Week two of cardio: headaches, fatigue, and disrupted plans

This is a personal record from the original publication date. Food, exercise, weight, and procedure experiences describe one person’s circumstances, rather than current treatment recommendations or guaranteed outcomes.

Headaches defeated my resolution to exercise every day. My head hurt and my shoulders were tight. There were so many patients and so much work that I missed meals and barely had time to breathe. I felt drained and unwell. Then my period arrived too.

At home, I made macarons with my daughter, who could not play outside because of COVID and waited for me all day. Preparing and cleaning up felt like a chore, but I wanted to do it for her. Then I collapsed with fatigue again.

The next day I craved janchi noodles. The broth was good, the noodles ordinary, and the fried food disappointing.

I decided to try again, ate chicken-breast salad, and worked hard. After work I collapsed before even starting cardio. With this workload, salad did not seem enough. Exhausted, I wanted something delicious as a reward. Tteokbokki and sundae gave me some energy and lifted my spirits.

Delicious. I had lost restraint with food. Oh well.

The next morning, after spicy, salty food, my weight was up 0.5kg. The following day was Saturday, another frantic workday. I missed lunch, worked hard, came home drained, and again could not do cardio.

I cannot even remember dinner. My period caused abdominal and back pain, so I used heat, took medication, and rested. I simply went to bed early. In the morning I forgot to weigh myself, then decided to get back on track. I had protein powder and an Americano.

On Sunday I spent time with my child, including drawing together.

My daughter's drawing.

I tried drawing too.

I did not feel like drawing but did it anyway. My daughter complained that studying was hard, and I needed to help her deal with that stress. We watched a film, went to the playground, and visited furniture stores. I was low on energy, so I ate marinated meat at a Korean barbecue restaurant.

We had already chosen a comfortable dining table and chairs, but the shop assistant scolded my child for sitting on sofas and beds and treated us dismissively. I had intended to buy but felt upset and left without doing so. I was wearing jeans, a padded vest, a hat, and no makeup. I wondered whether we did not look wealthy enough, since I had been treated well when carrying a designer bag before.

At another shop I visited twice for a sofa, a different assistant quoted 1 million won more than before. I had been seriously considering it, but the sudden increase put me off. Perhaps they did not realize I had already visited. It was upsetting; my child cried after being scolded. Surely trying sofas and beds is part of buying them? I would need to choose another table.

At home I helped with English homework. With a little energy left, I did 30 minutes of cardio and went to bed early, but woke three times. In the morning I considered sleeping again, then decided to do even 20 minutes, jogging on the treadmill while watching the news.

This morning I was down 0.6kg. D-26 until the next shoot. I feel drained. Too little sleep, too much work, headaches, and shoulder pain derailed my second week of cardio.

This week I want to be in bed before midnight and do 30 minutes of cardio in the morning. Poor sleep leaves me exhausted and headachy, and then I eat lots of carbohydrates. A vicious circle. I feel that sleeping well would help me succeed.