9/11/13: Feeling a Little More Grounded

Today is a better day, emotionally.

Perhaps the walk yesterday evening helped.  Or perhaps the fact that we had prepped dinner on Monday night and I was able to just come home, spend 15 minutes cooking, and we had a nice, hot, delicious home cooked meal for dinner last night made me feel better.  Maybe I feel less stressed because I was able to express my concerns at work and the rest of the management team seemed to take me seriously.  I don't know what has changed, exactly, but I do feel better today.

Yesterday I did a much better job with food.  I ate a total of 1,875 calories and 95 grams of protein.  I didn't do any unplanned snacking, at all, so that was very good.  I was a little more conscientious about water, but I probably still did not drink enough of it.  I need to start keeping track of my water at work.  It's not that I don't like water, it's just that I forget to drink it.  I marked my chart today and I am right on my line at 158.4 pounds!!!  I will not allow my weight to go over my goal line, so the motivation of the chart is kicking in.  Perhaps I should not have allowed myself so much time (on my chart) to lose the weight that I gained the week after my triathlon.  I certainly took advantage of the four weeks I gave myself to lose the weight that I gained in one week of not moderating my food or drink.  But now that my actual weight line is hitting my goal line (I have been under it for 3 weeks) my motivation to get serious about losing weight is kicking in.  My meds are still making me retain water and I find that very frustrating.  There is not much I can do about the water retention, though, other than eat right, drink plenty of water, exercise a lot, and get plenty of sleep.  I am doing all of those things.

Yesterday I lifted weights in the morning and went for about a 2.5 mile walk with Jack in the evening.  It was a beautiful, warm, summer-like, fall evening.  I love this warm weather!!!  I decided to take today as a rest day.  We were up a little late watching the Royals beat the Indians and the final 12 on America's Got Talent.  AGT is the one TV show I really like.  I love watching all of the different acts.  Some of the performers are incredibly talented and inspirational.  My last rest day was last Wednesday and I have exercised hard all week, so when my alarm went off this morning and my body said, "Ugh, I'm really tired!" I knew it was a good day to take a rest.  The scheduled exercise for today was a 4 mile run, and I was going to take a rest day tomorrow, so I am just swapping the two.  I am resting today and I will run tomorrow.  I feel good about that.

I am starting to feel the results of the stepped up training regimen.  It's a subtle change, but my body feels more in tune with itself, I guess.  I can't really put a finger on what feels different, but physically, I am feeling strong.  I'll be glad when I am done with the antibiotic that I am taking so that I can get completely back to normal.  It's interesting to notice how taking one drug can alter so much.  Since I typically don't take any drugs at all and my diet is so consistent, it's relatively easy to notice the impact of the one drug I am taking.  It definitely causes me to retain water, which I can feel mostly in my hands and face.  I have one week left in the original prescription with a 2 week refill.  I think I am going to go ahead and do the 2 week refill.  I don't have the test results back yet, but I am pretty convinced at this point that I was exposed to Lyme disease and the recommended antibiotic therapy is 4 weeks.  Lyme disease is not something to mess with.  If properly treated early, it causes no long term damage, but not treated (and I am assuming, improperly treated) it can cause a life-time of various problems.  I don't want to take any chances.  So as much as I hate the bloated feeling in my fingers, the possible consequences of not continuing the antibiotic for the full four weeks is just to great ignore.  I'll put up with the swollen hands for a few more weeks.

Julie has taken on my 30 day chicken challenge and is preparing chicken a different way, each week day, for 4 weeks.  I appreciate her willingness to take this on.  I needed some new ways to prepare this lean source of protein.  I am going to start trying some of her recipes.  I am also going to send her some of mine.  If you have a tasty, healthy, and perhaps, easy to prepare, chicken recipe, please share it!!!!!  If you want to see what Julie comes up with over the next 4 weeks, her blog is here:  http://theweightofmyweight.com.  She and I have been supporting each other on our weight loss journeys.  She is just about 5 or 6 pounds to goal, which she is trying to reach by the end of this month, and no later than her birthday in November.  She will get there!!  I am confident of that.  Just as I will reach 140 by the end of the year.

Gotta run...work calls...*Sigh*  Sometimes, it just seems sad that work is part of daily life, doesn't it?  Other times, I don't mind at all.