Thursday, May 26, 2011

weigh in

So, I've changed my weight loss ticker.  I've chosen Monday as my 'weigh-in' day because we arrived home on a monday night.

My weight this past Monday, May 23 was 235.2.....down 5.2 pounds from before we went to Zambia.

This past week and a half has been focused on trying to get my body clock back to Alberta time and also on catching up on a few things at home. 

Excuses, excuses.

Actually, my eating hasn't been bad - just not deliberate.   I focus on planning and making healthy meals - lower in fat, sodium, and carbs.  

Speaking of which, Jim is waiting for me to have breakfast together.  Don't know what I'll have, but he probably wants hash browns, eggs, and turkey bacon.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Honesty

I re-read the posts below and I feel the need to be honest about the goals I made for myself while in Zambia.

I did shop and cook for us - and we did NOT eat with the staff and students on the YWAM base more than three times - and two of those times were celebration meals and did not include nshima.   I cooked mostly roasted chicken because that is the healthiest, cheapest meat that was readily available to me.     Cooked vegetables were not as easy.....one bag of carrots tasted terrible and had to be thrown out, many of the vegetables are quite foreign and the ones of those that I've tried do not taste good to me.   The veggies that I do like (marrow, for example) is not readily available.   We did not go to the large grocery stores often - most of the fresh produce (tomatoes)  was purchased from roadside 'ntembas' - not a lot of variety there.  

I drank more Coke than I should have, I'm sure.  Zambians drink LOTS of coke!  and Fanta.  We attended 3 'parties' while there - all served Soft Drinks as the beverage.   But beyond those times, I also drank Coke on my own once in awhile.  What can I say?  It is hot.  The Coke is cold and fizzy and makes me feel less hot.  And it is cheap - which is at least partly why the Zambians drink it so much.

So, my food was not terrible.  In fact, it was passable.

Exercise......I did not even pull out the printout of the strength training exercises that I took with me.   We did not go for regular walks, although we did take a few walks.    Probably all told I walked far more than normal.

On our way home from Zambia, we spent one full day in London, England.  We planned to walk 2 1/2 kms from Paddington to Buckingham Palace.   We took a wrong turn and wound up walking about 15 kms.  Kind of made up for many of the days that we did not get up and go walking.

Maybe.

Of course, the fact that Jim was sick for 2 weeks may have had some impact on our walking plans.

Now to get an exercise routine well established before my Zambian family arrives to live with us in less than a month.  

Losses, but not in a recommended way

Well, we are home.

My husband lost 15 pounds while we were gone.  Actually, he lost it in the last 2 weeks, but I would not recommend the path he took.

He got Dystentery - which is far, far worse than food poisoning and lasts much longer.

He was in hospital on IV medication for 4 days and on a most limiting diet for two weeks - rice, yogurt, and bananas.

We saw first hand how someone who has no choice but to eat the same thing day after day will soon just not eat and eventually starve to death.  He went from eating a good sized bowl of rice (he loves rice) a couple times a day to eating only about a cup of rice a day - and maybe a cup of yogurt.  He said he wasn't hungry, but of course he needed to eat - how can a 6 ft tall 230 lb man NOT be hungry with only 2 cups of food in his stomach in a day?    But the repetition of the same bland food over and over took his appetite and his desire for food completely away.    I was very glad when he was finally able to resume eating a variety of different foods.

Anyway........obviously, dystentery and a bland repetitive diet is not a healthy way to lose weight.

For myself, well, it depends on which day you look at.  My weight has been different every day we've been home. (3 days)  At the lowest weight, I was down 7.2 lbs.   At the highest, I was still down but only by 4.8 lbs.  Today I'm in between.  

Bottom line - I did lose some weight.

The last two weeks were probably when I was doing the most losing - visiting my husband in the hospital, caring for him at home, the extra busyness of the last week, the stresses we were facing during those two weeks, the fact that many nights I just didn't cook because I would have been the only one eating......

We returned home from our week in Livingstone and stopped only long enough to pick up milk for the babies and eggs and butter for us. The next day was a very busy day at home (big party on the base) so no grocery shopping.  Jim went into hospital that night.  No time for shopping all that week.

When I finally did get to the store, as I said, there were not many nights that we all ate and I had gotten used to eating only once during the day.   

So, whatever weight I lost was not done in a disciplined manner either.

The challenge this week is to begin to eat with an eye to health and weight loss - even while enjoying the Western food we are accustomed to.  (It is different, after all)

Sunday, May 1, 2011

More travel Woes Due to Extra Weight

As I sat pinned into the front seat of Vinjelu's car, I wondered how much weight I would have to lose in order to be strapped in without using the entire length of the belt, resulting in literally choking me.  I had NO give in the shoulder strap at all.   Even when I moved the seat all the way back, there wasn't enough belt to easily go around my bulk.

When I looked at the photos my husband took of me playing in the pool with the grandkids, I could see why I have this seatbelt problem.

Ugh!  Gross.

Although, my husband also made a point of telling me that my bathing suit is very attractive and I look very nice in it - when I am standing up, anyway.

What would I do without my hubby?