I have started to cheat a little on the “no sugar” thing. It is not a full blown sweets attack, but it does seem like a slippery slope. A bite of a cookie here. A taste of some chocolate there.
As a teacher and spring sport coach, I am under a lot of “End of season” pressure. Every night is a match or awards ceremony or just practice and trying to get dinner on the table. Couple that with arthritis in my neck (just found out) and trying to buy a house (and my grocery store being out of my favorite type of grapes!) and here I am having trouble sticking to a diet that I know is best for me.
I have known for quite some time that I eat to relieve stress, and usually it is some sort of carb or sweet food. I am not alone in this habit. Everyone has a way that they cope-food, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, work, exercise, etc…
So part of me thinks that I don’t need as much help on my “diet” as I think I do. I know what to eat (fruits, veggies, water, lean protein, etc…) and what not to (cakes, cookies, donuts, etc-at least not every day).
Instead I think I need help on stress reduction and I am tired of seeing internet stories about “ideas” for that. “Take a bath, read a book, take a walk, call a loved one, sleep more, meditate, drink less caffeine-hahahahahahah-you must be joking!”
These all seem like really good ideas, but none are as fast and effective as eating a pint of Ben and Jerry’s or grabbing a cookie at school ( I am sure I would be reprimanded if I told the high school principal…excuse me, that was a super stressful class-I am just going to run home and take a bubble bath and be back next hour! Thanks! Bye! LOL)
So I can see why people turn to food-it is quick, cheap, and easy. I can’t read a book in between classes. I can’t call a loved one all the time (they have jobs and life and work and are not sitting around waiting for my phone call)
I can’t go “sleep more” in the middle of the day or take 15 minutes to go meditate. Therefore, insert sweet food/carbohydrate and keep moving about the day.
So while I am going to keep working on eating properly, I have come to see that having quick and easy stress relieving activities might be more important. So those will be the tiny habits I work on for right now. I will keep you posted on anything I find that works.
To my 40 followers….THANK YOU! I picture your faces reading these words and today maybe giggling at them a little.
tallgirltinysteps 