It’s that time of the month (TOM) when we women feel bloated and sluggish. It happens to most, if not all, of us. This time of the month is always my biggest hurdle. I tell myself I won’t get on the scale for a good week and a half…or I say, “This month, I won’t eat junk food! I can be stronger than that!” But, inevitably, I eat something I shouldn’t (or several things I shouldn’t) and I get on the scale and curse my hormones, my willpower, etc.
This is the part of the post where I’d love to say, “I’m not doing it this month!” but it’s too late for that already!
I’ve been craving chocolate something fierce. I haven’t indulged too many times, but the times I have were not good. I shared a pack of the Hershey Drops – so yummy. And two nights ago, I had an oreo “parfait” from Wendy’s. (That was sickeningly sweet. Somehow, I powered through!! haha) And last night…well… last night my husband and I ordered Dominos. We split an order of stuffed cheesy bread, each had a few slices of a medium pizza (topped with mushrooms, spinach, red peppers and BACON)…and…there were a couple of chocolate lava crunch cakes involved. Good god.
And today? Today, my body HATES me for it. Not just a little bit. We’re talking (cover your eyes if you’re squeamish, folks) full on diarrhea madness over here. Ugh. I haven’t felt this miserable in months! Add to that the impending period and you have a crampy, tired, miserable Sara. Ugh.
There’s a silver lining, though.
No, really, there is.
I’ve made much healthier choices for every other meal this week. Normally PMS time is a strap-on-the-feed-bag-and-let’s-go-athon. Mickey D’s for breakfast, Jimmy John’s for lunch, several pieces of candy from the candy bowl, ice cream after dinner (two helpings of dinner!)… And NO EXERCISE. That was mebefore. Therefore, me now isn’t doing quite so badly. I got on the scale this morning (against the aforementioned better judgement) and was only up 1.2lbs. I’m still drinking at least a gallon of water each day, just the occasional caffeinated beverage (had some diet Coke last night with our Dominos extravaganza). And I still did about 30 minutes of Wii Just Dance last night, in addition to walking on 2 of my 3 breaks.
I’ve definitely done worse.
Something I keep hearing over and over echos in my head – “Be kind to yourself.”
I once saw a post on facebook that said, “If your friends spoke to you the way you speak to yourself, you wouldn’t hang out with them any more.” How true is that?
I’m not perfect. I never will be. I’m not going to just eat carrot sticks for four months and marvel at my weight loss only to gain it all back when I stop.
This isn’t about dieting.
This isn’t a crash course in fitness.
These are LIFE CHANGES. This isn’t something I will be doing for six months, a year, two years – I will never be “done” – because the minute I stop, I will be headed right back in the opposite direction.
This is about making better choices, one meal at a time, one day at a time.
Granted, my body is punishing me plenty, but I choose not to punish myself otherwise. I know I feel better when I make better choices. That’s my reward.
Be kind to yourself. Don’t beat yourself up.
Especially during that time of the month (TOM) – because, let’s face it, you’re already moody enough without adding to it, right? 🙂
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