I woke up yesterday morning about 4:00am and began a 12 hour session of tummy upset. No fun! Especially when I have exactly 5 days to get the magazine to the printer.  I’d spent most of Sunday afternoon sleeping, which I seldom do – sleep the day away.  I am not a recreational sleeper, so for me to spend extra time sleeping, I must need it.  I felt fine Sunday, and after I woke up, I cooked some chicken with rice and ate it about 5pm.  When I woke up at 4:00am Monday feeling really icky, my first thought was I might be overdoing it by eating chicken several times a week as I’ve been doing.  Then later yesterday it occurred to me to take my temperature, and it was 100.8.  (Right now it’s 98.2.)  So maybe it was a tummy bug moving through my system, instead of me eating something that disagreed with me.

Whatever it was, it was a good reminder that I have been getting a little lax in my eating habits.  I ate Chinese food a couple of times last week, which is no big deal except that restaurant food contains hidden fats, and fats are what my body reacts adversely to.  The past couple of years I have made it a point to have only one substantial meal each day, and 2 lighter meals: salads, soups, and my body likes that routine.  But the past week, after eating (vegetarian) Chinese food for lunch, I would then cook some chicken and rice for dinner.  That makes for a day of heavy eating for me.  And I did it a few days in a row.  So when I woke up and was sick, I figured that was what it was due to.  It was a good reminder to get back on track, and what happens when I stray.

Since I had the health scare a few years ago (read about it here), I’ve been getting to know how my body works.  I’ve been really appreciating how quickly I snap back, and how strong my immune system is now that I’ve started using food as my medicine.  I can tell when I eat particular things, how my body will react.  I used to get very anxious when I would get sick, because I never knew where it would lead or how long it would last and I always felt I was letting down whoever relied on me.  Which was totally neurotic because I’ve always been real healthy, with few and far between bouts of illness – never anything prolonged.  Now when I get “sick”, there’s a confidence in knowing that – for the most part – I eat a very healthy diet and have a strong immune system.  I snap back quickly.

Something else that also helps me in knowing my body is keeping meals 4-6 hours apart.  That way it’s never overloaded and, when there are system malfunctions, it’s easier to pinpoint the cause and avoid repeating it.

So did I overload my system by overeating, or did I have a tummy bug?  Who knows.  Either way, it’s over, I feel good and I’ve gotten a gentle reminder from the Universe to upgrade my eating habits.

And now, after another short nap for me here, I’ll be ready for my workweek.

Life is good!

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