Accountability and Healthy Attitude

I am a big time blamer.

I try to temper it with "I know I should have ____," but the sentence continues, "But I had so much going on/but it was raining/but I only had a dollar for a slice of pizza."

I have allowed the stresses of the last several weeks get the best of me an take over my entire body. I was picking fights, slacking off (our apartment looks like a frat house!), and eating poorly.

There is (in my defense because I can't help it) a connection between stress hormones and eating extra carbs. Your fight-or-flight hormone kicks in and your body craves high-calorie carbohydrates and sugar for the fast burn and to store it away in case you never see food again. However, sitting on your butt at your desk all day at work, you do NOT need this extra energy. It's the wacked-out way of the modern industrialized world. So, instead of burning these calories by running for our lives and climbing up trees to get away from a hungry cheetah; we become sluggish, grumpy, lazy, and we make excuses for ourselves.

I read an article in this month's Body + Soul/ Whole Living about this, and it was so beyond incredibly true for me in that very moment that it was- I hope- life changing. All of the aforementioned out-of-my-control stresses had come to a head this week, and I finally cried and talked it out with Marc on Wednesday night.  For the first time in weeks, no kidding, I actually had a positive outlook on Thursday morning. I felt like going back to the gym, I craved a salad, my shoulders felt lighter. And I was reading an article (different but very similar to the one I linked to) telling me that my fight-or-flight stress hormones had been encouraging my poor eating habits and behavior. Like- eating Fat Sal's baked ziti and garlic bread for three days in a a row for lunch, and whatever was convenient for dinner. Like- no veggies or fruit even crossed my mind let alone my lips. The proof was in my better mood and my healthier cravings.

It's weird when something you've been told and understood on an intellectual level for years just hits you over the head with tactile reality.

So now that I get it, what am I going to do about it?

This week, I want to start fresh. And I'll start by making a to-do list because, as probably the most disorganized person I have ever known, I hardly ever make to-do lists and I hear they're helpful for stress management.

My Stress-Managing To-Do List of Stuff to Manage My Stress:

1. Gym it up 2-3 times a week regardless of other crap in my life. (My preferred methods are spin class, "virgin" yoga, and lyrical dance even though I can never really keep up in that class.)
2. Eat better. I love healthy foods- especially anything than incorporates avocados. I just forget sometimes. 
3. Make a GRE study plan and start it. I'll thank myself later.
4. Motivate myself to take care of routine life-things. What I mean is:
1. Grocery Shop (and therefore COOK)
2. Do Laundry
3. Pick Up After Myself
5. Use my planner and make more lists. And then actually refer to said organizational tools.

See? This life-reboot isn't so bad.  I Can Do This.

What other things should I add to my list- what has helped y'all out in your experiences? Does anyone want to join me on my journey to mental and physical health?