Hello everyone,

I'm on step one, which means I'm no longer getting the BE high from waiting too long to eat breakfast--something I only do when I'm not dieting, which I'm not at the moment because I burned out on it recently.

I'm also not exercising in the morning any more--in part because I feel bad about myself and am in a bad cycle; in part because I find I get achy when I exercise; and in part because that was the main reason I didn't eat breakfast on time when I was dieting. It's difficult for me to get it all in in the morning. I'm not a morning person, so doing breakfast and getting myself out the door is about the most I can manage at the moment.

I have been riding my exercise bike for 10-20 minutes in the evening, but it's nothing like when it was doing an intense workout. I have lots more excuses about why I haven't been working out lately. All of them are lame, but I'm trying to be patient and gentle with myself (when I'm not bashing myself about it).

After that long preamble, here's my question: Are there things I can do to increase my beta-endorphins while I'm on step one? Or should I not be worrying about this at all? Am I getting ahead of myself?

I'm pretty sure that low beta-endorphins are a bigger problem for me than blood sugar and serotonin. I find that the littlest thing are painful to me--a scratchy scarf or pants that are a the tiniest bit too tight. Plus, I've been very low lately--not responding well to the pressure and the stress in my life.

If there is something I can do, I'd like to do it. If I shouldn't worry about it, and should just be focusing on breakfast, I can do that too. I guess I just would like some strategies for dealing with my emotions AFTER breakfast. Haha. Any comments or suggestions are most welcome.

Thank you in advance for your wisdom, support, and generosity.

All best,
Lisa Ann