Lesson: There's a Second Not-Hungry, Much Like the Second Wind...

So after I hadn't eaten since 1:20 or so, I had a fun (actual fun, not the sarcastically-stated kind) evening running errands and doing Christmas shopping with Lyndsey--and then hanging out and catching up for quite some time.

I found that even though I felt like I was starving and about to die around 8:00 or so, I came out the other side of it not feeling so hungry--but knowing I should.

So I ate late when I got home, which is bad... and I'm going to get to bed late, which is also bad. But at least not as bad as the eating I did over the Thanksgiving holiday dinners!

Breakfast: Catfish, slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots and apple.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Bottom round, about two (maybe three) servings of steamed broccoli.

Now, if only I could go to bed this instant... But I guess it's good I'm not, as I need to at least pretend to let that meal settle and digest some, huh?

Free Green Tea!

It's official: I cannot drink green tea. I'm still trying not to hurl from trying to down a cup earlier. Ick. I think I'm going to bring it to school and leave it in the lounge under a sign that says "Free to a good home" and then scratch out "good".

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon, fruit smoothie (yogurt, milk, banana (I ran out of yogurt, so I made up the difference with milk--it was fine)).

Snack: Apple, carrots.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Baked chicken, about two servings of broccoli (maybe three), half a cup of decaf green tea (blueberry flavored).

No good news from the daily scale reading, either. Maybe tomorrow, eh?

Back to Normal... Sorta...

Well, I had a normal Sunday, which means a "cheat" meal for dinner, but it wasn't all that bad (he said, wondering what tomorrow's unofficial weigh-in will look like).

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner: Serving (okay, maybe 1.5 servings... or 2 servings) of roast beef, serving of cooked carrots, two servings of asparagus, maybe two cups of potatoes (about one large potato... that was my major bad of this meal, if you don't count the cookies), and two small cookies (one chocolate chip, one sugar (without sugar sprinkled on top).

Tomorrow: a totally normal cheat-free day. Also featured in the day will be a discussion in my head about the need to actually get some sort of exercise in during the holiday season, as apparently I need it.

The unofficial weigh-in this morning was not a happy one.

Tomorrow is Another Day...

I started so good today. I didn't even lick my fingers while prepping Jordan's cinnamon rolls! I was so flippin' good... And then I wasn't. The family Thanksgiving was not a success for my diet, but I had a good time.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Bourbon chicken (here's the deal: Jordan wanted it last night at the grocery store from whatever Chinese place is at Price Chopper, and I bought it... she didn't eat it all, and ate some of it for lunch, but was going to toss the rest out, and I couldn't let that happen; however, I only ate a bit of rice--whatever small amount stuck to the chicken).

Dinner: About three servings of turkey--maybe four by the time I finished grazing after dinner, two rolls, two crescent rolls, a deviled egg (which is half an egg, really), serving of green bean casserole, serving of mashed potatoes, serving of yams, serving of cranberry relish, serving of noodles, serving of corn pudding.

Seriously, next year I'm bringing asparagus. If I lose any weight this week--or if I don't gain any weight this week, I'll be amazed.

Normal is Good

Maybe that title should be "Routine is Good". But I'm not going to change it. It's 9:21 and I'm tired and I ate too late and I'm just going to go with whatever.

My point is, today I was back on routine, and I'm happy with it. I did gain from yesterday morning from this morning, but had an overall loss for the week, so I'm okay.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar (side note: I've tried a different seasoning on the chicken, and these salads rock), carrots, apple, sharp cheddar cheese.

Dinner: Bottom round, about 1.5 servings of asparagus, mixed nuts, raisins, glad or red wine, dark chocolate.

Tomorrow is Turkey Day: Round Two. So expect more "being good within the bounds of what's available to me" tomorrow!

This week's magic number: 6.131. Chugging away to 10!

Turkey Day

Well, I've had better days, but I may have had worse, as well... Well, I had worse for sure before I started all this, but I mean I may have had worse days since I started this. I mean in regards to food choices, not overall tone of the day...

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Turkey (probably about three servings... maybe two, but I think three is probably closer), mashed potatoes (about a cup), two rolls, butter (just a "slice" for one roll and another for the mashed taters), green bean casserole (maybe half a cup), stuffing (maybe three-fourths of a cup), yams (about half a cup), corn (about three-fourths of a cup), and cranberry relish (less than a quarter cup... cranberries, onion, horseradish, sour cream, and sugar). Also, a slice of pumpkin pie (maybe 1/8 or 1/6) with whipped cream. (Okay, I probably haven't had worse days since I started this).

Dinner: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red peppers, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese.

The STILL: Life picture for today has my plate before I started eating. Add to that some more turkey and another roll (but a different kind--and smaller)--and the slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream--and that was my lunch.

I weighed myself this morning, so I'll know tomorrow just how bad things were...

Season's Feedings

I realized tonight how bad things are going to get over the next several weeks. Yikes.

Oh, and I've been publishing this blog on Facebook for a few days now. I figure it would give more people a chance to call me out or holla some support or whatever. Feel free to ignore it!

Anyway: holidays. Yikes.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana).

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Catfish, apple, carrots.

I got lots of stuff done today--eating wasn't one of them. I don't like days where I don't get nine servings of fruits and vegetables. How wacky is that?

Also: I went to the grocery store yesterday. I went today. I have yet to buy broccoli. This saddens me.

Y'know, just a little.

Training, Fixing Wireless, Visiting a New Baby... Yeah, I'm Probably Going to Forget Some Groceries

And I did. How did I make it out of the store without broccoli? I even had some at lunch today! Whatever.

Busy day. Didn't have school (or didn't go), as I had this training thing to go to. Then I ran a few errands which included fixing the wirelesslessness on Dane's computer. And in the middle of running that errand, I find out Leigh has given birth to baby Will (Thomas Wilson). Still, I needed to get Dane's wirelesslessness to become wirelessness first. I got that done, then I stopped by the hospital for a very brief visit (as I needed to buy groceries before making dinner, you see, and the closer to "no later than 7:30" I can be with eating dinner, the better) before heading to the grocery store.

And I forgot to buy broccoli. Whatever.

Breakfast: (Oh, did I mention I forgot to buy yogurt and eggs at the store last night? Well, I did.) Skim milk with whey protein, slice of whole-grain wheat bread with a tablespoon of organic peanut butter.

Lunch: Dijon chicken from Applebee's (red peppers, onion, cheese, on grilled chicken... and some sort of Dijon sauce, obviously) and two servings of veggies, which turned out to be a couple of broccoli stalks. I at all of both stalks, which normally grosses me out, but apparently doesn't any more.. or didn't today.

Snack: Mixed nuts with raisins (so I would have the energy to make dinner, because I was seriously reminded of what hunger feels like this evening).

Dinner: Baked catfish, asparagus, sharp cheddar cheese, red wine, and dark chocolate for dessert.

No school tomorrow, but I want to try to get the Christmas lights on the house (so I can have them on Thursday night), so I'm going to be doing some work--just not school work.

Why am I Awake at Midnight?

Actually, there are a few reasons. The first is it takes way too long for jeans to dry. The rest are just stupid. (The reasons are stupid, not my jeans or my other clothes.)

Breakfast: Slice of whole-grain wheat bread with tablespoon of organic peanut butter, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Prunes.

Lunch: Salad (cup-and-a-half of romaine mix, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Snack: Mixed nuts, raisins.

Dinner: Steak, carrots, asparagus, apple.

Another strange night. I made it to the store, but realized later I forgot about half the things I meant to get. I did weigh myself this morning, and I hadn't gained since Friday, so I guess I didn't do too much damage over the past few days.

Oh, and I have such a Price Chopper rant, but never mind. Just suffice it to say this QT deal is a rip-off if you're single and eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

Ah, and I need to share the bread story. Maybe tomorrow. I need to... go sit on the couch and wait for the dryer to finish.

I Feel Like I've Gone WAY Off the Reservation

It's been an odd 24 hours or so. Ben's in the hospital, I picked up the girls from the hospital and spent the night at the Hart home, and today I didn't go shopping because I spent most of my day watching the girls.

And that's all good, as I'm learning to "try to eat right" while not following my same-thing-just-about-every-day routine. I just feel like I've done a horrible job of it. Let's see...

Breakfast: Slice of whole-grain wheat bread with one tablespoon organic peanut butter, fruit smoothie (yogurt and banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Some sort of barbecue beef, carrots.

Snack: More carrots.

Dinner: Steak, baked tilapia, couple of servings of asparagus, about a cup-and-a-half (maybe two cups) of pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese. I'd feel bad about that last one, but this is my official "cheat" meal every week.

So I guess I did somewhat okay with veggies (I am trying for five or six servings of late, but I'm okay with four), and one out of three or four servings of fruit, I can live with. I knew I should have eaten that apple that was in Ben & Tricia's fridge, though.

Let me tell you, a pantry full of things not on the approved list is a huge temptation. Luckily I've gotten good at distracting myself from fake hunger, or I'd have had a couple of cupcakes and several handfuls of chips.

I don't know, maybe I did go a little far off the prescribed path. I guess I'll know how I feel about it at weigh-in on Friday (or, actually, tomorrow when I do a check-in first thing in the morning).

Drama Equals Cheating

Yeah, I need to find something better to cope with drama than eating. At least I ate mostly stuff I can have. I just ate it at 10:30 at night. But, considering I may be up a while, it might work out okay.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein.

Lunch: Mixed nuts, raisins, baked catfish, dark chocolate.

Dinner: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), bottom round, glass of red wine.

Late snack: Serving-and-a-half of carrots, some sort of barbecue beef.

Also, I need to stock up on some things, obviously. I don't know if I'll get around to it soon, so it might be an adventure in making what I have in the fridge work for me. Oh, I'll probably buy some veggies, because I'm pretty much out of them... but I'm going to hold off on buying any more fruit and make use of the bananas, raisins, and prunes I have at home right now.

Well, I'm going to try to convince these two girls they need to get to bed now. Pretty sure there will be more drama when I do. Here goes...

Remind Me to Tell You the Bread Story Sometime

I've got to remember to write about the loaf of bread I finished off the other day. But not now. Too much on my plate. The metaphorical one.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), and this: half a cup of skim milk, about 3/4 cup of yogurt, half a banana, and whey protein mix blended together.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, and vinegar).

Snack: Prunes and half a serving of carrots.

Dinner: Beef and turkey BBQ sandwich at the going-away thingy tonight at Papa Bob's BBQ. Later, at home, I had about three servings of asparagus. Oh, and two "I'll miss the Reyes family" consolation cookies. And even with that I think I might still have a snack of mixed nuts and raisins. And maybe dark chocolate. Or maybe I'll just have water. I guess you're gonna have to assume I didn't unless I come back here and fix it after the fact.

And this week's magic number is 6.075! Woo-hoo!

Is It Strange I Don't Feel Hungry A Lot?

I don't really get hungry that much. I did at first, but now I only feel noticeably hungry when I get home from school--and I have to wonder if that's actual hunger. Because I can ignore it and move on until it's time to make dinner, usually.

Whatever.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots and prunes.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Baked catfish, asparagus (at least a couple servings), sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins, glass of red wine.

Seriously, my life seems odd right now. I keep finding other things to do besides munch on junk. Half the time I'm not even trying to find this stuff. No lie. It finds me.

Weigh-in tomorrow. I dread the day when I stop making progress, or only make a-fraction-of-a-pound kind of progress.

Sickness Sucks

No school for me today. Sinus-headache-gross thing keeps coming and going, but came with a vengeance this morning. So I didn't have a normal eating day--actually did not eat until about 1:00 today.

Breakfast: Catfish. Two cookies. (Comfort food, okay?)

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

Dinner: Bottom round, carrots, couple of servings of asparagus, red wine.

What's helping me get better is grading papers. It really helps a lot. Rest? We don't need any rest!

Outta Bread

I forgot to buy bread last night. How many of these posts start with something I forgot to buy? Someone go count.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots and apple.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Snack: Sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins.

Dinner: Baked catfish, couple of servings of asparagus, glass of red wine, dark chocolate.

Mango? Mango?

So it's later than it should be, and Cody is over here cooking this on a trial-run for his competition thing for his FCCLA group that competes in February with beef as the main ingredient. Even though it's meant as an appetizer and it's very late, it's my beef for supper. I'm also making asparagus to eat along with it, as I have not had dinner yet. Yes, bad me. I know.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins, apple, carrots.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: The beef skewer things, two servings of asparagus.

Okay, I have to go eat now.

Little Late, Due to Early TANsgivng

Had early Thanksgiving last night with Dane at the Olivet Christan Church back in Center, and got home very late (after getting up at 3:00 yesterday morning to eat breakfast and go get Dane before heading to Center to make it for 9:00a.m. service).

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), apple, carrots, sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins.

Dinner: Two crescent rolls, serving of turkey, about a half cup of mashed potatoes, serving of green beans, serving of corn, about a half cup of noodles. It was a very tan/yellow meal. It was also my cheat night. Oh, and I had a slice of pecan pie. May this not wreck my week.

Snack: Dark chocolate (on the way home, trying to stay awake).

Apparently the Weather is Above Me

Started feeling a little cruddy yesterday, but just figured I was tired. Then about the time I went to bed, I started wondering if I was getting sick.

So today I didn't feel great. My head's been killing me all day, to boot, so I slept through most of it instead of doing all the things I was planning to do instead.

Breakfast (late): Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, carrots, salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus, apple, dark chocolate, glass of red wine.

May none of it end up coming back up later.

Twelve-Plus Hour Days Suck

Long boring copy session after school that led to long day. Blech.

Whatever.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, blueberry), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Apple and carrots.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins, carrots (serving-and-a-half), grilled chicken, dark chocolate.

I need to buy aluminum foil. I need to buy fruit. I need to buy... something else. I forget what now.

I need to get to the store, but it won't be tonight!

Just sayin'.

Added 10:41 p.m.: Forgot to add: this week's number is 6.006! I've passed a whole number in my quest for 10!

Edited 11/13/10 10:31 p.m.: Added that I had added cinnamon to the whey protein.

If You Don't Count the Eggs, I had a Chicken-Free Day!

So I didn't want to stay up and grill chicken last night. I didn't want to grill it tonight, either, but I just got done. So I didn't have any chicken for my salad today. It's amazing the way your mind will get creative when it doesn't want to stay up and grill chicken.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), double-fiber whole-wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, blackberry), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Lunch: Carrots, salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), catfish, and an apple.

Dinner: Bottom round, two serving of steamed broccoli.

Snack: Sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins, dark chocolate.

I weighed myself this morning. I have this thing where I'm paranoid I'm gaining. As I approach a certain mark--a weight I know I haven't been for years (which is still WAY overweight, mind you), I'm having a little bit of a freak-out. I keep thinking something is going to happen to make the whole process reverse itself or something.

Anyway, I was still losing, so I felt okay. I might start weighing myself daily, however. "The program" suggests it, but it seemed a little too O.C.D., even for me. But apparently it isn't.

You Say Tomato, I Say NOmato!

Turns out that while I like tomatoes in general and in different things, I'm of the opinion my lunch salad is better without them. I am going to leave them out for a while, I think.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, blackberry), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots and prunes and odd conversation.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Snack: Mixed nuts and raisins.

Dinner: Catfish, two servings of broccoli, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate, red wine.

It's past my bedtime, and I still have dishes to do... and chicken to grill, but I think I've worked around that problem for now. At any rate, dishes to do. G'night!

Naps Rock, But Jack Up Scheduling

Took a nap when I got home today. Of course, I got a call from someone needing me to look something up, and then thought I had trouble falling back asleep, but somehow an hour went by.

Whatever, I ate dinner late. That was my point.

Breakfast: Catfish, slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, blackberry), skim milk with whey protein and cinnamon.

Snack: Carrots, about three bits out of the most disgusting apple ever (I knew I shouldn't have been adventurous and ventured out to other types of apples... had to come across a gross one sometime). I'll let you know what kind it is after my next visit to the store.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Snack: Sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, serving-and-a-half of raisins (to try to make up for the lack of apple earlier).

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of steamed broccoli.

In other news, I must go to the grocery store tomorrow. I'll try to warn you all off whatever type of apple it is. Seriously, it tasted like apple-flavored medicine.

Yes, I Skipped a Meal

Busy night. I skipped a meal. Manchion tried to stop me, but I just did it. It's all good. Whatever. I'm tired.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, blackberry), slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, skim milk with whey protein and ground cinnamon.

Snack: Apple (pink lady--and not my favorite of the varieties I've been trying so far, but still better than red delicious), carrots, book discussion (finally).

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach (okay, probably half a cup), cup of romaine mix (okay, probably a cup-and-a-half), serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar.

And that's it. I had errands to run after school, I meant to make dinner when I got home, but the meeting I had to go to had a dinner before it, so I went back-and-forth about eating there. After deciding to eat there, I got there late, and it was a paper plate affair with no tables, so I opted to just see if I died of starvation.

Slim chance of that, mind you.

And Manchion tried to get me to eat something when I was over at her house, but by then I was over it. I could eat something now, but I'm about to go to bed, so that would just jack everything up. Whatever, I got all my fruits in and pretty much got all the veggies in... or came close, anyway. Tomorrow will be better.

I Avoided the Store

I was going to get spinach and red peppers tonight on the way back from Ben & Tricia's, but I opted to put it off until tomorrow. I have some tests to finish grading, and--as it turns out--my computer is going super-slow for some reason, so I don't have time for a trip to the store... or didn't have time... although I didn't know it when I made the decision standing in Ben & Tricia's driveway before getting in my car.

Breakfast: Catfish, slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, blueberry), skim milk with whey protein and ground cinnamon. Yes, I switched a thing and added an ingredient. I'm wild like that.

Snack: Well, it was Communion Sunday, so there's that. But after church, I had mixed nuts, raisins, carrots, and sharp cheddar cheese.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar). Apple.

Dinner: Some sort of beef in a mushroom gravy. About a cup of mashed potatoes with gravy. Corn and peas. Half a piece of cake. Maybe I shouldn't have had a free meal tonight, but I'm okay with it. See if I'm okay with it on Friday, though.

Not a lot else to report, other than I need to finish grading those tests and get to bed...

I Take the Cake

I had some cake tonight at Jordan's birthday party. I don't feel terrible or anything, but it does bother the part of my mind that wants everything to be "just so".

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Raisins, mixed nuts.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar). Sharp cheddar cheese.

Dinner (at the party): Mexican casserole (rice, cheese, tomato, green chiles, some other stuff, I suppose), refried beans (Say thinks they were low-fat... I had no more than three tablespoons of it, at any rate), and some barbecue pulled pork (sans bun). Oh, and a half of a slice of cake.

I hope I'm not getting lax because I passed the big "-20". It's just I was planning how I would take my dinner and how to make that work and finally thought, "Screw it, make it work as much as you can with what they have there." Maybe more mentally healthy. Maybe.

Woo-Hoo! Landmark!

Okay, not a huge landmark, but still: have passed the 20-pound landmark. In 5 weeks I have lost over 20 pounds. Granted, that first week was a huge chunk, but I'm still happy that I've done this much.

You have to understand, this is the first real concerted effort in dieting I've ever made (and if you think the word "concerted" doesn't apply here, you've never been in my head), and I'm feeling pretty good about it. Granted, I'm thinking about changing up some of the regular meals (the salad is still delicious, but I'm starting to see the point where I might decide I never want to eat another salad).

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), and skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Prunes, carrots, and still no book club of two. He said he read the chapter, but it was obvious he hadn't.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Snack: Mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of broccoli, dark chocolate, red wine.

And the magic number? Here it is: 5.949 (the goal is 10)! I remember just five weeks ago when I was at 5.609!

Okay, I'm out. I have things to do, and happiness to... experience, or whatever!

Not Another Cheat Meal!

Okay, I didn't really have another cheat meal, but I did eat over at Manchion's place tonight. I think I did pretty good staying within the bounds of what's allowed.

Breakfast: Catfish, slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Prunes, carrots, and still no book club of 2. (He realized he'd already read the book we'd picked, so we picked a different one--and I still have to read my chapter before bed).

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar)--and I ate late, around 2:00 or so.

Dinner: A serving or so of pork, a bit under a serving of fried squash, between a half cup and a cup of brown rice, a side salad (lettuce, mushroom, tomato... I don't know what else... with light raspberry vinaigrette dressing).

Also, I got to be reminded how much I miss that math that happens after 7th grade... And now I'm wondering if I needed to stop by the store today. Oh well, even if I did, I didn't, and I'm not going now! Now I must go read the first chapter of Alabama Moon!

Yes, I'm Skipping a Meal

Look, here's the fast-and-fact-filled: I'm skipping dinner. I had this whole project that I may or may not choose to blog about later, but essentially it had to start an hour later than originally planned because I had a meeting today that lasted until 4:00, and everything just went downhill from there. I had a big thing of water earlier, and I had a snack at about 4:30 or so, and if I eat now, it's not a good thing. So I'm not going to get all my veggies in today, and I'm okay with that because I just want to get to bed.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), fruit smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry), skim milk with whey protein, slice of double-fiber whole grain bread.

Snack: Apple (golden delicious--preferred the one yesterday to it), carrots, no book club (student absent).

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar) in the comfort of my own home. Oh, and dark chocolate (half of what I normally have).

Snack: Mixed nuts, raisins.

And now I lay me down to sleep...

Foiled Again, but Soon Unfoiled

Stupid brain. Stupid part-of-me-that-hates-making-lists.

I forgot to buy aluminum foil while I was at the store. I think my dream of ever getting a system of going to the store just a couple of times a week is just a pipe dream.

Breakfast: Catfish, variation on a smoothie (yogurt, banana, strawberry, not really a cup of milk, whey protein... I forgot to buy milk when I was at the store last night). This smoothie variation tasted pretty good, but was of a sort of "whipped" consistency. Odd. But I did have an idea for my routine in the morning that will save me dirtying up one spoon. Every little bit!
Snack: Apple (honey something or other, it was very sweet--normally I have red delicious, which have way too thick of skins, if you ask me), carrots, conversation with a kid about how we're going to form a book club of two.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar).

Dinner: Mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, bottom round, serving-and-a-half of asparagus, dark chocolate.

I am very tired tonight. I was very bad last night about staying up late. It will not be happening tonight. I might not even make it to my bedroom tonight. I hope I have the alarm set on my phone.

Major Cheat Meal

Like I mentioned yesterday, I saved my cheat meal for today. Or my "free" one. I don't know what to call it.

But Cody came by after he got home from work tonight and took all the candy, so that's good and gone.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of double-fiber whole-grain bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt, bananas, strawberry), skim milk with whey protein.

Snack: Prunes, carrots.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of red pepper, serving of grilled chicken, half a tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar) and heartbreaking conversation.

Dinner: This green chile casserole Leslie made--so there was pasta in it, and who knows what kind of sodium... but it was my cheat meal for the week. What I really feel badly about is the no-bake cookie I ate. On the up side, I now know I'm right to just avoid that sort of thing--I was ready to take the whole pane of cookies with me after I ate three-fourths of my cookie--but, for the record, I did put the last one-fourth down.

Yes, I'm up way too late. Jordan needed a movie night, and since I love my great-niece, I delivered. However, the only movie we could agree on didn't start until 7:40... and I had chicken to grill as soon as I got home. So, I'm up at 11:46 when I should be in bed. The good news: it should be cooled off enough to stick in the fridge now.

Should be...