Brutal Winter

This winter has been so snowy and frigid with little relief. We're looking at the next week of very cold temps again, too. I just can't ever get warm (except when I am being active), which is frustrating. On the other hand, I feel silly for complaining after having read this factoid in one of the books I am designing at work: When Harriet Tubman got brain surgery to help relieve symptoms of an injury she sustained as a young girl at the hands of a brutal master, she denied any anaesthetic and instead chose to bite on a bullet during the procedure. How tough is that? Hats off to you, Harriet, for so many reasons.

Unfortunately I have never weathered the winters very well. In my 20s I had a bout of bad depression which was exacerbated by winter and SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Since then I've been doing pretty well and generally have learned strategies to better cope when I do find myself down, but this winter is doing me in. It literally makes me mad, and ultimately just down.

I know the season is not all bad. There are lots of fun things to do in the snow. One thing I'd like to do next year, for example, is snowshoe. Since the sizing is based on body weight and not shoe size, though, I didn't go for it this year – larger sizes are harder to find and I figured that I'd just wait until I'm smaller and easier to fit. I also like cross country skiing, but I'm not equipped. Excuses, excuses. The key to being able to enjoy the winter outdoors is being properly suited up, and unfortunately, I'm not at that place right now. I guess I have something to look forward to for next year.

In the meantime, I'm dreaming about spring and going on hiking adventures with my partner. I'm also trying to keep up my physical activity indoors as much as possible (having that basement space at work is a godsend, seriously), though having to drive anywhere with all the snow we've had lately is a real drag, too. The Fleet Feet 5k training's orientation and first walk was postponed until Tuesday because of the extreme cold and snow we got over the weekend. I'll be out there after work, yikes! Supposedly it's supposed to be in the double digits again, one can only hope.

I do have some good news, though – I am back down to my lowest weight so far, 297. It's been sort a tortuous two weeks since I hit it in the first place, so it was a huge relief. I wasn't doing anything differently, but I have been dealing with difficult lady stuff – i.e. bad periods and hormones. It really just goes to show that sometimes, the body just does what it wants regardless of your efforts. It also goes to show that you have to be diligent and patient with the process. As so many say, weight loss is NOT linear. Far from it. Witness:

So many ups and downs, and staying the same. (Just is just the last six months shown here.) Even when things seem totally stagnant and what's the point???, over time you can see the progress.

This is why I try really hard not to get discouraged enough to give up. Besides, if I did, what does that get me? No better than when I started, and probably worse. That's not really an option anymore as far as I am concerned.

Now, if it would just warm up a little bit... I'm off to shovel us out!