Day 18

Good morning and happy Saturday! I am happily writing from the comfort of my cozy bed, snuggled up with my hubby and sweet pups. I'm enjoying a glorious cup of coffee and my belly is full from the yummy breakfast that I just made. I love mornings like this! I seriously contemplated going to CrossFit. I woke up at 5am, 8am, and 9am, but decided that staying in bed was what I really needed.

Here's the thing, in the past I would have guilted myself into going even when my body was screaming NO. I'd justify it by reviewing everything I'd eaten for the week, along with calling myself a slew of names: lazy, lame, etc. Part of becoming a healthier version of myself is exercising compassion and truly listening to my body. There is actually something to this. In studying up on the endocrine system and hormones I read an interesting tid bit on adrenal fatigue. Our adrenal glands are responsible for  secreting DHEAS and cortisol both of which affect our sex hormone production: estrogen, progesterone, testosterone. Cortisol, as you may know, is our stress hormone. Anyway, it all gets very complicated but when we experience stress for extended periods of time, as most of us do, our adrenals get a bit worn out. When this happens we feel tired, may have trouble getting up in the morning, and rely on caffeine and sugar to raise our energy levels. It is estimated that 80% of people have some level of adrenal fatigue, because lets face it, we are all stressed! Long story short, allowing yourself to sleep in once in a while, and not overexercising, are important for adrenal health. Thats not to say you should never work out, but listen to your body!

 I have a confession to make... last night after finishing my post, I ended up having a cup of coffee along with 2 more biscuits slathered in cashew butter. Scandalous I know! That brought my carb count up to 102. Yes, I am allowed a minor slip up here and there!

later on....

For lunch Chad and I headed to PF Changs where I had the gluten free version of what I normally order, Moo Goo Gai Pan. It's a stir fry of veggies, shrimp, and chicken. I subbed steamed spinach for rice. I gotta say, I was disappointed. No only was my dish lacking in flavor, but I also ended up with a tummy ache.

Chad and I decided to go to a movie tonight and ended up stopping by Wholefoods for dinner. I had about a half cup of chicken ratatouille and about the same amount of roasted veggies and sweet potatoes. My stomach still wasn't feeling great. We each had an almond milk latte after dinner, and then went to see Les Miserables. I have a great hubby! I'm not 100% sure what my carb count was for the day but it shouldn't be more than 115g, and it may even be under 100g. BTW I finished "Wheat Belly" today and the author basically recommends a Paleo diet, without calling it that. He argues that 50-100g of carbs is sufficient for most people... I'm beginning to see a theme!