yduj57's Journal, 12 September 2012

School rocks!
I am exhausted from my long full days, but I am loving it. I am up at 5:30 most mornings these days, and on Mondays and Tuesdays I am gone from 7 till 10 or 11 at night. I am on my feet most of the day, and the walk between the studio space is just over a half a mile, uphill going back at the end of the day. So I am getting lots of physical activity in with all the art work that I love.
I have been doing a good job with packing lunch and dinner for my long days. But, I have not had the time to record my food most days. But when I have gone back and filled in information I am finding that I am doing just fine. The habits are there now that will keep me on track.
My favorite class right now is called Dynamic Long Pose, which is figure drawing with extended poses....eventually up to 6 hours! It feels very zen.
We finally started painting yesterday in the painting class, and I am feeling good about how that class is going to go. This is my first foray into oil painting. I feel like I am filling in a gap with this class.
I have seen that my weight has been developing a pattern of dropping several pounds fairly quickly, and then moving into an extended holding pattern of several weeks. I am coming to accept this reality. I can drive myself crazy trying to push all the levers to see if I can make it drop faster...but that is exactly it....it will make me crazy. My diet is comfortable and manageable right now. I feel good. My energy level is great for my long days. Yesterday I had classes from 9 to 12, 2 to 5 and then 6:30 to 9:45. I was tired by the end of the day, but I was not feeling incapacitated. Part of it is doing things I love. Part of it was finding out where the elevator is in the building so that I can take care of my knees. Too many trips up and down the stairs in a day causes too much pain, and that wears me down in a big way.
I am feeling like the my diet is taking care of my body in important ways to help me perform at the level I need to be right now. Food is no longer reward, treat, distraction, comfort. Food is fuel, and even medicine. This is surprisingly a happier place to be. I no longer have cravings. I eat meals that satisfy me and sustain me. And then I get on with life. It is hard to describe how often in the past food was too often there in the background. Not an obsession, but more like constant background noise. It is liberating to no longer feel those cravings for food that only fed more cravings. Yay!!! If I never lost another pound, I would be happy for this more balanced place I now inhabit.

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1464 kcal

Fat: 140.27g | Prot: 47.72g | Carb: 24.04g.   Breakfast: MCT oil, coffee, unsalted butter. Lunch: butter, flackers, cheese, peanut butter. Dinner: butter, tangy relish, red cabbage, tomato, ground beef. more...

3187 kcal

Activities & Exercise: Walking (moderate) - 3/mph - 30 minutes, Resting - 15 hours and 30 minutes, Sleeping - 8 hours. more...