I work in a tiny sales office selling specific products and my BOSS IS A B!!!!    I absolutely LOVE my new work and my new boss, and the B and the customers are praising me for efficiency and how well everyone is treated now during the sales process.

I am trying to make  the  most out of my new schedule AND listen to my body at the same time. This is not easy after just being told that any given spontaneous detox could make me need 9 or 10 hours of sleep to recover during the night.... . I mean, I absolutely LOVE sleep and lots of it, but I am the one salesperson at the office besides the B, and every day is a new game, especially if we get swamped with calls, or I drive to several different customers houses to measure the remodeling jobs they need done.

Basically these are my difficultues:

Morning: with 8 hours sleep, eyes still wake up  1/2 hour before the sun comes up...kind of a "wake, sleep,wake, sleep, time to get up" pattern.
Most times my brain will not let my head off the pillow unless I propel myself straight up, and sit on side of bed for 15 minutes in order for brain to start "functioning."
This has happened for 3 years now ever since a roommate of mine at the womens shelter came home with Staph and Strep infections from the hospital, but didn't BOTHER TO TELL ME until a month after...(the B*^%H!!!) So I might have a lingering, dormant virus in my brain or elsewhere in my system. Or else I'm so fat that my blood coagulates in other areas of the body and just doesn't move  around the brain so much until I sit up. However, I don't think this is the case.

When I get up  urge myself to get the big A breakfast chosen and cooked, but am not hungry enough to want to digest it unless ive been highly active the day before. So - if the body doesn't want to digest,and the brain is still not waking up so well, I am trying marching in place on the exercise mat for 20 minutes listening to music, followed by lemon water and my shower, etc. then of course, I must decide how many meals to pack for work, then run out the door.

Commute is great and not so much of a stress; however  am finally wanting breakfast mid-morning before lunch starts. Not a problem at our office but must go to the back room to eat and someone has to cover the phone calls and walk-ins.

It seems at this point my metabolism is at its most demanding from mid morning till 4pm. I seem to "have" to have all my nutrients plus tea or cocoa in  order to avoid an afternoon crash.

I'm trying small meals - big meals either cant get eaten on time or get put off being ordered from the local cafe because of budgetary fears(?) Or the fear that once the big meal is in front of me I will eat the whole thing at one sitting, and then be hungry sometime after 8 pm  or midnight.(exactly when I should not be eating at all.)

If I come home after 7 pm (if there were odd appointments after the 8 hour day)
I come home to no one cooking for me, a filthy house, wanting time for myself, and unable to choose between walking in the cooled off neighborhood with its mosquitoes, or exercise indoors before bedtime.

How close to bedtime should I be exercising,and still able to fall asleep?
If I should not be exercising so late,then I am left with a hot afternoon walk on some break at work that I need to be asking the "B" boss for time to go and do.

It is highly confusing.

Seraffa,  Have you checked with your mom's doc. for some in home assistance?  There is both medical and practical help.  Her Doc must OK and then they will send someone out to help with cleaning etc. Here they will even take the person shopping and to med. appointments.  Check with you human service office. This will be a great help to you.

CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT ME FOR A MOMENT --  If I had been able to do anything about her problems by now, I would have done them.

It's no different than if I lived totally alone by myself.

I go to work in a couple hours and look forward to your responses.

About the walk.

I find it easy enough to fall asleep when I walk in the evening around 8.30-9
I come home take a shower and a cup of herbal tea and relax( no tv- computer last hr before bed
and sleep around 10- 10.30

So for me a walk is not disturbing my sleep.

Seraffa, first of all, happy to hear you like your new job...  Secondly, even happier to hear you're
trying to march in place for 20 minutes as your exercise.  And thirdly, I'm not someone who wakes
up very hungry either.  I cannot eat a typical big type A breakfast and have resorted to making chia
seed pudding and save my bigger meal for lunch.  THis seems to be the only breakfast that feels
right in the morning...and even then, most mornings I don't want any food until about 10 am...lunch
around 2 pm and dinner at 6 or 6:30.

I'm thinking the overnight "detoxing" might not be totally over when you wake up...as this is the way
it feels for me....I need a shower, stretching, some water or green tea before I feel like eating...and
even then, I've never been hungry in the morning.  Only person in my family who wakes up hungry
is my husband who obviously has a totally different type of constitution and metabolism than me.

I would suggest if you can have chia seeds to try this very filling but super easy to digest "pudding".
It's simple, easy to keep for a few days in the refrigerator and have it ready to go without thinking
about breakfast at all.  I just mix in a blender or Vitamix 2 cups of any compliant liquid (almond
milk is what I prefer, but it could be rice milk, real milk, soy milk, anything compliant for you).
I then add 4 soaked dates...but it could just as well be a peach, anything really...a banana,
frozen berries, fresh berries....just trying to use fruit as a sweetener..  Blend till fruit has combined
with liquid.
To the liquid I add 1/2 cup of chia seeds. I also add 2 tsp of carob extract made by DPN (this website) which is a cocoa concentrate mixed with carob and agave.

That's it....pour into a container and refrigerate.  You've got a filling, satisfying pudding that is
a perfect breakfast....I sprinkle sunflower seeds on top and add a few berries, but it could just
as well be anything else....almonds, walnuts, flax seeds, etc.

I don't feel hungry until 4 hours later...and it gives me a humongous amount of energy starting
my day this way.  I don't seem to do well with grains in the morning, nor do I feel I digest heavy
proteins either.  The omega fatty acids in chia wakes up my brain....enlivens my muscles and
makes me feel alert.

As for exercise before bed....Probably best before dinner....or maybe something light like walking
after dinner.  I think by the end of the day you want to "wind down" not "rev up"...but probably
best to experiment and see what feels right for you.

And to make dinner simple....try to have a few things cooked in advance so you're assembling
and making your plate from ready-to-heat ingredients.

Some examples.  I make a batch of brown rice....enough for 3-4 days and refrigerate.  I also
bake a bunch of different veggies....ie, roast them.  It could be anything from cauliflower (drizzled
with EVOO and maybe Italian spices, on a baking sheet -- 400 degrees for 35 minutes). Cooled.
Or a big bunch of mushrooms, thrown into a pan with EVOO and sea salt....just baked until soft
and they develop enough liquid to pour onto something like my rice....You can bake a bunch of
chicken pieces, boneless or with bone....or whatever protein you're allowed to eat...When my
protein is done, I cook it, remove from bone, or cut up or whatever it takes to portion into meals,
then freeze what I don't think I'll use up quickly and now I've got things that can be combined
quickly.

Now I have to be creative with how to combine these ingredients.  Sometimes I take some raw
items like onion, garlic, celery, bell peppers and just quickly stir fry them in a pan...add some
of my cold rice and keep mixing...then add some of my cold cooked veggies just to heat...and
dump in some chopped up protein...

I do this with tofu cubes which have been baked in tamari....with beans that I've cooked in advance
and throw them in cold with my stir fried veggies.

Everything is similar but at the same time different.  My process is more of assembly than starting
to cook from scratch every night. I change up my grain sources....amaranth, quinoa, brown rice,
corn, potatoes, whatever I'm focusing on as my beneficials.  Even root veggies....beets, carrots,
parsnips which I also bake with EVOO.  It creates easy dinner....not many pots and pans to wash...
not many moments of "what am I going to make for dinner".  I some days prep grains and other
days prep veggies and protein...but something is always ready to assemble.

Plan ahead....I think you might feel yourself getting more into a routine this way....It makes it easy
to go food shopping and much easier to work from pantry items if you keep staples on hand that
are easy to combine.

Being prepared and organized with your meals is likely to give you a sense of having things under control at home.  You can always clean in your spare time and catch up with what you're too busy to do before or after work on weekends.  

I wish you luck in settling into your new routine.  Sounds like you're doing SO much better than
you were many weeks ago.

Quoted from Seraffa

CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT ME FOR A MOMENT --  If I had been able to do anything about her problems by now, I would have done them.

It's no different than if I lived totally alone by myself.

I go to work in a couple hours and look forward to your responses.

I'm sorry, I misunderstood, I thought some of the problem was you would have to come home to a messy home, I was hoping to find a solution to that problem, freeing up your time when your at home.

When you get used to the exercise, you should have no problems falling asleep even it is close to when you go to bed.  

At first you may have trouble falling asleep and have plenty of extra energy, then you get used to it and your body makes accomodations to handle the exercise.  

It is better to not push yourself too hard if you are adjusting to a new job or something big like that though.  It is important to have some down time where you don't think or do to much (at least for me anyway)!

I also like repetitive tasks to help me clear my mind.  I'm looking for a new job myself right now!!  I am not renowned for being a stress handling champion either!  Caffeine plays a huge part in this for me, it raises my stress hormones and keeps me from sleeping.  I just quit it again yesterday.  I sound like an addict! (You are an explorer right?)

Seraffa,
It's good to hear that you've found a job that you really like!  
About the meals, don't stress so much about it.  Chloe's given you some great ideas, as has HB.  Just find things that work for you.
It's great that you are exercising in the morning and if you are running all over Houston measuring people's houses you are probably getting some exercise doing that as well.
Give yourself credit for what you are doing right!
Jane

The only way I can survive with my busy schedule is to do something similar to the way Chloe manages her food.  I cook quite a bit on the weekend so that I cook very little during the week when the pace of my life picks up.  My biggest meal of the day is always prepared ahead and in a form that I can easily manage on a day to day speedy need.

Congrats on the new job!

Anytime you have a new routine, you need to do some trial and error to see what works best for you. Some people can exercise an hour before bed and sleep fine; others need to do so several hours before or they're kept awake.

You might do well to have a protein shake in the morning, or maybe have a small but balanced breakfast before work and then plan a shake for a mid-morning snack at work (since it only takes a few minutes to prepare and consume.)

Could you prepare something in a crock pot for dinner after work? I'm thinking prep the veggies the night before or on weekends, then dump into pot and add water and turn it on before work. Make sure to turn it on or nothing will cook! (Ask me how I know this. )  Is there any risk of your mom turning off the crock pot or otherwise interfering with your meals while you're at work all day?

Thank you to EVERYONE and to Deblynn 3 I did not mean to be so brusque this morning. Actually the past 3 days my wifi USB stick got looser and looser, with me having to hold it in place, and it finally broke inside the PC portal; I had to migrate to Starbucks tonite.

YES to everyone's suggesstions. YES! YES to pudding!!! ohhhh how I wanted some pudding last week...........

I am HAPPY to report that I am stronger today than I was yesterday and seem to be leaning a few percentage more towards WARRIOR in the dietary STRENGTH TEST. (!)

Can share details of Deep Blue later with anyone who is wondering what was allowed. I know there is ONE OTHER person on here who strength tested for Warrior by the food combo, and not her original Genotype. She absolutely dumbfounded me when I first saw her writing about this.

I can't believe I've started wanting fish every day of the week....and am not feeling the liver getting "tired" of processing it! So....wierdly.....amazing....

Goodnight, all, from Houston Heights Starbucks. (((((((((((((((hugga ))))))))))
Must wake with the birds....1/2 hour before sunrise ....unless that starts to change, too......

I am not a big breakfast eater either, but I have to eat. I also do not wake up easily in the morning, basically causing me to always have too little time in the morning.
So I have resorted to fruit smoothies. They are easy and simple to make (just plunge some in a blender with soy milk or yoghurt) and I sip it while getting dressed and ready for work. I do make sure to blend it such a way that there are still some chunks of fruit left (depending on the fruit of course).

Fruit gives me the energy I need.