Cue the Crickets

What's that I hear? The sound of crickets? That must mean there has been a lull in the blogging action around here. Why, you might ask? Well, the answer is, I'm not really sure. Here are my thoughts:

1) After working at this lifestyle change for two months now, one might think that the excitement is waning. In other words, the honeymoon is over. While that might be the case, I don't think that's exactly true. I am still tracking all my foods and making sure my calories are within my target range. It is becoming easier for me to plan my healthy meals and I have been very good about adding fruits and veggies into my diet.

2) Maybe I've been too busy? Well, maybe... but probably not a good excuse. While it most definitely takes me L-O-N-G-E-R to do everything with the robo-leg, I am also spending a good amount of time sitting, or at least looking for the next place where I can sit. I did have a very busy weekend with company in town and making a MEGA meal (4 courses) for 10 people. We were celebrating my mother's 75th birthday and my parents' 54th wedding anniversary (same day, she got married on her 21st birthday.) My mother has also been tracking her food since mid-June, so I went with the theme "Fresh From the Garden" for the fancy meal. We had homemade bruschetta appetizers and citrus juice spritzers before the meal. We had spinach and strawberry poppy seed salad, maple glazed salmon with pineapple salsa, homemade rice pilaf with veggies, and fresh green beans. I served wheat buns with honey butter that I made myself. Desert was gooey toffee bars and birthday cake that was pineapple with vanilla pudding and whipped cream topping, and homemade peach ice cream. I behaved myself and only had a tiny nibble of a bar and a very small piece of the birthday cake.

3) Maybe I've gained weight? Nope, not really. My weight tends to bounce a lot. I suspect some of the bouncing is due to sodium intake, and perhaps a bit of mid-life femality (if you catch my drift.) It isn't unusual for me to fluctuate up to 4 pounds from one day to the next. But the overall trend is down, and that makes me incredibly happy. I think we can safely say that officially today I am down 30 pounds since the beginning of summer!!!! YAY! I'm working hard not to let fluctuations get me down or make me give up. I can verify that I am eating healthy, staying within my calorie range; and I know that eventually the scale will catch up.

4) Maybe I've forgotten about exercise? No way! I've been exercising at least 3 days per week. Yesterday, the pool was very busy, so I made an extra trip in to the gym today to just do some pool work. I have read and am discovering that consistency is most definitely the key. I can feel that I am getting stronger. I have increased all the weight in my strength training, I can do three miles on the bike now (at the beginning, 1/2 mile had me huffing), and I started with 5 minutes on the NuStep machine, and I am now doing a half an hour! When I first started in the pool, the thought of swimming across (the short way) the pool looked impossible. Today, I swam not only the full length of the pool, but I did it 8 times without stopping mid-lap! I did rest between laps, but still it is progress. According to the sign at the pool, I swam 1/8 of a mile and did all my other exercises and some jogging in the water.

5) Maybe this lifestyle is becoming more routine for me? Maybe, and that might be a good thing. But, I think I have to remember not to become complacent. I need to celebrate my accomplishments. Today I was down a total of 30 pounds and I swam 8 laps in the pool! I have two weeks to go before my surgery, and I want to be in the best shape that I can be! I'm working hard and I'm proud of what I am doing!