Losing a part of me

Category: Wife

  • Day 512

    Okay, I am back on track this morning. My weight is not only significantly down from yesterday morning, but it is also the lowest it has been in ten days. Don’t get me wrong, I have been fluctuating in that time in a six-pound range, but it is nice to be closer to the bottom of that range than in the middle or the top.

    The last few days have been hard and stressful on both of us, and I am glad that my 13-hour days are over. Yes, I have to teach today… but my class is on schedule to end about an hour early, which means that Leslie and I can hit the road and drive down to Niagara Falls to check in and then to have dinner at a reasonable time. After this past week I think I owe it to her to take her somewhere nice, and the weekend in Niagara Falls is just what the doctor ordered. I am sure that I will step onto the scale Monday morning and see that my weight is up again… and I have no problem with that as long as my wife and I have a wonderful and carefree romantic getaway together.

    So what did I do differently yesterday? For one thing, I prepared dinner so that we could eat during my evening break instead of after class. I had a reasonable lunch (a piece of chicken with the last of the leftover rice), and as I had planned, I prepared a cauliflower-crust pizza for dinner, adding mushrooms (for the entire pizza) and onions (for my side only). I had not planned the cheese properly, so when I realized that I did not have enough mozzarella for the entire pie, I improvised by adding cheddar. It was good, and the two slices (half the pie) that I ate was enough to satisfy my hunger. Sticking to that plan did exactly what I had hoped it would. Knowing that Leslie and I will eat out this evening, we will have a light lunch (most likely an almond butter and jam sandwich). When we pick the restaurant where we will eat this evening, I will make sure I do not go overboard. By keeping mindful, there is a good chance that I will not come home too much heavier than I was this morning.

    It was still wet outside this morning when I took Her Floofness for her walk, but the sun is starting to peek through, and the temperatures are going up to 22° today, and is forecast to be sunny and in the twenties all weekend. I predict that we will enjoy ourselves tremendously on our getaway. Next week I am still teaching in the evenings, but my days are free. When Leslie has time, I will spend that with her, but when she is working, I am going to try to get out to exercise. It has been too long since I did that, and I need to get back into it. In the meantime, I am packing my overnight bag during my lunch break and have told my training manager that we will likely be finishing early today. At the very earliest moment we will hit the road and be outta here!

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 510

    This morning my weight was up nearly half a pound, which is not at all surprising considering what I ate yesterday. I am neither surprised nor ashamed. With my schedule this week I am going to be eating dinner very late. Last night Leslie and I enjoyed a meal of chicken gyoza which were fabulous, but at the same time the portion size was big. Eating a large meal after 7:00pm is never a good idea, but when I am teaching straight through to 9:00pm it is hard to avoid. As I said, I do not regret it… but I do acknowledge it as a cheat meal.

    Today is Day 2 of the crazy long days. I am at my desk from 8:30am until 9:15pm, teaching for eleven hours straight. I usually enjoy these long days but wish they did not coincide with my visits with Leslie. The long-distance marriage is hard, and we like to enjoy our time together. This weekend we will spend a couple of days in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and we will have nothing but time to just be together. I know we are both really looking forward to that.

    For lunch today I am preparing salmon salad sandwiches which I know Leslie really enjoys (as do I). We picked up a couple of lovely rolls at the bakery and I will prepare them in time for us to enjoy during my lunch break. Leslie is taking care of dinner, which we will be able to enjoy together as soon as my class is over, and then weather permitting we will sit on the patio for an hour. It is truly wonderful when we can just sit and relax together.

    Tomorrow morning after breakfast I will run a few errands. I have to pick up my dry cleaning and my prescription renewal. As the dry cleaners is attached to the supermarket, I will also pick up any odds and ends that we might need, but for now I can only think of vegetables that we need – we ran out of lettuce yesterday. The timing of the pick-ups is perfect because both the dry-cleaning and my meds will be ready to pick up the day I will have run out of clean shirts and pills. I could have gone today, but I suspect some of the dry-cleaning will only be ready after 5:00pm today. Tomorrow morning will be easier.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 509

    I was expecting another decent drop in weight this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see that I am down nearly one pound from yesterday. I cannot expect to drop all of the weight that I gained in a week, but I am making good progress. I ate pretty smartly yesterday, enjoying some of the leftover shawarma (with a salad) for lunch, and then a nice piece of fish for dinner (also with a salad). I determined that it was too windy to sit outside for my cigar class, so I participated without smoking from my desk. By the time the class and then our dinner was over the wind had died down somewhat, so Leslie and I sat on the balcony enjoying a nice cigar. We had some things we needed to talk about, and then we both griped a bit about our work. Leslie and I were brought together by our work, and I really like that even though I am no longer on her team we still can help each other because we understand so much of the same technology… as well as processes. I have memories of relationships past in which my partner could hardly explain what I did, other than ‘he works with computers.’ The fact that we can dig deep in the weeds on technical issues is just one more thing that make Leslie and I perfect together.

    After coming in from walking Her Floofness I said my morning prayers and then made coffee and an omelette. While there are very delicious and tempting rolls to go with it, I stayed true. I also put three pieces of chicken into a marinade, which I will prepare for our lunch. For dinner we bought a package of chicken gyoza from Costco which we are really looking forward to! I know the gyoza are naughty, but if that is my only naughtiness for the day then I might still achieve another drop in weight tomorrow morning.

    These next three days are far too long! I am teaching from 9:30am until 9:00pm Tuesday through Thursday, which makes for a very tight schedule. I feel terrible to schedule it that way while Leslie is in town, but she understands that we both need to work, and as a contract trainer it can be detrimental to my career to turn down certain contracts. Fortunately we know that Friday at the end of the day we are hopping into the car to drive down to Niagara for a romantic weekend together. While Leslie has some meetings next week, it will still be easier for us to spend time together. One day in the not-to-distant future we will be living together full-time, and these long and stressful weeks will not be as hard because our time together will not be so limited.

    I guess I should mention that last week I realized that I could back-date posts to my blog. I know I have missed two days in the last year and a half, but both of those were because I had started and was then distracted or pulled away. In any event, this morning when I click Publish on this article, I will receive a notification that I am on a 510-day streak. It is not nearly as important as my weight loss progress, but it is still nice to have.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 508

    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!

  • Day 507

    Leslie is flying in today and I could hardly be more excited. My eyes popped open at 7:09am – three minutes after the first text from my wife who had just settled in at the airport. In four hours she will be in my arms where she belongs.

    I was worried about the bathroom scale this morning. It turns out I was about where I had been the previous morning, so I will take that as a win. This I took Her Floofness out for her walk and came home in time to prepare coffee and a breakfast meal replacement shake. Ordinarily I would only make a half pot of coffee, but my diet buddy is coming over, so I prepared the full pot. I know she will not take offense that I poured my first cup prior to her arrival. I look forward to seeing how she has been doing, and to hearing about her mud run.

    After our meeting I will probably leave straight away for the airport. That is likely a bit premature, but I am excited. I might spend an hour working on my demo environment that I have been growing of late. Normally I might sit outside with a cigar, but I am probably going to have my first cigar with Leslie on the balcony with a café latté… we have been looking forward to that all week, and while it would not spoil it for me to have a cigar before that, it will be nice to have that first one with her.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 503

    Was yesterday a complete success? It was not. Was it a failure? No. In the balance, while I cheated (I had a couple of bowls of cereal in the afternoon) I still stayed mostly on track, eating nothing after 5:15pm. The result: I was down one pound on the bathroom scale this morning. I will take that as a victory. It has to be a one-day-at-a-time strategy, and I have to be willing to accept that there is a lot of ground between the absolutes of success and failure.

    As I expected, my friend’s computer problem was not really a problem. He came over around 2:15pm, and we were smoking cigars on the balcony by 2:30pm. I am glad I was able to help him… even though I did not actually do anything this time. I did, however, upgrade his computer so that it will be easier for me to keep an eye on the health of his computer going forward. With that said, I did all of that while sitting on the balcony and smoking cigars.

    This afternoon I have a lot going on between my classes. I have a meeting with an old business colleague at Tim Hortons, and then I have an introductory call with a head-hunter who thinks he might have a job for me. I am always happy to take those calls… even though they seldom lead to anything, and I am quite comfortable teaching until my visa status changes. After class this evening I have a very important date. Today is my wife’s birthday. It is her first birthday since we are married (the anniversary of our civil ceremony is June 24th). I am hoping that it will be her last birthday that she has to celebrate alone. By next year I am praying that my visa will be approved, and that we will be living together so that we can celebrate together. While she is coming to Canada this weekend, her visit does not touch either of our birthdays, missing hers by four days and mine by eleven. Last year she was in Canada to celebrate my fiftieth with me. It just could not work out for either of us to travel for either of our birthdays this year. Next year… well, we are maintaining our posture of cautiously optimistic.

    I know what you might be thinking. I have an appointment at Tim Hortons… am I going to be tempted to cheat? The simple answer is that while I do like a nice doughnut or Timbit, I do not consider them temptations. It will be easy for me to order a cup of coffee and avoid the baked goods. It would be easy even if I was not planning to eat lunch before going, but I am… so it will not be a problem. The bigger temptation is usually walking through the supermarket. I went yesterday to buy vegetables, but I only realized when I got home that I am nearly out of milk. Drat, I have to go back today.

    When I wrote yesterday that I might be able to jog tomorrow afternoon I forgot that I have my cleaning lady coming, which means that will not be an option. Friday and Saturday are still on the table, and I will make sure to get at least one workout in before the big day when I drive to the airport on Sunday!

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 485

    On Friday, March 31 (Day 436) I was thrilled to drop below 255 lbs. because that had been my best weight in the year 2005. With a trip to Dallas, falling off my exercise due to an injured foot and whatever else was going on in my head, it would take me two more weeks to drop another 1.4 lbs. to my best weight ever. With the excitement and stress of planning the wedding and then the difficulties I had getting back on track, one month to the day after that wonderful achievement, I stepped onto the scale last Sunday and realized I had gained 13.8 lbs. in a month.

    Three things happened that day.

    The first was that I met with my diet buddy for coffee; for the first time in months, I was not upbeat and optimistic. I was not a beacon of hope, I was not an example of success. I was exuding sadness. My confidence was gone, At the end of the meeting I told her that I needed to get back on track, and I was going to start by going for a jog almost as soon as she left. I told her that on our next check-in I would have positive progress to share and I would have my positive attitude back.

    The second thing that happened is I sent a text to my wife in Texas. We had a bit of a fight that morning, which was probably caused a bit by my down attitude of late, and a bit by the inability to easily convey tone in a text message, thus leading to misunderstandings. A few weeks earlier, she asked me at what point would I want her to ‘crack down’ on my slide. I told her at that time that I was fine, and that as soon as the wedding was behind us, I would fall right back into my weight loss and exercise program. The text that I sent last Sunday read: “Babe, I don’t remember the exact words, but a few weeks ago you asked me when you should start giving me grief about my diet. We are there.’ Later in the afternoon (it was Mother’s Day, and so she was spending the day with my stepson) we talked and agreed that I would wean myself off the bad habits by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest, and she would hold me to it. Like an amazing supporter, she did not set the deadline for me; rather, she asked me to set it. That way, I could not turn around and make excuses like, ‘you set unreasonable expectations for me.’ No, that was all on me.

    The third thing that happened was I did indeed go for a jog. I did not know how much I would have in me, but I was going to do my best… and then I would walk the rest of the way. It did not matter how far or how fast I ran, I just needed to kickstart my exercise routine again.

    These three things from last Sunday (a mere six days ago) worked together to get me back on track… and my body started responding even before Thursday. By the morning I was resuming my full-fast program I had already dropped an incredible 6.4 lbs., which was honestly unexpected considering some of what I ate those days. The real shock would be spread between yesterday and today, which saw a two-day combined loss of a whopping 7.4 lbs., from just two days on my full-fast… and two days of jogging and walking, despite what my Body Battery said.

    Six straight days of weight drops (most of them very significant drops!) totaled an almost unimaginable 13.8 lbs. … and if you read back to the first paragraph of this journal entry, that is the exact amount I had gained during the month of sliding. Yes, this morning I stepped onto the scale and was greeted by the same number as my best weight ever. That means that the next ounce that I lose will be my new record.

    Speaking of jogging, Here are my stats from yesterday. It was not very impressive, but at least I got out there.

    Jogging

    • Distance: 4.03km (6.1km)
    • Duration: 28:26 (42:32)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 7m02s (6m58s)
    • Steps: 4,530 (6,720)
    • Calories burned: 450 (750)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 159 (158)

    Like I said… I did not break any records.

    There are days when I swear that my fitness watch knows me better than I know myself. Then there are days like today, when I cannot understand some of the readings. I woke up this morning, energized that I got six uninterrupted hours of sleep (and then two more hours after a quick visit to the bathroom). I was going to should for joy about the amazing sleep that I got! When I looked at my wrist I could not understand the sleep score of 49/100. Reading deeper, the portal says that ‘You slept long enough, but your body did not recharge very well. As a result, you may tire more easily today. You got a lot of intense exercise yesterday, and it impacted your sleep quality. Try to eat well, get plenty of rest and perform very strenuous activities sparingly.’ Really? Then how come I felt so good this morning? How come I still feel great three hours later? The other one is Body Battery. I really thought I recharged last night, and yet my BB this morning peaked at a mere 43/100. Garmin might know something that I do not, but I am still planning to go out for a jog this afternoon after the rain stop, which is predicted for around 1:00pm. Of course, it is always possible that I will crap out after 2km (which has happened before), but I am going to give it my best either way.

    Since I do not feel like going out in the rain, I will spend the next couple of hours looking at wedding pictures which Leslie and I just received. I am really excited that they are in and will be renaming files to match the content of each. So far, we have 165 pictures. I do not know if there will be more, but that is a good number to look at and rename… not to mention decide which ones to print and which ones to share with others! I decided to order an electronic picture frame so that I can rotate my favourites and have it on the wall. That should arrive tomorrow.

    My original plan for today was to smoke cigars with a couple of buddies, but one of them told me that he is not available this weekend, and the other has not yet responded. I will likely try to call him soon because he is not the type who is tied to his phone but will hear it if it rings. If he is not available then I will simply relax at home this evening. Whatever I end up doing, Two things are certain: I am going to go out to jog, whatever my BB may tell me. I am going to stay on my program, which means no cheats whatsoever. I joked with Leslie yesterday evening that when I got into my car I cheated because there was a single kernel of popcorn on the passenger seat (I ate popcorn at the mall after my trip to the Apple Store). I think we can all agree that a single kernel of popcorn is not really a cheat, but today I have to stay on the program. That means I will have to be mindful, and I will have to plan the timing of my meal replacements properly.

    This morning I prepared the first shake later than I usually would, owing to my failed attempt to get my bloodwork done before eating or drinking anything. Yes, the lab is usually open on Saturday, but they are closed today for the Victoria Day long weekend. That means that I will have to go one morning this week before class. I cannot put it off to next Saturday because my next appointment with my doctor is the following Monday morning, and the results will absolutely not be ready in time. All this to say that I had my first shake this morning was at 9:00am, so I can plan for my next one at 12:30pm (before my jog), then at 5:00pm (after my jog), and the last one before 9:00pm. This plan allows for an even distribution of them.

    I should mention that I am sitting here at my desk at 11:15am, and I am feeling a bit hungry. I am not going to give in to my urges, knowing that if I wait until 12:30 then I will have my meal replacement and I will stay on plan. Before that, I am going to bide my time by going out to hunt for a new water bottle and shoulder strap. I still cannot believe that I left mine on the airplane… or at one of the airports… or in the Uber. Grrr. It does not happen to me often, but once in a while I am careless and I forget something behind, especially when I am not focused.

    My plan for today is to do everything in my power to hit a new record low weight tomorrow morning. I know that the scale giveth, and the scale taketh away. Even if it does not happen tomorrow, if I stay on track and do not cheat then there is no reason that I will not be there in the next couple of days. I love that feeling… and I want to start feeling it every day or two for the next few weeks!

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 480

    I am not yet back on track… but I will be. I had a good chat with my diet buddy in the morning, after which I sent Leslie a message that I never imagined I would send. She asked me several weeks ago at what point should she step in to bug me about my weight loss program if she noticed I was slipping. I told her yesterday that we were there. In the evening we had a frank chat about my plans to get back on track, and we agreed that by Thursday this week if I am not back on the program 100% then she is going to beat me. Of course, that is a figurative statement – there will be no physical violence. She is going to stay on my case and not relent. I am not looking forward to that, but I had been doing so well and I need for this last month and current crisis to be a hiccough on my way to ultimate success, and not the beginning of a slippery slope.

    When Julie (my diet buddy) asked me what I was going to do to get back on track, I told her that my first order of business was to get back to jogging. Almost as soon as she left yesterday I put my running kit on and went for a run. The fact that my Body Battery did not exceed 34/100 yesterday was no matter, and if I was only able to jog 1km and then had to walk the rest of the way then that was what I would do. I honestly believe that my jogging is a huge contributing factor to my weight loss success, not only because of the exercise but also because it motivates me to not cheat on my program. I did not slow down at 1km… in fact, my 5km jog was my fastest yet!

    Jogging

    • Distance: 5.13km (5.10km)
    • Duration: 35:01 (36:01)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 6m49s (7m03s)
    • Steps: 5,600 (5,800)
    • Calories burned: 650 (600)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 160 (159)

    I believe yesterday’s was my first 5km jog where every kilometre was under 7m, and I loved it. Of course, with my Body Battery where it was (I did not look at my fitness watch, but I knew I felt drained) I could not keep it up, and so I decided to pull up at 5km and walk the rest of the circuit. My pace for the walk was also quite good (9m34s per kilometre, 6.5km). By the time I got home, I was truly knackered. I showered and then went to Eduardo’s for a cigar. I ate dinner when I came home, and finally got a pretty good night of sleep (I was in bed by 8:30pm and turned off the lights at 10:00pm). It took me a while to fall asleep, but I finally got just under 8 hours of sleep. I woke up refreshed and ready to hit the day… which will be a busy one indeed.

    This evening is the first class of my cigar sommelier class. I am really excited to be invited and to be taking part in it. The only issue is that I have to track down all of the cigars and bottles of booze that I will need for the twelve-week program. I created a spreadsheet and have some of the cigars I will need (about half of them), and a few of the bottles. Rather than buying all of the bottles, when I can I am borrowing a bottle from a friend. For example, Eduardo has a bottle of the rum that I need for this evening’s class. Rather than spending the $75 to buy it, I borrowed his bottle and will return it a couple of ounces lighter. Of course, that is not going to be possible for all of them, but where I can, I will buy the smallest (or even airplane-size) bottles. For the rest? I always knew that cigar smoking was not an inexpensive hobby, and I will do what I have to. I only wish the timing were a little better – I spent a small fortune on the wedding last month.

    Before the class I have a certification exam that I will sit, followed by lunch. If, following those, I have time for a jog before class then I will do that, but I suspect that will wait until tomorrow, at which point I hope my body will have recovered a little more from the jog.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 475

    This morning’s two-pound drop from yesterday was a welcome sight. I had a meal a couple of hours after my root canal which consisted of chicken, sweet potato fries (air fried, of course), and salad. I probably ate around 4:00pm and did not eat anything after that… if you discount a couple of painkillers.

    I fell asleep on the balcony for a couple of hours which resulted in my being a bit chilled for the entire night. Oops! That wasted half of a very nice cigar, but not one that I will cry over. I suppose I was a little fatigued.

    This afternoon after my class is finished I have an appointment for a haircut, then with the doctor. This will likely be my first doctors visit in four months at which I do not register a drop in weight. I will probably have gained a couple of kilograms. Add to the fact that I am breaking my pattern of going in the morning (this is when he was available) and I am pretty sure that I will not be impressed with the numbers on my official weigh-in… but I am not going to stick my head in the sand and pretend that I do not know how it happened. I have been off-track these last few weeks, and I will see the results. I did better yesterday, and I will do better today. That is not to say that I am back on-track, only that I am trying to get there. One or two days does not a pattern make.

    I miss my wife. Every time we are apart it hurts. I realized this morning that I made a mistake on my countdown, which I thought had her flying in four weeks from today. In fact she is arriving in just under 32 days, which means I was off by four. It is painful, but it is the reality. I hope that by then I have well and truly gotten back on track. I know that with patience all will work out… I just hate the wait. I wish we could be together now and always.

    Okay, it is time for me to go get my haircut. Have a great day folks!

  • Day 472

    It is Sunday morning. I am packed, I have a cup of coffee and I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Leslie is across the table from me enjoying her breakfast, and her son is on the floor watching his tablet. In less than an hour we will pack into the car for the dreaded trip to the airport. The countdown until she comes to Canada is thirty-one very long and lonely days. I hate leaving here. I hate packing my suitcase here. I hate getting out of the car at DFW knowing that I will walk into the terminal while Leslie drives home.

    Yesterday I cheated (as I knew I would), and I paid the price for it, but not terribly. We took the boy to our favourite sushi restaurant (which we would normally have done together on my first night here, but that won’t be happening anymore). The boy and I went shopping for his mom’s birthday present, after which we went to an amazing Japanese ice cream and taiyaki shop, where I indulged in a soft serve ice cream with a pastry fish stuffed with red bean paste. Assuming everything else I ate yesterday was perfect (it was not), I was going to gain weight based solely on that. For dinner we had tamales that Leslie’s grandmother in Guatemala made (and that Leslie smuggled back into the US) with a Mexican rice dish. Everything was delicious. Despite not having dessert or drinks after dinner, My weight this morning was up 1.8 lbs., which means my grand total for the trip (since the morning I left Canada) is a loss of 1.2 lbs. While I always cheat on travel days, tomorrow I will be back on track, and hopefully by the time I go to see the doctor Wednesday afternoon I will be no more than 1-2 lbs. up from where I was my last visit. I am nearly six pounds heavier today than I was when I last weighed in nearly a month ago. Yes, there has been a lot of mitigating stress; I still know that I need to get back on track. My goal is to now lose at least fifteen pounds between now and Leslie’s visit, which is ambitious but doable. That would take me under the 250 lbs. milestone which I have no recollection of being since the Army.

    The thunderstorms last night were gorgeous and calming. Leslie and I sat on the balcony as I smoked and we had a great conversation. I am going to miss being able to do that this next month. We’ll be back in the Rectangle Zone this evening, which really sucks. In the meantime I will be back on track, and I will focus on teaching… and next week on the course that I am starting to take Monday nights.

    Have a great day folks!