Stressed Out! - WHAM Podcast #012

Stressed Out! - WHAM Podcast #012

Pam & Whitney get personal and talk about STRESS! But more importantly how they handled their difficult times and how you can too.

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“I didn’t want to do anything. It took everything in me just to turn on my Facebook, even for my business.” – Pam

“Honestly, the way I coped through my stress recently was watching TV shows.” – Whitney

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7-Day Positivity Challenge

I'm sorry but this is about all I can muster up the mental energy to post right now and it has taken me three days to finish it! As I mentioned last week, Scott and I are going through some VERY stressful times. The most stress either one of us has ever been through, and a different kind of stress. For the first time in probably five years, we didn't have a post on a Sunday or Monday and almost didn't have a post today. Usually, when I'm stressed out or busy I can at least find the energy to come up a recipe or workout to share but I literally just can't right now. Nothing seems fitting and everything, EVERYTHING, is just mentally draining.

If you follow us on Instagram, Snapchat (hesheeatclean), or Facebook you may have seen the picture that we posted from hiking Saturday in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We had different plans but they changed so around 11 AM (we normally leave around 5 AM when going to the Smokies) we left to make the three-hour drive to GSMNP. We hiked 11 miles, climbing to the top of Mt LeConte. The hike took around 5 hours and then we ate at Mellow Mushroom in downtown Gatlinburg and finally made the trek back home, arriving back around 12:30 AM. It was a great mental break and even though we spent more time driving than hiking I'm so glad we decided to go.

Top of Mt LeConte in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

To be honest, this entire year has been really difficult. But this period is more difficult than any body image or any other kind of struggle I've experienced before. Some days it just amplifies those other struggles and some days I'm too exhausted to even think about stuff like that. I know this tone is different from our normal posts but I feel the need to be honest. We're all going to go through trying and stressful times and it's just important to always remember that we have no idea what someone else is going through so always take the high road and be nice. Right now I would give anything to just have body image struggles be my issue of the moment. Anyway, I'm hoping that by sharing these inspirational quotes they will help you if you are going through a tough time and also help myself try to remain positive.

So, how does the challenge work?

1. Join us on Instagram (heandsheeatclean) and/or Facebook (@heandsheeatclean). We will be posting a positive quote each day. I'm still working on my favorite quotes but it will be a mixture of body image and just general life quotes. :)
2. Share your own! Tag us and use the hashtag #heandsheeatclean so we can find it!
3. Come back here at the end to see each one we've posted (I will try to add then to this post each day!).

That's it! We are just trying to add a little joy to your day and ours!

Below are all of the positive quotes we shared across our social media channels. We shared these on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. When you are struggling, come back and look at these for a little inspiration!

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

Day 4: "Yesterday ended last night. Today is a brand-new day." - Zig Ziglar

Day 5: "I truly believe that everything that we do and everyone that we meet is put in our path for a purpose. There are no accidents; we're all teachers - if we're willing to pay attention to the lessons we learn, trust our positive instincts and not be afraid to take risks or wait for some miracle to come knocking at our door." - Marla Gibb

Day 6:

Day 7: “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Make Your Morning Routine Stress Free!

If you are like us, you are NOT a morning person. It’s hard to get out of bed when the alarm goes off and instantly be ready to tackle the day. Most people seem to just drag in the mornings and still feel tired even after getting plenty of sleep! Unlike many want to believe, the answer is NOT more caffeine – it’s actually getting quality sleep!

Quality rest/sleep is an important factor to living a healthy lifestyle. Usually once stress is reduced quality sleep follows. For awhile now we’ve been trying different things in order to make our morning routine easier and we wanted to share those with you. Remember, the #MakeYourMove campaign isn’t just about moving, it’s about an entire overall healthy lifestyle!

Some of these might be obvious but try to incorporate everything listed and watch your mornings become much less stressful!

Things to do at night to make your morning routine easier:

• Pick out your clothes for the next day, including your shoes and any accessories
• Pack your food for the day (portion your food from food prep into containers)
• Have a “no electronics policy” one hour before your bedtime – yes, this includes your phone!

You might be wondering how much sleep you should get. As we discussed in this post, research suggests 7-9 hours for the average adult. You may have to adjust your bedtime for a few weeks just to see what your “magic number” is. If you are getting the recommended amount of sleep but still feel tired, it could be time for a new mattress (we didn’t even know Kohl’s sold mattresses online!) or a new mattress topper on your exiting mattress.

If you are still struggling to get quality sleep try these extra tips below:

• Keep a journal by your bed so if you think of anything during the night you can write it down and go back to sleep
• Perform a short yoga/stretching session (try our Yoga Challenge!) before bed (and even again when you wake up)
• Try Sleepytime Herbal Tea

Also remember to take at least 1-2 complete rest days from your exercise routine!

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Kohl's.