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Feeling slightly better today

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Rory

Today I felt a bit better than I did yesterday, but not much. My hangover was gone, obviously, but I woke up this morning feeling like I had a cold. I took some more Alka Seltzer Cold and that seemed to perk me up a bit. After I did some work, Dave and I went to the mall so I could return those jeans I bought the other day, and then we went to eat at The Cheesecake Factory, because we got a gift card for Christmas. It was…meh. I wouldn’t go back.

After we came home I went to the gym. It was my first time in about a week. I don’t know how it happened (possibly from a lift during a salsa dance), but almost two weeks ago I pulled something in my lower back, and for about a week it was killing me. I probably should have just rested, but between salsa dancing and walking around at the parades and stuff, I just didn’t have a chance. Yesterday was the first day that I didn’t do a thing, and it was also the first day where I didn’t feel any pain. I thought it had finally healed, but now I’m just sitting here writing this and it’s hurting again.

Sigh…there’s always something, isn’t there? So annoying!

Posted in Blog, DIet, Dieting, Fitness, Health, Life, Personal, Uncategorized | Tagged gym, Mardi Gras | Leave a comment

Is Mardi Gras over yet?

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Rory

It’s been so long since I’ve gone day drinking that I forgot how bad I am at it! Yesterday I went with Dave to watch the parades. We started drinking at 1:30, and by 3 I was pretty drunk. I had a good time at the parades, but by 6 I had already sobered up and was ready to go home. I fell asleep at 7:30, woke up with major stomach cramps at 8:30, and was pretty sick for the next hour or so. Drinking alka seltzer helped, and I finally started to feel better around 10.

This morning I woke up with a huge headache and a big bump on my head (just above my hairline, thank god it’s not visible!). I remembered Dave and I had stopped by his friend’s house. We went around back to see if the friend was home, but he wasn’t. As I turned around to go back to the street I walked straight into an air conditioner that was sticking out of a window. BOOM. It hurt so much I started crying.

So yeah, I’m not good at day drinking and roaming the streets while intoxicated. I’m pretty much over this whole Mardi Gras thing, and I have to say, I am NOT looking forward to doing it again next weekend. (And next weekend will be worse, because those are major parades, and if you want a good seat/view you need to get there at 10 am to watch a parade that doesn’t start until 4:30. So Saturday and Sunday are going to be longggg days.)

Fortunately I have five days to recover. And I have an entirely different game plan for next weekend – I’m not going to drink that much. Pretty simple, isn’t it? After all, there’s no rule that says you have to get wasted at Mardi Gras. I’ll just have a few beers and watch the parades. No big deal.

Posted in Blog, Health, Life, Mardi Gras, Nightlife, Personal, Uncategorized | Tagged Mardi Gras, margarita | 3 Comments

First Mardi Gras parade in the books

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Rory

I had so much fun at my first Mardi Gras parade. It was kind of weird at first – basically these floats are passing by and you shout out “Throw me something!” and then the people on the float throw you something – or not. When they didn’t, it was so f*cking annoying! I’m really not into the whole “begging” aspect of it, but once I had a few drinks in me I got used to it. It was a lot of fun, and thanks to my friends, who gave me pretty much everything they caught, I ended up bring home a lot of stuff.

The blue glitter cup is my favorite – because it’s so cute AND also because it’s one of the only I managed to catch on my own lol. It’s going up on the mantle. I gave the toys to Dave’s son.

I can’t wait for rest of Mardi Gras! Apparently it just gets better and better. I’m going to a another parade tomorrow, but next weekend is when shit is supposed to get really crazy.

Posted in Blog, Life, Mardi Gras, Nightlife, Personal, Uncategorized | Tagged Mardi Gras, Mardi Gras parade, New Orleans | Leave a comment

Going to my first Mardi Gras parade!

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Rory

I only have time for a quick post tonight (why the hell did I commit to a post a day?!). I had a semi-productive day today. I worked really hard until 2, then I met my friend at the mall and bought jeans – which I’m returning. We were SUPPOSED to go to the gym, but I had worked later than planned and by the time we met we were starving. So we went to eat lunch and then ended up sitting there for like 3 hours talking!

Once I got home I had to rush into the shower and get ready to go out. We’re going to a Mardi Gras parade and then to this place on Frenchmen street for salsa dancing. It should be a fun night.

I decided that I’m going to wait until after Mardi Gras to really buckle down on my diet. I’m still going to go the gym everyday and try to eat healthy, but there’s going to be a lot of going out over the next…omg I just realized that my birthday is in 9 days! I felt like it was farther away! Anyway, there’s going to be a lot of drinking and partying between now and Mardi Gras day, which is Feb 17 (“Fat Tuesday”). So starting on Feb 18 I’m gonna go hardcore.

Okay my ride just got here. Gotta go!

Posted in Blog, DIet, Dieting, Exercise, Fitness, Food, Health, Life, Personal, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

It was So Much Easier when I Lived Alone!

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Rory

I swear, it is so much harder to lose weight when you live with someone! The last time I was on a major diet I lived alone. It was pretty easy for me to avoid temptation – I didn’t buy any food that would cause me to cheat, and I avoided the fattening snacks my company gives out by staying at my desk when the treats were announced.

I basically lived like a hermit for those three months. I never went out, and I spent my nights and weekends making low-calorie meals and treats (which, incidentally, led to the start of this blog). And it worked – I lost 25 pounds.

Now it’s different – I’ve got Dave and his son here, and even though Dave is willing to forgo hamburger buns and potatoes and pasta and eat whatever I want to eat, we still have to keep some “bad food” in the house for his son, like granola bars and bagels and pretzels and nachos. There have been several nights where I binged on granola bars because they were the only “junk food” in the house.

I know that if I want to lose weight and keep it off then I need to figure out how to eat in the real world. I need to have some self control and not eat three granola bars in a row. But I swear, food is like a drug to me! Sometimes I’m not even hungry, but I’ll walk past the kitchen and spot the granola bars (for example) and then I suddenly become some brainless monster: “MUST…EAT…GRANOLA BARS…NOW.”

I’ve always been a bit of a binge eater. Particularly on the weekend, because I’ll think “I’m gonna start a new diet on Monday, so I might as well eat this entire Entenmann’s cake now.” I’ve got friends who would keep cookies or candy at their desks and it would be there for months! I’m like “How the f* do you do that??” I just can’t. It’s not in my nature, and I don’t know if that’s something that will ever change.

So for now, the best thing for me to do keep the bad food out of my house. I’m able to control myself when Dave is around, but he’s out of the house every third day for work, and I’m just there with all that food. I’ve been thinking about making him take the bad food with him when he leaves, but I realize how ridiculous that is and what a lack of self control it shows, and I’m not quite prepared to take that step. Yet.

Posted in Blog, DIet, Dieting, Exercise, Fitness, Food, HCG, Health, Life, Personal, Uncategorized | Tagged binging, temptation | Leave a comment

My Day in Pictures

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Rory

I wanted to eat this:

Instead I ate this:

Earlier I did this:

And now I’m doing this:

Today was not a great day. I was in a funky mood. But it’s ending on a high note now that my feet are up and I’m drinking a margarita.

And that’s all I have to say about that. 🙂

Posted in Blog, DIet, Dieting, Food, Health, Life, Personal, Photos, Uncategorized | Tagged bad mood, margarita | Leave a comment

Getting Back on Track

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Rory

I decided not to make “Lose weight” one of my official New Year’s resolutions, because let’s been honest, losing weight is always number one on my to-do list, no matter what time of year it is. I’m particularly unhappy with my weight these days. I’m up like 15 pounds since I’ve moved here. FIFTEEN POUNDS! That’s a ridiculous amount of weight to have gained in only 8 months.

So how did I do it? You can read all my excuses here, but it’s pretty simple – I didn’t join a gym as soon as I moved to New Orleans, and I’ve been allowing myself to eat anything I want. I’ve also been drinking a lot more. Overall I’ve been leading a somewhat unhealthy lifestyle, and it shows.

It has been difficult to get back on track. I joined a gym (Planet Fitness) two weeks ago, and while I’ve been going every day, I’ve also been on a bit of a margarita binge lately (they’re so good!). So I haven’t lost any weight. But at least I’ve stopped gaining. I’ve been eating healthier, but I know that if I really want to lose weight, I need to be much more strict about what I’m eating and drinking. Ugh, it’s so annoying!

On a positive note, I finally quit smoking! It’s been about two months. Cigarettes are ridiculously cheap down here, so ever since I got here I had been smoking more and more. I had planned to quit as soon as I moved down here, but that didn’t happen. Once my grandmother passed away I started to see things differently (life and death and illness), and after one or two half-hearted attempts I was finally able to quit.

So yeah, even though being healthy has been a struggle for me lately, I know that quitting smoking was more beneficial to my health than any diet would be. I’m pretty happy about that.

Posted in Blog, DIet, Dieting, Exercise, Fitness, Food, HCG, Health, Life, Personal, Uncategorized | Tagged losing weight, New Year's Resolutions, overeating, unhealthy | Leave a comment

Apple chip madness

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Rory

I have been on an extreme apple chip kick lately. I hadn’t made them in a long time, but I made some recently and it turns out that not only does Dave love them, but so does his son, who is an extremely picky eater (but randomly picky…like he loves sushi and lox but he won’t eat mashed potatoes). Now he is constantly asking for apple chips. Which is fine by me, because at least it’s a healthy snack. But yeah, lately there has been a huge demand for apple chips in my household.

Last week I bought 8 different types of apples from the grocery store and made them all into chips, so I could figure out which one I like best and just buy those. Out of all the types I tried, my absolute favorite was the Honeycrisp. It’s sweet but a little bit tart too. Unfortunately, Honeycrisps are the most expensive of all the apples I tried, at $2.49 a pound. Figures. I’m not on a budget or anything, but at the rate I’ve been making apple chips, $2.49 a pound for apples is a bit much.

Which is why I was SUPER excited when I went into Rouses today (Rouses is one of the supermarkets down here) and saw that red delicious apples are on sale for .49 cents a pound! That is so cheap! Red delicious are definitely not my favorite as far as apple chips go, but for .49 cents a pound, who cares? I bought a bunch today, and tomorrow I’m going to go back and buy a shitload more. Apple chips last awhile, so it’s not like the apples will go to waste.

And now I’ve been thinking, what other low calorie apple desserts can I make? I know a few, but I’m sure there are a ton out there.

Posted in Blog, Cooking, DIet, Dieting, Food, HCG, Health, Personal, Uncategorized | Tagged apple chips, snacks | Leave a comment

A post a day

Posted on February 1, 2015 by Rory

I’ve decided to do a post a day every day during the month of February. Hopefully this challenge will get me back into blogging regularly. I did this once before and it was kind of fun. And this month is a particularly good month to do it, since my birthday AND Mardi Gras are both coming up!

I’m looking forward to my first Mardi Gras but I’m also nervous about it, because I have NO IDEA what to expect. I just know things are gonna get crazy, especially since my birthday weekend and the major parades are happening at the same time. I see a lot of drinking in my future!

So yeah, that’s what’s happening. A post a day. One down, twenty-seven to go!

Posted in Blog, Life, Nightlife, Personal, Uncategorized | Tagged a post a day, birthday, Mardi Gras | Leave a comment

What a difference a year makes

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Rory

Happy New Year! I know I’m late, but better late than never, right? I’m just glad I got it in while it’s still January (for two more days!).

My first post of the year is usually about my New Year’s resolution, but I’m going to skip that for now. After all, how many times can I write “Instead of focusing on losing weight, this year I want to learn how to maintain a healthy lifestyle for the rest of my life”? It’s getting old. Instead, I’m going to use this time to reflect on just how drastically my life changed in 2014.

In 2014, I said goodbye to my family, my friends, my job (sorta), and my city, and moved nearly across the country. That is a HUGE f*cking deal! I’m kinda proud of myself for actually having the balls to do it. I’m sure a lot of people, close friends included, thought I was crazy for moving – especially for a guy. But when you’re in love, things that seem crazy to other people seem perfectly rational to you.

It was definitely a gamble to give it all up and move here, but so far it has paid off. I am very happy down here. It’s great to actually BE with Dave and not have to do long distance anymore. And I happen to really like New Orleans. It’s such a cool city. The people are friendly, and I have made a few good friends, which has made being here much easier. The food and nightlife are great, and there is such a diverse culture here that even though it’s a small city (less than 400,000 people!), I definitely do not feel like I’m missing out on things by not being in New York City. On the contrary, I really love the New Orleans vibe.

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, of course – there are times when I really miss my family and friends and I feel sad that I’m pretty much out of their lives. It isn’t easy. But all in all, I don’t regret moving down here for one second. So that’s good.

Another major thing that happened in 2014? I officially got divorced! If you know me at all, then you know how huge that is. I was separated from my ex for over 5 years! #LongestSeparationEver. There were certain things going on (financial) that made it easier for us to stay married. But once I got with Dave and then especially once I decided to move down to New Orleans to be with him, it became very important for me to get divorced. Obviously. So I took the initiative and found a lawyer and now I am a happily divorced woman. 😀

Then there was the sad part of 2014 – my grandmother passed away in mid November. It wasn’t unexpected (she was 94 and her health had been failing for the six months prior), but it was still devastating. My mom called me at the end of October and told me to come home as soon as possible. I flew up to NY two days later and spent the next two weeks at my grandma’s side, until literally 15 minutes before she died.

My grandma took care of me when I was little, and she supported and encouraged me as an adult. For the past 6 years (since I got separated) up until the week before I moved, I went to visit her at least every other weekend. She was such a huge part of my life. She went through so much in her life and was such a strong woman, and I’m happy and grateful that I was able to be there and be strong for her during the last days and hours of her life.

And on that note I’d like to share of few photos of my grandma. This one is my favorite photo of her – she was so beautiful! I think this was her high school photo, which means it was taken in 1937 (she was born in 1920).