Finally! Back on Track!

The title is referring to the fact I'm posting the day of my eating, not the day after... not the fact that I've eaten "off the program" just about every day for the past week. But that works, too.

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

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of bell peppers (red, orange, yellow, green mix), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, vinegar), apple, carrots.

Dinner: Baked tilapia, two servings of broccoli, sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, prunes, dark chocolate.

P.S.: How crazy is it I've had baked tilapia like however-many times, and I still have to look up the cooking time, etc.? Whatever, I just scribbled it down on a post-it inside the cabinet by the stove. This is my new way of keeping track of recipes. They ought to make a box or something for that kind of stuff.

Late Again, but This One is on TWC!

I had this all ready to go last night, but the cable and internet were out, so I wasn't able to update.

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

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of bell peppers (red, orange, yellow, green mix), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), apple, carrots.

Dinner: Twelve chicken wings (mix of barbecue, hot, and just plain fried), two bowls of cheesy asparagus soup, bit of broccoli dipped in artichoke dip.

Yeah, too many wings, but whatever, it still counts as a normal Sunday, anyway. Now my lunch "box" has gone missing, and I have to figure out how I'm getting my lunch to school.

Drama.

Another Late Update

Here I am, updating a day's eating the next day instead of the day of. This trend shall not continue, I swear it!

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

Lunch: Some sort of grilled chicken thing at Applebee's. It came with red peppers (I think) and some sort of cheese on it, and two servings of steamed broccoli (three servings after I ate the broccoli Cody didn't want). Also, I had a fruit smoothie there (strawberry coco something... all I know for sure was it contained no high fructose corn syrup).

Dinner: Well, there wasn't really an actual dinner. I had a lot of snacking, though, which made this another bad day, About three servings of mixed nuts, maybe four (spread over quite some time). Prunes. Sharp cheddar cheese. Carrots. Dark chocolate.

Tonight is my dinner at Ben & Tricia's, but beyond that, I'm back on track for today. I just needed yet another trip to the grocery store.

Now, about that exercise...

Second Gain Week (Not Expected? No, Sadly)

A gain, again.

Just a small one compared to the one last time, but still a gain.

Of course, with the pizza roll debacle, the eating out six meals (and a continental breakfast that made choices close to my usual nearly impossible), it was to be expected. Oh, and last night I had too many servings of mixed nuts--but I was hungry and had to make a run to the store so there would be food in my house.

Excuses. Everybody's got one.

Luckily, I have some resolve as well, and my fridge is now fully stocked!

Breakfast: Hard-boiled egg, apple, raisins, skim milk.

Lunch: Southwest chicken salad (some sort of mixed greens, pine nuts, southwest chicken... I can't remember what else was in it, or what kind of dressing it was... but it was probably the healthiest thing I ate while eating out this week) and one roll.

Dinner: Mixed nuts (more than 1 serving--maybe 3 or more, by the time I was done), bottom round, about three servings of broccoli, two servings of prunes, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

Okay, this week will be better. I've got plans in place for walking regularly, and I'm starting a weight management program through my insurance--so maybe that will help, too.

This week's magic number is 6.916. Remember, the goal is in the range of 9.524 to 10.000!

Starch Search

Actually, you don't have to search for it. Just look at what I ate today, and you'll find it.

Breakfast: Blueberry muffin, milk, raisins, apple.

Lunch: Orange tilapia, rice pilaf, asparagus, red peppers, piece of cheese bread (white bread, even...).

Dinner: Roughly a bowl of corn chips with salsa and bean dip, southwest grilled chicken, zucchini (two servings), lettuce and tomato, black beans, rice.

I'm getting up tomorrow to walk in the treadmill. I have to. Even if it doesn't fix anything.

There's no place like home... there's no place like home... Okay, there's a place like home when I can find a working fridge and a good grocery store...

(Edited 2/25/11 via phone to correct typo in title. Edited 2/26/11 at 9:50 to include chips, salsa, and bean dip at dinner.)

Phreaky Phoenix Phood

Yeah, I might gain this week. I'm not happy about it, but it's the nature of having to eat out all the time. However, I'm getting a lot of walking in these few days, so maybe it'll even out. But probably not.

Breakfast: Apple, hard-boiled egg.

Lunch: Caesar salad, complete with the right dressing--just about the worst dressing for you in the world, I know. Croutons, too. Seriously.

Dinner: A bowl of corn chips with salsa, three enchiladas (two chicken, one spinach), rice (yikes!), refried beans.

I have to do better tomorrow. Somehow, I will do better tomorrow.

Somehow.

(Edited 2/26/11 at 9:49a.m. to include chips and salsa at dinner.)

RIsing from the Ashes

I'm in Phoenix. This is going to be crazy. I don't have a fridge in the room. Ugh.

Just... Ugh.

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

Lunch: Carrots, apple, sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts.

Dinner: About ten chips (sweet potato and other types) with salsa, mahi-mahi on carrots and green beans with some sort of fruit (melon and pineapple, maybe) and some sort of rice.

Have I mentioned how I'm not gonna dig eating out and about without a kitchen? Also, I can't keep my fish oil pills frozen.

Whatever, at least I'm traveling, right?

No Official Goal Weight

So my main reason (other than my labs) for seeing the doctor today was to ask what my goal weight should be. Lately, when people ask me how much more I have to go and I tell them, they are all shocked and whatnot, and make me think maybe I'm acting all Karen Carpenter or something.

Well, Dr. Krumm told me he wasn't worried about a weight so much as a body fat percentage or some such thing I ain't got no scale for at home. Luckily, he's learned enough about me in my few visits to see him to know that answer wasn't going to fly without my telling him...

So I now have a goal weight. Translated to the secret number system on here, it's roughly between 9.5 and 9.75. I may still shoot for 10, but I'm not sure. I may throw it out the window if I decide to try to build muscle mass (which I never anticipated thinking about doing, but he was sorta talking about that today as if it was something I should consider... because apparently I'm losing muscle mass or something while I'm losing fat).

Also, I need to start exercising. I actually was going to start walking with Heather this Sunday, but I forgot to mention that to her, so it didn't happen. I must e-mail her as soon as I'm done posting here. Or maybe I'll pause this typing to do that typing.

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

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of bell peppers (red, orange, yellow, and green), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner: Mixed nuts, prunes, sharp cheddar cheese, bottom round, two servings of asparagus, dark chocolate.

The next few days are going to be strange. I'm out of town, and won't really have time for lunch tomorrow until I arrive in Phoenix. Maybe a snack--apple and carrots, maybe. We'll see.

And my weigh-in this week will be Friday evening, not Friday morning. Apparently I should be weighing in in the evening, anyway--or so sayeth Leslie, and I trust her.

Beyond Cheat Night (A Tale of Feeding Frenzy Shame)

So I shouldn't have bragged about keeping pizza rolls in the house. It was like tempting fate.

Here's what happened: Jordan's here, and she wanted pizza rolls. Her eyes were bigger than her stomach. Every time I passed by the plate of remaining pizza rolls, I would smell them and think, "It's been a long time since I had one of those."

So I ate one. No big. It's allowed. Eat whatever it is in a small amount and then move on.

Then I thought, "Well, have another, then."

And I did.

And another. And another.

All the while I'm making my perfectly healthy dinner, I"m eating pizza rolls.

Next thing I know, they're all gone.

And I'm all about the moving on and learning from this. I really am. It's just I go to the doctor tomorrow, and I could have picked a better night for losing it!

Lesson: don't leave prepared pizza rolls where I can eat them.

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

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of bell peppers (mix of red, orange, yellow, and green), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar.

Dinner: According to the package, I had a little over 5 servings of sausage pizza rolls (yeah, I'm terrible, I know), bottom round, two servings of broccoli, serving of asparagus, dark chocolate.

Yes, I went ahead and ate dinner. I wanted the vegetables, and I'd already had the bottom round in the oven by the time I killed the pizza rolls. Better day tomorrow, right? Although I can't eat until after my appointment at 10:30.

How Prunes Turned into a Full-On Snack

That's not what prunes usually turn into, is it?

First, let me say I've started to wonder if my brain intentionally gets confused around prune number 4 or 5 as to whether or not I'm on the last prune or not. See, I like the prunes, and my minimal research has told me a serving is 5 of them. However, I get to number 5 (or do I?) and wonder if maybe it's actually number 4. Really, I start the process around number 3 (or 2?). So my theory now is my brain intentionally screws up the counting so I can get an extra one. The secret here is to not eat them from the container any more, and just get five out. But I like them so.

Second, I ate at the memorial party for Marilyn tonight, but I didn't get my last serving of fruit in, so I said to myself, "Just have the prunes when you get home." That turned into the full-on snack for some reason. I guess I was hungry, and should just go with it.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt and banana), skim milk with whey protein (I just now realized I skipped the cinnamon this morning, as I was trying to make breakfast for Binx, as well--and if you're wondering, he had a slice of whole-grain wheat bread, a glass of milk with Ovaltine, and raisins (maybe 20 of them).

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of peppers (mix of red, orange, yellow, and green), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple. (Binx had peppers... and more peppers... and more peppers... and about one cheese pizza bagel bite (Cody was kind enough to finish the rest of them off before we took him to work)... and then later Binx had more peppers, just to chase down that little bit of bagel bite (in fact, he cleaned me out of peppers, and I had to go to the store after the memorial party tonight).)

Dinner: Chicken, serving of broccoli, serving of carrots, about a cup of baked beans.

Post-dinner snack: Mixed nuts, prunes, sharp cheddar cheese... oh, and dark chocolate (because I didn't allow myself cake at the memorial party, and my body was all mad about that... or the brain was all mad... something was all mad about it, anyway).

Friday Free Day

Okay, Friday Free Meal Day, but that didn't roll off the fingers as nicely.

Since I'm not having dinner with Ben & Tricia this weekend, and since they forced me to eat bread at 54th Street today, I decided lunch was my "free meal" of the week. I was pretty good, but there was rice and bread...

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

Lunch: Salad (basically a Caesar salad with oil and vinegar instead of the normal dressing... so romaine (maybe two servings), Parmesan cheese, croutons, and the oil and vinegar), slice of oat bread of some kind with about a teaspoon of honey butter on it, blackened tilapia, steamed vegetables (squash, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms... easily two servings of veggies there), wild rice.

Snack: Sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, prunes.

Dinner: Bottom round, two or three servings of broccoli, dark chocolate.

And for the weigh-in: I lost three pounds this week. The magic number is 6.9252. If I can lose a bit over 3 pounds next week, I'll be to 7.

I have an appointment with my doctor on Monday. I'm going to ask him if my goal is what I think it should be. So the goal may no longer be 10 on that magic number. I'll let you know when I know.

Adjusting

I woke up this morning feeling dead tired and twice as ugly. One of the first thoughts that hit me as I trudged toward the kitchen was, "I have to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner right now."

It was another conference night tonight, and if I wanted to eat what I have been eating every single day--and eat it before 7:30 at night, which is the goal--I'd have to cook dinner while I prepared breakfast and lunch, let dinner cool while I showered and changed, then package it up to put in the fridge at school to heat tonight.

Well, my mind wasn't havin' it. It decided the way to go was just ignore the whole "before 7:30" thing, as I could sleep in a bit tomorrow, and thus didn't have to go to bed as early (even though I knew I'd be extremely tired about right now and would want to fall asleep as soon as possible... tired logic is not the same as regular logic).

So I just packed the usual snack instead of an actual dinner, and at that to tide me over until I could go to the store for some veggies and then head home to make an actual dinner.

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

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of peppers (mix of red, orange, yellow, and green), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Snack: Sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, prunes.

Dinner: Bottom round, two-to-three servings of broccoli, dark chocolate.

Tomorrow is an in-service day, so I'll be eating lunch out. Rest assured, grilled chicken and some sort of vegetable option. No worries... right?

I should also state for the record (because I'm a bit proud of the fact... which makes me nervous, as pride goeth before the fall) that I keep pizza rolls, bagel bits, and mini-snickers in the house, and have for quite some time now. They're not for me, and I don't eat them. There have been moments where I consider it, but I talk myself out of it. I don't know how I'm doing it, but somehow my attitude towards eating has changed. Sometimes I think it changed overnight, but that doesn't seem likely, does it?

Many Wednesday Nights, I Don't Know What I'm Eating...

Sorry I have to vague it up some on Wednesday's. Dinner at the Klumb home tends to be stuff I have to look up if I'm going to come even close to naming it. But I try.

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

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of peppers (mix of red, orange, yellow, and green), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner: A spinach guacamole chip with spicy hummus on it. Maybe two servings of green beans. Some sort of Glaze or something to dip the green beans in (maybe half a tablespoon... or a full tablespoon). A piece of toast. A bowl of squash soup. A cucumber slice with spicy hummus on it. Venison medallions... or something like that. Maybe a serving of that.

The Genie of the Banana

Does anyone remember the Genie of the Banana from Captain Kangaroo? I don't know that he was on more than once, but I remember his song some 30-odd years later. It goes through my head when I slice up bananas to put in the freezer.

The bananas I cut up tonight were on their way to being mush. I'm being brave and freezing them anyway and putting them in the smoothies. I figure I'm blending them up with yogurt, so all I care about is the flavor. They look like hell in spots, but the smell very banana-y.

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

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of peppers (mix of red, orange, yellow, and green), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner: Mixed nuts, prunes, bottom round, three servings of asparagus, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

I'm going out of town for a thing next week. I guess I need to start planning what I'm going to eat when I don't have my blender, fridge, stove, etc. handy, huh?

No Red Cabbage?

Okay, so the salad wasn't bad today. I actually didn't mind not having the shredded carrot that's part of the romaine mix. I did miss the red cabbage some, but maybe I'll find a way to get that without buying the mix. If I can figure that out, I'll probably just stick with the romaine instead of the romaine mix.

Yes, folks, these are exciting times.

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

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine, serving of peppers (red, orange, yellow, green mix), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots (probably why I didn't miss them in the salad, eh?), apple.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus, mixed nuts, raisins, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

Seriously, by the end of the month I hope to have a plan in place to start mixing up the food a bit. I actually have a plan for the having a plan for it. That should help, right?

Mixing it Up without Mix

Be ready for tomorrow's salad to just say "romaine lettuce" and not "romaine mix". Price Chopper was out. Must have been on sale or something. Seriously, it looked like a evil rabbit horde had gone through just before me. Luckily, they had a bag of just romaine lettuce.

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

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of peppers (mix of red, orange, yellow, and green), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar.

Dinner: Serving of pork, about a cup of mashed potatoes with some Country Crock added to it, about a half cup of corn (maybe closer to a cup), probably a full cup of cabbage. Dinner at the Hart home was delicious as usual!

I should wrap up all this posting and go cut up some peppers. Prep, prep, prep!

I Love a Saturday!

I do love a Saturday, but it does allow for strange eating times and patterns... and since I'm still not sure how air-popped popcorn with no butter or salt fits into "the plan", I never know how to feel when I have a bowl of it. I mean, beyond the whole, "this is kinda bland" feeling.

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

Snack: Mixed nuts, about six cups of air-popped popcorn.

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of peppers (mix of red, orange, yellow, and green), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar.

Other snack: Sharp cheddar cheese, prunes.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus, dark chocolate.

I'm making an appointment to see the doctor soon. I was thinking I was supposed to have labs done again at the end of this month just to check all my numbers. Turns out it was more like the beginning (well, he wrote "in four months"on the eighth of October, anyway). At that time, I'm going to ask him how much I should weigh. When I tell people how many pounds I feel I have left to go (based on charts I've seen, etc.), they tend to go on about how I'm going to be a stick man if I lose that much more.

Also, it could be the baggy clothes are working for me--or working to make it seem like there's no fat left. I don't think that's it, but if it is, I'm here to tell you there's plenty of fat left!

Points? Blue What Now? Huh?

So, it turns out I signed up for some sort of thing with my health insurance. I mean, I'd meant to sign up for it at some point, but I don't remember signing up for it. Anyway, I either signed up for it or the signing up was automatic. Either way, I've earned all these "points".

And so now I want to earn more, so I can get like a high score or something.

So I have to start walking. I'm going to figure out when's good for Heather and I'm just going to make it a thing. Then I'll save Princess Peach and defeat Bowser.

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

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of peppers (mix of red, orange, yellow, and green), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner: Mixed nuts, prunes, sharp cheddar cheese, bottom round, two servings of asparagus, dark chocolate.

So as part of this point-happy thing, I'm also going to be seeing a "life coach" or something of the sort. Is it bad that I plan to go in with this list of what I eat every day and say, "Don't judge. Just tell me what I can substitute for what so I can get some variety up in here." Is it? Let me know. Because that's the plan.

Update (2/11/2011, 10:43p.m.): I forgot to say my magic number today was 6.854!

There's a Lot of Crap Out There

I was at the grocery store to pick up chicken and eggs (I picked up the chicken first, if you're wondering which one came first), and it hit me how much of the store I don't even look at.

It hit me because I actually looked at it.

There's a lot of crap out there. Most of it is starch, really. Or it seemed to me today as I was being amazed at how much of the store I no longer pay much attention to.

When I reach my goal, I do plan to occasionally indulge in small amounts in "bad" things--if nothing else, just to take a break from the seemingly constant prep, prep, prep that my life is these days (you don't know how badly I did not want to cut up, grill, and cut up this chicken tonight). Of course, that will have to be partnered with some sort of physical exertion to compensate, but I'm just saying.

Or, who knows. Maybe I'll be so used to things as they are now I won't feel the need. I usually only feel the need when I'm hungry right that instant and want something I can just open a package and eat.

Or, maybe I'll never reach my goal. It's a universe of possibilities out there.

Or, rather, in here...

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

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

Dinner: Mixed nuts, prunes, baked tilapia, two servings of broccoli, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

And yes, I did end up cutting up, grilling, and cutting up that chicken. I just really didn't want to.

Dinner with Friends (Sans White Bread)

Dinner at the Klumb home tonight. I think I did much better at making choices this time. Judge for yourself.

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

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of peppers (red, orange, yellow, green), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner: Slice of sunflower seed bread, leek soup (not sure what all was in it, but leeks for sure... and some sort of meat), butt of pork, two cucumber slices with red pepper hummus and paprika, Brussels sprouts chopped up and mixed up with nuts and berries of some kind, with some bacon grease or fat or whatever mixed in there, too.

I'll do another spot check in the morning. Today's spot check told me I was on the losing side of things, but not by much... so I hope there's more of a loss showing tomorrow. We shall see...

Edit 2/9/11, 9:48p.m.: I forgot to add a glass of some kind of bubbly alcoholic beverage tonight...

Welcome Back, Flavor

I'm feeling better. I can taste food. At least some of it... that, or my food was so bland tonight it could have been replaced with nutrition cubes or something. It's very possible it was the latter.

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

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of peppers (mix of red, orange, yellow, and green), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner: Mixed nuts, prunes, bottom round, two servings of broccoli, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

Tomorrow I'm going to brave a spot-check on the weight. I have to do it. I've gone two mornings without peeking. Almost all of my daily pictures yesterday made me look like I was Jabba-sizing again, and that makes me nervous.

Today's picture was better, though. Or at least I think so, and that's what counts in the darkness behind the eyes.

Enjoying the Memory of the Taste

Yeah, this cold is sucking the flavor out of everything I eat. Luckily, I eat just about the same thing every day, so I have the memory of the taste of whatever it is I'm eating.

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 peppers (red, orange, yellow, and green), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar), carrots, prunes.

Dinner: Bottom round, three servings of broccoli, sharp cheddar cheese, mixed nuts, raisins, dark chocolate.

I look forward to food having taste again. Also, I look forward to more adventurous eating on my part. I need to start looking into other foods that work with this system. Or not. I got stuff to do.

Pick Your Favorite Title: "Ice Cream!" or "Are We Done Celebrating Things for a While?"

It's Superbowl Sunday. What this means for me is Ben & Tricia will be watching the Superbowl, and thus so will I--except tonight I've been at my computer trying to get this spreadsheet working right. I think I did it. But I'm still at my computer.

However, it also means celebratory food. And it's cheat meal night, so I'm not paying attention to much. I always have a bit of remorse after after I overdo it, and I guess I need to just accept it, because--with the exception of week-before-last--it works out for me.

So, I expect a gain tomorrow, so I'll probably hold off on the scale time until Thrusday or so!

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

Lunch: Salad (cup of baby spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of peppers (red, orange, yellow, and green), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Dinner and Superbowl grazing: About a cup of cheesy Rotel dip, about twenty chips, about fifteen little crackers with spinach & artichoke dip, two rolls, four wings (two hot, two barbecue), two servings of goulash, and a scoop of chocolate ice cream--my first ice cream since I started this, I think.

I know I've overdone it... and I knew before I listed all that. I feel gross. Never a good sign!

Whatever, back on schedule tomorrow. If it works for Dolly Parton, it can work for me!

I Wonder How the Zi-Cam Fits In?

So I'm taking Zi-Cam to see how that works on this stuffy head nonsense. I think it's helping, but who can tell. Whatever. I hate being sick. I'm not going to document all the Zi-Cam, because thinking makes my brain hurt.

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

Lunch: Salad (cup of spinach, cup of romaine mix, serving of peppers (a mix of red, orange, yellow, and green), serving of grilled chicken, olive oil, balsamic vinegar), carrots, apple.

Snack: Mixed nuts, prunes.

Dinner: Bottom round, almost four servings of asparagus (I won't eat it tomorrow, and I don't want it to go bad on me... and I love the stuff), sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

Now, did you notice how I switched up the salad just a little bit?

Back in the Land of the Lost... or the Losing

Hooray, I lost a bunch of weight this week. Let's hope this trend continues! Of course, Valentine's Day is coming up, and I'm sure to be sent lots and lots of chocolates...

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

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

Dinner: Mixed nuts, prunes, sharp cheddar cheese, bottom round, two servings of asparagus, dark chocolate.

The magic number for this, my 18th week, is 6.803!

I Should Probably Knock Wood First, But...

I guess I'll know in about nine hours or so for sure, but as of right now I'm set to have my biggest loss since my first week. This morning I did a check (as I have been just about every day this week for some reason), and I was only 0.2 pounds away from having lost more than the first week I did this.

So I think there might be something to the whole "bad days equal good weeks" thing. I'd experiment some more with it, but I get nervous I'll jack things up and never be able to lose any weight ever again.

Or, you know, just jack it up enough to make it seem that way.

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

Home remedy: Tablespoon of honey, quarter-tablespoon of ground cinnamon.

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

Snack: Mixed nuts, prunes.

Dinner: Baked tilapia, two servings of asparagus, sharp cheddar cheese, dark chocolate.

I'm working on being in bed, on my way to being asleep at 9:30. We'll see.

More Exercise with a Snow Shovel

Not as much exercise this time, but I did get out to shovel a path to the street from my front door. I don't know how long it took, but there was a lot more snow than the last time I did the shovel thing!

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

Home remedy: Tablespoon of honey, quarter-teaspoon of cinnamon.

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

Snack: Mixed nuts, prunes, sharp cheddar cheese.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus, dark chocolate.

After-dinner "Snack": Lots of air-popped popcorn, no butter or salt or anything. I still don't know what the official word on that is, and I hope it doesn't make my weigh-in go south! Or... up.

Dancin' to the 80s

I may have mentioned this before, at least in passing: Sometimes I find myself breaking into full-on dancing while listening to 80s music.

I mean at home, not out in public. I haven't completely lost my mind!

I just bring it up (potentially for the second time) because it amazes me how much better I am at it now than I was in... September or so.

Oh, I won't make any dance reality show... and I probably won't be dancing in public any time soon, but I just know I'm better now. I can move in ways that before were just nigh unto (or just beyond) impossible.

I'm not talking about touching my toes here. I don't know about that. I should try it and get back to you.

I'm just talking about... dancing.

Breakfast: Two eggs (one yolk), slice of whole-grain wheat bread, fruit smoothie (yogurt and 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), apple, carrots.

Home remedy: 1 tablespoon of honey, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Snack: Mixed nuts, prunes, sharp cheddar cheese.

Dinner: Bottom round, two servings of asparagus, dark chocolate.

Again, don't expect to see me dancing in public anytime soon  ever. I just wanted to confess that I'm feeling good enough to do that sort of thing these days.