I find it extremely hard to turn down gluten when tired and stressed, and am looking for advice on comfort without gluten

[LisaLisaA]

So after my first Whole30, I've quickly realized that gluten does not work for my body. I felt absolutely amazing without it in my diet. Adding it back in though, has proved troublesome in many ways: 

1. after I eat gluten in a meal - I am extremely full and bloated for 2+ hours; This also leads me to be tired, and my mood and energy tend to plummet. 

2. Also, once I start eating it, I find it very hard to stop. 

So I know I should give it up completely, and I DO try to avoid it.... But to be honest: I find food - especially with gluten and also usually sugar - just SO comforting. 
it's actually kind of mentally exhausting to avoid it - especially at times when I'm stressed, or my cravings are really high.  It's just such an easy "comfort" to me, to grab something with gluten and sugar. 

Just looking for advice on how to live life without gluten, especially when you're TIRED? What have you learned to do to comfort yourself when your tired and stressed? 

My willpower is just weak when I'm tired..... 

I think I'll be doing another round of Whole30 since I've gone pretty far off the plan... 

[ShannonM816]

Turning to food for comfort isn't inherently wrong, I think most people do it to some extent, so when you do this, try not to beat yourself up about it. 

The first thing I would say is going to sound kind of simplistic, but you ask about avoiding comfort foods when you're tired. If you're tired, can you just, sleep? Like, even if it's still earlier than your normal bedtime, maybe your body really could use extra sleep. If it's a time of day where that's not practical, remember that food doesn't fix tired. Exercise might -- get up, walk around, get out in the sunshine if you can, stretch, breathe deeply. Do something that changes your focus for a few minutes.

Second, consider why you're tired, and work on fixing that -- did you stay up too late? Get up too early? Plan to get to bed at a time when you can get eight full hours of sleep, and stick to it. Are you working more than usual, or are under more stress, and that's causing you to feel more tired? If there are things you can do to reduce the stress or workload, do that. 

 

[LisaLisaA]

I do appreciate the feedback! perhaps just taking a mini nap is what I need!... and having a list of things to do when I get stressed, as well.

It is just such a hard transition!