But I REALLY deserved the days off!! I have been working my butt off and when G joined me in Goa, I cut down my hours at work but only didn't work for at all for the weekend and that was because Saturday was my birthday!!
And what a great time - the night before we went out for a fabulour dinner at this place called Shiros which was right above the sea. The moonlight was fab, the candlelight romantic, the weather was perfect and the music amazing. Then we drove around and went to another place for dessert. The next day we had a great brunch and spent ages sunning ourselves on the beach and swimming in the pool and had yet another dinner out.
After this, I would have fainted away if I hadn't seen a weight increase. That, all the bloat of PMS and TOM arriving bang exactly on time. But I am back today and back on my normal diet. Thank heavens, all that alcohol and dessert were taking me right back to the days of lots of acidity and general bloatiness. I have told my nutritionist that as long as the plant is on my hands, I won't be able to make it to the weigh ins - I am back to Goa next Tuesday, though I have enough work to go right back tomorrow, I also have a lot of work here. A couple of days on home cooked food would help too...
The BEST thing that could have come of the trip is that G has FINALLY stopped cribbing about having put on weight and decided to do something about it! He is going to watch his diet, we are going to cut down the alcohol and, even better, he joined me for my kickboxing class in the morning - he woke up early for it too! SHOCKING. But I really am very pleased - he has put on way too much weight and I just noticed that he has developed this habit of using his stomach as a shelf on which to rest his drink - EEEPS!!! That tummy has to come off.
We have committed to going out tonight to a friend's birthday drinks session (this lot doesn't believe in birthday dinners). Ok gotta run... end of the day and I still have loads of bills to ok. :-) Hope all are doing well!!
The good news is - last week when I was in Goa I was almost completely in command of my diet and the steps I took everyday. At the plant I am constantly on the move so I wasn't too worried about exercise. When I came back, I actually weighed two whole kgs less!! WOW! I KNOW this is because I not only took care of my diet but didn't have any alcoholic drinks at all. These really bloat me, but I had no idea how much they were holding me back till now!
The not so great news is that, on coming back on Friday, I went out every single evening. The first night was to a party, saturday and sunday were to concerts. All of them included dinners out - one night included french fries (just SOME!) eeps. I also had drinks every one of those nights... not too much, but enough. It is so easy to slip into a bad pattern... I'm going to have to do some reflection on self control....
Wait.. there's more, but I have to run to a meeting right now. Will write more in a bit :-)
Later:- Three meetings and a session with the nutritionist later -
So my weight this time came in at 80 kgs. Not what I wanted, but at least it is a loss and the second lowest weight I've recorded so far. Knowing that the bloat of the last few days is affecting me and feeling PMS coming on, I think I can live with it.
Suman has modified my diet a bit, but I really doubt that this is going to make much difference because this week is my Birthday week!! woohoo! I am off to Goa tomorrow and G is going to join me the day after. Having him around is either going to be a recipe for fabulous relaxation or extreme stress when I try to balance work and life. I don't know which. I just know that I am going to take at least one day off work!
Speaking of G, what does one get a man who has everything? I haven't really got much bandwidth to devote to Valentines Day this year and I am coming up with the most unimaginative stuff. Blah. I guess I shall have to discover a quiet beach in Goa and add a little one on one time to my schedule All suggestions are welcome!!
Another good thing is that I FINALLY got my USB internet modem. So now I can stay connected while at the plant in Goa!! It's for work of course, but I'll be checking in more often for sure!
Terrible weekend eating wise... My sister is visiting because of my grandmother's poor health (who still doesn't have a prognosis - good or bad) and it was her birthday yesterday. We have been eating fish non-stop since Saturday (that's what she misses the most)! There was a fisher-folk food festival on Saturday and we ended up trying every kind of fish available - absolutely brilliant - it wasn't too bad diet wise, but a LOT of eating. And then - as if that were not enough, we ended up eating PIZZA last night! Along with single malts, wine and lots of chatting and not nearly as much exericise as I needed.
I have had an overdose of family and a complete lack of schedule. I felt so bloated and uncomfortable today, I didn't go for my weigh in and I am sure to receive a call from them soon. If mankind's greatest asset is the ability to anticipate experiences that cause them discomfort, I think I have not been well endowed. :-p
I am off to Goa tomorrow till Friday and I am going with my sister who will, I am sure, keep me on track. Have a good week all - and thank you for all the comments :-)
I was thinking I'd just read everyone's blogs here and not bother writing myself because things are so much of the same, it's getting quite boring!
Got back from Goa yesterday - did have drinks on both nights, but the eating was not bad at all! Turns out the hotel didn't have a gym so I didn't work out but I was running all over the site so I was on my feet quite a bit anyway. I am trying to speed the pace of the project back up and it is giving me sleepless nights - that and the flu I re-acquired!
Last night I visited the hospital and saw grandma and brought her a sheet from the Sai Baba shrine that was given to my brother when he was in the hospital. She's a big believer in Sai Baba so hopefully it will help her. I got sent right back by the aunts - good thing too, didn't want to give my cough to them or to grandma. Came home and realized that m-i-l and the maid are both sick too so I spent some time medicating everyone and myself and then slept (except for a coughing fit) pretty comfortably all night thanks to C.P. Malleate!
I woke up this morning really refreshed and positive - it's amazing what adequate sleep can do for you. I did my power yoga class in the morning and have been at work all day sorting out lots of little and big issues.If they let me, I am going to leave soon and hopefully get to the club in time for a workout since I probably won't be allowed within two feet of grandma till tomorrow at the earliest.
For everyone who commented - thank you! For anyone who might be reading - please do send prayers my grandmother's way - she can only benefit from them. Here is a picture of her grooving at my sister's wedding in 2005 - she is a rock star - and my personal papparazzo (that's because she has a camera every present and wants to take pictures of me no matter what I am doing). That's her on the left, my mother in the middle and my paternal grandmother on the right.
The wedding and the dance at the sangeet went very well. Since the groom is the son of an eminent musician (and is a fabulous musician in his own right), all these august personalities were present as well and the whole affair was written up in the society pages. Very nice...
Now that Joyous has explained how exactly I can put pictures in the post without uploading them to EP, here is a pic of G and I on our way to the sangeet :-)
The wedding was great, but my eating suffered from three dinners out, several rounds of drinks and some seriously heavy food. In fact, I postponed my weigh in today because I don't think I can stand another round of above 80 kg weight. It's amazing how absolutely angelic I can be all day and how I can totally screw it up when I go out. Still, I should be able to get back on track now that the major social engagements for January are over and done with.
I leave for Goa tomorrow. This time I will be staying at a hotel rather than the villa so I hope they have some sort of gym. Of course it means that I will not be able to prepare my own food so I am not sure how well I will be able to do. Let's see how that goes. I hope it will balance out!!
Grandma in the meanwhile has taken a turn for the worse, and my second aunt has flown in from Canada. Hopefully mom and the aunts won't kill one another - theirs is not exactly the best of relationships. I really really wish my sister could come down as well - she is such a big support and having both of us there could really balance out their energies. I am so glad I actually like my siblings even if getting along with my brother at work can be an exercise in patience!
Ok... will check in tomorrow - I have to go deal with yet another crisis at work. How is it that things only happen in crises when you are nearing the end of project?
Yesterday, on my way to work, my mom looked at me critically, called her hair stylist and sent me for a hair cut. I got my hair coloured as well - I got a slightly lighter colour than my normal colour - which is very dark. G liked the cut but he's a traditionalist so he didn't like the colour too much... I love it though! I never knew how heavy my hair was! I feel so light :-)
Here's a picture of me I took right now in my office -
I know the dark circles are scary, but they haven't receded since the flu and the stress is not helping either. While I was getting my colour done, my grandmother's health worsened and they had to admit her to the ICU. She's there still and we won't even have a prognosis till some time tomorrow.
Add to that, I still have to dance at my friend's wedding since I've committed to it so I can't back out now. I bought a new outfit for it which is a really lovely chocolate brown colour with gold printing and red churidar and salwar. It's pretty, but the sleeves are shorter than I would like so my arms look a lot fatter than I would like as well...
To top it all off, TOM arrived this morning. Actually, I'm really glad because it is exactly on time. It had been off schedule for a while and I was a bit worried. So all in all I'm feeling pretty chipper today!
Oh and the eating has been pretty good for the past couple of days as well. Better run - I have to finish a few chores and then relieve my mom at the hospital... Have a good weekend all!
My grandmother suffered stroke yesterday - actually she may have been having the stroke the day before that, but my aunt, who was with her, didn't identify it and I was only called the yesterday morning. I don't know why she didn't think to call me earlier since I live about 1 minute away from my grandmother's home where she is staying and I know her whole medical history.
It's been really stressful because my mother and father are out of town and my aunt is from out of town. She has come from the U.K. to "spend time taking care of her mother", actually I think she came because she really needs teeth implants and they are lot less expensive to get done here than there... She proceeds to tell me very patronizingly (and in a very surprised tone) "Priya you are so caring, this is a new side of you - I don't think you were like this when I saw you last". She saw me last two years ago. I was SO annoyed! I have become caring in the last two years???? Who the heck has been caring for her 82 year old mother whom she has not bothered to call more than twice a year? My parents and I support her - my mother and I care for her and take care of all her medical, emotional, financial - everything - needs! She's telling me I've matured?? It certainly is more than she has done! The gall!
Anyway, I got the call from my frantic mother at 8:00 A.M. and took grandma and my aunt to the hospital immediately. Basically I spent the whole day there talking to doctors, nurses, settling her in, organizing medicine, consultants, food that she is willing to eat etc. The entire time my cell phone rang off the hook and I finally got G to drop off my laptop so I could get some work done. I hadn't had breakfast or lunch so I ate a very bad chicken sandwich with some biscuits and tea. Then I had another sandwich at about tea time and then another at dinner. That is probably more bread than I have had in weeks and my stomach really is protesting.
Today I am back at work, but I am headed back to hospital now - I'm back on track food wise and I did manage to drag myself out of bed for power yoga this morning. I know I won't be able to get any exercise in for a while now. I have dance practices, a wedding starting the day after tomorrow and I have had to cancel my hair cut, waxing, everything as well. Hopefully my outfit will come on time though... and it will fit me...
That would be me. I weighed in today after two weeks or more. That's two weeks of a) not being on plan, b) having the flu c) PMSing like it's going out of style (I even snapped at the girl who was checking my weight).
80.7 would have been utterly depressing if it had not been for the afore-stated reasons. Fortunately, my nutritionist is one of the most optimistic and positive people around. She actually told me that a 0.6 kg gain was hardly a gain at all (yeah right) and that I was one of her few clients who had not managed to put on weight during the holiday season and that she herself had put on a kilo and a half (this woman is the perfect kind of slim - curvy, not skinny, and so fit - I wanna be just like her!! What the heck, I also want the HUGE diamond ring - about 5 -6 carats that she wears!!).
So now my nutrition plan has been modified slightly and she has PROMISED me that I will lose weight if I stick to it strictly. So that is what I am going to do this week. I am going to measure my food properly every time and I am going to journal it properly and I am going to get to the golden mecca of "below 80 next week" - even WITH TOM.
Last time I promised not to snack off plan. I mostly succeeded, but thanks to PMS sabotage, I wanted to eat everything in sight on Sunday. Saving factors were the very energetic dance practices I have been attending daily - did I mention I was participating in a choreographed dance for my friend's sangeet (part of her wedding)? The choreography is good and we are having a great time, it would be perfect if only there weren't so many snacky things there during practice - and practice weren't at a time when I usually have dinner. But that will be done with this week so I will have no more excuses after that!
I also finally re-started my morning workouts and realized that two weeks off kinda lowers your energy levels - I was so sleepy after class! This evening I have a salsa class. G and I did our first salsa class of the year yesterday and we seriously enjoyed it. Turns out we hadn't forgotten much during the two week hiatus and we even learned so new moves. Very cool.
So glad Andrea added me on Facebook - great to see so many of you there!
Finally!! The flu seems to be wearing off. Still having horrendous coughing fits and the sniffles, but I actually FEEL better! In fact, I am feeling so much better, I am going to re-start yoga tomorrow. I haven't exercised much since the New Year's break because of the flu - I just felt so weak - and even though I knew a little fresh air would do me good, I felt my knees might buckle halfway through a lap. I'm a pretty healthy person generally so such a bad attack of the flu was a bit of a surprise.
I guess that is what made me feel so depressed as well. (Some things are perfectly obvious in hindsight!) For the past couple of days I have been returning to a good form of eating steadily. Now all I have to do is control the infractions! Left to myself I do pretty well, but when people offer me things like chips or snacks, I tend to cave very easily - even when I am not hungry.
Therefore, my objective for the rest of the month (and there will be trials aplenty) is to avoid unplanned snacking.
I saw pictures of myself at the New Year's party and - I look absolutely horrible in 90% of them. Everyone around me looks so pretty and skinny. The weight, I am working on and have to work on faster, but why the heck didn't I do something for myself and get my hair blow dryed and my nails done. What has happened to me that I have suddenly stopped giving myself time to groom?
It may have been because I was in the "fuck it" mode because of having been on a plateau for so long... but I really want to re-commit to taking care of myself. I want to make time for myself every week. It's really hard to do because I am at the business' beck and call and, it seems, everyone else's beck and call as well. This weekend I will book myself a head massage and hair wash. Next week I will get myself a pedicure and a manicure and have my hair blow dried for the wedding I am going to.
Talking about the wedding, a close friend of mine is getting married and we are going to do a choreographed dance for her sangeet! I'm already in 4 songs, a couple of which are quite challenging, but I LOVE to dance. For the past couple of nights we have been practicing and it's all starting to come together! I am really looking forward to it.
What I am not looking forward to is getting a new outfit for the sangeet. I can wear one of my saris for the wedding, but I need a churidar-kurta for the sangeet. I've avoided buying anything new this season thinking that I am in-between sizes, but now I will have to go ahead. There is not enough time to get something tailored so I will have to get something ready made. I really hope I can find something I like and have it fit me!! This is quite a task and I am a bit apprehensive about having to feel bad about my body again (as I no doubt will after seeing racks of stuff meant to fit people half my size).
Wow, this is pretty long already. I will check in later! Have a great day all!
The flu still has me really down. It's been 8 days already! The worst part is that I have no choice but to work through it. Hopefully, by the time I am done with it, I will not have infected the majority of my team as well.
Diet and exercise have been on my mind but I have had no strength to exercise and very little mental strength to stay strong in the face of fresh strawberry ice cream (G's cheer-up present, since ice cream is the best thing for a sore throat... apparently). Can't imagine what I was thinking...
I (finally) started recording my meals again today and am slipping back into routine slowly, but some of that "gotta do this" fire seems to have gone missing. I'm not quite sure what to do about it... How do I get back into the groove?
All suggestions are welcome!!
