Year One, Week Twenty-Five: Setting a New Pace

It's hard to believe it's Monday already! So much has been going on, and life is starting to move faster.

I was eating two meals a day in a two-hour eating window, and I figured by the time I got down to 300 pounds, I'd have to start cutting down my portions a little. I was also dreading this change because I like eating two meals a day. I pick what I want the day before, and I look forward to eating what I crave the following afternoon.

However, something funny started happening. I'd forget to eat that second meal.

When I felt ready to eat a second time, I realized my window had shut- sometimes an hour or more afterward. It was getting frustrating because I'd have to wait until the next day to eat what I'd planned. 

Then I'd forget again.

Once, it happened three days in a row!

And now, when I eat two meals in the allotted time, I feel almost sick and very bloated for about an hour after my window closes. So I changed my portions to one and a half meals, or one meal and a snack.

A new pace was set. Much better.

My tummy is much happier, though my mouth had a few complaints. Sometimes what I want is something I have to prepare, and when I want it again a few days later, the leftovers are gone. Sometimes, if it was a soup or casserole dish, I could take out a few portions and freeze them for myself, but many times they aren't freezable, and if I forget to eat it, my family does because no one wants a fridge filled with rotten 'I was going to eat that' food.

I fight with the little hoarder inside of me every day. I used to hoard things, and when I nipped that in the bud (which took years btw), I started hoarding food. When we moved here, it was great! We had a whole freezer full of ready-to-eat meals, but when our stove hookups didn't happen for three weeks, my stash was nearly depleted. I still have to tell my little inner hoarder that this is a good thing.

I'm also setting a new pace physically since my husband is starting a new job today. We're still going to open a bakery here, but the county is slower than molasses buried in the polar ice caps in getting our deed due to the pandemic. Unfortunately, we need the deed to apply for permits, grants, and loans to get the business started.

Since we were told it would be six to nine months before getting the deed, we had to find another way to bring in income. So off to work he goes, because overweight homemakers, talented as we are, don't get paid well in the workforce after nearly twenty-five years out of the loop.

He goes back to work, and I go back to housework. And writing. And sewing. Proverbs 31, here I come! Okay, I was already there, but this time I have to pick up the slack since no one else is home to clean up after themselves- and if you live with a chef or a young adult, you know they both love making messes.

Much of my exercise will be spent doing extra chores and the occasional walk outside when it's warmer.

I've been on my butt too long, folks. Being mobile not only greases the old joints but stretches muscles I didn't even know existed. I see more of them now that the insulation has thinned. I think I even felt a rib last week!

Before the move, I used to keep a schedule book. It had all of the appointments, work schedules, and things that needed doing for the entire year. Unfortunately, I've gotten out of practice, and though it might take a few days to restart, I'm working on bringing my scheduler back to life.

This is an actual book; It's a mini binder with pages I create, print, and hole-punch to insert in my binder. Maybe I'm old-fashioned for doing so, but I like to see an entire week at a glance than to try squinting at a tiny phone screen. I also enjoy writing out everything. I only use my phone alarms for things I can't miss- like appointments or classes. 

To be honest, I almost set my phone alarms for eating windows, but I figure if I'm not hungry by the time the window closes, I probably don't need to eat.

Wow- did I just say that?

I've already started doing a few extra chores, and the house is looking better already! Maybe because no one else is home but me? Possibly. They can't be messy if they aren't home...right? And that gives me time to play catch up!

What changes of pace have you made since your IF journey? Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments!