Thursday 20 June 2013

A long, busy day at work and Day 13 of the Whole30.  Coincidentally, the Whole30 motivational/check-in email is about stress and what to do about it.  If you want to read the entire article, head over to the Whole30 site.

While you were raising a family, didn't you think about all the time you would have once the kids were grown and out of the house?  I know I did but, somehow, it hasn't worked out that way.  The older I get the less time I seem to have to myself and there are so many things I want to do.  The Whole30 asks in the motivational/check-in email, are you a "Stress Junkie".  If you answer "Yes" to one or more of these questions (as I did), you may be a "stress junkie".


    • Are you always on tight deadlines, multi-tasking within an inch of your life?  I am the Queen of multi-tasking (i.e. I am watching TV and checking my email while I do this).
    • Are you a perfectionist in everything you do, even it doesn't really matter?  Not really...did I spell perfectionist right...?
    • Are you an inattentive listener, checking emails, paying bills or cleaning while on the phone?  And your point is...?
    • Are you constantly worrying about "What if"?  Try not too, but...
    • Do you rush everywhere, all the time, because there are other things elsewhere that you should be doing?  How else do you get everything done...?
    • Have you lost all sense of patience, losing your cool when faced with even a minor telephone hold, appointment delay or grocery store lines?  But I have so many things to do...
    • Are you always saying "things will calm down soon", but they never, ever do?  Yes, why is it things never calm down...?
    • Does the idea of a restorative yoga class, meditation or sitting quietly for 15 minutes make you want to crawl out of your skin?  Who does that...??

What to do?  I've made the commitment to change my health by changing what I put in my body (and on my body - watch for a blog soon on the face moisturizer I make at home), but being the Queen of multi-tasking all my life (my parents were seriously impressed by my multi-tasking when I was a baby) has developed into a big stress problem.  The food part of Paleo was easy for me, the stress-busting changes are going to be harder - but I commit to starting.  Of course, Whole30 is there to help:

  • Identify your triggers, change your habits.  I can go for a walk at lunch instead of eating at my desk - I will have to blow off the dust on the sneakers under my desk.
  • Control and predictably - create a routine.
  • Exercise some, not too much.  I can get behind that - see the first point.
  • Don't purposely fast.  I have never believed in fasting, so no danger here.
  • Skip the coffee (it's a stimulant).  N-o-o-o-o-o???!!
  • Social support - try giving. 
  • The Eliminate (what you can) Reduce (what you can) Cope (with the rest) strategy. 
  • Practice the 80/20 rule - deal with 80% of the stress with 20% of effort.
  • Get help.  Been there, done that...have the t-shirt.
It is pouring rain right now and is supposed be raining tomorrow too.  Must walk any way.

Food today was good...

Had to have a One-Minute Muffin (I love those things) despite my no egg embargo.

Lunch was the leftover masala chili with kale and sweet potatoes that I was supposed to have eaten yesterday and some leftover kale salad from last night.

Tired when I got home, but because I had ground pork, chopped sweet potatoes, chopped Brussels sprouts, coleslaw mix and sauerkraut in the fridge, I just put it all in a large skillet with some Magic Mushroom Powder, and 20 minutes later, dinner was ready Ground Pork Hodge Podge.



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