Pain Management

Today started out on a good note. I don’t really mind getting up at 4am to work out. It is dark and quiet, so in spite of my alarm it is a peaceful awakening. When I walked into the kitchen I briefly wondered what the fabulous smell was.

Then I remembered the chicken stock! It had turned out perfectly, gorgeous golden color and clarity.

The resolution crowd doesn’t get up this early, so I was able to get my work out done at the neighborhood gym before it got busy and loud. When I got home I made homemade turkey sausages.

This was my breakfast:

Who needs toast?

My back started hurting as soon as I got to work and steadily worsened throughout the course of the day. Like any good chronic back pain patient, I am allergic to all NSAIDs, so I have to wait until I am safely at home to take anything for pain. All I can do at work is apply an ice pack. I was hoping to attend a hot yoga class after work, but I ended up working too late. After reading this article, I’m not sure I need to do yoga at all anyway, especially the more challenging classes.

Day 4 Journal
Success score: 4/10

Honor Hunger
What times did you eat? 0415, 0630, 0930, 1130, 1430, 1730, 1850 (and I will need a bedtime snack)
Hardest part: I really am hungry that frequently! I can’t see myself ever practicing intermittent fasting.
Best part: There was no best part.
Comments: I think that every diet I have ever tried promised me I would not be hungry. I call bullshit.

Aerobic Adventure
Location: neighborhood gym
Activity: intervals on the Lifecycle
Duration: 30 min
Comments: Ok, this just pissed me off. The author specifically said to start this program on a Monday to take into consideration when the weekend falls. One of the recommendations was to rent a stand-up paddle board! I was supposed to try something new, but I’ve tried every piece of cardio equipment in the gym, and I don’t have the sort of job where I can leave for a couple hours in the middle of the day to go inline skating or snow shoeing. Sorry, Mark, the rest of us aren’t self-employed authors living in Malibu. Get real.

Stand-Up Work Station
Modifications made: none needed. I stand quite a bit at work as it is, more than my back can handle on some days.
Total time standing up: too busy doing my job to time it
Longest stretch: too long, according to my back
Hardest part: debilitating back pain
Best part: I do like that I don’t spend the whole day at my desk. Sitting in one position all day isn’t good for back pain either. It also helps my mental health to get outside several times a day.

Daily energy level: 7
Hunger level between meals: 8
Satisfaction level with meals: 9
Struggles today with Primal efforts: hunger, back pain
Benefits noticed from Primal efforts: had enough energy to make it through the day despite the pain
Daily highlights: “discovering” the chicken stock in the slow cooker
Daily “needs to improve”: need to take more food to work