Marnin’!
I haven’t been sleeping very well lastly. Two nights ago I woke up with a horrible headache at 1AM. I’ve got a crick in my neck that I can’t seem to shake and Matt gave me a massage before bed and really worked what I think is a knot near my shoulder blade and I think that triggered the headache. (When that area gets massaged I can turn my neck over my left shoulder farther). Then last night I couldn’t get comfortable in general! I think it’s because I went to sleep without an eye mask on and when I woke up at 1AM (again) I put it on and slept well for the rest of the night.
***
I was up at 5:30 this morning to get in one last morning workout before I start a few months of afternoon/evening workouts. While getting up early to workout is hard, I think going after work is even harder. But I’m secretly looking forward to not having to go to the gym while I’m still half asleep 🙂 And I think evening workouts will give me a bit more flexibility, especially to meet my friends.
Before I left I had PB&J. I used to be able to go straight to the gym without a snack, but I’m out of the habit and wake up hungrier than I used to. I think the thought of this toast is what got me out of bed!
At the gym: 45 minutes of ellipticalling followed by 10 of abs and pushups. I hadn’t been that early in so long that I had at least 3 of my old friends (who I used to just say hi to!) say hello and ask me what’s going on. I had to tell them that this was a one-day early AM and I’d be gone for a few more months at least!
Brex
Finally got in that smoothie!!!
The Mix:
- 3/4 of a frozen banana (the other 1/4 was sorely missed 🙁 )
- 1 cup milk
- 2 big handfuls spinach
- Half a packet of Chocolate Amazing Meal
- 1/4 cup raw rolled oats (<— trying to give it more carbs to keep me full longer? If I don’t have carbs at breakfast, it doesn’t hold me over very long, so I added the oats to bulk it up a bit in glucose and soluble fiber)
- Topped with Mix My Granola!
Because I didn’t have a whole banana, it was on the thinner side and I had to whip out a straw (and hence the glass instead of a bowl).
They have coffee + tea at Winthrop, so I’m going to have a warm beverage when I arrive! Bringing my reusable mug.
Lunch at EarthFare!!!!!!!!!! So excited. This might be my last EarthFare lunch in 6 months since I won’t be near one on my job sites. I should be able to pop in for an iPhone post today 🙂
18* and headed out the door!
Jessica @ How Sweet says
I hear ya on the neck/headache issue. I get them often because I get so tense, and beg my hubby to massage them!
Julie @ Peanut Butter Fingers says
i’m so jealous of every meal you have at earthfare. no matter what i’m eating your meal always looks 10x better! also pb & j is definitely one of my top 10 fav. foods. so simple but so flippin’ delish!
Food Makes Fun Fuel says
I think I’ve lost the ability to be a morning exerciser after this vacation. It’s made me soft lol
Naomi (onefitfoodie) says
sorry you didnt have a graet nights sleep, I had my whole back and neck in knots last week, and got a massage, it did the trick, it was painful, but my pain was gone afterwards! 🙂
smoothie looks great! I have never tried added oats to my smoothies but its a great idea. If I dont have carbies at brex, it doesnt stay in my long either, so I will try this next time!
have a great day, kath!
RhodeyGirl says
Ooooohhhh tooo cold for a smoothie!!!! I would have to have a mug of tea to alternate sips with I think!
Have a FABULOUS day! And great job getting that workout in even though you were sleepy!
Kath says
I had my space heater pointed right on me!
Whitney @ Lettuce Love says
Enjoy your last early morning workout. I prefer to exercise in the morning too. I think it is much harder to hit the gym after work.
Simply Life says
I have to work out in the morning otherwise it just seems to take up too much time and interrupt the day!
Suan says
Get yourself a deep tissue/remedial massage – not a plinky plonky music one, but a real deep one. It will hurt, but believe you me, it will be worth it. Pushups are not a good idea if you have a knot in your shoulder either. I cannot recommend getting it looked at enough, these things tend of build up and don’t go away unless properly treated.
Kath says
I’ll take that as a command to schedule a massage for this weekend?!
Suan says
I just know from personal experience that these things can fester and get worse and worse, when something can be done about it. After a couple of sessions I am sure you will feel much better! I find I tend to have less energy etc when I have muscle/joint pain and it is not until I get it treated that I realise it was draining me so much!!!!! Wish I could recommend someone for you, but am on another continent!
Estela @ Weekly Bite says
Every time I don’t sleep well… my neck hurts 🙁
A massage sound perfect!
Have a great day!
Cait (Cait's Plate) says
YAAAAAAAAAAY for EarthFare 🙂 That would be what got ME out of bed – but that toast does look pretty fabulous.
Glad you finally got your GM! Angela must be so proud 😀
theemptynutjar says
More oats and more nut butter I say!
Yay for massages – gosh, that would be nice —yay for massages from cute husbands 😉
hope you get some relaxation time today busy girl.
megan says
I get headaches all the time, and I got a massage recently and she said I have knots all over my back and neck! Does anyone know how to get rid of them? I’d love to keep getting massages, but definitely can’t afford it.
also, kath, I just had a smoothie for breakfast with my space heater pointed right at me as well! 🙂
Christina says
Enjoy your last morning workout! I could only get up early for a workout when I skated because I loved doing it at any hour.
zestycook says
Kath, I went with the same thing on my toast this morning as well. Have a great day and a fun lunch at EarthFare!
zest
Carolyn says
Have a good day at work!!
Shannon (The Daily Balance) says
boo for headaches — i suffer from occasional migraines, so i COMPLETELY understand! but yay for earthfare! enjoy!
Morgan @ Life After Bagels says
I’ve never put oatmeal in my smoothie because some people say it’s too grainy.
Rachel says
I think I have more trouble pulling myself out of bed in the morning to exercise than I do making myself exercise after work. Haven’t heard of anyone putting oats in their smoothies, but it makes sense!
Lexi says
I woke up with a headache too! Those are the worst. Glad you got a nice massage last night though 🙂
I am a fan of evening workouts as opposed to morning. For some reason, even though I wake up before 6 every morning, my sleepiness lingers until about 11 am – which is when my day of classes and work starts. I do think it’s harder to go after work, just because the rush of the day has passed and it’s a moment to relax, but I always tell myself that a good work out will help me sweat out the stress of the day. Plus I love a warm shower before bed 🙂
Hope you have another great day at Winthrop today! And enjoy your EarthFare lunch! Can’t wait to see what amazing concoction you show us today!
–Lexi
Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg says
It’s funny to think about how you used to get up that early EVERY day to work out! I never understood how you did that! Dragging my butt to the gym is hard enough; if I had to do it at 5:30 every morning, I’m not sure it would happen 🙂
Have a great day!
Heather @ The Joyful Kitchen says
I just made a smoothie too 🙂 first time to have one with spinach, but i actually am really enjoying it! i REALLY like working out in the afternoons a lot better…i get so much more accomplished when i’m wide awake 🙂 hope you have a wonderful day!
Sally Mae says
I’ve grown to love my afternoon/evening workouts. I have much more energy throughout the entire day and night when I don’t wake up at the crack of dawn and push my body to the limits. Plus it motivates me to eat healthy throughout the day – because I CAN’T workout if I’ve been eating junk all day. I just have to watch out for eating too much for dinner then because I’m usually ravenous after my workouts. Have a great day!
Jenny says
I’m going to have to try a SIAB soon.. Keep us posted on your workouts in the evening- its one thing that I’ve never been able to figure out how to work into my schedule with meeting friends and eating dinner so I’d be curious as to how you manage 🙂 have a great day!
brandi says
i’ve been wanting smoothies lately, but it’s just so cold! I can’t take cold breakfasts when I know it’s under 10 degrees outside – brr!
Hope you have a great day!
Mara @ What's For Dinner? says
Have a great day Kath! Stay warm!
ashleigh says
I wish I could get myself into morning workouts because they free up the rest of your day but I can not get myself to wake up before 7 no matter how hard I try!
Have a great lunch eat EarthFare!
Jenn (www.j3nn.net) says
A smoothie sounds really good right now even though it’s -8 million outside 😆
Jenn
K says
Getting a knot in that spot is horrible! I know from experience how awful they can be – I still have mine and get headaches. Yuck! I hope you have a great day and enjoy that EF salad 🙂
Erin says
Sorry to hear about the sleeping troubles. 🙁
LOVE the new leaf dish…totally rad.
Freya @ foodfitnessandfreya.wordpress.com says
I think it must be something in the air; I woke up with a terrible back ache this morning! Maybe it’s the cold weather making everyone sleep funny? :s
That smoothie looks good 🙂 I can’t go carbfree in the morning either, carbs are way too essential in my life! I really hate all those low carb diets about now, carbs have such bad press
🙁
oh and much kudos to you for getting up for a 5.30am gym session! THAT is dedication – you deserve all the results for your hardwork 🙂 Have a great day!
Danielle (Coffee Run) says
18*? Ah!
I love the nutty/oat taste that rolled oats give smoothies. I think they give them more staying-power.
Enjoy Earth Fare!
ellen eats beets says
I can not wait to experience an earthfare lunch some day. the SIAB looks delicious. I love the added granola, it just goes great with EVERYTHING!
Allison K says
Ugh. I hate sleeping troubles. I’ve been having trouble lately too, although last night slept great. I also did my workout last night after work, as opposed to in the AM….wonder if they are correlated?
Anne Marie@New Weigh of Life says
I’m so done with this cold weather. Bring on the sun!
Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope says
Sorry to hear about the rough nights of sleep. Hopefully it was just nerves or something from the excitement and you’ll get back to your normal pattern quickly. 🙂
Glad you got in a delicious green smoothie this morning!
Kati @ Living Well says
How did you like the oats in your smoothie? I always forget to add that for fiber and complex carbs!
Peronel says
Hello!
Can I unlurk to ask your advice on nut butter? I’m in England, and can get precisely one sort of almond butter. But… my parents are going to Florida in a couple of weeks. I want to ask them to bring me back nut butter, but am not sure what to ask for. Could you recommend a brand or two I should try, particuarly if its available in a mainstream shop.
Alternatively, is tehre anywhere really good to order from? I could always get nut butter delivered to their hotel. (Or would that be wierd?)
Love the blog!
Thankyou.
Freya @ foodfitnessandfreya.wordpress.com says
Hi there! I hope you don’t mind me replying to your comment quickly! I’m from England too, and I really struggle to find nut butters other than almond butter 🙁 where are you looking? I’ve seen Co-Op have started stocking cashew nut butter which is a start 🙂 Have you checked out all the small health food/organic foods stores you can? I discovered a tiny little shop the other day, and it had almond, cashew AND pumpkin nut butter – I was amazed!! I think they’re becoming more popular over here.
Also, I’d be very interested to know the best brands and that too…I’m tempted to do a bulk order! Of that, and Mix My Granola 😛
Kath says
My favorites are Maranatha and Barney Butter. If there’s a Whole Foods, they should have both.
Jewel says
I really admire your commitment to working out! I KNOW what a difference it would make in my life…but I can’t seem to schedule it in.
Your green smoothie looks good….I am having one myself at the moment!
Beth @ DiningAndDishing says
haha, peanut buttery pre-workout snacks always get me out of bed too :O). your toast looks so yummy!
Tracey says
I sleep better when I wear a sleep mask as well. Glad to hear I’m not the only one;)
Jenny says
I agree, I definitely have less motivation to work out after classes in the afternoon. And I love being in the gym in the morning! But there are deifnitely perks to working out in the afternoon, I’ll be interested to read what you think about it after a while 🙂
Mae says
have a fantastic lunch!!!
I love and hate the gym for the same reason- you run into people you know! SOmetimes its fun, but other times you just want to get your workout DONE!! 🙂
Paula says
Great idea adding the oats. Golly, why haven’t I tried this yet.
skinnyrunner says
i would not be able to workout in the evenings, i lose all my willpower. i tried to yesterday and uh, no workout.
sarah (the SHU box) says
ohhhh i much prefer 5:30 AM to after a long day of work. somehow, no matter what kind of day i’ve had, the patients seem to just draaaaain out all my energy so that at the end of the day i’m like a limp noodle that just wants dinner and to sit on my butt. plus i love that my AM boost seems to give me a nice dose of happy hormones to last through most of the day.
GOOD LUCK with the internship!! i can’t wait to hear more! and as for the ‘eating when you can just b/c you know you might not be able to later’? story of my life. it gets really annoying sometimes. i wish i just had the flexibility to just eat whenever but in the medical field, it’s just not always under your control. i bet you will come up with all sorts of awesome strategies though!
ps: your steak looks #($*# delicious. and i like it that rare too!! =D
Mama Pea says
We are twins this morning: up too early to workout, headache/crick in the neck (I even Googled crick in the neck about 30 minutes ago), green smoothies! Mine’s in a bowl, though, and I’ve realized that my SIAB have just turned into bowls of cereal with green smoothie milk 🙂
Have a good day, Kath!
Kath says
So twins!! I also think of my SIAB’s as “green milk” too 🙂
Lauren @ eater not a runner says
Your smoothies always look SO good. Hope you sleep better tonight!
Tara says
Have fun interning! I just cannot have good work outs when I hit the gym that early in the morning. I wake up starving as well. I’m def going to have to try that smoothie though, maybe thats the trick.
Ali @ Food, Fitness, Fashion says
I have not been sleeping well lately either, I don’t know what my deal is! Hopefully, tonight will be better for both of us!
Wendy says
I tweaked a muscle in my lower back yesterday, and it prevented me from sleeping well last night, too. I agree that a prof. massage would help! I used to get them on a montly basis, but can’t really afford it anymore. 🙁 You’ll probably need to go a couple of times to work the knots out if they’re bad. I know I’ve said this before, but you might also consider seeing a chiropractor. You might have some joints out of alignment that are causing your muscles to tighten up.
I always enjoy going to the gym at different times/days because I always run into someone I haven’t seen in forever! Fun way to catch up.
Elena says
Good morning! I nominated you for an award http://eathealthybehappy.blogspot.com/2010/01/happy-101-blog-award.html
Kath says
Thanks so much!
Belinda says
Your smoothie looks delicious! It finally reached 8* here…up from 0* early in wee hours this morning. Brrrrrrr…..stay warm!
Foy Update - Cook. Garden. Write. Repeat. says
I really like my evening workouts. I go right after I get off work before I go home. It’s a time to zone out and force my brain to stop thinking about work so I can just go home and enjoy having dinner with my hubby. Plus then I don’t have to drive from the house to the gym and back, I have one big circuit.
Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat) says
sorry about the neck pain. That’s horrible! Hopefully it will feel better today and tonight!
Enjoy your last Earthfare lunch for a while.
Pat says
All spring and summer I was up and out at 5:30 am to workout. Now that it’s cold and dark, and oh yeah COLD, I’m back to evening exercising. The major problem with that is scheduling it around evening meetings. The time between work ending at 5 pm and a meeting beginning at 7pm is just not quite enough for the travel and the workout (which then requires a shower at the gym whereas when there’s no meeting I go home and shower and get into my pj’s). But, it has to be done. 🙂 Soon enough it’ll be spring and I can move back to am workouts.
Meaghan says
Love your blog! You inspired me to create my own. (www.megsfoods.com) Keep up the great blogging.
caronae says
I love the little hazelnut (almond?) on top of your smoothie! It’s so cute.
PS – I have finally started my own blog!
lynn (The Actors Diet) says
i’ve yet to try oats in my smoothies but am intrigued!
Stef says
Sorry you haven’t been sleeping well! Have a great day at winthrop!
Paige(Running Around Normal) says
Ouch, sorry about your headache…sounds painful! Nice job on the early morning workout:) Have a great day, Kath!
Chelsea says
I bet you can’t sleep because of the uncertainty of the next 6 months 🙁 Here’s hoping it gets better!
Hallie says
Since I work a 9 to 5 I struggle with the workout timing thing…I love exercise, but I hate waking up early and feeling shortchanged because I have to get to work on time, and I hate getting home at 7 PM, starving and having to make dinner! It’s lose-lose but it’s so much easier for me to get it over with first thing…once my alarm goes off it’s like, well I’m up I might as well go, but all day at work I sit and rationalize why I should blow off that day’s plan. And like I said, I ENJOY working out! I’m glad I’m not the only one who goes through this
Jil says
I’ve had a horrible knot in my lower back/left hip area — forever now. I read that potassium really helps knots…so I’ve been trying to up my banana intake. haha 🙂 I hope your neck feels better! and that smoothie’s green color is beautiful! Yay spinach! haha
Hillary @ Nutrition Nut on the Run says
Your GM looks great – very green : ) I definitely prefer mine thick. You should give almond milk a try – nice ‘n nutty.
Cynthia C. says
I always get oats in mine at jamba juice but forget at home. Thanks for the reminder.
Courtney says
I love MixMyGranola! Also, Ive found that putting protein in my smoothies keeps me fuller longer–protein powder OR using a greek yogurt (like Chobani) as the base!
Jenna says
Smoothies looks great!
Have a fab lunch at earth fare:)
Kori says
I cannot wait to try this smoothie! I’ve really been wanting to try adding spinach and kale to my oatmeal and smoothies. 🙂
Jon says
Where can I get that Cottonwood Ale pint glass?
Kath says
At the brewery itself, which is in Mooresville, NC.
Andrea says
Hi Kath!
Do you think you might get in the habit of working out in the morning? And is it possible to get used to morning workouts? I have started getting up at 5:15 myself to workout because I have a 45 min. commute and all I want to do after work is get home, cook dinner, and relax. I’m just hoping it gets easier and if you have any tips on how to stay motivated for the AM workouts.
Also – I’m a member of a gym, but I don’t use it in the AM because it’s too much of a hassle to get there, shower, and try to be at work on time. Do you have any great exercises and/or videos that will be good to do at home that will help me get results??
Thanks for your time and good luck with the next 6 months! It will fly by!
Andrea
Kath says
Andrea,
Yes, you definitely get used to it. Mondays were hard, but I used to bound out of bed on Fridays. Keep your Sat + Sun wake-up times as early as possible! I have some tips on my Q+A page 🙂
I don’t use exercise videos, so I can’t help you there. Yogadownload.com is all I got!