Chicken or the Egg?

That title will make sense soon.

For the past few days I have been slowly slipping off plan. Yesterday was a day of awakening though. The morning started off in a rush, and despite getting to work early (or because - I don't have a great appetite early in the morning), I ate a bagel with egg whites and cheese for breakfast. Not awful, no but not diet friendly per se, either.

After work my boss asked me to join her for lunch. We stopped by the local pub for a late lunch. I'm proud to say that despite being at the pub AND having a free drink chip in my pocket, I ordered a Diet Coke with Lemon. Awesome. The not so awesome? French fries! Granted, I split an order with my boss, and a Grilled Chicken Sandwich, but it was the second day in a row that I had fries for lunch.

Still, not so bad though. Then came the evening. I made my usual commute to PA on the bus, and the ex and I stopped off to grocery shop at Walmart. Got home and heated up a frozen pizza for the kids. Yeah, right. Had myself a nice big slice PLUS a bag of Pretzel M&Ms, PLUS some cookies (like 6), PLUS nibbling on Chipotle Tortilla chips while the Pizza heated. Woke up this morning feeling like CRAP.

It occurred to me that I have been doing some serious stress relief with food. Desperate to reward myself for the crap week I had, I forgave more and more nutritionally empty foods, until it was a bit out of control.

And it occurred to me, which came first? Was I in a terrible, stressed out mood first, or did I start starving my body of nutrient rich food first? Most likely it was a cycle. A crappy day led to poor choices, led to worse moods, led to... But if I had taken a crappy day and used it to nurture myself with tasty, nutrient rich foods and a good workout, could that cycle have been shortened? I spent the entire short work week in an awful mood. I was short tempered, experienced terrible mood swings, snapped at everyone (and then felt awful about that) and exhausted.

I forgot a few truths

1) Working out may be good for you, but it also makes me feel so much better. I have more energy and handle stress better. Plus, I stay warm instead of shivering all the time.
2) When outside forces stress me, I NEED the support of good food to fight the stress. Not tasty junk but food that will give me energy and fuel my body.

So, today has been much better. I ate much healthier
took a nice walk with Jett and am doing a bit of a fun workout this evening, courtesy of Kinect Your Shape

I also have begun to realize that success on this plan cannot be casually won. It will require planning, contemplation, and a few stumbles along the way. It's not one which I will be taking on lightly.