The wanderer returns... Back from Cuba and so many things to think about

Well what a couple of weeks that was! Cuba itself is fascinating, and really enjoyed it. The trip home however was hell and a 27 hour delay, most of which we were trapped in the airport, and featured a bomb scare, a brawl, 48 hours without sleep, and Manchester closed due to snow, aaargh!
Won't bore you with all the details, you can read it http://www.wedding-ideas-magazine.com/index.php?showtopic=203934 there if you like but be prepared it's loooong. We'll be suing Thomas Cook and we were also featured on BBC News North West last night, which wasn't my idea of fun as all I wanted to do was sleep.... But hey ho.

Well, the good news as far as Cuba is concerned is I LOST WEIGHT! How often does that happen on a two week all inclusive? Unfortunately, malnutrition may have had a lot to do with it, as I pretty much lived off fruit and cake the whole time we were there, the hotels take on veggie food was sorely limited (and even then they decorated everything with cubed ham, nice) and the only protein source I had all fortnight was a two egg omelette each morning. So, having weighed in and measured yesterday after sleep, it looks like I've lost 4.5lbs, and 3lbs of that was lean body mass. Crap.
Hopefully some of it is water (I had some, ahem, digestive issues as the few dishes I could eat, vegetables with rice etc, were really oily and I'm not used to that)... Really not the result I was hoping for as it means although I'm back at goal weight (pending official weigh in tomorrow) it's from losing muscle and not fat, and I'd worked so dam hard to gain half a pounf of muscle in the previous month then I go and lose three??? Not fair!

On the plus side, I had lots of time for reading while I was away, and having read Rachel Cosgrove's 'The Female Body Breakthrough' from cover to cover I'm feeling pretty energised and ready to start my weights over again with a sense of purpose and a better knowledge of what I'm working for.
Really interested in the fact she cycles her workouts by the female cycle, as that's often a sticking point for me due to the very heavy painful nature of my TOTM (which, lucky me, decided to turn up as soon as I'd slept off the trauma of the weekend, how crap do I feel right now!) anything that can help me keep up my workouts over that week or so has to have some benefit!

I'm also fully signed up for a 5k in May and a 10k in June so I'm intending to do 3 runs a week, and 2 full body weight sessions a week, and see where that gets me. After the 10k I may reverse that to 2/3 instead of 3/2 but I need to build stamina and speed right now as well as strength so we'll just see what happens.

So, today! First day back on plan. Not 100% on plan yet, but working my way into it. Have felt very positive about food, the two weeks of lack of control over my own body's needs has made me think very differently about food and the need to view it as fuel rather than fun (eating whatever was veggie and available has left me feeling so weak and malnourished that I never want to feel like that again...)
Restocking today actually left the checkout lady to comment that ours was the healthiest shop she'd ever put through her till! The only things in there that were questionable were Mr Katkins multibag of crisps (I don't eat them) and a fresh apple and cinnamon loaf from the bakery (bought on a whim but fresh bakery bread is very rarely a purchase in our house) and the rest was fruit, veg, nuts, grains, tofu, yoghurt, wholewheat noodles, so many yummy lovely things that I'm really looking forward to eating my way through the next week!

B: 40g oats, 250ml skimmed milk, 31g scoop soya protein, 10g raisins, 10g three seed mix, 10g honey
S: 2 Nairns stem ginger biscuits
L: Lentil soup (tinned, cheat I know) and 2 wholewheat pitta
S: 23g cranberries, 23g hazelnuts
D: Wholewheat spaghetti (45g dry) with soya mince, cherry tomato, onion, garlic, pepper, mushroom, and basil pesto (dairy free)
S: 50g slice apple cinnamon bread with 5g vitalite, soya protein shake (25g scoop, water)

Exercise: None, as still very weak. May go to the gym tomorrow though if we're both feeling a bit stronger (very hopeful of this!)

Daily Cal Quota:	1890
+ Exercise Cals:	0
Total Cal Quota:	1890
Calories Consumed:	1889
Calories Left:	1

Protein (g)	113.5 (24.6%)
Carbohydrate (g)	255.7 (52%)
Fat (g)	47.9 (23.4%)
Fibre (g)	33.1
Fruit & Veg	7.0

Not totally the way it should be yet regarding macros, and the lunch was a bit of a cheat as it was a 'village shop as the cupboards were bare' moment, but I'm pretty happy really with all of that... Compared to what I've had for the last two weeks I feel like I've eaten like a Fitness Queen!