I recently shared about how I got so busy, it became rather stressful. When things get stressful, it can be difficult to stay on track with healthy eating and exercise. I’ve now found some good strategies that keep me on track (for the most part) that I wanted to share today as I used several of these recently when I was overloaded.
1.Turn to exercise, not food to reduce stress. If I rewind back to my overweight days, I would have met stress head on with a pint of ice cream and alcohol. I still have my moments, but now I focus on exercising when I need to de-stress. I found that practicing yoga or going on a walk in the sunshine is a much better way to reduce stress because it clears my head as opposed to filling my stomach with food. I found that eating when stressed only makes me feel better for the few minutes it takes to eat the food. Once it is gone, the stress isn’t gone and I am more likely not to feel as good physically because it’s not like I binge on lettuce when I am stressed.
2. Make a plan. If you haven’t noticed yet, Ryan and I have plans for most things in life including meal plans, exercise, etc. I realize that life happens while you are making plans but I think having a plan gets you on the right path, even if that path veers at one point. So when I am stressed, I try to make even more of a point to plan out healthy meals, exercise and time to get tasks done. If it all turns into a mess by lunch time, at least I had a good start to the day.
3. Just breathe. This seems simple since we are always breathing but I am talking more about focusing on your breath. This is something I do when I am REALLY stressed out. I will take some deep breaths and focus on having even inhales and exhales, 1:1 breath. Another breathing practice I will do at times is nadi shodhana, which is alternative nostril breathing; something I learned in my yoga practices. Here are directions on how to practice it in case you are interested: you close off your left nostril and breath through your right nostril, then close your right nostril and breath out your left. This is a great way to build a balanced breath and reduce stress.
4. Get some rest. I know this isn’t always possible because when you are stressed, it is likely because there are just too many things going on, which leads to less time for sleep. However, I find that I prioritize sleep during stressful times. After you go through a period of having bad sleep (hello babies….and toddlers….) you realize how important it is. So last weekend when I could have stayed up for an extra hour to study for my yoga exam, I instead chose to sleep. That sleep allowed me to be more clear headed the next day and I got 100% on my exam.
5. Ask for help. If you are overloaded and stressed out, ask for help. Last week I was supposed to teach a portion of my group class we put on for a yoga training project. With the week I was having, I knew that I needed to take something off my plate so I asked my back-up person to take over and teach. She graciously stepped up and took my spot in the class and it all went flawlessly. I knew I could have taught, but I would have been doing it to prove to myself that I could be super woman. Instead I decided to teach myself that I am strong enough to ask for help when I need it. So don’t be afraid to ask for help, it makes you stronger.
These strategies have been very helpful for me when I have an overloaded week but what has helped me the most is just giving myself some grace. Life gets messy and sometimes I clean it up with ice cream or wine (some days both) and I’m OK with that. Practicing a healthy family life doesn’t mean we are perfect, we are just doing out best to build and maintain a healthy family life.
