5AM and Feeling Good
Last night, for an hour or two, my alarm for today was actually turned to 4:15am. Then as the night wore on and I found myself still feeling blue and tired, I decided to wait on getting up early until it is necessary next week. Even though it is only 45 minutes of extra sleep, it has felt really good to sleep til 5am the past couple weeks.
Today when I did wake up, I felt really good for the first time in a while. My head didn't feel all stuffed up, I could tell I slept well without coughing or having to breathe through my mouth because my nose was stuffed up or loaded with sores. I woke feeling rejuvenated from the sleep and ready to face whatever the day has in store for me. That's a gift I don't take lightly because it is rare!
I'll be honest, yesterday I didn't feel hungry in between lunch and dinner so I did't have my afternoon snack. I still didn't really feel hungry when I got home from work, but I knew I had to eat. My body wanted anything but what I had planned. I was starting to doubt my decision to nix the dairy because a bean and cheese burrito sounded really good. Luckily I examined what was really going on a little deeper; besides being hungry (without hunger pangs) I figured out that the edamame in my meal was really what I wasn't looking forward to. I prefer it boiled but didn't want to take the time to do that so I have recently just been warming it in the microwave but the texture is not great. So I avoided going off my dairy-free goal by having my meatless steak with some hash browns instead of edamame. White potatoes aren't something I want to make a habit of eating but for an occassional treat that sure hit the spot!
This morning I added a little flavored stevia drops to my otherwise very tasteless soy creamer so my coffee tastes more like the sugar-free coffee creamers I am so accustomed to. And you know what? I really couldn't tell the difference and it made my coffee so enjoyable. I think the mental challenge of going dairy-free is that I have been thinking of all the things I will miss out on, not just cheesy items, but also the convenience of having foods that are very convenient to pop in the microwave for a few minutes and taste good. This morning's coffee was a great reminder that its possible to be dairy-free and enjoy food. Nutritional yeast is something I will revisit. It tastes a lot like cheese and it's actually good for you. I can't say I really miss dairy yet. I can say that my sinuses feel a lot better today and I haven't even taken and sinus pills this morning. That's a pretty big deal! I read some articles that say you have to be off dairy for 2 months before you feel the full effect on the sinuses, but I think I am noticing a difference already. As with all things with food and my compulsive,worrying mind, I know that if I really want to have dairy I can at any time and it's no big deal. We like to order pizza some weekends and I love it. I will be interested to see how dairy makes me feel the first time I have it again.
Last night when I got home my husband said that his mom is getting new furniture and asked if we want her couch. This is not just a couch, it is a couch with built in recliners, seat warmers and a massage unit. We said yes. We have a relatively small apartment and right now we just have two accent chairs in the living room because what is taking up a good amount of space? Our stationary bike. So my husband said he thinks we should move the bike to the garage, which is not heated. Just when I was going to start using it next week. lol. I didn't say anything to him about it, I can be flexible. Right now we just don't have a good place for the bike and he's right, we don't use it very much. Honestly we could probably sell it and move on with life, but I do like the idea of being able to use it from time to time. I can still use it in the garage, it would just be really cold until I got my sweat on.
I do always know that I can walk for my cardio exercise as well. I can do that at home or sometimes at work. We have a covered parking ramp attached to my clinic so I when the weather isn't a billion below zero I could walk on my lunch break on days when I get one. It'll work out. And like most times, once I get started being more active it usually ends up becoming a habit.
I'm not sure if it's real or a fluke but the leggings that I have been avoiding wearing because they are a tad uncomfortably tight this fall, I put them on this morning and they feel fine. My guess is that giving up the dairy is lessening the bloat that I wasn't aware was there. My stomach looks ever-so-slightly flatter too. To be fair, I am eating lower-carb and cleaner than I have been in the past few weeks so some water weight may have dropped off. I somehow feel like my upper arms have gotten bigger over night though, and not in a muscley, healthy, attractive way either. Maybe my water weight migrated from my stomach to my arms. Hahahahaha! I did over-dry some things last time I did laundry, and accidentally dried a couple tops that state they should be air-dried. Oopsies! It may be time to do a little more shopping for some updated clothes anyway. I'm so sick of the same old things I've been wearing for the past few winters.
Anyway, today I feel good and it puts my mind in a good place for preparing for the start of the challenge next week. 150 minutes of cardio per week plus some mental health goals to boot. I think I've got this in the bag!
Happy Wednesday everyone!
Today when I did wake up, I felt really good for the first time in a while. My head didn't feel all stuffed up, I could tell I slept well without coughing or having to breathe through my mouth because my nose was stuffed up or loaded with sores. I woke feeling rejuvenated from the sleep and ready to face whatever the day has in store for me. That's a gift I don't take lightly because it is rare!
I'll be honest, yesterday I didn't feel hungry in between lunch and dinner so I did't have my afternoon snack. I still didn't really feel hungry when I got home from work, but I knew I had to eat. My body wanted anything but what I had planned. I was starting to doubt my decision to nix the dairy because a bean and cheese burrito sounded really good. Luckily I examined what was really going on a little deeper; besides being hungry (without hunger pangs) I figured out that the edamame in my meal was really what I wasn't looking forward to. I prefer it boiled but didn't want to take the time to do that so I have recently just been warming it in the microwave but the texture is not great. So I avoided going off my dairy-free goal by having my meatless steak with some hash browns instead of edamame. White potatoes aren't something I want to make a habit of eating but for an occassional treat that sure hit the spot!
This morning I added a little flavored stevia drops to my otherwise very tasteless soy creamer so my coffee tastes more like the sugar-free coffee creamers I am so accustomed to. And you know what? I really couldn't tell the difference and it made my coffee so enjoyable. I think the mental challenge of going dairy-free is that I have been thinking of all the things I will miss out on, not just cheesy items, but also the convenience of having foods that are very convenient to pop in the microwave for a few minutes and taste good. This morning's coffee was a great reminder that its possible to be dairy-free and enjoy food. Nutritional yeast is something I will revisit. It tastes a lot like cheese and it's actually good for you. I can't say I really miss dairy yet. I can say that my sinuses feel a lot better today and I haven't even taken and sinus pills this morning. That's a pretty big deal! I read some articles that say you have to be off dairy for 2 months before you feel the full effect on the sinuses, but I think I am noticing a difference already. As with all things with food and my compulsive,worrying mind, I know that if I really want to have dairy I can at any time and it's no big deal. We like to order pizza some weekends and I love it. I will be interested to see how dairy makes me feel the first time I have it again.
Last night when I got home my husband said that his mom is getting new furniture and asked if we want her couch. This is not just a couch, it is a couch with built in recliners, seat warmers and a massage unit. We said yes. We have a relatively small apartment and right now we just have two accent chairs in the living room because what is taking up a good amount of space? Our stationary bike. So my husband said he thinks we should move the bike to the garage, which is not heated. Just when I was going to start using it next week. lol. I didn't say anything to him about it, I can be flexible. Right now we just don't have a good place for the bike and he's right, we don't use it very much. Honestly we could probably sell it and move on with life, but I do like the idea of being able to use it from time to time. I can still use it in the garage, it would just be really cold until I got my sweat on.
I do always know that I can walk for my cardio exercise as well. I can do that at home or sometimes at work. We have a covered parking ramp attached to my clinic so I when the weather isn't a billion below zero I could walk on my lunch break on days when I get one. It'll work out. And like most times, once I get started being more active it usually ends up becoming a habit.
I'm not sure if it's real or a fluke but the leggings that I have been avoiding wearing because they are a tad uncomfortably tight this fall, I put them on this morning and they feel fine. My guess is that giving up the dairy is lessening the bloat that I wasn't aware was there. My stomach looks ever-so-slightly flatter too. To be fair, I am eating lower-carb and cleaner than I have been in the past few weeks so some water weight may have dropped off. I somehow feel like my upper arms have gotten bigger over night though, and not in a muscley, healthy, attractive way either. Maybe my water weight migrated from my stomach to my arms. Hahahahaha! I did over-dry some things last time I did laundry, and accidentally dried a couple tops that state they should be air-dried. Oopsies! It may be time to do a little more shopping for some updated clothes anyway. I'm so sick of the same old things I've been wearing for the past few winters.
Anyway, today I feel good and it puts my mind in a good place for preparing for the start of the challenge next week. 150 minutes of cardio per week plus some mental health goals to boot. I think I've got this in the bag!
Happy Wednesday everyone!
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