Losing a part of me

Collecting Leslie from the airport yesterday was sheer bliss. Seeing her again after all this time was absolutely wonderful. Our long periods of separation are always forgotten once we are together, whether that be here in Canada or there in Texas. Billy Joel once wrote a song for a girlfriend (or wife) when he could not afford to buy her a present. It was called ‘You’re My Home,’ and that is exactly how I feel with her.

It was my expectation that with what we ate yesterday I would not be making positive progress on my weight loss, and the best that I could hope for would be to stay the same. I took her for lunch at a Lebanese restaurant and had the same mixed shawarma plate that I would normally have… although I forgot to ask for no rice or potatoes, and so I did eat some of those. In the afternoon we went to Costco and on a whim, I saw a cauliflower pizza crust kit and asked if I should make that for dinner. We picked it up to give it a try. We also went to Fortino’s to buy a reasonable sized package of shredded cheese (and some other items we did not get from the bulk warehouse store). I prepared the pizza with the sauce that was included, shredded mozzarella as well as shredded cheddar, and (coincidentally) orange cauliflower which we found at the supermarket. It was delicious, and while neither of us are concerned about this factor, it was also gluten free.

Between my walking Her Floofness (both in the morning and when we got home from shopping) and the walking around the stores my fitness watch registered a surprising 9,250 steps yesterday. I wonder if that might have contributed to my surprising three-pound drop in weight this morning. If so, then woohoo! I suspect though that it might have more to do with the fact that my portions, especially at dinner, were much more reasonable. I have little doubt that had I prepared that pizza for myself I would have eaten all of it. That is the main reason that I will not be doing that. As I discussed with my diet buddy yesterday morning I am still not fully in control of my urges, and I cannot trust myself to just eat. These next couple of weeks will be easier insofar as I feel that I would be embarrassed to gorge myself in front of my wife – or anyone, really. Just like alcoholics drink alone, I trust myself more when I am with her because of that… and because she will remind me when I am about to go too far. This is not her being a pest – I asked her to do this, and she does. I have hope that I might continue to lose weight this week… although not as much as I did in this one day.

Today is the beginning of a very packed week for me. I am teaching from 9:30am until 6:00pm every day. Were that it, I would consider it a reasonable if full day. This evening I have my cigar sommelier class from 6-8:30, which is not work but it is an obligation. Fortunately it is one that my wife will be glad to sit through with me. Tuesday through Thursday I am teaching from 6:00pm-9:00pm, which means that those are eleven-and-a-half hour days. Those are the jammed ones! I will schedule 2-minute breaks in the morning, afternoon, and evening… as well as a one-hour lunch break. Even if I was alone, I do not think I would have the opportunity to cheat this week! Of course, as a food addict I am sure I would find a way if I lost my mindfulness and willpower. My goal is to not lose those… and if I falter one day, then to pick myself up and get back on track the next day… or even the next meal. I will stumble along the way; the quicker I am able to recover from that the better my chances of long-term success.

It is raining out this morning and so Her Royal Floofness did not want to go outside. We stepped out quickly and she peed, but then she came right back inside. She then decided that she wanted to try the back of the building, because maybe it was not raining there. Unfortunately her optimism was not well placed, and she ran right to the covered patio of one of our neighbours (Walter’s mom). She sat there watching the rain and was not going to move from that spot. I was almost ready to pick her up and carry her around the building when the neighbour offered to let us sneak through her apartment. Fortunately the rain is forecast to stop around 4:00pm, and I’ll be able to take her out for a really good walk after the cigar class.

Have a great day folks!