The Breakfast Lie and Modern Life

Breakfast is not the most important meal of the day.  Is one meal more important than another?  If that was so, then you could skip meals all the time.  You can miss lunch altogether because it's not important.  Does that sound absurd?  That's like saying my electric bill is unimportant during certain months.  Skip the payment.

Breakfast as the most important meal of the day was created by advertisers to boost their products.  I was learning this on a radio program and my initial guess was the Kellogg brothers had schemed it up but it was actually the pork industry.  It needed to drive up sales so the breakfast slogan was introduced in doctors offices by shiny brochures created by the pork sellers.  Everyone needed to eat ham with their eggs in the morning.

Now, if you ask your grandparents they ate a very small meal at dawn and went to work on the land.  Lunch was a huge spread at noon and then another light meal was prepared at night.

Most people instinctively know they shouldn't fill their stomachs first thing in the morning.  People are not hungry.  They don't feel hunger pangs until 2-3 hours after waking.  So, why do we rush to swallow a lot of protein, carbs, and fat as soon as we put our feet inside our slippers?

My theory is we have to run off to work and school.  There is no breakfast time alotted at the workplace or school.  Most folks feel pretty good first thing in the morning and don't get hungry until they've forged about three hours into their day.

But, with our modern work life with assembly line shifts and feeling as if you are being policed every minute of your day, there is not the flexibility needed to promote your own body's health.  Are you allowed to eat a meal when your body actually needs it?  No, most people are told when to eat.  They are told when to use the bathroom and to hold it (too bad) because you're must stay on duty until someone else tells you otherwise.

Part of health is recognizing your body's needs and tending to them.  This does not mean ignore your body.  I'm not going to go down all the occupations and make exceptions.  People do work long hours that runs into overtime.  Medical staff have to perform double shifts.  I get it.  But common sense tells us our health must be a priority or there's nothing left of you for anyone, on or off the job.

So, if you can be more flexible with your meals and snacks while working, please do so.

And dare I say.....If you don't have the flexibility to attend to your health....it's time to make a change in your job/career.

Living live vacation means you are productive and healthy.  It is a partnership, otherwise it is not productive, it is destructive.

More to come.. .

What You've Been Waiting For.................Radical Health Makeover

So, I said a month or so back that I was going to write about the health aspects of living like vacation and specifically, diet.

When you're starting out on the Live Like Vacation challenge, mind-set, goals, whatever you want to call it, you have to get a handle on sleep and diet.

I haven't added anything yet in the steps about diet, but now it is probably time.  If you get steps 1-5 under your belt and feel good about your progress, diet can be approached with a not-too-scary anticipation.

Time needs to be rearranged in the schedule, (you've worked on this already) in order to avoid excessive eating out and changing to eating more meals made in the home.  The time rearrangement will help you be better prepared for this.

I know when it's the end of the day and I'm tired by the time I am home, I am not in my best frame of mind to think about nutrition.  This part of the day my will is pretty weak, so I will crave chocolate and anything I can eat quickly.  Not a good idea.  That's why you want to feel organized and efficient throughout the day, so the evening is not a crash and burn session lying on the couch zoned out as if your brain left the planet.

Lunches are difficult, too.  When you don't have something packed it's time for the mad dash to some fast food place that will give you a flour and water concoction wrapped up in wax paper that will make you sleepy for the rest of the afternoon.

Breakfast is also a perilous time of the day because I am about to tell you that all the traditional favorites have to be given up.........

Oh Boo!  I've ruined all your taste bud fun!

Let's get right to the crux of the matter.  There are foods you will have to give up.  Yep, it's going to be sad.  It's like sending that big bowl of pasta on a space ship to Mars.  Farewell, old buddy.  Hope you make it, because you're never seeing earth again.

Terrified?   No, you're not.  You already made a commitment to the Live Like Vacation mind-set, so this is a piece of cake.   Oh, Sorry.

Let's take the baby steps here.  Can you give up the junk food, soda, and  reduce the coffee and eat more at home?  You will feel a difference in energy level.

Once you do that we can talk more about diet.

There is one issue here that needs discussing.  Eating better foods is not enough.  The body has to heal from the trauma induced by years of damaging foods.  If this damage is not healed, the body can't absorb the good stuff, so poor health will continue due to malabsorption.

Once folks experience some small benefits, the radical health transformation is not impossible.    Keep looking forward.

Does Step #3 Drive You Crazy?

Just wondering.

Because there are moments in my day when I feel like I am a robot getting things done that are so mundane.

That's step 3.

Here's a recap of the steps so far. (I introduced them in this prior post.)

1. Make a commitment to the Live-Like-Vacation  Lifestyle
2. Sleep at the same time every night
3. Systematize your daily activities/chores so they are out of the way, (then you will have more room for the bigger activities)

Here's #4 and #5 just FYI:
4. Knock out of your life the things that are unproductive
5. Make your work joyful for yourself and others

And then, coming soon, as I work through my LLV progress, I will add in steps that address financial wellness.

Can Step #3 be a real drain?
I believe the answer is "yes."  This is something we have to make peace with.
I can wake up and stroll into the kitchen and say to myself, here I am again making coffee, making breakfast, feeding the cats...

Day in an day out these chores are here waiting to get done.  Paying the bills, taking out the trash, laundry, etc.  What is there to feel good about?  It's drudgery.

But if you can systematize it.....Oh, boy.  That's another chore.

Well, if I go about it willy-nilly, I forget something like making son's lunch.  Then I have to scramble to get that done before he's late for school.  So, a system will prevent scrambling.

I do not like scrambling.  This is what makes me so grumpy in the first place wondering when I can have my next vacation.

Scrambling is what makes my practice members call me up in a panic because they need to get adjusted as soon as they can because all their stress sneaked up on them.

I also tend to scramble when I am at work.  I have to type up a notice for someone.  I have to get a claim ready to mail.  I have to be productive in between appointments before it's time to pick up son from school.  I have to set aside time to eat lunch before my brain crashes next to my feet.

I have to systematize my work day so I can be more attentive to my practice members when they need me the most.

You, whoever you are, need to systematize your work day so you can be your best for your customers, clients, students, and co-workers.  We deserve it from each other.

So, the daily chores go smoothly and give you more time for the important things, or we can just feel as if we are drowning in the annoyance of chores.

I guess we can look back at #1.  The commitment makes a difference in our mind-set.  We know there is a greater reward when the small details are worked out.

And then I will throw in #2.  An authentically restful sleep routine makes us much more efficient, and we can feel as if this part of our day is effortless and a warm up for the rest.

Get warmed up for the rest of the day.

How do you use Step #3 to your advantage.  Please share in the comments section.

Also, in a future post I will discuss the second part of step #3.  You see that part that is written in parentheses.  What are the bigger activities of the LLV lifestyle?

Good question......  See you soon.  

Two Whammies Coming Up

It's Friday so the weekend is here.

Two possible snags to my authentically restful sleep routine, ARSR, are coming up.

First, son has said all week he is looking forward to staying up late, so I'll have to decide how to handle it.  I might say no.  I might let him stay up until ten, but that means I have to stay up until ten and be the alarm clock for him.

Also this is the weekend we change the clocks and "spring ahead."  This morning I was up at 6:30 and it is already nice and bright.  I wonder if we really need this.  This is also the time of the year we have to get up an hour early due to the clock change and it can take quite a while to get used to it.

I will continue to go to bed at 9 PM and let myself wake up naturally as the light appears in the window.  This is the paleo/primal way to wake your body up anyway.

Also, today is a Friday during lent and that changes the whole breakfast ritual.  We still eat eggs and butter, but that is about it in the protein/fat department.  It is quite easy for me to feel light headed when I wait too to eat, not just during Lent.  The challenge now is to avoid meat and not go wild on the carbs.  Any type of flour and refined product is going to make my stomach bloat.  Yeck!  But this is a mild sacrifice compared to the Crucifixion of our Lord.  Less time on food allows more time on prayer.  But, I need to watch my diet today so I don't end up over-inflaming my system.

Go take on the Day and Keep that Vacation-Feel!

Good Morning Day #3

Today is my busy day.  I have to head over to the next town at 8:30, so as soon as I drop off hubby and son to their work and school, I am on the road.

Waking up early was so easy.  But I know it's not easy when your sleep schedule is a mess.  Sometimes we have rotten sleep schedules that appear to be normal.  I thought I had a fairly decent sleep schedule.

My recent state of calmness these last two days pretty much proves I was not doing well in the sleep department.  And when we say we'll catch up later, or one late night during the week isn't so bad -- it really is bad.
----------------------Later in the day entry:
The rest of my day did not go as planned.  I was stuck in the sleety, snowy driveway.  It took a while to get out.  Thanks to some friendly neighbors, they pushed my car out.  I was stuck at the end of the driveway because I stopped.  People up north know that stopping is a risk.  I saw a neighbor leaving his driveway, so I stopped and it turns out if I just rammed it out onto the street I would have been fine.  But when it comes to high snow banks blocking your view, you can never be too careful.  This time it got me stuck.

I cancelled my evening appointments and I was okay with that.  I usually don't like changing other people's plans and I feel awful about it, but the weather was bad.

Now, my calmness about the situation.... was that because I had an authentic good night's sleep?  It can be up to debate but I'll say yes.
SLEEP MATTERS!

Now, you may think I am a horrible, out of control, witch.  I keep mentioning how calm I feel.  It's not that I was always over the top anxious.  I just don't know what other word besides "calm" to use to describe my journey.

The "vacation feel" is certainly nice, comfortable, relaxing.  This is the feeling I want to keep in my back to non-vacation life.  It feels very calm.

I kept my breakfast ritual simple again.  Doing so helps me feel less uptight about squeezing in a workout.  I truly loved my work out days.  I have been very lazy and in a rut for at least 1 1/2 years, so I miss it.  I'll go into more detail with that as well in future blog posts.

I will also talk more about my Paleo cereal.  It's a new favorite.

The clock says 8:56 PM. Time to turn in.

Day 2: Vacation Diet Pros and Cons

image: nomnompaleo.com

Welcome to my blog about making the vacation feeling last through regular daily living of work and chores.  I was back to the office today, since it is Monday morning.  It was the first morning I woke up feeling not rushed.

My plan last night was to be in bed by 9 PM.  I was actually getting to bed during my vacation between 9 and 10 and waking up at 7 AM.  This was quite  a nice surprise.  I enjoyed the slow quiet morning while everyone else slept.  I easily went to bed at an early hour during vacation and thought it would be nice to do that all the time.

So today I was awake at 6:30 AM.  I really didn't have to get up until 7 so I stayed in bed and thought about my goals for the morning.  I was up by 6:50 and starting morning chores.

One thing to note about going to bed early while on vacation: I had no chores to do.  We helped clean up the kitchen after dinner and that was about it.  I wasn't scurrying around the house like I do at home.

I tried to get to bed at a decent hour in the past but there was always one more thing to get done.  I had to clean the kitty litter, put the clothes in the dryer, wash the last few dishes, deposit checks with my tablet, get the trash ready for trash day, etc.  It becomes maddening.

When I get to bed late, I feel as if I have had no time to myself.  I like to read before bed.  I like to say the rosary while I am in bed.  I often talk to my son in his room before his eyes start to get heavy. Some nights I get very anxious about what I have to do the next day.  I usually feel this way on Sunday nights.

Do you relate to any of my "stressful complaints?"

I had a nice morning.  I did a 20 minute work out.  I made my son's lunch, and got my water bottles ready for work.  I started a load of laundry.  I kept it non-rushed.  And I felt calm.

I also did something different.  I started my Day #2 change.
I made breakfast but didn't eat it.
How odd is that?

On vacation, I ate too much at dinner.  This sounds so typical, right?  We grilled a couple of nights, ate out one night and I seemed to overeat.  I was off my routine and at times was crazy hungry.  Of course, that's no excuse to overeat, but that's what happened.

During the mornings I skipped breakfast because I still had that full feeling when I woke up.  I drank a lot of water.  I drank my favorite energy drink because it aids digestion, and I ate lunch around 12 or 1.

So, skipping breakfast was a good idea during vacation.  I also decided to do it today, as well.  This may sound corny but I don't like eating so early in the morning.  I have done it to fuel up, but my stomach feels too full.  It's not because I eat a large breakfast, but I don't think my stomach acid is ready to go that early in the morning.  I like eating around 10 AM when I have a real hunger feel, so today I made my bacon and eggs and packed them in my cooler for later.  I also had a small container of homemade Paleo cereal which I snacked on, as well.  (I'll talk about Paleo later)

Because I eat too quickly in the morning, I don't enjoy it and my stomach feels bloated and full.  Because I follow the ideas of the paleo/primal lifestyle, I thought waiting makes sense and it would help me feel less stressed.

I had a green drink while I exercised and then ate my breakfast at 9:30.  My schedule may not always allow this so flexibility is needed.  I also note that at the office I do more grazing.  I nibbled at my breakfast when I had a moment, so I was not rushed and not filling up quickly.  I am hoping this will help me get rid of my winter gut.

In summary of my first two days:

I don't need to add stress to my day.  Adequate sleeps is the first defense.  Simplifying the morning routine despite the necessary chores is certainly doable.

Now, it is almost time for bed.  I wanted to have some computer time before bed, so I kept myself busy once we got home.  We were home around 6:30.  Laundry was started soon enough, and I took care of my deposits and got the dishes done.
I felt focused.  Many past nights I feel like collapsing and procrastinated, This also contributed to my staying up late.

Tonight I am ready for bed by 8:15.  I am getting my son ready for his bath at 8:30 and we will be in bed by 9.

Did I worry and ruminate about my long day tomorrow?  Maybe I did two hours ago, but all I want to do now is turn out the lights relaxed, and calm.
And I think it is working.