There’s no doubt I’m a stress eater – I can attribute at least 50 of the pounds I need to lose to specific traumatic events. Since starting this site, I’ve made some poor food choices, and I’ve given in to cravings on more than one occasion, but today is the first time I’ve really faced the challenge of eating to placate negative emotions.

Last week, ‘South Beach’ Steve over at Log My Loss launched the “Hot 100 Challenge” to get people to set weight-loss goals for the last 100 days of 2009. It’s a great idea and, knowing that working out has been a key factor missing from my current regimen, I decided my goal was going to be a minimum of 30 minutes in the gym, 3 days a week. The very next morning, I broke my toe

“Oh well,” I thought to myself “I guess I won’t be participating after all.” And I’ve been limping around in sort of a funk ever since (not just from the toe mind you, it just seems to be icing on the maelstrom-of-problems cake I’ve been served recently).

So, today ended up being a terrible day at work, and on the drive home I was incredibly tempted to call up a friend of mine and hit up the local Claim Jumper to throw down one of the ridiculous meals we used to eat (a couple of years ago, I would easily take in 3500-4000 calories at such a meal). I wanted it real bad – I swear I could taste the bacon on the potato skins and the whip cream on the chocolate shake. I didn’t want to just cheat, or go over my calorie limit for the day, I wanted to gorge myself until I felt as bad physically as I did emotionally.

In the end, I stopped at the local deli and got a roast beef wrap. I’m really happy with the decision I made, and, in large part, it’s due to the accountability this site provides that I made it. So if you’re reading this, I want to say thank you.

I also want to announce my (revised) goal for the Hot 100 Challenge*: 3 pounds a week.

Just because I can’t get into the gym right away, doesn’t mean I don’t have other room for improvement. In the last 22 weeks I’ve lost 34.3, which averages out to 1.56 pounds per week, and for the next 93 days intend to double that figure. While not astronomical, it’s going to be a challenge, particularly while I’m kept inactive due to my toe, but I’m going to pull it off.