Stress Ball

Hi Guys,

A new week is on the horizon and I've got to be honest.

I'm talking real honesty this time- none of my silly jokes...

This weekend, I've had a tough time sticking with the healthy lifestyle deal.

I mention it here because I feel like full disclosure on this blog is the only way to go. I hope that by bringing it up, I can assure all of you that sometimes your dedication is going to waver; but if you take the time to look for the real root of the problem, it can be stopped before you veer totally out of control and accidentally down 6 cupcakes in one sitting.

Speaking of cupcakes, I found my camera this morning (!!!! in the mailbox... who knows) and can show you a couple of things that did NOT help my tendency toward temptation this weekend.

You try to not overindulge in this:

Or these:

Of course, I had one (or two) of each and enjoyed the hell out of them, absolutely guilt-free.

But the next day, the cravings didn't stop. Instead of munching on a salad or a tasty, yet fiber-filled breakfast, all I wanted was ice cream, cake and uber greasy anything.

I'll admit, I gave in more than I usually do when Alex and I had Thai food before the concert last night. I went straight for the fried veggie spring rolls on the menu + a heaping plate of oily drunken noodles with shrimp. On top of that, we enjoyed a complimentary creme brulee for dessert.

My taste buds were ecstatic, but as we made our way up the hill to the Greek Theatre (which is beautiful, by the way), my body was not sharing in the excitement.

My tummy felt weighed down and icky, my energy level dropped almost instantly and I began to worry that this would hamper my enjoyment of the concert. How could something so tasty make my body react in such a way?

Then I thought back to my life 6 months ago. I was eating this way all the time and the uncomfortable sloth-like feeling I experienced last night was NORMAL to me.

No way did I want to go back to that.

**As a side note: The concert was amaze balls- I'm officially an Interpol fan!

We came home after the show and relaxed into an evening of chillin' and TV.

This morning I woke up, hoping to be craving vegetables or AT THE VERY LEAST some whole wheat toast. Nope. All I wanted was coffee, and I went for it:

The inaugural pour of the new French Press... t'was delicioso.

I forced myself to have a bowl of hemp-nola. Maybe the nutrients would muffle the devil on my shoulder and re-awaken the angel?

No again.

I decided to head to the Hollywood Farmers Market. Surely my cure would lie amongst the neverending lines of fresh produce booths and flower vendors...

After we parked, I found the perfect example of LA's juxtaposition:

A gorgeous flower in the middle of... well... a not so gorgeous parking area.

We walked up and down the crowded aisles, perusing the gigantic piles of citrus, apples, greens, nuts and root vegetables.

I passed these lovely flowers:

So fall-appropriate.

We came home having only spent $10 for a bag full of:

3 bunches of kale, 2 heads of broccoli, a shallot, mini red bell peppers and bok choy (my new veggie of the week)

Despite the gold mine I'd stumbled upon, I still didn't feel up for veggies and instead continued to [compulsively?] clean up the last of the mess from our party the other night.

Finally, I had to chill out. I sat down and talked to Alex, who always makes me feel better. (That's what loved ones are for, no?)

I realized that the root of my recent sugar cravings and veggie repugnance had everything to do with something we ALL dread from time to time: stress.

I was slowly turning into a human stress ball without even knowing it!

It has a lot to do with the fact that my birthday's in a week, along with my 2 year anniversary here in the City of Angels. Me being the impatient soul that I am, I'm ready for things to start happening! It bothers me out that everything career-wise is taking so long... Instead of owning up to these hidden feelings, I was allowing them to manifest in the form of emotional eating.

There is much to be said about this phenomenon, and I'll save the bulk of it for a seperate post, but to touch on it here: food should be all about fueling our bodies. We should never look to food to be our pal, stop us from crying or get our hard work done for us.

I've been guilty of emotional eating MANY times and while it can be hard to resist, I think the best cure is finding someone you trust to talk to about how you're REALLY feeling. Whether it's a friend, parent or significant other, go to them and let it flow.

I can tell you: it certainly worked for me.

As soon as I let it all out to Alex and came up with a feasible non-food related solution to the problem, I headed straight to the kitchen and put a pot of quinoa on the stove for dinner:

*Tip: I always use a veggie bouillon cube to enhance the flavor of my quinoa. It is DELICIOUS! And oh so good for you. (Next time I run out, I'm going to try the "no salt added" kind)

While that was on the stove, I put all of this in a bowl:

mixed greens, carrots, goat cheese, pom seeds, cucumber, an apple, red bell pepper and balsamic vinaigrette

...and am happily munching away as I type this to you.

Lesson of the day in a nutshell: The temptation to stray away from your healthy eating and fitness goals will happen. When they do, instead of stressing yourself out or feeling guilty about it, talk to someone. If there's no one to talk to, write about it. Whatever it takes to get to the REAL problem that ails you... Food is not the answer to your problems. It's a way to fuel your body and enhance good times with loved ones.

Sure we'll splurge and we'll like it, but food will NOT be our therapist.

Tomorrow's a new day and it will be SWELL, no doubt about that.

And if you really need someone to talk to, hit me up! I'm constantly checking my email (thank you modern technology) and I'd be happy to lend an ear.

My email address is mbee321@gmail.com

Happy thoughts til tomorrow! And thanks for listening (well, reading)...

xoxo

Maddie