The self-care project (A post-W14 study)

[almcc]

jennor

Last night was very stressful - the result of my husband working 4 weeks straight with no end in sight. Anyway I "stress ate" pb and j. Feeling pookie today. My plan is to stay on track and to have my planned date night with dessert.

Used the sleep app again. Never reached deep sleep but the app said it was better than the 1st night. Interesting.

Not going to do Pilates today. I realized by watching my daughter that I often try to squeeze too many things in. She does the same. So we decided we would just do a few errands this morning and not rush around like crazy people. Also maybe then I will feel ok to do yoga with her again on Monday.

Happy weekend!!

[jennor]

Ashley - oh oh, that is not a lot of deep sleep. You are right, no wonder you are tired. Is it the doggie waking you up, or is it you? Not running around like crazy people sounds like a wise plan. I know Melissa has some rule that she doesn't workout unless she has had at least 5 hours of sleep, otherwise she thinks rest is more important. When is your date night? When you have dessert, do you have what every you like, or do you still stay away from certain things (like gluten and milk for example)? I am asking because I find it so difficult finding dessert out at restaurants that is semi-compliant but still worth it. I tend to either go all out and suffer the consequences or skip it all together.

 

So, back from the weekend! This weekend was pretty centered around sorting through the damaged stuff in the basement. Ugh, it was not fun. At least we got some other fun stuff done too. We ate out Friday night and I went to the chocolate store and bought some good 70% chocolate. One bar with mint, one regular. They cost an arm and a leg, so I am not sharing with the rest of the family. They eat milk chocolate anyway.  I had chocolate after putting the kids to bed Friday and Saturday, and it didn't bother my tummy at all.

 

I got up early to run before the kids woke up both days, and I managed to get a long run in on Saturday (27.5 km , 17 mi) and a recovery run (9.6 km, 6 mi) on Sunday. I was tired afyer the long run and kind of wished I could nap. But since neither kids nap anymore there was no chance of that.  <-yawn

 

I stayed on track with my eating, and my stomach felt good all weekend. Makes me happy!  I think I got around 6 hours sleep Friday night and a little more Saturday. I have made a point of going up to our bedroom after putting the kids to bed, because it is very relaxing and it makes me less likely to eat random stuff and stay up too long. Instead I get all ready for bed and then I just turn out the light when sleepiness hits. I still avarged less than 7 hours for last week, and that was a good week for me, sleep wise. Clearly I have not slept enough in a long time.

 

I also contacted a girl looking for babysitting jobs and she is coming for an informal interview next Saturday. We hope she can pick up the kids from kinder/school one day per week, feed them and entertain them until bedtime, when we put tehem to bed. That would give us a night out to either run with a running club or just go out for dinner. Fingers crossed this works out (and is not crazy expensive)!

 

Today, 11 08 2014

 

Sleep: I went to bed early last night but slept crappy. Little one woke up at least 3 times. I had trouble falling back to sleep and spent 1½ hour or so awake. Tired today, so I will go to bed early again. Today i had to get up 5-5:20, tomorrow I can sleep in until 5:40-6:00.

 

Food:

Post WO: Egg, coffee.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, tomatoes, big handful trail mix, coffee.

Lunch: Tri tip steaj, piece of duck breast, big salad, ½ potato, handful grapes, nuts.

Dinner: Small pork chop, chorizo link, sweet potato-veggie hash, big salad, piece of watermelon.

Lots of ice cream <-I went crazy after the kids went to bed. Little sleep = poor food choices. Suffered a tummy ache all night long. I need to remember that ice cream really very rarely is worth the price my body pays.

 

Exercise: I ran to the car pool meet-up this morning, 7.4 km (4.6 mi), then went for a quick lifting session in the gym. I ate my first egg between the run and the gym. My back feels very good, despite being challenged with a long run and doing today's run with a backpack. Will run to kinder pick-up and home, so 5.5 km (3.4 mi) later today. Total: 8 mi

[jennor]

12 08 2014

 

Eww, stressful day today! Everything is ramping up at work again. Sometimes I feel like I only have two gears; I either putter along or it is full speed ahead.

 

Sleep: Just over 7 hours. Little one kept me awake for an hour at 3 am. I feel ok. Caffeinated, though.

 

Food:

Breakfast: 3 eggs, nuts, tomatoes, peach, coffee.

Lunch: Malaysian fish stew, lots of veggies. Handful toasted coconut and dried cranberries.

Handful trail mix, some random candies I didn't even like, they were just there.

Dinner: Porkchop, potato/aubergine/onion hash, salad w/ the usual fixings tomato, avocado, bellpepper and peach.

Small ice cream. Chocolate and some other candies.

 

Exercise: Easy day today. I am planning on running to Kinder to pick up the kids. It'll be around 4.5 km.

 

I want sugar! I feel like a my two year old right now.

[almcc]

Hi jennor

I hope work levels out. Is that possible? I feel the same - 2 gears.

Yesterday was jam packed with work - I had to give a big presentation. And finish and deliver an important piece of jewelry. All went well but the stress. Ack. I started off the day eating well and then I went off roading. Not good. I slept ok - on the couch. 4 hours of deep sleep which feels pretty great.

So I've been stress eating. For several days and I feel pretty yucky. This morning I'm recommitting to 1 off road meal per week. Will be cooking lots today. The combo of being stressed and unprepared is not good.

Meal 1: eggs, sp, avo whatever I can find in the fridge.

jennor - the babysitter sounds wonderful. I hope this first one is a great match.

Happy day!!

[jennor]

Ashley, glad you got some good sleep, at last! Those hours in deep sleep makes a big difference, I think. On nights when I have been woken up a lot and don't get as much deep sleep I feel more tired during the day. And like you said, that and stress leads to bad desicions... I had some of those yesterday too. But today is a new day. What kind of jewelry do you make?

 

Wednesday 13 08 2014

 

Sleep: Slept pretty well, 7h 24min with just over 4h in deep sleep. Little one woke once and then again around 6, when she was up for the day.

 

Food:

Breakfast: 3 eggs, coffee, grapes and a donut peach (I was on the go)

Lunch:

Dinner:

 

Exercise: I am thinking I should run some intervals tonight. I just need to keep the momentum and not crash into a tired coma after dinner... Fingers crossed.

[almcc]

jennor

This sleep thing is terrible. I honestly don't know if I want to know how bad I sleep. I didn't have a good night and the graph shows it. No deep sleep at all. I'm on a mission now to figure out how to improve!!! I ate well yesterday. Plus I had some 80% chocolate which was wonderful. Going to the movies tonight with a friend. Will stay on track and eat at a reasonable time.

How is your monitor thingie? I did not buy one yet.

Going to work out - will have a late meal 1. But I am stocked up on sp and kale!!

Here's to less stress!

[almcc]

Well I am wearing my new Up24. Sleep is still bad - but I know it is because of my eating. Today is a new day!

[jennor]

Ashley, congrats on getting the Up24, it is a fun little toy! I am wearing mine too. In fact, it just buzzed for me to get up and walk a little (I've been sedentary for 15 min) so I'll do that soon. I love the little remainders! I also really like the alarm feature. It wakes me up comfortable and without disturbing the family. Plus, I am more active now that I am tracking my steps. I can see that walking while on the phone makes a difference because it really adds up.

I had another bad day the day before yesterday, where I got into the pile of candy my husband bought. I told him I didn't want it at home, so he kindly took it into work the day after. He'll probably take it home over the weekend, but I am ok with some good chocolate Friday-Saturday, just not all week long.

Yesterday was a good day. Our kitchen is still out of operation since it is full of furniture from the dining room and living room. We had the floors sanded and oiled in the rooms we are renovating there, and crammed everything into the kitchen area. It's a mess, but it is temporary and the floors look amazing. Today we can put the furniture back, and we hope to have the rooms finished by the end of the weekend. So, for lack of kitchen we bought pizza and ate in the sun by a playground. I got the glutenfree one without cheese, and it works with my tummy, plus I like it better than "normal" pizza.

My running streak is alive and well, today was day 10. I think it would be so cool if I could do 100 days! I need to keep track on the numbers, so I'll start counting them here.

Streak day 10, 15 08 2014

Sleep: I went to bed early. I got hit by sleepiness at 9 pm and fell asleep shortly after. I slept really well and woke up before my alarm at 4:55. I almost didn't know what to do with all that time in the morning!

Food:

Breakfast: Chicken liver sauteed with onion and apple, cauliflower "rice". Small donut peach. Coffee. (Ran out of eggs.) We have a morning meeting with breakfast but I won't be able to eat anything since the Danes eat mostly bread and croissants with jam and cheese for breakfast. Might have some fruit instead. (ETA No fruit.)

Lunch: BBQ ham, oven baked potato wedges, salad, melon.

Dinner: Same as lunch, plus 1/2 avocado and 2 tbs mayo. In ice cream. (Verdict: Not tasty enough, not worth it.) 70% chocolate. (Worth it!!!)

Exercise: 8.1 km (5 mi) before work. I was doing strides (short sprints) at the parking lot where we meet up for the commute into work and a lady walked passed me. She probably thought I was crazy, sprinting back and forth on an empty parking lot at 6 am. I will run the kinder pick-up also, so just over 8 mi for the day.

[almcc]

Day 10!!!!  Congratulations. That is fabulous!  I bet you can do 100 days!!  Do you want to do a Up24 challenge?  I cannot do 100 days of running but I could do something.  I get about 2200 steps on my slow days. I'm going to shoot for 4000 today and see what that takes.  Are you logging your runs into it?  I'm going to add my workout and see what happens.

 

Sleep was so much better last night.  Geek that I am- I am using both the Up24 and the sleep app. Getting to sleep close to 10 seems to be key for me. I was up before the alarms    went off today.

 

Yesterday I stayed on track - food wise. except for the plantain chips.

Meal 1: eggs, kale, sp, coffee

Meal 2: chicken, okra

Meal 3: pork chop, carrots, onion, peppers

 

Today I will start eating late.  And I need to cook because I have the farmers market tomorrow. And I'm sat right next to the croissant baker!  I plan on eating one but not 3!!

 

Happy day!!

[jennor]

Oh no, next to the croissants! Having just one sounds like a good compromise.

I am up for an UP challenge! I got 3000 on a regular workday, no exercise. I do wear it when I run, and it makes up the majority of my steps. On days I just run 2 km to keep the streak I get around 5000 steps. So I think I can do 5000 steps/day. I am in!

I just hope and pray that there are less aggressive Kindergarden germs this year. I remember last winter being a fog of one sickness after the other and that killed the streak I had going then.

Streak day 11 2014 08 16

Sleep: 6h 48 min I slept ok, but my husband didn't and he woke my up with his tossing. I would love a nap but the kids don't nap anymore, so that's not going to happen.

Food:

PreWO: 3 eggs, coffee with a tbs coconut cream

Breakfast/ post-WO: 2 egg whites (mayo leftovers), 2 eggs, mixed salad, 2 potato wedges, coffee.

Lunch: Leftovers; Grilled ham, piece leftover rib, 2 potato wedges, mixed salad, mayo.

Dinner:

Exercise: 27.5 km (17 mi) run. It felt really good, stronger than last week despite more wind.

[almcc]

Hi. How about 500000 steps in your 100 days? Would that work? I'm behind but I can make it up somehow. What date would that be? Then we can celebrate your running streak and 1/2 million steps.

I did ok yesterday. Ate what I wanted including some compliant food. Got some great veg at the market. And some nut cheese. Today I got rid of the leftover treat. Very proud of myself. Going to try some different good this week. Have to go browse the cookbooks and then shop.

Happy day!

[almcc]

Hi

Took yesterday off. Barely made 1000 steps. Need to rethink what it means to have a rest day. Maybe it could include some movement?!?!

Went for a 1.5 walk this morning. And out running lots of errands. Already completed 5000 steps. Woohoo!!!

Happy day!!

[jennor]

Sorry I have been MIA. We were hit with a bad stomach flu Sunday and the entire family has been down and out. I got back to work yesterday and was of corse swamped from missing 3 days. Still am, but I need a mental break for 10 min and I am between meetings right now...

 

Anyway, yes, 5000 steps per day seems reasonable, I could do that! I only got in 700 the day I was super sick, which was Tuesday. Since then I have been above 5000. I think that puts me on day 3 today.

 

The running streak took a hit too with the flu. I could barely walk down the stairs, so limping 2 km was not an option. But I have decided that with small kids and a limited amount of white blood cells I think I need to allow sick days. I will still do 100 days, but I will exclude days when I am so sick there is no way I could even briskly walk 2 kilometer. Excluding 2 days for that I am on day 15 today. I am adding this little exceptioon because I hate to feel totally demoralized and mourn a good number of streak days for things that are pretty much out of my control. I will not take days off for other reasons. Running 2 km takes me around 10 min, and I should be able to squeeze that in on even the busiest of days.

 

Yesterday:

Sleep: Just over 6 hours. I couldn't fall asleep. I was stressing a bit about going back to work after missing 3 days. Despite the short night I wasn't tired during the day.

 

Food:

Breakfast/ post-WO: 3 eggs, two handfulls cocktail tomatoes, a plum. Coffee.

Lunch: Buffée food; big salad topped with some salmon and 2.5 handmade salsiccas.

Snack: Chocolate. A few squares while watching the rain. It was kind of nice.

Dinner: 2 eggs, some bacon, salad, a few sweet potato "fries", spicy dipping sauce.

Snack: De-caf and a few more squares of chocolate before bed.

 

Exercise: 16500 steps. 7.4 km run before work, 5.5 km to pre-school pick-up. 20 min weights + 10 min stretching.

 

Today:

 

Sleep: 7.5 hours. I love seeing the bars of deep sleep and light sleep on the graph in the Jawbone app. I have very regular blocka of 50-55 min deep sleep with shorted blocks of lighter sleep through the night.

 

Food:

Breakfast/post-WO: 3 eggs, a yellow bell pepper, a plum, coffee.

Lunch: Big pile of salad/mixed vegetables, a chicken breast, shrimp cevishe, some melon. A few squares dark chocolate from a colleague. De-caf.

 

Exercise: 7.4 km before work. Maybe I'll run to pre-school and school pick-up too, haven't decided yet. It depends on laziness and weather conditions...

[almcc]

Hi

jennor - that is so great that you are including sick days. It does not do us any good to be harsh towards ourselves.

It's been an interesting few days.

Food - I've had moments of binging on sweets. Ack. I am frustrated that I go there when I'm stressed. I can distantly remember that when I'm taking care of myself stress doesn't affect me the same way. So my plan is to hang in there till I get the daughter to school tomorrow. Shop and cook Tuesday or Wednesday. Start a whole 30 Wednesday. I feel like I need to do a whole 1000 or something. Moderation does not work yet.

I have been doing great with steps. I'm on day 11. I have done 46171 in 10 days. Which is a big big win!!!! My goal is to have 100000 on day 20.

This is how I feel waking up today -

Headache, stuffy nose, joints stiff and some hurt, bloated, neck and back irritated, and I'm angry at myself.

I've been listening to a Pema Chodron book while I walk. I'm trying to practice what she's talks about when she says move closer to or be curious about what is causing suffering. And I'm trying to remember that the habit I have (eating sweets) which I think brings happiness actually causes more suffering.

I am trying to remember all of this is a process. Today I am going to practice compassion towards myself.

Here's to taking care of ourselves.

[jennor]

Some very good thoughts, Ashley. I think you are right in that we are very quick in pushing our suffering away, as in choosing not to think about it. Being mindful of it and getting to know our pain might acctually be what would help us heal it.

 

Oh and I do the same thing with sugar and stress or not enough sleep. It is very frustrating. You would think that I should have learned by now that ice cream = short relief and relaxation, followed by tummy ache and not feeling well. But when I look back to how a little over a year ago I didn't even know this about my body.

 

I have been feeling pretty well. I had a bit too much chololate over the weekend and ended Sunday with a poorly composed dinner because we were late with grocery shopping. Planning, planing... I am starting to get my appetite back, but I also didn't feel like eating much last week after the stomach bug. We ate mostly eggs for a few days after...  Saturday my husband and I ran a 10K together, which was a lot of fun. Sunday the entire family went for a run by the sea. Youngest DD in the running stroller and older DD was on her little bike. She was such a trooper, she biked over 10K that day!

 

Yesterday I had a thing with work in the evening. It is this 5K race with teams of five where you take turns running your 5K and hand over the baton to the next runner etc. It was very crowded, so more of a fun run that an acctual race. But it was great fun! There was food, but I swear all of it was gluten!  I had planned ahead (go me!) and brought 3 eggs, fruit and nuts so I survived. But it was a late evening and I was tired when my lovely Jawbone buzzed me up at 5:25 this morning...

 

Streak day 19 2014 08 26

 

Sleep: 6h 30 min. My body wanted more, but I came home late and had a hard time relaxing and falling asleep fast enough. Will try to have an early night tonight!

 

Food:

Breakfast: 3 eggs, a couple of tomatoes, a few nuts, coffee.

Lunch: Asian style mackerel, asian meat balls, steamed cabbage, lots of mixed salad and veg, vinegrette, a few nuts and olives.

Pre-WO: 2 eggs

Dinner: Spied-up bolognese sauce with aubergine/sweet potato/onion hash.

A few squared 70% chocolate

 

 

Exercise: My car is being serviced, so I ran to the car pool meet-up. Legs are a bit tired. Tonight I am training with a running club I will probably join. It will be intervals. My legs will be tired going into it. Planning on very easy days on Wednesday and Thursday. ETA: the running club was a lot of fun! We had to leave to releave the baby sitter, so we didn't have time to finish all the intervals in the work-out. Will try to get the sitter for an extra hour next week, so we can stay the full WO. 20500 steps.

[jennor]

Streak day 20 2014 08 27

 

I have a cold. My nose is all stuffed up and I just want to crawl under the covers.

 

Sleep: 7h 10 min. I didn't sleep so well, I feel like I dreamt a lot and was a bit uncomfortable. Probably becasue of the cold. I will go to bed early and aim for at least 8 hours of sleep tonight.

 

Food:

No appetite today, due to the cold. I am just forcing food down in an attempt to keep my energy up.

Breakfast: 3 eggs, tomato, coffee.

Lunch: 2 bowls of carrot soup, a small beef tartare, a shot of freshly sqeezed raspberry/pear juice.

Snack: handfull grapes, trail mix, coffee

Dinner: Pork chop, aubergfine/sweet potato/onion hash, spinach, spicy dipping sauce.

 

Exercise: Nah. However, I will do a short streak run unless I get worse. Nothing more than that, and at a very easy pace. ETA: I did get in 2.7 km (1.6ish mi) of easy jogging around the park after dinner. It was a lovely evening, and so nice to get some easy movement in once I managed to overcome inertia and off the couch.

7500 steps.

[almcc]

jennor - hope your cold goes away soon.

 

Got the child moved into college yesterday.  It took all day - so my food was off.  But I got tons of steps in.  Today I have been exhausted and I have lots of meetings.  I am home now - ordering food in. And curling up on the couch.

 

Tomorrow I have breathing room and will shop and cook.  And eat well. And walk. 

 

[jennor]

Ashley, have you watched Melissa's presentation on stress and diet on the Whole9 blog? I am watching it right now and it looks interesting. I really believe the connection is stronger between stress -> diet than cravings -> diet for me. I'll let you know what I think once I have watched the whole thing.

 

Glad everything worked out with getting DD off to college. It must be such a change! Here the kids don't usually go away for college, but I imagine it would be a pretty stressful time in life for both parents and child. Take care of yourself!

 

Streak day 21, 2014 08 28

 

So, as of today I have left my 30's behind and entered my 40's! And it feels good. I get asked a lot if it is traumatic, but I don't feel like it is at all. Every year I feel I get more comfortable in my own skin. I feel calmer, more happy with what I have been given and/or worked hard to attain in life. I have two fantastic daughters, a husband I love very much, a job I love, a house that I love (despite it's need for renovations). I feel more secure in who I am, and more apt to let others be who they are. Really, so far getting older has just had its advantages.

This 40 year crisis people are talking about - I think it is a great chance of focusing on reclaiming a little bit of myself. I have been so wrapped up in being a mother for the past 6 years, and now I want to have some time to grow "me" again - train with a running club once a week, spend time with my husband, spend time growing friendships with other women etc. If that is the famous 40 year crisis, then I am all for everyone having them!

 

Sleep: 7h 30min. I went to bed early, but my husband wa reading in bed and I didn't fall asleep until he finally turned off the lights. Slept well, but this cold is still making me more tired than usual.

 

Food:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, tomatoes, some 70% birthday chocolate , coffee.

 

Exercise: Just a short run to keep the streak.

[almcc]

Happy Birthday!!!!!! I hope you are having a wonderful day! 40 is fabulous in all the ways you describe. It keeps getting better!!

Happy Day!!!!!!!

[jennor]

Ashley, how are you doing?

I am feeling a bit blah from too much celebratory chocolate and some grain-related off-roading. Today is a new day, and I have decided it really IS a new day, a new start. My body is telling me to take better care of myself. So I will keep it clean the next few days. No going crazy with nuts and dried fruit either, just good paleo food.

 

The weekend was amazing. I highly recommend being a tourist in a city you know well (we used to live there up until 20 months ago). Friday we spent with the kids, going to a huge playground and the zoo. Then we left them at my mum's and checked into a fancy hotel downtown. It was sooo relaxing to be able to spend time with just my husband. We ran in the park next to where we used to live, ate out at our favourite restaurants and shopped for some of the shoes etc we lost in the flooding of our basement 4 weeks ago. I had a bit of a cold, but it was ok since we took it pretty easy all weekend.

 

Then on Sunday we came home to another flooding. Our city was hit really hard by a LOT of rain, and almost all the roads were closed off. Cars were floating away, people were out in boats, it was crazy. We managed get home on small roads and yes, our basement was flooded AGAIN.  This time it was more or less completely empty, so it is just to get a cleaning crew in there again, and start over with the dehydration equipment. I won't waste any energy being frustrated over it, I did that 4 weeks ago. Now I just want to focus on all the happy things in my life and deal with negativity and challenges on a step-by-step basis.

 

Streak day 24, 2014 09 01

 

Sleep: 7h 5 min. I could probably try to get another 30 min or so, but I really feel ok on 7 hours these days.

 

Food:

Breakfast: 3 eggs, 1 red bellpepper, ½ handfull trail mix, coffee

Lunch: A few pieces sole, grilled ham, some root vegetables, lots of different salads, apple vinegrette, a plum.

Snack: 2 eggs before the running club

Dinner: 2.5 chorizo links, big salad w/ spinach/red bellpepper, ½ avocado and a peach, spicy dipping sauce. 3 squares 85% chocolate.

 

Exercise: I took 2 days off last week because I hada cold. Now I feel almost 100% back in business. Today was an easy jog to the car pool in the morning, and we will run 2K intervals with the running club tonight. That will be fun!  And hard...   So glad things are going well with the baby sitter!

[jennor]

Yesterday was a lot of fun at the running group. We did a warm-up, then some drills that made me nice and sore today, then 4x2km intervals. The kids had a great time with the babay sitter. Yay!

 

Running streak day 25, 2014 09 03

 

Sleep: 6.5 hours. We got home at 8 pm from the running club, put the kids to bed, showered, ate and then had a guy come at 9:30 pm to deliver a dehydrator-thingie for the basement. Needless to say I got into bed too late. I also had some trouble falling asleep and was woken up twice during the night. Somehow the Jawbone stilled showed over 4 hours of deep sleep, so I must have made the most of what I got.

 

Food:

Breakfast: 3 eggs, tomatoes, 2 coffee.

Lunch:Big salad, roasted carrots and turnips with apple/rapeseed vinegrette, turkey steak, a shot of elderberry juice, handful grapes.

Dinner: Grilled turkey loin, a few small roasted potatoes, zuccini and pumpkin, mixed salad, spicy dipping sauce.

Snack: Nectarine, a small protein bar from a recent race. (<- Artificial flavour, not worth it)

 

Exercise: An easy shake-out run of 7.4 km (4.6 mi) this morning. Daycare pick-up will add another 5.5 km (3.4 mi). T

 

We are taking the kids to athetics training tonight. It is geared towards the older one's age, but I am sure the little one will play in the grass and join when she can/is allowed to. It seems like a nice way to make the most of the late summer/early fall evenings while the weather is still nice.

[jennor]

Youngest DD had a cold when I picked her up from daycare and did not want to go to athlectics. "I want to cuddle with you, in MY house!" she declared. So I stayed with her while DH took DD1 to training. She loved it! She came home ravenous with hunger and full of enthusiasm!

 

Sleep: 7h. I was tired last night so I went to bed early, but DD2 had a hard time sleeping with her cold, so we were awake for an hour in the middle of the night. I also dreamed I over-slept, which stressed me out.   I will try for 8 hours again tonight.

 

Food:

Breakfast: 3 eggs, a red bellpepper, a few nuts, coffee.

Lunch: Steamed cod, baked root veg, lots of mixed salad, handful nuts.

Snack: Fun sized Bounty in a meeting. Willpower = none Still hungry aftre, so a nectarine and a plum

Dinner: Chicken thighs, potato, mixed salad, avocado, spicy dipping sauce. Some more (better) chocolate.

Ice cream

Sigh.

 

Exercise: 7.3 km this morning, and 5.5 km to pick up after school/pre-school. I am really sore after the drills with the running club Tuesday, so I am taking it slow and just getting some blood flowing trough the muscles.

[jennor]

I find it more difficult to eat well when I train harder. I am just hungrier, and I have a lot more cravings for sweets. I am struggling a bit with my mindset. Part of me things it is ok to eat ice cream (good ice cream and in decent amounts) as part of a normal life. Another part of me is so scared I will toe the line on how much my body can handle, and cause another colitis flare. It would be easier if it was about an immediate effect. But for me the net inflammation is more the sum of the services and disservices I do my body over a longer period of time. I eat mindlessly sometimes, like the Bounty bar yesterday and the ice cream after dinner. I would rather have saved my sugar and had some good Valrhona chocolate over the weekend. Sigh.

 

I am thinking I should do a Whole5 starting Monday. If I feel like it, I may prolong it. But I just want a bit of a reset, to add something into my self-care account.

 

Streakday 27, 2014-09-05

 

Sleep: YES! 7.5 hours, and I felt so rested and happy waking up.

 

Food:

Breakfast: 3 eggs, a nectarine and a plum, coffee (I am out of veggies at home, ahd to explore the fruit basket at work)

Lunch: 2 beef patties, home-made salsa, roasted beets, huge mixed salad, nectarine and a pear.

Dinner:

 

Exercise: Rest day, but I did run 2.5 km (1.5 mi) ealy this morning to keep my streak alive. It was a lovely run around the park at sunrise, before heading into work. The sun rises at 6-ish here now, so soon my runs will be in darkness. I really enjoy the daylight while I can.

[almcc]

Hi

 

Jennor - your birthday sounds lovely.  Where did you go?  We have never really visited a place that we have lived  - except to visit friends - I think it would make for a good vacation!

 

We just finished up having my husband's BF from the UK.  It was a drinking vacation, I think.    I tasted a wonderful red wine and spent the rest of the time drinking water and tea.  But I enjoyed watching them interact and have fun with each other.  There is nothing like old friends.  We went to a very fancy restaurant to celebrate his 50th and my DD's 20th.  I was very disappointed in the food.  Too many muddled flavors. My pallet has certainly changed.

 

My DD's birthday is Monday.  And she is busy with friends so we will not go visit - until I take her to lunch on tuesday.  It will be the first birthday we have missed it. I am feeling odd - sad and ok with it.  So I think starting a Whole 5 on monday will do me good.  I am also going to go find Melissa's presentation on stress and diet on the Whole9 blog.

 

jennor - I feel as if we have reach another stage of the process.  There seems to be more insight into what works and what doesn't, what impacts our eating, what longterm and shortterm effects are, etc.  What do you think?

 

Happy day!!

[almcc]

A steps update: I am on day 24 and in 23 days I managed 92657.  The 500K goal in 100 days is still doable.  And my goal is to make 500k before the 100 days is up.  

 

I'm now doing a water challenge.  I was up 6 times in the middle of the night.  Ack.

 

I love the UP24!!