« Election Day | Main | Women »
March 26, 2006
My Second CR Birthday
Today, I am two.
It's been two years since I took the plunge, dove into the deep end of the pool, and began stirring my mixed metaphors to make for lovely scenery on my CR journey.
It was wonderful to wake up next to my CR superhero, the great MR, who brings me supplements in bed and holds and cuddles me all night. Every day with him is the fulfillment of a fantasy, and of all the wonderful gifts my CR practice has given me, he is the best.*
My weight has dropped a tiny bit over the last year, from a 104 - 106 fluctuation down to about 102 - 104. I've improved my diet with the addition of a daily megamuffin half, and I've improved my cooking by using MR as a taste tester almost every night. Now I enjoy an amazing MR salad (kale, napa cabbage, mustard greens, tomatoes, arugula, red pepper, topped with the April special dressing of nonfat plain organic yogurt mixed with Trader Joe's Salsa Verde) for lunch every day and a thermos of fancy green tea. I still drink my cabernet most nights, though I pour MR his three ounces of pinot noir.
Over the course of the year, my priorities have shifted. Between MR moving in, an upturn in activity at my work, and the demands of running a two-person, two-cat, three bedroom household vs. the one person, two cat tiny one bedroom apartment I used to live in, I've gotten busy. Sometimes I've given my CR less focus than it needs,
but overall I think I've done well. I've settled into a routine with my CR practice, so that it forms a backdrop in my life instead of the focus. I still go a little crazy sometimes eating and drinking with my friends at fine Center City Philly establishments (does anyone even remember how much wine we had at Tria?) but I make up the calories in other ways, and even when I'm out I focus on high protein, high quality, lots of unsaturated fats foods instead of high-carb nightmares. I am no longer tempted by the pizza at meetings with nurses, and I no longer fear that someday I will gain back all the weight I've lost.
I've temporarily shelved the question of going lower. I'm so happy at my current state of CR practice, and though I enjoy fine-tuning it (ie adding a half a megamuffin to my afternoon) I'm not at a point where I want to focus on CR to the extent that I think it would take to bring my calories even lower. I know that when I fight my current calorie level, I get really hungry... so hungry that I consider biting my co-workers' hands. That's illegal in PA, and since I'm the supervisor and have to set a good example, I figure I'd better stick to my very functional CR strategy for now.
CR forms a firm foundation of health and well-being on which the rest of my life: work, love, friends, family and cats, can stand. It's really true that if you don't have your health, you don't have anything. I am so grateful for the life and health that CR has given me. I know I'll never go back.
Happy birthday to me...
* Results not typical!
Posted by april at March 26, 2006 10:39 AM
Comments
Happy Birthday to You! It is really amazing how your life has changed. I'm so glad to know you as a friend.
Posted by: Little MR at March 26, 2006 12:51 PM
Happy CR Birthday (a day late!)
I'm so extremely happy that you're out there blogging your journey. I've known about CR for YEARS, but just never got off my ass and did anything about it. And while I don't credit you for making me do that - it does take a very personal decision to make a big lifestyle change like that - I DO know that all the information on your blog, and just the plain reciting of your day-to-day struggles and successes, have definitely given me more motivation.
I'm glad to consider you a friend, too. Hopefully we'll get to know each other better over the years of CRONing. (I wish I was able to go to the CR conference this year - maybe next year I'll be able to meet everyone in person!)
Anyway, thanks again!
Posted by: Amy Wright at March 27, 2006 6:21 AM