The technician arrived at 8 a.m. today to hook me up with my new cable and Internet service. Woot! I’m once more done with the dial-up and can effectively cruise around online at home. This afternoon I called the previous service to cancel. I had to laugh at the conversation. I used to have Dish Network. After the woman asked me why I was cancelling and if there was anything she could do, she began to talk me through the process. She asked where the satellite dish is located — in the yard or on the roof. When I told her it’s on the corner of the roof she told me that they didn’t expect me to go up and disconnect it.
You think? It never entered my mind that they’d do anything other than send a tech to do that work. With that knotty problem out of the way, she then took several minutes to explain that they’d send me a box to ship back the DVR, that I should leave in the data card (Like I’d know how to remove it?), and that they’d need to have it back within 70 days or there would be a charge. I assured her that I would return the equipment as soon as I received the box. She explained a few more things and then we were finished.
If they’d been that thorough in their customer service before, I might have considered staying with them awhile longer — or at least until the next few bad rainstorms reminded me why I wanted to switch from a satellite service.
On to other things.
I’ve done pretty well the last couple of days sticking to the plan to treat my stomach with more kindness. I’ve consumed mostly smoothies, Greek yogurt with fruit and soup yesterday and today. I limited my caffeinated tea to one cup in the morning and had only green tea a few other times. I already feel better than I did on Wednesday and believe I’ll stay with this routine for the weekend. That should straighten out my system the rest of the way.
Tomorrow I’m planning on my regular Tai Chi class first thing in the morning. As an extra treat, I’m going to leave by 10:15 and zip over to a Zumba class. Yes, I really do continue this a treat. I was at that conference earlier this week on the evening when I would normally do my Zumba class. I miss it when I don’t do it, so picking up a Saturday class feels right. Added to this determination is the realization that it has rained so much the last two days that I haven’t been able to take walks with the dogs. With the exception of Wednesday night’s Tai Chi class and the treadmill routines that I did while away, I haven’t gotten in my usual amount of exercise. I need to move!
Did I share that I caved on an infomercial and bought a home Pilates machine? I know I’ve shared that I wanted to try Pilates but, to be honest, I just have not been able to figure out when I could fit the classes into my already packed schedule. I saw a long presentation on this machine and ended up ordering it. The equipment arrived shortly before I left town, so I only had a chance to use it once with some quick exercises. This is no cheap, wimpy apparatus, I was happy to discover. There are some basic exercises that I can’t do yet, but others that I think will provide the extra toning that I wanted.
The deal included multiple DVDs. I’m going to make a point of checking out the basic starter one this weekend and see how I do. Yes, I will report back to all of you.
Earlier today, I had a sudden memory of a quick exchange that took place at the conference I attended. Although I’d seen some of the people in January so my weight loss was already known to them, we spent more time together over the course of a few days. One morning, I shared a table with a couple of women I know. There was a buffet breakfast served. I walked back to the table with two crisp strips of bacon, a bran muffin and a slice of pineapple on my plate. One of the women looked at my plate and said, “That’s all you’re eating? No wonder you’re doing so great with your weight loss.”
This was a good lesson in perspective. To me that was a full meal. In fact, even though I knew that I wouldn’t finish the entire muffin, I was worried that I’d overloaded my plate. To the other people, it was a light breakfast. I’d left behind the eggs, potatoes and sausage links. I hadn’t taken a bagel or bread. (For the record, occasionally eating bacon does not mean I’m totally screwing with my food plan. It means I’m being normal and letting myself have something I really enjoy. I’d had eggs the morning before, so I wanted to go for some variety.)Oh what a difference a year and a half makes. It was a mini-aha moment, for sure.
I still have a lot of times when my eyes are bigger than my stomach. I’ll eat something on impulse that fills my stomach more than I should. However, I have many more times when I successfully design my portions. I continue to train myself to not overeat. The evening before this breakfast, we’d gone out to enjoy some of the local restaurants. I accompanied others to a trattoria that served up absolutely delicious food. At that meal, I skipped having an appetizer and went with a smaller, lighter, fresh pasta dish over a complete, larger entrée. Even then, I shared and really brought my dinner into the right portion size by giving away a couple of the ravioli.
The trick is to recognize these successes and have more of them. More good planning and appropriate choices over the snatch and grab of compulsive eating. All one day, one meal at a time.
A good weekend is ahead to enjoy. What’s on your schedule?
Weighty Matters 
It sounds like you’re doing great! Good for you about the getting back to feeling better.
This weekend I hope to spend time with one of my girlfriends tomorrow. I intend to do some tasks that I didn’t do the past two days, and maybe take a walk. I’m still wrestling with being entirely sedentary again. Don’t know why it came on again, but it’s hard to fight, especially in a house with people who are also sedentary and with this tiredness that I’m still fighting. But I’m going to do some things. I’m determined to make some progress.
Skye, at times like that I try to remember “Don’t let the little you can do keep you from doing the little you can do.” You don’t have to climb a mountain. Shoot for a walk around the block!”
You sound determined. Good for you!