Listen To Your Body. One of Many Light Bulb Moments as I Learn to Live, Eat and Move (and Lift Heavy Things! :)

EPIPHANY TIME: I do not know it all. *gasp*

As you may know, I've been sick this week. I laid in bed almost SOLID (couldn't even sit up without feeling like I would pass out/my head would explode) for two whole days and nights. I didn't feel hungry at ALL and only ate a cup or two of my Greek yogurt each day around mid-afternoon, when I remembered that food existed, and most of the time I slept. Towards the end of day two, I started craving oranges. 

ORANGES??? What? My FIRST ingrained reaction? I told myself I didn't need that many carbs/sugars/whatever because all I had been laying around doing nothing.

Then I realized that I was still in the habit of gut reaction thinking that food was a "treat" or something that I earned. Instead, I listened to my body and asked my husband to get me some oranges... then added in a little bit of a panic, "OR just some Vitamin C!" (Yeah, I'm still not quite there!) 

He replied with, "Oranges, they're better for you."  He knows allll about my brain and my issues with food, so he brought me oranges. Over the next couple of hours, I ate three. THREE. And it was okay, and that was a big deal (yeah, I've struggled for decades with disordered thinking when it comes to food and my body image!).  I savored each one and it was like I'd never even tasted an orange before.  I could almost hear my body saying, "THERE'S what I'm talking about!" :)

Then, when my 15 yo daughter came to me and said, "I'm not feeling well (my same symptoms), I know I HAVE TO eat, but I'm not hungry. What should I eat?" 

I was able to say... "Listen to your body. If you're not hungry, don't eat. Your body knows what it wants. Just rest when you feel tired, and when you're hungry, we'll get you something to eat. Keep water by your bed, keep at least sipping on it and let me know if you need anything." 

I slept through the night and woke up feeling at least half way normal. Yesterday I ate yogurt again, an apple and almond butter, a little bit of steak AND had another orange.  My appetite was back at least a little bit!

And my daughter woke up craving... Oranges. :)

Silly emotions and preconceived notions. Our bodies know what they need. Start listening. Stop blocking that voice because of what you're heard/read or because of what you think you know!

Day #10: Sick Day/Rest Day

So today was supposed to be leg day again.  Both Patrick and I spent the day with runny noses, plenty of sneezing and plenty of Kleenex.

For the good of our health, we took a rest day.

I spent the day resting, boosting my immunse system with liquid vitamin D drops.  I got them from my Chiropractor, mainly for my one child who is in public school to help ward off illness.  He's already used it a few times and it seemed to work wonders at fighting off that feeling of *doom* that you get right before a full blown sickness.

I'm living by this mantra right now (well, this is one of many) And boy, do I feel SORE!

What motivates you?  DO you have a favorite saying?  

I love Pinterest for inspiration.  As silly as it might sound, I find it motivational to peruse for inspirational sayings and motivating photos.  I keep a Pinterest *Fitspiration* board just for that.

If you have an inspirational blog/tumblr/pinterest, please share in the comments, I'd love to follow you... I can never have too much motivation!

Source: fitsugar.com via Byn on Pinterest

Day #3 of my Awesome Transformation: Insomnia, Sore Muscles & PiYo

Insomnia:  I knew that giving up alcohol was going to severely affect my sleep, it always does.  The only question is how long it will keep disrupting my nights.  I don't do well on lack of sleep.  I'm a huge ball of stress and moods whenever I'm lacking sleep.

Last night I wasn't even close to tired until 1:30am.  I finally fell into a fitful sleep around 2:00am.  Just before 4:00, I was up again.  I kept thinking I was hearing noises... I thought maybe the kids left the TV on or someone was outside.  I got up, checked everything, found nothing and stumbled back to bed.  I had a few hours of tossing and turning and finally fell back asleep around 6-7.  I tossed and turned some more and finally woke up at 10:00.  I'm trying to stay positive, but man, I hate not sleeping.  All of that tossing and turning has left me feeling like I was hit by a truck.

Sore Muscles:  I pushed a little too hard with arms on Monday, and my triceps are SO sore that it hurts to bend my arms.  I'm going to go easy on them for a few days and work with PiYo for my core and legs.  I may hit the gym for some more elliptical.  That seems to be the best bet for right now as its easy on my knees.

I started my day with protein (eggs & cottage cheese), ice water, cinnamon capsules, liquid B-12 and my Ionix Supreme... and a lot of ICE water.  So yeah, I'm huddled up on the counch under a blanket with an ice pack on my right elbow, since that's the most sore.

I had PLANNED to do PiYo* today, but the combination of sore, exhausted muscles and hyper emotional self due to nightmares and lack of sleep just wiped me out.  I ended up crashing at 3:30pm and slept hard until 7:30.  My sleep was still plagued with nightmares, though, so even once I woke, I was groggy and feeling upset.  After bursting into tears in the kitchen, Patrick just held me and reassured me that this is common and we'll get through this, too.  I complained that I felt lazy and he said that I needed the rest so that my body can recover and we can hit it hard again tomorrow.

PiYo:  Is a combination of Pilates, Yoga and Ballet.  There are a variety of levels and intensity.  I have some that are more calming and more yoga like, and some that are crazy cardio intense with a lot of movement between poses.  I like them both, but I think today I'm going to keep it low key so my muscles can recover.

I got certified to teach PiYo a year and a half ago and taught for a little while.  I couldn't find a place to teach it, though, and soon my health problems and ensuing depression had me sidelined anyway.  It is a fantastic workout for people with joint issues.  You can take it at your own pace and it builds strength, especially core strength without any impact.

 

It sounds like nothing, even to me, but today all I accomplished was resting, doing two 30 second planks and some stretching.  That's all I had in me.  The difference this time is that I am still staying positive.  This isn't even a set back, its just a rest day.

Hugs to you and I hope you had a wonderful day!