UGH! I Feel Squishy

I am still trying to battle Thanksgiving.  I ate reasonably, didn't drink but one non-water beverage, and even avoided gluten pretty darn successfully.

Except for the dip.


YOU HEARD ME!  Hi!  I'm Anna and apparently when you mix a brick of cream cheese with taco seasoning and then top it with cheese, tomato, lettuce, and olives... I can't stop eating it.  Like, I would stop and realize I was licking my fingers even though I swear I don't remember ever taking a chip to that dip.  Super-salty taco dip equals major bloat.  MAJOR.  I woke up on Friday morning an weighed EIGHT pounds more than I did on Thursday morning.  It made me want to vomit.  So I've been eating as clean as possible since then, avoiding salt and gluten, and am almost down to pre-turkey day weight except for a reasonable 1.5 pounds that I can feel as a squishy fluid all around my waist.  So no weigh in for me this week.  I'll just be happy to lose this bloat.

But I'm a self hater.  I made naan tonight.

Delicious flatbread, grilled outside, a touch of char to the edge, but super soft none the less.  I totally ate like four of them.  So yeah, I'll be squishier tomorrow morning.  I can feel the itching beginning already.  Guess what?  SO worth it.

In other news:  I've decided to start working towards item #1 on my 101 things in 1001 days list.  I've started working on a few (including learning a piano piece by heart, new soup creations, and smiling at babies) but the first goal I wrote down was "Run a 5k for time".  I don't just want to complete the run, I want to race!  I'm starting the Couch to 5K program again as soon as finals are done and this time I'm going to really work on my weakness.  Pace.  I haven't been able to develop a good rhythm that doesn't have me blowing the majority of my energy before the second leg of the race.  So I'm working on it.  I wish I had someone to run with to help with this.  I'm too intimidated to hang out with the local running club.  Maybe I'll feel legit enough post-5K-race.

Happy Monday! No, Really.

I've been suffering from what I refer to as "the weekend bloat".  It's due to my weekend eating being a tad more free and less regimented when it comes to salts, gluten, and fats.  So to be fair, I don't really suffer on the weekend.  I enjoy myself immensely.  It's the full pound or two of bloat that is in evidence on Monday and often until Wednesday that makes me suffer.  I feel all squishy around my mid-section and I think it's really visible in my face.  BUT not today.  i hopped on the scale this morning and it said I am .2 pounds less than I was on Friday morning!  That's not a big loss at all but since I sorta expected it to say I was up two pounds due to bloat, I'm thrilled.  I guess this low-cholesterol diet IS good for something besides torturing me.

In other news:
I made the best salad EVER.  So simple, healthy, and amazing it taste like one of those bad-for-you meals.  It even looks unhealthy.  I failed to pick up tomatoes at the store so it was a tad lacking today but generally it tastes like a BLT.

It's just baby romaine lettuce tossed in a balsamic vinegarette and then topped with a half ounce of cheddar cheese, two diced hard-boiled egg whites, and a serving of turkey pepperoni that I crisped up in the oven.  It really is delicious!  Especially with tomatoes diced as well.