When Your Body Teaches You A Lesson… & Chocolate Chip PowerZOOKIE.

March 11, 2014 -
4 comments, add yours

Have you ever been taught a lesson that you weren’t expecting? I wanted to share a little story today…since I’m still not 100% and found myself feeling guilty for taking rest.

I’m not sure if everyone can relate – but sometimes when we have so many things going on & our to-do lists are growing, we don’t often pencil in…”TO DO: BE SICK.”

I was chatting with Heather yesterday & she made the best point….she said, that girl inside of you is trying to tell you something – so listen to her, slow down, rest, get back to your 100% self & then take on your week!

I honestly don’t get sick often…and that’s the truth. I’m used to being “go go go” all week and honestly, I love it! I love working hard & doing what I love to do.

A few weeks ago I started to complain about my tailbone being sore – no matter what I would do. After most workouts it would bug me but I’m one of those people that tend to push through a pain – which can be a fault to a certain extent especially with a lot of training coming up for the next few months…I guess it’s the competitive athlete inside of me.

I went to my Chiropractor and he said to me…what would I have to do to get you to not workout for a few days? I kinda looked at him and smiled like…yeah right it can’t be that bad? He said – it’s actually your coccyx where the pain is coming from (which a lot of your glute aka butt muscles an other tendons & ligaments connect to) so he said you just need to let your lower body rest for at least 3 straight days.

The next day I swear I felt better so I was back to my normal day of training & teaching classes. Before I knew it – it was acting up again…and I knew I had to listen to my body but before I could even take that next step myself….my body had already stepped in to take a stance.

Insert sore throat, stuffy nose, and head ache here.

You know that 3 day break I was advised to take? Whelp, It’s happening. And you know what? I’m not feeling 100% yet BUT I am feeling a whole lot better than I was a few days ago. Even my coccyx isn’t bugging me like it was.

I can’t help but think this head-cold came into my life to say, “Kase, take a break – listen to your body”.

Often I think we all are so used to a go go lifestyle that we almost feel “guilty” if we need to take a day off or need to take a break.

With a busy week this week I thought to myself…oh you can’t postpone that training appointment with your client…you’re not that sick. Then you put yourself in your clients shoes and think…would they really want me to be around them when I’m not 100%? If there anything like me and being a bit of a germ freak that I am, I doubt they want a tired/sick trainer sniffling the whole time.

My point here is that sometimes we need to just give ourselves a break without guilt. There are always more days to postpone a session until & it can always be made up. Our health is truly important for not only ourselves, but to be healthy enough to help others as well.

Sometimes we are taught lessons when we don’t expect it – but it’s up to us to listen to these cues & give our bodies what it wants. Taking these last few days to rest has been a great thing for my overall health & I’m glad I listened to myself.

You know what else I listened to? My CRAVING for cold ice cream. I can thank my sore throat to wanting that cool relief and also thankfully my appetite hasn’t gone away.

Corey was running to the store the other night and I put a request in for coconut milk ice-cream…..little did I know that I was also going to get some pink roses as well…Thanks babe! He’s really great at being honest with me & helping me realize that rest is needed…and it’s OKAY to need it. #happygirl

Even with being under the weather, my creativity for recipe making never slows down. I’m not sure where my Pizookie craving came from but I was not complaining.

What’s a Pizookie? A “Pizza-Cookie” that can be customized however you choose! And when you’re sick…any combo plus some coconut milk ice-cream sounds like a perfect cure for a sore throat.

First I made a single serve chocolate chip oatmeal cookie, topped with So Delicious Coconut Milk Chocolate Ice cream, & Chia Chocolate Sauce.

Now for the recipes —

Single Serve Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie

  • 1/2 Cup Rolled Oats
  • 1 Spoonful of Chia Seeds
  • 1 Egg (or 2 TB Flax mixed with 3 TB warm water for a “Flax Egg”)
  • 1/4 So Delicious Unsweet Vanilla Coconut Milk
  • 1/2 Mashed Banana (I snacked on the other half)
  • 2 Squares of Chopped Unsweet Baking Chocolate (because I love bitter chocolate but you could use whichever kind you like!)
  • Cinnamon
  • Splash of Vanilla
  • Few Drops Of Liquid Stevia
Instructions:
  1. Mix all Ingredients together
  2. Bake at 350 for about 12-15 Minutes
While that bakes….mix your  Chia Chocolate Sauce:
  • 1 Spoonful of Chia Seeds
  • 2 TB Cocoa Powder (I used dark)
  • A few drops of liquid Stevia
  • So Delicious Coconut milk (small amounts)

Instructions:

  1. Add your chia, cocoa, & stevia into a small bowl.
  2. SLOWLY add small amounts of coconut milk into the bowl as you mix until it’s a nice thick consistency.
  3. The amount can vary but it usually ends up being about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup.
  4. Let it sit to thicken (the chia will help this) as the cookie finishes baking.

Once the cookie is out of the oven & cooled a bit, top with ice cream of choice, chia chocolate sauce, & optional whipped cream.  Not only does this help soothe a sore throat – but it’s quite delicious and full of some power…hence the POWERzookie.

If you try this out, weather your sick or healthy, let me know! I hope you enjoy.

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I’m off to relax for the afternoon….without guilt. Accepting that my body needs it and it’s helping me get to a healthier place for not only the body but mind.

 

Have a great Tuesday!!

 

Be true to you,

xo Kasey

 

Have you ever fought the “sick guilt” feeling bad about taking time off? How did you finally accept this as a sign from your body and move forward?

 

Struggling with rest? Check out Heather & I’s #RESTWEEKwhere we took a week of rest to focus more on ourselves – something I often look back on whenever I feel moments of doubt with resting. Always learning lessons & being reminded how important it is to listen to our bodies!

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4 responses to “When Your Body Teaches You A Lesson… & Chocolate Chip PowerZOOKIE.”

  1. […] your clients shoes and think…would they really want me to be around them when I’m not 100%? …read more     March 11, 2014   admin   Food and […]

  2. AHHH so true!! I don’t get sick often either, but usually when I do I can look around at everything going on and realize that my body is probably asking me to mentally and physically take a break. I usually fight it at first, then give in and realize how much I needed it

  3. Anel says:

    I know that guilty feeling oh so well!!! It’s mentally hard to take rest days! Your mind will play tricks on you and think you are feeling better but the body knows better and that is when we get sick. Now, I think about it this way- if I don’t take care of myself now , then it will get worse and I will have to take more rest days. We live in this “go go go’ society and we know we need to slow down and smell the roses, but when we do it seems like we are in the wrong or lazy! Ah! Finding that balance is hard so we can respect what our bodies need!

  4. Carrie says:

    Thank you! Just what I needed today! Just experienced this .. Took Sunday and Monday off from working out.. Felt better yesterday so I decided to do a fast walk on the treadmill .. I mean a fast walk can’t hurt.. right?.. wrong! here I am today feeling sick again! Off to relax without guilt now! Love the idea of a week off to focus on yourself and will definitely try the recipe tonight!:)

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