Context

A quick note about why any of this matters. About why I care if my body is on my team. Why I care if we communicate well and back each other up.

I eat well to nourish my team. I nourish my team to help us communicate. I communicate clearly so we can move forward. I move forward in order to contribute, to leave the world better than I how I found it. I leave the world better to return the gift God (or whoever put me on this earth) gave me to experience all the amazing things the world offers. I believe in God because it gives me context.

At some point I think we all question why we are here and what we should be doing about it. I think I am here because God put me here.. You may have a different answer when you ask yourself. And as far as what I should be doing about it.. That is always a work in progress.. but I feel like the more centered I am and the more I can feel of the world around me, the closer I am to discovering the answer. When you listen to your body so closely you can feel your heart and you can hear the way it is asking you to go.

Simplified yes, but those are the basics. Giving me purpose is one thing. Keeping it on track is a whole challenge in and of itself. Baby steps….

Thank You

I wanted to take this post to quickly say thank you. I am grateful for the loyal reading of this blog by friends and friends of friends and as of today... even strangers. And slightly amazed at how many of you can find something in my text that strikes a cord with you. To me that shows how so many of us are in this together. How many of us feel against our bodies at times and want to feel better. As you read if you come up with anything you would like to share or have questions about, please email me. (sskvarla@gmail.com) The type of discussion that would follow is infinitely valuable to me. Also feel free to comment on a post.

My Blog Is Late

I said I would post Mondays and here it is Tuesday afternoon. I made a conscience decision last night to go to sleep instead of publishing my post. Turns out the choice was pretty appropriate. I wanted to talk about another thing we need to give our bodies in addition to the healthy fuel and careful, deliberate movement.

Sleep

Every person needs 6.5 to 7.5 hours of sleep per night. Our bodies use that uninterrupted time so effectively and we don’t even have to participate. That is our reboot time. After we enter the famous REM sleep, after about 90 minutes, we get to work calming all our systems and getting them back in rhythm.

There might be more impact in saying how Not getting that much sleep is detrimental to your team. One of the things your body does during good sleep is secrete a substance that tells your body you are full. Ever wonder why you can go 8-10 hours without eating overnight, but not as long during the day? If your body doesn’t have a chance to release that because you don’t sleep long enough or soundly enough the more likely you are to overeat during the day. Also more likely to be too tired to make good choices for your team that might feel like more work to a tired body.

In the day following a lack of sleep, we are more likely to use sugar and soda containing high-fructose corn syrup to get us through the day. Those block this secretion too and we tend to eat more. Double Whammy!

Perfect Example

I got a total of 8 hours of sleep, evenly split between Saturday and Sunday nights this weekend. It was infinitely harder to give myself the things my body needs on that amount of sleep. I didn’t have the energy to do more than a total of 25 minutes of yoga over the two days and I woke up hungry both Sunday and Monday mornings. Resulting in poor choices in the food department which of course causes a ripple effect of not feeling on top of things. I believe there may have even been a stop at Dunkin for an egg and cheese croissant. Not only that but the pure mental capacity was limited. I had this general feeling of being off center, a little fuzzy and unable to connect the dots that I can on a day centered by sleep and natural fuel.

So last night I decided to end the cycle. Go to bed. Get a good night’s sleep and post a day later. You all got a better post for it. I hate to think what I would have put out there last night.

Sometimes we make “sacrifices” to do well by our team. It’s a strong word to describe the choices we make, but whatever the emphasis on the things we give up, our team needs to come first.

Give and Take

After 2 days of subpar giving, today we are back on the right track.

Breakfast: All Bran Cereal w/ skim milk
Lunch: Market Salad at the Sidebar Grille
Water, Cranberry Juice

Sidebar Grille is one of my favorite after-work cocktail spots in Chicago. Big salad menu which I love. (Order your dressing on the side for more control. True anywhere.) The Market Salad is fantastic. So many great, fresh veggies that may not make their way into your routine otherwise. Including…

Avocado - helps keep cholesterol in check, decreasing the bad kind and increasing the good!
Cucumbers -your body burns more calories digesting them than they contain, “negative calories”
Hearts of palm - great source of protein, iron and calcium
Tomatoes - contain the folate that helps prevent cancer
Fresh greens. Yum!