Last week I went to pick up my wedding dress. Jeffrey, a sassy Chinese tailor, came to fit the handmade ivory silk satin gown. The torso seemed more snug than I remembered when I selected it back in November. “Four pounds,” he ordered me. “You lose.”
I was mortified. The holidays, it appeared, had truly caught up with me. Sugar is a slippery slope. Before year end, I had managed to take a small lick here and there and continued to lose some weight while making progress with my nutrition. But over the holidays, a candy here led to a cream puff there. Every day. And it was sticking to the ribs; I lost my motivation and I felt sluggy. I stopped writing on this blog. I was backsliding in a major way.
Unsurpisingly sugar’s BFF, caffeine, was also starting to add up: my coffee size went from medium to large. One large cup went to two large cups. My sleep was beginning to suffer.
Recognizing this, I made the conscious decision to get serious again: my wedding is in eight weeks and I not only want to look great in this beautiful gown, but I to reflect externally all the positive work I have made internally.
So I tackled three things: reducing sugar, reducing caffeine and exercising more.
To eliminate sugar I have made sure to bring sweet fruit with me to work – right now Florida pink grapefuit are $0.79/pound and are so satisfying. Also I find, much like nicotine, if you can make it through the first day or two of cravings (herbal tea works well), then the cravings start to go away.
The caffeine is a big one for me: I love my morning coffee. However, I purchased a small thermos to start making and bringing my morning joe to work with me to save money and reduce my caffeine intake. I brew one scoop of coffee with one scoop of Teeccino, an herbal coffee that adds a fruity element to the brew. I add unsweetened soy milk instead of sugary Silk. The added benefit is that I also save $2.07 every morning.
Lastly exercise. The more I do, the more I want to do so this has been relatively easy to jump start. I was going to one or two yoga classes a week, but now I exercising 4-5 times a week. I got the new schedule for my gym and found two classes (spin and pilates fusion) I like, created an arm routine for the strapess dress and bought a membership at my yoga studio to cut costs on classes (so I can go to more). After just two weeks of consistent exercise I feel a big difference and feel stronger.
The beautiful thing about the body is how resilient it is; it's so adaptable and responsive to change. One of the gifts of this program (and also being sober and nicotine free) is that the body as a science lab comes to the fore. I can feel with nuance when food and exercise uplift me or brings me down. For example, I have noticed with beef especially that I can feel quite hungover and depressed the next day after eating some portion (even very high-quality meat). I have become unable to tolerate large quantities of dairy and a double-espresso is something to be used in extreme moderation as a party "drug".
As easy as it was to backslide, it is wonderful to come back and rededicate myself to this process.
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