Two steps back

Oh, what a week. It was one of those Perfect Storm of Anxiety and Stress weeks: testing for students, working with their general exhaustion and apathy right before Spring Break, the shift and sleep troubles from the spring time change, phone calls with family about upcoming holidays and visits ... no rest for the wicked this week.

It made for a challenging week, and my WW app showed it. Usually I try to get at least 5 blue dots a week - days when I am within my daily Points goal. The best weeks I've had, I've had 6 or 7. 

This week? Three.

I keep going back to what the dietitian told me in December when we talked about my anxiety about being in Connecticut, the end of my dad's life, and the usual stress that comes with visiting family even when there's not a significant, life-changing event on the horizon. She reminded me that there's no wagon to fall off of - it's just your life, and sometimes the situation calls for flexibility.

I knew this would be a tough week, and I could have prepared differently to avoid taking two steps back instead of forward or even just staying still. I let the situations overwhelm me, and the food choices I made were not consistent with my goals. That's all.

For this week, I am hoping for better sleep. It's Spring Break for me but not my husband or son (our Spring schedules never overlap, only Thanksgiving and some of Winter), so I can catch up on my grading but also go for walks and bike rides. I can get back into a good routine with cooking - especially protein prepping, which my dietitian suggested at our first meeting back in October or November. She said whole meal prepping can be overwhelming, and it's easy to get burned out eating the same meal day in and day out. But prepping even just some protein ahead of time makes mealtimes so much easier. Boil some eggs, cook up some chicken breast, have cans of tuna on hand - things like that. And it worked so well while I did it, but I just fell out of routine the last couple of weeks.

Here's to a better week, and the next two steps being forward.