So I got all my wisdom teeth taken out a few days ago - all 4 of them. I must say I was terrified of getting put to sleep, since I’ve never been put under with anesthesia before. I don’t even remember knocking out. #scarythought. All I remember was feeling delirious momentarily, and then knocking out again. lol. Anyways, knowing that I couldn’t eat my usual diet afterwards, I didn’t exercise for a couple days before the operation because I knew I couldn’t completely nourish myself and recover from it. And post op completely forbade exercise to prevent dislodging the blood clots. So that gave me two weeks of a sedentary lifestyle. And it drove me absolutely crazy…
I couldn’t eat what I wanted, I couldn’t workout, and my sleeping patterns were wacked as a result. My unstoppable “Triangle Offense” was temporarily devastated. I couldn’t even play rockband drums. Some people are total badasses and had steak dinners and Conchings after their wisdoms got pulled (Atienza & Gacutan) haha. But I chose to follow docs orders and had the recommended “soft” diet. Some chicken noodle soup, tinola, oatmeal and gatorade. The diet of champions. I did have fun with the Vicodin though. lol. No wonder Dr. House loves it.
But after a long hiatus I’m finally back in the gym, and it feels oh so good. Endorphins how I’ve missed you. Vicodin can give you the euphoria, that sense of well being, and make you look 10 times cooler, but it can only take you so far. There really is no substitute for the natural endorphins you get from a great workout. It’s like magic - and it felt 20 times better than any Vicodin pill. And I like being sore, it means I can eat more. But that’s just me. Remember, if there ever comes a point in your life when you just don’t feel alive and energetic, than you’re just not exercising enough.
Ever since I came back to my usual exercise habits, I started to eat better, eat a lot more often, and crave the healthy foods that I needed to recover from the workout. I even started to eat less garbage foods. (Not that I eat a lot of those anyways) Some studies have shown that if you’re sick and you need a certain vitamin or mineral to help alleviate the symptoms, your body will naturally crave for it. Pretty cool.
The following night after my first workout I noticed the dreams I had were much longer and much more lucid. And it’s not because I just watched Inception. You get more deep sleep (REM) with exercise because the body craves it and needs it for recovery. Actually, the entire 2 weeks that I didn’t have exercise I don’t even remember dreaming at all! Interesting. During my sedentary 2 weeks, I also found that I had excess energy at night. I would stay up until 4am just reading without even feeling tired. Nerd alert.
Conclusion: The human body was never meant for a sedentary lifestyle. Rather, it thrives on an active one. God designed us to move, and since we don’t farm and hunt like we used to, we just have to find another way to do so. You’ve heard this from me before, but I’ll say again: diet, sleep and exercise - It’s all connected =)
