Birthday!

Hey! Today is my Birthday! I know that as some people get older they begin to dread birthdays but I absolutely love them. I think that even when I’m 96 like Patl’s Aunt Edna, I’ll still be just as excited for them! So I did a birthday weigh-in this morning and came up as 151.2. Oh so close! Not the 140’s like I had hoped but that does mean that I’ve lose a little over a pound and a half this week. And that’s still something to be proud of myself over. Also, on the foot front. I bought the gel inserts and went for about an hour jog last night. Even though there was still a slight ache, it was ten times improved. I'm still breaking down and making a doctor's appointment though. I absolutely dread the doctor but I don't want this to turn into an actual problem, so I'll go. Especially when the lovely Emma, whose call of duty is to nursing, mentions something that ends in –itis; that’s enough to send me shuffling off to the sick house! Thanks for convincing me, girlies! So today in honor of my Birthday, we’re going to P.F. Chang’s. That lovely meal will be followed by double layer chocolate cake and ice cream. Then tomorrow it’s Birthday dinner with my husband’s family with more cake. Then Tuesday, it’s Birthday lunch with my friends followed by Wednesday Birthday dinner with another group of friends. Yikes! That’s a lot of temptation and chance for unnecessary calories! Going out to eat always makes me nervous because restaurant food is my nemesis. You put a restaurant meal in front of me and the seduction is complete; without my realizing, I end up face down in the food and don’t come up for air until the plate is polished clean. It’s always been this way for me and since I might as well get used to eating out, as it will always be an issue to deal with, I’ve come up with a plan: First, as bad as I am at estimating calories I’m still going to make an attempt to track them. Even if I eat way off my target calorie range, not writing it down does not mean it didn’t happen! Second, I’m not going to gorge myself like a pig. I’ll allow myself to eat whatever I want but I still want to aim for a reasonable portion size. Even if the portion sizes are larger than I eat on a normal day that’s ok, I just don’t want to see myself eating for a family of four. Third, because it’s really just impossible to stay on calories at this point, I’m going to try to offset any caloric damage with fantastic amounts of exercise. Swimming, bike riding, strength training (all easy on The Foot) should give me a little leeway and also will help get rid of the bloat and fat lethargic feeling that unhealthy food always gives me. Ok loves, I’m off to the pool! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!