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?
Oh, by the way Angela how do I add a picture next to my post?
So glad you’re feeling better! The flu can be brutal!
Thanks for this post :) I’m in a bit of a slump myself today so it’s nice to read (1) I’m not the only one and (2) a post that may just kick start me out of it! I’m also glad you’re feeling better – being sick really knocks me around too, so it’s understandable you’re not feeling your best. Enjoy the new month and getting back into things (slowly!).
I like your idea of chopping veggies on Sunday to have em ready for the week! I think about doing it but just forget! Glad you’re feeling better!
I sometimes get in slumps too, but I do the same thing as you – I make a plan and drag my sorry butt out of that slump! ;) I’m excited to see what awesome dishes you’re going to cook up!
This blog post is right on target for me as well. I’m in a slump. After finishing my first round of P90X April 9, I haven’t had any structure to my workout schedule. I feel out of it. I just came up with my own schedule to try to get myself back on track. You have had a lot to overcome in the last month. I’m glad you are feeling better.
thanks so much for this post! I am in a post-vacation slump after 2 weeks of relaxing, good eats, good drinks, and fun. Getting back in the groove seems anything but glamorous right now, but at least we are all in this together!
Thank you so much for being real because I feel like you have it all together and it really helps knowing that we all have difficulties (and I don’t mean that in a bad, but a ‘phew’ kind of way)!! I actually am in a slump myself, and love that you came up with solutions. Mine is a food slump, and especially planning meals for the week – I get too consumed in figuring that out and just don’t end up doing it at all, so I need decide how I can actually make it happen!
So glad that you’re starting to feel better. I totally sympathize with feeling lethargic and out of shape, especially when you’re forced into it. But you’re right about this being a small blimp in the radar and you’ll pick things up faster than you think (all that rest will give you more energy than you thought – and your muscles will be nice and strong from their wear and tear vacation). :)
Also, those cookies look delicious! I’ve been replacing my morning oatmeal with green smoothies (felt like I was starting to have a reaction to oatmeal after eating it daily) and now I’m missing oats like crazy! What better way to have them enjoy them outside the breakfast box than as a cookie? :D
I also had the flu this winter (my first time EVER!) and it was horrible, it really did last the 3-4 weeks that the doctor told me. That was a major exercise slump for me and by the time I was recovered I was dying to get back to the gym/on the road! One thing I will say though is to NOT push yourself to exercise before you are fully recovered. After about 2.5 weeks of the flu, I thought I was better because my fever had been gone for a couple of days and my cough was minimal. I went to a spin class and told myself I’d take it easy, worked at about 1/2 of what I usually do. Yet when I looked at my heart rate monitor after the class my average was in the 170s and my max was 195! I’m 28 and in good shape, so numbers like these are very VERY alarming. It was definitely a wake up call to me that my body was still fighting that bug and I was straining it more than I should by working out. I took another 2 weeks off, as difficult as that was, and learned a valuable lesson, to give my body a break:)
I agree with this! I won’t be exercising until 100%. It sucks but I think if I did it would make it worse and last longer…
i’m definitely a goal oriented person as well! i have not a doubt in you, youre a rock star.
I really agree that healthy eating and exercising go hand in hand. It’s hard sometimes when slumps are reigning supreme!
I get in slumps too and it’s usually a result of sickness or injury. It’s easy to get stuck in that cycle. :( I try to distract myself or I hang out with friends.
Good luck on your goals, Angela. :)
OK, maybe you were in a cooking slump, but your blog has recently helped me get back into cooking. Thank you Thank you Thank you for all of the recipes you’ve posted. I’ve shared your site with friends and family too.
That is great :) Thanks!
I am a long-time lurker, finally ready to speak up! I love your blog, so inspiring!
I have a slump-related question: are there any “problem foods”, healthy or not, that you simply CAN’T stop overeating? For me, it’s popcorn! I probably have one bowl of homemade popcorn every other night..way too much corn!!! Any tips on how to limit your favorites?
For me it’s sweets…in all forms!
I try to limit myself to one serving of a sweet (usually my baked goods) a day…Im not always successful but 1 serving is my goal!
Girl, thank you for posting this! I feel like I’ve been in a slump too – in terms of eating, working out and getting enough sleep (which I know is SUPER important!). I definitely feel you when you say it’s much harder to eat healthier when you’re not working out because I’m the same way! I just made some workout/eating/sleeping goals for this week and hopefully I’ll kick this slump’s boot-ay this month right along with you!
These sound like great goals!! You’ll be out of your slump in no time :D
I have been in a slump too. I just finished planning my workouts for the week and now I am on to my meals. Thanks for posting, you will be back in the swing of things soon. :) Have a good night.
i do what you do! I come up with a plan and I stick to it! It really helps me when I get into a slump. :)
Thank you for this post. It came at the perfect time! :D