H 2 the izz-O

So...I have had this post drafted on my phone since before Halloween. Once again, another crazy 3 weeks…When I get really busy, unfortunately, my normal schedule is turned inside out and stress usually makes me eat, act, and feel differently. I’m sure you can relate… Although I have been getting better at managing how I respond to stress, I hit a new low one day in October.

Work has been busy with my boss on maternity leave, I started my warm up classes for my health counseling program, and have been working on something big personally involving lots of paperwork. It hit a peak on Oct. 22. I started the day with an awesome vinyasa yoga class at 7:00. Then I headed to work. There I found out that I had forgotten some paperwork at home. I headed home, searched high and low for my paperwork, and then headed back to work. By 11:00, I had only eaten a banana for the day and not drank anything. One of my friends at work had graciously gotten me a coffee so I toasted my Cosi bagel, spread some cream cheese and pumpkin butter on it (yum!) and started eating the bagel and drinking the coffee while prepping for my 1:00 meeting. It was a huge bi-monthly meeting that I lead and I wanted to sound cool, calm, and collected while sounding like I knew what I was saying. Unfortunately I was shaking while I was talking throughout the entire meeting. I thought, oh I must be still running on adrenaline or it’s the coffee or maybe I was really that nervous for the meeting. It lasted the entire hour of the meeting. After, I went back to my desk and finally had a chance to chill out.

It was a crazy morning, a lot of rushing, prepping for the meeting, a rushed breakfast/lunch, and nervousness about facilitating the meeting. That could really send someone over the edge. But those things were the least of my issues. My biggest issue was that I was completely dehydrated!! Since getting up at 6:00, I had gone to yoga, during which I did not drink water (that will be explained in another post) and headed to work. I ate a banana and then started the craziness. I chose the coffee over water thinking that was what I needed to wake up.

I’m usually VERY hydrated. I frequent the restroom often and fill my water bottle constantly at work. My carelessness that morning had my body in a complete tizzy. Once I got to my desk and downed half a bottle of water, I started feeling better almost immediately. I have heard from so many people that they don’t feel thirsty so they don’t need to drink water. That is not true. Drinking water is essential on a cellular level. Don’t let it get to the point where you are shaking, stuttering and can’t think straight. Those are really the most extreme symptoms. It’s crazy to think that the majority of us are dehydrated. We drink coffee to jumpstart our day and then drink caffeinated beverages throughout the day to stay awake, but our bodies may just need some good ol’ H2O to jumpstart our day. Or read my post on lemon water and try that every morning for a week.

until next time,
drink & drink often