Why is it that being tired and not feeling well make me want carbs? Ugh! I’ve been dealing with a sinus infection the last few days and I want to eat all the cookies and ice cream and French fries LOL!
I’m also wondering if part of the reason for my getting sick is being run down in general. I’ve been feeling very worn thin lately. A couple of weeks ago as I was journaling I realized that “overstimulated” is the best way to describe how I’m feeling. Last week I was listening to a Craig Groeschel message where he described his season of being burned out. His description of this is exactly how I’ve been feeling the last few weeks. In his message he talked about not just rest but being refilled….by disconnecting from the things burning you out. Since I’m in a job (and other areas in my life) where I use my mind all the time, I need to find a way to disengage my mind and engage my body. If you’re someone who does physical work engaging your body all the time, then you would need to find a way to disengage your body and engage your mind. This is a totally different kind of rest. He likened this to the story of Elijah running 100 miles and being threatened and feeling as though he couldn’t take any more. God came to him and told him to rest: have a snack and a nap. He disengaged his body. This got me to thinking about my road to fitness, falling in love with running and lifting weights, and then the injuries all but stopping all of it. It’s really no wonder I’m feeling the way I do! I need to find a new way to engage my body and disengage my mind. I can’t run at the moment, and my swim routine has been disrupted by scheduling changes at the gym…but I can come up with a new routine and maybe a new activity to work up a sweat…I really do miss sweating!
Some other side effects of being burned out that Craig talked about included having self-doubt, feeling isolated, and feeling disconnected from God. I can identify lately with all of these things. I also learned recently about the idea of body budget, which is the way that our brains budget energy for our bodies. All of this makes so much sense to me and the season I’m in right now. I feel as though God is speaking to me clearly that I need to find a way to disengage my mind and better manage things so I don’t continue down the road of unhealthy eating and the other effects of burn out. I have the chance now to stop this and take another route.
I began today by making a new recipe from one of Maria Emmerich’s cook books, pumpkin chili. I find that looking through new recipes helps to motivate me, so I got 2 of her books recently. The pumpkin chili recipe is found in her Instant Pot book. It also includes slow-cooker instructions which I really like as well. Pumpkin chili may sound strange, but it smelled so good as it was cooking, and the taste did not disappoint! The portion is very generous and filling, always a bonus! I don’t think I can publish the recipe here, since it is included in her hard copy cookbook, but I highly recommend the Instant Pot book, there are a ton of great looking recipes. I also tried pulled pork and French onion soup from this book, both were great!
My hope is that by mid-week I’ll be feeling up to getting back to the gym. I can lift upper body pretty safely at this point. My hip continues to give me trouble sometimes, the hip flexor muscle being very finicky about what I can and can’t do without aggravating it. So I will continue to take things day by day related to any exercises for my hip and lower body.
How do you manage stress and burn out? Do you have strategies for disengaging so you can be refilled?
I can definitely relate in many ways. I find myself saying to Jim I feel I have nothing left to give for anyone else. I think my biggest battle came from losing my coping mechanism. When I was mentally falling apart, I tried to be physically strong which made me feel in control. I started working out at the gym the day after my Son passed. Everytime I’d start to fall apart, I’d work harder physically. It would distract me for a while. Sometimes I’d go multiple times a day. I chose a 24 hour place so I could even go through the night. I’ve done that for years, any time I felt I couldn’t deal with emotional pain. When I was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, went through 2 surgeries within two weeks and was bed ridden and told I couldn’t even lift a jug of milk, it terrified me. How could I get through this without my coping mechanism? If I couldn’t run away from the fear by feeling physically strong, I would have to actually just deal with it. Alone at times, terrified and feeling it all. I see you finding what God is trying to show you through your current battles. I believe God is trying to show me where I should be looking for strength. I should be going to Him for the strength I need and not trying to physically be strong enough to deal with life’s pain. I hope to someday be able to do the weight lifting again because I absolutely love it but I want my trust to be in God not my physical ability. I’m glad you’re listening to your body, but more importantly, listening to what God is trying to teach you. I realize my thoughts aren’t exactly relating to what you said but the whole mind/body thing struck a nerve with my current battle so felt compelled to share. Love you. Take care and God bless!
I’m glad it struck a chord with you, love you too!!
I was excited to see you adding to this blog. You are such an inspiration to those who share your weight struggle and burn-out. I believe that if God brings you to it, he will take you through it. I have been discouraged for about 2 weeks. I was on vacation and I have backslid in my eating and gained 1.2 last week on weight watchers. Praying i can get back on track. Taking it a meal at a time. I am a binge eater who stuffs her mouth when I am emotional too. Prayers for your healing and getting back to swimming and weight-lifting/running. I run to the store. LOL. I can only walk, swim, and dance. Thanks for supporting others. God bless you too. Goodnight. 😉
How does your husband and family support your journey? I miss my hubby’s cheering me on. I know he is from heaven. He always told me I was beautiful and never saw me as fat or disgusting. I fear if I ever meet anyone else they will be judgmental. I guess I need to love me first.
I am no longer married, so it’s just my fur-baby at home with me lol. I have to rely on the encouragement of my other family and friends. I’m sure it’s hard not having him there physically to encourage you, *hugs*
Thank you! I met with my primary care doctor and she said that I need to incorporate exercise. I guess I’ll just walk to start. 🙏🌻🍂🍁 Hugs back!
Hope your journey finds you well. I am struggling with my body image and have not tracked on the weight watcher’s app in 3 weeks. Was feeling discouraged after gaining a few pounds! I’m trying to encourage myself. I deleted instagram as I was comparing myself to others. Diving deeper into my faith and finding who God created not what the world thinks I should be. Bless you. Praying your healing up and back to writing! 🙏😇🫂🤗
I’m sorry to hear you’ve been discouraged lately! Social media can definitely be a double-edged sword, good for you for taking care of yourself! I am doing ok, plugging along and working on more posts, stay tuned! -Michelle