Day 74 - Late Turkey Day Confession

Thanksgiving dinner - had one, last night (sat), with mixed results.  For starters, it was the first time I have not left a thanksgiving dinner in a tryptophan induced semi-catatonic state of consciousness, as I stayed on point with portion sizes and at least made an effort to indulge in a PCP compliant manner.  My friend had been kind enough to marinate the turkey in citrus, onions and herbs and no salt, so the turkey wasn't the usual thirst inducing main course I have become accustomed to over the decades of indulgence.  I had also brought some PCP compliant veggies (beets), and carbs for myself (whole wheat bread), so the meal itself was pretty much like any other meal over the past few months of the project.  I did make the stuffing (sauteed in butter of course) so it was only appropriate that I have a small spoonful to confirm it as edible.  However, I passed on the mashed potatoes, the cookies, the cranberry sauce and most of the other wonderful, traditional thanksgiving offerings.

The problem for me was the snacking, vino and the dessert.  Like most holiday feasts, the party at this one started well before the meal and the meal was served well after the planned time.  My plan was to eat around 3 and call it lunch then be home by 8-9 for a smaller, late dinner.  However, as 3pm came and went, the hunger pangs came as well and I filled them with raisins and almonds (there was no fruit in the house) and washed it down with sav blanc, then perrier (more than a liter of it).   Still, felt good that I avoided the full platter of home made chocolate chip cookies (I think my wife had 5 or 6 of them to represent) and the chips, cheese, crackers and other appetizers laying around the dining room.  Meal time finally arrived at about 6pm and it did not disappoint - it was great.  I easily had the smallest plate of food for anyone over 4 years of age at the event and felt neither full nor hungry. Then came the homemade pumpkin pie, which I thought I could do without, and didn't even crave - that is until I had a customary bite and liked it.  I followed it up with 3-4 more bites of my wife's plate as it feels better for some reason that i didn't have my own plate, like I wasn't really indulging in it, but merely offering an assist.

Dinner ended at about 830 pm and by the time I got home there was just no way I could put down an afternoon snack, dinner, and evening snack - so I had some grapes and called it a night.  Woke up this morning to see we have a new indulgence - I am not sure this would fully qualify and will need to think about whether or not I want to really go over board with an unhealthy meal this week.

The workouts are going well and I am getting to failure pretty regularly.  Did better on the bicycle and plank this week, but took a step back on the pull-ups.   Was initially having trouble getting 50g of carbs in me before the workout, but can definitely feel the improvement on the strength side when I do.  I also noticed that I can actually eat something shortly before working which is a significant improvement over my old self that would need 3-4 hours of digestion time before doing anything active, that is unless I wanted to vurp it up all over the gym.

On my way to Xiamen, China in the morning for a few days and am not really looking forward to it. Not so much that I don't like the place (I do) - however 1) it is harder for me to stay on course in china than other places - especially the egg/yogurt snacks, 2) I have only a few weeks left in Japan and need most of the time available to get the family affairs/move sorted, see friends, etc and 3) am missing the family more and more when I am away.   Will be dark until Wed night given China isn't blog friendly yet.