REALLY new knee new me!

Okay so - H-E-double hockey sticks has finally frozen over.  I got into the car and on my day OFF, I drove the entire commute to where I work (an hour each way - even without traffic!) to go to the gym.  The whole weekend I was longing for the hot tub and the pool.  But not just to be in them - I was DYING to do my stretches and swim and feel good (and drink my water - which is SO easy when I'm sitting in the 104 degree hot tub).  I just don't feel like doing the stretches on land - they feel SO good in the hot water.  So I was 1/2 hour in the tub stretching, then swam 10 full laps (the most I've done since before surgery), and decompressed my knee for 3 minutes (that's just hanging in the deep water, letting your joints open up).  I could have swum much longer but I remember when I first went into the pool during my recovery and things felt so good I way over did it and paid the piper the next day.  My plan is to swim 10 laps this week, then increase by 2 laps every week until I am back to my mile of swimming (I can't remember how many laps - I have to look it up but I think it's about 30 or so). 

So not only has H-E-D-H-S (see above! lol) frozen over but I think I saw some pigs flying overhead several times today.  As I was sitting last night running food choices through my head last night (and again this morning) I felt such a great sadness mingled with HUGE confusion because - although my weight didn't waiver an ounce the entire three months I was sitting home with my tush glued to the recliner - I GAINED six pounds since starting officially dieting a few weeks ago (after immediately losing those same six pounds).  Dieting just drives me up a wall (and over and down the other side, through five fields, across the lake, and up and down 1/2 dozen more walls). 

I always felt that, since I am a career diet (mom dropped me off at a WW meeting when I was 16 years old to give THAT diet a try) I absolutely know what to eat and how much to eat.  Further, I have a fairly  healthy lifestyle (well, for where I am right now with my limited exercise) that it's just insane that I yo-yo and cycle through the same 10 pounds.  We don't eat processed foods, I barely have any junk in the house (*I* don't buy it but my husband might come home with cookies and chips), I know all about portion size, etc.  But - and especially with the stress I have been under lately - I eat beyond dinner, and I am susceptible to emotional eating (remember the pizza, onion ring and chips post a few back???) and I eat at night. - it might not even be junk just more of whatever I have eaten during the day. 

So I feel I've had a big turn-around with the help of two chat friends just today.  This turn around perfectly matches my turn around in terms of doing my exercises.  First of all, Jenn turned me on to the following site:
http://www.wheatfreemeatfree.com/.  I am not committed to be a vegetarian, but I have been thinking so much about it lately - especially since my most favorite recipes are vegetarian and I have naturally been weaning myself off red meat.  The site is so fantastic I immediately made the split pea soup and the red cabbage salad.  The second help was that I was talking to my chat friend Trish, and telling her my hardest time is at night, and she suggested that I actually have something ready for the evening.  So I dusted off my hot-air popcorn maker, and took out my container of organic kernels that had been hiding in the far recesses of my cabinet. 

I think that if I'm feeling better physically it will be easier to eat smart.  And, if I'm eating smart it will be easier to keep up with my exercises.  My other tactic is that I am going to try to have a substantial hot soup ready (or at least available) so that's what I can have when I walk through the door from work. None of those clear broths - but something like I just made (split pea) or lentil or bean soup.  Better yet, if I could have dinner ready then I really have a chance... Also, in spite of having lunch just before going into the pool, I was ready for the after-pool hunger: I was armed with apples and diet Snapple! 

I think I might be getting a handle on this....:)

Miriam