Missing Appetite: No Reward for its Return!

After the excessive amount of wine consumed last weekend, I knew it would take a while for my appetite to return... I didn't think it would take this long! It's been 5 days and I'm still not even craving food or sneaking snacks, I'm just not interested in food... Yesterday I nearly had an entire day of just liquids: a smoothie for breakfast; a bowl of mushroom soup for lunch; a cup-a-soup to keep me going while teaching TKD & then a quick bowl of cereal when I got home. That was it. Throw in a few cups of green/peppermint tea and that was yesterday's food diary. And I wasn't even trying. I just wasn't really interested in putting solid food in my mouth.

So perhaps the post-alcohol detox just gave me the right kick-start to clear that panicked craving for food that I had been feeling intermittently since the summer... Or perhaps Leo (the name that I'm giving the new hot guy that I've just started seeing!) is giving me such butterflies that I can't even think of eating....

Regardless of the reason for this recent apathy towards food, I'm glad that I'm finally feeling some control over my eating, and even if this is temporary, I hope I can remember how nice this calm feeling is. No mad cravings for food, and then no post-binge guilt! It's quite refreshing. Hope I can keep this going for a while...

DO Try This At Home!

In an attempt to clear toxins from my body, (and also to clear my name from any alcoholic tendencies I seem to be displaying in the blogging world!) I decided to do a Yoga DVD last night when I got home from work. I hadn't used an exercise DVD in a long time, actually never as the last workout I did like that was on VHS (remember Jane Fonda's Workout!). I finally bought this DVD solely because I have not been able to find a Yoga class that suits location and times available... that and it was less than a tenner...

I've never been a fan of working out in an unstructured environment. Even on the days when I would train alone, I would have to have a plan laid out or else laziness would kick in and the time would be wasted, so I was dubious about how I would follow a workout DVD. After all, they can't tell how much effort I'm putting in (Nyah nyah etc.!) So I think I'm going to have to actually use some discipline to make sure I do this regularly.

The DVD I bought is Antonia Kidman's Ashtanga Yoga DVD and despite my intial scepticism (I just don't feel like it's working out unless I'm in a gym setting!) I did feel nicely loosened out after a few of those sun salutations, and even a little out of breath after a few fast movements through the stances. I felt a bit awkward and uncoordinated in the balance stances, and just plain weak when they started balancing on their hands without any wobbling! It's not a nice feeling, being a Beginner again!

I'm going to try to do this "class" as often as my roommate is out of the house thus leaving me with a chance to make a fool out of myself in private! I think it would be ideal in the mornings, so I'd guess I'd better stop hitting that snooze button...

Does anybody else use Yoga DVDs at home? Are there any you could recommend to a newbie? :) Or do you share my preference for a workout setting being designed for its purpose? I know there are a good few bloggers out there who are more than able to work out in their kitchen, so am I just being closed-minded in needing an entire gymnasium when I could do the same at home?

Don't Try This At Home: The Wine Diet

I finally found a way to curb my eating for well over 24 hours, almost an accidental appetite suppressant as it were. I would not recommend this for anyone, particularly not if you have plans to actually do anything productive for that period of time! I was attending yet another work party, this one was at my boss' boss' house, if that makes sense! This guy is the Chairman of our company, and is extremely generous, as demonstrated by the freely flowing wine on offer throughout the night... Well it would have been rude to say no... (Insert sheepish smiley here...)

Having consumed the best part of a bottle of wine within the first hour of arriving I was distinctly uninterested in the canapés on offer, and if that wasn't enough of a sign that something odd was happening to my appetite, then my complete disinterest in the buffet dinner being served should have set off alarm bells! And it did. Of sorts. Despite my increasingly hazy state, I knew that myself and Dee (colleague and partner-in-crime when it comes to nights with alcohol!) should eat something. I grunted and pointed at the different food in the buffet and was served a plate of something that looked and smelled quite nice. I just needed to work up a desire to put it in my mouth!

Mechanically I shovelled in a few mouthfuls of food, before leaving the plate down on the table for fear I'd lose control of it! Some kind soul didn't realise I was still actually trying to eat it, despite the slow nature of my productivity, and my plate was swept away to the kitchen. I took it as a sign that I'd clearly had enough to eat, and proceeded to drink more wine!

I knew that something was definitely amiss when the desserts (plural!) were served, and I didn't even notice.... To be fair, I was in the pool room with all the young 'uns, dancing up a storm, so were not exactly listening out for more food! Once I saw plates of pavlova and chocolate something or other I knew I had to at least try to eat something, if only to keep me going until Dee would be willing to go home, which I knew would be the early hours of the morning! So I ate a mince pie. It was delicious, but I had no inclination to eat any more. Back to the wine I went!

The moral of the story is... Don't do what I did!! Upwards of 2 bottles of wine (I am afraid to actually try to count the number of glasses I had!), caused me to move in a robotic state for nearly the whole weekend. I can still feel the remnants of that sensation in my head that was far too painful and severe to be callously described as a headache! And I can count the number of meals from the last 3 days on 1 hand! I'm still not really interested in food! Maybe all this time I was just thirsty.... ;o) I'm just kidding!!

It was a great night, and I really was very happy-drunk, and hopefully didn't make too much of a fool of myself! So I'm glad I did let go and enjoy the night, although I certainly won't be repeating it in a hurry! Plus, the disinterest in food may be partly attributed to the alcohol, but a certain young man, we'll call him Leo, may have to take some responsibility for distracting me over the weekend too! ;o)

Hope everyone had a lovely (but maybe not quite-so-merry!) weekend! :o)