Listen to Your Body

Just listen to your body. Sounds easy, right? Your body will tell you what it can and can't do. But this isn't entirely true. Yes, I am a huge advocate of listening to your body but I also know sometimes my body lies. It may cry "stop" when in all reality, I don't need to. But then are those times when I do need to listen. Telling the difference between a minor ache and a serious ache can be quite difficult especially when you take into account that endurance runners are prone to push their limits.
Right next to listen to your body is follow your own advice. I commented to dear hubby last night on our way to fishing that I wanted to improve my diet and eat healthier. I didn't get the response I expected but in all reality he wasn't against me....he just didn't see how I could make it healthier with me already putting veggie purees into everything. But I am a huge proponent of continuous improvement and yes, things can always get better! I rode happily in the car thinking of all the wonderful freggies in our fridge and my commitment to cut back more on processed foods, increase sensible hydration, and just feel healthier and more energized. Please forgive me for munching on a granola bar in this moment. See, there is room for improvement!

And I knew food at fishing is never the optimal and I opted for a slice of veggie pizza. Not too bad, right? But if I knew they were going to be grilling chicken and asparagus and pulling out carrots and strawberries I would have skipped the pizza. Guess asking first is always good. Oopsie!
I tried to be good and decline other foods but I was under bombardment of offers to try this or that. I did take a few more nibbles of asparagus, even though I knew I didn't want more food, and adamantly refused the french fries. And I did drink perhaps one too many light beers and that brings me to today.
Listen to your body.
I didn't feel good waking up this morning. I tried to drink plenty of water before going to bed and throughout the night. I kept waking up. I wasn't sleeping well and I knew why. My body doesn't really like alcohol. Yes, I may like a glass of wine or a cold light beer but my body doesn't. And after going through a period of time with essentially no alcohol, I really could hear what my body was saying and knew why. We all know alcohol dehydrates you but I now know for certain in prevents me from getting a good night's sleep and sleep is essential for me. I need every minute I can get since I only have a few hours between my bedtime and when I need to get up if I am going to run before work.
I still ran this morning. I was tempted to sleep in but wasn't really sleeping. Plus, I told myself I made the mistake and needed to get my butt out of bed, to the gym, and run through some of this yucky feeling. And get some good nutrition and hydration into my body. The run felt hard but ironically I maintained the same pace as yesterday when my run was so much more blissful.
Am I saying I will never drink another ounce of alcohol? No. I am sure I will on a special occasion but I will not worry so much next time about hurting someone's feelings by putting my foot down and saying, NO, I don't want anything else to eat. NO, I don't want another beer. Sometimes I think I worry too much about causing a scene and not hurting someone's feelings that I forget to do what is really best for me. I need to listen to my body and stand up for it. I am the only one who can.
Daily Gratitude: I am thankful for the 3.55 miles I managed to pull off this morning.
Daily Affirmation: I have the power to say NO with grace.