urban:masala

Twenty Pounds in Thirty Days - Exactly and Approximately - What tha???

urban masala on 07 27, 2008

Okay, I’m back from my St. Louis trip. Actually, I’ve been back for a couple of weeks now, and as you can see, there was some serious damage done since my last weigh-in. Actually, I don’t even want to discuss it, but I must. I must address the obvious question: How in hell does one gain 20 pounds in 30 days? Answer: Party like a rock star! And I did. To be perfectly honest, I just went buck wild while I was away. I mean, I ate any and everything I thought I wanted and there was also much drinking of wine and martinis. I went to all of my old food haunts and simply threw caution to the wind. Granted, I was a bit disturbed about my grandmother passing away unexpectedly and there were a few other less-than-desirable family issues that occurred, but in all honesty, I can’t use that as a total excuse. I went into this whole trip thing with the wrong attitude from the start. I knew before I left that I was going to do what I did. I guess that would be considered premeditation, huh?

The majority of the foods I chose to eat were heavily laden with salt/sodium, as is most restaurant food. Unfortunately, once I got back, I continued in junk-eating mode, eating breakfast, lunch and dinner out all the way up until today. As a result, my body has been retaining fluid BIG time and it is quite obvious. I would venture to guess that at least half of the gain is pure water weight. I’ve ingested so much sodium during the past month that I now need a diuretic to help me get rid of all the fluid, which will probably take at least a week.

Oh well. At least I was finally able to reign myself in, but not before all the damage was done. I’ve decided not to beat myself up over this. Rather, I’m chalking it all up to grieving and temporary insanity. I’m just going to deal with the fallout, learn the lessons and move on. I’ve gotten back on the horse now and I believe things will be much better going forward. I’m actually going back to St. Louis on Thursday, July 1 for four days to attend my brother’s graduation from Washington University, but with a totally different attitude this time. I intend to prepare most of my own meals, make healthier food choices, abstain from the booze and drink lots of water. As a matter of fact, I only have one restaurant dinner planned at an Ethiopian place with my brother. So, for the most part, I plan to behave like a responsible adult and handle my business.