Tummy Demons

I’m not sure what got a hold of me on Saturday. In the morning, I felt pretty damn good at my workout, then Dave and I celebrated with our usual Saturday brunch at Habanero Cafe (eggs & machacado, guacamole, bacon).

Around noon, I heard myself say, “I’m just gonna take a little nap. I don’t feel so great.”

At 6:00 p.m., I was still in bed, and it was obvious the stomach ache wasn’t going anywhere. When I still didn’t feel capable of eating at 9:00 p.m., I was officially concerned.

During the course of the last two and a half days, I’ve “watched” 17 episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent and barely left the bed. I say “watched” because yesterday, I slept through most of them, waking only to hit the NEXT EPISODE button on Netflix when the theme music ended.

I haven’t done very well in the nutrition department, either, but I have eaten clean, so I guess that’s something.

Sunday

• 1 banana, eaten in 1-inch chunks over the course of six hours (!)
• 1 egg, scrambled
• 1 egg, hard boiled
• 1 frozen strawberry “just fruit” bar
• a few spoonfuls of Thai coconut soup Dave got me on Saturday, which went directly into the fridge, untouched

I also cooked some boneless, skinless chicken thighs, then felt queasy from the smell, and put them immediately into the fridge.

Monday

• 2 oz. cold chicken, eaten in the smallest bites imaginable
• 2 oz. chicken sauteed with steamed bok choy (hail the return of vegetables!)
• 2 hard-boiled eggs with a little homemade mayo, jicama on the side
• an abandoned attempt at a grapefruit, which in hindsight seems foolish – way too acidic
• the remainder of the Thai soup, mostly broth and a few bites of chicken

Things are trending in the right direction, but man! I have zero appetite and my tummy is bloated like I swallowed one of those nice squishy medicine balls we use at the gym.

All of this disclosure has a point: It’s impossible to do anything of value when my body isn’t working properly: I can’t think. I have no enthusiasm. I’m distracted by the internal monologue chanting “lie down, lie down.” And although I’m a little bitter that some evil virus was able to circumvent the security system of my squeaky-clean eating habits, this downtime only reinforces my belief that eating right is the foundation of everything good and noble and worthwhile. I’ve wanted a bowl of noodles or a triangle of toast SO much over the last few days, but I know that wouldn’t have provided any real relief in the short- or long-term. Good fuel is what makes everything hum, and if my internal systems aren’t working, there can be no quality output: no blog posts, no recipes, no workouts, no music.