I choose to win this battle

I stepped on the scale today and it was not a pretty sight. Although it wasn't a shock either. When I started this month I really wanted to get below 170. It was a very reasonable goal. In fact, I really hoped I would be way below this point by the February weigh in. I worked my butt off the beginning of the month and couldn't get the scale to move. I wanted so bad to be down before I left on vacation but it didn't happen. While I was gone, I ate mostly restaurant meals and didn't get any real exercise. I did spend several days sight seeing and walking the beach. I got home and was up 1.5 pounds and decided it could have been a worse. Since I have been home I have been struggling to get caught up on school. I missed the whole first week and am struggling to comprehend the calculus classes that I missed. I know all this seems like a lame excuse... I had these great intentions... Anyway, school was a little stressful and obviously occupying a lot of my time but my weight was at least staying the same. The last few days, however, have been very difficult for me because of some family issues (not my marriage!) and I have relapsed into my old eating habits. I woke up this morning feeling fat and stepped on the scale - up again. The old habits were glaring at me - the candy bar and snack size chips I bought at the store last night... I used to buy candy and snacks everytime I walked into a store but thought I had broken this habit. I realized that as soon as my life became stressful again, I went back to my same old eating pattern. When I lost my job about a year ago I did the same thing and gained 20 pounds in just a few months time - so easy to gain and so difficult to lose! When I joined the first contest my goal was to make this a life style change. No more balloonng up and down. I really wanted to lose weight but I wasn't interested in a diet that wasn't going to last. I needed to change my eating habits so I don't have to lose this weight again and again and again... So today I realized that handling this stress is going to be a turning point in my weight loss journey. Do I really want to make changes in my life style or do I let my crazy life control me and become my excuse? I choose to win this battle. So maybe this month won't be a great weight loss month for me in terms of pounds lost - I still expect it to be a great success for me as I take control over my actions.