Weighing in after the Holidays

This is going to be a quickie post.  And my weight is: 168.2 lbs, a 0.3 lbs difference than my last weigh-in, so slightly less than three weeks ago.  My goal was not to gain over the Holidays.  Lots of stuff going on here so will write a longer post this weekend. Until then...

Weighing-in and Holiday Blogging Break

Eating well hasn't been hard, but temptations are getting more tempting all the time. They're everywhere in the office, I mean everywhere man!  However, it doesn't mean I have to put any of those treats in my mouth.  Weight on Wednesday:  Down to 168.5 lbs.  I'm staying true to my pledge not to gain over the holidays.  If I can stay at this same weight or a little lower once the holidays are over, I'll be very satisfied. 

I'll be taking a blogging break until Wednesday January 7th. I'm feeling a bit like Eeyore these days... and I don't like that much.  Exercise has helped so much to lift my grey clouds, and I hope to strap on my skates soon.  Perhaps my trip back home and a good talk with my mother will bring some peace, love and lightness.  

I'm wishing you readers who stop by all good things, and more :) Happy Holidaze! 

Leaving you with a favourite tune of mine by the Vince Guaraldi Trio:

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

I wasn't able to post as I usually do mid-week as a big snowstorm came rolling  through here and I spent a couple of my evenings shovelling snow.  After I was done, I chose a warm shower to rinse off the sweat, soothe sore muscles and then sleep instead of posting.

Blue Sky! A small break in the clouds

Another challenging issue is my computer, my rapidly ageing computer with its unsupported browsers. Although I am reading blogs, sometimes when I try to comment, the interwebz swallow the comments into the abyss.  I'll likely be using the computer at the office or the library as an alternative until I can buy a new computer after the holidays.  I'll do some research online but I just can't face an electronics store right now to test products; they are so crazy busy right now.

Weight on Wednesday: 169.8 lbs

Emotionally right now I'm facing some heartbreak.  I'm not going to go into details, but I'm having a tough time.  The reason why I mention it at all is to show how I am breaking the cycle of emotional eating.  

After a deluge of of work at the office, stress on the home-front, heartbreak and physical fatigue from shovelling, I was feeling just so tired of everything.  Five years ago, I would have most definitely soothed myself with food: ordered in a couple of pizzas, wings and fries and gorged over the course of the weekend.  

This time, when I came home and sat for a few moments on the couch, my thoughts strayed briefly to ordering in pizza and I had this little conversation with myself:

JUST STOP. STOP AND THINK.  What do you really want?

-To feel better yes of course, but ain't happening right now.  I can only focus on doing what is best for me. 

AND WHAT IS THE BEST FOOD?  It ain't two pizzas over two days is it?

-No. Only if I want to go back to being over 220lbs.

EASY CHOICE THEN?

-Yes. 

After that I got up, looked in my fridge, found eggs, green peppers, mushrooms and some lactose-free Swiss cheese and made myself an omelette. And truly felt so much better afterwards for making that choice.

What is important to me is to always have healthy choices available in the kitchen. If I didn't happen to have have eggs and veggies on hand, I do have a freezer with a few soups, a couple of portions of Moroccan chicken stew, some chili, and some frozen veggies.

With the holidays, both at work and at parties, the massive amount of food temptations are a bit overwhelming right now. I don't want to isolate myself by skipping out of all activities, but food centered activities I'm not participating in any. Like the cookie exchange and cookie competition at work. I'll be at my desk. I do not want to put myself into a difficult food situation on purpose.  What I can do is take it day by day, situation by situation, moment by moment, choice by choice.  Making the right choices.  And leaving parties early if need be.

I pledge not to gain weight over the holidays.  Last year, from American Thanksgiving to the Orthodox Christmas I lost 5lbs with the January Jeans Club.  I'm re-reading Marion's archived January Jeans posts from last year at Affection for Fitness to keep motivated.  Come January 1st, I will not have any regrets about my choices.

Blahs

Feeling kinda blah these past couple of days. I do know why partly, but the rest of the blahs is a mystery. With my mood and the freaky weather I've only been able to get outdoors and exercise a few times, however my main workouts are going to shift to the indoors i.e. my basement where the elliptical is acting as a clothes line right now.  I started yesterday morning with a few old-style exercises to get my heart pumping: jumping jacks and push-ups. I forgot how killer push-ups are.  I'm starting slowly...

Feeling out of sorts is no excuse for slacking and falling into a bag of chips.  I've been eating well, but once again I noticed my portion sizes creeping up...  not exactly  sure why my stomach is making me think I'm hungrier than usual. Likely emotional and added stress. And I started to have a cup of coffee in the afternoons in addition to my morning cup... not a good habit for me. I'll switch to decaf or tea.

The other day, I did try an experiment with using ground bison to bake a Tourtière rather than pork. It turned out really delicious! Will have to tinker a bit with the seasonings but I think it'll be a permanent change.

Weight this week is 171.3lbs. 

Back in the Saddle

And it feels good to shake off the sickness. Being back at work this week for a few days was exhausting: lots of things to do!

At home as well there are so very many items on my various "To Do" lists. Although my man was able to hold down the fort and keep pots from boiling over, I'm slowly getting back to my responsibilities and chores. Once the urgent stuff is taken care of, then I'll turn my mind to Christmas and buying gifts, decorating and baking a few Tourtières (French-Canadian meat pie) for upcoming pot-lucks. 

In the meantime, I still have to take things easy with exercise but that's not an excuse. I'm getting my doggies rollin'... Crack that whip, Rawhide!

With a Little Help from my Friends...

... I'm getting by. I've had such nice people stopping by with low-sodium high-veggie soups (potato-leek, onion with duck fat, carrot and pear, squash and sweet potato, minestrone and chicken noodle), deviled eggs, egg-salad sandwiches, roasted chicken and veggie casseroles... wow, such great friends.  It was also so nice to see such lovely comments from you all out there in the blogosphere; it really warmed my heart :)

My man is also more helpful these days, but not as a cook. He calls himself a sandwich-master and microwave jockey. He's been keeping busy with laundry, cleaning and  shoveling snow. We had our first big snowfall of the season, which usually happens mid to late November.

Unfortunately this recovery is taking longer than I thought, but the worst of the pneumonia is over. I'm still on strong meds and have been taking things slowly. I get dizzy a lot of the time, so slow is okay! I've also received advice from friends about eating immune boosting foods, taking various supplements and products. I think for me it was just bad timing... picking up a sinus infection which slowed me down, then picking up pneumonia, likely at the Dr.'s office or hospital, and that knocked me out. I haven't been this ill since I was a child, when I caught everything under the sun as children do. 

This time of year also is sad and difficult as it's the 2nd anniversary of my father's sudden death. Last year, we visited the grave; this year I could not go outside. It's been too cold and my lung can't take it.  I had to honour his memory a little differently by looking at pictures of the good times we shared, remembering our reflective talks and peaceful canoe excursions at the cottage that he built, and feeling that grief, not as sharp and breath-catchingly painful as it once was, but grief nonetheless.  My mother still has a hard time, of course, and I wish I could help her, ease her pain somehow... but she has made progress from last year when she had difficulty seeing a future for herself.

I did weigh myself because I was concerned about some bloating, my lack of activity and not tracking anything. I'm at 172.2 lbs,  so pretty much where I've been for the past while, in the low 170s.  It's reassuring that I haven't gained but for right now, I'll just concentrate on getting well and back to my old self again. 

Everything all at Once

Sometimes you go through periods when everything happens all at once and it's like that now for me.  I'm still sick, but with pneumonia now. So lots of drugs, rest and all the rest. Feeling lousy and it hurts to breathe. Tracking weight is not a priority, so I haven't weighed in. 

Thankfully I have a great man taking care of me and some great friends who have stopped by with some homemade soups. My stockpile of soup in my freezer ran out last week and I'm not a fan of the high-sodium low-veggie canned stuff. Once I feel better and am on the mend, then I'll get back to my old routines. 

Quickie Update

Another day left on antibiotics, hooray! I am shaking the sinus infection and feeling better than last week, but this is week three of the yuckiness and feeling meh.  Just started commenting on blogs again... got a lot of catching up to do online!
Still sticking with what works: lots of liquids, rest, some exercise, eating well and probiotics.
Weight is up by about a pound to 171.6 lbs.