Over eating?! Help please.

Oh, boy, I have been there! First of all, a huge hug because you sound like you need it. I think your issue goes much deeper than overeating and I'm going to go on a rambling discussion about me but I want you to be thinking about how you can apply this to YOU while you read it. I am hoping it will help you.

I went back to school in 2010 at the age of 44 while working full time, kids, house, etc. It was a crazy 6 years and I was soooo glad to finish this past June. Now, of course, I'm half thinking about going back for another 30 months to get my Masters and half thinking I'm crazy for even considering it!!

What I had to do back then was prioritize the things going on with my life. I realized I couldn't possibly do it all and expect to either get enough sleep or remain sane. I subscribe to the big rocks/little rocks theory, if you've ever heard that story. The really important things are the big rocks you're trying to fit into a jar that represents your life. You can have just a couple of those. Then you fill in with smaller rocks and everything else is the sand that fills in the chinks between the rocks. What you need to do is determine what your big rocks and smaller rocks are. For me it went something like this:

My big three were spending quality time with my husband and son, my schoolwork and my job (they were footing the bill for my education and expecting my work not to suffer as a result, plus of course, my salary). Smaller rocks were things like going to karaoke with my mom every Wednesday night, going out to dinner with my family every Friday night, my one hour per day exercise regimen of running and weight lifting, having clean clothes to wear, and doing the grocery shopping. Everything else was negotiable and that included things like making a healthy dinner every night, keeping my house spic and span and other things that didn't necessarily have to get done on a consistent basis and to perfection. I also assigned certain chores to my husband and son but didn't necessarily micromanage them, I just didn't want to be responsible for them.

Once I had determined my priorities I knew I needed to be organized to keep everything straight. I kept a family calendar and multiple to-do lists to keep me on track. I used Cozi.com for all of that because I could install it on my PC, my phone and my tablet and it was available wherever I went. It also sends a weekly calendar to all three of us and that reminds my son and husband to keep me up to date on things in their schedules that might impact me. At the beginning of every 9 week school term I created a to do list of all of the coursework that was due during each week. That included anything I had to read, papers that were due or that needed to be at a certain milestone, exams, etc. I could then check each assignment off as I completed it and instantly know where I stood at any point in the week. I also had a personal to do list to keep track of all of the things we have to do to run a house. If I didn't write things down as soon as I learned about them I was likely to forget them so the to do lists were really, really important.

As a part of the family calendar I scheduled out time for the things that were my rocks. My karaoke, Friday nights out and the hour each day for my running or weight lifting which are on alternating days. Anything my son had going on or family events took priority or I made excuses. Tuesday and Thursday nights I picked up something for dinner on the way home and spent most of the night doing schoolwork. I tried to make dinner on Mondays, and usually spent the evening with my husband watching a movie or something. Wednesdays I usually made dinner before going out but it often became pizza night. My husband cooked on weekends and I did schoolwork then as needed.

Extremely important to all of this, bedtime was at 10pm unless I had an urgent deadline to meet and that was seldom. Sleep is so very, very important and I always tried to get at least 7 hours on weekdays and 8 on weekends.

So, take a step back and really take a good look at how much you are trying to cram into 24 hours. First of all, are you getting enough sleep? Many people don't seem to realize how important that is to how you feel every day and even to weight loss. Start scheduling yourself enough time to sleep.

I was looking at your list of things you do and that's what got me started on all of this. Are there some things you can let go? Gardening is nice if you have the time for it but is it necessary right now? Can someone else take on some of that or can you cut back or let it go entirely? Kids can weed, for example (I know because it was one of my chores when we lived in CT and could grow one). Make your own list of rocks and start prioritizing your life and keeping track of what you're doing and you may find you either have more free time than you think, you get a better handle on the stress that's causing more of the problems than you may realize and you can find the way to get through this really busy time in your life and come out the other side with your wits intact.

If you want to vent, chat or pick my brain on more of this stuff, I'm really happy to help. Just friend or message me.

I was a single mom of an autistic toddler when I put myself through school. It was hard and I totally know that feeling of no time or energy left for yourself. Please feel free to add me. You can totally do this! And you deserve to feel healthy and good about you.

Im also a recovering bulimic and still struggle with binging sometimes. It's rare at this point but usually at night when everyone is asleep and I feel anxious. I have to remind myself when this happens that it is ok to hit bumps along the way as long as I don't use them as excuses to quit.