I found out yesterday that my oldest dog, Charlie, might have cancer.  I love that dog.  I am pretty devastated.  However, I will not stray from my quest for physical fitness and staying thin.  I still got up and went to Pilates today.  Letting myself go will not make him healthy and I still have two other dogs who need a healthy mom.  I still have a husband who loves me and we will get through this together.

Today’s food will be the same as usual and I will stay on track.  It was my birthday on Thursday and I still ate appropriately.  I had a FEW bites of my husband’s chocolate gelato, but I stuck to my usual low-carb foods for the day.  Tonight, friends are taking me out to an Indian restaurant and I will only eat 4 ounces of Chicken Tikka and some of the Cauliflower of the Gobi Gobi.  NO naan bread, etc.

I will not allow myself to fall into the pit of depression or birthday eating, where you screw up months and years of hard work.  Carbs will NOT make me feel better in the long run.  I will only feel worse because–“Once over the lips, a lifetime on the hips.”

Some researchers maintain that reducing your carb intake can impact your brain’s serotonin levels, putting you at risk for depression and mood imbalance. Therefore, it is important to eat protein every 3-4 hours, get between 50 to 100g of carbs a day and to exercise to increase serotonin levels.  That is why I made sure I made it to Pilates today.  I will try to get on the elliptical later too.  And I am taking my vitamins.  B Vitamins are really important in times of stress!  I will also take L-Theanine 200mg, which is the most magic remedy for any kind of stress out there and it is a natural protein with no side effects.

So, if you are down–go for a walk, do something.  Not this kind of exercise…..

Here is my Charlie in better times. He loves going to the park (The bench at the park pictured behind him.  I am sure he peed on it!)