Happy Wednesday, friends 😀
Before we go ahead and get started, I need to say thank you for all of your support, understanding, and encouragement. You have no idea how much it means to me… for real.
My heart [equals] melted.
And now I’ve got to move on before I start tearing up *fans face like a madwoman* Thank goodness it’s Wednesday and we can have some fun.
Today’s party started bright and early – I’m talking 3:30 AM early. Remember how I mentioned that I haven’t been sleeping well? Yeaaaaahhh. I woke up around 3 to take my nightly trip to bathroom, and by the time I rolled back into bed, tossed, turned, cursed, and punched the pillow multiple times, it was 3:30 and I was as far away from Dreamland as ever.
Le sigh.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t tired, because I definitely was – it was that I was hungry… my stomach was keeping me up with his incessant chatter, and I couldn’t drown him out no matter how hard I pressed my hands over my ears. So I had two options at that point:
a. lay there, suffering, and hope against hope that I manage to miraculously drift off, or
b. shut him up
Well, option (a) clearly wasn’t working (and it hardly ever did in the past), so all that remained was option (b). Again, not gonna lie, the thought of eating in the middle of the night made me anxious, but I was more frustrated than anything, so I moseyed my way into the kitchen to whip up a snack.
Behold the fancy 3:30 AM snack…
Half a banana and multiple spoonfuls of yogurt later, and I was passed out on the couch in a blissful state of slumber. And yes, I whipped out the camera just to capture the event. I think I deserve a pat on the back for my dedication. Either that or a referral to a psychiatrist. But that’s neither here nor there.
The point is, I listened to my body and I was rewarded. After my snack, I drifted off to sleep without a problem and woke up at the much more acceptable hour of 6 AM feeling absolutely fabulous and refreshed. Lesson learned. And if you think that turned me off my breakfast, think again…
Chocolate AB&J Oats
Eggy bananafied steel cut oats, 1 Tbsp. cocoa, roasted almond butter, blueberry jam
Simple, but oh so satisfying; and with that in my belly, I was literally vibrating with energy. I ran some quick errands for work, stopped by the grocery store to pick up some necessities (read: yogurt, eggs, and salad), inhaled a snack…
Cottage cheese with cinnamon, the other half of this morning’s banana with almond butter, and a small handful of dark chocolate chips… best pre-workout snack ever.
… and kicked some serious butt in the weight room. Yesterday’s rest day must have really paid off (or my pre-workout snack was just THAT good), because I dominated those dumbbells during today’s strength session. I was totally in the zone, and felt like I could have gone longer and harder, but I decided not to push my luck, did my usual routine, and came home to refuel…
Mango tofu protein pudding
… and have lunch…
Baked sweet potato fries, Amy’s Texas Burger, ke-choop, salad beast
… and bask in the sun, tidy up the house, whip up a snack…
Greek yogurt, trail mix, Kashi Honey Sunshine, puffed wheat
… stalk blogs, tidy up some more, whip up a delicious dinner…
Sweet and savory oats with hummus and strawberry jam
… aaaaaand now I’ll probably curl up on the couch with my laptop and a cup of tea, enjoy listening to the storm outside, blog stalk some more, and grab another snack before calling it a night.
I’m thinking popcorn with coconut oil and cinnamon.
I hope you guys all had a wonderful day, and thank you again for all of your support and well-wishes. I’m feeling much better today, but I might take another day off running tomorrow just to be sure. I’ll see how it goes and let you know 😀
. – . – . – .
Have you ever gotten out of bed to grab a snack when you couldn’t sleep?
Do you have trouble eating in the evening or at certain times of the day?
I had that happen to me a couple weeks ago where I couldn’t fall asleep because I was too hungry. I kept tossing and turning, but I didn’t want to eat. Finally I caved and went to get some cereal and fell asleep shortly after. YOu’re so right. We really do just need to listen to our bodies.
cool! Respecting your body and giving it what it needs truly does reward, both in the short term and the long term!
hope today is a wonderful Friday!
Scott
I did that a couple weeks ago! I woke up at around 1 or 2 am and couldn’t go back to sleep! After 30/45 minutes, and dealing with some crazy hunger, I got up and ate a light bowl of cereal….. and laid in bed awake another hour (I guess it wasn’t enough). Finally I got up and made a quick burrito with bean hummus and veggies and listened to an audiobook. THEN I went out like a light and woke at my usual 5:30 am…. only to drift back off again until 6:30 am. LOL!
goodness your food does not cease to make me drool!
Oh, yuck, that’s never fun to wake up early like that! I used to get up every night at 2 AM to go to the bathroom–like clockwork all schoolyear… it spontaneously stopped once summer started… probably because I go to bed so much later, haha. For me, if I wake up in the middle of the night I can go back to sleep really easily from hunger pains. But if I’m hungry when I first go to bed… its a long night. I haven’t had that problem in a while, but if I do, I hope I would be smart enough to just get up and eat something instead of lying there awake all night staring at the ceiling and fantasizing about breakfast…
For me, its easiest to eat in the mornings and at night. Its the afternoons that really get me… afternoon is just a hard time for me in general, I guess. That’s why I like to make my mornings last a long time, and then have dinner early! Then I feel like the afternoon is shorter.
Mmm those Chocolate AB&J Oats looks AWESOME. As do those sweet potato fries 😉
I definitely have gotten out of bed to eat before and I always have cereal and milk. It’s the perfect “midnight snack” for me and always, without fail, helps me to fall back asleep.
I haven’t been sleeping well lately either! It’s almost always because I’m hungry. I have a really hard time getting up to get a snack though in the middle of the night. It’s always so worth it when I do though, because I feel so much better. My body needs it! I have no trouble eating at night though, in fact before bed is when I eat the most. It’s just when I naturally get hungry I guess.
Hmm I was tinkering with the idea of lifting today, and now that I’ve read this post I think I will. Honestly I just don’t want to swim… so lifting it is! Haha let’s see if I follow through.
I need to try these sweet / savory oats! Can you believe I’ve never made oats on the stove? I suppose once the cool Autumn weather rolls around I’ll be more inspired..
I DO have trouble eating at night. There’s something about laying down with a full stomach that feels sort of strange to me. Standing up with a full stomach feels fine, but I guess the food sitting still gives me a stomach ache! I have been known to wake up hungry and need to eat to fall back asleep, though! So long as the snack is light I should be fine.
I’m so excited for you that you’re lifting! Maybe I’ll pick up that book and give lifting a shot once I’m back at school this fall with a big gym. My stick arms could use some bulk. HAHAHA! Irish dancing (always danced with your arms glued to your sides) builds some leg strength but completely neglects your upper body. Oh well!
Speaking of tidying up- I should probably do some right about now!
<3
Where did you find the Dagoba chips? They look amazing!
Oh no, tyring to sleep when hungry is not an option. No shame is getting up to have a snack. It doesn’t happen to me often but when it does, you can bet I’m loudly eating cereal in the kitchen in the middle of the night. You know, because cereal is quiet and won’t wake anyone else up…
Glad to hear you rocked your workout!
I don’t think that’s ever happened to me before! Although I’ve heard LOTS of people say they have woken up in the middle of the night feeling really hungry, so you’re definitely not alone! :p But eating bananas at 3 in the AM must be bliss…no joke! And omg your sweet and savory oats look so good! I’m intrigued! Are they as delicious as they look?!
Oh yes. I’m completely obsessed with them at the moment 😀
Oh my gosh that has definitely happened to me before!! I always eat right before bed, so it doesn’t always happen, but if it’s been a few hours since I’ve eaten and I wake in the night, I HAVE to get something to eat! There’s nothing worse than being hungry and not able to sleep! ughhhh!
I HATE when that happens. Sometimes our body works in mysterious ways. I always make sure to have an evening snack. It’s usually yoghurt with fruit, nuts, granola or cereal. I used to only eat two pieces of fruit as a snack and as a result I woke up every night with a growling stomach. I still get it wrong sometimes, though. If I eat like a big pasta dinner late at night and I’m really full, I don’t necesarialy have an evening snack. But that doesn’t work out as well either. Still get up hungry at night! Confusing…. I’m getting hungry now talking about food. Going to get a snack! haha.
That’s a very familiar feeling. To wake up in the middle of the night without any idea how to fall asleep again isn’t something new for me. Torturing the pillow doesn’t help. Unfortunately, watching TV doesn’t help either. For some reason chocolate works even though I’ve been told a million times that chocolate before bed won’t let me sleep. It calms me down and I sleep like a baby. Before allowing myself to have such sinful midnight snacks, I would just spend like 2-3 hours every night trying to fall asleep. Yes, there is some anxiety involved but the positive effect outweighs it. You proved it 🙂 .
Being hungry is like the number one thing that wakes me up and doesn’t let me sleep! I always recognize it and just go grab SOMETHING and then go back to bed. It almost always does the trick. It’s crazy how much of a difference it can make! Your oats look sooo good. Me want! 😛
I’m a big evening snacker. While I don’t think that’s inherently bad, it’s bad for me because I often reach for unhealthy eats at that time. Speaking of unhealthy eats, don’t you just love Dagoba chocolate??? It’s one of my favorite brands.