Days 43-46: PMS

So, I've felt like a major b*tch for the last 24 hours. I was worried about it at first, but then I remembered this thing called a period...oh yeah. Haven't had one of those in quite awhile.

If you are sensitive to TMI, please, avert your eyes at this point.

I had an IUD "installed" in November - I was literally spotting until this last Monday. Uck. Then, just as the gray clouds were lifting, I started cramping. Feeling bloated. Getting irritable. My initial thought was, "Something is wrong...my IUD is doing weird things to my body or I am pregnant." Then, I realized that I "get" to start having periods again, and I think that is what I'm going through. PMS.

I'm sure you other ladies can relate to what my issue is here when it comes to staying motivated with a weight-loss plan. If I love chocolate with a passion the rest of the month, imagine how ravenous I am during this precious time. I also want carbs. Crusty bread with wine and cheese. Chicken Alfredo. Pizza with every topping known to man.

Yesterday was a tough day. I got half-way through it and almost threw in the towel. Matt and I were making plans for a date night, as my parents so graciously agreed to watch the kidlets, and Matt wanted to go out to dinner. Normally, I would have said, "sure, I can find a lean and green on the menu." But, I had my lean and green for lunch yesterday. (yum, btw. Mediterranean grilled chicken with zucchini and summer squash.) So, I told him that I didn't think I was strong enough to sit with him at a restaurant and watch him eat normal food. In my head I was thinking, "It's not fair that everyone else gets to eat normal food and I don't!" Wah, wah.

Anyway, he was fine doing something other than going out to dinner. We couldn't decide on a movie, and we couldn't think of something else to do (you get out of the loop when you only take 3 date nights a year on average.) so we were just going to drop the kids off and wing it.

From lunch time to the time Matt got home was torture. I almost called him and said, "Yes, let's go to Olive Garden so I can eat bottomless breadsticks and have a big ol' glass of red wine." But I didn't. I did however, give myself permission to indulge a bit. Not go off plan - but to have a few more carbs with on-plan recipes and foods than I would normally have. I made myself stuffed banana french toast (from www.newbeautifulme.blogspot.com) and it totally satisfied my sweet tooth. I literally drank a gallon of water.

And, I did it. I beat my cravings. I didn't give in. I won.

We ended up going to a movie at Northern Lights Theater in Salem. Matt ate pizza and had a beer, and I ate my caramel crunch Medifast bar and had a Diet Dr. Pepper. (won't do that again 2 hours before bedtime. I've been up since 2am.) We had a great time and I felt victorious.

I'm glad for this victory, because I'm not expecting a fantastic one on the scale this week. Not only because I went off plan on Valentine's Day, but because Aunt Flow is bound to arrive any day now. Good times. Good times.

TTFN! - B