What do you do when the wheels are starting to fall off?
If the wheels have fallen off your exercise routine, getting healthy meals on the table, your stress levels, catching up with friends or simply just not kicking the goals you'd like to be, you've got to stop and take stock or you'll lose more than just the wheels!
Our bodies aren’t designed to be in a constant state of stress and it reduces our ability to digest our food well and absorb all its goodness.
Taming your stress is all about finding quick fixes for the day to day flip outs and working on your habits to conquer long term stress.
Our biggest excuses for not getting shit done are time and money. One thing ends up impacting another and eventually, you might find yourself snapping at the littlest thing or rocking like a baby in the corner.
Maybe that’s a little dramatic, or not! What are the signs that you may be a little under the pump in the stress department? Often it's your eating patterns that may be a little off that gives you a clue.
Let’s look at these and some pointers on counteracting those triggers:
Overeating
Yep, you’re reaching for the fridge door again! Which then rolls into guilt, weight gain, shaming, blaming and excuses for why you’ve dipped in the healthy eating domain.
Try this instead:
- Go for a walk, do some gardening or just get out and about.
- Drink more water, you may just be thirsty
- Have a peppermint tea or brush your teeth - peppermint curbs the appetite
- Watch your sugar intake which can cause blood sugar spikes and stimulates the appetite
- Choose “treats” that don’t break the bank. Think dark chocolate as it hits the “feel good” zone.
- Know you’re worth it and “this too shall pass”
Under-eating
The overwhelm can be so much that you don’t make the time to eat or your appetite has simply gone AWOL. Your body needs all the nutrients it can get when the heat is on otherwise you open yourself up to health issues and you just can’t think straight.
Try this instead:
- Set an alarm for meal times
- Choose foods that are easy to swallow - think smoothies, soups, stews, boiled or scrambled eggs. Only you can decide here.
- Consider a nutrient dense green powder like Deeto’s WonderWild (Nothing replaces a complete meal but when you’re struggling to get food in, this will help keep the nutrients flowing until you do).
- Nurture your gut and keep your natural detox system (yup, your poop!) on the move by including fruit, vegetables and a prebiotic powder like Deeto’s Everpure.
Nothing changes by a flick of the remote, you’ve got to unless you get up and make the change yourself.
There’s no magic quick fix to stress but you gotta do what you can to lighten the load. If you sit in limbo then that’s where you’ll stay getting the same results.
There’s a bucket of research, and you only have to try it for yourself, on deep breathing to reduce the physical changes that your body goes through when it’s stressed out. You know the fight or flight, I'm being chased by a tiger story? Well your body doesn’t know the difference between a sabor-tooth tiger and you running late and hit a red light….again!
Your blood pressure and heart rate goes up and stays up until your muscles relax and your breath slows and deepens. You can trick your body into thinking it’s safe by taking just 3-5 deep breaths and you’ll feel it straight away.
There’s a bucket of other relaxation techniques and practises you can dive into, so go searching for what lights you up and calms you down. It doesn’t have to cost money or involve Omming your way through a yoga retreat (Nice option though). Simple is the way to go.
How do you know what’s stressing you out is actually worth stressing out over?
When the overwhelm hits grab a piece of paper and do this:
- Make three columns headed: Can’t Change, Can Change, Need Help
- Every morning pop your immediate worries into the appropriate column
Act like this:
- Can’t Change it, then Flick it off
- Can Change it, then act or make plans to act
- Need Help, then ask the right person, talk about it. Chances are you’ll find you flick it or change it.
Lastly, get yourself a support buddy. Trust me, you are never alone in the things that string you out.
What’s their role:
- Help keep you accountable - cliche maybe, but sometimes necessary
- Pull you up when you're overthinking the emotional things
- Listen when you need it
- Is willing for you to do the same and support each other as needed
- Making change with a buddy is proven to get you better results.
Of course there are a billion reasons for overwhelm and only so much that can be realistically done. But it's time to stop throwing your toys out of the cot and become aware of your stress and snuffing out what you can change. I can say this because I've done it. I've lost my shizz a million times over things that I could change, couldn't change or needed help with. Usually just the action of writing them down, is enough to snap me into action.
Focus on changing your approach to them whether it be your perspective, your reactions, or your actions. Over time this can help plump up your positivity and see you back kicking goals.
Drop in the comments or chat to me on facebook or instagram and let me know if this makes sense to you?
Keep it Simple,
Kimberly xo
