I was unkind to my body yesterday. We’ve been experiencing what feels like a never-ending heatwave and it’s triple the burden working full-time in a busy restaurant kitchen.
At work this week, I realized it was 35 degrees Celsius in front of our air conditioning. That’s the “coolest” area in the kitchen. Our managers have set up enormous fans around the dish pit, up high on the walls, in as many places as possible. But it’s still way too hot. Unbearably hot.
I worked 8am-3pm straight before taking a 10 minute break to sit down for the first time all day. I forgot to eat. I didn’t realize I hadn’t eaten until I left work, grabbing myself caesar salad to go (it’s still sitting in the fridge, untouched). The drive home was brutal. I felt a crushing weight settle over me, making it difficult to hold the steering wheel and even sit up straight in my car; I was dying to get home. Writing this down feels dramatic as fuck but it’s how I felt.
Shortly after my arrival, my partner made me a refreshing G&T with extra extra lime, just the way I like. I could’ve cried. Actually, I did cry 20 minutes earlier, like a baby. overtired, exhausted, overwhelmed – sick of the heat. I let myself sink into the exhaustion. He also made me a grilled cheese. One side was seared to golden perfection, the other side on the brink of being burnt, deeeeply browned and super crunchy. I loved it.
I didn’t feel the huge pangs of hunger until 11:41pm that night – signals that I ignored until the morning (bad idea). Here’s everything I ate yesterday:
7:30am Tim’s sausage farmer’s wrap + iced coffee on the way to work
8am a few bites of watermelon (literally 2 or 3 pieces while doing prep)
1pm honey crueler
5pm grilled cheese and a few carrots
9pm bowl of banana pudding with strawberries
9pm an entire bag of all-dressed chips
9:30pm bowl of moose tracks ice cream (Kawartha Dairy, baby)
That’s pretty fucked. Now I know everyone is different, but for me this diet was not nearly enough food. More importantly, though, it wasn’t REAL, sustaining, nourishing food. I felt STARVING as I drifted off, which really interrupted my sleep, and I’m still feeling the effects today. My tummy is not happy with me. You know when you pass the point of hunger and reach nausea/distaste at the thought of food? Even though all your body needs right now is nourishment?
I can’t count the number of mini-burnouts I’ve experienced since starting work in a real restaurant just shy of a year ago. I love my job, but I need to take better care of myself.