One of Those Days

Ever had one of those days? A string of unfortunate events yesterday, including a crashed hard drive (back it up, people!), left me feeling a little low. These are the times when it can be tempting to practice self sabotage and eat an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s or we can choose to surrender to self care. I used to choose the former, now I choose the latter.

One exercise I do with my clients is to have them create a Nourishment Menu, or a list of healthy activities they enjoy and by which they feel fulfilled. I often instruct them to keep it on their refrigerator or carry it with them in a notebook. After we determine their trigger, be it stress, sadness, loneliness, anger or excitement (yep – even positive emotions can trigger us to eat!), I work with them to choose an activity off their nourishment menu instead of running to the fridge.

Here’s a sample nourishment menu. Yours can be as long as you like.

Sample Nourishment Menu
1. Meditate
2. Pray
3. Dance to your favorite song
4. Go for a run
5. Take a yoga class or strike your own yoga poses
6. Journal
7. Get a manicure, pedicure or both!
8. Soak in a hot bath
9. Drink a green juice or smoothie
10. Call your best friend/mom/sister
11. Make a vision board
12. Create a scrapbook
13. Read a good book
14. Take a walk
15. Sing
16. Drink a glass of water
17. Listen to an inspirational lecture or podcast
18. Breathe
19. Buy fresh flowers
20. Window shop
21. Take a nap
22. Make a gratitude list
23. Pet your dog or cat
24. Volunteer
25. Create a painting, drawing or some other work of art
What’s on your nourishment menu?