Sick of Myself

It's a little late in the calendar for Spring Cleaning, but it's not quite too late in my life.

A few weeks ago, I was trying to get ready to go to a show at which my dear friend was performing. Getting ready to go out has become a chore because I don't fit into most of my fancy or interesting clothes. While I used to make the excuse that this was mostly boob-related, as this is where most of the trouble had arisen, my "can't wear because it's too small" pile is starting to seep into my every day clothes, and nothing about that is OK.

I thought I could go with wedding corset and jeans or slacks, but nope. I could not lace it up in any way that would have been remotely comfortable or look anything like good.

Here's some math.

Take one pregnancy (P), add one preemie (p). Multiply by three years (3), subtract time for meal planning , lunch packing, exercise (-t), add drinking at home (+C₂H₅OH), and you get 150.

or: (P+p)(3)-t+C₂H₅OH=150

I signed up for Weight Watchers for Introverts, also known as Weight Watchers Online, because I will never, ever go to a meeting. It's not that I would rather die, because that's a little extreme, and having a preschooler leaves only a few minutes a day for personal drama, unfortunately. I just know that going somewhere for weigh-ins and any sort of support would be entirely mortifying to me. Though, the extra stress it causes might be good for more weight loss, it won't be good for the stress-management side of things.

The first thing I did was look up beer. Specifically, Guinness. It's not in their database, so I must be the first one! Since that is certainly not the case, I went outside and Googled "guinness weight watchers' points" and found numerous links. On the Weight Watchers discussion page, it's quite a back and forth, with anything from 1-5 points for a Guinness. I'm going with four.

Now that this is cleared up, I can proceed.

At the same time, I signed up for a 10,000 steps program through my work health insurance and strapped on a pedometer. Which means I leave my desk and go for walks. On my first walk, by the river, I saw flowers and birds and trees and sky. I also learned about a wilderness trail practically right out my office door.*

The benefits of being sick of myself are so numerous, that I have lost six pounds, gotten outside every day, and am no longer sick of myself.

Well, not entirely.

*The Winchell Trail is a multi-segment hiking-only trail on the west bank between Franklin Avenue and 44th Street. Unpaved paths break away from the main trail along the bluffs and cut into the woods, allowing you to really experience the lower gorge. One section drops down to the sandy shore of the Mississippi River and another takes you through an oak savanna restoration area. Some sections are rugged and others are closed for vegetation restoration, so follow the signs and stay on the path. These unpaved trails can often be muddy after it rains and have a number of stairways--some dating back to the 1930s. Between 38th Street and 44th Street the Winchell trail doubles as the paved,pedestrian-only segment of the separated bike/pedestrian trail along the bluffs. Here pedestrians can slip away for West River Parkway and descend into the gorge.