Thank you everyone for your best wishes!!! G and I are thoroughly excited, but a bit subdued because the sonography next week should tell us whether the fetus is viable.
I am also a bit worried because I am in a very stressed out space with work. I am flying to Goa tomorrow (something my gynaec was not too thrilled about) and I will be staying there for about a week. I have a major inspection at the factory and I cannot postpone or change it or assign my responsibilities to anyone else. I am just a bit nervous about flying - and G is not happy either, but I really don't have a choice.
I've been warned not to change my diet for the time being (DON'T eat for two!!) - and I've had to give up coffee (sigh). I've been loaded up with yet another vitamin, yet more folic acid and also progesterone because the cyst might lower levels in my body.
The cyst - well, it's acting up. It's pretty huge and the entire right side of my back aches all the time and doesn't allow me to sleep easily. I can't have my favourite massages which used to help, and I can't have ibuprofen either. I wanted to have it aspirated right away, but the docs concur that they should wait until at least 10 weeks for that to even be on the cards. Sigh...
Oh but the good thing! My gynaec told me in no uncertain terms that it was a really good thing I had managed to bring my weight down and was fit over the past year (thanks in no small part to all of you and EP!) else the cyst might have been larger, and less easily managed. I've also found that exercise really helps alleviate the pain so off for walks I go.
I'm not disappearing, though I may be on here less often. I am going to continue to eat properly and exercise and be really healthy and follow all of you till I can come back properly next year
Came home last night to see the blood report and it's a definite yes!! I'm about 2-3 weeks along!! G and I are beyond thrilled! We really wanted to have a baby next year! Of course, we can only tell our absolutely immediate family - no friends even. It's considered really unlucky to tell anyone before your first trimester is up. Probably a good thing. But I HAD to tell you guys!!
My parents and G and my brother spent most of the night opening bottles of champagne that I could not drink. My in-laws are over the moon as are all our siblings and their significant others. Whew - that's a lot of people actually. Thing is, this is the absolutely FIRST pregnancy in the entire family on either side (despite G being the youngest in his family) and the parents have been telling us to give em grandchildren forever.
No noticeable change for me except that I am a bit more tired than usual and somewhat bloated. More worrisome though are the back pains thanks to the endometrial cyst. I may have to have it aspirated because it's preventing me from sleeping and travelling (to and from work is 3 hours a day) comfortably.
More updates as they come!! I meet with the doc this evening.
I know, I know. I haven't been on EP forever. I've kind of been lurking and been really busy with Diwali all last week and and a weekend away and now I have a major inspection coming up and I am totally focussed on that and more than a bit stressed out.
So I wasn't particularly surprised when my period did not arrive as scheduled (ok, I WAS a bit surprised at the number of days it's been delayed, but that has happened once before). I've been having some tests for a really achy lower back - had a sonography yesterday and have been diagnosed with a rather large endometrial cyst. Normally, I would have been treated with hormonal pills OR, since the cyst is rather large, I would have had it aspirated in a small procedure.
BUT the sonography yesterday also revealed a really tiny sac. Apparently this could be a pregnancy in very early stages - so early that I have had none of the usual symptoms. So I've had a blood test this morning and my results have already reached home (and I am in the office) and I am cautiously excited. G and I have been (half heartedly) trying part of this year and I was kinda hoping it would be pretty soon. Thing is, with endometriosis, I've been told it's really hard to get pregnant - so if this is confirmed, I'm really lucky (since pregnancy is apparently also a cure for endometriosis!).
So I am going to find out today for sure. Excited, apprehensive, the works. Will keep you up dated!!
I'm in Goa with the worst internet connection and at a hotel that has the worst food possible leading to the worst choices ever. Still, at least I've worked out quite a bit! I've given in to the chocolate temptation - aarrgh!! I just have a really hard time when I travel.
We have holidays most of next week and I am a little tense because I am losing an entire week I could be using to get ready for the inspection on the 17th November. I am a bit worried, but I feel a lot more positive now that I've spoken to all the managers and gotten a feedback on how ready we will be. So I've got my fingers and toes crossed!!
Diwali finally starts Sunday. I didn't realize the first day was so soon! Going to have to scramble quite a bit - should have been cleaning and cooking all of last week. G has given me a lovely new outfit in pale lemon for the new year (on Wednesday, I think) and a fantastic gold chain - he can never keep a secret or hold on to a gift so he gave it to me on karva chauth instead - you can see me wearing it in the last picture. And I haven't gotten him ANYTHING. I am seriously at wits' end about what to give him, the parents, the brother, the in laws. G and I are doing all kinds of last minute stuff Sunday and Monday!!! Like I need this stress - I wonder i I can persuade G to run away with me monday...
And here is the link for the karva chauth pics. I tried to put them here directly, but my connection sucks. I hope the photo titles can be seen...
... last night I was really restless. I kept dreaming that I was in a store that sold dresses and that I had liked 3-4 of them and was trying them on and the one that fit me the best was torn! Then one of my friends was there and kept on throwing stuff at me to try and when it didn't fit me, she would try it on herself and it fit her better!! I actually woke up from that dream. I wonder what my subconscious is trying to tell me. Very weird.
So much has been happening. I wanted to post earlier, but my internet connection has been really poor. My fast went really well - I think the key was taking an antacid before going off to bed. The pampering session went really well too and I got the best news right after the pooja in the afternoon! We finally got our factory license!!!!!! (See? Prayer works!). I knocked out right after and the even the moon rose at 8:30 - and we saw it at 9, did all the ritual stuff and then I took G, his bro and wife out to dinner to celebrate the license. We went for Chinese at the club and it was a really fun evening. My bil is about to email the pics to me and I'll put a couple in here soon.
Saturday my brother threw a halloween themed party - very early because a friend of his will be out of town soon. I got all dressed up as a naughty nun and dressed G as Bacchus. His costume was such fun! It was fun because no one really does Halloween or anything here and no one takes the effort to dress up at all. But the party was fun and a couple of tequila shots had me under the table pretty early and repenting the next day.
Sunday we woke up at my parents' place and I got on to mom's scale (which is the one I use to record weight, mine being very inaccurate) and it said 74.2 kgs!!! OH WOW!!!! Then the alcohol bloat set in as did pms.... sad, but seeing that number on the scale was really encouraging!!!!
Mumbai has had a lot of unrest yesterday and almost all work was at a standstill as they arrested a political leader and his followers ran riot. Very annoying for those of us who run businesses! In any case, I didn't want to risk anyone and sent my staff home really early. Fortunately there was no trouble and everyone was fine. The roads were empty too and I got home in 40 minutes flat!! If only the city was really that uncrowded... sigh.
Also got an awesome walk / run in yesterday and a great kickboxing class in today. Diet - ummm... Friday ??, Saturday good, Sunday NOT good, Monday and Tuesday were almost perfect (except for some chocolate - I can't help it, I am pmsing!)
This should teach me not to stay away from weight training for so long! I ache like mad - especially the muscles in my upper back. I'm glad to have worked them out, but could they please stop trying to kill me?
Last night I was so tired after I came home, I just could not head out for a walk. Fortunately I had worked out in the morning. THEN G ordered in for dinner. Eeps. WAY too oily and my stomach is protesting. Why is it that I am PERFECT right up to dinner? But still, it was better than it would have been months ago and I did not overeat!
Today - having skipped the morning walk because I just could not drag my aching self out of bed, I have to have an evening walk - which is now in doubt because my mother wants me to accompany her to an art auction. Exciting, I know, but I wanna walk too!! I HATE having to choose!!!!! Why couldn't she have told me earlier?
Tomorrow is the fast so I will come back Saturday with a few pics and a report. Skinny vibes to all!
Ok, so GCQmom wanted to know what "Starve for the Husband" Day was -"Starve for the husband" day aka Karva Chauth is coming up this Friday and it's a major festival for North Indian women. I'm from the west of India and my husband is a true blue "Punjabi" from the North so I wasn't brought up with it, but I do it because it's a big deal for G's family.
You wake up at eat at 5 in the morning - before sunrise and then you fast - no water even!! - for your husband's health and prosperity till you see the moon (oh and moon - on purpose, I bet - never comes out till 10 at night on that day ) through a mesh style collander and then you see your hubby's face through it and then you can drink water and eat. We often end up driving around to find the moonrise. Did I mention that, from your second karva chauth, you have to give your mother in law a gift on the day (I assume it means thanks for my husband)
I think it stemmed from a time when a woman's fate - social, economic, etc. was linked very strongly to her husband. She could only participate in society / religious functions etc. if she were a married woman and widows were considered inauspicious. If your husband died, it was very likely that his family would cast you out. So the women did all kinds of things to ensure long lives for their husbands. I don't know why they couldn't have chosen a large party instead of starvation, but who am I to say!!
But the best part is - through all this starvation you have to dress up like a bride - which means red clothes, lots of jewellery, bangles, bindis, henna, the works - and lots of shopping is involved. It's always portrayed as a very romantic thing in the movies here but believe me, by the time you see the moon, you are ready to kill your husband (which would kind of defeat the purpose, I know), but not strong enough to!!
It's pretty archaic, but the tradition is a major bonding time for the women in the family and all the ladies in our apartment building. I just try to do as little as possible. I wake up as late as possible, get a manicure / pedicure and a massage, blow dry and then watch a movie till the evening ritual starts at about 5:00 P.M. That consists of all the women coming together for a small ceremony and telling the proscribed stories and singing and stuff. And after that you can have ONE thing to drink till the moon comes up. G and his brother take us out for fruit milkshakes.
Oh, I also tell G to stay the hell away from me because he keeps asking if I am ok!! There is also a new breed of husbands who keep the fast with their wives. I absolutely oppose this. If a husband keeps the fast, all attention is on him (how sweet! how devoted!) and they get to act like babies on the one day when all the attention should be on you! Instead I cook G an EXTRA special lunch with the fond hope that he will feel hideously guilty about his wife starving at home.
Hey, I said I keep the fast, I didn't say I wasn't also evil
This year, my younger cousin who has also married a north indian boy will be coming to spend the day and evening ceremony with me. So we should have a good time!
Did I also mention that my parents and siblings laugh uproariously each year because I was always so vocal about NEVER DOING this in my vehemently feminist days? Yeah... no really... they do.
Not really good, not naughty enough to blog about, you know? Things are just coasting along. Was a good weekend, but not a good weekend - I totally failed on the 21 day exercise challenge by not going for a walk yesterday. G and I spent the whole day in bed watching movies. Was great to chill together I ate properly most of the day but in the afternoon afternoon I had some pizza and in the evening it was not brilliant - I ate what I should not have - aloo parathas (potato stuffed wheat flat breads ), but I was just too lazy to come up with a dinner menu and we were watching a movie! At least I didn't eat too much
Thing is, about halfway through, I realized that I really wasn't enjoying it. I've had two dinners out - Friday and Saturday and this mess of a Sunday dinner, but I can't say that I have enjoyed them very much (though Saturday was not bad at all, especially since I shared the main course and the delicious dessert which I stopped eating after a few bites). It's just that all the oily taste and the excess carbs just don't have the same mouthfeel as before (my brother develops nutritional products - I learned that wonderful word from him). Problem is, I haven't yet learned what, among the healthy stuff, I really enjoy.
Hmmm... this is a bit of a dilemma. I supposed that all the food I enjoyed were the "cannot haves" but now the "cannot haves" don't taste nearly as good to me. But I still haven't mentally made the shift to - "oh, i'll just have the yoghurt or an apple" yet - you know? My mind seems to think my body will like things it thought were treats before. Then I tell myself that if I don't have it, I will feel like I am on a diet and that I should have it if I really want it - huh??!! I think my mind is screwing with itself due to lack of other drama in my life.
I do know this is a process, it's been a year and more of changing my attitude towards food and weight loss and it will take longer. I KNOW this, but the moments can be pretty hard work and sometimes I feel so demotivated about the whole damn thing (but not demotivated enough to pick up some chocolate yet). I have more work to do, I just need a bit of zest back.
Btw - festival season started here last month - Dassera last week, karva chauth (starve for the husband) day this friday, then start the pre-Diwali card parties and then 5 days of Diwali in the last week of this month. I have to organize ceremonies for all days and worse yet, make and send out sweets and dry fruit baskets to everyone. Sigh... can't imagine having all that in the house. Thank god the diet and exercise is habit now else I would just say forget it till november!
Finally some small movement - I weighed in at 75.8 kgs today!! I did a lot of introspecting and took advice from all the comments to my earlier post and it's worked! You girls rock!
First - I decided not to worry too much about the scales (amazing how when you DON'T think of it, it works) because of the muscle gain / fat loss issue. Instead I tried on, fit into and bought a very pretty skirt and top at a place where NOTHING would fit me before!!! Ok, it was the largest size there, but I FIT into it and I looked hot (seriously, G couldn't keep his eyes off me ). Confession - the skirt was very high waist and very tight and acted like a corset - and the top button did come off when I got home at the very very end of the evening New goal - fit into the skirt perfectly!
Second - I decided to rest . Exercising everyday is really important, but all my workouts have recently become mega-intense and I'd stopped considering a 20 min walk a workout. The fatigue of working out everyday was totally wearing me out. Saturday my body was aching, so, instead of a tough workout, I played with the puppy for an hour. Lots of running around, playing, but not getting into my workout clothes. Sunday I spent the day at the club with friends and really chilled out - all I did was swim for a bit and then splash water at other folks. I felt LOADS better monday (which helped me survive my morning kickboxing session).
Learnings - a) LOOK FOR INCH LOSS; b) REST IS CRITICAL; and c) EXPAND THE SCOPE OF EXERCISE
Ummm... I want to say "DUH!!" but I do realize that one does tend to not see the forest for the trees sometimes. So I am still doing great on exercise now that I have expanded the scope of what I call exercise and I can't see myself stopping even after the challenge stops - by the way, I've totally lost track of how many days I've been doing the challenge and when it ends - perhaps it's for the best!!!
Agreed I did have one night of drinking a bit this week and I did have a couple of small slices of cake - it was G's birthday after all - but I have not missed a single day of exercise - heck I even ran AND my trainer has taken my sessions up a notch too (seriously, I could barely stay awake on Wednesday), TOM has finally left and I am still in the 76s. Up to 76.7, down to 76.1 - but no breaking out of it and I am sick and tired of it. What the heck?
I don't want to completely give up wine (whine whine) either!! Oh come on! I was hoping to have cracked the 75s by now at least. I am going to the club right now.
) through a mesh style collander and then you see your hubby's face through it and then you can drink water and eat. We often end up driving around to find the moonrise. 
Did I mention that, from your second karva chauth, you have to give your mother in law a gift on the day (I assume it means thanks for my husband)
), but I was just too lazy to come up with a dinner menu and we were watching a movie! At least I didn't eat too much 
). Confession - the skirt was very high waist and very tight and acted like a corset - and the top button did come off when I got home at the very very end of the evening