Tag Archives: stress

RTH: Simple Steps

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Well gang… I started my RTH yesterday!  As I mentioned in my previous post, the next few weeks are all about Simple Steps.

My game plan for this phase is to identify an area I can improve upon or implement one new step each day as in a domino effect.  My goal was to post a new tip each day but since I wasn’t able to post yesterday I’m sharing with you both yesterday and today’s tips…

Monday’s Simple Step #1:  Well rounded breakfast

For most of us, eating a well-rounded breakfast is one of the very basic concepts of weight loss / healthy living.  However, somehow along the way, I seemed to forget how important this was.  My morning routine went from eating my bowl of oatmeal at home then it evolved to eating my oatmeal when I got to work… somewhere along the way, that routine then eventually went out the window and I would just grab whatever I could, like a granola bar or a piece of toast w/ pb, eating it quickly while walking out the door or en route to work around 6am… The result of my “small, on the go breakfast” was that by 8am I felt sluggish, tired, and famished… Although I wasn’t eating donuts and my choices were healthy, they were not healthy enough since they were not well rounded.  I guess I’m sad to say that somewhere along the way, I lost the true importance of eating breakfast.  I know this is a horrifying concept given my love for oatmeal and I’m not really sure how it happened… Somehow I didn’t make time for breakfast… I didn’t make time for ME… Therefore, my goal going forward is to have a breakfast that incorporates a minimum of 3 great food groups:  whole grains (ex:  whole grain toast, whole grain cold cereal, homemade granola, oats, bulgur), fruit (ex:  frozen fruit, bananas, apples, berries), and lean protein (ex:  peanut butter, sliced almonds, crushed walnuts, eggs, whey protein, low fat dairy).  If I can get some dairy and veggies in also, that would be a plus!  I’m happy to say that the last two mornings I have eating delicious bowls of oatmeal topped with fruit and nuts and I plan to do so going forward.  I have noticed a difference just even the last two days in that I felt more energized and my day was off to a better start… For those mornings that I know I’ll be rushed, I will resort to eating a bowl of oatmeal at work first thing as I’m going through emails or keeping an emergency breakfast cookie in the fridge!

Tuesday’s Simple Step #2:  Stop, Take a Deep Breath, Think

One of my biggest known problems for as long as I can remember (probably since high school!) is that I am a classic Type A personality.  I worry and stress about absolutely everything from the very small tasks (“Did I remember everything at the grocery store?”) to very large ones (“How am I going to solve problem xyz at work?”)… No matter how hard I’ve tried, I’ve always struggled with reducing my stress level.  If you remember, I tackled this very topic last year around the same time!  I can’t guarantee that I’ll eliminate all stress from my life, nor can I commit to not stressing out, but I am committing to make a conscious effort to stop stressing as much and trying to find ways and outlets for reducing stress.  One of the things that I implemented today was in moments of stress to take the “Stop, Drop, and Roll” approach, except obviously, I had to tweak it a little bit to be realistic :)   That being said, I came up with a little mantra for myself when I feel a “Flight or Fight” moment coming on:  Stop, Deep Breath, and Think… I used it a few times today and it really put things in perspective for me.  It didn’t complete eliminate the stress I was facing obviously, but it helped me to clear my mind, refocus, and move forward…

These areas are aspects of my life that I will continue to work on so I’m sure my strategies will evolve as time goes on, but it’s a start…. and that’s what this new “Return To Health” is all about for me… :)

Guest Blogger: Mara

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Today’s super helpful post about balancing a healthy lifestyle with a stressful schedule is brought to you by Mara, author of the “What’s For Dinner” blog. Go check out her blog and say “hi”: it’s full of absolutely mouthwatering & deliciously amazing recipes!!!

I’m so excited to be writing a post for a blog that I read so religiously! Lindsay’s blog was one of the first that I got really “into”, so this is a huge honor… ok, I’ll stop gushing.

I’m a teacher. A wake up at 5 a.m., dress up in “teacher” clothes (minus theme sweaters), carry bags full of papers to grade, meeting-attending teacher. I’m in my 6th year of teaching now, at my 2nd (and hopefully last!) teaching job. So many people say things like “wow, it must be nice to teach! You get home at 3 and have the whole summer off!”

teachercd080406fjSure, that’s all nice stuff, but what a lot of people don’t know is that a teacher’s work is not done once she leaves her school building! I grade papers and plan lessons almost every afternoon, and attend meetings multiple days over the summer. Needless to say, there’s the added stress of the job which is, for me, teaching 180 middle school students every day!

Let’s rewind a minute… before my current teaching job, I worked on the South Side of Chicago in a not-so-typical Chicago Public School. I taught 500 kids every week, 22 different classes ranging in age from 5 to 14. My first year of teaching was a whirlwind of stress and craziness, with learning ALL those names and getting used to being a “grown up.” I let the stress get the best of me and managed to gain a grand total of almost 75 pounds from day 1 to the time I decided to join Weight Watchers. I had let comments from my students get to me as well, and rather than working to change something about it, I would go home and order a deep-dish pizza. After deciding to join WW, my stress came not only from work, but from trying to figure out how exactly to teach, plan, grade, AND plan and cook nutritious, weight-loss friendly meals.

At first, it was a struggle. I felt like I “didn’t have the time” to shop and plan my meals along with my lesson planning! Then I finally realized that I was making it way harder on myself than I needed to. Who said I had to cook EVERY night? I discovered the wonder that was Sunday cooking. I’d make a casserole and a couple other smaller things on Sundays, pack them up for lunches, then make a second thing that would be dinners. Sure, I got a little bored with some of the foods, but I was losing weight!

Fast Forward to today: I’ve learned to make my meal planning and shopping a part of my day. If I need to go to the grocery store, I tell myself that I’m not going home until after I go to the store. Luckily, I pass tons of grocery stores on my route home from my school, so it’s not like its out of the way. Now I cook every night!

One of the other things that has taken some major getting used to is my schedule. All through college, I could eat when I was hungry, restaurants were open late night, and I could go anywhere on campus for a meal. Being a grown up means following someone else’s schedule! I now have a very set eating schedule that I rarely break, even on weekends!
7:00 a.m. – Breakfast (oats, other hot cereal, protein bars)
9:30 a.m. – snack (usually a latte)
11:30 a.m. – lunch (usually the night before’s leftovers)
3:00 p.m. – snack (usually fruit)
5:30 or 6 p.m. – Dinner

Dinner is where I can get creative, hence the reason for my blog! I’ve learned to, rather than let the stress get the best of me, I’m getting the best of stress. If I have a bad day at work, I’ll make something that involves pounding out chicken for dinner! A day where I don’t feel well might result in a beef stew or chicken soup. I let the schedule of my school day help me take control of my eating rather than letting it bug me.

Oh, and the main thing I’ve learned? I need to stay out of the staff lounge when there are snacks!! It causes a whole other level of stress that I just don’t need!