Hello, everybody.
I'm so sorry I'm late. My car wouldn't start. I got held up in traffic. My dog got sick on the rug, and I had to clean it up. I spilled coffee on my outfit and had to go home to change. I overslept. My alarm didn't go off. I lost power for four days because of Hurricane Irene. Yeah, that's it.
Yes, we had some devastation--more than some, less than others. But we have said goodnight and goodbye to Irene and are not desiring any more company just now. (Yes, Katia, I'm looking at you.)
In spite of it all, I discovered this: It is possible to lose weight while eating junk and cooler food, mixed occasionally with some good stuff. And some out-of-the-ordinary physical movements. What? No, not that, and get your mind out of the gutter, would you.
In preparation for the storm, I went to the grocery store on Friday and purchased a variety of deli meats and cheeses, some long-lasting lettuce and a few vine-ripened tomatoes. As well, I bought eight (?) eggs to supplement the four I already had at home, all of which I hard-boiled later on. Also procured were bread and rolls, dips to complement the chips Tony purchased earlier. There were also packages of crackers, some yogurt which we already had on hand, a couple of sticks of butter, a giant container of Amish (who knew they had their own?) potato salad, mustard, Pilot-the-dog's chicken and Franklin-the-cat's insulin. Oh, and milk and half and half.
All this was packed into a large styrofoam cooler (we discovered we were cooler-less on Friday) on Saturday evening, just after we were certain that the power had disappeared for good.
I had the foresight to prepare a thermos of coffee Saturday afternoon, which we enjoyed as iced coffee on Sunday morning. Afterwards, coffee was made on the gas grill every morning. Without my coffee, I am, er, difficult. And, for the next four days, we enjoyed sandwiches, chips, cookies, eggs, etc., while awaiting the restoration of power and watching everything else in our freezer and refrigerator turn into a warm, bacterial disaster. Except for the 50 pounds of meat, which, rather than waste, we decided to grill, all at once, on Monday evening. And waste it after it was cooked.
There was, too, a lot of moving of house plants indoors, dismantling of rooms of furniture, gathering of irreplaceable documents and sentimentally-valuable geegaws, and the shifting about from room to room, as the storm gained strength.
Never underestimate the calorie-burning ability of a restless night of sheer terror.
So, here we are on the other side, and the weight-loss campaign stands thus:
I've lost 14 fucking pounds!
I'm on or ahead of target for all the silly weekly, monthly and yearly goals!
I think, think, I've said goodbye to the plateau I lingered at for a few, recent weeks!
Next week, I'll return to my usual Wednesday update, provided nothing else comes up. (Yes, Katia, I'm looking at you. And, just so you know, I'm well aware that "Katia" is just an alias . . . Katrina! Oh, yes. I remember you from the rotation six years ago. So, now they've given you a new name and shunted "Katrina" off into some kind of witness protection program.)
See you all next week, then.
Great report! You sound positively cheerful about it all. And you are SO right about the weight-loss potential of moving crap around the house. (You believe in the God of Heftiness [see your post of August 3]; I believe in the God of Fidget. If you fidget all day it's as good as an hour at the gym -- for burning calories that is, not for cardiovascular health.)
The image of you guys cooking up 50 lbs of meat on Monday night is stuck in my head. I see packs of wild dogs, or teenaged boys, circling your house, irresistibly drawn to the aroma of spare ribs.
I know this blog of yours is working wonderfully for you; 14 pounds lost in a healthy way is a huge achievement. But for me the downside is getting all these food ideas from you -- see my post today in which I manage to pair the SEC with Berger cookies. Now tonight I'll have to have some grilled meat. I wish I could become a vegetarian. Could, should, won't.
Congrats on getting back power, surviving the whole scary thing, and losing 14 pounds! And also for talking trash to Katia.
Posted by: Pam J. | 09/02/2011 at 02:49 PM
Hey, I'm so pleased for you! If you want your 14lbs. back, let me know. I'm keeping them warm for you.
Your Irene story sounds just like my SIL's, in NY's very leafy suburbs. The food, the cooking, the whining.
Wait. Did I say WHINING? Oh, no, not YOU. That was my SIL in the background as I spoke with my brother. He was assuring me that they were fine, nothing was too awfully bad, things would be back to normal in a few days. Cheerful, prepared, coping very nicely, thank you. But SOME people just have to whine about every little thing. She had to make lunch ON THE GRILL!
Posted by: Karenth | 09/02/2011 at 11:36 PM