If nothing else, this blog has been a place for me to share with you the tips and tricks that my family has found works to make our lives happier and healthier. And while my family is certainly in a very happy place, and we are all quite healthy, over the past few weeks, I started to notice that I didn’t have quite as much energy as I normally do and that my clothes weren’t fitting quite like they had in the past. A quick visit to the scale confirmed that my weight had indeed gone up by not an insignificant amount. And so, I panicked.
As the panic subsided, worry set in. How, given all the way I eat, my workout schedule, and the fact that the Husband and I (well me for the most part), have been abstaining from alcohol since September, could I have gained so much weight??? My first thought was that something had to be medically wrong. My second thought was despite all the good I am doing, I have to be doing something wrong. And my third thought was to send an email to the Coach to ask him for some help and guidance (yes, I am extremely lucky to have someone like the Coach that I can turn to when I find myself in these predicaments).
Having lived through a few health crises in the past few years, I have established a 2 week waiting period before I go to the doctor with any non-urgent health “issues”. Two weeks, for me anyway, is long enough to assess whether something really is an issue, but short enough that if something really isn’t right, it won’t get too much worse.
And so, the Coach and I decided to wait 2 weeks, to return to keeping a log of what I eat, my workouts, my water intake, and of course, how I feel, and to assess the situation once those two weeks were up.
Simply getting out my binder with all the log sheets got me back into the mindset I was in three years ago when I first embarked on this journey to health. And reviewing past log sheets, I was reminded of some of the habits and foods I ate that helped me to shed weight, but more importantly FEEL better.
Starting last Monday, I went back to eating eggs for breakfast, not the yogurt, granola and fruit that I had fallen into the habit of having in the mornings and I went back to eating those eggs as soon after I woke up as I could, not when I got around to it (as in 10 minutes before I have to leave to take the kids to school). I went back to ensuring I had a proper lunch for myself prepared in the morning (I do this when I’m assembling the kids snacks for school), and I ate that lunch at, or as close to noon as I could (not 10 minutes before I have to leave to pick up the kids from school). I cut down on my caffeine consumption, especially in the afternoons so I could be sure to have the best sleep possible at night. And I went back to having a SMALL snack before bed.
And the funny thing is . . . getting back to what worked before . . . worked again. I already have noticeably more energy (even after staying up late on Monday night to watch the Jays!). By the end of the week, I had lost half of the weight that I had gained. And most importantly, I FEEL better again!
This has been an interesting experiment for me . . . because, while I thought that I had been doing my absolute best to eat healthfully and to lead a happy life, I wasn’t necessarily doing the things that make me feel (and look) my absolute best.
If you’re feeling stuck . . . that you’ve maybe gained a few pounds, that maybe you don’t have the energy that you did . . . it might be worth pulling out a notebook and keeping track of what you’re eating/doing/feeling for a few days . . .and seeing if that gives you any clues on what little (or big) things you could change to help yourself to feel (and look) a little better.
nancyhotson 
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