Stress Eating

Hi, I've taught night school to adults, so I guess I was a teacher of sorts. However, the adults I taught were all nice people that chose to be in my class, so I never had any "student issues" per say. That said, my day job is technical project management & it can be quite stressful let me tell ya. Similar to you, for several years, I've found comfort in eating items of questionable nutritional value. I not really a french frie guy too much; unfortunately, I am a double-cheeseburger / hot apple pie / vanilla milk shake guy.... Before I finally got some control, I found myself pulling into the drive thru window on my way home from a hard day. And no, I didn't just get one set, I'd get the 2-fors. so... that was 2chzburgers, 2pies & ONLY 1 milkshake.... sometimes, I diversify & hit the local cheese stake/pizza shop instead. Bad, very bad.... Some people smoke, some drink, some do other things, whereas I ate....this behavior & others helped me take on about 70lbs over the past 10years.... I finally had enough when a scary trip to the hospital for chest pain helped set me straight. One thing that I've found is that going to the gym helps BIG TIME - it was easy getting started & at first was really tough, but within a few weeks, it worked miracles on my stress & well being. Give yourself an hour, that's yours & don't let anyone take it away from you - go to the gym, sawna, or yoga class. It will help. The other thing I noticed about me is that when I have issues such as yours, I tend to procrastinate because I hate confrontation. However, like hittng the gym, I needed to address lingering issues & pull myself out of the rutts. If you can't get the parents to address the issue, can you speak to your school administration? if the kid is a problem, then they're probably disrupting the rest of the class which is a problem too. Although you have limited ability to change the issue with the kid, you do have full ability to adjust how you react to the issue & are effected by it. Don't allow it to bring you down & cause you to need comfort food. Fight the urge & exert the control you do have to do some positive things for yourself. I hope this helped & didn't sound too much like a "lecture" (no pun intented), but you really struck home with me... Best of Luck to you!

Oh, and more thing, I promise.... I noticed your weight loss goal is similar to mine. I am not bragging, believe me, but I can tell you from 1st hand experience, this site & the smart-phone app are awesome! The concept is simple & if you follow it, you will reach your goal. Again, I am living proof. I had a lot of false starts over the years & I truly believe MFP was the missing piece that pulled it together for me. YOU CAN DO IT !!!!