It’s Saturday and I’m home in the Keys after a whirlwind, fun, slightly exhausting week. I loved seeing and spending time with so many family members and friends. My heart is full with love and gratitude.
My body was frequently full of delicious food and some darned fine cocktails over the last week. I have not gotten in enough exercise over the last two or three days due to the fun/family schedule. I don’t feel the least bit guilty about it either. This was life lived with quality and lack of stress. Life should not always be about what I’m going to eat or what I shouldn’t or worrying about whether I’m doing things wrong.
I feel like I did this week right. I enjoyed myself, more because of the people I was with and what we did together. Food and cocktails were complements to our quality time together, not the be all and end all. That’s a big improvement in my thought process and yay for me.
Now I’m back and ready to knuckle down for the big push to lose the rest of my excess weight. Good friends of mine have a tradition where they back about 17 varieties of holiday cookies and make up gift boxes. They gifted me with a box. This could be a tempting problem, but I’m dealing. I’m separating them into small snack bags and freezing them so that they will be less readily accessible for over-snacking. However, when I really, really want a cookie or two, I can take them out of the freezer bag, let them defrost, and enjoy. I’ve used this approach before and it works well for me. I get the best of both worlds — a yummy, homemade treat when I really want it in a way that prevents overeating.
On the way home to the Keys from Ft. Lauderdale, I stopped and bought a new blender. (Remember that I broke mine about a month ago. I’ve been relying on my small smoothie maker.) It’s actually a Ninja system that functions as either a blender, juicer or food processor. I am excited about the flexibility and convenience this will provide since I won’t have to switch between multiple appliances.
It’s a happy coincidence as I went through the back issues of my newspapers that I happened on a food article by chef Sarah Moulton with great suggestions on how to quickly and easily incorporate more tasty vegetables into meals. She takes root veggies and grates them in her food processor so that they can be cooked easier and faster. Beets, parsnips and carrots are on my shopping list for tomorrow, along with some fresh fruit.
After the blender purchase, I ran into a sporting goods store. I’m ready to increase the poundage on the hand weights I use in my strength training, so I picked up a new pair of dumbbells along with some gloves and a mat. I get back on the consistent exercise routine starting tomorrow. At the moment, it’s kind of breezy, but I’m hoping to wake up to a less windy morning. I’ve missed my bike riding and can’t wait to get back into it! Unfortunately, I can’t pick up Nat and Pyxi from the boarding kennel until Monday, but even without them, if it’s too windy when I wake up, I’ll go out and walk. Gotta get back to the 10,000 plus steps a day!
I’m in a terrific place right now — physically, mentally, and emotionally. It’s a great day to wind down the year and set myself up for success in the days ahead.
How were the holidays for all of you?
When I sat down to write this post, I saw that it’s the 495th! Wow. We’re closing in on 500. I can’t believe it. I shared several times on how much this blog means to me, and how regularly posting here is so important to my program, my process, and working my recovery. I will continue to do so as my journey progresses. Without it, I don’t know if I would keep myself accountable. I also know that I love the contact with each of you, the stories you share, and the wisdom and insight that you bring to the discourse. Thank you again!
Weighty Matters 
Sounds like a lovely holiday! Ours didn’t go quite as planned, but we all had a good time.
I’m thinking about getting a jawbone or a fitbit like you have. I don’t know that I want to spend that kind of money, but I also would love some more encouragement to get more steps in. Will have to think about it.
Hope, there are phone apps too that don’t need a separate gizmo. I just think they run too much phone battery.
Your being able to simply enjoy the food and drink and still stay within your general limits is important and meaningful. It means you are approaching a more realistic relationship with food. Not perfect, but most people have some issue when it comes to food. I love that you are developing this kind of mindset. It shows the progress you’ve made and all the work you’ve done.
I have a question: I have a friend who’s coming to Florida in I think late January or early Frbruary. She’d like to come onto the Keys, mostly to go over the bridge, but if she can find a reasonably priced place to stay, she’d at least stay overnight.
Would you be willing to email with her and answer her questions about the Keys lodgings, where your Dolphin facility is and when it’s open to the public, and so on? Let me know and i’ll connect the two of you. I’d send you an email but either misplaced your address or never had it in the first place.
Thanks.
Skye, I’d be happy to answer your friend’s questions. She can email me at Mary at Mary-Stella dot com. (Symbols where I put words of course.). Thanks!