Funny day so far. Usually I wake up Saturdays ready to face the CK records and wanting to Blog. But today I feel balanced, and content, and I’m not sure what to talk about. I’ll hunt about in my psyche and see what comes up.

Unexpected changes since weight loss

Since I have begun to lose weight – actually, since I joined CK at the beginning of this year, I notice many things are different. And as my weight changes, more things are added to this casual list.

- My skin is dry. But that has been a nice excuse to develop a fun moisturizing routine. Three layers each morning after my shower. First, a layer of aloe vera gel, that is light enough to go everywhere (like my face). Then a layer of Udderly sMOOth Udder Cream, “a protective coating, useful as an aid for keeping skin soft and supple.” Finally, I smooth on a layer of something fragrantly indulgent. Currently, that indulgence is something raspberry scented from Bathworks (I think).

- Unthought of places are skinnier. Both my head and my feet have gotten narrower. My head I can tell because my glasses fall or hang off as I move my head about. Insurance paid for a new pair of glasses last year, and I won’t be eligible for another new pair until next year. I suppose I can go to the eye-glasses shop and see if I can have the glasses adjusted to fit better. That would be good. My feet I can tell have changed because I went from my E width to a D width. Still they are happy little duck feet (wide in front, narrow at the heel). And I am grateful to these feet because they still like to carry me around, pedal me about, and keep me well grounded!

- Food Thoughts. If I had to pick the biggest change that has come to me since beginning with CK, today I would say it is my relationship to food. I’ve tried diets before, which have always been temporary. My emotional approach was “I’m doing this now, to lose this weight now, but I can go back to being ‘normal’ after the diet.” Well, normal always returned the lost weight! I’ve been a competitive body builder and powerlifter. Both are sports that care about weight. But I always carried a huge emotional angst about food – where will it come from, will there be enough, can I have more. I just don’t feel that way so much anymore. And even when the “hungries” come upon me, I’m usually able to self-soothe. I just remind myself how soon I have a meal or snack coming, or remind myself that hunger is a part of human experience and right here, right now, my hunger will not cause me any harm. Sometimes I have to stop and really listen, because sometimes the hunger is REAL, not just emotional. Then I go find a snack. Not yet always healthful snack, but just a snack.

WARNING: Girly Unmentionable Things May Follow. Read at your own risk!

- Menstrual cycle changes. For years, my cycles have been 21 days long, and the actual “rag-time” usually lasts only about three days. In the scheme of all menstrual possibilities I’ve felt I have nothing to complain about. Now the cycles stretch very long, sometimes more than 30 days. Still rag-time is a healthy three days. I can tell I’m in the place of peri-menopause, just from other body changes. I have always known I am sensitive to dietary fat intake and body-fat as a regulator of menstrual cycles. I think just going from 49% bodyfat to my current 30.8% (as measured last week) will account for the changes I see since starting on CK. Still, this is something I plan to bring up with the doc, on my next appointment.

- Silly girl stuff. My chest looks great from my yoga, push-ups and dumbbell work, and I’m finding my clavicles again. But my boobs are definitely moving south. They make me laugh with how they rest on the top of my tummy. It also makes me laugh as I remember being in my 30s and thinking “my boobs will never move south! I have boobs of steel!” Hah!

END Girly Unmentionables (probably)

- DVDs. I use a lot of my leisure time watching DVDs (still). This week’s memorable selections: SICKO Michael Moore’s “documentary” on the American health care industry. While I didn’t care for the sensationalism of the program, it sure got me to thinking hard. If even a smidgen of the information he presents is an accurate portrayal, American medical care is abysmal, sad, and frightening.

Second memorable selection: Brokeback Mountain, in a nutshell, the story of two cowboys in love with no place to go. It’s a story of context, emotional repression, history. I had resisted watching it, but hubby was away with the adult kids a couple nights this week, and the movie was available at the library. I’m glad I decided to give the movie a try. I wish my hubby weren’t so phobic about the movie’s topic. The character of Ennis del Mar reminded me of my husband – not in his brutality, but in his almost complete separation from his own emotional life. Something my hubby struggles with, too. (When I first heard the character say his name I thought “Jeesh, parents so stingy they couldn’t even afford a second D for his name!”)

That’s all the news for today. Not bad for a woman with nothing to say! If you’ve read this far – thanks for catching up with me! May you be blessed in the days and weeks to come with something new to surprise you, something pleasant to help you grow in body, heart, mind, and spirit!

Shalom, -Otter