Candy is Dandy But Liquor is Quicker

As I write this, I have four other blogs written, waiting to be published except for final edits (the part of writing I dislike the most) and I dropped them all in favor of this one. Why? As I sat down to work on the blog, an almond snickers bar was at my side.

I know it is a mental thing that I could change if I wanted to, but the chocolate comfort thing has been out control during this quarantine. My husband tried to give me dark chocolate, which would have been a much healthier choice, and fewer calories and fat, but it did not work. I ran to the pharmacy for another necessity and loaded up with candies from my childhood. It was Halloween for me, only better, as I did not have to sort through the unwrapped candy and the lollipops and other undesirable stuff in order to get to the chocolate goods.

I purposely did NOT make my chocolate cake. It is a treat I usually reserve for special occasions and to give (gift) to others. It would have helped though. Instead, I am consuming an equivalent of a third graders’ dream Halloween haul.

Chocolate milkshake (black and white), CHECK. (Root Beer Float, check too) There is no stopping me. I have unleashed all of my anxiety and emotions about this uncertain time into calories consumed. The sugar helps, but I will regret this in the long run. It is now July and I have quarantined since March like a very good girl, in the hopes to be with my grandchildren this summer.

A past blog during this COVID period was on my “non-stressed” husband coping with liquor and alcohol – and keeping more of that in the house than we have ever had before. (You will enjoy that read.) Happy hours are a regular affair here, something new to this period of time. My husband posted this acronym (in a way acknowledging that he is using liquor the way I use chocolate to comfort) Covid Obligates Vodka Inspired Drinks spelling out COVID. And you know the saying, Candy is Dandy, But Liquor is Quicker.

We all know that binge eating is due to anxiety and that food represents comfort. I have lots of reasons to need comfort. I had two big life events profoundly impacted by this time of quarantine, and my family has had to put off others. Add that to the uncertainty of this time, the economic toll on so many, and the actual health scare of possibly catching this dreaded disease. (Not that I have left my home much and have any risk of getting it.) Now I am worrying about friends and acquaintances getting affected, but thankfully so far, I do not have any friends in my large circle who have gotten it. We are all smart enough to stay safe, but the anxiety is still there. The worry about the economic toll on so many is still there.

Chocolate and alcohol are absolutely necessary because instead of us getting rid of this plague, it seems to be getting worse and increasing as people relax. I cannot relax about it, and I am glad I did not as our numbers are experiencing an all-time high in my area. (Some photos posted by doctors on the ventilators and hospital patients did the trick for me – no way do I want to tempt fate on the type of case that I could get.) In addition, not everyone has new grandchildren as an incentive to be rigorously good.

As our numbers increased, I have upped the ante lately too by indulging in a huge amount of desserts, baked goods, and basically anything with carbs in it. I am constantly hunting around for sweets. My husband had the bright idea of defrosting my frozen decadent Barbie birthday cake that was the size of a wedding cake which is a total sugar rush, but darn him! At this rate, I will stay quarantined, healthy, yet post a huge weight gain. (Trying to counteract that with rigorous daily swimming.) My Yoga routine is of course interrupted and I miss it terribly for stress reduction.

So dear friends, other than alcohol, online yoga, and chocolate and sweets, how are you controlling your anxiety and emotions during this tough year? If you have healthier proven choices, let me know. I really do want to give up the Halloween sized stash, but only after it is all gobbled down. And to those who have only eaten healthfully and LOST weight during this time, HOW did you do that? Perhaps I need some Zoom therapy sessions. This isolation, scare of disease, and lack of friend and family contact has affected me more than I should admit.