I don’t know about anyone else, but I tend to think of the
summer as a time to sit back, relax and enjoy the warm weather. This summer has
been anything but relaxing for myself. Professionally, I’ve taken on a pretty
busy workload at the office and recently started training a new intern.
Scholarly, I’m taking more classes than I have since high school. Personally,
I’m booked solid through September with baby showers, graduations, birthdays
and holidays. It’s an extremely chaotic time for me and my non-stop twitching
eye is indicating that I might be a little overwhelmed. To be honest, I’m
completely stressed out!
I don’t mind being busy; it beats boredom any day. My
problem is being so busy I don’t have time, energy or the planning ability to
be on Whole30. I love how I feel on Whole30 and I try to follow it during the
week as best I can, but on the weekends I’m an unorganized mess. In the winter,
I have the convenience of leaving my pre-made food in the car. In the summer,
it’s not safe or delicious when you leave your fruits, vegetables and
especially meat in your car.
I’m struggling with making better choices during this summer;
and I catch myself wishing away the summer heat just to avoid the temptations
of summer eating and drinking. I’ve noticed with my weight that it takes all
week to take off my weekend bad habits. I try to stick to vodka and soda water (Lacroix) with
fruit when I’m drinking. Though it’s not Whole30, my drink of choice is a
better option than most other alcohols.
All this stress is extremely challenging on one’s body.
Stress leads to lack of sleep, hormone imbalances, anxiety, and increased
snacking…. and all those things lead to weight gain…which then stresses me out
more! To break the vicious cycle it’s important to know why stress affects us
so negatively, and how to stop it from affecting us. Here is an article I found
on controlling and conquering our stressors: Why We Gain Weight When We’re Stressed—And How Not To
My plan moving forward for the summer is to continue to eat
Whole30 compliant foods as often as I can. I will work on meal planning and
prepping on Sundays, and only eat off-plan on special occasions. My personal
health goal is to not let the guilt of not doing Whole30 consume me. The
additional stress from that guilt is too much drain on my daily life, and it’s
only doing more harm than good.
Anyone else struggling with their healthy lifestyles this
summer? ~Nicci
From an outsider’s perspective, Nicci, you are seizing life – get rid of the guilt! It sounds as if you have a lot going on throughout your professional, educational, and social life. On top of that, it sounds as if you are making solid choices and doing very well with your Whole30 health goals. It may not be perfect, but perfect isn’t what accomplishes goals. In my opinion, it’s the things we do consistently and regularly (not perfectly) that make all the difference.
ReplyDeleteI am pursuing some aggressive running goals this summer that is helping me stay on track with my own healthy lifestyle. Have you ever tried running? I think it’s the perfect activity to attain a healthy weight and overall health goals. Besides, it’s the best for stress reduction, improving sleep, generating energy, and maybe even your non-stop eye twitching. :-) If you are not a runner, I completely understand. I was an anti-runner at one time, taking my wife to races and thinking “people actually do this for fun?” It seemed so silly. Reluctantly, I tried it and managed to stick with it. Now, ten years later, I can’t image life without running. Good luck with your goals this summer!
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ReplyDeleteAs a fellow student who is focusing on bettering myself and staying healthy, I know how it feels to not have time on your hands to stay on track. I work 40 hours a week while maintaining classes and I find it difficult to keep up on my new healthy habits. I recently started meal prepping and I would highly recommend it! It allows me to know exactly what goes into my body and has made me feel better than ever. Keep it up!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cecilia, meal prepping is something I started doing about 2 years ago and it makes everything so much easier. Sunday nights I prepare lunches for the week and it saves me so much hassle and stress, as well as from eating out. I really need to start meal prepping dinners as well! Let me know how it goes!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cecilia, meal prepping is something I started doing about 2 years ago and it makes everything so much easier. Sunday nights I prepare lunches for the week and it saves me so much hassle and stress, as well as from eating out. I really need to start meal prepping dinners as well! Let me know how it goes!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely have to meal prep! It's probably the most challenging part of the Whole30 lifestyle. I dislike raw vegetables, so I have to cook everything beforehand. I try to limit fruit unless I'm in a pinch.
ReplyDelete