|lately| February review: I’m a stress snacker

{PIlotingPaperAirplanes.com} February
{PIlotingPaperAirplanes.com} February

How is it the shortest month of the year has felt so long? February was a bit rough.

Fitness

On Superbowl Sunday, February 1, I had a great treadmill workout. Monday morning, I couldn’t bend my left toes and could barely put weight on the ball of my foot. It was a constant ache with sharp pain if I wasn’t gentle. Not gonna lie, I shed a few tears. I did nothing active for over a week, save limping to work on my daily walk.

Finally a physical therapist friend had a look, told me to ice and roll on a tennis ball and thought it could plantar fasciitis. The rolling did wonders! I’ve kept a ball under my desk to roll after my walk to the office.

I eased back into low impact interval workouts and I had to modify in yoga class. Nearly four weeks later I’m running carefully again and I still roll to keep any soreness away. I’m guessing this will be something I just have to manage, for a while at least.

All told, I’ll be at 21 hours of activity, including my walks, and 18 days of workouts for February. Not what I’d hoped for, but considering the time off, I’ll call this a win.

What I learned this month:

• You don’t realize how much you need your big toe until you can’t move it. At all.

• There’s lots of low impact “cardio” one can do. Kettlebell swings for days. Whether its a bum foot or neighbors in the apartment below, or both, I’ve been creative about my home workouts. More to come for us apartment dwellers.

Fun

I made it big on PBS. We threw a Superbowl part with 14 adults and 2 babies in our 650-square-foot apartment. We had one of the best Valentine’s Days yet. I organized two additional dinner parties with new friends. We saw giant bobble head presidents at the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery when we stumbled into a family President’s Day celebration. I did lots of inversion practice. We signed a lease to move into a two-bedroom apartment in March and my youngest brother is moving in with us.

All while missing 99% of the horrible winter weather. We’re just south enough to avoid the biggest parts of the storms.

Oh, and I made a free background for your desktop, tablet or phone. Download here. While I’m at it, here’s a marketing post on taking quality photos for your blog.

Favorite photos from Instagram

{PIlotingPaperAirplanes.com} February Instagram @LarissaDaltonS {PIlotingPaperAirplanes.com} February Instagram @LarissaDaltonS {PIlotingPaperAirplanes.com} February Instagram @LarissaDaltonS
{PIlotingPaperAirplanes.com} February Instagram @LarissaDaltonS {PIlotingPaperAirplanes.com} February Instagram @LarissaDaltonS {PIlotingPaperAirplanes.com} February Instagram @LarissaDaltonS
{PIlotingPaperAirplanes.com} February Instagram @LarissaDaltonS {PIlotingPaperAirplanes.com} February Instagram @LarissaDaltonS {PIlotingPaperAirplanes.com} February Instagram @LarissaDaltonS

 Food

I’ve decided to extend this no-sugar thing through Lent. This means Sunday’s will be break days. I don’t remember this growing up, but apparently Sundays aren’t counted in the 40 days of Lent and Catholics, at least, take them as a break from whatever fast they’re doing. So! That takes me through Easter with a handful of days for my hot chocolate or desert. I’m also adding back honey to my morning tea.

What I’ve learned: 

• I’m a stress eater. When I get overwhelmed or frustrated, I just need something sweet to help me settle. My February sugar detox has been mostly good. I’ve had only a few days of tough cravings and a couple of fails. I’ve learned when I feel good it’s easy to say no to sweet snacks. But when I’m tired or stressed, it’s almost impossible.

• Don’t go over a friend’s house to watch the Oscars after a workout without eating a real dinner. Those Oreos won’t know what hit them. I know better, but it still happened.

Actually, my sugar-free-Lent means my Oscar Sunday cookies were fine, right? #doesntcount

 Thanks for hanging with me!

If you’ve dealt with plantar fasciitis, how have you managed it?
Are you an emotional eater?

17 replies
  1. KLP @ SavingOurStrands
    KLP @ SavingOurStrands says:

    I’m totally a stress snacker too! I noticed that I usually want a snack when I get sleepy but still have work to do. In my head, it’s I’m telling myself “You can force yourself to stay awake if you chew something.” But in reality, I’m better off either taking a power nap or getting up and moving around!

    I hope that your foot gets back to 100% soon!

    KLP @ SavingOurStrands

    Reply
    • LarissaDaltonS
      LarissaDaltonS says:

      For sure. I get to the point that I “deserve” a snack for all the work I’ve done, or I “need” one to get through whatever overwhelming project is in front of me. But you’re right, a walk and a glass of water or tea is much better.

      Reply
  2. Annmarie
    Annmarie says:

    Love all your photos, I was just telling someone how talented you are!!! I can be a stress snacker at times but try to keep it out of the house so it isn’t there to reach for.

    Reply
    • LarissaDaltonS
      LarissaDaltonS says:

      Awe, thanks! I’ve been working to get better at my instagram photography. We don’t keep a lot of sweets in the house either. It’s when there are treats in the office – there seems to be some event or holiday that we have something here all the time!

      Reply
  3. Cat
    Cat says:

    I hear ya – I’m such a stress snacker! I don’t get people who are the opposite (eat less when stressed)! I do know if I’m stressed and I take a walk, I usually get rid of the cravings and the stress simultaneously – or at least they diminish for a while! If it’s late at night though (I don’t live in the safest neighbourhood) a little yoga does the job too. Thank gawd for Youtube!

    Reply
    • LarissaDaltonS
      LarissaDaltonS says:

      Cravings and tension at the same time… good work. Sometimes I’ll drop into a quick plank in my office. It gets the blood flowing and I feel more energized, making it easier to not have a snack. When I really need something besides water, I’ll have tea or munch some almonds.

      Reply
    • LarissaDaltonS
      LarissaDaltonS says:

      Oh man… My neighbor hasn’t complained, but the guy above us a really loud, making us more conscious of our habits. I have 3 or 4 apartment-safe workouts I like rotating and I’ll post them soon!

      Reply
      • 8 pool coins hack
        8 pool coins hack says:

        – Hey that calendar looks familiar, hey wait, and so does that bag. Etsy is a really “productive” site, I happened to stop by and now I’m stuck looking at all of the art. Not to mention from a web developers standpoint, the site is really easy to navigate.

        Reply
      • new mexico dept of motor vehicles
        new mexico dept of motor vehicles says:

        Bonne question… le mix reste la solution. Moi je passe mon temps à fouiner, dénicher des pièces top à prix réduits. Parce que je suis bien d'accord avec toi, accumulé du finlandais c'est sympa mais c'est vite frustrant. C'est joli mais la qualité ne suit pas sur la durée.

        Reply
      • Southaven, MS auto insurnace quotes
        Southaven, MS auto insurnace quotes says:

        :Ne désespère pas de la miséricorde divine sur nous. Chaque fois que la colère m’envahit, j’essaye de me rappeler les conseils fait aux musulmans sur ce sujet:Ahmad, Abou Dawoud, Attirmidhi et Ibn Majja ont rapporté que le Prophète(saw) a dit :« Le serviteur qui retient sa colère pour la face d’Allah, Allah empli son cÅ“ur de foi »

        Reply
    • LarissaDaltonS
      LarissaDaltonS says:

      I forgot how much my heart rate goes up with KB swings! I try to push for 50 in a row and man I’m out of breath.

      Reply
  4. Maddy
    Maddy says:

    I totally agree with you about the needing your big toe. On January 30th a massive dry-erase board fell on my left big toe and work and I thought it was broken. Luckily it wasn’t, but it took me 3 weeks to be able to run and I’m still not able to wear all of my heels. And my toenail is still blue and purple. (quite pretty haha). Glad yours is feeling better!

    xo, Maddy
    http://cassidylou.com/

    Reply
    • LarissaDaltonS
      LarissaDaltonS says:

      Oh man that sounds awful! Today I wore heels for the first time and it might be too soon. Yours could be blue and purple until it grows out. I one broke my nail back under the skin and it looked horrible until it grew out completely. Nail polish to the rescue!

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply