Weight Loss and Retirement

Wow! There are two big subjects for you!

Today I had lunch with a friend at a new restaurant, Ellerbee's. When the waiter explained that the burger was a special low-fat kind of venison (I thought it all was) I ordered it and ate half--with a bit of mayo, lettuce and tomato and on a sesame seed bun. Venison may be low fat, but Weight Watchers still counts it as 1 pt. per oz. Then I ate six--count them, six!--French fries. They were seasoned, thin, and crispy golden brown, almost like French frites. There went three points, throw in a little wine, my breakfast, and I was down to 5 pts. left for dinner, which wasn't going to do it at all. The chicken loaf I ate is worth 5 pts., but the spinach is free. A glass of wine (or two) is not. I don't even want to talk about my point total. Jeannie tells me that exercise points balance out food points, but I haven't seen that they've made any difference, and I earn 1 exercise point (riding 4.5 miles on a stationary bike at a good resisitance and speed ought to be worth more than that!) at least four and usually five times a week. Yet I know that today I ate differently than I would have before I joined Weight Watchers--I would have eaten the whole burger (it was really good!) and more of the fries. And tonight I would have put butter on my spinach. So I guess it's a good thing. It puzzles me how all the people who eat normal meals but eat the whole thing--fries, etc.--don't weigh 450 lbs. I have this superstitious feeling that every little transgression will add a lb.
I'm deep into the process of retirement and never realized it could be so complicated. I have consolidated all the files on the C drive of my computer and a tech is coming tomorrow to save them for me and show me how to access our common office drive from home, since I will be doing contract work. I began cleaning out my junk drawer in my desk today--amazing how many rubber bands a person can throw in a drawer over the years. I have already taken home pictures, etc., though I have two still to take. And tonight I got in an email a "separation" form--sounds fatalistically final to me, but it includes most things I don't think I have to give up since I'll still be working--phone card, i.d. card, office key, etc. Then, on the heels of that, came a request to fill out a proposal for contract work--something I'll need a little guidance on. Who knew that retiring was so comlicated? Certainly not me.