M-o-l-a-s-s-e-s

What's as slow as molasses? This is not a trick question or even a mildly-clever riddle. It's my weight loss, of course.

I gained weight this week, so I'm now at a total loss of 20.8 pounds.

If I sound discouraged, I'm not. I had a tough week. On Wednesday, I had such a severe bout of vertigo that I had to hang onto my chair to keep from falling out of it. I suffered two more bouts that day, although neither required that I grab hold of something. I suffered another severe bout of vertigo the next day. That afternoon I saw my nurse practitioner, who is scheduling me for an MRI. (By the way, nurse practitioners in Maine provide almost all the care a physician does and can prescribe medication -- my NP is awesome: experienced, smart, funny, and easy to talk to).

As a result, I'm not exactly relaxed because I don't know when the next bout might hit -- or even if it will hit. I'm not obsessing over it but I'm definitely "on call" because whenever I sense the slightest shift in my equilibrium, I become hyper-vigilant until the sensation passes. Uneasiness is not conducive to calorie counting.

As always, the way to get back on track is to rededicate myself to the process, which means tracking, tracking, tracking. And tracking, for me, always means planning because I can't stay within my points unless I plan ahead.

Good thing I love to do research!