The Stalkers

Ever since the school year began, these cold germs have been stalking me. Twelve days ago they finally took me down.

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These little buggers are the reason I didn't blog about my weight loss last week. On Monday evening I started swallowing sandpaper (at least, that's what it felt like) and the next morning I was 2 lbs. heavier.

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Two pounds of swollen glands, extra mucous, and retained water? Whatever. I was displeased to have aother hurdle placed in my path!

I survived the cold despite the horrible cough that came with it. The chest-burning, rib-splitting, back-aching, eyes-bugging, head-exploding, stomach muscle-bulging, pee-your-pants cough.

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I didn't sleep much for about 10 nights, but last night I finally slept like the proverbial log. I'm still a little raspy, but definitely on the mend.

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The big question is, did my diet survive intact?

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Yes, it did. Mostly. And overall I consider it another challenge met and overcome.

My friends will tell you the quickest way to make me give up on eating right is to be sick for more than a few days. As I get worn down, it's just easier to grab quick, junky food.

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Plus, colds are like the opposite of stomach flu for me: I want to eat constantly. Eating soothes my throat, clears my head, eases the cough, sometimes for up to an hour afterward. It must release massive amounts of endorphins!

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I crave Lay's potato chips like crazy when I have a sore throat. I can eat a family size bag in 2 days all by myself. I nearly went for it 4 days ago, but Wyndie talked me down.

This time I made it through my cold almost unscathed. Not perfectly, but for once I did not give in or give up.

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I'm proud to say I never ate anything with processed sugar in it. My biggest test was when Wyndie sent over these peanut butter-Hershey's Kiss cookies. After a lengthy inner struggle I handed them all to my kids. That was tough because I love those kisses!

I did eat more fruit than usual. During my cold I had 2 oranges and a banana dipped in peanut butter, as well as a bowl of fruit salad Jacob made Thursday night: apples, oranges, bananas, pineapple, and walnuts. Yum!

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Fruit carbs are healthy but tend to stop my weight loss. Mostly I stick to low-carb berries, but I figured I needed the extra vitamin C for now.

Another hurdle to cross was the monthly East Campus pot luck. Nicole and I planned ahead and brought salad with tomato, cucumber, cheese, and shredded beef toppings.

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Good thing! As you can see, there weren't many other low-carb items. I said yes to the spinach-artichoke salad and beef-and-black bean soup, and NO to the brownies, pizza, grapes, ravioli, and Girl Scout cookies.

The lady on the right is my friend Nicole, with the gorgeous silver hair. At left is English teacher Gwen, another of my favorite people.

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Then, after 2 days of AIMS testing (state requirement), administrator Dave brought Mexican food for the proctors. I ate half of a chicken enchilada. Still, I never ate just HALF an enchilada before!

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To sum it up, the past 12 days were a challenge, but I feel good about hanging in there in spite of all. It took 9 days to take those 2 lbs. back off, but they came off.

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Better yet, I've already lost 2 more, for a total loss of 19.7 lbs in 8 weeks. Thank goodness for this blog, which has helped motivate me, and thank goodness for the many friends who encourage me and rejoice with me! The journey continues . . .