When is NOT a good time to try and lose weight?

Psst.... moving house might not be the best time to practice new routines.

Kerstin Martin

Sep 2, 2022

Leaving the hotel where we stayed while the movers packed up our condo.

Hello friends, and happy September! We moved into our new house exactly a week ago and it won’t be a lie to say that I am equally thrilled to be here and exhausted from the sheer amount of STUFF that is still packed in a gazzilion boxes. Stuff, I may add, that has moved with me for the better part of the last four decades. I did do a bit of decluttering before the move but more is needed.

I am also a tad overwhelmed by trying to figure out what furniture goes where, and what do we need to buy again since we left a few pieces at the condo as part of the sale agreement. Imagine my panic when I realized that our local Ikea had run out of Billie bookcases! That’s when you know that the supply chain problems are real. I also need to think about what to do in my new office which occupies the formal dining and living room so it’s HUGE. I have never had such a big office and I am excited about creating a cozy corner for reading, journaling and maybe even meditating. We painted an accent wall in a soothing color called ‘Retreat’ and we had the dark brown floors replaced with warmer and lighter oak flooring, I do love how it looks!

Needless to say, my diet has completely fallen by the wayside. Moving blows up your life and no matter how experienced you are at it (this is move #36 for me and #27 for hubby!), it’s deeply unsettling and disruptive for a while. And you know what that means for us comfort eaters: lots of food to soothe the nervous energy. Which is why our first priority was to unpack the kitchen and after nearly a week it is almost done. I actually love the kitchen in this house. The cabinets are old but it has my favorite U-shape and is just the right size for me. Until we’re ready to remodel the kitchen we decided to paint the cabinets in a gorgeous teal color. We love how that came out, it looks stunning with the new floor and the oak furniture that we purchased in Germany during our stint there in 2012. We have a bit less storage room in this kitchen compared to the condo where we had a good-size pantry. But between creating an awesome pantry corner for canned goods in the garage (love having an attached garage again!) and decluttering a lot of excess stuff we now have a well organized kitchen that exactly meets our needs. I can’t wait to get back to cooking healthy meals in this space!

Still some finetuning needed but so happy how this came out.

It’s always been my dream to have a kitchen sink window with a view.

The bathroom scales have not yet surfaced but I know that I’ve gained a good amount of weight, I can feel it in my clothes. Sugar has made its way back into my life and I am slowly reaching that point again where it feels addictive and unhealthy. Sigh. I actually have a whole new post coming up on food addiction which is a controversial but potentially game-changing subject, so watch out for that if you think you might be struggling with this as well.

Looking at the temporary chaos created by this move I am not surprised that I’ve never quite managed to established healthier longterm habits – I used to move pretty much every year! For decades! Sometimes this was driven by corporate relocations but many times it was a personal choice. Which probably sounds insane to many people but I always loved exploring new places, while at the same time following my deep longing for my ‘forever’ home where I can put down roots at last. Given our track record I will never say never when it comes to moving, but I have a strong feeling that we’ll be in this house for a long time.

This morning the fog rolled in across the runway and garden, autumn is around the corner and I am ready for cozying up with cardigans and hot mugs of tea. It’s back to unpacking for me, my goal is to get my office sorted out enough so that I can return to work next week.

Have a lovely weekend!

Kerstin xo