Gaining Insight

(I hope to have some pics up soon - hang in there.)
Had an awesome visit from some good old Hawaii friends this past week. The Norton's came to Aspen - what a treat! They were inspiring....

Within that inspiration, I began to gain some insight, as I cleanse, into some of my PATTERNS of behaving and eating. Patterns are important to recognize, because if we don't change the patterns, we'll continue to get the same results. The hard part, sometimes, can be changing the patterns.
Here's mine:
Quite often in late afternoon - I get tired, sleepy. When I'm sleepy, I "transform" (one of Sikeli's favorite new words, always used in lieu of "change") into Grumpy Dwarf. At these times, I begin to feel overwhelmed,as if I can't get done everything I need to get done. I feel less and less hopeful until something happens to change this negative, downward spiral - which usually is to go to bed. Most often, by morning, I'm renewed and hopeful again. (Usually. Unless someone wet the bed and another had a night terror and another needed a snack during the night, etc:)

I have just learned that when I'm tired and feeling stressed, my BLOOD SUGAR DROPS! When blood sugar drops, I feel hungry. When I feel hungry and tired and stressed ALL AT ONCE, I eat - and I overeat - and I overeat things that are not rejuvenating. I eat things that take all my digestive energies and make the rest of me shutdown and want to sleep even more.

I fell off the cleanse wagon one night - and had Little Caesar's pizza. I paid dearly. I immediately felt sleepy, but it wasn't bed time yet. The rest of the night, that negativity returned that I hadn't felt since beginning the cleanse. I literally saw and felt the polar opposite in mood as it is impacted by nutrition. I was in awe. If nutrition can help me stabilize and maintain a positive outlook and optimistic view, I'm going to do all I can to keep learning about and LIVING nutrition.