The self care project

[jennor]

Mangio_bene, I think I'll probably need 30 days to correct my intestinal flora after the antibiotics are done anyway. I'll just keep on being good to myself for as long as I can!

[jennor]

I threw together a quick BBQ sauce last night that turned out well.
~8 dates

1 box pureed tomato

splash balsamic vinegar

3 garlic cloves

cumin

paprika

chipotle chili

salt

 

½-1 cup water

 

Give it a good whirl in the mixer until smooth, then add the water and let it cook a short while on the stove.

[jennor]

Day 6 (or -6)

 

Sleep: Not enough. I had that squinty eyed zombie feeling when I stumbled downstairs this morning. I fell asleep while putting the little rascal to bed last night and slept for maybe 30 min. Then of course I wasn't sleepy when it was my bedtime... 6 hours or slightly less.

 

Food:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, veggies hash, nuts, grapes, coffee.

Lunch: 3 big meatballs, roasted parsnip w/ pear and spinach salad, carrots, tapenade and mayo. Piece of pineapple.

Dinner:

 

Exercise: Not yet. Still coughing a bit too much. It is a beautiful day though, so I really wanted to run. Keeping myself in check!

 

I can feel that my intestines are not too happy with the antibiotics. Not like when I had the skin ulcer (that was horrible!), but I have this feeling of churning... I am eating ALL my probiotics, counting down the days and keeping my fingers crossed. If I am ever going to get to lower my dose of immuno suppressants I have to be stable with regards to the colitis!

[jennor]

In the midst of the afternoon slump. Today I am not treating it by eating fruit = elevating blood glucose. Instead I am drinking green tea. Small victories!

[jennor]

I am just going to go ahead and call yesterday -5 instead of 7. I am still eating the antibiotics with lactose in them, and although I don't feel it, I also don't feel that it is a "real" Whole30 when I know I am getting lactose into my system every day. I am still staying compliant though. I may not be super strict with the N snacking-rule until I start over for real on Sunday.

 

Yesterday, day -5 2014 04 29

 

Sleep: I had trouble falling asleep. 6 hours. Tired when I woke up.

 

Food:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, veggie hash, grapes, nuts, coffee.

Lunch: Morroccan fish, veggies, tapenade.

Snack: 2 fruits, handful nuts

Dinner: Grilled salmon, sweet potato wedges, salad, BBQ sauce, nuts and dried berries. De-caf espresso.

Snack: Exessive amounts of dried mullberries.

 

Exercise: Still pain in the chest from the lung infection. Rest!

[jennor]

Day -4 2014 04 30

Sleep: Still having trouble sleeping. Trust me, this is not common for me! I have a lot of things on my mind right now.

Food:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, veggie hash, grapes, coffee

Lunch: Moroccan fish, vegetables, mayo

Snack: orange, grapes at a work function

Dinner: Marinara sauce, veggies. Dried mulberries, double de-caf espresso.

And then some off plan eating. I told myself it wouldn't matter because I was not counting these days because of the antibiotics anyway. Kind of a dumb decision...

Exercise: Still resting.

[jennor]

So, as I alluded to in yesterdays post, I had a moment of craziness and ate ice cream last night. My rational was that since I already was getting a small dose of lactose from the antibiotics, I might as well go wild. Not a good idea. I could feel that my stomach didn't like it, even though it wasn't that much. So I decided to start the Whole 30 already today. I have 3 days left of antibiotics (counting today), but I'll start now anyway. I like the neatness of starting on May 1st!

 

Day 1 2014 05 01

 

Sleep: 8 hours! I am working late today, so I got to sleep in until 7 this morning.

 

Food:

Meal 1: 2 eggs, tomato, coffee with a generous amount coconut milk.

Meal 2: Braised pork, roasted beets, mixed vegetables, olive oil and raspberry vinegar.

Meal 3: Pork chop, piece of chicken thigh, sweet potato wedges, spinach, dipping sauce and BBQ sauce. 1½ orange.

 

3 meals and no snacks, woot woot! I was hungry before dinner, but not too bad. On the other hand I am not running right now and that makes me eat much less than usual.

 

 

Exercise: Still resting and healing the pneunomia. I am feeling like I am almost ready for some activity now though...

[jennor]

Day 2 2014 05 02

I didn't wake up feeling hung-over. I didn't really expect to, since I have been eating so clean with the exception of that stupid ice cream two days ago. It is acctually a huge difference in how I feel eating this way compared to how I felt a year ago in a standard diet. My stomach is so much happer, I almost never have any stomach pain, I haven't had an UC flare since July... I could go on, but you know what I mean. This is how humans were ment to eat. This is food as medicine.

I had a talk with my gastroenterologist earlier this week and my white blood cells are too low. No wonder I have been sick non-stop this winter. I am now lowering the dose of immune suppressants by 25% and we will see how that goes. I'd love to be able to stay healthy, so I am super motivated to keep working on this self care project.

Sleep: 8.5 hours? I fell aspeep when putting my youngest to bed (she took FOREVAH to fall asleep) and woke up to brush my teeth, pack for today and then went back to sleep. Little one was up for a while in the middle of the night too, so I am not sure how much I slept but I feel rested and happy. Sleep is therapy.

Food:

Meal 1: 3 eggs, sweet potato wedges (low on veggies at home, need to grocery shop), de-caf latte w/ generous helping coconut milk, doube espresso.

Meal 2: Grilled beef, baked cauliflower, salad, "Louisiana flavored" mayo based sauce. Small slice of melon. An orange.

Meal 3: Grilled beef, piece of sausage, sweet potato "fries", mayo, salad. De-caf. Dried mango.

Exercise: Resting, still resting...

[jennor]

My coworkers are eating carrot cake. I love carrot cake. I just had a vision of me grabbing the cake and running for the hills.

 

I can laugh about it now, but I used to be such a slave to carrot cake.

[almcc]

Hi - just now coming out of my surgery stupor. Surgery went great. Eating well - not so great. Still have a mean sugar dragon. Will be back to day 1 tomorrow.

Happy day!

[jennor]

Day 3 2014 05 03

Day 3, and I am still supposed to feel hung over, according to the time line. I feel fine. Happy and calm.

Sleep: 7 hours. Little one woke at 6.

Food:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, bacon, sweet potato/onion/apple hash, last of the spinach, spicy dipping sauce, coffee with coconut milk

Lunch: Beef, half a sausage, sweet potato hash, mayo, a carrot (really, the only vegetable we had left!), coffee, few pieces dried mango

Dinner: Beef, sweet potato hash, fresh mango-avocado salsa, spinach/tomato/strawberry salad. Dipping sauce.

Exercise: intensive gardening?

[jennor]

Ashley, good to hear that surgery went well! And welcome back to the self care project tomorrow! Today is my last day on the (lactose containing) antibiotics, so in a way it will be my first really clean day too. I decided to start on May 1st anyway. Easier to keep track of the days that way! Let's do this!

[jennor]

Day 4 2014 05 04

Sleep: 6-ish hours. I woke up really early even when I didn't have to for some stupid reason. Would have needed a few hours more.

Food:

Breakfast: 2 fried eggs, veggie hash, bacon, spinach

Lunch: 1.5 burger patties, homemade BBQ sauce and mayo, wrapped in lettuce leaves and served with sweet potato "fries" and spinach.

Dinner: Beef, 1/2 burger patty, sweet potato "fries", mayo, grilled aubergine and bell peppers w/ olive oil. Grilled pineapple. De-caf.

Exercise: My first run in over a week! 6.4 km (4 mi) easy with the little one in the running stroller and the older one biking next to us.

Today was hard. My husband injured the meniscus in his right knee and ended up in the emergency room. He is scheduled for surgery tomorrow. But he is in a lot of pain. I feel so bad for him, and at the same time I have no time to feel anything because I am taking care of two kids, an immobile husband, my mother and her fiancé. Yes, my mum and her fiancé are here. Daycare/preschool is closed tomorrow, so she will watch the young 'uns.

Feeling a bit hungry but I am already almost an hour past my bedtime. I'll go to bed instead.

[jennor]

Day 5

Sleep: 5-6 hours. I was stressing out because of my husbands injury and surgery and how to keep our life running for a weekor so. I don't know if he'll be able to drive for example... Anyway, little one was coughing a lot and that woke her up 4-5 times during the night. Then she wet the bed. Not a very good night for either of us.

Food:

Breakfast: 3 boiled eggs, sweet potato/aubergine/onion/apple hash. A few grapes. Espresso + regular coffee.

Lunch: Grilled chicken, vegetables and sallad. Big handful mixed nuts. Serving mixed fruit.

Dinner: Grilled chicken, sweet potato, cauliflower, mayo, sallad. Bowl of blueberries. Handful nuts.

Exercise: No time.

I am so frustrated. I felt like we were just starting to get back on our feet after the pneumonia and being sick non-stop this winter. I figured "Hey, summer is coming, things will get easier from here on. I'll get my white blood cells up a bit, we can be outdoors more and the kids will be healthier too." Then, smack, another set-back. It is just hard.

The husband was in so much pain last night. I found him crying with pain in the kitchen, trying to make himself a sandwich. My mum is here, but that is really just additional work. She was sitting with her fiancé watching TV, not even noticing that he was in severe pain and hungry. She totally focused on her lover boy, not interested in helping out or even finding out how we are doing. Well, at least she can (probably) take the kids to daycare/preschool tomorrow, so I can work. But she is not enthusiastic about that... I am getting dizzy just thinking about the logistics on how to get family life to function with just me on my feet. I just don't know what to do. I hope the recovery time from a meniscus surgery is really short.

Sorry to be such a downer. I need to find something I can do for myself even within this framework. I need to continue the self care project. I'll figure it out. It'll be ok.

[jennor]

I realized I really feel like KILL ALL THE THINGS. If I had a punching bag in my office and an ounce of extra energy I'd beat that sucker to pieces today. Right on the time line! I don't think I can blame the Whole30 diet though, more life and circumstances.

[almcc]

Hi jennor - I'm sorry to hear about your husband's injury. I know you will get through this very trying time - is there anyway to make it easier? Do you have someone you can ask to help? Is it possible to pay someone to help just for a bit? Just to do some bit of it - go grocery shopping or something. I had a really bad period where I still had to do all my usual stuff. I ended up hiring someone from a service to pick up my dd and take her to her after school activities just once a week - that 4 hours was a life saver.

Take care.

[jennor]

Hi Ashley, how are you doing?

Good suggestions. I will look into finding someone to help with daycare pick ups for example. Such services are pretty expensive, at least through the nanny firms, so I think I need to find a college student or something similar.

The husband is on sick leave for four weeks! FOUR! WEEKS! No driving until he can walk without crutches. I feel so incredibly frustrated I just want to cry. Or scream. I am trying SO hard to not be angry with him for being injured. I know it sounds terrible, but that's how I feel. He broke his toe with the same building project in September and was out for a week and a half. I told him then that we should hire a carpenter to finish the patio instead. But oh noooo, he should do it himself. He was very firm on that. Look how well that turned out! *rant over*

[almcc]

Rant as much as you need. 4 weeks is a long time. Your idea about the college student sounds like a great idea. I hope you find one quick.

I'm on day 2. Battling cravings but am doing ok. Am having terrible hot flashes. And I am bloated. But my digestion is good. All that sugar in the last week didn't do me in.

It's a tricky 2 weeks. Dh's birthday is today. We ate different meals which is ok. Wednesday the dd comes home from college. She is starting to eat better so that will be great. She wants to cook at summer semester so I'm going to send her with well fed and a crock pot. next Monday we leave for NY and my birthday and I'll be off roading. We'll be there 4 days. I'm going to eat my favorites. When I get back I'll start again.

I'm finding that I am over extended and lots of drama keeps showing up in my life. I am going to focus on simplifying in the next month. Not sure what that looks.

Take care.

[mangio_bene]

You deserve to rant, jennor.  Hope things start going more smoothly soon.

[jennor]

Thank you, ladies! I just needed to vent and get some frustration out. He came home from the hospital last night and the surgery went well. It is a long recovery, but we'll make it work. The most important thing is for him to really rest the knee now, and not push it. Then we risk that it won't heal and we'll be back at square one. So, rest it is.

 

I am really proud of myself for not treating yesterday as a reason to dive head first into chocolate. That would just have made me feel miserable. Acctually I am doing pretty good with the 3-meals thing now. It is probably related to the fact that I am not running, though. It is much easier to stick with 3 meals and no snacks when I am less hungry. I haven't found a way to get the pre- and post WO meals to really work with my schedule, but if/when I am back to running that is something I'll try to optimize.

 

Day 6 2014 05 06

 

Sleep: 7-ish. I feel more rested than yesterday. I just replied to a post in the Ladies Only forum on sleep for mothers. In short, it is a constant compromise. I do feel that I feel much better when I get 8 or even 9 hours. I just can't make that work most nights right now.

 

Food:

Breakfast: 3 eggs, veggie hash, a few grapes, coffee.

Lunch: Buffet: piece of salted lemon baked cod, piece of veal, vegetables, salad, olive oil and elderflower vinegar, handful toasted coconut, serving fruit.

Dinner: grilled beef, fried egg, veggie hash, salad, mayo, handful dried mango and mullberries. De-caf latte (coconut milk)

 

Exercise: (I refuse to give up hope on being able to fit this in somehow, just not sure HOW.)

 

Day 6 today, and the daily email is about sleep. How fitting, since that has been on my mind all morning! Dallas and Melissa, are you somehow inside my head?

I think we have finally found a routine that leaves me and DH with a bit of time to clear the table, pack breakfast or even relax/read/surf the web: Let the the kids relax with a movie for a little while before bed. Yeah, I know about no artifical light before bed time. But this is about survival, people!  In order for me to get some more sleep I think I need to be able to have some relaxation even before the kids are in bed and we are "done" for the day.

[jennor]

Ashley, I am thinking a lot about how to simplify to. Here are some things I will try:

 

• At my job there are two great restaurants where I can order take-out and I will be doing that more, to save some time on coking dinner. I can get glutenfree and milk protein free, then I eat what I can and compliment with additional stuff like sweet potato at home.
• Cleaning service. Window cleaning service. Also trying to find a baby sitter that won't cost a fortune.
• My in-laws will take the kids for a night at the end of May and DH are going to a Spa hotel. That will be the first time in almost 6 years that he and I are both away together. I plan on getting a massage.

 

Hmm, simplification is expensive. Everything that makes life easier costs money!

 

Your birthday trip to NY sounds like so much fun! I have never been there, but I will go one day, preferably on a trip just my DH and I. Of course you should off road there. I would too!  And then you'll start over sometime around the 16th?

[almcc]

Hello - so glad the surgery went well. Will he have to do physical therapy?

Some relaxation before the babes' bedtime sounds wonderful. And necessary. When my dd was little - I set up a similar end of day routine. It saved me - I'm an introvert and after a full day of working and mothering - I reached a limit around 8 pm. We have to figure out what works for us. I forget that - even now with the dd gone.

I love your solutions to simplify life. I guess it does cost money. But I think in the long run it will help with the stress and well being!!!!

I've been trying to figure out what I can do too. It seems like there's always one thing after another going on. I think I need a change of mindset. All the things I take care of for my family is my job - but I can get resentful and overwhelmed. Mostly because I have little time to work on my jewelry right now. And every task seems like it should be easy and it's not. I do know that eating well makes all this more manageable 😀. Maybe I need to return to a schedule and make part of everyday for family tasks, another part for jewelry, another part for relaxation. Then I have to stick to it. That is the hard part.

Almost forgot - congratulations for not falling into the chocolate!!!!!

[jennor]

Ashley, the tasks of runnnig a family are the most overwhelming ones! It seems it is always short notice, put-out-fire type things coming from left field. There are no planned breaks, very little positive feedback and most of the work is not very "visual" to your stake holders (family members). I felt overwhelmed a lot when I was a SAHM. And then I felt guilty for feeling overwhelmed and impatient. For me it is easier to work, and to have a daily move between the work place and the home because the challenges are so different. And after a long weekend or holiday I will admit that I long to go back to work because in a way it is easier - more predictable, more praise, the possibility to go to the bathroom with the door closed...

[jennor]

Day 7 2014 05 07

 

Day 7! It is 4 days without the antibiotics, and I am leaning towards doing a Whole 34 to get 30 "clean" days. We'll see though. Today's email was about celebrating the first week, and not doing it with food. I am thinking I'll celebrate by ordering a few books online tonight.

 

Sleep: Around 7 hours. I still feel kind of groggy and stressed.

 

Food:

Breakfast: 3 eggs, veggie hash, red grapes, 2 coffee

Lunch: Garlic roasted chicken, chicken livers, grilled bell peppers and artichokes in olive oil, veggies and salad. Serving melon.

Dinner: Left-over steak, a fried egg, veggie hash, guacamole, sliced up raw vegetables with lemon/olive oil. De-caf with coconut milk. Dried mango.

 

Exercise: I probably won't have time, but darn, I really wish I could... (ETA: Didn't manage to fit it in)

[Beets]

We just had a long period where my husband was working crazy hours. He had to wake up at five and was sleeping on the couch so he didn't wake us up in the am. That meant I had the kids for 24 hours--no relief. It was brutal but he was working on the 9/11 museum, leaving at 5 and getting home at 7, 8 and then 10pm. On his feet all day. I felt like I couldn't complain but it was serious torture.

When he was home on the weekends, he was so tired he had to nap and when he was wake he was crabby. I'm usually home w them but he will get home in time to put them to bed or help get them out the door, deal with nightmares, etc.

So I totally get your frustration with your husband's injury!