For those of you who don’t know, I am a nutrition coach at Portside Fitness and it is my job to help people get on track with healthy habits and eating good quality foods. It is my ultimate goal to get clients to a point where they can maintain their ideal lifestyle and health. I do not care about numbers even though that is how my clients and I assess progress- they really don’t matter. What matters is how they feel, how proud they are of what they are doing, and how sustainable it is. Well, here I am telling the truth of my Thanksgiving week. I traveled this year and was so excited to be prepared with healthy snacks for the road trip. The problem: I didn’t eat them for most of the trip. I was alone, driving for hours, bored, tired, and all I wanted was coffee. Here is what I actually had: Spree (sweet + sour fruity candy) Reese Cups Ritz Crackers Hot Tamales (cinnamon candy) A few of my healthy snacks One bottle of water And ALL THE COFFEE I didn’t do well AT ALL!! We were also in a situation where we had to eat out EVERY MEAL. I am also ashamed to say that I pretty much only ate 1x per day for the ENTIRE WEEK! (Snacking on junk throughout the day of course). Did I mention that I am supposed to be training for a half marathon on December 15th as well?? I can tell you that my eating habits lead the path for neglecting the two-mile runs I was supposed to do that week (They didn’t happen). Here’s what DID happen: I was ugly to my mom--Sorry Mom :-( I was in a bad mood I was LAZY I had NO ENERGY I craved everything SUGARY (and still am) I felt awful Needless to say, I didn’t like myself and was generally unhappy. I even had a panic attack while I was trying to take a shower (Those are the WORST)!! I drove the 12 hours back on Friday and with much exhaustion and confusion wound up in bed at 8:30 pm. I still ate pretty bad on Saturday and Sunday (today), but IT WAS WAY BETTER. I also went for a 3-mile run (even though I wanted to stay inside and eat iced oatmeal cookies) then instantly felt better! So much better that I had to write this blog. I am human. I make mistakes and eat things I shouldn’t. I learned that the healthy habits I have developed over the years (yes, it takes years) help me to lead a happy life with much more positive thoughts and outcomes. I learned that it is very HARD to come out of that frame of mind by yourself- if you don’t have someone pushing you then you NEED TO FIND IT. I tell people all the time- if you have a bump in the road, get right back on track and that is what I am going to do. In an ideal world, that bump would have been a snack, a meal, or even a day- But it was a week and I can’t take it back. So time to move on and start taking my health back again. What’s the point of me rambling on?? Here it is. If you fall off ,GET BACK UP! Whatever success, health, and fitness look like for you- stick with it or get going. These things make a difference in your life and can empower you on so many levels. Quit giving excuses- it’s hard, but it matters, so DO IT. If you need help, find it- I don’t care if it is from a co-worker, friend, spouse, or someone like me. You’ve GOT THIS!!
