I Eat When I Procrastinate

December 15, 2008 ↓ Comments (2)

I’m in graduate school, pursuing an MFA. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. This weekend I’ve been working on something that is due RIGHT NOW. It’s oddly painful and I’ve been agonizing on and eating a lot while working on this final evaluation. It’s the last thing I need to do this semester and yet I’m having a hard time trudging through it.

Then it hit me; I eat when I’m stressed. Good thing I stopped being sweet or I’d be eating chocolate covered pretzels right now. Or chocolate chip cookie dough. Yeah, that’s what I’d be eating by the ton. Thinking about it makes me want to eat it. Instead, I nearly finished all the apples (I saved the last one for breakfast tomorrow morning).

So what does this mean? Why does one eat when stressed? I’m not sure, but I’m going to keep writing about it and try to figure out what it means for me. The most immediate realization that I can come up with is that I need to stop procrastinating. Had I worked on this evaluation a little at a time all through the semester I’d not be doing this right now. I’d be decorating the place for Christmas. I’d be sliding around on a sidewalk in front of a shopping mall somewhere. I’d be doing the things I want to be doing. (I like shopping.)

So does preparation thwart sugar consumption? Possibly. I’m going to try being prepared next semester and see what happens. In the meantime, I’d better get back to my evaluation and turn it in before dire consequences come crashing down.

Comments · I Eat When I Procrastinate

L
Jan 29, 2009

Hi,

I also eat when I have put things off till the last minute. My theory is that overeating is my way of “weighing myself down”—literally rooting myself to the chair so I am forced to look at what I need to do.

Not that it’s healthy… I am learning other ways to focus.

Cheers-
L

Jen
May 08, 2009

I totally relate to this! For me it’s the fear that I’ll fail or not produce or I’ll do poorly that makes me binge. I put off doing things I know I don’t do well or that are boring to me, then I get frantic and don’t know what to do. What is the sanity in this thinking: “I’m already crazy enough trying to do this hard task, Hmmmm, lets make my life even crazier by going on a full blown sugar binge.” Yet I find myself there repeatedly…