No Good News

For those of you who have never had back pain, you are lucky. For those who have reoccurring or chronic back pain and manage to function in everyday life like a normal human being, I applaud you-- you are saints (this is specifically directed to my grandfather who has endured a lifetime of back pain and three back surgeries). 

This is the pits. I woke up this morning at a silly o’clock (AKA 5 AM), and thought, Hm. Maybe a little bit of morning yoga will be good for my back. Let me just tell you, that was the worst idea I’ve ever had. After about 5 minutes of yoga warm up, I realized that I was worse off than when I started. So, instead of practicing yoga, I read about practicing yoga. I just got to the Pray portion of Eat, Pray, Love. I have to say, it’s not quite as beautiful and full of pleasure-filled descriptions of food and scenery, but the message is inspirational so far.

By 6:45, I was a hungry girl, and I ate a comprehensive, well-rounded breakfast.

Yogurt with tangerine and oatmeal

Back to my complaining… As the day went on, my lower back continued twisting and knotting. By 10 AM, I was walking and sitting like a cross between a duck and a 9-month pregnant woman (or maybe they are one in the same…).

After some convincing, I headed to the chiropractor. I found this very irritating and disheartening because 1) I hate going to the doctor and 2) This is my 5^th day here and I am already falling apart. The diagnosis wasn’t good. Actually, I’m not quite sure what the diagnosis was… I assume it is a strained muscle. But basically, I have to take a week break from any working out and lay around as much as possible. Even sitting for a long period of time is no good. You should feel special to know that this post is being written while sitting down; I am enduring pain for you…

Now, let me tell you something. It’s a little over 1 month until my wedding and I’ve just been told not to work out for a week. Upon hearing this, my brain went into instant panic mode. I’m just trying not to think about it and preparing myself to work double as hard once my back is good as new.

After my spirits were significantly dampened by the diagnosis,  I spent the next 3 hours laying on the floor with a pillow under my butt. The next week of inactivity may just push me over the edge. My only consolation for this problem is good food.

Salad and beef stew over brown rice.

My next few posts will probably go something like this:

I laid around all day today and ate uninspiring food. –The End.

I know you are excited to read them…

What the Hades Happened to My Oatmeal?/ Oh, My Aching Joints.

I couldn't decide on a title for this post... Here's why.

Thursday I woke up with sore knees. Not good. I have had knee problems off and on for quite a while now, so I am quick to nip it in the bud. But first, I had my breakfast.

 

Oats, cooked apples, Stevia, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 

 

It sounds better than it was. Honestly, it was incredibly disappointing. It would have been better with a tbsp of butter or peanut butter, but since it was REST DAY, I didn’t really need the  extra calories. Meh.

Speaking of calories, can we just talk about this TWINKIE DIET for a sec? This is craziness. If you haven’t heard about it already, check out Biff’s blog: Twinkie Diet. Basically, a professor did this to prove that calorie counting is more effective than other forms of dieting for losing weight. True that, but nutritionally speaking, that guy was killing himself. For the love of God, please don’t try it at home. I get the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.

Back to business. After my mediocre breakfast, I headed straight for the ice pack. My little running buddy/baby, Gizmo, was also feeling the strain of exercise.

 

Me with my ice pack, the Mizzer with his heating pad. His ancient joints were not feeling so good.

20 minutes of icing along with elevation did the trick. Soreness gone.

It was a rest day in every sense of the word. No internship, no school, no exercise. It was lazy city up in this hizz-ouse. And it wasn’t just me.

Getting ready always makes me feel less lazy, so that’s what I did. I even changed my profile pic. Check it (said in a gangsta voice). Lunch rolled around quicker than expected and I was feeling like having some sort of deli-like meal.

 

Oat bread (diggin’ the oats today) topped with cream cheese and slices of tomato. Cucumber and hummus on the side. See, deli-style. 

I packed my food for the next 2 days. I will be hanging with Biff at her apt. All you gluten-free peeps know that you can’t just go somewhere and stay. You have to prepare, think ahead, and know what you’re going eat. It’s not like you can just go to Wendy’s and pick up a burger and fries. No, must. pack. strategically. It took a while, but I got it done. I then did some minor housekeeping duties and sat down to have a cup of tea.

 

Green tea with Jasimine. I felt so Asian.

 

Inspirational  tag. Nice.

After wasting more time playing with my dogs, and otherwise piddling around, I made the journey to College-ville. Somehow, I managed to get there in what felt like no time at all (it took the same amount of time as usual). I am fairly certain that Led Zeppelin has magical make-time-go-faster powers. I had a protein bar before I left, but once I arrived at La Casa de Biff, I was starving. Why did I let myself get to this point? Then the inevitable happened. I ate whatever was no-cook and within reach.

 

Enter candy app. So. Good. I know, shame on me.  

One grueling (well, not really) PR class down and back to La Casa to eat a proper meal

 

Quinoa with salsa and cabbage and onions. Strange combo but delicious considering my voracious appetite.

I finished the day off with some Chocolate Caramel Chai awesomeness while watching my Biff study for the GRE. What fun.

I have hope that the morning will be pain-free. I also hope to have tastier oatmeal in my future.