hawaii to the rescue

I am not a very good planner.

My life tends to be a constant ad lib performance. And I just indulged in another opening night recently.

I told you in killing me softly that I had decided to resurrect two life-style changes that had served me well for years, but that I had set aside almost three years ago. Due to some blood pressure and glucose issues, I decided to ramp up my exercise program and cut down my food intake. Neither of those changes were "diets," in the usual sense of that word. I was not giving in to the Dolly Parton diet for six-weeks only to slip right back to where I was before she and I started discussing Jolene.

For two years, I completely changed my lifestyle. I walked about 4 hours each day and cut back on my caloric intake -- eventually adopting a permanent intermittent fasting routine for my meals. I ate only between 2 and 6 in the afternoon. My weight dropped -- along with my blood pressure and glucose.

This time, rather than transitioning into my new program two weeks ago, I simply jumped. It was not quite zero to 200 MPH. But it was close.

I cut my walking back to 5 to 10 miles a day. That is working fine. The 2-6 intermittent fasting has not worked as well as it did last time. Probably, because the change was too quick. I have thrown off my metabolism enough that I cannot exercise far from the house because of -- well, "digestive issues." And I felt completely fatigued.

The worst problem was that I had almost stopped eating. For the past few days, I have barely been eating more than a few bites. If I were a dog, there would be whispers in the corner about the full life I have lived.

Uncharacteristically, I admitted that I had made a mistake. Today, I expanded my eating window to noon to 6. I will try to eat two medium-sized (planned) meals in that time.

This re-think was a direct result of my favorite local grocery store. I had stopped by yesterday afternoon to buy some tomatoes, when Carlos, the owner's nephew, whispered that they had just been to Costco, and had managed to score one of my favorites -- ham. I grabbed the first one.

For the past two weeks, I have been having a bit of trouble even thinking about being creative with food. The ham has changed that. On the way home, I imagined ham sandwiches, baked ham with roasted asparagus, ham and bean soup (with lots of vegetables), and other porcine delights. But I knew exactly what was going to be first on the list.

This morning I made what I call frittata de Estif. The ingredients change every time I make it, but this morning's version included sautéed onion, kalamatas, grape tomatoes, capers, Spanish olives, habanero, and diced ham covered with a mixture of two eggs, worcestershire sauce, and balsamic vinegar. A coating of marjoram topped it off. It is the start of a good friendship with that ham. (Interestingly, I was able to eat only half of the frittata.)

I will try the new eating window to see if it makes a difference. I already feel less fatigued. Maybe it was the rest of the cherries I bought yesterday -- and ate in the lsat hour.

Alex at Hawaii may not have a solution for every problem in your life, but he (and Carlos) certainly filled the gap this week.