Heat Wave

Yesterday, at work, was supposed to be terrible (heat).  In fact, the morning shift was allowed to go home as soon as the afternoon shift arrived.  I was afternoon.  Isn't the afternoon hotter?  Anyway, a nice breeze came in off the ocean around 2 and made our lives better.  I divided two clivia.  One was so root bound that I had to stand on the pot and roll it under my weight to release the roots from the pot sides.  Quite a work out cutting, pulling and breaking up the fiberous root ball.  Eventually, I got it into three chunks.  Two for the customer and one for me.  My customers are always generous with the divisions.  The second clivia, about a half hour later, was less root bound.  Three sections again, but the customer wanted all three.

Just let the dog back inside.  9am and it is VERY HOT AND HUMID.  Like a thick, hot blanket. So happy I am NOT working today.  G closed all the windows last night (a skunk) and turned on the one small AC unit before going to work.  The house is 76 degrees and dry.

I wasn't feeling the "love" for my diet on Wednesday.  So, I did what I know would, perhaps, cheer me up.  I tried on clothing I haven't fit into for a few years.  The blazer still won't button across my hips (getting closer).  BUT, the blue dress (fitted waist from the 80's) DID FIT.  September, 2007.  My 60th birthday.  The day I lost my job at the library.  I noticed I need to work on my tummy.  If it was tighter, I would look better from the side.

My breakfast this morning, after Pilates, (the new rule that starts today) is a lovely, fresh saute of zucchini from my garden, a small onion, a few basil leaves and a leftover tomato that was getting soft. I will add Egg Beaters to it for a tasty scramble.  Yesterday, I had eggs for breakfast and mixed up plain, non fat yogurt, vanilla protein powder and frozen raspberries for my lunch.  I didn't get to eat until 3 pm which is way too long between breakfast and lunch.  The yogurt was the perfect lunch.  Cool, light and filling.  Dinner was a container of ice cold homemade chicken salad. (shredded chicken, mayo and honey) It isn't Atkins.  The cereal I eat for breakfast most days (to stay regular), isn't Atkins, either.  As long as none of the food cravings are returning, as long as I continue to eat more fat and protein than carbs, as long as wanting to eat isn't an issue, as long as I feel good---- I will tinker with the diet until I find the "perfect" rest of my life way to eat. I think I am pretty close.

The Atkins books refer to this as the Atkins Edge the way the low carb diet suppresses the "need" to eat favorite foods, the lack of appetite between meals, the ability to say "no" when offered things I would never have been able to resist before (donuts, chips, ice cream, pasta, whole loaves of good bread).  The diet I followed in 2007 was all about NO.  I wanted things but had to always be saying NO and then cheating and eating it anyway as long as I only ate 1200 calories a day.  I wasn't building muscle.  Yes, I did look thinner than I do today.  But it wasn't a healthy looking thin.  I DID look like I was suffering from some illness than was causing me to lose weight. I was always exhausted. And I was always in a very bad mood.  Guess why I lost my job????

This feels good.  Anyway, now I am going upstairs to do some work on the Pilates machine (upper body strength exercises) and do some cardio work on my abdominals.  The yoga exercises are working my legs and hips.  Then I can eat my breakfast and make a fresh pot of coffee.  Stay Cool!!