Week 1 Day 2

Currently I am writing to you as I finish my last meal for the day: greek yogurt with mango and blueberries, and egg whites. And believe it or not, it’s only 11:44! Haven’t hit that midnight mark yet! (Really, that is sad and something I need to work on. I’m not so good at getting to bed when I should…)

So today was a bit of a rough-to-good day. Let me explain what I mean.

I woke up so tired (lack of sleep problem again…). But I got up, managed to do a load of dishes, put away some clean laundry, shower, walk the dogs, feed my animals, throw food in a bag, get out the door and manage to only make it a few minutes late to work. This actually was awful for me because I’m NEVER late. I’m one of those people that hates to be late for anything. Trust me, this won’t be repeated anytime soon.

The day seemed to go alright, of course with lots to do both for work and home. But what I really want to focus on is the affect food can have on you and what a mix of food and stress did to me today.

Most of you have followed my problems with the government and my husband’s permanent residency. Well, today I wrote in many details in an earlier blog post about my experience today. But to summarize, I had a bad phone call with the government. Not in any trouble or anything, but it ended in huge stress and high anxiety. Now, mix that with the fact that I had been so busy I wasn’t watching how long it had been since I had eaten the previous meal. So my blood sugars were low, my anxiety and stress was high, and I almost had a meltdown.

I’m not normally a person to have a meltdown incase you’re wondering. I’m the optimistic problem-solver. But not at that moment. And the thing is, I know it also had to do with the food because immediately after the phone call, I took a few minutes to try and calm myself down, and then decided to forget all work for a few minutes and get my food ready: sweet potato, cottage cheese and cubed turkey. I may not have felt better about the stress for quite some time, but immediately I could tell a difference with the food. It made me feel more capable, more stable, definitely better.

So I continued my day, absolutely ready for a nap after work. There was simply too much stress associated with that phone call and the surrounding situation.

I did some errands after work, came home, and took a nap. I wasn’t ready to get up when my husband woke me up, but after rising and eating, I was feeling alright. Then I got to the gym and started feeling great. Amazing how that happens.

Now as far as the workout, it was great (minus the burpees). I hate burpees. I don’t know what it is about them, but I feel so uncoordinated like my legs are too long and get in my way. And I may have learned that balance while doing these is super important as I put too much pressure on my already injured wrist which caused me to crash to my knees. Oops. But I can assure you that by the last round of burpees, my form had improved incredibly. I’m trying to heal that wrist, not make it worse!

How I felt when I looked at the workout routine for tonight…

The workout again was a circuit style which I have found to be difficult in the gym when you require certain machines. But it is not impossible.

So I’m waiting currently waiting for that frozen mango and some of those frozen blueberries to thaw a little more before I can finish eating my yogurt. Then I will be getting ready for bed and sleeping the remainder of the night away.

Hope you all have an awesome and healthy night!

A Yearly Grade 6 Ritual

Last week was a big week for my class. They had their first PAT (provincial achievement test). This first one is known as Language Arts Part A. In this test, the students have 2 hours to complete a story (based on a picture that was provided), and a newspaper article (based on information provided). It’s not hard, but it does require 2 hours of complete and quiet focus, and many cramped hands.

In order to help my students do their best on these days, I always provide food. Of course, they have 4 more PATs at the end of the year, but these are much shorter, and therefore require a shorter duration of concentration. But for this first one, I provide food.

Studies have showed that hungry children do worse on their work. Hunger can be a great distraction, and I want them to be at their peak. These tests are also written in the morning, and I know some students come to school without eating breakfast. So I need them to have food.

Because my students know that I’m bringing food, it also “lightens” their moods for the upcoming test. It’s amazing what food can do!

Now, when I went shopping, I realized that I had forgotten how difficult it can be to get food. There are a few things I have to consider:

#1: It has to be nut free. Our school has a nut sensitive policy, and because of an incident, it has become even more so. All goods have to have the peanut free symbol. This severely limits some healthy options.

#2: I don’t want to just get them junk food. I’d like something somewhat healthy.

#3: It can’t be messy. Can you imagine, sending the Education Department of the Government dirty pages of testing? I think I would hear about it… SOMEONE would end up like this:

Ok… maybe not quite that bad. But the paper might look like that!

And so I shopped. With all these restrictions, I came out with water bottles, Bear Paws (3 different types), Granola Bars (3 different types) and fruit cups. Not perfect, but not bad.

The kids enjoyed the day, did very well (I think…I’ll get the results later), and at least did not have to worry about being hungry and trying to focus! These little things are what make the difference.