The High Risk Hours

I have been able to identify the time of day that I most often get into trouble. It is the late afternoon/early evening between 3:30 and 8:00 p.m. Mornings are fine, I never overeat in the morning. Noon time is good, too. I am happy with a reasonable lunch. But there is something about the time from when I get home from work, and through the evening. That's when I fall off of plans, or overindulge and so on. I decided to really look at what goes on emotionally, etc. at that time of day. For one thing, there is the transition between being at work and being at home. There's a feeling of relief and perhaps the feeling of release and a temptation to "cut loose." Then, there is also some stress and sometimes some fatigue, both of which I often sooth with food. So there may be at least two types of eating here, eating to "celabrate" and eating for comfort. What I do believe is that if I can make changes to what I do at that time of day, I may get over a huge hurdle. So I am going to be working at changes that could make a difference. One thing I want to try is a quick walk with the dog when I get home, and a few exercises. Then have a small snack sitting at the table with my daughter. Then a meditation reading. Just a short one pager. It's a re-charging of myself for the remainder of the day. Or, a transitional ritual. In the morning when I wake up, I like to do some things to get the day started. I pray, I think about the day ahead and read something. Sometimes I do a few exercises. Not always, but it is a well established pattern I have had for years, so much so that if I don't do it, I at least acknowlege the need to do it, and miss it. Now, if I can get the late afternoon transition going as a regular habit, it could be a major breakthrough for me.