Your blog queen has returned!

     Annnnnd I'm back.  Yeah,  yeah, yeah -- I know that I have actually been back for a while, but whatever.  I returned home December 15.  It was a 7 week deployment and was much harder than my trip through what I called the Tour of the 'villes in 2011.  I never really felt rested, though a lot of that was self-induced.  I split my time between being at a "CAT site" (a dedicated place for people to come and visit) and doing field work (going to people's houses -- or what was left of them -- and helping them inventory the household goods they lost in the flooding).  Being on site had highs and lows of being busy -- we'd go through periods of tons of traffic and not have a minute to breathe followed by hours of waiting for someone to come.  It was not easy to make good food decisions, because you were making those decisions with a group of people.  Plus, meeting people who were going through this horrible tragedy was emotionally draining -- I gradually started being friends with carbs again.  And wine and I, we just got reacquainted.  Many, many, many long talks into the wee hours with my friend Wine were had...  In the beginning, I was making good decisions with my diet*, though I did fall completely off tracking.  But, I was paying attention to what I was eating, watching my portions, and just trying to make good choices.  This did not last long.   It was slow at first, but moving in to the field really sealed my fate in that regard.  It's a 12 hour day and there was a LOT of driving between different appointments.  You never knew how long each appointment was going to be, how bad the traffic was going to be getting there, if there was going to be open places to eat where you going...  (Oh, I was based in Long Island and I was mostly around the southern part.)  I ate on the road a lot and went back to my staples from the 'villes -- almonds and beef jerky and lots and lots of caffeine.  I think I drank even more caffeine this time then I did last year because being so caffeinated really helped keep my appetite at bay.

If you have specific questions about the deployment itself, I am happy to answer.  Send me a comment here or message me on Facebook.  I sent out a series of emails while I was gone about some of my experiences, and I would be happy to share those.

So, now I'm back (from outer space...) and consciously decided that I was going to stay off the wagon and then join the cliche of getting back on track in the New Year.  I do so hate being a cliche, but they exist for a reason.  I have gained about 5-10 pounds since I left.  I know that if I really get committed, this part of it will be "easy" to take off since it is new weight.  But I know that getting committed is where I struggle.  It's probably where you struggle too, right?

What're we gonna do about it?

Here are some of MY plans...

As for me, on New Year's Day, no matter how hung over I am (and I will be, let's not kid ourselves here), I plan to rip off the band-aid and get a workout in.  If the weather cooperates, I plan to do the 5k I marked out here in my neighborhood (mostly just walking -- though in the one, lonely work-out I did while I was gone, I was able to run for most of it) and if not, then I'll be at my gym.  Along with all the newbies who are really, really, really going to do it this time!

I'll also be going back to Fat Church.  I am hoping that my beloved Wednesday meeting will still work, but any meeting this time of year is going to be crazy crowded with newbies.  I need to find a meeting that works with my schedule and has a leader that I like as much as my current one -- harder to find than you think.  In full honesty, the group that goes also plays a part.  I frequently sample meetings that filled with knitting grannies and this is just not the place for me.  I like the ones where the members really should be stopping at an AA meeting on their way home -- like me! (We don't want to quit drinking, we just want to learn to do it moderately.  Or to be moderate enough in everything else that we can still drink...  Or something.)  So, finding a NEW meeting, but going to meetings no matter what.  Getting back on track with Weight Watchers will be a key component in my "recovery."

My plans also include finding a new race to train for.  I'm thinking about utilizing the Couch to 5k Plan so that the next 5k I do, I can run the entire thing.  I'm considering joining the biggest loser challenge at my gym again -- that was a great inspiration to me the when I started this journey and I have no doubt will be again.  If that doesn't work, I will definitely be trolling the groupons for some type of boot camp (though NOT cross fit -- no nervous breakdowns while working out again!) so that I can incorporate strength training -- an area where I really don't feel confident.

I think that's enough for now.  I met a lot of inspiring people while I was on this tour.  One of them bought inexpensive exercise equipment, which he says he does on every deployment and walked the stairs.  Another ran daily while we were gone.  Another also wasn't really on track with workouts, but did make good food decisions on the regular and one of his first check-ins when he came back was at the gym with the tag line "yesterday we said tomorrow and we meant it".  I LOVE that -- that's how I want to approach 2013.  I said I was going to get to my goal weight by my 40th -- and I meant it!

Can't wait to share my journey with you!

hugs,

Heather

PS -- *The use of the word diet in this and every post is intended to mean food choices and not the stereotypical usage of the word diet (or die with a t).  Even when I am actively following the Weight Watchers plan, I do not consider myself to be on a diet.  That's not just something that I say to make people believe I drank the Kool-Aid.  Weight Watchers is just the most effective tool I have ever found to help me be responsible for what I eat and become more moderate.

Also, this is but a small sampling of photos from my trip but for some reason I'm getting locked up and unable to post more.