Sometimes you just have an off week, and this has been one of mine. It started with travel days, which can sometimes be tough for me to keep on solid track with my fitness goals. After two days of flying and lots of time being cooped up behind the wheel, I returned home to some pretty high stress situations to deal with at the office. Not only did I turn to alcohol for a relaxant as noted in my previous post, my eating was not exactly spot on. I tried to power through the workouts this week, and while I stuck with it, I just couldn’t quite push myself as hard as I had been. My energy level was just zapped. By last night, my body felt terrible – a muscle spasm had come on in my upper back and left me feeling just completely wiped out and achy. I used to suffer from these pretty extensively – mostly stress related – and it’s been almost a year since this reared its ugly head. They can be extremely debilitating for me, but fortunately this one is mellow enough that I should be able to get control if I am careful.
I have to listen to my body when this happens so I took it very easy when I got home last night, and even enjoyed a long, hot bath and went to bed early. I will admit, I poured myself a small glass of red wine to take to the tub with me – almost out of habit. I raised the glass with thoughts of this beautiful liquid easing my muscles and sending me into a gentle sleep, but the moment it reached my lips I was quickly faced with thoughts of how disappointed I was going to feel with myself in the morning. Remember the goals? Remember breaking the cycle? I set it back down and later it met the drain. Chamomile tea took its place. Victory.
With such an off week, it’s no wonder that I started feeling so lousy. I know myself well enough to know that I have to stay steps ahead of the stress, otherwise it will get the best of me. I didn’t treat myself right this week, I almost feel as though I just neglected myself altogether in so many ways. Today I will rest. Today I will focus on my well-being. Even thought it isn’t a scheduled rest day, I am listening to my body and will take this opportunity to reset. Off weeks happen, it just means that I can make next week so much better.
On a side note, I love Fridays for so many reasons, but today is also my Pay it Forward Friday. I love waking up thinking about what I’ll do to make someone smile today. I haven’t come up with my plan yet, but I look forward to figuring out. I encourage you to go out and do something nice for someone – a friend or a completely stranger, but something random and unexpected. It feels good to know that you’ve made a difference in someone’s life, even in just a small way.
Weights and Wanderings 