Losing a part of me

Author: Mitch Garvis

  • Day 1010

    My weight gain from yesterday was canceled out today. Phew! We ate reasonably well – Leslie picked up salads for our lunch, and we ordered Japanese curry chicken katsu for dinner. I snacked in moderation. I am still much heavier than I was hoping to be by now. I do not mean long term, I mean a couple of weeks ago. I hope that as I start walking this week, I will be able to get down below that terrible mark. In the meantime, I am enjoying my time with my wife.

    As had been the plan, I woke up this morning and made French toast for our breakfast. I then went out to pick up lattés for us, which we were able to enjoy on the balcony with our cigars. This evening we will again go to watch the baseball game at our cigar lounge, and hopefully we will eat intelligently before we go.

    It is a beautiful afternoon, but it is hot in the sun. After our cigars we came into the apartment. Leslie took HRF Duchess of Chif for a short walk, and I got a few things done. We might run an errand this afternoon, but if not then I might go for a walk. We will see.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 1009

    My weight was slightly up this morning. I am looking forward to next week when I can go for my walks.

  • Day 1008

    Despite the disgusting weight gain of yesterday morning I was happy to order Chinese food to enjoy with my wife for dinner last night. It was not a good choice, but we were both tired and it was her suggestion. I also decided to have a dram of whisky with our cigar on the balcony, and it turned out that it was needed because it was a very emotional conversation. As hard as it is to hear the outpouring of emotion from my beautiful wife, we both find it so much better when I am here so I can hold her and comfort her. This whole ‘living in different countries’ thing is getting old.

    With all of that, I was relieved if somewhat surprised this morning when I saw that I had lost all of the weight that I had gained yesterday. That 2.2 lbs. jump killed me, and seeing it reversed was a real relief. I wonder how much it helped that yesterday midday I was finally able to have a really good bowel movement.

    Today is a new day and I am likely going to have a chicken salad for lunch. For dinner I am planning to buy a nice piece of fish that I will prepare to a recipe that my buddy Lyle gave me the other day, which will be completely different from how I usually prepare it. I am excited to try it. I also know that if it is a complete failure then I can throw it out and we can defrost something from the freezer.

    It is Thursday today and I have two more teaching days before the weekend. I am enjoying the class, but I am really looking forward to not having to work full time next week. I do have some work that needs to be done, but I will also have the freedom to power-walk almost every day. I need to get active again… it has been too long (nearly a month) since I was able to.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 1007

    The last few days have been a complete and total disaster with regard to my diet. I have no idea how I ended up gaining over two pounds this morning. I hate myself for it.

  • Day 1006

    I wrote yesterday that I had made some bad choices (or rather that the family had, and I went along with it). That trend continued yesterday when I ate the leftover deep-dish pizza for lunch. I am grateful that it is now gone (or at least the vegetarian one that I can eat is) and while I do not know what Leslie and I will end up doing for lunch, I can be certain that it will not be nearly as bad for my weight as the pizza was. The .2 lb. increase on the bathroom scale was no surprise. Now it is time to go the other way for a few days, and hopefully by the time I return to Canada I might be back below that dreaded mark.

    I will say that it is difficult to eat well with a 9-year-old boy whose pickiness must be accounted for. I do not fault him for my weight gain, I just think it will be easier to manage after he goes back to his father’s house tomorrow.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 1005

    Yesterday was a very long day… a travel day no less. Yes, I ate poorly. Yes, I made some bad choices (but also had to eat what my family wanted to eat, which was Chicago-style pizza. Yes, I could have done worse… so even though my weight has continued to creep up, I am thankful for some small victories. I could have eaten much worse yesterday.

  • Day 1004

    You know you spend a lot of time traveling when the officer at US Customs and Border Protection’s secondary screening office greets you by name… before he is handed your passport. Because I am in the middle of the Green Card application process, every time I cross into the United States I am scrutinized to make sure I am not planning on staying. This trip was no different, and the nice officer put me at the front of the line and had me out of there in minutes. I was able to relax at the Admiral’s Club Lounge and enjoyed a reasonably (not entirely) healthy breakfast. The days of my worrying that I must have forgotten something are long behind me, and in a few minutes I will head down to the terminal to board my flight.

    By the way… I did forget something. I meant to bring a few meal replacement shakes with me, and I forgot to pack them. I am not worried because I brought plenty of protein bars for Leslie, so I might eat a few of them.

    It is so exciting that we are lets than five hours we will be together again. I am so looking forward to seeing her, my stepson, and of course the gorgeous Duchess of Mischief! Of course, when I dropped her off at Susan’s apartment last night it seemed that Princess Sophie knew that I was leaving again… I had forgotten to bring her bowl so I ran home to grab it, and when I returned she refused to come to me and looked at me with a glare that told me that she was not pleased with me. Sigh.

    The last couple of days have been unseasonably beautiful and warm in the Greater Toronto Area, and that is predicted to continue through Tuesday before the Canadian seasons return. That will have no affect on me until I return though, with the Texas autumn set to keep me warm during the days and cool but comfortable in the evenings.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 1003

    I got a lot done yesterday and today in advance of my trip, culminating with reserving my Uber (which will pick me up at 3:45am) and taking Princess Sophie to our neighbour Sue, where she will spend the next fortnight. Of course, I took her for one final walk before dropping her off. It is now 7:30pm, and after I pack up my carry-on bag (which will include my laptop) I am going to shower and shave, and then I will likely have a cigar on the balcony… only because I know I will not be able to sleep yet.

    I was hoping to arrive in Texas under that terrible weight-loss mark, but it was not to be. This morning I had regained the miniscule amount that I had dropped yesterday. Hmph. Honestly I do not think I ate poorly yesterday, but you cannot argue with numbers.

    I will likely write tomorrow’s entry from the airport over breakfast, which seems to be my habit for early morning flights.

    Have a great evening folks!

  • Day 1002

    Lodge hurt my diet… but not terribly. I actually dropped a very small amount of weight this morning, but just imagine how much more it could have been if the lodge that we visited last night did not serve the meal after lodge (at 10:30pm), and if they had not served pulled pork (leaving me to eat a roll and then a piece of cake). Still, I did not do too badly.

    In thirty-six hours I am flying to Texas, and I am counting down the minutes.

    Have a great evening folks!

  • Day 1001

    I ate pretty well yesterday. I expected to be down. I was not.