Easter Challenge: Feeling Really Good, Minor Change on the Scale

I've been feeling great for a couple days! I woke up feeling completely myself yesterday. No residual blue cloud. No flat affect. I've been singing for days, but I was really singing yesterday. And instead of sleeping 14-17 hours a day, I'm sleeping between 6-8. That's a great sign all by itself. I'm back!

I went out for the first time in...er...a while, too. And I laughed and felt normal.

It really was like a resurrection--going from the blues to the light. Out of the fricken cave of depression.

Anyway, hubby and I picked up my middle sis (who was in the neighborhood shopping) and went for a scenic drive down Miami Beach, all the way to South Beach, then came back Northward and had lunch at a nice Peruvian restaurant called ADRIANA'S(very pleasant ambiance and cool tableware--all slanty and white) in the small, retro town of Surfside. The weather was impeccable, cool even, with nice breezes. While I had a less than great choice for appetizer (fried cassava croquettes with cheese inside and a Peruvian cheese sauce drizzled, served in the cutest possible green glass tray with small circular depressions for each mini-ball). They were fabulous. I had a healthy organic salad with greens, cukes, tomatoes, and shredded white meat chicken and balsamic vinaigrette for my entree. I did sample my sister's pumpkin ravioli. Mmm. No dessert. Two skim milk lattes with Splenda and a glass of Pinot Grigio.

I enjoyed it very much and without a dang ounce of guilt.

And in the NSV department: I fit into my Tamotsu tunic. I had bought this really elegant long-sleeved black textured tunic by the designer Tamotsu. The tag was $285, but I got it for 1/5th the retail price. That was a few years back. I didn't fit. I bought it as an incentive tunic: I'll wear it when I lose weight. Only I didn't lose weight and it didn't fit, refused to go below my hips.

Yesterday, on a whim, I tried it on (due to the cooler weather), and it fit! So, I wore it out. And I was a bit too energetic later in the day in the ladies room and yanked it too hard--tearing the seam. It's at the seamstress getting reseamed. But dang. It fit. I was so happy!!!

I tried some other "when I lose weight" Tamotsu pieces I splurged on (three jackets, one dress, one panstsuit), and some are on their way to fitting. Almost there. :)

So, back to the outing: After we went to the west part of town to take sis home, we came back to the east part and I did some shopping at Whole Foods for items that my organic grocer who delivers either didn't have or I forgot to order. I wish they had a nice flavored sugar-free organic yogurt (I enjoy the flavors of Stonyfield's low-fat version, but I'd prefer not having the sugar).

Today, I got my organic produce delivery.

Let me put it this way, between Whole Foods yesterday and the delivery today, I've spent 450 on this week's groceries. I just about died when I stopped to add it all up. But, if this is what it took to get my body healing, so be it. Part of it is trying new stuff and discovering what I like. (Not crazy about grass fed ground beef. Sorry. Organic chicken breasts: yum.). I discovered I much prefer watercress to Romaine, so I've been buying less Romaine as my all-purpose lettuce, and let hubby eat it--unless I've got a Caesar salad craving--and just make myself either an arugula or a watercress salad daily. I have been eating a lot of fruits and veggies (12-14 a day). I've been getting nice amounts of fiber (most days more than 30, some days more than 50. Depends how much legumes I have or high-fiber bread.)

I have not been keeping to calories. In order to feed my body to get out of this current health funk/depression, I just eat when I'm hungry and eat lots of raw or minimally cooked produce. I've been snacking on nuts--I have a severe sensitivity to seafood, so I can't eat fish omega 3, therefore I rely on walnuts and flax-- and have my daily ration of dark chocolate. (The Sunspire chocolate covered almonds are amazing. That's an indulgence worth the calories. MmMmm.)

As I said, feeling good. My creativity is back. My mind is good. I can focus on reading again (hadn't read for WEEKS for any length of time due to a wandering mind and lack of focus). And my eyebrows have filled in again. (They'd gone half-bald.) My hair looks good. I hope my skin follows (I have always had problems with acne.)

Hubby is happy that there's food ready for him and it's not take-out. (He was used to brining dinner home, or going out to pick it up, or we calling in a delivery). I've been making a high-fiber, lower-fat spinach lasagna for him (he loves meat lasagna and normally had it once a week). It's great cause there's always leftovers that make for one lunch for work for him and another meal for us both minimum. He also loves the organic potatoes, so I bake a couple and give him a stuffed one for lunch, save one for another day (or make it as a breakfast potato.)

I need to learn to make some great bean soups. I often crave legumes (I grew up eating them nearly every day). I think one recipe each of black bean, kidney bean, garbanzo, red lentil, white bean (or a pasta fabiole), and one good pea soup will keep me happy for ages and ages. I could literally have a bean soup for a meal EVERY DAY. It's comfort food to me.

Anyway, just to report that going heavy on the produce and raw stuff has helped. I need to learn how to stretch the dollars, choose wisely. The trying stuff phase needs to wind down to the "weekly order system" stage that doesn't break the budget to shards.

As far as the weigh in: Yesterday was 271.4. Today was:

272.0

So, still firmly in the 270's low end. And it will go down more. I feel a sort of optimism that comes from being out of the Blue Funk. :)

I'm not ready to curtail calories too much yet. I'm watching that I don't go into the "eat too much and regain" territory. But until I'm in solid recovery ground for at least a week or two, I'm not gonna chop down to 1800 calories again. I"m at about 2500 to 2700 now, by guesstimating intake.

To those who had losses this week: Congrats. To those who maintained: Good for you. To those who regained some: Happens. Don't fret. Do the strategies.

Happy week, everyone.

Onward and DOWNward!

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