Today was the first morning in 2 weeks I woke up without a sore throat! Holla. (literally).
Right now I can swallow without any pain and it’s a MIRACLE. A bad flu really makes me appreciate when I am in good health I tell ya. I just need to get rid of this tickly cough now!
Yesterday, I mentioned that May is going to be my ‘getting my groove back’ month. April’s injury and sickness left me feeling crappier than crappy and I’ve been feeling out of shape and just, blah.
May also happens to be my birthday month, so naturally I want to be feeling my best to kick off my 28th year with gusto.
First, let’s talk about slumps.
Slumps are also known as ruts, rough patches, potholes, *&^*#&!!, or damn I feel crappy lately.
[Slumps are different than depression though, so if you think you might be depressed please talk to a professional as soon as possible.]
Even though I blog about healthy exercise and eating, I go through slumps just like any other person. I’m human…I mess up…I trip up…I get down on myself. I like to blog about the good times and the bad times because I think both are equally important to talk about. Whether they are exercise slumps, eating slumps, business or school slumps, health slumps, relationship slumps, or even, I don’t know why slumps…they just happen.
Slumps can occur at the same time and create a vicious cycle that is hard to get out of. First, I had my sciatic injury which put me out of my half marathon training. That negatively impacted my exercise, eating, and mood. My mood impacted my eating. Then I got the flu which took me out of exercise completely and also affected my eating habits. This impacted my work and personal life. Negative mood –> official SLUMP!
It is hard not to feel down when going through a rough patch, but I’ve found that if I take matters into my own hands and create positive solutions, I feel much better, faster.
To help create a plan for myself, I first had to identify the slumps in my life and then create solutions for each.
|
SLUMP |
SOLUTION |
| 1) Sickness | Stick with healthy flu fighting habits. |
| 2) Sciatic Nerve Injury | My sciatic nerve isn’t sore anymore (yay) and I want to continue stretching and yoga as a preventative measure. |
| 3) Exercise | I was unable to exercise during much of April (except for the elliptical a bit during the sciatic injury) and I’m feeling out of shape. My solution is to create a few exercise goals that I will be able to stick to in May. More on this below. |
| 4) Eating | For me, it is extra difficult to eat healthy when I’m not working out. When I am working out, I find it much easier to eat healthy. They go hand in hand. My eating in April has been all over the map. I lost my appetite and taste buds during my flu so I have had no desire to eat vegetables like I usually do. This also left me craving super sweet foods. In May I need to get my eating back on track. |
I’m a very goal-oriented person so I broke the slumps down into achievable goals for May.
Exercise & Eating Goals
Exercise Goals: Strength – Stretch – Cardio – Rest every week.
- Strength: 1 Body Pump class per week
- Stretch: 1 yoga class per week (I’m going to try hot yoga soon), plus stretching after workouts
- Cardio like running, hiking, elliptical 5-6 days a week for ~30-60 minutes each.
- 1 Rest day a week, or as needed
While I was at the end of my half marathon training in March before this all began, I won’t be jumping back into training just yet. I want to ease into running and focus on my overall fitness before getting lost in a training plan again. I feel like this is a good chance for me to direct my focus elsewhere.
Eating Goals:
- Eat more veggies: wash & chop up a bunch every Sunday and keep in containers in fridge as a time saver.
- Green Monsters few times a week
- Juicing most mornings
- Structure Meals and limit snacking: Good sized breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, light dinner & treat.
- Cook! I’ve been going through a major cooking slump (basically not wanting to cook at all), but I want to get back to cooking more dinners and having more structured meals.
- Meal Planning: Along the same line of cooking more dinners, I need to plan out meals that I can cook each week. I hope to do this on the weekend before grocery shopping for the week.
Not only do I think these goals are achievable, but by the end of May (and probably sooner) I will be back in the groove. I also hope to blog more about these goals throughout May to let you know how I am doing.
Oh, and I’m printing out my goals and putting them where I can see them. :)
Right now, I’m off to do some meal planning for the week. Any ideas for me?
Do you struggle with eating or exercise slumps? How do you get back in the groove?
So glad to see this post today. I was out of commission for most of April with bronchitis and asthma flare-ups. To make things worse, I had signed up for my very first 5k on April 29th, which sooooo didn’t happen. As a “beginner” of healthy eating and fitness, slumps make me think all sorts of negative thoughts (you can’t do this, you failed already…). I’m inspired by your post to sit down and regroup. Thanks so much for the right stuff at the right time!
Great plan. I am sure you will be feeling all glowy again soon. You still look gorgeous, regardless of your own perception! Thanks for the healthy inspiration.
This is just what I needed to read, as I’ve been in a slump for most of April as well!
Thanks for the healthy inspiration. Great plan. I am sure you will be feeling all glowy again soon. You still look gorgeous, regardless of your own perception!
Yay for trying hot yoga! It’s amazing. You’ll definitely flush out all those slump toxins. :)
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i think april might have been slump month! i hit a slump with exercise, eating well, happiness, and just over all health. i’m using may as my month to get back to health as well! good luck with getting your groove back :)
Thank you so much for being so open and honest. I think that some times blogs only post the good stuff and it tends to make others lives look so perfect. This was really inspiring to me because I too am fighting the slump monster. I started really changing my diet and exercising the beginning of the year and things were going great but all of a sudden almost every vegetable makes me so sick. So we are in the process of elimination of what could be going on with me. It is such a long, painful process right now. And because of all the pain I am only getting in 1-2 workouts a week. But I am trying my hardest to focus on the positive, like at least I am working out and hopefully I can get this fixed or under control. It is great to see you have such a positive attitude on your road to recovery!
I think the fact that you are posting how to get out of a slump – be it exercise, sickness, eating.. or what have you.. is awesome! Slumps.. well, they can be pretty damaging if you let them continue on…for an unmeasured amount of time. Thanks for this post – it will be bookmarked to give me tips (and your motivation) to do something about my slump, set some small goals, and get crackin!
This post was wonderful. Thanks for all the inspiration! I’ve been in a really bad exercise slump for the past month and a half thanks to my semester getting out of control. I was on track and training for a (short) race, my first ever, but then life just got in the way and I found myself going to the gym less and less. I think I just took on far too much this semester and I’m thinking about toning it down a bit for the fall.
Probably because of this exercise slump I’ve ended up in a very bad eating slump for a little over the last two weeks. I’m determined to get out of it, but it’s difficult when food has been one of my stress coping mechanisms for so long and I’m under so much stress.
Just yesterday I put up a big sticky note where I’ll see it every morning that says “My Goals: Health, Happiness, Love” I’ve got to say that even such a small thing is helping. It reminds me to stick to my goals and get back my rhythm.
I’m in a slump right now too. I hope to get my groove back in May as well!
Yay for feeling better!
I get into exercise slumps and it can be hard to get out of them! When I make goals for myself, like planning to work out 30 minutes every day, it helps.
I totally get into slumps, especially that I’m still trying to get some weight off. Losing weight requires a LOT of focus for me and there are days, weeks and sometimes months when I just get tired and slump but, like you, when I realize this I make goals and they really help me to get on track. Right now I’m in the midst of my first time at bootcamp and it’s really pushing my limits and I’m LOVING it! Looking forward to May for continuing bootcamp and starting training for my first 30k race in August!
So glad you’re feeling better and getting out of a slump!
I was in a slump the few weeks leading up to Easter Sunday. I realized I had to make some changes, and I couldn’t wait until the end of the semester, end of internship, etc. So last week, I paid close attention to getting enough sleep, eating healthy meals, and adding in more exercise and that worked to some extent. But last night I got together with friends and just felt so much better when I came home. The lesson? While I did need the sleep, nutrition, and exercise, I think I was really lacking social interaction and that was a big part of my slump! Sending healthy energetic vibes your way…..
I was definitely in a slump for the past few months. Hiking is my “thing”, yet I was struggling physically and then my motivation went out the window too. Focusing a clean diet was a big help. Garbage in, garbage out as they say. For me, I needed a bit of a mental shift. Instead of dwelling on the fact that I didn’t feel up to par, when I was out on the mountain I kept reminding myself that it is activity that I do by choice, and one that I love. I tried to let go of the sluggish feeling, and soak in amazing scenery. We can definitely get recharged by positive surroundings. Coming out of the slump just in time for May!
It totally happens to me, too, that when I exercise, I eat healthier. When I don’t (or can’t) exercise, I crave sweets and more unhealthier food in general.
To beat a so called slump, I make myself notice the fact that I eat unhealthier when I don’t exercise. Just noticing this fact makes me want to exercise. And to get back to exercising, I tell myself that even a little is fine. I tell myself that even 15 minutes counts, and I can always find time and energy to exercise for 15 minutes. What usually happens is that when I go for a 15-minute run, I end up doing more because then I remember how much I love it.
Okay, not to plug my own blog, but go here for an awesome recipe: http://eatexerciseevolve.blogspot.com/2011/04/cest-la-vie-portobello-tacos.html
It’s vegan and perfect for Cinco de Mayo. I know you’re Canadian, but you can still celebrate Cinco de Mayo by eating some food with a Mexicano flair. I totally recommend this! I also have a great vegan Thai eggplant recipe. I’ll be sure to send it your away soon!
Great post! I hate slumps… This is packed with awesome advice though! :)
I read hot yoga and got a little too excited!
It’s my go-to practice for everything: slumps, bumps, and happy times. It picks me up and whirls me around *quietly* until I walk out of the studio without a thought in mind.
If you plan on going soon and need any help/information about it, please do let me know! I go to Bikram Yoga Guelph almost 4-5 times a week, and I would love to accompany you! : )
I hope you feel better soon! All the best! xo
oh angela, thank you for being so honest :) Everyone wants to come off as totally put together & “with it” but that isn’t reality. It makes it much easier to deal with low points when you know they are completely normal.
I don’t really go through exercise slumps, but I go through school slumps where it is very hard to study & I just can’t get the motivation to read. These are especially rough for me because school is so competitive & I just feel like a slacker if I don’t want to study all day… in fact, I am currently trying to figure out a way to go through my outline a few more times. blughhh
Ugh. I get the illness, I have been sick all April, turns out it was my appendix, just got it out! I can’t wait to get back to running, and now with nasty appendix gone I should be able to!
Hope your get your groove back too.