On February 2 we will celebrate Groundhog Day, 2022. Will the groundhog see its shadow, run back into the ground and spring will be delayed 6 weeks OR will the groundhog stay outside the hole and we are fortunate to have an early spring?
Actually, when I hear the term ‘Groundhog Day” I immediately think of the classic movie comedy starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell. As you may remember, Bill Murray’s character, an arrogant television weatherman, begrudgingly covers the Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney, PA. However, he gets trapped in some sort of time warp where he wakes up every day back to the same day and this repeats over and over and over again.
The Covid experience, for many, has resulted in a sort of “Groundhog Day” existence. We wake up, go to work, stress about what impact Covid will have on our work/kids’ schooling, stream television shows at night, go to sleep and awake the next day and the next to the same scenario. We sort of feel “stuck” in some sort of pattern like the “rinse, wash, spin, rinse, wash, spin” cycles of a washing machine.
How does the above scenario impact our weight control efforts? I believe the answer is: VERY MUCH. When we get “stuck” in certain routinized behaviors, this will also apply to what we eat, drink and snack on. Boredom and stress will have us reaching for high caloric, crunchy, high sugar food/snack sources and/or reach for alcohol to calm us down and aid sleep. This pattern will of course derail any chance of successful weight control.
Try to “change up” your routinized behaviors to inject a sort of “newness” to your life. This can be as simple as having a “board game” night as opposed to sitting in front of the tube, creating new dishes from fun recipes or picking up a new hobby.
Concerning weight control, if the scale seems stuck at a number you are not happy with, you CANNOT “Groundhog Day” your patterns of eating/drinking behaviors. You must change this up, i.e. follow our dietary plan much more rigidly.
Enjoy the movie trailer from Groundhog Day