Blooming through the cracks…Blue toes, Bruised Mamas and a Salmonella Buffet. aka: “stupidity, aging and the risk of eating food from a public serving spoon.”

Proof of ignorance.

Yep, that’s my toe.

Not pretty is it? And this is nearly 3 weeks after my injury!

Although, the color variations are nice.

Just as I reached my 45 pound weight loss goal it was almost time for vacation. Everything was on target and I was elated, then during a random fit of childish anger because I tripped over a steel toed workboot of my husbands in the garage and then tried to kick it out of the way, I was left with this shifty shiner on my big Bertha.

OUCH!

First, I panicked. How would I run?

Then, I took a picture and sent it to everyone I could think of to bring in loads of pity. I deserved no pity, because I did it all to myself.  I prayed I wouldn’t lose my nail and be able to keep running.

So far so good!

I took a week off running hard and just did a few long walks with a few sprints, then we left for vacation and I even managed two treadmill runs of 2 miles that week and hoped it would help me maintain my weight loss. I was doing really well until the last night…

The night of the Chinese Buffet that will live in infamy.

Usually I don’t get too excited about buffets, they are pretty much all the same…but this one, this Chinese buffet had everything! A sushi train, 5 kinds of rice, 4 soups and a long winding line of food and meats and veggies that looked like the yellow brick road to Glutton Nirvana.

I ate everything.

In small tiny amounts. I figured it would be okay.

It wasn’t.

For the next four days I regretted that buffet. However in the aftermath, I did manage to lose 3 pounds.

Just as I was feeling more myself, after recovering from my poor decision making skills, I got a phone call that my dear mother had fallen and broke four bones in her face. Off to the hospital to spend the next four days off and on, in and out of the hospital room, dancing around a schedule my sister Marsha and I managed to balance around her work and my three kids.

Those three stressors; blue toe, salmonella and injured elderly mother, can really add up to a desire to eat your feelings. To run and find comfort in the soft and snuggly striped arms of Ronald McDonald or even the King of Burgers himself!

But I was pleasantly surprised to see that I managed O.K.!

A year ago I would have spent all my spare time thinking of the next thing to eat. The next thing to shove into my mouth and down my throat to hold the stress back and to keep my feelings at bay.

Now I don’t do that.

Running and exercise and a good solid diet built on nutrition helped me so much. It was a great feeeling to see that food no longer controlled me.

Instead I controlled it.

While in a tight squeeze I did make a run to Sonic for kids breakfasts, for the most part I maintained a salad here, oatmeal for breakfast there and managed to keep myself and my family from piling up too many pizza boxes. So this was definitely an improvement over what would have been a catastrophe last year regarding meal planning.

So I am back on the trail. Running now for 1 week and I felt the ramifications of 2.5 weeks in the slow lane. After just three days back to the gym, my legs hurt and I had to cut my normal 3.5 mile trek down to just 2 and 2.5 mile runs. But it sure felt good to be jumping over sticks and trudging up mulch covered trails again. 

Man, did it feel good.

So I am happy to report I am 48 pounds down from what I weighed in January. Today I weighed in at 208 pounds.
Stuck here for what seems to be days upon days, but at least I am not gaining weight. So that is good…and that hairloss that I had before, I got my blood work back and I am low on nearly every vitamin!

So I am on prenatal vitamins to give me megadoses of everything I lack. I will be okay as long as I don’t start…

Eating for two! (again)… 🙂

“I always hated pics taken in the mirror, but when you’re the only one up at 7 am, and you realize by 9 am your hair is going to be flatter than a flitter, you need to take opportunities where you can. This is my progress so far. 48 pounds down and weighing in at a healthier 208 pounds. Not where I feel I need to be yet, but it sure feels better than it was! Hoping for a great weekend with no chaos, drama, injuries or tummy revolts!”