Surviving a Rough Spot

Inspired by an article on www.paleodietlifestyle.com

All of us will encounter a "rough spot” at some point when it comes to lifestyle change. Humans tend to be chronically bad at planning for problems that aren't right in front of our faces. We then keep getting blindsided by emergencies that randomly pop up when we least expect them.

You can't plan for specific emergencies in advance, but you can plan to have all-purpose, grab-and-go snacks that will power you through the day if your routine gets thrown off, giving an unexpected crisis much less power to throw you off.

Below are samples of healthy, filling foods to keep on-hand for quick snacking or if you have to miss a meal:

- Cans of flavoured tuna
- Protein bars or individual protein shakes
- Single serving packs of almonds
- Single serving packs of peanut butter or cream cheese
- Package of turkey bites/turkey pepperettes
- Single servings of cheese (i.e. Babybel, Laughing Cow, Cheesestrings etc.)
- Individual hummus packages (or a regular size container of hummus)
- Chopped-up vegetables
- PC lean frozen beef meatballs (or chicken meatballs) – heat up in the microwave in 60-90 sec
- Shaved turkey slices (or chicken, roast beef or ham)
- Boiled eggs
- Sealed bottle of water (to grab-and-go)

The ideas above are simply examples of things you could have on-hand to get you through a stressful time or if you have to hit the road without much warning. They allow you to change your entire food environment to put more influence on the "healthy” side. This way, you don't have to use willpower as much because you don't have as many hoops to jump through just to make good choices about what to put in your body.

The hardest part is just getting organized with these resources before the crisis happens. You probably even have most of these things in your house right now, and it only takes a few minutes to get them together.

The most difficult thing to do is to keep our healthy habits going when we're bombarded by stress and we're thrown into situations we didn't expect. It's important to stay on top of groceries and plan to always have healthy snacks on hand at home, especially if you've been away for a period of time. Remind yourself why it's worth it to plan ahead. Will it help you get back on track sooner? Will you feel that continued sense of control even when things feel chaotic?

Planning ahead takes some effort, but in the middle of a rough spot you'll thank yourself for taking the time to do it. Think ahead to the next few weeks – are there any situations that could pose a threat to your healthy routine? If so, how will you manage to get through them?

You can and WILL achieve your goals. Never give up on how you ultimately want to live – remind yourself WHY you started, and WHY it's worth it to keep going.

Dr. Doug