Sunday, September 23, 2012

Still Plugging Away...

I hate to say that I'm glad that I'm not going to the g'parents' house today, but I'm tired. It's been another long crappy week. And yesterday I was just wore the slap out! I'm exhausted this morning, too, because we stayed at the party much longer last night than we had intended to. The J is so social and was having such a good time and everyone just loves him, so I couldn't complain really. And by my second glass of wine I was having a little bit better of an attitude, and since the chair had to talk to everyone and was busy being hostess, I didn't have any interaction with her until the end of the party. I was surprised that shafted colleague showed up. Ze upheld hirself with grace and tact, which is way more than I would have been able to muster and left the fiance' at home because ze was filled with rage and hatred and didn't think ze could keep hir mouth shut so colleague bought a mutual friend whom most people at the party knew. Anyway...

I posted on the Paleo blog that I'm doing another Whole 30. It's a gym wide "challenge" and I'm going to do it again because I do have some stubborn weight. I think I may have plateaued--truth be told, I haven't been on the scale in over a month. I go by how my clothes fit now more than anything. But my eating does need some tweaking. And I've been lazy about meal planning and the like, and this past week has by far been the worst week of eating in a loooooooooong time, like since maybe March, but I'd still put it at 50-50. I think what I need to see is that while it's relatively easy to do the Whole 30 over the summer when there's little stress and lots of time, I want the challenge of doing it next month--midterms, tons of grading, etc. It's going to force me to work on my organizational skills, which is something that I need anyway because I've started a scholarly writing group. Three junior colleagues (including myself) and a senior colleague. We're going to meet once a quarter to enforce deadlines on ourselves and get writing feedback. So now I've got a month to put something together. So I *need* this, really, to keep me on a schedule and keep me healthy.

Don't misunderstand me. This isn't something that's terribly hard--as you know, this way of eating has done wonders for my health, weight, and attitude, and I don't consider it a "diet" because I don't have to watch what I eat because in general, I eat super clean and I don't have cravings and I don't miss bad foods. But when stress kicks in, it's a different story for our bodies, which is why most of us, gender aside, gained weight writing our dissertations, gained weight the first couple of years on the t-t, etc., and I can see right now, with a new prep this quarter and a new prep next quarter, and the pressure to get an article out this year (if I get a longer article accepted, then I will have exceeded the requirements for tenure), stress is going to do a number on me, and when my eating is clean, stress is much more manageable, so I think this will be good. Plus, you know I'm super competitive, so I want to win! And have the best results! And the best food! And the most improvement! And I don't want to be the only one not doing it if everyone else is! I can't be left out!!

Plus, marathon training begins in about three weeks, so I've got to get my body a little lighter and in tip top shape for that, too.

And when my stress level is down, I spend less money. Seriously. So since we'd like to try to get out of debt, get the car at least half paid off or have that money for a new car for the J (his is on its last leg really, and I'm the one driving it because my commute is 2.6 miles daily, and is his closer to 70 miles round trip) and be able to buy a house by next Christmas, well, yeah, it's kind of important that I don't spend money stupidly.

Also, completely unrelated, but damn, I'm ready for fall. You know how much I love the heat and love summer, and maybe it's because I neck deep right now in the dark romance readings of the quarter, but I'm ready for cardigans and layers and scarves and boots and shorter days and cider and fires. I'm ready for the soft melancholy of the season, the crisp air, jack-o-lanterns, vests and nostalgia. Come soon you ironically revitalizing season. Come soon.

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