Weekly Bread #134

One thing I am incredibly grateful for is that I live in an area that has incredible natural beauty. This was the view from one of the trails we hiked this week. The 11 miles and 1250 elevation gain was definitely worth it. California has earthquakes and now we have another drought and fire season gets longer every year, but when the skies are clear there is much joy to be found. We have also done fairly well during the pandemic, largely because we have a Governor who was willing to take unpopular actions to protect the lives of the vulnerable. Hopefully he won’t be recalled because of it, but he really did save (and is saving)a lot of lives with his policies.

This week we only hiked 3 days and 22 miles. My body does complain the day after the longer hikes. The 5-6 milers feel like nothing, but over 10 gets to my bones and I am stiff the next day.

I saw my oldest friend this week, which was more than lovely. We met in the 10th grade and have been friends ever since. We only see each other every 7-10 years or so since he and his husband (who also got together in January of 1975 just like Anne and I did) live in NYC, but the conversation among the 4 of us always seems to flow just like we’d seen each other the week before. So many changes over the years and we are all feeling our age.It was so good to see them.

My weight went up this week, gaining back most (but not all!)of the 2.6 pounds I was down last week. Can I blame it on the ham I had for dinner 3 times this week? Maybe, but why bother with explanations? It stills feels like I am on track to at least flatten my upward weight curve, so that is good. Just like with COVID, the curve can’t be flattened by denying reality. Vaccinations are helping, but there will be more breakthrough cases no matter how much we mask, distance or wash our hands. But if we did none of those things, it could be so much worse – just look at Florida and Texas.

Sometimes you have to hug people just like sometimes you feel a real need for an extra cookie. Since I am vaccinated and think I now know how to get any weight gain back off, I take those calculated risks without abandon.

The calculation part is important. Deliberate is also important. We aren’t talking reckless here. Hugging old (vaccinated) friends or having two cookies isn’t the same as going to a crowded bar full of unmasked and possibly unvaccinated strangers or eating a whole bag of cookies in one sitting. And even though those bags of cookies might eventually kill you, it is arguably slower than a deadly virus. We all make our choices as best we can. Guilt and shame never helped anyone change anything.

I have recorded all my calories for the last 43 days and when I get to 90 days I will post my weight graph again so we can all see if I have managed to really flatten out the curve. Y’all need SOMETHING to look forward to and I need the accountability.

L’Chaim!

My average weight this week is up 2.1 pounds for a total loss of 171.8