Tag Archive for: sleep

How I’m Dealing with COVID-19 (and Strategies for You)

I pride myself on being open and transparent with my clients and online community. That’s why I’ve decided to share in this week’s blog how I’ve personally been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been tough! The first 5 weeks of the “stay at home” order was really hard for me. But I’m happy to share that I’m feeling much better this week and back to myself.

My 3 biggest stressors were as follows:

1. Worry about the health and safety of my parents: My parents are in Florida and were not able to come home to New York at the beginning of April as was planned. As you can imagine, I didn’t want them to leave their apartment. “Stay put” I told them more than once. They probably got sick of hearing it. But how were they going to get food and groceries was a thought that kept swirling around in my mind. How can I keep them safe and well from so far away?

2. Worry about my husband and kids: At first, my husband still went into the city to go to work. He would travel the Long Island Rail Road every day to and from work. While he said the trains were getting emptier and emptier, it didn’t make me feel any less worried that maybe he’d be exposed to the virus. Thankfully, his firm eventually moved to working virtually, but until they did, I was a bundle of nerves.

My two daughters live at home so I was relieved when their schools decided to go virtual! But my two sons and grandchildren live in New Jersey. I haven’t seen them now in a while and I worry about their health and safety. We do Zoom every now and then and that’s lovely. But it’s not the same as an in-person hug.

3. Worry about my business: I have both an online and offline business and private practice. My online business hasn’t changed much as my clients are used to seeing me virtually. But what about all the clients and patients that would walk through the door of my office here in Long Island. Many of them were comfortable moving to virtual sessions, so no problem there. But there were several patients who either don’t have a computer, weren’t comfortable with the tech or who were just not in the right head space to figure it out.

I know I am not alone in feeling the stress and worry about the health of my family and the future of my business. There are many businesses that unfortunately will not recover. My heart goes out to them, but I believe people are resilient and we will all figure it out!

The Impact of the Stress on My Body and Mind

All this worry impacted me in many ways:

Poor Sleep: I started not sleeping well. It would take a while until I fell asleep, then if I woke up in the night to use the restroom (which I did!), I could not fall back to sleep. My brain was very busy worrying and trying to figure out how to keep my parents and my family safe and healthy.

Less Energy: I found myself dragging and very lethargic. A large part was due to not getting enough sleep. And when I did sleep, it was not a good quality sleep. And, feelings of worry can physically drain the body, and I felt it on many levels.

More Emotional: I cried almost daily. Most of the time, it was when I was alone and not busy which gave me time to think (which wasn’t always so good). And sometimes it was when I was trying to fall asleep and my mind went to my parents and I started praying for them. By the way, it’s okay to cry. I suggest it to my clients all the time. Once you have a good cry, you’ll feel better (I know I do!)

What About Food?

I’ve been making a concerted effort during this time to continue to eat and nourish (and hydrate) my body throughout the day. I have been using the strategies that I teach my clients, so I don’t end up in the peanut butter jar. I’m not “perfect”, and that’s okay because there is no perfection when it comes to food and eating (that’s dieting – a topic for another time).

For many people who have struggled with their relationship with food, this pandemic is not helping. I have been hearing this from clients and others who’ve reached out to me for help. They find themselves eating to soothe the worry, having no structure to meals now that they are home and not working (or not working a full schedule), and late-night snacking is becoming a problem again.

What About You?

I wonder if you’re experiencing the same. Please take a moment and complete this 2-question survey. I am working on creating a free workshop for you so I can offer you more support during this difficult time.

Strategies in Managing the Stress (that I used and that will help you too)

1. Stop watching the news. At the beginning, you couldn’t peel me away from the T.V. But then I realized that watching the death toll climb was causing me more stress and I decided to cut back on the news watching. It helped a great deal!

2. Have a flexible but structured meal schedule. It’s so important to be sure you are eating and not skipping meals. When you are stressed, your hunger signals are blunted and it’s harder to rely on them. Now that my husband is home, we eat all three meals together. It started out feeling weird, after all, I thought that only happens in retirement (and we are far from that!). But it’s actually nice taking time in the morning, mid-day and then after our workday to sit together and chat.

If you live alone, that’s okay. You are your best company. Put on some soft music, set the table with a nice placemat and dishes, and enjoy your meals!

3. Take time to mediate and breath: I have found deep breathing to be one of the best strategies to calm me down. Whenever I feel myself getting worked up, I take a moment and breathe. Within minutes, I am feeling better. There are many meditation apps that you can download to your phone that are also very helpful. The two that I use are Calm and Headspace. Check them out.

4. Seek support and community: There’s no shame in asking for help as you navigate this unprecedented time! Whether it be a confidant, a therapist, your partner or an online support group, it’s important to speak about your feelings. I’m grateful for my husband, good friends and my colleagues who support me while I support them at the same time.  

Reach Out

Please know that I am here for you if you want to talk. I am offering virtual mini weekly sessions and a space for you to vent, work through a challenge and navigate the changes in your relationship with food that have surfaced during the pandemic.

Just email me at Bonnie@DietFreeRadiantMe.com to learn more.

Reminder: Please Take the Survey

Click here to answer 2 questions about your Food Challenges During COVID-19.

Thank you!

5 Mindful Living Tips to Cultivate a Healthy Relationship with Food and Body

I’m really enjoying my focus of Mindful Living so far. I wrote about this intention for myself in last week’s blog…if you didn’t read it yet, click here.

I am making a concerted effort to be present in everything I do. Last Saturday night, my husband and I went out with some friends. I told my husband that I planned to NOT look at my phone the entire night so I can be present with my friends. I invited him to do the same. We had a great time, engaging in the conversation and laughing…A LOT! Laughter is so good for the soul, let me tell you. It was great.

I gave some thought as to what other areas I can be more mindful and I am sharing them with you in today’s blog. You may find these helpful for yourself on your journey towards a healthier relationship with food and body.

5 Mindful Living Tips

Tip #1. Be Present While Prepping Your Meals

In truth, when I am cooking, I am often listening to a podcast, talking on the phone or daydreaming. Very rarely am I engaging with the actual food prep. I’ve decided to change that. I’m practicing being fully present while chopping the veggies for the salad and hearing their crispness, stir-frying the onions and peppers and listening to the sizzle, and taking in the wonderful aroma of the simmering chili. All this awareness has increased the satisfaction of my meals.

Tip #2. Get More Quality Sleep

I find that doctors don’t talk enough about sleep, but sleep is critical to well-being. While the general recommendation is to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night, each person is individual and some need more or less. Sufficient sleep allows your body to rest and repair and be more attentive and productive the next day.

I’ve had some trouble sleeping lately and it’s really affected my energy level. My husband surprised me and bought me a weighted blanket. I had never really heard of them, and when I did some research, I found that weighted blankets are useful for a number of conditions, including difficulty sleeping.
It took me some time to get used to it, but I have to say that it has helped my sleep. It’s not only quantity of sleep (in other words how many hours you get) that’s important, but it’s also quality of sleep. This weighted blanket is allowing me a deeper, more peaceful sleep. I’ll keep you updated as to how this progresses for me.

Tip #3. Find a Physical Activity You Enjoy

Moving your body in a way that feels good for you is very important. If you exercise because you think you “should”, chances are you’re not really loving it and you’re going to burn out. For me, I love exercise and moving my body. But I have found over the years that the type of exercise I enjoy has changed.

As part of my mindful living intention, I’ve been staying fully present during my workout sessions. When my mind wanders (which is does!), I gently bring it back to the present moment. What I’m finding is that by being fully present in this manner, I am more tuned in to how I feel during and after the exercise.

Just today when I finished my workout at the gym, I thought to myself, “I really don’t enjoy the treadmill and elliptical anymore”. I generally mix up my workouts during the week…sometimes I take a class at the gym, sometimes I walk/run on the treadmill/elliptical and sometimes I work out at home using my DVDs. I used to really enjoy my time on the treadmill/elliptical because it was a time that I can catch up on my TV shows that I don’t get a chance to watch. But today, I realized that I don’t enjoy that anymore. My body feels so much better after I take a class, be it kickboxing, dance, weight training etc. I love moving to the music and the comradery of the other ladies in the class.

My new mindfulness practice has made me aware of this, and I will be making a change in how I move my body.

What about you? What feels right in your body?

Top #4. Experiment with Meditation

As much as I talk about the benefits of meditation, I’ve had trouble getting into a consistent practice. My initial vision of meditation years ago was sitting on a cushion, feet crossed , thumb and pointer finger pinched together – you get the idea. But I’ve since learned that there is no one way to mediate. Do what feels right for you.

I’ve used some apps such as Calm and Headspace, but nothing regularly. So I will be experimenting with using these apps more consistently, likely before I get under my weighted blanket in the evening.

Do you have any tips for meditation? Let me know in the comments please!

Tip #5. Put an End to Negative Body Talk

When we talk to ourselves, we can be our own worst critic, do you agree? Most often, when we are being harsh with ourselves, we say things that we would never think of saying to a friend.

Why is that okay? It’s not!

In my experience working with my clients, this negative talk comes up mostly around body shape and size. Thinking of your body in a negative, shameful manner causes damage to your self-esteem. Your body’s job is to keep you alive, and it works hard to do so.

What if you tried to treat yourself and your body with pure compassion and kindness? Pay yourself a compliment each day about your amazing characteristics that others love about you.

In my quest to live more mindfully, if I try on an outfit and don’t like the way it looks, I will pay attention to the words I say. It’s not my body that is the problem. This dress, pants, or outfit is just not cut for my body. Period, end of story.

There you have it. Five mindful living tips to help you cultivate a healthy relationship with food and body in this new year. Which will you join me in? Comment below?

 

Need help living your life more mindfully? Click HERE to schedule a complementary chat. Looking forward to connecting.