Day 42. The day after PIZZA!

So, shortly before I started this diet, roughly the day or so after my 38th birthday, Mark and I shared a pizza for my birthday dinner. That was the last time we had pizza. So when I suggested that we might grab a slice on our way home from the grocery store, you shoulda seen the way his eyes lit up. Mark LOVES pizza. I mean, we all love pizza, but he could probably live on it. I'd been already trying to figure out how to measure the calories in a slice, and I must admit, I STILL don't know if I am anywhere near accurate, but I did my best. The slice I had (and this is from Pizza Roma on Woodstock, where they sell it by the slice from giant pies) was a sauceless white pizza with chicken, garlic and artichoke. Not a whole lot there calorie-wise besides the cheese and the pizza crust itself. I searched and searched, but the closest I could find on the internet was for the CPK garlic chicken pizza who's completely unhelpful listing said 375 for 1/3 of the pizza. It refused to list what SIZE the pizza was or how many slices that made. Anyhow, I figured about 1.5 times that would be close enough. Eh? it's not like I'm going to have it everyday.

Thursday morning, 166 lbs

Food detail:
Dannon light and fit vanilla yogurt - 80
2 servings Progresso light chicken noodle soup - 140
low fat carmel cone ice cream cup - 170
1.5 servings garlic chicken pizza - 563
low fat ice cream strawberry cheesecake - 150

total = 1102

Day 41

Holding steady... not much to report. Only that I'm observing that servings of food that used to be normal seem to be WAY too much sometimes. Maybe the stomach really does shrink?

Wednesday morning, 166 lbs

Food detail:

Kashi 7 grain waffles - 150
1/3 serving spinache quiche - 43
1/2 cup leftover brown rice with mixed veg and chicken scraps in it - 107
oatmeal creme pie - 170
10 oz baked potato - 262
Green giant broccoli and cheese for one - 40
1 serving fat free sour cream - 20
1 slice turkey bacon - 35
1 HG woopie pie - 115
low fat ice cream - 150

total = 1092

Day 40. 10 down, 31 to go.

Today we will rejoice in the first 10 lbs lost! It took 40 days (5 days longer than 2 per week) but that's pretty damn good. There have been slip ups and there have been days when I just didn't need to eat, but in the end, I'm obviously doing SOMETHING right. Mark says he can see it in my thighs, but I can tell in the most annoying and useless place. My fingers. My heavy wedding ring has started slipping to the side ever so slightly when my hands are cold.

So, does this mean I'm 25% of the way there? Does this mean I will reach goal weight in 120 days? (When is that, anyway, the end of July?) Stay tuned for the saga as exciting as watching paint dry! or at least as exciting as that spackle that changes from pink to white.

Tuesday morning, 166 lbs

food detail:

Dannon light and fit yogurt - 80
2.5 oz corned beef - 185
1 cup cabbage - 65
5.2 oz red potatoes - 106
sugar free jello pudding - 60
1/2 slim fast Optima chocolate peanut bar - 110
5.7 oz baked chicken - 179
1 cup brown rice and mixed veggies - 215
low fat ice cream cup - 150

total = 1150

Diet Day 39

Slept till noon, did a little gardening, finished up some sewing projects and started making a new purse... other than that a totally lazy day, but it's ok, I didn't eat much either.

Monday morning, 167 lbs

Food detail:

leftovers for brunch,
4.5 oz chicken schnitzel and pork cordon bleu - 287
3.4 oz  mashed potato - 96
1/4 cup green beans - 48
low fat ice cream - 150
1.5 servings Salsa Ensalada Supreme salad in a bag - 135
1 Franz peanut butter cookie - 110

total = 826

Diet Day 38

OMG the yumms I had last night.... since I couldn't go to L.A. and to the work dinner my boss treated me and Mark to dinner out and we went to Rhinelander (a German fondue place here in Portland) and OMG. From the fondue to the schnitzel to the chocolate mousse, I TOTALLY blew my calorie limit for the day (even though before dinner I'd only had 380 cals) but it was worth it.

Sunday morning, 167 lbs

Food detail:

7 grain waffles - 150
Bistro caeser sald - 230

Everything below this is all fake numbers that I have no way of knowing are real or not:

1/2 cup cheese fondue - 246
rye bread cubes - 83
1/2 fillet chicken schnitzel - 150
1 roll pork cordon bleu - 504
chocolate mousse - 355
16.9 oz hard cider - 300

total = 2018

Diet Day 37

Didn't expect to be writing one today, as I was SUPPOSED to be in L.A., but since Alaska's computer went belly up that got canceled. I didn't eat much yesterday AND I went for a run all in preparation for eating lots today....which may still happen. My boss said my hubby and I should go out to dinner on her since I couldn't make it to the big work hoopla thing tonight, so I'm thinking steak or fondue....either way it's calorie heaven.

Saturday morning, 167

Food detail:

Kashi 7 grain waffles - 150
2 servings cheesy cauliflower casserole - 234
5.7 oz baked chicken thighs - 201
2 servings hummus - 100
carmel cone low fat ice cream - 170

total = 855

Diet Day 36

I find it interesting that the scale is more friendly to me on the morning after I've had a couple drinks. Bizarre. Anyway, we had my corned beef and cabbage (a scrumptious 500 calorie meal) and then went out to sing some karaoke with friends since I'll be packing tonight and in L.A. tomorrow. It will be a little scary to spend a morning away from the scale and have to wait till Sunday to see if I do any damage in L.A. Also, why is it that I'm more motivated to exercise on the days that I LOSE weight than the days that I don't? Going for a lunchtime run today.

Friday morning, 167 lbs

Food detail:

cheesy cauliflower casserole - 121
spinach quiche - 134
sugar free pudding - 60
3 oz corned beef - 213
1 cup cabbage - 65
7 oz red potatoes - 143
ice cream sandwich - 130
3 oz rum - 193

total = 1065

Diet Day 35

Not much to report. Had a craptastic day, then made a mediocre spinach quiche and prepped my naughty meal for tonight. I had picked up an "after St. Patty's on sale" corned beef and some tiny potatoes and onion and cabbage the other day. The crockpot will be making me hungry ALL day long.

Thursday morning, (still) 168 lbs (though it did flicker 167.5 at me a couple times)

Food detail:

Kashi 7 grain waffles - 150
1 cup OJ - 112
Ready Pac Bistro Chef Salad - 270
Ice cream sandwich - 130
1 serving HG sweet crust quiche supreme - 144
Fat Free chocolate pudding - 80
Kettle corn 100 pac - 100
Low fat ice cream - 150

total = 1136

Diet Day 34

Finally got a run in after work yesterday, a doosy 4.6 miles, but after I got home realized I had a blister (!) Guess I wont be running again this week. Didn't do much else.

Wednesday morning, (STILL?) 168 lbs

Food detail:

fluffy lemon square - 121
chicken noodle soup - 100
corn vitatop - 100
low fat ice cream - 170
9 oz baked potato - 235
green giant broccoli and cheese - 40
2 Tbspns fat free sour cream - 20
1 slice reduced fat swiss cheese - 70
low fat ice cream sandwich - 130
2.5 servings fat free cool whip - 38

total = 1024

Diet Day 33

Walked the dogs to the store last night... guess it wasn't enough.

Tuesday morning, 168 lbs

Food Detail:

Deep chocolate Vitatop - 100
2 servings cheesy cauliflower casserole - 234
.7 oz chicken - 22
1/2 cup rice - 96
2 poached eggs - 150
3 slices turkey bacon - 105
2 Tbspns fat free sour cream - 20
2 low fat carmel cone ice cream - 340
ice cream sandwich - 130

total = 1187

Diet Day 32

Damnit, damnit, damnit! I was SUPPOSED to run yesterday. What is going on? Oh, yeah, well, there's the crazy ass weather that can't decide if it's going to rain or hurricane, but still.... there was time.... oh yeah, we did drive all over town looking for a stove and I DID get my new purse finished and sewed Luna's Cowardly Lion costume, but DAMNIT I was supposed to RUN. </rant>

Ate leftover schwarma (omg, yum) but then my IC started acting up and I had to drink 6 glasses of water in an hour to get my pill to activate and was rocking in pain on the sofa the rest of the night. Probably unrelated.

Monday morning, 168 lbs

Food detail:

Kashi 7 grain waffles - 150
3oz schwarma - 94
3/4 cup basmati rice - 160
3.5 oz schwarma - 113
3/4 cup basmati rice - 160
low fat ice cream sandwich - 130
SC white mint truffle bar - 100
1 serving Circus Peanuts candy - 150

total = 1057

Diet Days 30 and 31

Danced for hours Friday night and had only 2 drinks, but then Saturday ended up having lunch twice and went out for dinner (mmmmm, schwarma) so went a bit over. I think if I go for a run today it will even out.

Saturday morning, 167.5

Food detail:

instant oatmeal - 160
2 servings cheesy cauliflower casserole - 234
Fat Free Tapioca pudding - 80
Arbys Grilled Chicken farmhouse salad - 250
2 Tbspns light ranch dressing - 70
Skinny Cow white mint truffle bar - 100
1 medium banana - 105
2 oz rum - 128

Total = 1137

Sunday morning, 168

Food detail:

1 serving Honey Nut Chex - 120
1/2 cup nonfat milk - 43
1 serving cheesy cauliflower casserole - 121
1 medium apple - 72
Arby's Jr. ham and cheddar melt - 210
4 oz roated chicken schwarma - 126
1/2 cup basmati rice - 96
1/2 cup hummus - 218
large pita bread - 234
Skinny Cow low fat strawberry ice cream - 150

Total = 1386

Day 29 Supplemental - Dieting is Highly Personal.

On a side note, I got into a "discussion" with a dear friend yesterday about my diet. I know it's a common thing for people to give their opinions and expertise on any subject you embark upon, and it's often welcome, good advice, but why is it so hard to get criticism or suggestions about what you should or shouldn't eat? Why is that such a touchy subject? Well, I'll offer MY opinion, since after all, it is my blog. I think it's because the whole act of going on the diet is an admission of the less than perfect state of one's own body. While it's as hard as anything to admit, we don't want other people agreeing with us, right?

So when you start this huge chore (that's going to take a YEAR to finish - or at least it will feel that long) and you're already giving up the very yummiest things in life because they don't fit into the schedule of restrictions you've set for yourself (I will never again have the pleasure of a McGriddle because I cannot believe it would hold me for an ENTIRE day as it has over 1,000 calories), and someone says that you shouldn't be eating the meager little treats that DO fit in the restrictions, it's like they are saying that you're not doing enough. You're not working hard enough. You are not doing it "right."

When you are already crying inside that you cannot go to the pub and have a Cornish pastie and two pints of cider and they say the 80 calorie fat free pudding snack or the occasional oatmeal creme pie is "naughty," how are you supposed to react? Yes, there are as many diets out there as there are stars in the sky, but the ONLY one that I KNOW works, is to eat fewer calories than you burn in a day. That's it. End of story. And while I know that some calories are worth more, are better for you, and yeah, might make you feel full longer, when they are not what you want to eat, are they, in fact, worth it? When your body is craving a sweet and you try to give it fruit instead, are you satisfied? That's a big fat no. When you want chocolate, not a goddamned thing in the world will do but chocolate. And when you can get it in an 80 calorie pudding snack, is that so bad?

Diet Day 29

After 2 days of not eating ENOUGH, I knew I could hit the mark on St. Patty's Day, if only because I would be supplementing my calories with a little liquor. Not much, ended up only having 3 drinks, but it was nice to go out. Mark had ordered a French Dip for dinner at the bar and it smelled SO GOOD I had to order something myself even though I had already made and ate my Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole at home. But the bar computer somehow lost my order and I didn't get my veggie plate until nearly midnight and I barely had time to eat all the cucumber slices, a few mushroom bits and a couple broccoli florets before some stupid drunk girl went up to sing one of MY signature songs and we had to scram before I had to listen to it.

Friday morning, 167.5 (woohoo!)

Food detail:
fluffy lemon square - 121
light vanilla yogurt - 60
1 serving not-potato-salad - 97
5 oz red potatos - 102
oatmeal creme pie - 170
1 slice lowfat swiss cheese - 70
1 serving Honey nut chex - 120
1/2 cup nonfat milk - 43
1 serving Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole - 117
2 oz rum - 128
1 oz vodka - 64
1 Tbsp ranch dressing - 73
cucumber slices - 8
(the other veggies were so few it's difficult to even calculate)

total = 1173

Diet Day 28

It sort of happened again. Or maybe the meals I've been planning are just insufficient? I mean, 4.5 oz of baked chicken and 2 servings of hummus is filling enough for a bit, but when I'm just too busy to have a snack afterwards? It's hard to blame it on the sewing, but when my hands are busy, I just don't even finish my drinks. Oh well. I'm sure I'll hit it today!

Thursday morning, 169.5

Food detail:

fluffy lemon square - 121
can Progresso light chicken vegetable rotini soup - 140
Oatmeal creme pie - 170
5.5 oz apple - 75
4.6 oz baked chicken breast - 143
2 servings Athenos hummus - 100
SC low fat strawberry cheesecake ice cream - 150

total - 899

Diet Day 27

Ever have one of those days when you're just too busy to eat? Yeah, not very often, but yesterday was it. I had a busy morning and only managed to squeeze in some oatmeal, then went for a run at lunch (a grueling 2.44 miles - tried to run too fast and ended having to walk several blocks) so ate lunch late and didn't have time for anything fancy so just microwaved what I found in the freezer and chased it with some pudding. Then after work I went to pickup a new sewing machine while we baked some potatoes and by the time I got home it was 7pm and I was STARVING - practically ate my potato whole and then felt sick the rest of the night so I couldn't eat anything else.

(OH, and in case anyone was wondering (or caught this) I did stop taking my vitamins for a little while because I didn't want to waste 20 of my allotted calories on them, but I decided that I SHOULD take them, and therefore would just not count those 20 toward my daily total. )

Wednesday morning, 169.5

Food detail:

instand maple and brown sugar oatmeal - 160
Michelina's lean gourmet pizza snackers - 200
fat free chocolate pudding - 80
7 oz baked potato - 183
2 tablespoons fat free sour cream - 20
green giant broccoli and cheese tray - 40

total = 683

Diet Day 26

So I didn't sleep AT ALL last night, combination of the stupid time change, getting excited about sewing again (and having watched a demo on a new machine) and unable to turn my brain off, plus forgetting to take my pill yesterday so I could breathe, drinking Diet Mt. Dew immediately before bed, and what I had for dinner that made my tummy rumble all night (I'll get back to that), and mysteriously my leg started hurting about 3am and didn't stop until 6:10am, 40 minutes after I got up and took an Excedrin.

So after work yesterday, I did a bunch of chores and then ran to the sewing machine store to see about getting my machine repaired (AGAIN). The other night it started sewing ALL BY ITSELF again and since it is so old it has no "off" switch so it wasn't until I could make it to the end of the plug and unplug the darn thing did it stop. Quite a dangerous situation if you ask me, so when we took it in (and waited long enough) it miraculously did it again while we were standing there so the guys at the shop could a) believe us and b) see it in action. Kind of like how you can never get your car to "make that sound" when you're at the shop? Anyway, the machine is as old as I am and they do not make the motor for it anymore, so if they can't find one to replace it I'm going to need a new machine. Long story short, I was late getting back home to get ready for my book club meeting so I didn't have time for a low-cal dinner at home and had to fend for myself at the meeting at the Bagdad.

For any non-Portlanders reading, the Bagdad is a member of a local theatre/restaurant chain that does not specialize in low cal food. Nor could I find a calorie count online for any of their foods besides their hand crafted beers. And the lowest pint of that is 170 calories. I opted for a Malibu and diet soda. From the variety of strange foods on the menu, I ended up choosing something called the "3 Faces of Eve" which consisted of some hummus, pomegranate walnut dip and feta yogurt dip with grilled flat bread. It was heavenly, which means it had lotsa calories. I did my best in looking them up and adding them to my daily log, but anytime I go out, it's anyone's guess what they really are. In the end, I decided I had better skip the movie (after my book club meetings, we get to screen the movie made from the book we just discussed) because the smell of freshly popped theatre popcorn would have been the end of me.

Staying up all night has it's rewards, Tuesday morning, 169.5 lbs

Food detail:
Michelina's Lean Gourmet Creamy Rigatoni with broccoli and chicken - 270
Little Debbie Oatmeal cream pie - 170
sugar free jello pudding - 60
Greek yogurt veggie dip - 60
roasted garlic hummus - 180
walnuts - 185
pita bread - 124
1 oz rum - 64

total = 1113

Diet Days 24 and 25

I didn't post yesterday because I was angry at the scale. Or me. Or at restaurants for not putting calorie counts on their menus. Whatever the case, apparently I cannot have "unmeasured" food two days in a row or the scale gets mean. Either that or the risotto was injected with fat and calories.

In case anyone is wondering where I get the calorie counts, I have a program on my Blackberry called "Fat Secret" where you can type in what food you are looking for and it will give you several national name brands to choose from. For instance, since I had no way of knowing the calories in Asparagus, artichoke, bacon risotto, I chose the Traders Joes brand of asparagus risotto and just added in the calories for the artichokes and bacon (estimated quantities). There's a lot of guesswork involved in this. I try to be fair and choose the average count for items to get the most accurate numbers. As you can see, sometimes I fail. 

Sunday morning, 171 lbs

Food detail:

4 oz OJ - 51
2 large poached eggs - 26
1/3 serving fat free plain yogurt - 140
leftover asparagus risotto - 224
with artichoke - 45
and bacon - 27
fat free cocoa - 20
chicken noodle soup - 100
Sukis dinner salad: lettuce (0), cucumber (8), mushrooms (4), monterey jack (105), 1 Tbspn ranch dressing (73), garlic bread (93)
3 oz Malibu rum - 193
1/2 serving tater tots - 85

total = 1201

I meant to go for a run on Sunday as well, but Mother Nature saw fit to, well, throw a fit and we were nearly blasted off the planet by a squall of epic proportions. So much for my run. I ended up sewing a cute messenger bag out of a Jack Daniels t-shirt. I'll put it on my website for sale as soon as I get it washed and photographed.

I've also been asked what HG stands for in some of my posts. My dear friend Rachel, upon hearing I was starting this diet, loaned me a cookbook of hers called "Hungry Girl 200 Under 200". They have a wesite here: http://www.hungry-girl.com/. Check it out!

Monday morning, still 171 lbs

Sunday food detail:

1 HG fluffy lemon square - 121
Taco Bell beefy 5 layer burrito - 550
1 serving HG not potato salad - 97
5.5 oz red potatos - 112
Skinny Cow low fat carmel cone ice cream - 170

total = 1050

Diet Day 23

Didn't have much to eat most of the day, and ran nearly 3 miles at lunch time,  so I had a bunch of calories free by the time we were going out so we decided to go out for Italian. So naturally all the calorie counts after lunch are estimates because you never know what they've put in the food, but I did my best. The asparagus, artichoke and bacon risotto wasn't really worth the wait, but it was ok.

Saturday morning, 169.5 lbs

Food Detail:

Kashi 7 grain waffles - 150
4 oz OJ - 51
1 serving HG "not" potato salad - 97
3oz red potatos - 61
sugar free jello pudding - 60
1 cup asparagus risotto - 224
with artichokes - 45
and bacon - 27
5 oz Chianti - 124
medium slice garlic bread - 94
hot chocolate - 112
shot rumplemintz peppermint schnapps - 103

total = 1148

Diet Day 22

So after bitching about not being able to HAVE cake yesterday, at the end of the day I just couldn't do without it (without being really bitchy). Mark suggested I take the day off from the diet and just "have some friggin cake already" (ok, not technically his words) but in the end, I was able to fit in half a piece of Safeway 2-layer frosted cake even if perhaps the calorie count wasn't EXACTLY right because there's no way of knowing.

Friday morning, 169.5 lbs

Food detail:
4oz OJ - 51
fluffy lemon square - 121
2 servings HG chunky chicken salad - 290
Fat free chocolate pudding - 80
1.25 servings HG cauliflower casserole - 146
4.2 oz white cake with frosting - 444

total = 1132

Diet Day 21

Today marks 3 WEEKS I've been on this "diet" and with today's weigh in I have officially lost 6.5 lbs. That may not SOUND like much, but if you lose more than that in this amount of time, it is unhealthy and statistically impossible to keep it off. I am losing at the very top speed that is recommended - about 2 lbs a week. Sadly, this wont last, at some point I will "plateau" and will actually have to start exercising to continue losing, but when you are your heaviest, if you really, honestly keep to it, you shed them fast.

This has not been without struggle. Every night after dinner I miss having my slice of cake from the Safeway bakery - spongy, white goodness nestled under two thick layers of super sweet butter cream frosting..... and for a moment I get angry. Last night I was so pissed I couldn't have it, I went and grabbed the entire container of Fat Free Cool Whip intending to drown my sorrows in it's cool, plasticy substitute.

but a funny thing happened. I got full. After about a dozen tablespoons, I put the container away. I had only done 90 calories of damage to my day's count, and I was full.

Thursday morning, 169.5 lbs

Food detail:

Kashi 7 grain waffles - 150
4 oz OJ - 51
1.25 servings of Cheesy Cauliflower casserole - 146 (although, I got full and didn't finish it...)
1 serving not quite potato salad - 97
plus 3 oz potatos - 61
7 grams egg white - 4
2.5 saltines - 32
2.4 oz pork chop - 126
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil - 60
1/2 cup rice - 121
1/2 serving petite mixed vegetables - 25
sugar free Jello pudding - 60
SC low fat ice cream - 150
6 servings Fat Free Cool Whip - 90

total = 1173

Diet Day 20

Made a new casserole out of the Hungry Girl cookbook Rachel loaned me, and I LOVED IT, (or I was just really hungry) but Mark wouldn't eat his. I guess the part of the recipe that says "even humans who don't like cauliflower will rave about this" is utterly wrong. Not even the 3 kinds of cheese could tempt him to more than a bite. Fine with me, it was so low cal, I had two whole servings and was STUFFED. I also made up my lunch for today, but I don't have as high hopes for it. while I managed to successfully cut the Cauliflower Casserole recipe in half, I tried to do the same with the "I can't believe it's not potato salad" recipe and forgot to cut a few key ingredients in half (!) It ended up being ALL dressing and no substance, so I had to boil and add 4 red potatoes to it just so I'd have something to eat today. That added 440 calories to the recipe bringing the serving calories to 177 (from 97). I'll let you know tomorrow how it tasted.

Wednesday morning, 170.5 lbs

Food detail:
4 oz OJ - 51
fluffy lemon square - 121
fat free vanilla yogurt - 60
Ready Pac Bistro chef salad - 270
2 servings cheesy Cauliflower casserole - 234
Skinny Cow low fat ice cream Carmel Cone - 170

Total = 906

Diet Day 19

Having severe ankle pains yesterday so "taking the dogs for a walk" turned into hobbling around a smaller block and going home. Made a nice baked chicken breast for dinner to have with the rest of my hummus and still had enough calories left over to have popcorn while watching movie and several other snacks. I love snacks.

Tuesday morning, 170.5

Food detail:
fat free cottage cheese - 80
HG lemon square - 121
Bistro chicken ceasar salad - 250
sugar free pudding - 60
3oz baked chicken breast - 84
4 Tbsps Athenos hummus - 100
1 serving steamed broccoli, cauliflour & carrots - 25
Skinny Cow fat free strawberry cheesecake ice cream - 150
1/2 cup skim milk - 43
1 bag popsecret kettle corn - 100
1 chocolate vitatop - 100
2 Tbspns fat free Cool Whip - 15

total = 1108

Diet Day 18

Planted my garden and took the dogs to the park yesterday. And read an entire book for Book Club.

Monday morning 171 lbs (got rid of that pesky extra one from Friday)

Food Detail:

Kashi 7 grain waffles - 150
4 oz OJ - 51
2 servings egg beaters - 60
Wendys Crispy Chicken Sandwich - 350
Campbells Chunky Chicken Soup - 190
Corn Muffin Vita Top - 100
HG fluffy Lemon Bars - 121
2 Tbsps fat free coolwhip - 15

total = 1037

Diet Day 17

Maybe the indulgence takes another day to catch up, or maybe it was because I had my leftovers for lunch, but the scale was mean. Or maybe the scale just doesn't work.

Sunday morning, 172 lbs

Food detail:
4 oz OJ - 51
1 slice wheat bread - 70
1 Tbsp reduced fat peanut butter - 94
leftover pasta (recorded as spaghetti and meatballs) - 460
8.5 oz baked potato - 222
Green Giant individual broccoli and cheese tray - 40
3 servings Fat free Cool Whip - 45
1 double chocolate vitatop - 100
1 bag Pop secret kettle corn - 100

total = 1181

Diet Day 16

WOOHOO! Last night indulgence did not derail my progress! Allow me to explain. I had a crappy week. A really crappy - well, it started Wednesday afternoon and didn't get better till I turned off the computer at 4pm Friday. But Friday the Feds deposited our tax refund (pretty much already spent, but good anyhow) AND someone who had come to look at our car for sale last week showed up and bought it (yay!) So we had a little wiggle room in the finances for a change, AND a Restaurant.com certificate for a swanky place in SW, so we went and had dinner out. I really tried to log the calories from what we ate, but really, how can I possibly guess how many were in the "sweet onion and cashew soup'? I had to put down "french onion" because it was the closest thing I could find in the program on my phone. And Papardelle pork arribiata? No clue. I put "pasta with meat sauce". The glass of '05 Barbera D'asti? um, red table wine. After we got to Suki's I gave up entirely. I could try to figure out the ingredients in a Peppermint Patty (I know there's hot chocolate and rumplemintz?) or Whipped Cream Vodka, but those were the only two drinks I had, PLUS I had gone for a 3 mile run at lunch, so I figured it might even out. And lo and behold, the scale agreed.

Saturday morning, 171 lbs

Food detail:
4 oz OJ - 51
Entenmans Little Bites Blueberry Muffins - 180
slice wheat bread - 69
1 Tbsp reduced fat peanut butter - 94
Fiber One chewy granola bar - 140
Sweet onion and cashew soup - no idea, but french onion has 369 with swiss cheese and croutons
6 oz red wine - 145
spagetti with meat sauce - 255 (BUT the parpadelle is very thick pasta - like flat lasagna noodles and the "meat sauce" was like a spicy carnitas in a tomato sauce AND I only ate about half of it.
Rumplemintz - 103
cocoa - 112
whipped cream vodka - 69

total = 1587 roughly, though I could probably cut that spaghetti and meat sauce in half, plus I ran 3 miles.

Diet Day 15

Ate practically nothing yesterday all day, so still had a 500 calorie credit when we left for the karaoke bar. This is good. That meant I could have a couple drinks and a chicken strip all the while not cheating at all. Even ended up below my limit for the day!

Friday morning, 171.5 lbs

food detail:
4 oz OJ - 51
yogurt - 60
1 egg - 74
1/4 cup egg beaters - 30
1/2 cup brown rice - 109
fat free chocolate pudding - 80
7 g egg beaters - 4 (to bread pork chop)
2.5 saltine crackers - 32 (to bread pork chop)
2 oz pork chop - 105
2 cups garden salad - 15
2 Tbsp fat free Italian dressing - 30
1 swiss cake roll - 135
2 oz Malibu Rum - 128
1 chicken strip - 140
4.5 Tater tots - 85

total = 1068

Year 38, Day 17

Had a crappy afternoon at work so ended up having a glass of Chocovino with dinner (have you heard of this stuff? Dutch chocolate and red wine.... tastes like.... well... like chocolate liqueur actually. Anyway, the scale was having a hissy fit again this morning and really couldn't decide on a number and told me 171.5, 172 and 172.5 but a) not in that order and b) it's a digital scale (!)

So after stepping on and off a half dozen times, I'm going to say 172.5 again probably, 172 maybe, 171.5 unlikely.

Food detail:
yogurt - 60
Progresso tortilla soup (whole can) - 220
SC truffle bar - 100
apple - 71
3 oz baked chicken breast - 84
1/2 cup brown rice - 109
6 oz Chocovine - 400

total = 1054

Year 38, Day 16

So there was a moment of daylight yesterday when it wasn't raining and I wasn't at work, so we took the doggies for a walk, only about 1.7 miles, but it was brisk and I got a blister on my ankle, so that was good. Then realized I hadn't taken anything out of the freezer for dinner so we took a Groupon I had for Dublin Pub, an Irish place I'd been dying to try, and set out for the west side. We needn't have bothered.

If I hadn't paid $10 for the Groupon, we'd have left it on the table and walked out. Terrible service, waited an HOUR for our food before the waitress comes to our table to tell us they are OUT of what I ordered and what would I like instead. Well, we'd had PLENTY of time with the menus before (due to the terrible service) and since I had already considered everything on it and didn't want (or couldn't afford the calories in most of it) I just ordered a chef salad (that I could have gotten ANYWHERE) with no tomatoes. She disappears again and another HALF HOUR LATER returns with our food. As she is setting it on the table I asked for to-go boxes and the check. Not even she seemed surprised. I hope she wasn't terribly surprised by the $3 tip either.

Whether it was walking the dogs or waiting HOURS for a salad or just being good all week, the scale obliged.

Wednesday morning, 172.5

Food detail:

2 slices HG key lime pie - 176
4 oz ham - 133
red skinned mashed potatoes - 112
fat free tapioca pudding - 80
pear cider - 150
chef salad - 303
skinny cow low fat carmel cone ice cream - 170

total = 1124

Year 38, Day 15

Yesterday was a pretty blah Monday. I did get my photos edited from the shoot. But didn't do a single other thing than that.

Tuesday morning, still 173

food detail:

yogurt - 80
Budget Gourmet Lasagna -  260
Oatmeal cream pie - 170
reduced fat string cheese - 60
4 oz ham - 133
5.5 oz mashed red potatos - 110
1/2 cup canned green beans - 30
skinny cow low fat ice cream - 150
pop secret kettle corn - 100
sugar free jello pudding - 60

total = 1145