Aspartame & My Headaches?

I found a blog yesterday with a motivational quote that was just what I needed at the time. I will share the quote and a link to the blog for your enjoyment at the end of this post, but first.........

In my attempt to "eat clean" as most of the body builders do, I have been successful in giving up sugar, white flour, white rice, bad fats, etc. I avoid chemical and sugar-laden salad dressings and the like. However.........

One thing I have stubbornly held on to is a morning cup of java with aspartame. I also drink a lot of crystal light. I have been having headaches constantly and I've been attributing it to withdrawal from all the junk I used to eat.

This morning, I had an early appointment with a dermatologist to have some skin tags removed from my eyelids and under my arms. Anyway, I decided to go to the West Haven beach/boardwalk-- which I shared pics of the other day-- and get my walk in early, before the dermatologist. On the way back to the car, I had this tingling in my left arm and I got scared as I know that is a symptom of a pending heart attack.

When I got to the dermatologist's office I was rubbing my arm and debating whether or not to call my primary care doc about the tingling. The receptionist asked if I had a rash on my arm that was bothering me, so I told her what was going on. She then asked if I've had headaches or blurred vision. "YES," I said, amazed that this could have any connection to the tingling in my arm.

She then suggested that I may be having a bad reaction to aspartame and that my symptoms could disappear if I stay away from it. So, I guess I have to conduct an experiment and completely give it up for awhile to see what happens.

Anyway, I can't give up my morning coffee -- I deprive myself in so many other ways, it is one of the little pleasures that I will hold on to -- I'll just have to learn to drink it without chemical sweetener. I will let you know if the headaches and other symptoms go away.

On other fronts, yesterday, I had a huge case of the lazies and was sort of "blah" all day. Thursdays are a day I work out with the ChaLEAN program and I usually try to do it no later than lunch time so that it isn't hanging over my head all day and night.

All day long I messed around............ I lingered at my computer all morning sipping coffee, reading people's blogs, and answering emails. All afternoon I kept finding other things to do besides my workout.

I was back on my computer AGAIN for the umpteenth time and came across the blog of a young man who has lost 80 pounds and has not only become a runner, but a triathlete. His blog entry for September 20th was amazing and jump started my mojo like you wouldn't believe.

At the heading is the following phrase, "Everyone trains hard when they want to. Only the best do it when they don't." Holy crap, talk about just what the doctor ordered! LOL I immediately did my workout and felt great about it. In fact, I felt so great that I couldn't understand why I had avoided it all day.

A few hours later, Jeff (my DH) came home from work and said he wanted to hit the gym before dinner. I am proud to say that I walked to the gym and did an intense, upper body workout once I got there.

Once we got home, we put together a great dinner of grilled salmon, butternut squash, and steamed broccoli with onions, garlic and spices. YUM!

So, I started the day with the enthusiam of a slug on valium and ended up in cheer leader mode ---- all because of what someone wrote in their blog. Don't underestimate the power of your blog to really make a difference for someone! This isn't the first time something like this has happened to me. My fellows bloggers are so important to me.

Anyway, here's a link that should take you to the blog I mentioned. This is a great blog entry about the excuses we make to get out of exercise. I am going to print it and hang it near my desk!

http://400watts.blogspot.com/2009/09/everyone-trains-hard-when-they-want-to.html

Be good to you today!

Move, breathe, believe!