My topic for this week is rest & recovery, because last week was a whirlwind of activities and presentations.  I know that my life, work and projects tend to clump up around a one or two week time period, but then I get a nice relaxed pace for a week or so where I can rest, recover and re-energize. 

Last week was filled with wonderful opportunities for me to share my enthusiasm and experience with others.  I got to talk about Small Steps to Healthy Changes at the UH Hilo Women's Center Healthy Eating Program last Thursday, co-host the Hawaii Island Chamber Brown Bag Lunch on Friday, and then shared my Dhucking Your Responsibilities at the annual District 9 meeting of Zonta International.  Whew!  Throw in a session with my tax accountant and then, of course, dealing with the emotional aftermath of the devastation in Japan and damage and near-miss of the tsunami here in Hawaii.  It was a busy week and now I'm going to take time to rest and re-energize.

As I write this, I realize that I need to give myself a standing ovation.  Through this whole time, I didn't stress eat, I didn't choose my usual go-to-in-stress-time foods and I got my usual amount of activity in.  I actually dealt with this week really well.   Yay for me! Here are some reasons why --  

1. Since I was already refusing to cook much, having those simple, basic, easy-fix meals to throw in the slow cooker or in the pan was just "the usual" thing to do.
2. I had stocked my freezer and pantry with portion controlled desserts and planned one into each lunch and every dinner.  I didn't need to binge, because I could just eat my dessert first. 
3. I hadn't committed myself to walk for miles, every day, but rather I had pledged to at least get in 5000+ steps each day.  Sure, not the 10,000 that is recommended, but it's a lot better than the 2000 or less I could have done.
4. I'm wondering if I stress eat when I have too much time on my hands.  Hmmm?  That's something to think about and be aware of this next week.