On Friday, I went out to dinner with a bunch of girlfriends - about 15 or so of us all gathered together for a fun girl’s night out. We went to an incredible Italian restaurant (read: all the bread and pasta and cheese) and went dancing afterwards at this nightclub where we probably were the oldest people there, lol. It was such a fun time - I hadn’t gone out dancing like that in probably a year! In fact, it was so much fun that I ended up staying out waaay too late and paid for it the next day.
I drank a bit more than I intended to, ate late-night deep fried food that I knew would give me stomach issues the next day, and crawled under the covers way past my bedtime. Was it worth it? It was, I had an incredible time. My body on the other hand felt differently.
The next day, my entire body reeled from the previous night’s dancing, drinking, and staying out late. I’ll say it: I felt like garbage. I had a pounding headache and everything ached from head to toe.
But first, let me back up a bit. For a couple of weeks prior, I’d been nursing a hip flexor muscle strain (too much running, not enough stretching), and was feeling really sore and stiff the whole week. I stayed off my feet as much as I feasibly could, and I avoided stretching since I didn’t want to make the muscle strain any worse.
Then Friday night came around. I popped some Tylenol and hoped that my hip flexor and leg wouldn’t give me any issues. Luckily, the whole night, I didn’t feel any pain at all. Once friends started to arrive, and drinks started flowing, it was a thing of the past.
Until the next day, when I realized I’d probably pushed myself a little too far. The most I could do was lay on the couch all day and try not to move. From my thighs to my ribcage, everything ached and felt insanely sore. Even sitting up and getting to my feet was a challenge. It felt like I’d been in a heinous battle or had done a million crunches the night before. I tried not to be a big baby about it - I cleaned the apartment a little and did some laundry to make the day not a total waste, but at a certain point, I fell flat on the couch and didn’t move for hours.
Which brings me to the purpose of this post. I’ve been racking my brain for the reason why I felt like utter garbage and I think it’s a combination of multiple things:
My body’s overall stiffness and tightness is a result of NOT moving my body enough throughout the week. Sure, I need to give my hip flexor a break, but there are plenty of other stretches and yoga postures I can do to stretch the rest of my body while avoiding that area.
I overdid it on the dancing. As fun as it was, 2+ hours on the dance floor was probably not the best idea after a week of being mostly sedentary. Duly noted.
I haven’t been fueling my body with wholesome, nutritious foods lately. With the holiday season in full swing, I’m indulging way more in sweets, wine, and take-out than I normally would and it’s catching up with me, making me feel sluggish and bloated (and yeah, those late-night chicken fingers certainly didn’t help with my digestion.)
I drank too much. I know, this one’s a no-brainer. But for a year or so, I’ve been having more negative reactions to alcohol - even after one drink. Maybe it’s just getting older, but for some reason, my body is not able to metabolize it and I end up feeling really lousy even after just a drink or two.
I’m not saying that I regret going out - not at all! It fed my soul to see so many loving friends who are all so supportive and genuinely beautiful people. But, after recovering from a full day of body aches, a pounding headache, and muscle soreness, I’m pretty sure my body is trying to tell me something.
And that something is: to take better care of myself. To nourish my body with gentle movement and stretching every day, to eat wholesome, nutritious foods that will help my gut rather than harm it, and to take a break from alcohol and get sober curious again.
All of this is going to be SUPER hard with Christmas just around the corner and visiting family in the next week. Perfect timing, right? But, I have to put my body first. It has been screaming for more TLC, and yesterday was proof of that. So, that’s what I’m gonna give it. Plus, I don’t want to feel crappy while spending time with family. I want to be as energized and present as possible when I’m with them. I’m sure I’ll slip up (how can I not enjoy my mom’s chocolate chip cookies?) and that’s okay. What’s important is that I’m listening to my body and committing to treating it better.
Here’s to listening and committing to these strong, beautiful bodies we are all blessed with!