Busy with life. To tell you the truth insomnia wears me out. I run on adrenaline all day long and when I stop going, I crash. I crash to the point that I would rather stop and get something to eat as opposed to waiting until I get home and heat up leftovers. Now that's lazy. In the time the purchased food is prepped, paid for, and I drive the rest of the way home, I could have made it home, pulled out the food to heat and ready to dive in. And it saves me some money...a lot of money.
How have I been feeling? so-so. Gotta love it. Can't find a better word or set of words to describe it. I've been dealing with a lot of gas because I've been eating more starchy carbs and sugar than I should. They are my comfort or "mood foods" as I call them. When I am stressed, these are the foods I turn to and binge on. There is no moderation for me when it comes to these foods (Unless others are around. Then they help me keep my mind off of the ills of the day.). It's all or nothing. I can blame it on the food companies for putting in additives that turn on that switch that can't be shut off unless I go cold turkey. When I do do good and follow a more healthy plan I find that I am hungry all day long and that hunger is put to rest when I give in to the carb cravings.
So what should I do? I already know. I just need to do it. Eat more veggies and protien, which research says leaves you feeling fuller longer. Well I eat my meal. It leaves me statisfied yet in a couple of hours I'm hungry again. Eat a protien and veggie snack. Instead of three meals: three full meals and two to three snacks. And of course address the stressors in my life. bleh!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
What it's all about
No this is not a blog about cooking. It is a blog about eating...and what I eat...and how I feel after I eat it. It's about me listening to my body and taking note of what its telling me when something is out of whack. I am 51, overweight, a carb addict of sorts, single, Christian, a music teacher and so on.
Several years ago I noticed I was suffering from pain in my joints and muscles. The first thing I did was medicate. I took Advil and other OTC pain meds. It made sense. I was in pain. Those meds relieved pain...to a point. It was obvious when I worked resident camp during the summers. You see I like to buy a particular trail mix from Wal-Mart and summers are when I tend to buy it. And I was eating it at night before bed. The results were pain throughout the night as I "tried" to sleep. It took a while for it to sink through my thick skull that late night eating was magnifying my insomnia. So I dragged through I don't know how many years in a mental fog, running on adrenaline (probably burning out my adrenal gland in the process), and watching myself drop this and that activity as exhaustion consumed me.
This past summer I took action during camp as I suffered through a week barely able to tolerate any kind of food. This was after a week of extremely poor food choices as I pretty much feasted on junk foods. My body had had enough and was saying not take a break but "GIVE ME A BREAK!" I was eating half a meal. Eating certain foods made me nauseous. Amazingly celery and carrots were two foods I could eat in abundance. I lost ten pounds. Once my appetite came back I made sure to eat less sugar. I would find out weeks later that sugar was only part of the problem.
At the start of school I did a sugar fast. I wanted to break the hold sugar had on me. Three weeks, with the first week having me go through withdrawal and the second week still fighting cravings. Week three was a breeze and week four I wasn't the least bit interested in eating any sugar. I had my first sugar I think in week 5. Two sugar cookies (Ah, the irony!) that left me feeling gassy and bloated. Then the holidays came. I was screwed. Not so bad for Thanksgiving. I wasn't eating sugar everyday. Christmas was the killer. Although the cravings have not come back like before the fast, I find myself picking up sugar much more often than I should.
My sleep had not improved very much. It had gotten much worse over the holidays. The metal fog was as thick as pea soup. I had reverted back to late night eating. The pains had come back. And I have since discovered that the pains are not caused by sugar alone but from a consumption of starchy carbs in excess (breads, chips, potatoes, etc...). But because my energy levels were so low, starchy carbs were easily accessible along with high fatty foods. I'd leave work hungry and instead of waiting to get home to just warm up some leftovers I'd stop at this place or that and order out.
After 2-3 days a barely any sleep I had come to the end of myself. I asked the PE teacher I work with for help. FORTE CALMS!!! OMG! They helped me get to sleep. And although I wake up sooner than desired, I feel somewhat rested instead of tired. A little sleepy but I can still function. The mental fog is starting to dissipate.
Part two tomorrow..... or later today!
Several years ago I noticed I was suffering from pain in my joints and muscles. The first thing I did was medicate. I took Advil and other OTC pain meds. It made sense. I was in pain. Those meds relieved pain...to a point. It was obvious when I worked resident camp during the summers. You see I like to buy a particular trail mix from Wal-Mart and summers are when I tend to buy it. And I was eating it at night before bed. The results were pain throughout the night as I "tried" to sleep. It took a while for it to sink through my thick skull that late night eating was magnifying my insomnia. So I dragged through I don't know how many years in a mental fog, running on adrenaline (probably burning out my adrenal gland in the process), and watching myself drop this and that activity as exhaustion consumed me.
This past summer I took action during camp as I suffered through a week barely able to tolerate any kind of food. This was after a week of extremely poor food choices as I pretty much feasted on junk foods. My body had had enough and was saying not take a break but "GIVE ME A BREAK!" I was eating half a meal. Eating certain foods made me nauseous. Amazingly celery and carrots were two foods I could eat in abundance. I lost ten pounds. Once my appetite came back I made sure to eat less sugar. I would find out weeks later that sugar was only part of the problem.
At the start of school I did a sugar fast. I wanted to break the hold sugar had on me. Three weeks, with the first week having me go through withdrawal and the second week still fighting cravings. Week three was a breeze and week four I wasn't the least bit interested in eating any sugar. I had my first sugar I think in week 5. Two sugar cookies (Ah, the irony!) that left me feeling gassy and bloated. Then the holidays came. I was screwed. Not so bad for Thanksgiving. I wasn't eating sugar everyday. Christmas was the killer. Although the cravings have not come back like before the fast, I find myself picking up sugar much more often than I should.
My sleep had not improved very much. It had gotten much worse over the holidays. The metal fog was as thick as pea soup. I had reverted back to late night eating. The pains had come back. And I have since discovered that the pains are not caused by sugar alone but from a consumption of starchy carbs in excess (breads, chips, potatoes, etc...). But because my energy levels were so low, starchy carbs were easily accessible along with high fatty foods. I'd leave work hungry and instead of waiting to get home to just warm up some leftovers I'd stop at this place or that and order out.
After 2-3 days a barely any sleep I had come to the end of myself. I asked the PE teacher I work with for help. FORTE CALMS!!! OMG! They helped me get to sleep. And although I wake up sooner than desired, I feel somewhat rested instead of tired. A little sleepy but I can still function. The mental fog is starting to dissipate.
Part two tomorrow..... or later today!
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