Everything was perfect. I had gone to the gym every morning this week, as usual. When my neighbor offered a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie, I smiled, and politely declined. Instead of eating processed foods, I treated myself, with healthy foods of nutritional value, like dark chocolate coated almonds or Chobani yogurt with dark chocolate chips. Feeling pleased with myself, I felt prepared to finally go home for my mom’s birthday weekend. On Friday, I ate a tasty salad for lunch, and bought a fruit cup for the bus ride. And because I’m not depriving myself, I even bought some vegan chocolate chip cookies from the dining hall to munch on. When I went home, my sweet mother had thoughtfully prepared whole-wheat veggie lasagna. My mother is Italian American, and there’s no lasagna like hers! Even though my taste buds were squirming with delight over a homemade meal, my willpower controlled me from eating an unnecessary slice. I knew that I wasn’t hungry; I was just exhausted from traveling. So instead of eating an extra slice, I microwaved carrots for myself, and went to sleep.
Then, it happened. Saturday morning, my mom decided to make pancakes for my family as a treat. Like I said, I’m not restricting myself from food, but that doesn’t mean I have to consume all those extra calories when rewarding myself. After my mom made her Bisquick pancakes, I made banana-egg-white pancakes, a recipe from my favorite health-food blog, undressedskeleton.tumblr.com. I had made these pancakes in the past, and they had always come out delicious. But this time, something went wrong, and the whole kitchen started smelling like fish. Long story short, my “pancakes” resulted in looking like scrambled eggs.
Later that day, I left the house to go shopping for a few things to bring back to Binghamton. My sister came along so we could spend some time together, and my dad even offered to drive us (which he never does?). The shopping center we drove to had a Red Mango, and my Dad asked us if we wanted to get some frozen yogurt. Obviously I said yes! If I could write love sonnets on frozen yogurt without being judged I would! If there was a frozen-yogurt anonymous group therapy, I’d have to join it, because I can never get enough! Now, Red Mango recently came out with a new set of flavors called “sorbettos”.
Sorbettos similarly taste like sorbet, and have no dairy. Being the spontaneous person I am, I chose the raspberry sorbetto . Now, raspberries are my favorite fruits but something about this yogurt tasted bitter. Almost immediately after I consumed a few bites, something didn’t feel right in my stomach. I don’t get stomach aches easily, so I just shrugged it off, finished my yogurt, and went to Kohl’s. Only about 10 minutes after I walked into the store, I began to feel weak, and my head started pounding. I told my sister that we had to rush home. At home, my stomach pains became so intense that I had to skip going to Mass with my family, ruining my plans. But what else could I do? I could hardly walk, let alone roll from side to side in bed. After a few hours, my family came home from Mass, only to find me in a worse condition than they left me in. I felt as if someone was repeatedly punching me in my stomach, and at the same time, someone’s hand was squishing all of my intestines around in my body. Luckily, let’s just say I went to the bathroom, and I started to feel better.
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I don’t know what exactly caused my stomach pains. It could have been my failed attempt at making healthy pancakes, or the raspberry sorbetto, or perhaps I was overwhelmed by the amount of work I had to get done that weekend. Most likely, it was a combination of all those things.
Little did I know that this horrid weekend was just the beginning to a horrible week. Every day last week, I had a paper due, in every single class. On Monday, my excuse to not go to the gym was to give my body time to heal from the weekend. I didn’t want to push myself too hard, only to become sick again. Even if I was well, I wouldn’t have had time. I ended up spending the whole night writing a paper, as well as an outline! The following days consisted of this same predicament. Not exercising and having that feeling of release didn’t help me as I stressed over papers. But I felt as if the gym wasn’t an option, with the amount of school work I had!
And of course, not going to the gym plus stressing over work equals the perfect formula for stress-eating. I had brought from home a huge bag of healthy snacks, determined to continue my Lenten promise. However, there is a difference between eating healthy and eating correct proportions. Even though what I ate was considered healthy, like fat-free cookies, and brown-rice cakes, I definitely ate over the recommended serving size. By the end of the week, I was so mentally and physically exhausted that I did not want to do anything – go to the gym, write this blog, or think about what I ate.
I guess what I learned this week is that in life, there are truly some things we can’t change, like when our papers are due or when our exams are. But what we can change is how we handle life’s stresses. Life is full of stresses, and it does not stop, but continues forward. Last week was the most stressful week in my entire college career, but I’m still here! (Unless I’m in really in heaven and I just don’t know it yet :P). If I were to go back in time and give myself some advice for my “Hell Week,” I’d tell myself these tips, which can help you too in the future!
1. Know Your Study Habits.
If you’re like me, and have a tendency to snack when studying, remove yourself away from the problem. If you keep food in your room, take advantage of a place where food isn’t accessible, like the library. If you truly need energy to have a late-nighter, bring something healthy like almonds or an apple with peanut butter. A meal’s worth of food isn’t necessary to keep energized for a long night.
2. Know Your Body
We eat so our bodies can perform daily basic functions. So if you’re hungry, eat! But there is a difference between being hungry and being tired or bored. When I got home, my mind told me that I should eat another slice of lasagna because of how yummy it was. But I knew that I wasn’t truly hungry, I was just exhausted from my trip. If you’re unsure if you’re hungry, use the ten-minute rule – wait ten minutes and then see if you still feel hungry.
3. Be Organized
Keep up with your work, and know your limits when balancing extra-curricular activities. When you feel like you’re in control of your life, you’ll be more likely to make wiser decisions. Plus, you’ll feel less stressed, which means you’re less likely to stress eat!
What do you do to stay on track when you’re having a bad week? I hope that these tips are helpful , and hopefully this week I’ll apply them to my goals! :D