Sandwiches

As the Onion says (and noted by my friend KCF) This Week!

We can't help but be emotionally affected by the news, even though for me it was thankfully abstract. No-one I know was in danger or hurt.

Personally, I spent the week being sandwiched between parent and teen issues, running back and forth between my mother in rehab (doing very well, thanks) and the school and home (don't ask). Plus I did my taxes from beginning to end in about four hours (80% paper and on-line record sorting and collecting, 20% clicking buttons on tax software).  My old sciatica is acting out, and the allergies are making their annual appearance, so the body is no more than a C-.  Work - oddly, kept going - no crises, even slight progress in positive directions. Hope.

So I stopped tracking my food, and even simply forgot to get on the scale one morning, nearly unheard-of for my obsessive record keeping. Results are pretty good, but there is no question in my mind I started to drift off the straight and narrow.  Though I don't have the data staring me in the face to confirm. Typically, I would expect there to be a couple of weeks lag before drifting in food starts to show up on the scale, and I need to get back to my tools of tracking, planning, and prepping in advance.  I have NO food on hand that is what I want to eat.

I didn't cook dinner once this week. This means my green leafy vegetable intake suffered mightily. I added some carb-y vegetables to my diet when eating off the rack - black and garbanzo beans, eggplant, peas. Oddly, when faced with choices to make at times I was dog tired, standing at the food bar in Whole Foods, or out on restaurant row in downtown, I craved comfort food but knew I won't find the comfort in cinnamon rolls, french fries, or ice cream. Sandwiches are so very convenient when you are on the run, but I know they will lead to cravings later. I looked over at the baked goods conveniently next to the check out lines in Whole Foods and felt an emotional tug, but it wasn't actually hard to step away. I went for comfort, soft and hot and creamy, moussaka, beef stew, cabbage, green beans, peas. At Chipotle, both guacamole and cheese on the salad. This is food that won't help me lose weight, but it keeps my insulin and blood sugar in check and thus keeps me from spiralling out of control. So this is a small victory, and it gives me the conviction to do some planning and move ahead in better form planning for this week. I do need to admit to the small pieces of chocolate at the end of the day, a very slippery slope I know.

Thank goodness I continue to follow the advice of my friends and I keep those appointments at the gym.  If it weren't for that, my calorie expenditure would have been even lower, and my body hates this level of inactivity. No chances to get outside and walk at lunch or after work, with the sandwiched double duty.