Day 21: Oops, I did it again!

Can't seem to manage to get to three weeks on this diet without taking a stumble. I really set myself up for it in a way though, but I'm alright with it too. Here's what happened ...

Yesterday I spent all day cooking a lovely three-course meal of Indian food for some family members visiting from the East Coast and Colombia: saag paneer (spinach cheese), channa masala (spiced chickpeas), aloo gobhi (potato cauliflower), chapatis (flatbread), and rice. Everything homemade. I actually like making fancy meals like this every now and then. For my dinner I had a guacamole with avocado, cilantro, tomato and corn, and scooped it/wrapped it up in bok choy. It was pretty good, and I ate until I couldn't eat any more; in fact, I couldn't even finish it. My dad had brought some wine over, which I love, but, since I've been avoiding that kind of thing lately, I didn't have any with dinner.

Then an hour or so after everyone left I was feeling hungry a bit but didn't pay much heed since it was getting late-ish. But that wine sure looked good, so I poured myself a glass: my undoing! No sooner had I downed a glass of wine than I was straight into those leftovers which looked so appealing. Then I had some more wine while watching TV.

I wouldn't call any of this a binge per se, because it wasn't. I just ate/drank some things not on my list of preferred foods. But you know what? I'm actually OK with it. I don't want to make huge excuses for myself, but it is Christmas, and I've been doing really well. If I stumble a bit it's not the end of the world. I'm seeing and feeling progress, and, while I love all the festivities at this time of year, for dietary reasons I'm looking forward to getting past them, going into the new year with a reaffirmed commitment to this lifestyle. Now that I know that it's working for me, I can't help but continue to transition into it more fully.

(By the way, my pulse is, quite frequently, racing at about 85-95 bpm, which probably means my thyroid medication is TOO HIGH: WHOO HOO! Did I tell you that already? Anywho, I go for my blood draw later this week. Cross your fingers!)

Truly, there's a reason why everyone picks New Year's Day as the day to start all those resolutions, especially of the weight-loss variety. There's nothing, zilch, nada going on for about 6 weeks (Valentine's Day, if one celebrates that), and it's almost a straight shot through until summer when it's time to get out the swimsuits.

So if I fall a little because I'm not yet a Hardcore, Professional Fruitarian, eh ... whatever! I'm human, and I'm learning to give myself a break for that. I do, however, feel more committed to doing this for the long haul than I did a couple months ago, and I think that's why my stumbles don't frighten me so much now. I also think there is great value in presenting to the world my "imperfections" while transitioning to this lifestyle. It's the most ascetic thing I've ever done in my life, and I want people to know that if you stumble a little bit, all is not lost. It's the overall direction I'm going, not how perfect I am every second of every single day. If I can do it, so can other mere mortals out there, and that's the moral of the story.

Today so far I've had just orange juice, and am thinking that it would be nice to (some time soon, not necessarily today) just drink orange juice for a few days. That's the closest I'm going to get to fasting for the moment.

I went to a yoga class today (which didn't feel so perfect after imbibing last night, but I survived). I'm definitely feeling a lot stronger in my yoga practice. My muscles are still complaining a lot due to lactic acid buildup, but it seems I'm actually getting stronger at a faster rate than usual. I'm feeling quite sturdy, and my balance is improved. Flexibility is noticeably enhanced.

I may not blog for the next week or so, as Gary is off work this week and I don't want to spend my days on the computer. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (or whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year).

Too lazy to input all my food into Nutridiary. I'll pick up on that in the new year.