Of course, for many of us, exercise is a great reliever of stress! And a balanced diet is always ideal. And it should be. But sometimes it's not! In particular, I'm talking about those times when you're not in the best head space. You've been in a mental funk for a while - maybe you are spending too much time at work, maybe you're juggling work and children, maybe you're dealing with family issues. Whatever it is - You're already feeling stressed, tired and most likely depressed. You're not getting enough time with your family and you're probably not getting enough sleep and personal time. And then you start feeling guilty because you haven't quite eaten the best lately and you're trying to get your workouts in, but then it never happens - and then you get stressed about that too!
I am a true believer that when the mind is right, the body will follow. In times like these, it's important to prioritize. By that, I mean take a minute to think about what is your biggest stressor or cause for negative feelings. Start there. Think, "How can I make this particular thing less taxing on me?" These big stressors can trigger a domino effect: I'm tired and depressed and I don't feel like going to the gym. I'm tired and depressed so I'm just going to eat this entire pizza because I don't care anymore. I'm being pulled in a million directions and trying to add gym time to my schedule is just stressing me out even more. I'm being pulled in a million directions and I don't have time to eat something healthy - I'm hitting the drive thru. Well, I ate like crap yesterday, so what's another day?" You get the picture.
Once you get some relief from whatever it is that is bearing so much weight on your shoulders, then you can go back to focusing on consistent diet and exercise. Why are you tired and depressed to begin with? Why are you being pulled in a million directions with no time left for yourself? That's where you start. And then, when eating right and exercising doesn't feel like one more thing on your list of things to do.. then it's time to return to it!
Here is the second situation: Maybe you are tired and depressed, juggling a million things, and you DO make time for your diet and workouts. That's awesome!! You should be very proud.. but be careful. Commonly, what happens is you try to push yourself just as hard if not harder at the gym when you're already feeling crazy stressed. It's great to have such discipline to maintain your diet and exercise - however, what might be needed are more Yin-type workouts. Something a little more mellow with a big mind-body connection - Like yoga, pilates, tai-chi, ... something a little more meditative will do wonders for your stress! Or take it outside! Of course, I was going to say that. I think being outdoors puts things into perspective. It helps you see that what seem like big problems are not so big after all.
We all hit rough spots in life where diet and exercise fall to the way side. Dont' get down on yourself! The important thing is to return to it once life gets back to "normal" or modify your workouts to optimize the situation.