I was trying to figure out what had been wrong with me this past Wednesday. The week starting Tuesday had been stressful to say the least and now looking back I would have to say I was probably suffering from a food hangover. What? Never heard of that? I know what you're thinking. Where does she come up with these crazy ideas? It might be rare but I do believe it is a certifiable condition. Okay, maybe I am the one that is certifiable but anyway...
It all started this past week. I survived it but the repercussions still had left me with what was feeling like a mild hangover. The worst part of it all is that I didn't even have the pleasure of getting drunk. I didn't even have one drink! Okay, I actually had one beer on Wednesday after it all happened but only one!
I have been watching my nutrition for the past five weeks. Yes. I have been very aware of the health police and have made excellent choices during that time. I've been eating clean and fresh and keeping my proteins, carbs and calories all in nice, neat, little proper compartments for five weeks. That's long enough to make a difference and I've done an excellent job to managing my food and making above-par choices. Then came Tuesday. The afore mentioned day from Hades. Work that day became beyond do-able. Let's just say it is almost impossible to finish an accurate report that people are still inputting information into 30 minutes before you are supposed to be finished and then attend the meeting to discuss that report. So my entire morning was lost. Then it was 1:00, my regular lunch time, but I had to go to the meeting and the meeting took the entire hour. So it's after 2:00 before I get to eat.
Normally, a delay in lunch wouldn't have made much of a difference. But it might have been due to the great way I have been handling my food intact lately. It might have been the 10 mile run on Sunday and the three on Monday that had me STARVING on that Tuesday afternoon a little after 2:00. The stress of the morning didn't help. So I ate my lunch. And then I went to the vending machine and ate the trail mix it popped out when I deposited my coins. Then I went back to my desk and ate my apple.
Once I got home dinner couldn't be cooked fast enough. Pot roast, potatoes, carrots, doesn't cook quick enough, so how about a sandwich to hold me over? Hmmm, what is there...multi-grain bread, turkey meat, tomato...pile it on and shove it down my gullet. Now, it's becoming a feeding frenzy. What's in the cabinet...!? Oh, no...hitting the cookie ingredients...always an all-time low...walnuts, chocolate chips, dried cherries. If you rationalize it, it sounds like your own trail mix...pour portions out onto a paper napkin, mix together and grab handfuls - hand to mouth, gumb, garb, grump. Pretty ugly picture. And then of course, dinner, meat that is fork tender, potato, sweet carrots, sop up that gravy with an extra sourdough roll. Swirl the bread around so the plate is completely clean. Lick, munch, tear the bread, swirl it once more then into the mouth. Close your eyes, chew, and then look down for more.
Needless to say...when I finally stopped and entered the entire day in my food journal it was pretty embarrassing and the numbers where astronomical. It was like I was an addict and hadn't had a drink in years and fell off the wagon and rolled down the street. You would think I would have noticed when I hit the street but, ouch, to allow myself to keep on rolling in the dust...embarrassing. Hang my head in utter mortification.
It didn't help when it was all over and the next day I was miserable. I felt like I had a food hangover. It was that lurking, hazy feeling of being almost immobile and knowing I had done it to myself. I am no longer equipped to handle the amounts I was forcing into myself in such a short period of time. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. It lingered through most of the day but I'm back to normal now.
I know it's about balance. I know if I am going to run long and hard I need to up my intake with the proper nutrients. I know what they are. But things like this are going to happen. It's the lesson you take away when it does. I'm over my hangover. I know better. But sometimes, when you are in the moment, you think just a little bit more isn't going to hurt and then a little bit more. You think that it could actually help and then Bam! Then it does. It hurts.
Yeah, I know, certifiable.
TT
It all started this past week. I survived it but the repercussions still had left me with what was feeling like a mild hangover. The worst part of it all is that I didn't even have the pleasure of getting drunk. I didn't even have one drink! Okay, I actually had one beer on Wednesday after it all happened but only one!
I have been watching my nutrition for the past five weeks. Yes. I have been very aware of the health police and have made excellent choices during that time. I've been eating clean and fresh and keeping my proteins, carbs and calories all in nice, neat, little proper compartments for five weeks. That's long enough to make a difference and I've done an excellent job to managing my food and making above-par choices. Then came Tuesday. The afore mentioned day from Hades. Work that day became beyond do-able. Let's just say it is almost impossible to finish an accurate report that people are still inputting information into 30 minutes before you are supposed to be finished and then attend the meeting to discuss that report. So my entire morning was lost. Then it was 1:00, my regular lunch time, but I had to go to the meeting and the meeting took the entire hour. So it's after 2:00 before I get to eat.
Normally, a delay in lunch wouldn't have made much of a difference. But it might have been due to the great way I have been handling my food intact lately. It might have been the 10 mile run on Sunday and the three on Monday that had me STARVING on that Tuesday afternoon a little after 2:00. The stress of the morning didn't help. So I ate my lunch. And then I went to the vending machine and ate the trail mix it popped out when I deposited my coins. Then I went back to my desk and ate my apple.
Once I got home dinner couldn't be cooked fast enough. Pot roast, potatoes, carrots, doesn't cook quick enough, so how about a sandwich to hold me over? Hmmm, what is there...multi-grain bread, turkey meat, tomato...pile it on and shove it down my gullet. Now, it's becoming a feeding frenzy. What's in the cabinet...!? Oh, no...hitting the cookie ingredients...always an all-time low...walnuts, chocolate chips, dried cherries. If you rationalize it, it sounds like your own trail mix...pour portions out onto a paper napkin, mix together and grab handfuls - hand to mouth, gumb, garb, grump. Pretty ugly picture. And then of course, dinner, meat that is fork tender, potato, sweet carrots, sop up that gravy with an extra sourdough roll. Swirl the bread around so the plate is completely clean. Lick, munch, tear the bread, swirl it once more then into the mouth. Close your eyes, chew, and then look down for more.
Needless to say...when I finally stopped and entered the entire day in my food journal it was pretty embarrassing and the numbers where astronomical. It was like I was an addict and hadn't had a drink in years and fell off the wagon and rolled down the street. You would think I would have noticed when I hit the street but, ouch, to allow myself to keep on rolling in the dust...embarrassing. Hang my head in utter mortification.
It didn't help when it was all over and the next day I was miserable. I felt like I had a food hangover. It was that lurking, hazy feeling of being almost immobile and knowing I had done it to myself. I am no longer equipped to handle the amounts I was forcing into myself in such a short period of time. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. It lingered through most of the day but I'm back to normal now.
I know it's about balance. I know if I am going to run long and hard I need to up my intake with the proper nutrients. I know what they are. But things like this are going to happen. It's the lesson you take away when it does. I'm over my hangover. I know better. But sometimes, when you are in the moment, you think just a little bit more isn't going to hurt and then a little bit more. You think that it could actually help and then Bam! Then it does. It hurts.
Yeah, I know, certifiable.
TT
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