A Week Away and Still Going Strong - There is No Place Like Home (even if it is cold and snowy)

It is a wickedly windy Sunday morning here in New Hampshire and I am very glad to be here. It was a long week and even though I had gloated via Facebook about my trip to Clearwater Beach, Florida, I really prefer being home. The conference was on addictions. It was full of wonderful information that validated the work that I do, but the days were long, the chairs were uncomfortable, and I really only ended up with an hour each day to spend on the beach. I had one afternoon during which I walked and then rented a bicycle. I also got some great pictures of sunsets and pelicans.

One of the hi-lights of the conference was the chance to meet Joan Borysenko whose book I reviewed in my last post. I told her how much I appreciated her book and she was very gracious and warm. She comes across in person exactly how she does in her books. She gave a keynote on the mind/body connection and a smaller workshop on resiliency.

It was tough, but I did manage to stick to my food plan for the week. I had to pack my protein powder for breakfasts as the conference was only providing a continental breakfast. Continental breakfasts are a joke. Just coffee and pastries to get you all jacked up before the speakers start. There wasn’t a grocery store anywhere near where I was staying, but the pharmacy across the street had just gotten in some fresh fruit the day I arrived. I gladly loaded up with bananas, pears, and apples to supplement my breakfast.

When I checked in I asked the hotel clerk if there was a vegetarian restaurant nearby and she said that most of the restaurants had vegetarian items on their menus but there were no vegetarian or vegan restaurants. She recommended the Clear Sky Café, about 5 blocks from the hotel. That ended up being a good choice and I ate most of my meals there for the next four days. In order to get the protein I needed I ate plenty of fish (something I don’t normally do, but I did not want to eat beef or chicken) and the salad and veggie choices were great. My favorite was the Ahi Blacken Tuna Nicoise Salad. It had artichokes, hearts of palm, tuna, fresh salsa, spinach, cucumber, and seaweed with a great ginger dressing. I think I had that three or four times. I found out I really like seaweed salad. Yummy! I have to admit, though, I did have “pizza envy” one evening. There were a few people at the café eating what looked like an excellent pizza and all that melted cheese tested my resolve. Fortunately, I resisted.

I have noticed that, since I stopped eating sugar, everything else has so much more flavor. I am amazed at how much I am enjoying fruits and vegetables and I have even enjoyed some carrots as long as they were mixed with other vegetables. And, if you know me, you know that I really have a strong aversion to carrots. Blah!!

I am pleased. As of today I have been off of sugar, flour, dairy, and caffeine for five weeks. I hadn’t really meant to go this far without the dairy and caffeine, but now it seems to be such a good thing that I am going with it. I am going to see Dr. Jane on Tuesday and I am hoping to see some good results on the scale. If not, I will be okay because I know that I feel better and that as soon as all this snow goes I will be back on the hiking trails. I also have a new bicycle on lay-away that will get picked up as soon as the roads are clear.

Last year at this time, I was miserable. I felt like I was 70 years old and I had a medical provider who did not understand that I was not ill because I was depressed, but that I was depressed because I didn’t feel well. The progress I have made over the past year, especially since last May when I started seeing Dr. Jane, has been wonderful. The right health care provider makes a great difference. I may not necessarily be slimmer but I am now on the right path and expect to see even greater changes over the next year.