Monday, Monday - Still Phase 2

Lordy is that last photo scary or WHAT?!?! I'm going to stare at it until it is ingrained in my mind and associate it with all those naughty foods that I want but cannot have.

Well, it's the end of the first day of the week, and it's also weigh-in day. I am down 2 lbs.!!! And those were 2 lbs. that were fighting me all the way. This puts me at 203. Which puts me 4 lbs. away from my first big goal of 199!

A few people are beginning to notice and comment on the weight loss, aside from the obligatory ones like grandmas and fiances. It's kind of weird, having people notice, like, for instance, my dad's friend, but at the same time it's nice to have lost enough that it's noticeable to people who aren't looking for it.

Don't have time to post all the meals I've eaten since my last post, but here's today:

Breakfast: Omelet w/leftover roasted onions and peppers and a little bit of LF cheese. V8. Coffee (down to almost no sugar on a regular basis now!).

Morning Snack: String Cheese (I never have time for anything else at that hour)

Lunch: SB Mediterranean Chicken Salad (on bulghur). SF Jello.

PM Snack: 1/2 Granny Smith apple, sliced, with 1 T. Natural Peanut Butter.

Dinner: To be determined. We are going to Bonanza (oh woe, the lack of decent eateries in my town) so I'll have a big salad, and probably some baked chicken or something.

Till next time, America...

09/16/05 - Busy 25-7

First off, will the IE users please let me know if the problem they were having is now resolved? Thanks!

I hate this photo. I look fat. That is PRECISELY the reason I am posting it here. Next time I'll wow ya with an old skinny photo of me, I know just the one.

Wow, I've just been so busy lately, between work and wedding planning, that I haven't had much time to post here or anywhere else. I have been sticking to the diet, though, and doing some yoga/stretches, and some walking. Today I went out to lunch w/2 of my bridesmaids, and I had a yellowfin tuna caesar salad (which was, happily, light on the dressing - restaurants always put way too much caesar dressing on!) and for dessert I had a low-fat cafe mocha w/sugar-free chocolate in it. Smelled weird but tasted pretty close to the real thing, and worked as a sweet treat.

The other night I had just HAD IT with the ricotta. I took a day or two off, and then last night I tried the lemon ricotta creme for the first time. Not bad after I added about 3x as much lemon zest as it called for! And it had a coconutty texture to it. Good to know.

Last night we got out of here (work) so late that I just couldn't bring myself to go shopping and then cook, so we went to Bob Evans.

I ordered:

• grilled catfish
• steamed broccoli
• greenbeans w/ham
• side salad

J ate:

• delicious dinner rolls
• the croutons off my salad
• chicken-fried steak
• loaded baked potato
• corn

I teased him mercilessly b/c everything he ate was a sad pale yellowish shade. Anyway, the service SUCKED and I will never go back there again. A woman was seated after we had already ordered, and she ordered basically the same thing as me, and got her food at least 10 mins. before we did. We did not order a single thing that would justify a long cook time. I was thisclose to walking out when the food finally got there, and the catfish seasoning was so salty that the only way I could eat it was with the broccoli, which I luckily hadn't salted. I told the waitress, and she said, "Sorry, that's the way it's seasoned." I wish I could reflect in type the attitude in her voice. When I got home I drank 3 glasses of water. I was pissed. I filled out one of those survey cards. We're running out of restaurants in our town that we can eat at.

This was the first week that I did not organize a menu and a big shopping trip, and I felt it. I was so disorganized that I didn't know what was for lunch which day, and that could have (but luckily didn't) led to pushing me right off the wagon.

My ribcage is finally starting to mellow out again after Tuesday's yoga. I can't wait for next Tuesday. I wish I could take it at least 3x per week. But for now, once will have to do.

09/13/05 - It's been a while, but not b/c I've been naughty!

I've actually been VERY good, but also busy, and in the process of switching computers.

(At left: J & I at my cousin's wedding on 09/03/05. Not the greatest photo, and doesn't quite reflect what a hottie I felt like that night, but it's the only one I've gotten back of us so far. Also, for some reason J looks even thinner than actual size in this photo, if that's possible. I think the other half of him is hidden behind me!... btw, that's my mom in the background on the left wearing the pink dress.)

So I've been very good, as I said, but I am back at 205. Again. Still. The weight I was at the end of Week One, Phase One. This week I've tiptoed into Phase 2, but not with any sort of a vengeance. To tell the truth, I prefer the foods on Phase One to a lot of the sample menu for Phase 2. I did have some steel-cut oatmeal with 1/2 peach, cinnamon, and Splenda for breakfast today, and yesterday w/dinner I had 1/2 of a small sweet potato - not bad, considering the lack of brown sugar :( I'm planning to swing by the health food store and get a loaf of REALLY good whole-whole-WHOLE grain bread today, and stick 3/4 of the loaf in the freezer.

I can't even remember my menu from the past few days, but I'll give it a try. This weekend I was good about what I ate, but not so good about when, as I was so busy doing stuff, and then sleeping in on Sunday.... oh, but it was soooooooo nice!

Today:
Breakfast: Steel cut oats w/1/2 peach, cinnamon, & splenda. 6 oz. V8.
Snack: String Cheese (time constraint!)
Lunch: Salad w/grilled chicken strips and low sugar/carb vinaigrette. Jello.
Snack:
Dinner: Beef/Turkey meatballs in homemade no-sugar added tomato sauce w/mushrooms over spaghetti squash
Dessert: Ricotta Creme

Yesterday:
Breakfast: SB Egg benedict over artichoke heart, 6 oz. V8.
Snack: String Cheese
Lunch: SB Crab Cobb Salad
Snack: Celery w/Laughing Cow
Dinner: Rotisserie chicken (no skin), steamed asparagus, squash, and soybeans w/a splash of oil & vinegar, 1/2 sweet potato w/salt& pepper
Dessert: Ricotta Creme

I start my new yoga class tonight!!!

09/08/05 - My First SB Dinner Party

Two of my friends that i mentioned yesterday are coming over for dinner tonight. I'm thinking of serving:

Marinated London Broil
pesto tomatoes
broccoli
SB Stuffed mushrooms

Is that too much? I want to serve them a great Phase One meal, as this will only be Day 3 for them.

Me today:
Breakfast: 1 egg, over easy, w/4 stalks of asparagus, 1 small slice lox, and 1/2 t. neufchatel cheese
Snack: Stupid boring string cheese (note: must buy new and exciting snacks)
Lunch: Greek Salad?

09/07/05 - Too much garlic in my hummus - keep your distance!

First of all, I apologize to those of you using IE. I will look into the problem and see if there is anything we can do to keep your browsers from crashing.

Second, to address Crowjoy's comment/question, my take on the importance of timing your meals is that you will at no point actually feel hungry. You wake up, eat breakfast, wait a few hours, eat a snack, wait a few hours, eat lunch, another few hours and a snack, then dinner whenever, with your ricotta/dessert after dinner or after that. The only times I have felt at all hungry have been before dinner on nights when I had to shop, etc. after work, and on weekends, when my timing has been off. Everyone knows that when you're tummy is growling you are more prone to eat A) too fast, and B) too much. Also, by keeping your meals/snacks regular, you are keeping your blood sugar levels in check and regular. Or perhaps I'm totally wrong and talking out my ass.

Feeling a little better about myself today. The scale is back to 205. Last night I made up this week's menu and shopping list, and went to the store to buy everything I could, aside from some meat and produce for later in the week.

As of today, I have influenced SIX people to try out SB. I can't take all the credit/blame, but I know that my progress has motivated them to give it a shot, and that makes me feel special and important. Thursday night I'm having two of those people over for dinner. I think I will make steak, string beans, salad, and maybe a few stuffed mushrooms.

Also, last night I found out that using frozen cauliflower is much much MUCH cheaper and easier than fresh for the "SB mashed potatoes" and that adding about 1 t. of low-fat sour cream to it makes it sooooooooo much better.
My recipe was:

1 bag frozen cauliflower
1 t. low-fat sour cream
1 t. (ok, probably 1 T.) Smart Balance spread
Salt and pepper
Dried parsley flakes

Blend in blender until smooth. Reheat.

09/06/05 - Blech.

Today is my first day back to work since last Thursday. I spent most of Friday and Sunday trapped in the car on the way to and back from my cousin's wedding in North Carolina. I went into everything with such good intentions, and I actually did quite well with the weekend, overall. I packed a cooler with a salad, a few string cheeses & jello cups, bottled water, and a couple of those Crystal Light single-serving mixes (I LOVE THOSE!!!), and I prepared two days' worth of ricotta creme for the road.

Well. The new brand/kind of cheese I bought tasted like ass. The ice in the cooler melted and got INSIDE the plastic container the salad was in and ruined it, which sucked, b/c it was a really good (spinach) salad. We were driving through Bumblef*ck for hours upon hours, and while there was a plethora of Hardee's restaurants, there wasn't much else. Despite all this, I did well and stayed within SB guidelines, with the exception of 1) timing of meals/snacks and 2) the actual wedding reception.

I took a tiny bite of the cake at the reception - it wasn't all that so I didn't really care. I did, however, drink...um.... FOUR glasses of red wine (they were small-ish glasses) at the reception, so as to keep from completely losing my mind as my relatives drove me nuts. I also ate a small piece of chocolate cake at my aunt's house afterwards. And it was damn good.

But yeah, other than that (and I'd say that under the circumstance I did well!) I didn't eat anything not on my diet. Which is what makes this week's 3-pound gain all that much more depressing.

I'm going to stay on Phase One for one more week and try to work this out.

Today:
Breakfast: 2 eggs, over easy, and 2 slices of ham (I was starving!)
Snack: String cheese
Lunch: Salad w/leftover grilled chicken and SF ranch dressing
:( The jello is STILL not jiggly, as of 2pm! :(
Snack: TBD
Dinner: ? Have to go shopping after work.

Feeling totally BLAH today, and weighing in at 208. My PWF (perceived whale factor) is through the roof, which I know is all in my head, b/c at the wedding I was feeling like a total hottie.

Not SB-related: Please let me know if you're are using IE and having trouble viewing my blog. Thanks!

09/01/05 - Welcome September! Welcome loose pants!

This will be my last post until the middle of next week, probably, as I'm going on vacation to a wedding.

I came to the conclusion this morning that I need a new scale. The stupid $20 digital scale I bought said 5 different weights, 5 different times in a row, this morning, which ranged from up 5 lbs. (since Monday) to down 2 lbs. For now I'll just say this: my pants feel loser and I've been a good girl, so WHATEVER!

Tuesday morning I'm planning to swing by my doc's office and get them to weigh me on their balance scale. I'll ask them, and if they don't mind, I'll go in their once per week for a true weigh-in. Maybe they'll put it in my chart!

Now, on to the big business.... this wedding I'm going to. I'm going to eat very well for the rest of the trip, behave myself at the actual reception, skip the potatoes, just take a bite or two of cake, no dinner rolls, etc., and not kill myself over it. I'm sure I'll also be taking my dog on lots of walks around the neighborhood, in order to avoid my overbearing family members, so that's exercise, right?

Today:
Breakfast:

• Egg beater omelet w/spinach and @ 1 T. crabmeat/onions/peppers &

@ 1" cube of cheese

• 6 oz. V-8
• Coffee

Lunch:

• SB Greek Salad
• 1 slice turkey breast
• 1/3 avocado

Dinner: (?)

• SB Pepper Steak
• Steamed Broccoli
• Salad

Will spend tonight hard-boiling eggs for myself and Pippi for the trip, planning out what I need to bring to eat, and what I can eat @ restaurants, and will re-read the chapters on Phase Two this weekend, as I'm due to start on it on Monday... you know, I'm not as excited to re-introduce carbs as I thought I'd be. I kinda like what I've been eating on Phase One.

BTW, if the 2-lb loss my scale showed was correct, that puts me THREE POUNDS AWAY FROM GOAL #1!!!