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Overeating is an epidemic in America. We all know how
we are supposed to eat in order to be healthier, but few of us are able
to sustain a healthful eating pattern for very long. There are many
reasons for this difficulty and one of the biggest is energy depletion.
When you are depleted and generally drained of energy you lose
motivation to care for yourself properly. Depleted states cause us to
seek passive, vegetative comforts like television and fatty, high
carbohydrate, highly processed convenience foods that do not demand
anything of us other than opening a package.
So why are so many of us depleted? Because we tend to value working hard
over working smart, we reward those who sacrifice personal and family
time for their companies, and we value caring for others over caring for
ourselves, and we no longer live in communities with family that can
help us raise our kids and help us out in times of need.
There are steps that we can take to cure ourselves of constant burnout
and depleted states of being that sabotage our best efforts at healthful
living. How many of the following depleters can you identify as your
own? The following circumstances steal vibrance from life and thwart
good eating habits:
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1. Not enough sleep. Is there a more obvious depleter? But amazingly
overlooked by many as the one thing they can do to re-create energy and
maintain their health and vitality.
2. Unexpressed emotion. If you are angry at someone or some thing and
you ruminate, complain, and find no direct, cathartic way to express
yourself such as talking, writing, playing sports, etc...over time it
will fester in ways that not only drain motivation for self care but
create self-defeating and self-harming behavior.
3. Unfinished projects. Leaving projects to begin new ones creates
unfinished business and little, weighty, black clouds that follow our
every move consciously or not.
4. Poor interpersonal boundaries. Setting boundaries to protect
ourselves from prioritizing the needs and wants of others above our own
frees up enormous energy and empowers us toward other forms of self
care.
5. Not asking for help. Are you someone who feels that they should be
able to "handle it" without burdening others? Do you refuse help even
when it is offered? Accepting help reduces stress and creates
friendships so why not do it?
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6. Caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco. You know what is going to happen but
you do it anyway.
7. Stress. Unresolved stress will lead to a state of di-stress over
time. If you know what relaxes you then do it. If you don't then learn.
Stress will kill you, but first it will make you fat.
8. Watching television. Yeah, we think we are relaxing, vegging out, but
watching TV takes energy, disturbes sleep, and does not give us the rest
we deserve.
9. Poor Eating Habits. The epitome of a vicious cycle.
The pooerer you eat the less energy you have to improve your eating.
10. Lack of exercise. Although it takes energy to exercise it also
creates new energy and makes us feel good.
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If you identify with the above depleters you are not
alone. I encourage you to develop your own personal list of
circumstances (people, jobs, behaviors, emotions)that take your energy
without giving you anything in return. For one week write down any
situation in which you find yourself feeling unmotivated, bored,
drained, etc.. and list it as a 'depleter'. Also, notice and document
any context in which you feel energized, hopeful and experience
well-being, and list it as a 'motivator'. Now work to rid yourself of as
many depleters as possible or in some way limit or modify them. Also,
spend more time in your 'motivator' situations. In addition to helping
you stick to healthy eating patterns, this process will invigorate you
in ways you don't expect!
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