My trip home to Indianapolis is winding down and I am spending a day with my Dad relaxing in Mulberry, IN. It's so peaceful up here. We've been alternating naps and reading. It's the perfect end to the very busy trip home. I am happy to say that I was able to see everyone (with a few exceptions, of course) that I had hoped too. Plus because we arrived into town early, we got to fit in some people we weren't expecting to see, which was a nice surprise.
Many challenges arise when coming back to Indianapolis for such a short amount of time. First of which is my sleeping. It's always hard to sleep in places that aren't my bed, but on these trips, I magnify that difficulty by only sleeping in one location for two nights max. I am the ultimate bed hopper (get your mind out of the gutter) and will spend 2 nights on a air mattress in a basement, one night on a twin bed, two nights in my sister's old room, and then back to the air mattress, etc. It's the difficulty that arose when my parents moved out of Indianapolis leaving me to find alternate beds while in Indy and Mulberry. I am so thankful that I have so many hosts willing to put me up at any time. Especially when I don't tend to have much of a plan and just kind of show up with bags in hand. The really only bad side to all of this bed hopping is the destruction of my sleep patterns and trying to figure out where the bathroom is when I try to find it in my sleep. Sleep is extremely important in our health. It is that time when our bodies can shut down many functions and focus on repair. And because I haven't been eating as I would normally like, my body needs repair. I feel that this is one reason I don't feel refreshed in the mornings. My body is trying to process my days here and it just isn't given the chance to work at it's best. So I am often tired throughout my days.
Obviously the other main factor in my tiredness is my lack of exercise and my food intake. I really miss my hikes and aquatics and my afternoon spinach and juices. My time here is often spent driving from one location to the next so I can see everyone and have quality time with my friends and family. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way complaining about this. I love it. It's just good to know that I am more aware of how this lifestyle differs from my new way of living and I can clearly see how much better I feel when I am eating properly and exercising. This just makes me more and more anxious to get back on track and to be honest, that is a new and terrific feeling.
When I have strayed from 'diets' in the past, I have been able to say, "Well, I haven't followed my plan and I didn't really enjoy being on that plan, so I am not going to go back to it when I go home." This is the first time in my life where I am so excited to get back on my path. I think I may run back to it! I don't like feeling lethargic and semi-nauseous all day. I have seen the light and know now what it feels like to be doing things correctly.
Finally, I just want to say how thankful I am to my friends and family here who have congratulated me on my successes thus far. I love being able to connect to everyone through this blog and to then hear from so many people who are reading it and cheering me on. It's just further inspiration to keep going because I know I have so many people on my side. It's also so much fun to talk to others about changes they are making and to learn new ideas from them. Plus, I have some pretty awesome people in my life who have made it a point to serve me organic foods and bowls of fruits and veggies. After eating out so many times, it was great to have some meals and snacks that really energized me again.
I know I said, "finally" in the last paragraph, but I have remembered another point I wanted to make. I said in my last post that one reason this trip is difficult it the going out to my favorite restaurants here and finding out that foods I once loved don't love me back. (Did they ever?) Two examples stick out clearly in my mind because I wanted to pay close attention to them. The first I mentioned in the last post was Chicken Tenders. I grew up on these. There was a time in my life when my parents couldn't get me to eat anything else. I had ratings for them and knew where the best ones in town were. I was excited to have them again. That is no longer the case. If you recall, I honestly thought I was going to throw up after I had (what I would have classifies as) top quality tenders (in the past). I feel like I felt the repercussions of that meal for a minimum of 24 hours. Goodbye, Chicken Tenders. I will think of you fondly, but our time has come to an end.
The other food item is the hot dog. Oh man do I love hot dogs. Especially around this time of year. One evening my sister, Meg, made me an organic hot dog that was 'nitrate free'. Now I don't know much about nitrates and the difference between naturally occurring nitrates and those added to meats, but after a quick Google search, I see that it is a much debated topic that I really don't feel like researching at this moment. All I know is that after I ate that organic hot dog, I didn't feel bad at all. It was tasty and it didn't seem to upset my stomach. On Friday night, I went to a great cookout and had a regular hot dog...and well the story was different. The rest of my plate that night was fruit, spinach salad, and pasta salad, and I was only drinking water, so when I began to feel nauseous, I knew the culprit was likely the hot dog, sadly. Goodbye, hot dog. We've had some good times.
Another food I have always loved and tested a few times on this trip was my beloved grilled cheese sandwich. Thankfully no adverse reactions occurred and I will continue to enjoy them in moderation.
Tomorrow I will head to the store to stock up on food for our drive back to Denver. I hope to order some groceries online tonight as well so they arrive at my door Wednesday morning so I may be able to get right back on track. Can't wait!
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