How Do You Weather the Storm?
November 11th, 2009
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by Jodi · Filed Under: Ramblings
Not like the Exercise Slump post, this is different. I want to know, how do you weather the storm? How do you deal with organized chaos or do you not deal at all?
So where am I going with this? With age comes wisdom is the saying but I am not always sure of that. Sometimes I wouldn’t say it’s wisdom as much as it is recognizing patterns. Say we’re on a roll of working out and eating well and we’re in a really nice groove. Life begins to get hectic and we start to fall apart. At what point does your emergency broadcasting system kick in and tell you to kick it into plan B? And if it doesn’t kick in, why not?
When I am stressed or distracted, the first thing that goes with me is food. I would rather not eat when harried than eat. Back in the day, I would allow that to happen. I would feed into it (for the lack of a better word;) and go for long periods of time before I would eat. The bad thing about that is my cortisol levels are shooting through the roof, my blood sugar is as crazy as NYC at rush hour and my thinking becomes impaired because I lack the glucose to have a coherent thought. What ensues after this is a downward spiral of what I refer to as organized chaos. I call it that because it always unfolds the same way, it has a predictable outcome but yet it wreaks havoc on my life for as long as I allow it to. Not anymore, though. Now I see the storm brewing on the horizon and I have a contingency plan in place to keep things from getting out of control.
First, I have a series of yummy meals in my freezer that are ready to go at any time. So the minute I start thinking that I don’t want to eat because “there’s nothing to eat” (my famous line when I am stressed and avoiding food), I know that that is bull. Next, I save parts of my workouts for my time with my clients. This forces me to workout with them and it keeps me in the exercise loop. Doing this primes me for my own personal workouts later in the day. Lastly, I openly recognize that this is going down. I don’t avoid it or start saying cute sounding platitudes, I literally acknowledge it, talk to it, talk about it, whatever—but I honestly take the time to point out to myself that it could get ugly.
So my question to you is, what do you do to weather the storm? Or, how do you recognize the storm is on the horizon? What makes your emergency backup system go into effect and what do you do when it does? I am hoping we can help those who do not have one in place right now or do not realize that they can have one in place thereby keeping the organized chaos to a minimum.
Hit me up and let me know what you do…:o)
I shut down. I end up not eating and then when I am ready to pass out , I will eat some comfort food…and my workouts start getting missed….on to the downward cycle! And then sometimes, I end up curled up on the couch eating icecream! or pizza!! or chocolate and it’s an instant comfort but then gone too quickly leaving me feeling even worse!!! So would you like to share those “yummy meals” in your freezer? I really need some fresh ideas!! I am burnt out on chicken, broccolli and yams!! LOL
I am a mess when I’m not organized in the food department, too. I go from zero to starving in nothing flat so I have to be prepared.
I try to do food prep on Sundays for the week ahead…homemade protein bars, soups, egg bakes, cut veggies, etc.
But when that doesn’t happen, I makes sure I have tuna packets on hand, almonds, and protein powder. In fact, I often keep an emergency baggy full of protein powder in my purse just in case…since I normally have a bottle of water with me, it’s easy to whip up a protein shake to tide me over.
Ooh what kind of soups? I love soups!
Lynn: My question is, do you recognize it before it comes on and if so, what do you do to stop it from taking effect? Check out Joanna’s blog http://www.fitnessandspice.com for a ton of clean recipes for a ton of different kinds of foods. She’s awesome!! She’s on my blogroll too.
Joanna: Do you see it happening in slow motion and you cannot stop it or you see it now and know when to step and do something about it?
Oh, I rarely know when a storm is going to hit. With a family of five, it just DOES.
I tend to eat emotionally when I get stressed and start grabbin’ for anything. Lately, I’ve been ok at keeping it in check. If I give myself a bit more leniency with my nutrition while I weather the storm and let things pass and get right back to plan, damage control is minimal …
I’m relatively storm-free (I know, not helpful). I think it’s b/c I don’t have children. Seems like that is the cause of many a “flash flood” within the schedules of my child-having friends. That said, I’m not without the downpour here and there. Unless it’s an injury (nothing depresses me like a physical injury), if it’s something I see coming I schedule down time (read: naps) and make sure the food coffers are full. In fact, it’s a policy to make sure staples are pre-made regardless, just in case my internal “Weather Channel” is off in its predictions. If the barometer is “on” and I see it coming down the pike, like a case of the blues or the “mehs”, I alert the hubs and ask him to encourage the workouts, forcefeed me, enforce the scheduled nap times…whatever. He comes in quite handy, I must say. Lastly, much as I’m not a “fan” of group fitness classes per se, having to teach them forces me to gitterdun some days when I just don’t want to. Once I’m in motion, I’m good to go and my own workout happens if it didn’t get done in the early morning. About the only thing about groupex I like. LOL
It just kind of happens before I really know. I think my best strategie is getting cardio done before breakfast, right away…that kind of sets my brain in a good way for “emotional stress attacks”….but sometimes I am unable to and it’s like getting hit by a train.
Thanks for the blog Jodi, I will check it out.
Oh, one more thing, being a wife and mother there seems to be endless (ENDLESS) things to get done and not enough time, so I am always last on my list!
It’s not the known things like functions, parties, family meals, and such, so much as the invisible detours and speed bumps that get in my way (sick children, house guests, anything that disrupts my preferred patterns). My best defense is to have lots of cooked veggies and protein in the fridge and to get in cardio early. I do not have a plan B in place for times when I’m out of food, no time to shop let alone cook, and it’s 4pm and I haven’t worked out. I’m like Lynn – it’s people and what they want/need from me that get’s in my way. When this happens, usually the day is shot. I try hard not to beat myself up and be thankful that tomorrow brings the opportunity to get back on track.