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?
Happening to me right now! thanks for the inspiration to get my own groove back!
I fell into a major slump in April too (and we’re not the only ones it seems). I blame the Mercury Retrograde ;)
The start of a new month feels like the perfect opportunity for slump-busting. Today I raced in a 10K and set a new personal record that I’m super proud of; if that’s not a good way to start off the new month I don’t know what is!
we’re in a slump together! I’m in a major one; I hope we both get out!
I definitely go through slumps. When I was sick for the last two weeks I just wanted to eat quick and easy. While I did eat a bag of popcorn for dinner one night, I really tried to eat fruits and veggies as much as possible I knew that would help me get well faster. Exercise slumps happen too. The start of a new month is a great time to “reset” in life. I feel like May is a reset month for me too!
Sounds like a concrete and achievable plan! I’m sure you will do great! I always find that writing down a plan helps me stick to it more effectively. As for your meal plan, how about some Sweet Potato Lentil chili…recipe on my blog…..or some grilled portobella mushroom caps as burgers?!?! Those two are gonna be on my meal plan for the week!
Angela, I”m so glad you’re feeling better. This post really struck home with me. I was in a bit of a slump in April too. I found out I was pregnant in March (I’m 35) and then some of the symptoms hit in April. I gagged at vegetables, (as a vegetarian, that was tough) I was super tired, I gained a few pounds and I just felt “off”. I know I’m supposed to be all kinds of happy now that I”m pregnant but I”m struggling! They always talk about postpartum depression but I think I have pre-partum depression. I’ve struggled most of my life with eating and exercise issues so these changes are really messing with my brain. I can’t just “snap”out of something that I’ve struggled with for 15 years. It’s getting better, though. I went shopping this weekend so that made me happy. Also, I was talking to a friend at the gym and she was staring at my tummy. I said, “I know! It’s getting big already!” and then I groaned. My friend doesn’t have any children and she said, “Jen, if my tummy was getting big because of that, I’d be ecstatic!”. That really put things into perspective! I know I’ll still have setbacks this month but I just gotta keep myself positive. It’s my birthday month too!! Another reason to celebrate! Thanks for the great post. I think I might need to think about my goals for May. Take care…
I came home last weekend for spring break and during these 10 days I’ve definitely struggled with a slump. Procrastinating got me to unproductivity and not exercising, which led to anxiety and horrible eating. :( But I’m determined to get back into the swing ASAP. The hardest step is to start again,to end the cycle. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
First off, I really appreciate the topics that you blog about. You come across very honest and genuine, which is probably why you have many people who like and follow your blog :)
Yes, I get in both eating and exercise slumps.
I like to eat, but do not always have healthy food on-hand. I have been incorporating better food choices little-by-little in mine and my family’s diet.
I do not like to exercise, but really need to! I cannot keep using excuses not to exercise, because although I am not overweight, I could use some toning and lose a little weight.
And lastly, I need to plan meals, instead of cooking off the cuff :) It makes more sense to plan meals, as opposed to looking in the kitchen for the ingredients I need that day, and inevitably not having everything I need to cook dinner. If I had the meals and ingredients needed that I wanted to cook for the week written out, then it would be a whole lot easier when I go to the grocery store.
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
You’ll bounce back, Angela. I wrote a post this week with similar revelations re: exercise. I do think that one of the advantages of eating a normally healthy diet–and maintaining a level of fitness–is that we bounce back from these slumps well. I know YOU will!
I can totally relate. March was my slump month and I’ve spent April getting back on track. You can do it Angela!
Wow I am so thankful for your post. I am in a huge slump. I was in the best shape of my 49 yrs had just run my 2nd 1/2 of 2011 and 3 days after was smacked with sciatic nerve problems making it painful to walk…then April 20th was hit with a bad flu/sinus bug and still mending – ugh APril Slump…May Pump. Get my groove back, hope you do too!
April Slump…May Pump
LOVE THAT!
Try making hummus pizza. It’s one of my favs. Instead of tomato sauce, use hummus! I like to use a middle-eastern pita (large) and then add carrots, peppers, and onions with like a red pepper or lemony-hummus. Finish it with scallions (you can exclude the onions if you do this) and maybe some hot sauce if you like that!
Angela, so happy you woke up WITHOUT a sore throat…yay for small miracles!
Do I get in slumps? Of course, everyone does! Not every day do I wake up and say omg I can’t WAIT to get outside and run and power thru this workout. Most days, yes, I do love it…but sometimes getting started, getting out the door, just getting going is the worst part. If I am truly not into a workout, I tell myself to start, get going and in 5-10 mins if i am still not into it, I give myself permission to quit!
By the time I’m 5-10 mins into it, the endorphins have usually kicked in and I am happy to finish. And if not, i try again the next day.
I am happy your sciatica is better too. And yes, YOGA all the way. In sanskrit, Parsvottanasana or intense side stretch pose will really help you I think. When my sciatica acts up, it’s great for me.
Love your May goals!
Thanks Averie!
I COMPLETELY agree with the ‘hand in hand’ aspect of healthy eating and cardio. Yesterday I said to myself “ally, you can either sit around all night eating or you can get up and take a study break”. I ended up going on a 5 mile run and it definitely proved to be a wakeup call to my endorphins and to my healthy habits! :)
I was in a bit of a slump a few weeks ago but it was beause I had to take time off from yoga. I pulled a hamstring muscle and it rendered a lot of my regular yoga classes nonexistent. By getting back into the groove I felt SO much better!
Loved this post – and all of your posts – you are such an inspiration! I am sure you will be glowing again in no time with your attitude and tools for coping! It helps me and I am sure your other readers, to know that even with your healthy attitude and lifestyle, you get stuck like anyone else does. I give you lots of credit for sharing with honesty. Your other posts have been AMAZING to read – and I so appreciate you sharing your struggles with eating and weight (as a former/ still sometimes struggling ED person)…but sharing what is happening in the here and now takes even more courage and I appreciate that too.
Wanted to add another bit of food for thought…whenever I am stuck, struggling etc (as I have been for the past 2 weeks), I know there is a lesson for me to learn. Some may not agree, but I believe everything happens for a reason…so getting sick/ injured is part of that. Forces us to slow down, look at things (and yes – sink into old, unhealthy habits sometimes :-(). Many times our unconscious is trying to tell us something…so I focus on being open to what that may be. Sometimes I get it and sometimes not, but the more I practice it, the more clear things become. Meditation helps this.
Don’t mean to overanalyze ..but thought you might connect with this idea.
Yes I totally agree with that viewpoint! I will have to reflect on this :) Thank you for your kind words too!
You are so right, exercise and eating well go hand in hand. I just knocked out a sunny run and all I wanted was juicy fruits and veggies after. It’s what the body craves.
I just did a new post on my meal planning for the week! I definitely needed a lot more veggies in my life. My body was craving them, so I made a vegetarian chili! It’s so good that it probably won’t last the week…probably a few days. But I love planning healthy meals, it makes it 100x easier to stick to a healthy eating plan.
I’m so sorry to hear about your slump!! I *had* noticed a lot more sugary foods hanging around this blog then usual lately! Glad to know it’s not just my perception. I have been in an exercise slump too. I am getting married in five weeks, and for the last three months I have been training really hard because the beautiful dress I chose is strapless and low backed…. And I have NO upper body strength (or muscles) at all… So I’ve been working really, really hard, then three weeks ago I sprained my ankle…. BAM…. Just like that I went from long daily work outs to just having to sit and watch all my hard work go down the drain. Thankfully I am finally feeling a lot better, and I joined a gym with an olympic sized pool so I am swimming now and loving it! Just that little push gave me the motivation to see trainer to try to figure out what to really do to make these last few weeks count and I am feeling great about it! I would say I am now slump free, and you will be soon too :D
I agree its hard to get out of a slump! I’ve been in hotel for work for the past week and have had no desire to go to the gym… Hopefully my workout cravings come back soon!
This is really strange – I was going through something similar around 2 weeks ago – at which point I set myself a MOVE it, TONE it, DRINK it challenge!
http://www.bakebikeblog.com/2011/04/move-it-tone-it-drink-it.html
Day 12 and I am still going strong – and I am now officially on the count down to my 30th birthday eeeeeeek
I LOVE that!