The Rx for PMS

Let me tell you what my PMS is like: oppressive, ongoing tirade of what I haven’t done right, enough of, or screwed up.  I can’t escape it, I feel horrible, my nipples ache, I retain water and feel like a cow, then I overeat sweets or savory things then follow it up with its reciprocal taste, looking somehow to get relief from food (which I know I can’t, but that’s beside the point).

And the only thing that makes me feel better, that even the love of a good man cannot fix, is aerobic & intense exercise.  Dunno why.  And I will swerve violently like a crazed pendulum from one extreme to the other.   Once my heart starts pounding, I’m thrilled to be alive!  The weather is fantastic!  All the people around me are beautiful and kind!  Everything in the world is wonderful, just as it is!

I’ve decided that on my PMS days, my husband should refuse to speak to me until he’s dropped my booty off at the gym; we will talk on the way home.  He will only say, “Get your gym bag ready,” as he heads out the door to start the car.

BTW, today was a gorgeous, perfect spring day.  The sun was warm, but the air was cool, which makes for ideal bike-riding.  But maybe it was just my endorphins talking.

Day Off!

I was supposed to sleep in this morning but woke up at 0530, as I have been this week.   It was fantastic.

We had early-am sex, then did DDR to continue the cardio workout, had breakfast, showered, loaded the dishwasher, loaded the washing machine, and out the door, all before 9am!

Then I had my yearly optometrist exam (no change in 4+ years) and then I walked to the bakery to stock up on bread.

Next I will walk to my chiropractic appointment, after vacuuming the house and finishing all the dishes (this is one of those affirmation things, except it isn’t, because I didn’t use the present tense).

Just read a blog post titled, “I should be sweeping.”  Damn!  Got me right between the eyes.

Last night was “Lost,” which was pretty good.  If you’ve been watching, you know that they’ve been doing flashbacks for the first three seasons, until the final episode, where there was a flash-forward!  And they continued the FF last night, which is sad because they all seem tortured and unhappy after they got rescued.

Oh, the beautiful Hawaiian beach, sand, and water.  And we will be there, in one month exactly!  Woo hoo!

Exercise

is the balm for my soul.  It is the only thing that consistently elevates my mood (even if it doesn’t need elevating) and leaves me with a sense of well-being (physical & emotional) for hours afterward.  I am in such a state right now.  Everything is great; I am great.

I rode my bike to the gym on a blustery, cold day and then hit the pool with twenty laps of interval swimming, alternating freestyle, back, and breast stroke.  Then I showered and rode my bike home in a kind of cool-down, but mostly I coasted, hands-off the bars.  [I only successfully tried it last week, and already I'm very comfortable with it.  Seems that I was only afraid of falling; isn't that so true in many aspects of life?]

Usually I need aerobic exercise for the benefit, though my ninety minute yoga “flow” class can be beneficial, too.  I think I feel better for having done yoga rather than it makes me feel better from the inside out.

It’s why regular, sustained aerobic exercise is a top goal for me to achieve week in and week out for this year.  It’s a drug that has no ill side effects!