There was no "Weigh in Wednesday" this week. It's not because I've lost 10 pounds. I still want to weigh in weekly for awhile as I work on changing some habits. I think weighing periodically is a good check on the choices we're making. The reason I didn't weigh in is because I was out of town. I am fully convinced about this: traveling, stress, and busyness will either make you gain weight, keep you from making progress, or steal your health.
We were traveling to the Children's Hospital for yet another appointment and EEG for our baby. I didn't think I was too stressed, but I recognized it later in disguise. Before leaving for our trip, there was a lot to plan, prepare and accomplish before we could leave. This made us quite busy. Thus, the deadly combination of stress, travel and busyness. I think alone, they have a powerful effect on the success of our goals, but together, I believe they're a show stopper.
When I'm busy, meals are missed and hunger grows. Then, when I'm short on time and big on hunger, I tend to make choices out of convenience and cravings rather than based on what's needed. I eat while standing, driving, working, feeding the baby, talking on the phone and even while walking around the house do things. How can you accurately keep track of what you've eaten? You can't. How can you accurately tell the difference between hunger and appetite? You don't. You have food in your hands and you need to get rid of it. So, you eat it all to get it out of your hands so you can continue on with your busyness. Or at least that's what I was doing. Then, because I got extra busy, I didn't log my food for a few days. Double trouble.
Many people are stress or emotional eaters. We try to relax, be comforted, calm down, get rid of anxiety, cheer up, and feel better by eating something pleasing to the mouth. There is actual science behind carbs and sugar and their effects on our brain and mood. There is truth behind the "comfort foods". They do actually send signals to our brain making us "feel" happy or happier. I didn't think I was stressed out until I looked back and noticed my stress in a sweet disguise...literally. I'm almost embarrassed to write down ALL of the treats I've consumed in the last week. It's a bit humbling really.
Then we have the travel issue. "Where do you want to eat?" In an unfamiliar place, you settle for less many times. Eating out gets old and so does trying to find something healthy when the baby is tired of being in the car and you're tired of being hungry. We ate out multiple times and even the "healthier" options were weighing heavy in my gut.
All of this to say that being busy, allowing stress and traveling did not help me in this last week. The good news is that we are at home, I am less busy this week, and we got good news about the health of our baby (which means less stress). So, all of those damaging factors can be eliminated for the most part. Sometimes, we can't eliminate travel. Sometimes, stress comes with the territory. And many times, busy is a way of life. But, what CAN we change? What CAN we control? What can we do to alleviate stress? How can we be less busy? How can we set ourselves up for success when we travel?
To be more healthy, to reach our health goals, to have a lifestyle of health...we need to lower our stress, become less busy and plan our travels to support our health not diminish it. Sounds simple enough. If any of these factors affect you, start with one of them and make a small change. A bunch of small changes add up to big change.
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