I rang in the New Year with family, friends...and no voice. I did a Resolution Run 5k the morning of the 1st, and then went home and took a nap. When I woke up, I couldn't talk AT ALL! For just the 2nd time in 7 years, I called my office manager and told her that I wouldn't make it in to work the next day. She thought that the phone was breaking up...nope, it's me! I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday doing very little, and on Sunday I finally went to the doctor...are you happy Mom??? ;) I'm on an antibiotic, oral prednisone, and cough medicine, and I'm still coughing my brains out! Thank God that today was a scheduled day off for me, and Tuesdays are my shortest work day.
Getting sick turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I am not a good rester, but I was forced to rest, because I HAD to rest. I NEEDED to rest. I was also forced to accept help, which is not easy for me to do. I had planned on going grocery shopping on Friday, which I HATE! I had no food in the house at all. Friday morning my friend Gail asked if I needed her to pick up anything for me. I said I wish, but my list was way too long. She told me it wasn't a problem, and to text it to her. She ended up meeting my sister-in-law Terri at Shop Rite, and they split my list. Over an hour later my fridge and pantry were stocked, and I was reminded of how loved, and blessed, I am! When Gail dropped off my groceries, she even took Marty the Beagle out for a walk to tire him out. Even the dogs seemed to understand that things were different. When I would lay down on the couch, rather than come up to me looking to be pet, or fed, or walked, they all curled up somewhere and slept. We had a nice few days of forced down time.
Last night I decided to do the Virgin Diet with my best friend Toni. She had done it over the summer, and had great success. I feel like I need a kick start, a detox, something to get rid of this excess bloat and water weight, and get me back on track. Since 12/22, I've gained 6.5 lbs. I didn't do that well while I was sick, and once I decided to do the Virgin Diet, I viewed last night as my Last Supper, and went to town! For 21 days I will eliminate eggs, peanuts, soy, corn, dairy, gluten and sugar/artificial sweeteners from my diet. It's sort of like the Whole30, but not as strict, and not as long. I'm not going to go into the specifics of what I'm eating, but if you are interested, you can go to www.thevirgindiet.com. One thing I do plan on doing correctly this time, which I didn't with the W30, is the food reintroductions. I have a close family member with celiac disease. I have been tested, and don't have it, but I'm curious to see if I'm gluten sensitive. The same relative is lactose intolerant, and I suspect that I may be as well. My main reason for doing the diet, other than to do it with Toni so that we can support each other, is to kick the sugar cravings. I kept saying that I wanted to "cut back" on processed foods and sugar, but that wasn't happening. If I'm going to have a goal, it needs to be clear cut. Of course being sick throws a wrench in things. I'm sure the cough medicine I need to take so that I have a chance at sleeping tonight has sugar in it. I've avoided cough drops today, but will need something at work tomorrow. I'll do the best I can. Even on the W30, medications, etc., took precedence over the "rules."
Another thing that I'm excited about is audiobooks! When I used to commute by subway back and forth from Queens to Manhattan, I'd read about a book a week. Since I moved to NJ, I hardly read at all. When I used to walk on the treadmill, or use the elliptical at the gym, I could read then. Now that I run, or walk outside, I can't. I realized that I love listening to podcasts, so why not try audiobooks? I can listen while I run, walk, drive, and at night I prefer it to watching TV, because I can close my eyes!
I"m excited for 2015...I think it's going to be a good year! I'm taking some steps to expand my world a little bit, and we'll see what happens. I have a lot of things I'm looking forward to, and that's always a good thing!
No comments:
Post a Comment