SURVIVING THE PERFECT STORM

What happens when the teacher becomes the student?

I always practice what I preach. Am I perfect? No.

As far as experiments go, I am the guinea pig for all products, recipes, strategies and solutions that I teach. What I have learned is that no matter what size you are, our thought processes and needs are basically the same.

We struggle, we succeed, and we are always trying to be our best. We all want to feel good and be in control of our lives and our appearance.

For the past few months life has been unusually stressful for me. With this added stress came the coping mechanisms we all use to just get by; comfort foods, less time at the gym, less effort expended to take care and be healthy.

And while on the surface my day-to-day motions looked the same, at a closer glance it was not the case at all.

So I am wondering if these challenges are happening to you. Just below your exterior a storm may already be underway…

For me, it started innocently enough.

One square of chocolate after a spicy salad turned into two; after lunch and dinner, and sometimes just for the heck of it.

Portion sizes started to grow, and bread which managed to remain unseen for quite some time, suddenly seemed like a great idea.

More evenings out to dinner, and “you have to order the fries” was getting the best of me.

While I was faithfully going to the gym, I wasn’t putting in my 110%. I was basically going through the motions and calling it a day.

And the worst part was that I was not motivated AT ALL. Very unusual for me, but again, it was so subtle I hardly noticed the tipping points.

Tomorrow, I told myself; and tomorrow melted into the next, until months had gone by with this false sense of control.

It wasn’t until the nagging unease was keeping me awake at night that I realized I had gone too far, and that reversing this trend was not only necessary but inevitable.

Have you been where I was at? That insurmountable passage where it just seems so hard to get back on track? That point of almost giving up and accepting what is?

Fortunately, the body is a wise vessel. Its natural state is to be healthy, and it will do everything in its power to stay there by giving you signs, symptoms and signals.

So how did I get the wheels turning again when they’d all but fallen off the bus? It wasn’t easy, but it was a lesson that can be learned, taught and shared.

Next week I will be sharing those lessons with you.

If you are still in that place, understand that sometimes when you reach your lowest point, your finest hour is waiting to be realized.

In the meantime, can you relate to feeling helpless in regards to your weight, fitness level or health? If so, how did you pull yourself out of the slump? Leave a comment below and let’s start a conversation.

Annette Alfieri Nutrition helps women and men gain control of their eating & their lives through motivation, mindset, awareness & nutrition. Annette is a clinical nutritionist as well as a weight loss coach. She offers workshops, classes and individualized packages. http://www.annettealfieri.com/