I had psoted a thread about emotional eating and recieved NO reponses:confused: My daughter left on the 10th for afghanistan and I was crushed!! I got home from the airport and found out that I am definately an emotional eater as I found myself in the refrigerator 4 times. How depressing!!! Any others have loved ones deployed???

Hi there, I am a military wife and my husband was actually deployed to Iraq when I had my surgery so I had to go it alone along with taking care of my 7 year old daughter alone. It was difficult, especially not having him there in the hospital with me or to take care of me when I came home, but I did it. He came home 3 months after my surgery. Somehow I think your situation is a little more difficult because I could not imagine my daughter leaving to be deployed, I also was an emotional eater and still to this day I struggle with it. You really just have to focus on other things other than food when you are worried and stressed, go for a quick walk, read a book, go to a store and just look around, anything to take your mind off food. As you know it will comfort you for the moment and then you will feel awful and guilty afterwards. I know it's all easier said than done, but believe me you can do it. We have to find other ways to cope with celebrations, dissapointments, and stress without food now. I wish you all the best (and your daughter) I know it's hard but believe in your self.

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with food issues AND daughter deploying. Sending a loved one off is one of the hardest things we do. You miss her. You worry about her. But, just remember, she is very well trained to do her job. And, chances are she loves what she does. You have to leave it in God's hands now.

I sent my ex off to Saudi during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. That was probably the hardest 7 months of my life. The other wives and I learned to lean on each other while they were gone and just do the best we could. I can't imagine sending one of my children off. I, too, would be devastated.

Now, since you can't go with her you'll have to find something to do besides eat! Find a hobby. Maybe something that supports the troops. I'm not sure how close you live to a military installation, but check to see if there are support groups for military families where you live. It doesn't even have to be the same branch of service as your daughter. Go online and check out some of the groups that send care packages to the troops. They always need volunteers. Also, there are websites looking for pen pals for deployed troops.

Whatever you choose to do, focus on staying busy and out of the kitchen. Use the time she's going to be away as a "goal post"! Set yourself some health and fitness goals to reach by the time she comes home. Surprise her with a new healthier mom!

This IS a hard time for you so don't get too down on yourself. You'll both be in my prayers. Take care.

Thank you so much for the responses. My husband is retired Air force so I know the military way of life it is just so different when it is a child. My son is active duty Navy and has been deployed on aircraft carriers and that was hard but I must admit that my youngest daughter going to afghanistan has been harder. It appears so often that the war is so old people are forgetting what sacrifices are being made and that is sad:mad2:

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with food issues AND daughter deploying. Sending a loved one off is one of the hardest things we do. You miss her. You worry about her. But, just remember, she is very well trained to do her job. And, chances are she loves what she does. You have to leave it in God's hands now.

I sent my ex off to Saudi during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. That was probably the hardest 7 months of my life. The other wives and I learned to lean on each other while they were gone and just do the best we could. I can't imagine sending one of my children off. I, too, would be devastated.

Now, since you can't go with her you'll have to find something to do besides eat! Find a hobby. Maybe something that supports the troops. I'm not sure how close you live to a military installation, but check to see if there are support groups for military families where you live. It doesn't even have to be the same branch of service as your daughter. Go online and check out some of the groups that send care packages to the troops. They always need volunteers. Also, there are websites looking for pen pals for deployed troops.

Whatever you choose to do, focus on staying busy and out of the kitchen. Use the time she's going to be away as a "goal post"! Set yourself some health and fitness goals to reach by the time she comes home. Surprise her with a new healthier mom!

This IS a hard time for you so don't get too down on yourself. You'll both be in my prayers. Take care.

She is a cop (not sure if that is good or bad) but yes she does love what she does.

My husband is a cop. He's currently deployed to Kuwait but he's flys into Iraq weekly. He's been gone almost 3 months and we have 3 more months to go. Its been tough mainly because I have three young boys to take care of. Finding time to focus on me is hard. I am still loosing but I have bad days. On the days that I am feeling sorry for myself and lonely I have noticed that I don't eat as well as other days. I know that I am an emotional eater and its tough. I just keep facing forward because I know that when I go to bed that is one more day closer to my husband coming home.