A favourite of the Flu Gods

I almost never used to get sick, but 2007 has been filled with either the flu or coughs or colds. 28th December to today has been hectic! I've been meeting old friends, going out for parties, organizing my brother's new year's party, not exercising and not eating that well either. I also just came back from yet another trip to Goa - including a 3 hour flight delay on the way back.

On New Year's Eve, the party went really well and then, somehow, my body just gave in completely and, even though I didn't drink that much, I just went to my room and fell asleep. Apparently the whole party went on till 5:00 AM and everyone had a great time, but I brought in 2008 with the flu.

I feel like hell - I don't know why I STILL feel like hell, considering it is 5 days since then! I just want to sleep and I am at work and exhausted....

What's it gonna take??!!

80.1.... 80.1??? I've exercised, I've eaten properly, on the other hand I've had a few evenings of seasonal celebration with both food and alcohol and after 10 days, all I lose is 0.5 kgs??!! I am stuck on this 80 kg plateau and have been here for 2 months! I am so irritable... and here I thought I was actually doing alright.

Granted, we did go out a celebrate a bit last night, and wines and dessert samplers (not the mention the baby lobsters) were great, but I was still hoping to see a significant loss!

Ok... deep breaths. Deep breaths... I am going home now and hopefully for a walk/run if I don't reach home too late because I have grandma duty tonight. I am going to talk to my sister and then sleep early. I am SO exhausted.

Just plain yesterday...

So G let the driver leave early yesterday and figured out much later that the party was way far far away. We had a bit of a scrap because he has done this a couple of times already - despite me telling him that he would not be happy with the drive. I was really mad at him - but I was madder at myself because I couldn't see myself letting him drive through all that traffic and he really plays that 'poor me' angle. I should have let him suffer... I will next time...

Ok... now that I have that out of my system... we've had some pretty good news at work today. We've been trying to sublease the ground floor of our office since March and we've had several *almost* contracts - most of which, we felt, gave us a pretty raw deal. Today my dad is finally signing the sublease with a reputed company and we are getting the rent we KNOW the place is worth plus a good deposit! Now our cash crunch will be slightly alleviated and, best of all, we will be able to start repairs on the building which we have wanted to do forever!! Other delays are still happening, but this is really the silver lining we have been waiting for. Celebrations are definitely going to be in order tonight!!

Since I didn't go out last night, the diet front has been pretty good - except for a piece of plum cake that G got me as reconciliation . We watched Pirates of the Caribbean on TV last night - IN HINDI! I was surprised that it was still watchable, the characters don't quite translate, but it was still funny. The most hilarious parts were actually during the commercial breaks because they kept putting up these Christmas quotations in English - and most were completely inappropriate jokes and one-liners - and you could tell that the channel had no idea what they meant! I'm sure some producer somewhere was laughing it up.

I woke up early for power yoga and felt pretty good this morning. Got in to work early and am so ready to go home now... ha ha... like that is going to happen! I have even been keeping at my low carb lunches - have only missed one day - and that was when I went out with friends for a dim sum lunch - and that was totally worth it!

Gotta go now and meet some people I really don't want to meet. Putting my best face on this.

Side note: There seem to be a LOT of new people on the site, the new year resolution rush seems to have started!!

Ooh the suffering...

So yesterday was horribly busy and we were so tired from the night before, that G and I chucked all our Christmas eve plans and decided to stay in bed and watch a movie and eat some pizza. I was ready for it to be an indulgence night (we were planning on going out after all) so pizza was alright.

What I forgot is that my system really dislikes overly oily or spicy food and it had already pushed to the limit with plenty of eating out in the last week. I have the worst stomach ache ever, acidity and I was queasy all last night. I haven't felt like this since I gave up fried food and started to eat healthy.

So I am at work today (yes, we work on the 25th and take Hindu holidays off) and am dealing with a horribly upset stomach. G, who is on holiday today, has worked out at the gym already and is going through a couple of beers with friends (as an aside - this is the part I don't get, WHY does he crave a couple of beers after his workout? He just undoes all the good he's done himself! Is it a boy thing??).

Actually, this is a good reminder of what I used to feel like very often before the diet. I really hate feeling like this and I wish I hadn't eaten so poorly last evening, even if it was planned. This is really going to help me make better food choices in the future. grroooaaaann.....

Delayed reaction or Sabotage?

I've noticed sometimes that, when I am absolutely terrible all week, I weigh less than I expected and that when I am good all week, I weigh more. I was puzzling this out -  this week I really have been pretty good. I've walked, I've eaten properly, I haven't even cheated very much and my weight is not down (on my home scale, my official weigh in is tomorrow).

I've decided that my body gives me delayed reactions - I have to wait at least a week or so to see a result of being careful and that the weigh in coming up tomorrow is going to reflect the week of debauchery that happened earlier in the month. Sigh... I so perfer instant gratification (just another one of my problems)

I've also been sabotaging myself with alcohol. I've had a couple of nights when I have gone way overboard. Last night friends of mine came over and G insisted on opening bottle after bottle of this new wine he is now distributing and encouraging us to try each. By the end I must have been six glasses of wine down and I didn't even notice it in all the 'fun'.

I have to go out to another party tonight as well. I am working from home again since my driver has not showed up. We don't usually work Sundays, but the whole office decided to work this Sunday so we can have a four day weekend for New Years! Yay!! Today, I promise, will be the day when I finish my boring SMF. Off to lunch for me now... have a great holiday season!

Lazy Day

It's a holiday here so I am again working from home.. and, yet again, I have not finished anything. I don't even feel like it - I'm in the mood for a vacation. Everyone seems to be off somewhere but G and me. sigh..

In weight loss news, I ate perfectly when I went to dinner - I had the pomfret with a tomato sauce and couscous and grilled veggies. It was delicious! I was really surprised actually, it's not every chef that flavours their sauces delicately enough to enhance pomfret - and it is such a delicately flavoured fish.

After that though I went for the opening of a new lounge bar started up by one of our friends and had way too many pomegranate and sweet lime vodka martinis - the only counteracting effect being that we danced a LOT. G finished his conference (he's intoducing some new wines to the market) and met us directly for the after party where I drank more vanilla vodka. We only got in at 4:00 A.M. and G is a total zombie today.

I did go for 45 minute walk yesterday and, as soon as I finish my coffee, I am going for a nice walk and this time maybe I'll put in the running again. I've eaten well today, but we have to go out to dinner tonight as well... but that will be after the salsa class - which G and I are starting to LOVE (especially since he keeps surprising himself by learning faster than he expected to!)

Have a great friday!

Working from home

Today I worked from home since I am editing a tech document and can't get a moment to do it at work. I've been working all morning and most of the afternoon and it has taken me FOREVER to even get halfway through this monstrosity!

I also realised that it is so easy to stay on a diet while I am at work (no food kept around in break rooms here - you have to call the canteen for what you want, and half the time they never have anything that is not fried) but almost impossible when I am home! I am sitting in the living room and all I can think of is - I wonder if there is something in there I can nibble on - and I'm not even hungry!! It's just being able to SEE the kitchen!

I can't remember if I am always like this at home or it's just because I'm doing work that I want to actively procrastinate from doing - believe me, tedious is just touching the tip of the iceberg...

I've managed to stay on plan so far, but I know the evening is going to be bad because I have to go for dinner with friends and then off to the opening of this new lounge. Dinner might be ok, though I was kinda hoping I wouldn't have to eat out at all this week, but going to a new lounge means lots of alcohol - a serious test of my endurance here. Fortunately, I have to work tomorrow so I know I'll be careful.

I didn't go for my walk yesterday because I was at the office till 7 and then spent two and half hours stuck in the worst traffic ham ever. By the time I got home, the walking track had closed and so had the gym. Bummer. But I am going in another few minutes, I need some fresh air before I can get back to this work!!

Sabotage at work!!

My totally blah and overemotional reaction was completely explained when TOM arrived yesterday evening. By the time I got home, I was too tired and too worn to work out or even go out - heck, I could barely converse. G was such a sweetheart - he really made such an effort last night. We opened a bottle of wine (I had two small glasses) cuddled and chatted and laughed and ordered in - and at no point was the television turned on! By the time we were ready to go to bed, I was feeling a whole lot better despite all the cramps. :-)

This morning I woke early to get my waxing done instead of doing the power yoga class. My waxing lady is in big demand this time of year because of all the parties coming up and it was pretty much the only time she could fit me in. So no workouts yesterday and none today (yet). I had better get my butt to the gym or the walking track this evening!

Foodwise I'm doing well so far. Last night's ordering in turned out to be a kulcha stuffed with vegetables and chicken and yoghurt with spinach. Pretty good, but I couldn't eat much anyway since I was cramping so much. Today I have done another lunch with no carbs and it's really working for me because I am so stuck to the computer while working, I barely move at all.

But now here is the challenge. One of the office boys at work got married and has just come back to work. He has distributed samosas and some sweet stuff to everyone and, since I am the boss, I think he expects to see me eating it. It's laying here on a little plate before my laptop and everytime the ac swivels I can smell the damn things! I don't want to eat it, but how do I get rid of it without him feeling bad??!!! Keep in mind that my office is all windows and they can see exactly what I am doing. This is really tough one. Should I slyly dump the stuff into the bin? How?? These are the REAL challenges of the work day - forget about the actual work I have to do!!

Dragged out day

Today has been terrible. I have not only managed NOT to finish all the things I'd planned to at work, I've actively put off several decisions. Add to that discovering and dealing with further supplier delays that have put my project further and further back, I feel like I am running just to stay in place. I can see the goal almost in sight, but I don't seem to be getting any closer.

I hate feeling depressed like this... and it totally doesn't help to speak to my darling sister who is going through something quite similar, but worse because she is so far from her family. When G called me at work this evening, he got a very low response and I've asked him to take me out tonight. I dunno where, but I need some outlet before I pop from the stress.

And that is not even about weight loss!! That's going ok. I had to entertain someone for work yesterday evening and that went off well. I didn't overeat and I just had the tiniest piece of dessert. Today I've eaten like an ANGEL even doing my low carb lunch. I'm going to make it to my strength training class as well today come what may - and if the trainer is not available, I will do cardio till I get all my steps in.

Do you ever feel like you need the endorphin release of exercise but feel too low to actually get to the gym? I feel like laying around in bed and wallowing.

80.6

80.6... sigh. They've assured me that I am doing ok considering that I have been off the game for the past three weeks, they've told me over and over that it is obviously a water retention weight increase, but I can't help feeling bad. It doesn't help that I should tell myself it's my own fault either.

Suman has made my diet a little stricter. I'm to go very low on carbs at lunch. I think I can manage that. It's the evenings that get hard to manage. I really need to just gird my loins and DO this. I may have lost 5 kgs, but I am NOT satisfied with where I am and I don't want to be here forever!