Another joyful spring day!

I woke up feeling pretty good again. I started the day with a rebounder workout.

 I have a stabilizing bar on the rebounder which allows me to balance myself while performing various exercises. For about 15 min I did side kicks, back kicks, knee raises, marching, and weight bearing on each leg. This was followed by an additional 15 min of Jack assisting me by placing his foot between mine and bouncing. I am unable to bounce myself for more than 5 min at a time. The extended bouncing feels good through all my muscles. Afterwards, I asked Jack to help me practice walking with improved posture. I have a tendency to hunch over still because I don't feel secure yet in finding my center of balance. Jack instructed me to tighten my abs and tuck in my tailbone which should draw my shoulders back naturally. I did this, and sure enough it was easier to stand more erect and draw my shoulders back. Actually walking with this improved posture was more difficult as I struggled to find that sweet spot in my balance. But I persisted and practiced. By the end of the day, Jack noted my posture had indeed improved.

In the late afternoon, we went grocery shopping. My new Shoprider Start scooter arrived a few weeks ago. It is small, v cute, and increases my mobility by allowing me to maneuver through the stores with ease. Especially at Whole Foods where the produce area is practically a maze and the aisles in the rest of the store are tight. At WF, I ran into a couple of my buddies that work in produce whom I knew from working there myself during the summer of  '02. I hadn't seen them in over a year, and Jack had kept them updated on my situation. They were so kind, loving, and compassionate. It was a joy to see them again. Cheers Levi and Frank!

The weather was gorgeous- sunny, breezy, and in the low 80's. I was thrilled to see the first of the bluebonnets make their lovely appearance!

Here is what I ate today:

Noon: 20 oz. fresh, pulpy orange/grapefruit juice, ~30 min. later 2 org bananas

3pm: 32 oz. banana-date-mango smoothie-- YUM!

7pm: half a pineapple and salad: 1 head of org red leaf lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, celery, and orange bell pepper topped with a tahini-hemp lemon-orange dressing

Spring has sprung!

I'm baack!! Yup, it's been over a month since I last posted. Where has the time gone? What have I been doing? Unfortunately, I have been plagued with a fatigue that has really slowed me down.  I got maybe 2 or 3 good days out of a week. Good days meaning I had energy for one or two of the following activities:

1. Attend physical therapy

2. Workout at home: rebounder, stretching/yoga, apartment fitness room (recumbent bike, upper body machines)

3. Go out grocery shopping with Jack

4. Make mischief in the kitchen

5. Make progress on different projects using my laptop.

The remaining days, all I could do was veg and watch dvd's on my MacBook. I watched Season 1 of Heroes and Season 5 of Alias :)

The doctors have no idea what has been causing my fatigue. My blood tests came back normal. The fatigue also originates in my head. My body feels fine but my head spins more than usual. The dizziness and vertigo I live with on a daily basis get worse. It's really disheartening and nearly impossible to live through. I feel like I am trapped in a twilight zone between life and death. 

March 20th was the Vernal Equinox, Sun went into Aries, and this marks the first day of spring. Facing the oppressive fatigue, I decided it was time for a fresh start in regards to my diet. Jack and I have been eating fruit all day with a salad and some vegan cooked food in the evening. Doesn't sound too bad but the daily eating of salty, spicy, cooked meals can take their toll. So I said enough and started eating high fruit, low fat, salt/spice free meals. We have done bouts of a few days of this before but now, we are both ready to go the distance. Luckily, sweet fruits are starting to come on. For the past 5 days, our meals have looked something like this: 

Meal 1 (~noon): Fresh squeezed orange/grapefruit juice or watermelon (early still for really sweet ones)

Meal 2 (~3pm):  Banana-date (and mango or papaya) smoothie

Meal 3 (~6pm): Banana-date smoothie followed by a banana-date-mango salad

We have both felt satisfied and happy eating this way. Last night, we had a mixed greens salad in the evening which was nice but this almost demands a higher fat dressing (homemade citrus tahini is our fave) so we plan to eat these salads a few times a week. Baby spinach and celery should combine nicely with the smoothies and fruit salad to up our intake of greens. We'll see how it goes.

Right now, Jack and I have noticed immediate improvements in our health. My energy levels are increasing, I am sleeping better, my face is clearer (so says Jack), and today my mood is positively buoyant. Jack has noticed that his sinuses have cleared, swollen head symptoms have gone, he feels lighter in body, and notices a clearness of perception. He also finds himself looking forward to more fruit instead of cooked carbs, as do I. :-)

So that's where I am at. I hope to post more regularly now. I do find writing therapeutic and by writing about my diet and activities, I hope to stay on track.