Back to Work

I was out of work for something like 6 weeks, right?  Well, today it certainly didn't seem like it.  If it hadn't been for a couple of very nice "welcome back" cards and lots of work friends with whom I had "Hey! Glad you're back. You look great.  How do you feel?  Good, but don't overdo it, though." discussions, I might not have even noticed I had been out at all.

Going back to work after the holidays is very good timing, too.  Everyone is into the r's of new year:  rejoice, reflect, reconsider, recommit or reject, and renew.  We're all starting anew, in some ways, and we all have our resolutions and "hope" lights re-lit.  So it seems perfectly normal for me to be doing the same.  Besides several people have been out one or more weeks over my 6 weeks hiatus, so many others are also playing catch up.

My morning meeting was with some incredibly capable colleagues with whom I will be working closely in the new role I've added to my plate.  They are also taking on new roles or doing them very differently beginning this month, so we're all in it together.  If today's meeting was any indication, we'll make great bedfellows.  Well, in HR I probably shouldn't be mentioning beds, and "partners in crime" would be just as bad.  I guess I'll just have to say I'm fortunate to be working with them.

I was glad that my energy stayed up during the day, too.  I had a little dip right after lunch (we had a potluck for a unit that is leaving the department), but it came back quickly.  Like Beth, I'm trying to lose some weight that I put on during this ordeal.  Most cancer patients lose weight.  But I'm certainly not complaining!  I'll take the 10-15 pounds over having chemo any day.  When I think about it that way, it's much easier to handle.

While Beth has a plan for losing weight, I don't.  She's counting caleries which is a tried and true method that I'd do if I could bring myself to commit to looking up all the caleries for everything I eat and tracking them.  I'm sure I would fail in that process.  That's why I can't imagine doing weight watchers either.  I've been successful before by going extreme for a few months with the no carb for 2 weeks and then slowly adding them back starting with one new vegetable per week.  That's how I lost 30 pounds probably 5 or 6 years ago.  Since then I've drop carbs for shorter time periods to shave off 10 lbs here and there that have creeped up over the years.  I must have missed that cycle a couple of times though because I'm up about 30 again. 

This time, I don't want to resort to the unhealthy route and exclude food groups.  Who knows, that may have been the reason my LCIS turned into ILC.  Or maybe it was the 3 months of birth control pills I took this summer.  I don't know, obviously, but I just don't think dropping food groups is a good idea for someone on the mend anyway.  Also, this time I don't expect to lose the entire 30 pounds.  I'd be happy with 20.  And I'm sure it will take longer with my exercise options being so limited and the second surgery looming in a few months.

So today I had a half of a peanut butter sandwich (on whole grain bread) for breakfast and then walked to and from my meeting, about 15 minutes each way.  During the meeting, I had a vitimin water.  At the potluck, I had one 8" plate of carefully selected food (hummus, fruit, and spinach salad, I think).  I did not pass by Eunice's award winning Mac and Cheese though.  I had to eat a couple tablespoons of that.  I didn't even go to the dessert table. Tonight I've had a measuring cup of beef barley soup and an avacado.  Then I was still hungry so I added 3 pieces of beef jerky while I'm writing here.  I'm still hungry after that though, so I'm not sure what I'll do now.  Maybe I'll make some tea or just go to bed.