Reset

There is much to report!  My 50th birthday was wonderful.  My dad, husband, 3 kids and I went out to a very nice restaurant for a steak dinner.  I had some sticker shock when I saw the bill, but my dad so graciously contributed and it was really worth it.  Interestingly, even though it was my birthday and I had a lovely dinner of 6 ounce filet, baked potato, salad and two glasses of wine, I didn't go overboard all day like I usually do on my birthday.  In fact, I was so full after dinner that just a bite of my son's really excellent cheesecake sufficed.  Between the great Birthday Eve event hosted by my kids and then this fancy dinner, it was a great birthday.

Of course I exceeded my points on both days, but lo and behold, I was able to get back on the plan and I did a lot of exercise the next few days to make up for it, as well.

But the great news is that I GOT TO GO BACKPACKING!  Wonderful friend Carol stayed overnight with our six-year-old so my husband and I could go on an overnight backpack to the Gila wilderness.  We hiked about four miles up Railroad Canyon to Holden Saddle where we set up camp.  We took one of our dogs and had a wonderful time.  Here I am on the trail with the dog. 

There wasn't a ton of fall color but there was enough to be pretty, and of course, once we got up to 8500 feet or so, there were aspens, turning gold in the cool fall air.  They were really tall aspens, as you can see:

WE set up camp at a grassy meadow known as Holden's Saddle, which looked quite lovely, with wildflowers and swaying tall grass, but the ground was crisscrossed with burrowing animal tracks so we had to hunt to find a decent camping spot.  Still, it was quite cozy and comfortable, and, as usual, it was like a "reset" button for me.  Something about getting out in the wilderness is just really beneficial.







On the weight loss front, despite eating a lot last Friday and Saturday, I was down a pound and some change on my weigh-in-day.  Still haven't dropped out of the 170s, alas.  Maybe this week?  Though I'm expecting my weight loss will slow now that I've been on the WW for four weeks.

Too bad we attach so much emotion and angst to weight loss.  It's simple arithmetic.  If I'm 40 pounds overweight, its because I have 140,000 extra calories (40 pounds times 3500 calories in a pound) which I just need to chip away at over time.  But food is life, and nourishment, and love, and a host of other pleasant things, and unfortunately, there is a lot more to it than just eat less.  It takes a total paradigm shift and just a day or two off the wagon is often enough to break the good pathway and send me right back into overeating.

Stay tuned.