The Tide Has Turned

This morning I woke up feeling a lot better about food and the world in general. There are lots of possible reasons: PMS is over, I got lots of sleep last night, I've detoxed from my foodie weekend by eating right and exercising all week. And it didn't hurt that when I pulled the scale out from under the bed and stepped on it that I was a pound less than I was last Friday. The numbers may not be that important, but it does help to give some validation for all the effort I make.

Of course, now I've got another weekend coming up. Saturday night we're having a joint birthday dinner for my hubby and his brother, whose birthdays are a few weeks apart. Normally we have TWO separate dinners for each one, which means double the overeating opportunities. But we went away on Hubby's birthday, and Brother-in-Law is going away the weekend of his, so everything's messed up this year.

It was my idea to combine them, which you would have thought meant ripping the very fabric of the family traditions. Both Hubby and MIL were uneasy about the idea at first, but BIL was all for it, so then it was okay. So now, even though I have to maneuver through another hazardous meal, at least I eliminated a second one. Hubby loves this restaurant, and every year for his birthday he orders the extra-large portion of their prime rib. I'm talking a monster portion that would easily feed a family of four with leftovers. But they also have a lot of almost healthy seafood options, plus a decent salad bar, so I know I can get through it without blowing my calorie count for the day.

You may wonder how I sit and watch my husband eat this mammoth amount of food. I admit, it can be hard sometimes, for different reasons. It's difficult sometimes because it makes me want to eat, too. But there are other times when I worry about my husband's health. He's gained 40 to 50 pounds since we met, and while he moans and groans about it, he has trouble making the leap to do something about it (been there!). In the past he's done a hospital diet program that is extremely low-carb, which he swears works. And I keep telling him that's only a half-truth; it works as long as he's strictly following the restrictive rules, but once he goes "off" the program he goes right back to his old habits.

I dearly love my Hubby, and that love transcends any number on the scale. But I do worry about the future: his parents both have heart problems, his mother battles her cholesterol and his father has diabetes. So the genetics are there. And I do try to be a good influence when I can; my healthy eating has taken over our dinners, and in the past year Hubby's cholesterol numbers have improved significantly. So I'm hoping the small steps we're making -- healthy dinners, less junk food around -- will continue to make a difference.

So if I were asked what I'd want for my husband, it wouldn't be about losing a ton of weight and looking like a stud; it would be more about good cardiovascular health, preventing diabetes, strokes and heart attacks. Mainly, keeping him around!

Time to go. Have another busy day ahead of me. Daughter has allergy testing this afternoon, and I'm hoping it isn't too traumatic for her. When I had it done back in the dark ages (1978?), it was a painful experience with rows of needle pricks down my back. Now they use numbing cream and limit it to the upper arm. Even with these additions it will still be a long procedure, so I'm taking along the laptop and a new movie to watch -- you gotta' love these modern conveniences.