Kitchen renovations.. sigh

I’m out of my house for about 4 or 5 days while we do some kitchen renovations. In a couple weeks I’ll be out again for a day or two because of the floors being redone. I’m staying at my boyfriend’s house and watching them eat wonderfully delicious homemade Chinese food while I eat my plain meats and veggies 😛 Yogurt is running low and I may have actually underestimated how much I need. Sunday and Monday I may have to go without it. The yogurt maker is at home, and I don’t have it in me to try making it in the oven at my boyfriend’s house.

A new thing I have started doing lately is meditation. I’ve always heard meditation can help relieve stress, but I never thought it would work for me. My mind goes crazy thinking too much and I can’t clear it out long enough to get any benefit. Then I came across a post on another blog about meditation, saying all you have to do is sit, focus on a spot on the wall, and count your breathing. You don’t have to not think about anything, just think about the breathing and focus on that. If your mind wanders, realize it did and then again come back to the breathing. Well I tried this and it is really relaxing. I always thought meditation had to be some complicated ‘clear your mind and achieve enlightenment’ sorta deal. This was really nice, and I have continued to do it every now and then. I’m only doing about 5-10 mins per day, but it’s worth it.

The breathing I do is ‘belly breathing’ where your belly rises and falls with each breath while your chest remains fairly stable. I do this breathing through my nose, 4 counts in, 6 counts holding, 6 counts out. This type of breathing is also supposed to help circulation and dark circles under the eyes. Over the course of a couple days I did a lot of belly breathing, probably a few hours of it each day, and noticed my eyes looked brighter the next few days. It’s a lot of work though, I need to constantly remind myself to do it.

I also read “When Panic Attacks” by David Burns and that has helped tremendously. I realize I’m one of those ‘nice’ people who doesn’t deal with issues when they bother me. Instead I shove it deep down and forget about it. Well it turns out that’s the main source of my panic, anxiety and stressful thinking. I’m now making a conscious effort to deal with problems as they happen, even if that means not being ‘nice’. For example if my family comes home, eats my food, dumps their dishes and goes to watch tv, I will tell them it bothered me and ask them to not only clean up (so that I don’t have to later) but also to help me make food. Surprisingly no one has gotten mad at me for nagging them about cleaning up or helping cook. I know, shocking! I really have to keep asking for help and telling people when they do something that bothers me. So much less stressful that way.

Here’s an idea of what I’m eating lately. I’m trying to eat properly for adrenal fatigue, not taking supplements for it or doing more research into it, just resting properly and eating well. This means a good balance of protein, fat and carbs at each meal/snack. I always eat before bed (mostly protein and fat) and first thing when I wake up.
pre-Breakfast: 1/2 cup half n’ half cream yogurt with honey
Breakfast: 2 eggs, chicken broth, cheese, banana
Lunch: Salmon, applesauce with butter
Snack: carrot and celery juice, cheddar cheese
Dinner: chicken thighs with artichoke hearts, applesauce with butter
Snack: 1/2 cup half n’ half cream yogurt with honey, piece of cheese before bed