First, go read this.
That stuff is so true. Things like showering and running errands and just getting out of the house are so hard with kids. I think of all these fun things I could do, but it just doesn't feel worth the effort most of the time. I mean, by the time I've got the stroller out and muscled through our lousy screen door and I've got the kids fed, into clean diapers, wrapped up in warm clothes, and not screaming, I'm exhausted.1
I love my kids. I love having a place to live and food in my house and a husband who brings home money. Bu what I really want and need on top of these things is ENERGY! And I don't have any. I spend all day dozing off and feeling terrible. Every day. I've pinpointed a couple probable culprits for my constant lethargy.
First, I never get good sleep. Big surprise, right? I mean, I've got little kids, one of whom is a tiny baby. I don't see myself fixing this one anytime soon.
Second, I don't get enough sleep. This is extremely different from the first thing. I'm one of those cursed people who has always needed about ten hours a night to feel like a functional human being, and that's just not going to happen.2
Third, I don't eat enough.3 I kind of counted calories yesterday for the first time ever, and I didn't even eat enough for someone who's not nursing. I think this is the biggest culprit. I've just gotten used to being hungry. I think of it as normal. Because that list I linked to up there missed one -- eating. Yeah, she says eating warm food. I don't even get that far most of the time. It feels like too much effort to prepare anything to eat in the first place. I get up just long enough to make Atticus a sandwich or some cereal a lot of the time. And I don't even have to do that much work to feed Esme, thankfully.
I'm a mess!
First, I'm going to eat more. Fruits and veggies if I can pull it off. Second, I'm going to use the energy it gives me to get more exercise, which should also help. Wish me luck! Let me know if you have suggestions.
1Let's be honest: being exhausted is not something that only sets in after doing all those other things. I'm exhausted just sitting here.
2I have too many other things to do after Atticus goes to bed. I'm like the swan princess -- after he's in bed I morph from Strung Out Mom into Mel, Actual Human Being. I need to keep that or I'll go crazy.
3Justin's been saying this for years and I'm just now starting to really believe him. Go figure.
1. I totally get the food thing. I've noticed so many times I make sure the kids are getting food, but I don't fix any for myself.
ReplyDelete2. The gal who wrote the article is totally a mom.
3. Good luck, Mel. So many challenges, but so many rewards.
I started counting calories (logging on peertrainer) this week too. There was on day that I got 1900 calories, which is good, except 700 of them was a blizzard. Succumbing to the blizzard isn't good, but what is worse is that I would have had only 1200 calories for the day hadn't I succumbed. Ouch.
ReplyDeleteYeah -- both bad. I remember reading somewhere that after the first three bites you're just robot-eating. I don't know that that's particularly true, but this has helped me when it comes to ice cream -- I get like one scoop and eat it really slow with a small spoon. That way I'm enjoying the flavor and don't feel like it's over super fast. Or when I want something sweet I eat a spoonful or two of peanut butter.
ReplyDelete