I feel like this blog post is a bit of a mind-dump without a ton of direction, and maybe even a bit of an over-share.  That doesn’t stop me from wanting to share it with you though because I think it’s important to see that we all struggle, and it can be difficult to make your weight loss goals a priority when life is dumping on you.  This path isn’t a straight line – we’re going to encounter obstacles. That is a fact. We need to be able to adapt and stay positive if we’re going to reach our goals!

I’m right in the middle of one of those patches when it feels like life is having a hay day throwing curveballs at me to try to swing and hit.  Honestly speaking, I’m struggling to cope. I have a few things going on…first I need to have my gallbladder removed, which in and of itself isn’t that big of a deal, but I had the hardest time trying to find a surgeon that accepted my health insurance.  After two weeks of jumping through hoops – I finally have my surgery scheduled!  

My other major stressor is that I’m hemorrhaging money.  Between my health, my car (which has been in the shop twice this month), and summer care for my son ($2200 to date with one more week to cover) – I’m drowning.  I have some other things that I’m dealing with too that are adding to the overall struggle, but money and health are the two biggies.

I think it’s important to recognize that in the past I would have easily gained 10 pounds or more in the month that I’ve been dealing with all this stuff.  Food has always been my coping mechanism. But I have some great tools to get me through times like this without reverting back to my old ways. So that’s a definite silver lining.  It’s not all rainbows and silver linings, though I wish I could report it was. I haven’t lost as much weight as I could have/should have/wanted to, and I also found some gaping holes in my arsenal of coping mechanisms.  So there’s more work that needs to be done!

In order to get through this I’m focusing on the things I can control… like figuring out how much I’ll have to pay for my surgery out-of-pocket so I’m not completely surprised when I get the bills.  I’m also trying to start my days off in a really positive way. I’ve been waking up early every morning the past week and either doing a short meditation or some journaling. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the results… I don’t feel so scattered and manic, and I’ve been able to focus and get more things accomplished.  I think an early morning ritual has been a very good thing for me. 

In times like these, though there are many things outside of our control, the best thing we can do is find what is in our control and take comfort knowing we always have one thing that is up to us – how we respond. 

~C

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Dr. Angela Tran