One Thing Leads To Another

It's been too long since I shared myself on this here blog so I'm writing, mental block or not. The truth is I haven't had anything inspirational to say. My path to fitness has taken a few twists I didn't anticipate. To begin with, my diet hasn't been horrible, but it hasn't been great either. One of the biggest problems with working in a restaurant is NOT eating the delicious, yet not-exactly-healthy menu items, like Eggplant Parmigiana. Yum. Or thin crust pizza, which I end up eating on Sunday afternoons for my "bad meal" anyway. I have not yet mastered the daily habit of moderation and it's effecting my progress. I sure love cheese!

Halloween came and went. When it arrived, I was thrilled but it ended up a big pain in my neck, literally. My friends invited me to Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights, including 12 haunted attractions (I was scared by Norman Bates, Michael Meyers, and those Joker henchman, and posed with Shaun of the Dead, my hero!). I had such a good time but I wasn't thinking about how tense my muscles would be all night long; getting scared over and over, standing in long lines out in the cold, and not drinking ANY water. In addition, I was up super late and didn't sleep very well. I may or may not have had nightmares involving captors with pig faces.

The next night was Halloween and I had to work. My weekend of not taking care of myself continued with working a closing shift until 2am, in platform boots, and again, drinking soda instead of water. I finished the night with a beer, the last thing I needed. By Sunday, I was wrecked. My voice was hoarse and I was tired. Did I replenish my throat and body with water? Nope. I opted for caffeine; coffee then soda. I then had donuts, ice cream, and fast food, with no thought to what I was doing to my body. It was Sunday and that's the day I get to eat what I want.

Monday morning I woke up and I could barely move my head in any direction without sharp pain. What had triggered this pain? Did I sleep funky? Was I not properly positioned on my Tempur Pedic pillow? We weren't THAT busy at work on Halloween so I don't remember bumping into anything. I do have an old neck injury but it wouldn't just mysteriously act up like arthritis. I simply couldn't figure out the cause of this sudden, debilitating pain, and I didn't until I saw a massage therapist. By asking me simple questions, he made me aware of my own self-sabotage. Questions such as "Have you been staying hydrated?" and "Are you getting enough sleep?" made me realize how my little choices had snowballed into me simply not taking care of myself. I told my therapist about my scare-filled weekend and he pinpointed my problem; Halloween.

While watching the latest horror flick may be fun, it turns out getting scared is actually bad for you. When we get scared, our body goes into "fight or flight" mode. Even when we know it's just a movie, our brain tells our body we're in danger. Our blood pressure and heart rate go up, muscle tension increases, and our body has all this built-up stress with no release. If only I'd known this before I went through 5 haunted attractions in one night, I could've spent the morning after relieving that stress, through physical activity or any number of relaxation techniques. Instead, I tried to get more sleep, skipped Yoga, and drank caffeine.

I guess I'm not as self-aware as I thought. Mind, body, and spirit are truly connected. The choices we make can have effects we didn't even imagine. And the next time I plan on scaring myself silly, I better plan on hitting the gym next day, too! Or some other form of stress relief...