The holiday eating frenzy seems to have started early this year.

Thanksgiving was good. It was just the three of us, and we cooked at home. Hubby did the turkey (deep-fried), mashed potatoes and green beans. I made the stuffing, candied sweet potatoes and Waldorf salad. Daughter was in charge of gravy and dessert. (About an hour before dinner, she drove off to the store and bought a bottle of gravy and a pumpkin pie – she’s not really into cooking yet). Of course, since the family disdains BTD, we didn’t try to observe any dietary restrictions. It was all so good with a bottle of Riesling to sip. The only items we saved as leftovers were the turkey, cranberries and pie, so none of us were tempted the next day with stuffing and other naughties.

On Sunday we invited another couple over for dinner. They vacation in warm places a lot in the winter, so we like to see them whenever we can. Hubby made a wonderful braised pot roast with a very garlicky, tomatoey thick sauce that was also used to pour over pasta. To his credit, hubby seems to like spelt pasta, because that is what he is using those rare times he cooks pasta. (He’s an Atkins aficionado, if you remember.) He made a superb squash soup to start the meal. Compared to a couple of years ago, he is cooking more to my liking. He uses vegetable or beef broth instead of chicken. He will use spelt when available. And he is experimenting more with root vegetables.

Anyway, the company and the wine had me eating way too much, even though most of it was compliant. There were petit fours and truffles at dessert time. Who needed it? We all indulged.

Last night I went to a traditional gal’s holiday party where we bring a gift and as you go around the room choosing gifts, you get to steal them away from someone else, etc. It’s great fun. We all bring potluck. Most of it is homemade. I ate an egg before going, hoping I wouldn’t have too big an appetite and would be more picky about what I ate. It worked to some degree. At least I didn’t go back for seconds. The desserts were to die for, though. Pumpkin cheesecake roll, ginger cookies and almond roca to name a few. I did sample those.

This morning my tummy is rumbling, my head is foggy and my throat a bit scratchy. I look forward to a few days of compliance before my next set of temptations is presented.

Okay, it all started Thursday night a week ago. Some friends invited us out to dinner at an Italian restaurant. I generally like to stay away from Italian restaurants because they don’t serve very many items I can safely eat. But, it was their treat, so we went where they wanted. There was very little greenery available on the menu. Mostly pasta and more pasta with a little pasta on the side. I ordered the halibut, and it came served over a huge pile of creamy fettuccini. I can’t say that I ate sparingly, but I didn’t eat ALL of the pasta.

So, Saturday morning I looked at myself in the mirror and thought I looked a little puffy. I also felt a little unbalanced. Thinking I might be coming down with something, I started a regimen of Proberry syrup and Chinese Herbs that my acupuncturist had given me for colds and flu. I mean, I was on top of this one, baby. Well, it didn’t work. By Monday I had a real cold, and yesterday was the peak…couldn’t pass air through the nose, couldn’t sleep…well, you know the routine.

I let my immune system get compromised. I had been having trouble with my shoulder, which was waking me up several times at night, not letting me rest well. The pasta put my immune system over the edge. I was able to see my therapist Wednesday for the shoulder, which allowed me to sleep, which is allowing me to recuperate.

Anyway, another lesson learned on the BTD road to health.

Sometimes I feel this diet is as hard now, if not harder, than when I started 5 ½ years ago. Yes, there are avoid foods that I never eat now, like peanuts, chicken and soy. But, some of the avoid foods that I should have gotten over by now still creep into the old mouth occasionally. I’m stuck on the 6-8 oz of coffee in the morning. I still haven’t been able to take the plunge into abstinence. It’s scary.

On another note (oh yes, the pun is intended), I had an excellent musical weekend. Our barbershop coach from San Jose was up giving private vocal lessons Friday and a full day workshop to the chorus in Saturday. She has discovered a new way of singing that is so inspiring. It is not her method, it is someone else’s, but she says it is going to revolutionize the way singing is taught in a couple of years. Everything is thought about and done in the area of the head above the portal bones (upper jaw). You visualize breathing through the sinuses and eyes, then send the sound backward into your head, never letting it down into your throat or chest. It is truly amazing. We stayed in key, made really big sounds and didn’t run out of breath. I’ve always had trouble attacking notes right on key, tending to want to slide into the right note. With this method, I am spot on most every time. After an hour lesson and the full Saturday workshop, I think I’m ready to take on the world now.

Of course, we had our usual potluck lunch at the workshop. I stayed away from the wheat. Other than chicken, the only proteins were processed meats and cheeses. So, I ate some of those to keep my energy up. There were plenty of raw veggies and fruit to fill up on, too. The desserts were maddening. I ended up indulging in two dollar-sized chocolate chip cookies. Didn’t I say this diet is as hard now as it ever was?

Oh well, the daily battle goes on.

We’ve had a couple outings for dinner at friends’ houses this past week. I have always adhered to Dr. D’s advice about eating in other people’s homes. In Eat Right 4 Your Type he says to eat what is served graciously, enjoy the company and don’t stress about the avoids you may be consuming. Two outings in four days just about did me in. On Friday, we were served a beef stew with lots of potatoes. The side dishes were corn on the cob and corn bread. It was all delicious and the company was great. The next morning my eyelids were puffy and I was having carb cravings, but nothing I didn’t expect. Then Monday was a visit to another friend’s house. He is a fantastic cook, and he fixed us a Chinese meal. The proteins were shrimp and beef. I could see cornstarch and other unidentifiable things going into the sauces. Sesame oil and seeds covered the asparagus. It was an excellent meal.

Well, Tuesday I got up feeling sluggish. I debated whether to call off a golf game or not. I played anyway, but it was a chore. I was able to squeeze in a twenty-minute nap before going off to a meeting and chorus rehearsal that evening. I could hardly sing. My throat seized up, and I felt that I was forcing every note. Wednesday morning I woke up CRANKY. I knew something was really out of balance. My throat was still raspy. So, it was suck on the Proberry 3 bottle and take the Chinese Herbs my acupuncturist had given me for colds.

I’m better today. Still don’t know if I can sing or not, but I have more energy. I’m glad for the immune system support those supplements gave me. Otherwise those nasty lectins would have gotten the better of me.

And I am forever thankful for my friends.

I feel the weather changing today. We’ve had some lovely, sunny Indian summer days these past couple of weeks. The weather report says showers start tomorrow. And the sky is looking like it this evening. The thermometer says 65 degrees out, but I am needing to wear a sweatshirt.

I’ve been trying hard to keep up with my fall change prescription. I’m still only drinking the lesser amount of coffee in the morning. And I can count on just one hand the days I’ve cheated and drank a bit of S*Bucks drip in the afternoon. I’ve been careful to only drink half a short cup. That’s all I seem to need. I don’t know why I love that little coffee jolt. Green tea will perk me up as well as coffee in the afternoon. It does it in an unobtrusive, mellow way. And I’ve been enjoying the new NAP formulation of the B Sip Right tea. It has green tea in it now. I had a cup of that this afternoon, and I’m quite alert. I guess as with giving up all my other favorite avoids, this will be a day to day process.

The last two weekends have been singing ones. Two weeks ago we traveled out of town for a three-day regional workshop. As usual, it was tremendous. We learn so much at these workshops. This time we had a master director who had a lot of Broadway and theater training. We worked on showmanship for most of the weekend. At one point there were about 200 of us on the risers with tears streaming down faces, and we couldn’t stop. We were digging deep to try to communicate the emotion of the song we were working on. Talk about intense!

This past Saturday we put on two shows at one of the local casinos. It was about a twelve-hour day. Lots of standing and singing and changing costumes. It’s always fun and exhausting and takes a couple of days to recuperate.

I stayed pretty close to the diet those two weekends. I think a little bread sneaked in there, and a little more coffee than usual. But the weight has been steady. I, of course, am always hoping some more will come off. That’s the plan, anyway.

Exercise has been a hit and miss sort of affair this month. I was gone on my trip back east, and then my Pilates instructor went on vacation. I’ve been trying to fill in with walks. I’ve played several rounds of golf. I could have been doing more home stretching and Pilates. The lazy factor comes in quite a bit. October should be better. I have no trips or special weekends planned.

Onward and upward.