The Quickness Sickness: Part 1
The ‘quickness sickness’ isn’t an actual disease or an imminent threat to daily life. I’m not here to sensationalize sicknesses to sell supplements, after all.
More accurately, ‘quickness sickness’ is a catchy phrase that really means: living life at such a fast pace my body is having trouble keeping up, and/or, my body is being physically impacted by the crushing weight of late-stage capitalism constantly trying to pound my joy into dust.
Anyone else?
Does anyone feel sturdy right now in mind, body, community, and bank account? If so, gold star to you, but you gotta know this probably isn’t the post for you.
In a time where income doesn’t keep up with costs, community is hard to create, and social media feeds on our sanity like antibiotic-resistant bacteria, it’s hard to even tell what stress feels like. Still, stress is well-documented to impact all of our body systems and our mental health, but the demands require a higher level of functioning just to survive, let alone thrive.
Are we really built for this?
Bright ray of sunshine today, aren’t I? You might also be wondering, “What the hell does this have to do with nutrition?”
Well, it gets real messy when we try to eliminate foods, spend hundreds on sketchy supplements, or implement a strict diet plan during a stressful time in life.
This is where I meet many, many patients.
If sleep is shit, we’re eating most meals on the go or skipping meals altogether, noticing mood fluctuations, an increase in digestive symptoms, and running into regular cravings, we need to rethink some things. No dietary restriction, mountain of supplements, or superfood combo is going to make the body adapt to an overly-stressful lifestyle long-term. Try as we might.
We need to find pockets of time to slow TF down, strategically and intentionally. If we keep trying to push through an insane schedule, the body can get loud enough with symptoms until we’re slowed down without choice.
Isn’t that annoying, wildly inconvenient news?
It’s basic AF, but think about it. From the time our eyes open till we pass out mid-doom scroll, we’re bombarded with information. We’re trying to get everywhere as fast as possible, sitting in traffic, wrangling children, setting schedules, comparing ourselves to influencers, and feelin’ just plain stressed about covering the basic needs of being a human in 2024.
We don’t have to blame it on gluten (unless diagnosed Celiac or actually allergic), consume weird-tasting powders, or follow an unsustainable plan on top of a full schedule to attain the ultimate “health”.
Please know if you’ve been there, you’re not alone, and I’m not here to preach about how I changed my ways, doing it all right, and you can, too. That’s cringey as hell. I’m on a heavy grind and trying to sort my own things out, don’t worry about it.
But I do work with a lot of people on lifestyle changes and instead of saying, “well here, just make more time for this fucking tedious diet and exercise plan, nbd,” here are some things we do that seem to help:
Don’t. Go. Too. Long. Without. Food: THIS IS HARD, but it doesn’t require perfection. More days out of the week, making sure to not get too hungry. Eating balanced meals/snacks regularly throughout the day supports multiple body systems, stabilizes mood, decreases fatigue, and can decrease evening sweets cravings.
When to Protein: When people talk about how most Americans get too much protein, they often forget to talk about the timing of it. If possible, try to talk with a board-credentialed nutrition professional about how much to aim for in a day because your needs may be different from the general recommendation, but please know that some protein in the morning, within 2-3 hours of waking, benefits most bodies, especially tired, stressed, pregnant, or elderly ones. We’re going to leave that at that for now.
Strategic Snack Locations: Plant protein, fat, and fiber-forward snacks in every location of life (pockets, backpacks, purses, vehicles, taped to your children, wherever). Preventing hanger benefits from forethought and if a packet of peanuts is already there, it’ll provide maybe a few dozen minutes of satiety and blood sugar stabilization till a full meal comes in. Please know I mean snacks that are non-perishable only. Do not be putting fresh fruit in your winter coats and say harsh things to me when you get mushy pockets. Some of my top, prepackaged strategic snack recs are below:
a protein bar
nut, seed, or trail mix packets
peanut butter packets (they exist, look them up, I’m not sponsored)
crunchy chickpeas
crunchy edamame
olive pouches
jerky
Back-up Snack-up Options: Sometimes planning ahead isn’t happening. So it goes! Here are some options for snacks to grab from a convenience store or have around if a fridge is handy throughout the day:
Hard-boiled eggs (and hot sauce, salt/pepper, whatever)
Dips like guacamole, hummus, black bean dip, salsas, and chips, crackers, or vegetables
Olives
Yogurt (unsweetened with mix-ins like fruits or other stuff for blood sugar management)
Lunchmeat (on crackers, with mustard if that’s your thing, or just right into the face from the package)
Cheese and fruit
Nutrition shake
Peanut butter or whatever nut/seed butter with stuff like crackers, fruit/vegetables, bread, etc.
Plan further out: If every day of life is stacked high with to-do’s, adding more to think about might actually be more stressful. If it’s not possible to add in a practice for stress management right now, how about in 3 months? How about in 6? With nutrition we’re always trying to do all the things right away, but we usually have time and the ability to plan further out and/or find someone who can help us do just that.
Strategic Slow Downs: Slowing down doesn’t have to be a full on vacation, a 60-minute or even 20-minute meditation, and it doesn’t have to be more stressful. Our nervous system is hard at work all day, digesting input through all the senses. I regularly collaborate with patients on the smallest ways to pause. For some, it’s closing the eyes and taking a few deep breaths while washing their hands (we use the warm water to trigger the habit). For some, it’s running your hands over the fur of a loving pet and taking a few slow breaths. For some, it’s an exercise we call “the bubble.” When a few minutes are available, closing down the eyes, taking some deep breaths while picturing a bubble forming around you that’s impenetrable to to-do lists, symptoms, challenging emotions, etc. When in the bubble ,none of it can touch you. If the bubble pops, as it does, form it again until you’re at time. Slowing down looks different for everyone.
Is implementing these habits a perfect process? No. Are they the answer to all stress and symptoms? Also no. But they ain’t nothin. And when it comes to slowing down, giving the body a moment to hit the brakes and just be, we’ll take whatever we can get. Even the small attempts add up, especially if we’re talking about digestive issues, or as the kids say these days, “gut health”.
If this all sounds annoying, daunting. and unattainable, but the pace of your life feels unsustainable and the body is showing symptoms, remember: it’s okay to seek help. It’d be great to meet you right where you’re at and streamline making small changes with the big picture in mind for long-term well-being.
