Better

Today was much more smooth. I did zumba for the first time in months and I love it so much I don't even feel time passing. My arthritic knee wasn't super happy with me but I expected that. At my last follow-up appointment after the surgery on my achilles tendon the podiatrist, this 120 pound, bright-eyed and bubbly go-getter said, "You're released to go back to doing whatever activities you want. It will hurt- a lot- but don't let that deter you." Aftet the tear, the surgery and the physical therapy, I had been through a lot, but she was right. And as I notice about myself every time I begin this journey to healthier habits, I don't like being uncomfortable. I don't like hunger pangs, I don't like emotional pain and I really don't like physical pain. I'm sure there are reasons tied to my childhood but noticing it is important because my dislike of discomfort is something that derails me so many times. One of the things the Keto-friendly South Beach Diet author advocates is fasting or delaying meals. As much as deprivation feelings of not eating anything I want makes me want to rebel, ever since I heard about the trend I thought it was absolutely insane. Talk about ultimate deprivation. But tonight as I type this, it has been 4 hours since my dinner and I am not uncomfortable. Even if my stomach growls between now and my planned snack in and hour, that's not long to wait. The reason this particular book/author says its good for us is because it helps calm the insulin levels. He does say that if you eat a low-carb snack it's not very bad for you but those who are inclined should fast or eat less meals per day to help their system normalize. He also said once you get off the processed foods fasting is actually easier. My stomach was hungry about ever 2-2½ hours today. I drank so much water and I typically get about a gallon a day but today it is much more. The difference is that I actually feel hydrated for the first time in so long. I'm hoping that means my whole system is working better. This feels doable at this point, but doesn't it always in the beginning? The true test will come on the first weekend that my husband has off because we always go on an adventure and there's always eating out involved. We will see how my will survives. At any rate, Day 2 was easy and I'm ready for whatever comes next.