9/9/08 & general updates

Sleep:
been working on catching up on my sleep, taking naps here and there and such. Getting closer to caught up. Yay!

Had gotten quite behind on my sleep at home due to getting up at 3am 5 days a week to work extra shifts at the gym to cover a co-worker who also opens at the gym and was in the hospital for a couple of weeks. He's covering my shifts while I'm gone so it works out well. I'm gonna' cover his shift again when I get back while he's on vacation so hopefully I'll be well rested enough by then. It wasn't just working at the gym that got me behind on sleep, it was then going to finish harvests, rushing off to the farmer's markets, and all combined with it that did the trick. Long days and short sleeps. I had been catching up on my sleep on days that I couldn't for the few weeks before I left and then I couldn't catch up during H&F Week of course, so there you go...

I'm catching up now though, which is good and I'm sure I'll be able to finish catching up at my dad's before going back home. Then I'm gonna' try to arrange things at home so I don't get behind again.

Food:
Health and Fitness Week was fun and had lots of yummy gourmet style 80-10-10 food which was nice, however a bit much for me to have every single day, back to back. Especially when combined with traveling and how many of the foods I only eat once a year (when at H&F Week and visiting the Mainland). I don't eat things like grapes, plums, nectarines or peaches at home 'cause they don't grow there and my body just isn't used to them anymore so the skins seem to not agree with my bowels. I was able to eat them without problems a bit more this year than last year and I'm supposing it's 'cause it's only been one year since the last time I ate them, rather than two like it was before.

There are a few things we had there I have maybe a couple of times a year at home like Asian apple pears, pears and apples even though they don't grow there simply because sometimes I find myself out somewhere without enough food and those are the only things I can find ripe enough to eat. Other things I eat only occasionally (like once a month or less, perhaps for a couple of days at a time) at home like bell peppers, cauliflower, cabbage, herbs (like basil, cilantro, oregano, chives), and dehydrated tomatoes 'cause they are fine infrequently, but either give me gas, bad breath or other issues if I have them regularly. I love cantaloupe and watermelon, but it's challenging to grow them organically where I live so I've stopped eating them due to their unavailability as organic and I found that I had a bit of trouble with the cantaloupe this year at H&F Week for the first time - guess it's like the grapes and such. This year they also used dehydrators to slightly dehydrate tomatoes, zucchini, cauliflower and such. While they weren't as dehydrated as most people do and were served with other things so the meal wasn't dehydrating, I think they also contributed to my digestive stuff 'cause I haven't really had anything dehydrated for a long time (except the occasional 3 or 4 sun-dried tomatoes in a sauce less than once a month - oh and the 1 time I went to a raw food restaurant this past year).

Also, I started the week on a huge sleep deficit and immediately upon arrival in the afternoon after my red-eye flight that had left the evening the day before. That may have affected my body's ability to handle the "new" and "exotic" foods like grapes and such. ;) LOL They ARE exotic to my body that's used to things like rambutan and all at home.

So I had a bit of digestive issues in the bowels that I don't usually have: gas and noisy tummy from the beginning (from dinner to late morning-ish daily); cloudy BMs; more of a need for water. It wasn't anything disabling though, just something to remind me that this sort of food isn't something for me to have daily (or it could become more of an issue). Even though I enjoyed trying out the various meals, at the end of the week I was definitely looking forward to just eating more basic meals again.

I planned to just eat mono meals for breakfast & lunch, then have a simple lettuce salad with a one or two ingredient dressing or celery in a two ingredient dip for dinner... but then when my friend picked me up she was talking all about how terrific the marinara sauce I'd made last time was and was encouraging me to get supplies for it again. So I started to gather those supplies and realized that I'd have to put off the simpler eating 'till later. I could do more simple eating most of the time and just make the sauce early on, making lots of it so she'd have left-overs to eat while I was there and I could eat other stuff if I wanted. But in the process of gathering those supplies I ended up getting some other "occasional" foods too, darn. I got some Essene bread, black olives in water and raw peanuts - all organic, but not optimum foods for sure. I didn't realize at the time I was getting them that it would delay my digestive recovery 'cause it was in the late afternoon that we were shopping, but I did realize it the day after eating some of those occasional foods. I had some of the peanuts on Sunday night after my salad of lettuce with tahini/lemon dressing and a touch of avocado - yeah, too much fat and too many types. Doi. Yeah, not the best thing to do in general, and certainly not when you're recovering from digestive stuff and have been a bit dehydrated, underslept. Well, learning it again...

I probably still felt better than I used to all the time, but I'm used to feeling terrific now (except for a bit lack of sleep most of the time) so I felt pretty bad for me. It peaked during a workout at the gym last night 'cause we arrived late and I was already thirsty to begin with and forgot to bring water... I left the workout to get a drink of water when my mouth was just so dry and my body was telling me that it didn't want to wait any more, then was able to finish the workout after that and drink more water after class, before showering, after showering and before leaving. I drank 5-7 tall glasses of water when we got home before I went to sleep and skipped dinner due to my bowels feeling "off" in that way and was feeling more normal by the time I went to sleep. I figured I'd be feeling pretty normal by mid-day today. I think that's accurate. It's mid-morning now and I think I'm on-track.

I had another tall glass of water when waking and then quite a few bananas (sorry, didn't count - probably about 11?) for breakfast. So far, so good. Had a cloudy BM but it was more uneventful and seemed to be left over from the one I felt but didn't have last night, so it was good and I think it resolved things. For now, at least... Today's the day I'm due to make the marinara sauce. It's got more than two ingredients and quite a few of them are my occasional foods: bell pepper, dried tomatoes, fresh herbs (basil, oregano, chives, thyme). I think I'll be okay though 'cause it' mostly fresh tomatoes and celery, which I eat fairly regularly. I'm gonna' have it with zucchini which isn't a regular thing, but it's regular enough that I don't have issues with it 'cause I grow it and eat it from time to time at home. I figure I'll take a nap, drink lots of water and make my other meals before and afterward out of mono banana for a bit and I should be okay. We'll see, right?

Exercise:
At H&F Week I was too busy with ambiancing to participate in the classes and such or "go running" or have an official workout so I just maintained and got my exercise through all the trips I made down to the stream and around the property (sometimes jogging or running) and through carrying and moving things around (including the rocks I'd get from the stream when down there) the squatting and such when harvesting and working with things on the ground, etc. It's similar to what I get from farming, although the farming and farmer's market workouts are a bit more intense and rushed.

My friend was able to get me a 5-day pass at her gym here so I can go there to work out. We went there last night and joined in the heavy bag boxing class, which was enough for me to get back into things, especially with the digestive stuff and dehydration going on. It looks like a nice gym, but it doesn't have a rowing machine. :( I love rowing soooo much. I knew it'd be hard to find one though so kinda' expected it. I'd looked up gyms in this area and at my dad's online before I left and it looked like none of the gyms had rowing machines, unfortunately. Oh well. Even though I was thirstier than ever and felt pretty bad from the dehydration afterward 'till I got enough water it was fun and good to be back at official workouts again. It was also terrific to wake up in the morning and feel like I'd used my muscles again. I wasn't sore or stiff, but felt like I'd used my muscles. Perfect. Glad I decided to take it easy and just do the class, glad I left in the middle to get the water when I needed it so I could continue too.

I planned to go today too but then realized that it would be a bit close timing-wise to go there on the bus, workout, shower and get back on the bus before my friend gets back home from work in the mid-afternoon. I'm also going to try to get all the zucchini grated beforehand so that I can make the mess and clean it up on my own. She also needs my help tonight for attaching wood to a trailer she's making for a rafting and camping trip she's going on this weekend, so I should be here when she gets home. If I'm gonna' take a nap and all too in order to resolve the BM issues I think I've gotta' just do stuff at the house instead.

Yesterday I did a few things at the house so I'll do a bit more today too. I'll do some calisthenics and stretching. I'm gonna' go to the gym tomorrow for sure, and probably the next day as well. They're gonna' have underwater bodyfat testing on that day (Thursday) and it seems like a pretty good price ($45). I'm gonna' see if I can do that too. I didn't bring a swimsuit though, so I need to either borrow one from my friend or buy one. I'll let you know if I get the bodyfat testing and what the results are, of course. :D

Detox:
cloudy BMs, need more water, etc. (mentioned above in the food section) during and after H&F Week. No gas left at this point (actually that stopped on Sunday 'cause I wasn't eating the stuff that gives me gas anymore: cabbage, bell peppers, cauliflower). I think the cloudy BMs will end by the end of today too. Although.... I'll probably get gas again 'cause of the bell peppers in the marinara I'm making tonight. Oh well. I'm making that choice this time in order to make the dinner for my friend and her friend tonight.

I had gotten into eating arugula again for a while before I left home 'cause we were growing such excellent baby arugula and I was handling and smelling it several times a day. I think it was giving me B.O. under my arms a bit though and I'd decided to stop doing it and the basil and cilantro I'd had occasionally 'cause I was handling them a lot too. I'm fairly certain it was the arugula under my arms 'cause we had basil and cilantro at H&F Week and the BO went away during the week (even though I had all the gas and BM issues going on).

Doesn't seem like I have any old stuff detoxing at this point, but I did have a few food memories during the week before I left for H&F Week. I couldn't quite place what it was though, just knew it was a familiar food from the past. Oh wait, I remember there was one that I did identify: buttered mashed potatoes and gravy. Guess I was detoxing that at that point. Hadn't been around anyone making or eating it or even seen it for quite some time. It seemed like the kind I had when in college at a certain restaurant actually, so I guess that's what it was. Dunno. Just know it was an interesting "blast from the past."

Female:
I forgot my BabyComp at home, remembered I'd forgotten it half-way to the airport, but no time to go back and get it at that point. Probably best that way anyway. Last time I forgot it at my friend's house (that I'm staying with now) and she had to mail it to me. I don't really need it while I'm gone and it's such a terrific thing that I'll be able to use it fine when I get back as long as I enter when my period starts. I'll let my hubby know when my period starts and tell him how to enter it so I don't have to figure out how to enter it when I get back. It's harder to enter when it's more than 3 days past the date you're entering stuff for.

It was day 15 of my cycle when I left, so that'd make it day 26 of my cycle now. It was a red day then and would still be now. Who knows when my period will start 'cause it gets tweaked a bit when I'm away from my hubby and/or traveling. That's the only thing it'd be nice to have it for now. Nice how I know the day I'm gonna' start my period from my temperature drop that morning. My temperature's usually in the mid-97 degrees Fahrenheit from ovulation up 'till the day my period starts and about a degree less from the day my period starts 'till ovulation.

The Rest:
K, so that's it for now. It's just before 11am right now, so not much else to report for today.

I'll probably do another blog with my website todos list so y'all will know what I'm working on for the website too. :) I'll probably post that later today or tomorrow.

Aloha! :)

Comments

  1. Nice to hear about how things are going with you again. I usually check your blog 1x/day to see if there's anything new.

    Glad to hear you got to go to H & F week again. I'll try to see about e-mailing you to really catch up on everything. I still love reading your blog and looking at your pictures!

    Terry in the Keys

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good to hear from you again. I look at your blog about every day to see if you've updated. I love to read it and look at your pictures for inspiration. Keep up the good work.

    Love, Terry in the Keys

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cabbage Wrapped Salad n Sprouts (Recipe)

Joys of Growing Your Own Food (Some of them, at least)

Holiday Recipe Video: My Take on Fig Cake (Pan de Higo)