me no good today to worry about something that was out of my control at the moment. The thing that finally distracted me from it all was "Dancing With The Stars." LOL Go figure! My HAPPY mode went on, and all was forgotten. I should have found a distraction earlier in the day. Note to self: Don't sweat the small stuff. I am off to fix me a nice hot cup of chamomile tea and curl up in the couch to read. Nothing like a good book! I am looking forward to a stress-free day tomorrow! Tuesday is my coffee/tea day with my mom. That always calms me down. Have a good (stress-free) night everyone! :) Here is what I ate today: Breakfast- 2 hard boiled eggs Smoothie with 1 c. almond milk, 1/2 c. blueberries, 1 apple, handful of spinach Mid-afternoon snack- 1/2 c. sliced jicama with low-cal Italian dressing Lunch- No lunch :( Mid-afternoon snack- 1/2 c. mixed nuts Dinner- 4 oz. grilled ground turkey, steamed broccoli After dinner snack-1 c. fresh cut pineapple, 1 c. chamomile tea