Thanks, everyone, for stopping by. I can't believe it has been so long since I have journaled here. Things have been going along pretty smoothly as far as the eating is concerned. I have not had any problems at all sticking completely to core foods with only 2 exceptions. I even baked my most favorite cookies in the whole world on Friday and did not taste the batter or even a fragment of a cookie. I know I have no restraint and if I had given in to taste one I'd have allowed myself to use weekly points to eat more. So, I just didnt' do that at all. That is so HUGE for me!
On Saturday I did my 12 mile LR on the treadmill at the gym and did an overall pace of 14:40/mile. I stopped partway through and had a snickers marathon bar when my stomache started growling. It was 5 points, but I earned at least 12 activity points with the LR so I didn't hesitate to eat it.
On Sunday we were at our best friends' house all day and they had so many of my favorite munchies including hummus and chips and pistachios and mini franks in croissant dough, etc., etc. I ate an apple while everyone else at hors d'euvres and munchies. For dinner there was pasta in vodka sauce and beef patties and a chicken breast dish that had artichokes and other veggies in it but was obviously cooked with some kind of oil. I ate a lot of the chicken and artichokes and it probably wasn't too bad for my core plan. I didn't touch the birthday cake, either, and I cut it and was so tempted to lick frosting off my fingers. I feared triggering a sugar craving, though, so I didn't. We left right after cake and presents and I ate a banana in the car to hold me until I got home.
So, that was 4 challenges last week that I got through -- the special olympics awards reception Thursday night, the cookie baking Friday, long run-induced voracious appetite Saturday and Sunday, and the birthday party Sunday. All went as well as I could have hoped.
Tonight is my normal WW night, but I have a doctor's appointment at 6:30 so I may have to find another time to weigh in, or wait until next week.
Unfortunately, I am having some irregular hearbeats again and am hoping that this is not a return of my sustained vtach which necessitated the 4 heart surgeries. The doctors always said they weren't sure that the january 05 surgery was a permanent cure, but I never was willing to consider that it might not be. Now, I have to face the possibility of a fifth surgery and may have to decide whether to hold out until after the marathon in the hopes it doesn't progress too quickly. Too much to even consider right now. My immediate concern is the breathlessness that I am feeling much of the time -- this was one of the worst symptoms of the sustained vtach but was prevalent when the condition got pretty severe. So, while I've been concerned over the past year about my lack of lung capacity for running intervals, I thought it was residual from 10 years of the heart condition. I am hoping to get some answers tonight.
Thanks again, all my WISH buddies, for all of your kind words and support.
Oh, one last thing -- I wore the new Brooks Ariels for my 12 mile LR Saturday and ended up with very strangely shaped and located blisters. So, they are going back and I am going to try something different.