I Blame the Popcorn

We had a family trip to the cinema today. I wanted to partake in popcorn eating, so I calorie counted my homemade popcorn and added a dusting of cinnamon. Everything was fine until 4 o’clock this afternoon, when suddenly, tiredness struck. My head was heavy and I had to have a nap. Nothing else would do.

I was woken up by my loving husband who wanted me to make the dinner.

I thought the nap would have worked its magic on me but I was still tired and now I was cold, light headed and ravenous – for first time since I started the diet. I had to eat something. So I had a handful of almonds, and another handful of raisins. These will push me over my calorie limit today to around 900, but I thought I was better off eating these than a biscuit.

I managed to make the dinner and get it in the oven with the help of my two boys, who incidentally make great little helpers in the kitchen. And then I tried to make excuses to myself why I shouldn’t go for the run I promised I would do today. There were many reasons not to go, but one big reason for going – I thought it might make me feel better.

On went the leggings and my running bra (an awesome thing which restricts ALL movement) and on went my old running shoes and with a half-hearted yet resolute attitude off I went for a slow, untimed, two miles.

The first mile was hard. My legs felt weighted, in fact I felt heavy all over. But I kept going. I thought I might have to walk – no shame in that, but I didn’t. I kept going.

As I was approaching one mile something amazing happened. The heaviness lifted. I suddenly felt good and my mind was able to wander to things other than how hard each step felt, or that pain in my shoulder. The run was doing its job.

I didn’t do a PB or anything like it; at one point I began to hallucinate, thinking that a bench was a German Shepherd (it was a long way off at the time). And when I realised that I still had to get home to prepare the runner beans for dinner I even sped up a little bit.

And now I don’t feel too bad, the endorphins have given me a boost. But I am definitely ready for bed (at 8.30pm).

What do I think caused this unbelievable feeling of lethargy? Well, I could be coming down with something, but personally, I blame the popcorn. Although it was calorie counted into my daily allowance, it was the wrong type of food for me to eat and because of a complex chain of chemical reactions,I was left craving food and sleepy. I promise to do better tomorrow with my newfound knowledge.