When I have an injury, am feeling depressed, or even just having a really long day, my first instinct is to reach for the chip bag.  The baby Laura inside me says, “Forget this healthy nonsense and love me tenderly.”  The problem with this pathological coddling is that when you’re in a state of injury, fatigue, sadness, etc, your body more than even needs to be nourished with foods and activity that will help it recover.  Chips, and their evil counterparts cookies, are nowhere near the list of foods that make you big and strong.  They may give us some mental satisfaction but for me that’s usually followed by one of the following: guilt, more fatigue, a sour tummy, or, and I’m sad to say this is the most frequent “or”, another chip.

The easy downward spiral of this situation is that if your injury lasts several days or weeks, or your long day at work turns into a month long project, then you could find yourself sitting among a lot of empty chip bags and once the “toe” heals, do you think you’ll be running for the race gates to start day one all over again?  Maybe/hopefully/definitely! you will, but you may not have the same enthusiasm or strength that you started with the last time.

So what is the solution?  “Don’t eat chips!” Eureka! Thanks Dr. Know-it-all.  But seriously, more importantly would be to have more of the good stuff.  If you are taking a whole-food source supplement, double-up. Have a great breathing meditation you’ve been working on?  Add an extra ten minutes.  Don’t have much time to cook a healthy dinner? Throw a bunch of veggies in some broth and have a yummy soup.  It doesn’t have to be extra work.  It just needs to be extra goodness.  And don’t worry about Little “insert your name here.” When you are finally sitting back on the couch with your mind quiet and your tummy full, he or she will be fast asleep and your body will be on it’s way to it’s old healthy self.

Have a Happy, Healthy Day!

Refrigerator principle for this week…

Smile