This past weekend I pushed hard...maybe harder than I have since first getting ME, and that includes the day in November I moved houses. The task for the weekend was supposed to be simple: re-seed a few bare patches of lawn. I figured I could do it without too much effort. I would simply pace myself and try to stay under my aerobic threshold, thereby avoiding post extertional malaise (PEM).
Never have I underestimated a task so much. Even as I sit here now, I can't figure out why the re-seeding job took so much time and effort. It just...did. But as so often happens, when I am actually engaged in a task, my body rises to the occasion, so it's easy to forget about the PEM that will surely follow in a day or two. What made it even easier to ignore the future consequences was that my two and a half year old daughter was "helping" me and I realized that these precious father-daughter bonding moments are rare.
(As I write now, I still feel fine—about at my baseline. I am waiting to see what price I pay.)
Around 4:30 p.m. I had finally finished the job and I went inside the house for a snack. I made a snack that I eat nearly every day: a simple CB&J (cashew butter & [scant] jelly) on "Paleo bread". But, man, did that sandwich taste good. It was as if I was eating a CB&J for the first time.
I had forgotten about how much better food tastes when one really works up an appetite through hard physical labor or exercise. It's as if the physical activity awakens dormant taste buds. That sandwich tasted so good I almost felt like weeping.
And then there was the matter of my sleep. I slept so deeply and soundly last night it felt like the whole night passed in 15 minutes. I miss that feeling too...
Oh, I long for that feeling! I eat now to keep on weight, that's about the only reason. I want your sandwich. Have you found a good paleo bread? What brand of cashew butter do you buy? I'm adding both back into my diet soon.:-)
ReplyDeleteHappy you had a good time with your daughter.
Hi Elizabeth. I was wondering how you're doing. I wouldn't say I've found a "good" paleo bread...not sure if there's really such thing. I just go with online orders of Julian Bakery. It certainly won't knock your socks off and some people really can't stand it, but it's somewhat passable as "bread" and that's good enough for me. Cashew butter is harder. I've been getting it at Whole Foods but their supply is inconsistently available. My wife also makes it from raw cashews once in a while. Glad you get to add those things back in your diet soon. Good luck!!
DeletePatrick
I know exactly what you mean - I pushed myself so hard to drive to a gardening talk a week ago. I was so exhausted when I got home I could barely stand, and the next day I was just a mess - floppy and walking like an old lady. It takes so long to recover from these things. But the sleep that night was amazing. So instant, so deep!
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't get PEM too bad!
Claire
Thanks Claire. That part about walking like an old lady had me laughing. Have you recovered yet from your trip to the gardening talk? Hope so.
DeleteI was OK yesterday but I think the PEM is setting in today. Fun!