Wrap it up Already

Long time, no post! In my case it doesn't mean I've fallen face-first into a bucket of  ice cream or chips; I've just been busy. And the interwebz and/or my outdated browser ate my Holiday Wrap-up post on Saturday!

Before the holidays I was sick with pneumonia. After recovering I was able to start to catch up on all the to-do lists I have laying around here. Got all purchases made for Christmas and healthy baking for home was done! However... over the holidays, my mother became very ill with influenza as well as an intestinal infection. She had a hard time breathing and chest pain so wound up in the hospital. 

All that coughing and the virus made her pretty weak, so I became caregiver over the holidays and beyond. I mean over a week of fatigue, severe coughing, some fluid on the lungs, and severe body aches. My mother is doing much better now. Everyone around but me seemed to have caught the flu. I didn't get the vaccination for it this year, so I'm not sure why it passed me by.

It was nice (in a way) to be busy with caring for others to forget my own worries. Too busy to dwell on things I can't change. One thing was at the forefront of my mind: Focus on health. This affected every single decision I made in regard to what I ate, and what activity I was able to squeeze in.

• We had a "Green Christmas" this year so no snow, but rain. I usually take a long walk on X-mas Eve but walking on ice is pretty treacherous, so I improvised. I went to a local hotel (nothing else open early on Christmas morning) and asked to used their pool to swim a 5k instead of walking it... It's faster to walk it.
• Since my mother was sick, she didn't get around to making/buying all the Christmas treats she wanted. Less temptations strewn around is always a good thing in my book!
• My indulgences were planned beforehand: A small handful of Chicken Bones (the chocolate-filled cinnamon candy not the actual chicken), SIL's home-made cookies (too good, so I quit after two), slice of apple pie, a bowl of popcorn and some alcohol (I rarely drink anymore)
• Becoming an expert soup-maker has its advantages: lots of delicious left-overs.
• Not being judgemental when it comes to the bland or low fibre diet for those who are sick. If white bread toast and white rice, soup and applesauce is all the body can handle, so be it.
• Taking care of everyone else doesn't mean I can't take care of me.

Now that I'm back home, that long to-do list is still there and bigger than ever. I'm knocking one item off the list at time. Otherwise, I'd just too stressed out... and for me that leads down the road to bad decisions!

In terms of my own health, I'm back on a medication that I was on this past summer. It's nothing obesity related and not an anti-depressant. A lot of people gain weight on it, but I was able to maintain when I was on it before. Fatigue and weight gain are some of the possible side effects. More exercise to stay at the same weight, so fun times ahead, right? Actually it's not that bad :) 

The weather has really changed here too. More snow, more cold.  I could really hibernate... but that only works on bears, like I commented to Shannon on her post about battling cravings and getting active. I've actually been bundling up and facing the cold and walking. Oh yes, I have been facing -15C (5F) or so temperatures to get my walk in or an hour of shoveling snow. At -30C (-22F) limited walking only. So (mostly) no excuses!  

Also been doing some dvd workouts for cardio to get the heart pumping: Jillian Michaels, Shelly McDonald from Caribbean Workout (love the tropical backgrounds). A bit of elliptical or going up and down the stairs at home and work as a last resort. For de-stressing yoga and T'ai Chi are still my stand-bys.

Since it's Wednesday I'm weighing in at 168.3 lbs, pretty much the same as last week. My goal for the next couple of months is not to gain because of the meds. If I can loose, I won't complain :)