The other morning I was not really sure what I needed more – a hug, a XXXXL cup of coffee, five tequila shots or six months of cybernation. If I had the freedom to choose, I would have surely taken the latter, but the smiley face with the brightest eyes in the world standing above me brought me back to reality in an instant. It should be considered a criminal offense to be so beautiful and sweet. This is pure manipulation! Why does not it work the other way around when I smile at her with all my teeth asking for 30 more minutes of sleep?!
Hours after the third cup of coffee, I was searching my mind for events, routines, extraordinary circumstances, natural disasters and ancient spells in a quest to explain the root of this cosmic fatigue. As you might expect, the reasons behind my tiredeness were gravitating to infinity, laying the strongest emphasis on the following: considerable work and emotional overload, seasonal changes, poorly adapted sports regime, lower protein intake, lack of rest. Since being a mom means that the lack of rest will be there constantly until wee one’s adolescence, I started dealing with the rest of my endless list of issues. The feeling of total exhaustion is extremely unfavorable when you have to bounce vigorously like an Easter rabbit every day, so I introduced the following rules to my daily routine:
Sports routine. Few months back I was mainly running in the mountain and doing yoga at the studio. Now, I prepared a schedule with the type and intensity of my daily workouts. Running (5 km) and walking (at least 5 km) are an essential part of my everyday life. Both are super easy because the little one makes me run to the nursery and back (4 times a day x 3 km in each direction = 12 km). In addition, sports activities during the week are strictly arranged as follows: Monday – 40 minutes pilates, Tuesday – 40 minutes HIIT, Wednesday – 40 minutes yoga, Thursday – rest day. On Friday everything starts all over again. If you read the article about the routine of successful women, you will see that sports is an integral part of their everyday life of each an everyone of them. And that is not in vain at all.
The other day was really one of my toughest one. I not only bearly woke up, but I was moving like a ghost the whole day. I was physically present everywhere I was supposed to be, but mentally I was still in my bed under the warm duvet. The hardest struggle was to overcome the lethargy and the exhaustion, to put the mat on the floor, play an intense workout on YouTube, put my leggings on and invest the energy I did not have in some nice exerscising. In my self-pity I drank a glass of wine in the late afternoon and just pressed the “play” button. Sometimes it’s harder to start than to go on. I rolled my eyes several times as I watched the young man leaping enthusiastically with high knees (I chose the worst HIIT workout on my worst day) smiling widely from the screen. He was jumping and smiling, jumping and smiling.. And so – my lips blossomed in a smile, and the exercises became more pleasant. In the middle of the workout, every muscle in my body was trembling from tension (do not go for man’s training – it is hard to compete with their stamina), but my mind was already decided to bring it to an end. Honestly, I have not done that many pushups and abdominal exercises since last summer when my husband and I were training every night INSANITY workouts (if you are hopelessly crazy check the internet for this physical madness). At the end, I was laying on the floor collecting the last pieces of my lungs, illuminating delight. I was delighted that I overcame the fatigue and lethargy and did something good for myself. After the shower I was fully recovered and performed with unimaginable enthusiasm all the tasks due for that day.
Of all this, few things worth sharing, caught my attention. Our biggest enemy is ourselves. To overcome fatigue, feelings, fears, thoughts and lethargy is one of the biggest challenges we can ever face. And this applies not only to my micro world and my example from that day, but to every sphere and manifestation of life. The first step is always the hardest. Then, we need just a couple of things that we have the power to ignite within ourselves – faith, persistence and perseverance. Do not get me wrong, things do not get easy after the first step, but if you walk the way to the end you will be grateful to yourself. Grateful that you overcame yourself, your weaknesses, your insecurities, your fears. Grateful that you became stronger and learnt new things on the way. The best awaits us right beyond our comfort zone. The truth is that the delirium of satisfaction has the power to cure wounds and the memory of bad experiences. One of the new things that I learnt from this is that it was not sleeping, but the physical activity that returned my strength and tone. Besides, the two great side effects of my sports adventures were the flow of vitality and lack of appetite.
Dietary regime. Last year I did the Christmas fasts. I decided to grant my body the opportunity to detox and reinforce my will. As a physically active woman, the proper protein-carbs-fat proportion has always been important to me. The fasts blew all this away. The first two weeks of the fasts were the hardest. When you are used to eating whatever you want it takes some time to put limits on your mind and control your cravings. From the thrid week on I just stopped craving for meat, milk or cheese. Even now, few months later, I eat mostly fish and seafood. Accordingly, to compensate, I drink at least once a day pure whey protein. I often mix it with water and a full tablespoon of chia, one banana and coffee. During the day I eat a lot of vegetables, fish, beans, fruits and nuts. This gives me a balanced diet that keeps me in good physical and mental condition.
Sleep routine. I aim at sleeping for eight hours. Unfortunately, I rarely get the chance to go to bed prior 11:00pm, but I then sleep until 8:00 or 9:00 am. Fortunately, the wee one is showing some understanding, if watching Peppa Pig or drinking babycino, of course, are not a must-have immediately.
These daily little tricks and routines have returned my vitality and made my days colorful and dynamic again. They’re not a panacea, but I hope that you can recognize your more toned you in some of them. Namaste!
XXX
The Mermaid
