Well, on my first official work related trip recruiting and hiring staff for a new location of our store that’s slated to open very soon. I flew up here a few days ago, on one of those smallish Bombardier planes. The kind where they don’t connect directly to the terminal and you have to traipse across the tarmac. When we landed I saw nothing but white blowing snow, and suddenly I had Winnipeg flashbacks. But I was prepared bundled in layer upon layer and donning my ugly trusty UGG boots I deplaned only to be bitch slapped with the intense feeling of snow and a -39 windchill.

God it felt like Winnipeg.

So being as well traveled as I am I thought I was exceptionally thorough in my packing. After a day of holding a job fair at the local employment office I trekked up to the hotel which was a block away, suitcase in hand, uphill, through the snow. Because I’m an idiot and figured it would be more constructive than driving in the un-plowed roads (Winnipeg, you have a one up on them, never again will I complain about the millions of dollars spent annually on plowing and sanding). As I began to unpack my multitude of hair products, dresses, reading material it dawned on me. I didn’t pack any protein powder. Not even enough to get me through a day.

6 months post-op I’m still very dependent on protein powder. I’ve been using Syntrax Matrix and Syntrax Nectar religiously. They’re both almost 0g carbs, taste amazing, and have been my saving grace when I’ve had difficulty getting solid food down (and keeping it down). So what’s a girl to do? The answer? Bacon. Bacon, bacon and more bacon. The hotel that I’ve been staying at is quite lovely and has a free breakfast first thing in the morning. So I head down and load up on bacon and eggs (and by load up I mean two pieces of bacon and probably a quarter of a cup of scrambled eggs). But protein, protein, protein.

Yesterday after a very trying attempt at wrangling people in I went on a little adventure around town and sweet baby Jesus I found a grocery store! So I ran straight to the “natural” aisle where all of the protein bars and powders were located. I was almost in tears I was so excited, and then I started reading the nutritional information. Not a single one was under 29g carbs per serving. I’m only allowed to have 40g carbs per day. So I was gutted. How am I going to survive out here on a high protein, low carb diet? Cottage cheese and yogurt. They’ve been my saving grace and the only thing I’ve had for dinner.

There’s a fantastic gym at the hotel and a nice enough pool. The gym is small but all of the equipment is top of the line, so there’s no excuse for me to not work out. And then the chest congestion hit. I haven’t been this kind of sick in well over a year and I feel like a big baby, but I’ve been toughing it out with peppermint tea and Buckley’s. I can’t wait for it to be Tuesday when I’ll be in the freezing hell of Winnipeg, my fave place to be frozen.