Losing a part of me

Category: Covid-19

  • Day 154

    I did not sleep well last night, and so after I had breakfast, I went back to sleep. I got up and showered, and while I am staying awake, I am wondering if I will ever regain my energy levels. It is seldom that I am this tired for having done nothing.

    My weight this morning was excellent… I dropped to my lowest weight of the year. I did not trust it, so I got onto the scale again, and sure enough… same number. Yay.

    For lunch today we had the rest of the chicken soup with matza ball, and we each had half a deli sandwich. They were wonderful… but I will not be rushing to pick up more of them. We may assume that I have been losing weight in part due to my illness, and the fact that I am eating smaller portions because of it. Even eating the terribly unhealthy sandwich, as I am only eating half of it, is not terribly bad. When I am healthy, I would be devouring the entire sandwich. Bad idea.

    There is another school of thought to consider. While I am eating with Leslie, I am moderating my portions. While I should be doing that even when I am not with her, having her with me forces it. Before anyone asks no, Leslie is not forcing me or guilting me into smaller portions. I know that the smaller portions are what I should be eating, and so I am trying to eat that while I am with her. Maybe being with Leslie is not only good for my soul, but is also good for weight loss?

    I have not had a cigar since Saturday. I am thinking I might try to have one today, but I will see. I will not be pulling out a very good cigar, rather I would smoke something that is less expensive, just to see if I can taste it properly, and if my lungs are okay with it.

    Speaking of that, I am disappointed that I did not lose my sense of taste. Leslie did, and that is a very common symptom of Covid. I would have been happy to lose it… it is easier to lose weight when you do not get any pleasure out of food!

    This evening I am going to prepare breaded chicken breasts with a salad. Tomorrow I will have to do some shopping, as we will be out of a few of the vegetables. For today, we have everything we need.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 153

    I have posted on my blog these last few days, but I have not written in my journal. Why? Here’s what has been going on.

    Friday, I thought I was just exhausted because of the release of anxiety from being allowed back into the United States. I also felt I was catching a cold, which at the time I attributed to sleeping with the ceiling fan on high. Leslie and I went to get our marriage license, and we went shopping for a few things. I am honestly having trouble remembering some of the things that we have done… reasons to follow. Because Leslie is not a coffee drinker, we decided that we would stop at Starbucks on the way to get our license. They did not have the usual low fat turkey sausage sandwich I would usually order, so I decided to try the Impossible sausage something or other. It was very tasty! We came home for lunch – Leslie steamed dim sum for us, which was really tasty! For dinner, Leslie had marinated chicken, and I made roasted veggies. Afterward we went down and sat by the pool with a cigar. It was lovely.

    Saturday morning, I made us an omelet (which turned into a scramble). We made a valiant effort at making coffee in a device she had, but that failed… we decided to buy a French press coffee maker during the day. We went to a mall after breakfast, where I was able to buy Leslie something cute. After that, we found a good shawarma restaurant for lunch which was very tasty. For dinner we went out for pho, which was quite good as well.

    Sunday was Father’s Day, which is still hard for both of us. We both lost our fathers in the past few years, and we miss them. In the morning we went to a Guatemalan restaurant that her father introduced her to. By the time we sat down to eat it was more like brunch, so we did not eat again throughout the day until dinner. I made a breaded salmon with grilled vegetables for dinner which was quite tasty. We spent the afternoon in the pool, relaxing. It was when we returned to the apartment after dinner, both of us extremely sick and run down, that we decided that she should take a Covid-19 test. She failed, which is to say that we are both suffering the effects of Covid. Not fun, but at least it explains why neither of us was in very good spirits or was very energetic these last few days.

    We spent Monday chiefly in bed. We ventured out only to get the necessary supplies – that is, we found a Jewish delicatessen that makes chicken soup with matzah balls and kreplach, which we took to go (along with a couple of nice deli sandwiches). Leslie called in sick (and considering that her team had an in-person lunch meeting, everyone will agree this was a good decision), and we did little other than resting. For dinner, we polished off the rest of the soup, as well as the sandwiches (they were large sandwiches, so we only had half of them for lunch). Additionally, Leslie did her best to finish her leftover shawarma.

    Tuesday (today) Leslie decided to work… mostly because she had no customer calls, so she could log on and do research without actually speaking with anyone. We went back to the deli for more soup, and for dinner I made chicken and salad. While she is still feeling like crud, I can tell that Leslie is on the mend, comparing her ability to sit upright today to yesterday. I am really getting better, although that is not to say that I want to go for a run yet.

    I was very excited to see that my weight is where it was Thursday morning. I say that because Friday through Sunday it was up about five pounds, which I initially attributed to the travel (which always adds some weight), but also to the delicious tacos we enjoyed when I arrived. I do not know that I did anything special then through now to lose the weight – I have certainly not been exercising, but at least my portions are much smaller than they usually are. I hope I can continue with that going forward… large portions equals slow or no weight loss.

    Have a great evening folks!