Positive Steps: Mon. April 17

[Gaelen]

Halfway through this week's poll asking 'what's the one thing that's you let slide when life intervenes?', the two most popular responses are

sticking to your planned ECC per day or per meal
daily exercise


Half of the 18 people who voted picked one of these two choices...all others are at a distant 1 or 2 responses.

I know that, for me, normal life challenges don't usually derail either my menu or my exercise...in fact, sticking closely to my menus and exercising can help me cope. But under challenges like chemo-driven illness, I will eat things I wouldn't normally choose. At first I rationalized it by saying, well, you have to eat SOMEthing...but as I've gotten more experienced with chemo, I was able to find foods that are closer to plan and that I can tolerate. I gave myself permission for a maintenance level of ECCs on treatment days, a plan level that I could manage. That way I didn't get caught up in beating myself up about 'failing' to stay on plan on days when I physically was unable to maintain 40g ECC. I guess some people would treat treatment days as a 'planned cheat day,' but since I don't believe it's possible to 'cheat' on a way of life, I just gave myself permission move to a different level of the plan on the days when I can't cope with the level I follow 95% of the time.

Oddly enough, some level of exercise...even just basic horizontal stretches from the pilates foot series...are something I manage nearly every day. On days I can't manage that, I'm probably too sick to function. :(

Why is it one of the most critical parts of the plan--either diet or exercise--is the strongest weakness for many of us? How do you get past a spot where life is intervening without dropping the ball where diet or exercise is concerned? What positive step can you take to turn things around when life intervenes?

[gitfiddle]

Well, Pat, yesterday I took a positive step. I had read Gabe's information in the science thread about leptin and the function of "comfort food" and was able to make a tolerable choice when hit with the urge to snack. I had a chocolate attack, probably triggered by some buried emotion kicked up by a family gathering earlier in the day. I broke out one of my great chocoperfection bars (2 ecc) that I save for just such occasions. They're a bit pricey and I treat them like gold, sometimes to the extent of eating a higher-carb item instead. Then I got busy on the computer and forgot about it.

[LisaS]

see, I didn't count routine movement (e.g. walking the dogs) as "daily exercise" for this survey. For me, this question was about my "plan"ned exercise - weights, intervals, hiking, walking at lunch at work, etc - and for me that is what slides first when life intervenes. [Fortunately, the dogs won't let the daily walks slide, so we always have at least 30 mins a day there (3x10 mins). :) ]

as far as exceeding ECC per meal - again for me this is the most visible result of lack of planning and prep - and planning and prep (executing the plan) are the parts that slide when life intervenes. So if I'm running late in the morning I might not take out chicken to thaw - and maybe didn't think of it the night before cuz I was working from home. So once again, when life intervenes and I leave work late and don't have time to really thaw some chicken for dinner (unless I don't want to eat until 9PM) - and don't want to go shopping to buy fresh -- sure, I go get a low-carb-wrap sandwich at Quizno's. It isn't off plan exactly, but it usually puts me over ECC for the meal. And chances are REALLY good that whatever workout I had planned for that night isn't going to happen either.