Recently in Discovery Category

*Note: Last Friday's outfit involved a spring green tee-shirt and brown cords. I was freezing all day. And looked like I should be grocery shopping.

Ever since Mi Mama first started watching Paula Deen's cooking shows I have thought of taking a pilgrimage to Savannah, Georgia.  The last year has been an extremely challenging one for Mi Mama and a getaway was certainly in order as Autumn rolled around. Neither of us enjoy hot and sticky weather so we chose October as our time to travel. Oh, Ha ha! We arrived after a 12 hour journey to find the river town steamy and drizzly.  

Despite the less than favorable weather we enjoyed our visit greatly. Saturday we traveled around town via trolley, hopping on and off as we saw fit. We had a lovely lunch at the Pirate House, the haunted former guest house where Robert Louis Stevenson was inspired to write Treasure Island. 

Historic Savannah is a wonderful city. I will admit that I was a bit disheartened when we first arrived and found mostly strip malls and car dealerships surrounding our hotel. But the truth is  this town is set up like many old southern cities with a historic heart. As the years pass and the city grows the outer edges become less than enticing. But once I got past the highway-commerce part of town, I was completely charmed. 

As it is well known, old Savannah was one of the first planned communities in the US. The glorious old homes are laid out around a series of squares, giving  the prosperous forefathers and fortunate current residents alike peaceful parks right outside their doors. 

Where would I be with apples and cashews? These are my go-to foods when I need a snack, or quick tummy filler. I usually have a hard boiled egg and a half an apple for breakfast each today. We often have apple slices with dinner as well. It's a great sweet fix for me, especially since I have in recent years become an apple snob. Get back Red Delicious! You are dead to me. Pink Ladies and Honey Crisps are always welcome. I can see a future where I will need to moderate my cashew consumption, but thankfully not today.

Last weekend Flounder and I hosted the lovely and fun Jords (my sis-in-law) for the long holiday weekend. What a great time we had! We played and shopped and watched movies and even ate well. At least I thought we did. This is the first time I enjoyed so many restaurant meals since beginning of The Plan and I lost a little ground. Although I never intentionally indulged in any foods that were "off plan" it is much harder to control flour and sugar intake in a restaurant. As a result I had some weight back sliding. I am happy to report that I quickly regained my focus and my weight is back to the most recent low.

I am hovering close to a major weight milestone. This is both exciting and nerve wracking. Not only am I nearing the 20 pounds lost mark, but I am also nearing the "I am now under XXX" scale mark. I continue to use my digital and occasionally inconsistent scale at home as my "true weight". However, I also have a scale in the gym at my office that I check in with, but I think that might be a mistake. There seems to be a 3 pound difference between my home scale and the gym scale. The gym scale is reading lighter, and I REALLY want to believe it. But that is a bad idea right? Yeah, I thought so.

Next week I am going to see my internist for a check up and a blood draw. I want to do a cholesterol check and my ophthalmologist wants me to get my potassium level check because I have been on diuretics for such a long time. I am hoping very hard that I will be under the 20 pound mark for that appointment.

Speaking of my ophthalmologist, he is very happy with me. I had a follow up appointment for my optic nerve swelling this week. 6 weeks ago when I saw him last he lectured me on the need for weight loss and doubled my diuretic to try to release some of the pressure and reduce the swelling. Since then I have been losing weight (as you know) and taking my doubled meds religiously. He was so pleased he gave me a high five. Now that is a happy doctor. I love happy doctors.

I made a big mistake this past weekend. Mistakes have consequences. While celebrating Mrs. WAS's wedding I was handed a glass of sparkling white wine with which to toast the lucky couple. That wine was sweet and super delicious. I drank the whole glass. Big error! "Buy it was just a single glass of wine!" you say "How can that be a big deal?" I will tell you. Just that relatively small but consontrated amount of sugar set off my sugar cravings. Crazy right? And can I tell you how not worth it that glass of wine was? Totally not worth it! For the past few days I have felt more hungry and cranky. Last night I was really restless and Oh! so much regret. I am happy to report that I my choices single the troubling wine situation have been sound and aligned with my food plan. So that is a sunny thing.

I am happy to report that all trouble and pain have endured have lead to some very positive results for me, including weightloss. According to my rather testy digital home scale I am down 12 pounds since I first gave up processed food in the spring with about 9 of those pounds being lost since I started The Plan! And that makes me happy!

I am on the hunt for a complete Glycimic Index of foods book and also some low carb recipe books as my current diet is getting really dull. The New American Plate is on my list to pick up, but I need some other ideas as well. Any recommendations?

Yesterday's pity party was more like an un-Happy hour. Just talking about my bad mood made me realize my low spirits weren't doing me any favors. So I had a quick chat with myself and snapped out of it. Which tips me off to the difference between a food-fueled mood swing and true saddness. True sadness is something you can't switch off with a quick attitude adjustment. A bad mood you can talk yourself out of. Sometimes.

During  my un-Happy hour I lamented how I Hated this rainy, muggy weather because it made walking so Miserable! Misery! But then I remembered, there is an air conditioned gym right in my building. It has air conditioned teadmills. I don't have to chose misery. After work I walked for 25 minutes, a high for the week, exceeding my 15 minute required time. I wasn't wearing workout gear. Infact I was wearing Tevas and a dress. I might have looked silly, but I honored my committment and that made me feel pretty great.

Also during my low spirits I wallowed a bit in my lack of productivity this week. "Oh, I haven't gotten anything done!" and "I am disappointed in myself!" were some of my pitiful cries. Thankfully on my way home I received a message from SA, reminding me that I was doing a great job at something very hard, and perhaps I could cut myself a little slack on the other stuff. Best idea I heard all day! Forgiveness can be powerful. Especially when you are forgiving yourself.

The evening ended on an upnote with hummus, carrots and a warm Josie Cat on my lap.

Today I am continuing to feel better. So much better in fact I think I will make a:

List of Things To Be Happy About!

• On my walk Monday night I saw my first fireflies (lightening bugs if you prefer) of the season. 
• A few days in, I am actually LESS hungry than I was this time last week. And when I do get hungry it is easier to satisfy that hunger.
• I managed to give Josie Cat her medication twice a day all by myself through out the week.
• All this rain means no need to get out the hose to water my exploding pot of fresh mint.
• Fresh mint iced tea! Yum!
• Supportive friends a co-workers who are supporting me through this tough process.
• The cravings are lessening. Thank God!

P.S. If you have tried to leave me a comment and it has not appeared on the blog, please email me. I believe my blog is eatting comments. Thanks!