When Your Wisdom Teeth are Removed, Where Does the Wisdom Go?

My morning routine began the same as any other. I stepped out of the shower and spent the next fifteen minutes stealing sideway glances at my butt and thighs before reluctantly glaring at them as I poked, prodded, lifted and finally sighed my way into my clothes. It was only a week ago that I had had oral surgery to remove all four of my wisdom teeth, and in the interim, I wasn't supposed to be working out at all.

I could swear it was starting to show.

Anxious to put my newfound lack of wisdom to the test, I made the mistake of thinking that I was ready to tackle some cardio just 6 days after surgery. I didn't think it would be a big deal, especially seeing as how I hadn't experienced any sort of pain or discomfort throughout the entire wisdom teeth ordeal.

Just to play it safe, I decided to take it super easy by opting to follow an aerobics dvd off of Netflix. Approximately fifteen minutes into a routine that involved jumping side to side, bending over and using weights, I was suddenly struck by the feeling that if my mouth didn't explode first, then my head definitely would.

No Rest for the Weary

One would think that I would've used better judgment to give myself the extra time needed to recover, but alas, my paranoia and obsession with fitness got the better of me...at least where my teeth used to be....

How beautiful it is to do nothing and then rest afterward. -Spanish Proverb

Sleep Deprivation: The Cost is More Than You Can Afford

Over the past few weeks, I've had difficulty maintaining any sort of a sleeping schedule. I would get up at 5am to go for my runs, walks or to the gym and then my day would proceed until its conclusion anywhere between 11pm to 1am. If that wasn't bad enough, I would then get up the next day and start all over again. You see, I was trying to get the maximum use out of my days because I was prepping for a big move, and I didn't have the luxury of taking a few days off of work. Therefore, I would get up and work out first thing in the morning so that I would have enough time to come back, shower, eat something and head off to a 10-12 hour workday only to come back and begin sorting through things that needed to be packed. I wasn't willing to sacrifice anything.

I should have known that it was going to catch up with me eventually.

I was so busy trying to stay busy that I didn't heed any of the warning signs that my body was doling out. Then it happened. A little over a week ago, after weeks of not getting enough sleep, working out and eating like crap, my body began to give out. I found myself forgetting things left and right. For example, I would walk into a room and completely forget why I was there OR while having a conversation with someone, I would lose my train of thought (This was happening at an alarmingly and increasingly frequent rate). While working, I easily found myself nodding off or blacking out for a few minutes...

You'd think I would have picked up on something being amiss, right? Nope.

The most crushing blow, however, came from the fact that I suddenly found myself simply not able to get up in the morning to complete my morning workout routine. Usually, I will wake up before my alarm...easily. However, I was now sleeping right through my alarm-not even hearing it! Having always been a morning person (especially when it came to working out), I made a few feeble attempts at throwing some exercise in towards the middle or end of the day, but much to my chagrin, I found that I SIMPLY DID NOT HAVE THE PHYSICAL ENERGY OR STRENGTH to get through it.

Disappointed and feeling somewhat defeated, I still somehow managed to find enough energy to become angry with myself.

Why couldn't I work out? Why was I tired all of the time?!

Then I started thinking back...

Only a day or two before I started to feel like my body was shutting down on me, I had been proud of myself for my dedication (which I now realize was confused for stupidity). It was a Sunday morning, and I had only gotten 2-3 hours of sleep due to last-minute packing. I had woken up early, went to pick up the rental truck, loaded everything from our old apartment, moved it to the new place and proceeded to unpack it all. I then took a break and attended a 2 hour soccer game in 90 degree weather in which I not only played the full game, but wound up scoring the winning goal.

I had played extraordinarily well- especially given my own personal set of circumstances. I remember telling my boyfriend (who came to watch my game) that he shouldn't expect me to play too well given the fact that I had only gotten a few hours of sleep and had just spent the entire day moving stuff. But I surprised myself when I played at almost the same level (if not better) than I normally did when I had gotten a full night of sleep.

In the End, Was it Worth It?

After being sleep deprived for so long, I shouldn't have been surprised at my inability to function correctly this past week. Each day blended into the next, and the majority of the time, all I wanted to do was find a warm spot, curl into a ball and fall asleep. Not only this, but for someone who is usually a light sleeper, I have found it strangely bizarre that as soon as my head hit the pillow (literally), I fell immediately into a deep sleep. Even up until yesterday, I slept until almost noon! Granted, I was up until almost 3am- but still; in the past, I would've stayed up until 3am and then turned right around to get up at 5 or 6 in the morning.

In the end, trying to pack everything into my schedule without the willingness to sacrifice something...ANYTHING.. wasn't worth it. In an ironic twist of fate, my desire and willingness to get everything done- this persistent need to feel as though each and every hour was spent doing something productive led to my inability to function in any sort of truly productive- capacity. Why, look at what I have had to sacrifice over the past week alone...I haven't been able to work out; and both my work and personal life have taken pretty significant blows because I was simply too tired to do much of anything.

Perhaps this was the "wake up call" I needed to get my priorities in order and realize how incredibly important getting the right amount of sleep is.

The bed is a bundle of paradoxes: we go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret; we make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to keep it late. -Charles Caleb Colton

Who Said You Couldn't Eat Guacamole for Dinner?

As important as it is to maintain a regular exercise schedule, it would be meaningless if you didn't also maintain a relatively healthy diet. That being said, I came across the following recipe from Lisa Rosen and decided to give it a whirl. Being that I am, in no way, shape or form, a cook; this recipe is simple and doesn't require too much in the way of prep time. As an additional bonus, it is both delicious and good for you!

Black Beans & Guacamole Rice Dish

What You'll Need:

• rice (any kind that you prefer)
• (1) can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• (1/2) cup of salsa (it's ok to eyeball it)
• (2) avocados
• (1/4) red onion, diced (I used a food processor)
• (1/4) cup or so of lime juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions for Black Beans & Salsa:

• Using a rice cooker (or simply following the directions on the rice), cook the rice as instructed.
• While the rice is cooking, rinse and drain the can of black beans and then dump the contents into a medium size saucepan.
• Add the salsa to the saucepan, straining as much of the juice out of it as you prefer (the more liquid you keep, the more soupy the beans will be).
• Heat the contents of the saucepan over medium/high heat until hot and then lower heat until ready to serve.

Directions for Guacamole:

• Fill a small bowl with water and ice cubes.
• Place sliced onion into bowl and allow to sit for approximately 10 minutes (The ice water reduces that oniony aftertaste).
• While the onion is soaking, prep your avocados: cut each one in half around the equator. When you twist the two halves apart, the pit will stick in one side. Carefully use a sharp knife to remove the pit. After that, score the flesh of the avocado like a tic-tac-toe board and then turn it inside out. Use a spoon to scrape the squares off of the peel into your bowl or food processor.
• Depending on whether or not you have a food processor, simply add the avocado and onion into the processor and pulse a few times until evenly mixed. If you do not have a food processor, mash the avocado by hand using a fork.
• After avocado and diced onion are thoroughly mixed together, add lime juice as well as salt and pepper to taste.

Presentation:

• Add finished rice to a plate and pour desired amount of black bean-salsa sauce over the top. Add guacamole at the end.

To safeguard one's health at the cost of too strict a diet is a tiresome illness indeed. -La Rochefoucauld

I Ran Anyway

The next time the weather report says that it is 75 degrees outside, I will definitely be sure to look more closely at the details.

As soon as I saw that the temperature outside was reasonably cool, I quickly got dressed and headed out the door to go for a run at Umstead Park. However, what I failed to realize was that the weather report also mentioned that it would be extremely humid today....unbearably humid. I hadn't even started my run, and already I could see the sunblock that I had shalacked onto my legs, bubbling up into tiny beads of moisture.

Whatever.

I began my run, and about five minutes into it, I considered turning around and going to the gym: the nice . air-conditioned . non-humid . gym... But I had already committed to running outside; so if this was what Mother Nature was doling out to the runners and cyclists today, then so be it.

My original plan was to run an extremely hilly 9 +/- mile loop, and in the beginning, I was hoping to finish it in around an hour and three minutes (which would have put me running at around 7 minute/mile pace. However, with the weather being as uncooperative as it was, I changed my mindset to just hoping that I could even get through the darn run.

When the Going Gets Tough; The Tough Gets Chanting?

There is one part of this particular loop that I was running today where you have to make a steady 10-minute uphill climb right smack in the middle of the run on a trail named "Cedar Ridge". With my shirt fully soaked through with sweat and humidity only thirty minutes into the run, I found my myself focusing not on the hills before me, but rather, on my boyfriend's favorite coffee beverage:

a large, quad, vente, skim, decaf, iced mocha.....
a large, quad, vente, skim, decaf, iced mocha.....
a large, quad, vente, skim, decaf, iced mocha.....
a large, quad, vente, skim, decaf, iced mocha.....

Now, anyone who was running with me during those ten minutes would have thought that I was nuts, but guess what? Before I knew it, I had traversed the hilly terrain and was enjoying a brief break from the hills before having to make the next climb on the main trail. Who knew that coffee could be such a lifesaver?

In the end, I wound up finishing my run two minutes slower than what I would have liked, but instead of being disappointed with myself, I couldn't help but be proud. I knew how crappy the weather was. I also knew that as I stood there stretching beside my car steadily gulping down ice cold water, with my sweat-soaked shirt slung over the sideview mirror on my door-that the vast majority of "normal" people were still in bed. And out of those people, I knew that upon waking up, their first thought was definitely not going to be, "Let's see how far I'll run today.."

Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. -Lou Holtz

2 Pieces of Chocolate Cake, and 1 Guilt Trip Later...

Dear Self,

I promise to work out later this afternoon so that I don't wind up feeling guilty about devouring those two HUGE pieces of yellow cake with the creamy milk chocolate icing, which I decided to have for breakfast....

Yours in Guilt Until Then,

Me

Yup. Not only did I sleep in this morning* (and by 'sleeping in', I mean I slept until 7:30am instead of my usual 5:30am), but on top of that I decided to nix my morning routine of exercise-opting instead to head directly for the kitchen where I knew I had baked a delicious cake the night before. And two slices of cake later, I was just as full of milk chocolate creamy deliciousness as I was of guilt for stuffing my face.

Should I feel ashamed?

I guess I probably would feel like a pig if I found myself doing this every other day. However, this was not the case. But it brings up a good point nonetheless. I think the problem with a lot of people who overeat or who eat the wrong things is that they make excuses for themselves. For instance, I'll often hear other people saying, "oh, it's not a big deal if I eat this now because it's not like I eat it every day..." or the infamous, "once in a while can't hurt you....". But what do these people typically look like? What is their day-to-day routine of activity? How much free time do they have, and how are they spending that free time?

I don't profess to be an absolute health nut, though I am, admittedly, neurotic at times. However, I do keep my health at the forefront of my life. Each piece of food that goes into my body is a conscious decision that I made to put it there. There is a saying that you should treat your body like a temple, and it's true! If you care about your overall health (not to mention the amount of money in your bank account), then you owe it to yourself to be more careful about what you eat.

But, It Was SO Delicious!

Even though it was definitely not the "breakfast of champions," I'm not going to beat myself up for having a couple of generous portions of cake this morning. I'm tempted to, but I'm going to hold off on it. I know that in order to maintain some relative semblance of sanity when it comes to healthy eating, you've got to leave yourself a little wiggle room for the occasional treat, otherwise you'll just wind up binge eating at some point. Look at most people who stick to strict diets. Sure, most of them do great in the beginning, but then they wind up losing their self control. If you want to find out what these guys are up to, just check aisle 10 of the grocery store, where you'll more than likely find them going nuts over the candy and potato chips. It's not pretty.

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

I was running late for work & didn't have time to make myself something healthy.

I got home late and was exhausted & didn't have the time to throw something together for the next day....

The kids had to go to soccer practice, and I didn't have the time...

I couldn't find the time...

If coming up with excuses for things was a sport, than we'd all be elite athletes. You know, the funny thing about time is that we always make room for it when something is really important to us. That being said, why can't health be an important enough issue for the majority of people?

What some call health, if purchased by perpetual anxiety about diet, isn't much better than tedious disease. -George Dennison Prentice

Spontaneous Combustion Run

90 degrees.

That's how hot it was at 8:45 this morning as I stood with one foot inside of my apartment and the other on the landing, debating whether or not going for a run outside was such a good idea.

Screw it.

Running is a fickle occupation. If you're looking for consistency, then this is not your sport. For instance, on a Monday, you could run a p.r. on a really difficult running route, and then on a Friday, you can find yourself barely able to get through one mile on the treadmill without feeling like you're going to keel over. Like anything that requires a decent amount of physical exertion (i.e. exercising), I knew that if I didn't, in that instance, will myself to fully step out of my apartment and shut the door behind me, that I wouldn't run at all. I also knew that I would feel horrible about not working out because exercising genuinely makes me feel good!

That being said, I jogged down the three flights of stairs to my car and drove over to Umstead Park. By the time I started my run at 9:03 a.m., the sun was really beating down. At one point during my run, I remember thinking that I might spontaneously combust if I didn't strictly stick to the shaded areas.

It's All Downhill From Here!

Even though I was running alone and at a good clip, each step felt like torture. It was one of those runs where you secretly hope that you don't run into anyone that you know and then you sorta' kick yourself for having not gotten up earlier to run. Yeah- that was me. And as luck would have it, about fifteen minutes into my run, I saw one of my old college teammates running towards me with another group of young women. Of course, they were running downhill towards me, and I was running uphill, but I still managed to straighten my posture and work up enough leftover energy to smile broadly and yell out a hearty "hey!" as I waved in passing. Then for the next ten minutes as I trudged up the rest of the hill, I wondered what my teammate thought when she passed me:

"Gee, I wonder how long she's been running- she sure looked exhausted!"

or

"Wow, she looked like she was in great shape!"

Time to 'Fess up...

Few people who have run on a semi-professional level will admit to it, but many of us still carry a lot of pride when we go out for a run. What do I mean by this? Well the example above is one instance of how you never want other people who you've run with when you were in your prime to know how bad you are sucking now that you don't run on the same "level" anymore. I, for one, used to have this huge fear of going for a run at a park and being passed by another runner. I used to think to myself, "I can't go out there and run by myself- If I get passed by some other runner, I'll never be able to get over it!"

It seems so silly and quite frankly, downright ridiculous, but it's true. It's as if we have a hard time dealing with the fact that we're simply not on the same competitive level that we used to be when we were in college. Granted, there are some runners who continue to run beyond college and who are even talented enough to be sponsored by a brand. These are the same people who go out and compete in road races, marathons and train with teams of other like-minded individuals. For them, even a "fun run" road race gets turned into a competition where if you're going to run it, you had better rank among the top five finishers- otherwise, don't waste your time.

Admittedly, running road races "for fun" is something that I have (and continue) to struggle with. Part of me would love to see where I stand now that I have been away from the world of competitive running for a few years, but at the same time, I also know that I would be devastated if I wasn't at least where I left off in college. After all, the last thing that I want is for someone to see the results of some random race that I recently ran and be shocked that I ran so poorly. How embarrassing!

If It Was Easy; Everyone Would Do It...

Today's run was difficult. I've only been back in North Carolina for less than a week, having traveled a lot over the past three weeks and missing out on sleeping, etc. Despite this, I still wanted to get out there and run at a high level this morning- all the while knowing in the back of my head that I was setting unrealistic expectations for myself. And when I saw my teammate approaching me from a distance, I thanked God for small blessings. After all, I had just started my run, which meant that I was still relatively fresh, and she was heading in the opposite direction as me, which meant that I didn't have to suffer being passed by someone I knew (oh, the horror!).

There also comes a time when you're running alone through trails at a park where you may feel a momentary wave of panic wash over you. It usually comes at a moment when it's just a little too quiet....when there aren't any people around and you start to think to yourself of all the possible ways that you could be attacked. Many professional runners, such as Joan Benoit Samuelson, advocate thinking over the worse-case scenario stuff while you're running because it helps you stay on your toes. The good thing about running by yourself on trails is that you can almost always tell when you're nearing the end of one because that's when you start to see more and more people.

Wrapping it Up

11.5 miles later, I made it back to my Jeep having only stopped once (50 minutes into my run) to get a drink of water from the water fountain. The one thing that I really appreciate about running is that it always teaches me something about myself; and I know that this is an area that always has room for improvement!

Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt. - William Shakespeare

Why Can't I Ever Crave Healthy Food?

Earlier this week, I was really- and I mean really craving salty foods, specifically seasoned french fries and/or tortilla chips with salsa. At first, I tried to substitute something healthier to make up for this craving; but in the end, I wound up making a couple of trips to the local fast food place to get some french fries only to follow that up by practically eating an entire bag of tortilla chips a couple of days later. Almost immediately, I felt bad about eating so terribly, but what could I have done? The craving was that strong; I couldn't ignore it!

Understanding Food Cravings

According to the International Food Information Council & Food Insight, some researchers speculate that food cravings arise in an effort to supply the body with nutrients that it lacks. For example, a diet that is extremely low in calories (like mine has been lately) may cause extreme carbohydrate cravings...(which might explain why I almost felt the need to polish off an entire loaf of bread earlier in the week). Susan Schiffman, PhD professor of medical psychology at Duke University Medical Center says the following:

Carbohydrate cravings can simply be from hunger because your blood sugar levels are too low.

However, food cravings have also been linked to other physiological needs. Carbohydrate cravings in people who exercise a lot could be caused by the depletion of glycogen stores, which is typically replenished by carbohydrates. Additionally, there have been links made between serotonin levels and carbohydrates in which consuming too few carbohydrates can result in reduced levels of serotonin, thereby driving intense periods of food cravings.

What is Serotonin?

According to one website's definition:

Serotonin is a hormone that is found naturally in the human brain; it is also found in the digestive tract and platelets of some animals, including human beings. It is also found in a variety of plant sources, including vegetables, fruits, and even mushrooms. Categorized as a neurotransmitter, it is important in transmitting nerve impulses. It is also described as a vasoconstrictor, which is a substance that can cause narrowing of the blood vessels. The amino acid, tryptophan, is credited with producing serotonin in the body.

Ways to Reduce Your Food Cravings

Eating can be extremely complex. Beyond simply eating to satisfy hunger, there still looms the issue of eating "for comfort" to satisfy some underlying physiological or psychological issue. For example, some people eat certain foods because they may like the texture, taste, aroma or color. For others, consuming a particular food item may remind them of a pleasant experience or memory in their life such as "the apple pie that grandma used to make" or "that pasta dish that mom used to make". The following are some ways to help reduce your food cravings:

1. Exercise- It has been scientifically proven that exercising significantly improves food cravings by releasing chemicals called endorphins into our bodies, which help to control the urge to eat. For example many athletes such as runners will go out for a long run and not feel all that hungry right after they finish. For the average person, you should try to aim for at least thirty (30) minutes of exercise each day- even if it's jogging in place!
   
2. For the Ladies- They call it "the curse," but it has been a long-known fact that when women are experiencing PMS, they often have cravings for different types of food (usually sugary or fatty foods). Some researchers credit this to our hormones being out of whack. Regardless, if you're serious about figuring out why it is you crave what you do, keeping a diary and taking note of what you eat during your periods can help you find some answers.
   
3. Eat Regularly-Did you ever hear the saying from your doctor, "You should never skip breakfast," or "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day..."? It's true! Skipping meals can cause your blood sugar levels to fall drastically, which naturally causes food cravings and often leads many people to overeat or binge eat. Ideally, you should try to eat a small meal every few hours (i.e. 3-4 hours for women and 4-5 hours for guys). Small meals can consist of anything from a box of raisins and a yogurt to a banana and half of a sandwich. The main thing that you are trying to do here is keep your blood glucose levels stable, which will help your metabolism as well as reduce cravings associated with PMS.
   
4. Watch the Calories- The vast majority of us are seldom ever happy with our weight, which is why diets are so popular. However, people who are consuming 800 calories a day or less should only be doing so if they have been consulted by a doctor. Otherwise, this can be extremely dangerous. Medical experts do not recommend diets consisting of fewer than 1100 calories. Instead, if you are really trying to lose those pounds, aim for at least a 1200 calorie diet, and focus your efforts on consuming nutrient-rich foods such as plenty of fresh veggies and fresh fruit while nixing the sugary and fatty stuff such as that bag of Swedish Fish that you can never seem to get enough of.
5. Watch the Sugar & Processed Foods- Did you know that consuming refined sugars can actually make your food cravings worse? It can also make the healthier food options on your menu such as fresh fruits, veggies and oats seem excessively bland. This is often due to the overconsumption of refined sugars as well as processed foods. If you reduce your intake of refined sugars and trade it in for the better sugars (such as the ones found in fruit), then you should see a difference.
   

Other Sites You May Be Interested In

• This website offers some great choices for food swaps to help you avoid those cravings while making healthier eating choices.
• 7 Things to Know About Food Cravings
• How Food Cravings Work

More die in the United States of too much food than of too little. -John Kenneth Galbraith