It was a down day. Not sure exactly why. I tried to figure it out, but nothing really stood out as a reason for me to feel down. I have been eating mostly healthy food and very little crap. I have been getting the normal amount of exercise which is plenty. I've been sleeping well. And the weather has been amazing here in Maryland. There is nothing really wrong. But sometimes things just FEEL wrong when everything is fine. Do you ever find yourself in a funk?
Here's how I addressed this state of mind:
First, I forced myself to get off my butt (and away from this laptop!) and out into the sunshine. Crazy as it sounds, on a gorgeous day, I often find myself sitting inside instead of grabbing some fresh air. Once I put my body into the sun, I started to immediately feel better. The bright, full-spectrum light of the sun is a natural mood enhancer. If you are ever feeling down on a beautiful day, getting outdoors and soaking up some rays can start to chip away at that ugly mood. A full spectrum lightbox can help on the gray wintery days when the sun barely makes an appearance.
Second, I did some physical labor. I do plenty of exercise, so I really can't blame my moods on that. But I hauled some heavy rocks over to our rock pile and the combination of moving my body, doing something physically challenging, sweating, getting dirty, and also accomplishing a necessary task was another boost to my low mood.
Third, I implemented that well known mood fixer-upper: the chocolate treat. Because I am doing my best to avoid sugar and junkfood, I had a chocolate zucchini muffin. These are made by Garden Lites and were purchased from Costco. I pretended I was buying them for my daughter, but I wasn't fooling anyone. You can find them in the frozen food section. Although they do contain a small amount of sugar (11 grams in one muffin), the first three ingredients are 1) zucchini; 2) Carrot; 3) egg whites! They are not completely grain-free, but they ARE gluten-free, dairy-free, and wheat-free. One muffin contains 120 calories and 5 grams of fiber. They are individually wrapped which makes them easy to transport for you busy folks on the go. I find this also discourages binging. It is easy to pop one out of the freezer, defrost it for 30 seconds in the microwave, and enjoy whenever necessary. If you are going to have a chocolatey treat, this is the healthiest version I have found in packaged form.
Did all these factors combine to pull me from depression into a state of ecstasy? Well, not quite. But things did improve. I think the sunshine did the most to lift me out of my funk, but that muffin didn't hurt, either! I don't think a gigantic hot fudge sundae would have been better; too much sugar would definitely backfire. I would end up feeling even worse due to low blood sugar, carb overload headache, and immense guilt.
If you have days that are difficult, what do you do to pull yourself out of your funk? Any healthy and helpful ideas would be appreciated, not just by me but by all the readers out there. Thanks in advance for sharing!
Here's how I addressed this state of mind:
First, I forced myself to get off my butt (and away from this laptop!) and out into the sunshine. Crazy as it sounds, on a gorgeous day, I often find myself sitting inside instead of grabbing some fresh air. Once I put my body into the sun, I started to immediately feel better. The bright, full-spectrum light of the sun is a natural mood enhancer. If you are ever feeling down on a beautiful day, getting outdoors and soaking up some rays can start to chip away at that ugly mood. A full spectrum lightbox can help on the gray wintery days when the sun barely makes an appearance.
Second, I did some physical labor. I do plenty of exercise, so I really can't blame my moods on that. But I hauled some heavy rocks over to our rock pile and the combination of moving my body, doing something physically challenging, sweating, getting dirty, and also accomplishing a necessary task was another boost to my low mood.
Third, I implemented that well known mood fixer-upper: the chocolate treat. Because I am doing my best to avoid sugar and junkfood, I had a chocolate zucchini muffin. These are made by Garden Lites and were purchased from Costco. I pretended I was buying them for my daughter, but I wasn't fooling anyone. You can find them in the frozen food section. Although they do contain a small amount of sugar (11 grams in one muffin), the first three ingredients are 1) zucchini; 2) Carrot; 3) egg whites! They are not completely grain-free, but they ARE gluten-free, dairy-free, and wheat-free. One muffin contains 120 calories and 5 grams of fiber. They are individually wrapped which makes them easy to transport for you busy folks on the go. I find this also discourages binging. It is easy to pop one out of the freezer, defrost it for 30 seconds in the microwave, and enjoy whenever necessary. If you are going to have a chocolatey treat, this is the healthiest version I have found in packaged form.
Did all these factors combine to pull me from depression into a state of ecstasy? Well, not quite. But things did improve. I think the sunshine did the most to lift me out of my funk, but that muffin didn't hurt, either! I don't think a gigantic hot fudge sundae would have been better; too much sugar would definitely backfire. I would end up feeling even worse due to low blood sugar, carb overload headache, and immense guilt.
If you have days that are difficult, what do you do to pull yourself out of your funk? Any healthy and helpful ideas would be appreciated, not just by me but by all the readers out there. Thanks in advance for sharing!
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