5 weeks off the bike & how that’s going

I’m coming up on five weeks of no cycling or strength training. I thought this may help restore some energy by giving my body a break from stress. I thought it’d help slow me down. Maybe turn on my parasympathetic nervous system more and become more relaxed.

I actually got the idea from a friend struggling with a ton of fatigue and stress as well. She’s working with a naturopath and her doctor told her to take off six weeks from strenuous activities, only leaving yoga and walking.

When this was first brought up to me, I balked at the idea of ever being able to do it. The bike was how I de-stressed. Not being able to ride my bike, I thought, would stress me out more.

Come to find out, I actually really enjoyed these fives weeks of yoga and walking. Granted, I thought a lot (and I mean a lot) about losing strength on the bike and gaining weight. I know, it sounds vapid and vain and gross to say that. I realize I shouldn’t worry about putting on a couple of pounds if that means I feel better at the end of this.

I’ve been trying to watch my calorie intake, but not obsess about it. I’ve also tried to make sure I’m keeping up my protein intake. The problem with that is I’m still so restricted in my diet (for my headaches) that I’ve had to drastically limit what I eat for protein. Right now, it’s mostly…