Thursday 24 September 2009

Enough already

I went over points yesterday. I freely admit it, although I'm not proud of it. I had one of those days when I was easily distracted and just couldn't seem to get enough food. Practically zero work got done, and my emotions fluctuated all day. I have these days intermittently - it feels like I've just zoned out a bit, and I'm about half a step out of synch with everyone else all day.



Part of it, I think, comes down to my still virtually non-existent activity levels. When I'm exercising regularly, I feel hyped, focused, energetic and happy. The first couple of weeks of injury, aside from feeling frustrated and and a little bit stir-crazy at not being able to leave the house really, I didn't notice any other downturn in my feelings from the lack of exercise. But I think, now I'm out of that initial "I hurt" period, I'm noticing the side-effects of prolonged laziness. I've not been getting out into the fresh air. I've not been getting into the brightly lit studios with loud rhythmic music and the shared sense of adrenaline and achievement.

The less exercise I do, the more sluggish I feel, and the less I feel like I want to do any. I finished work last night and made excuses not to go swimming - my shoes had developed a hole in them, so I had to stop at the shops after work and get some new shoes. Then I ended up hosting friends round at ours last night, so I had about 20 mins between getting home and them arriving to grab some dinner and tidy up. No swimming.

So how about a compromise - I won't do anything tonight, but I will do something tomorrow afternoon. I was going to go to Body Balance tonight, but honestly I feel so tight that I don't think I'd get anything out of it - I doubt I could reach my knees right now, never mind my toes. I will however ask my friend to book me in for next week's class and I'll work on getting loosened up by then. Tomorrow afternoon I'll get my bike out and head for a gentle ride up the hills. Fresh air, sunshine, some time to myself, and exhilarating views. I'll take it steady and opt for the gentler inclines and stop to rest if I need it. But I will go out.

The other part of yesterday's meh-ness was my food I think. I looked at it, and at the last couple of days - carbs, sugar and artificial stuff, not enough fruit and veg. There were too many snacks yesterday, and then I found myself unwilling to say no to homemade pizza which the boys bought round for everyone last night. I'd already had my dinner, so I wasn't hungry, but the willpower was lacking. Or the will to use the willpower. It wasn't the worst over-eat - 9 points over, but it was unnecessary.

Today, I'm eating fruit - lots of fruit. I had yoghurt and fresh raspberries for breakfast. I had a banana and a nutri-grain bar mid-morning. I've got a nectarine for a snack this afternoon, but I've eaten a good solid lunch, so I shouldn't feel too empty. I'm going to Merry Hill (huge shopping centre) after work with Bec - she's shopping and I'm returning stuff - so at least I'll be strolling round all evening, and away from the fridge. I'm going to make soup over the weekend and get back to my veggies.

I need to boost my energy, and not with caffeine either, so it's back to fresh foods, fresh air and exercise. Fingers crossed, I'm going to be able to start spin class again next week too!

2 comments:

Linz M said...

I think I am having a day like that today - it's usually down to tiredness for me - I take my eye off the ball and find myself eating things I don't even want.

I did it earlier, ate a piece of quiche left over from a business lunch without even tasting it - in fact I only remembered I'd had it when I found a bit of pastry in my bra a couple of minutes ago - classy hey?!

9 points is not a disaster, you know you can get that back. Plus you've been injured so the exercise has had to take a back seat. You'll be grand once you get back into the swing of things. At least you know what you need to do to make yourself feel better, that's half the battle.

Right, I'm rambling now! x

Cole Walter Mellon said...

I can definitely feel your pain. I just went my first entire week without exercise in five months, and I could have eaten twice what I normally would have if I hadn't stopped myself. I was crazy hungry, and for no good reason. I wasn't even able to lower my food intake to compensate for the lack of exercise. Just maintaining was almost too much to hope for. This week, I've gotten back into the gym and, subsequently, it's been easier to stay on plan with the food. I can't help but believe that the two–exercise and eating–are linked in some hard-to-explain way (at least for me).

Good luck getting that mojo going again. You can do this.