NEW LOCATION - FIND ME AT...

I have moved my blog location to a new site.  You can now read me at:

http://www.20lbstogo.com/

I am in the early stages of designing a more interactive website that will feature some tools, better recipe section, my normal daily (or at least try to be daily) blog, and some other surprises.  I'd love this to be done tomorrow but think this will be a slow and gradual improvement.  But if you enjoy my stories, those will be there for the reading now!

Thanks for following and note the change in web address for future reads!

Day 7: Tomato Binge or Bust!

Despite my disgust toward ketchup, I LOVE tomatoes.  MM had told me I've never had a real tomato before and we Northerners don't know what real produce tastes like.  I have done some travel, to some warm weather climates, so I'm pretty sure I have in fact had a "real" tomato before.  However, I must have forgotten what they taste like because what I've been consuming down here are amazing.  Even more so because it's only June!  I've been told they only get better form here.  My father-in-law said he'd ship some up this summer...I'm not 100% sure how that will work, but hey, if he can do it, I won't argue one bit.

I'm on Day 7 and have successfully gotten myself back on course with the diet plan.  Today I had another tomato sandwich (my version is made with Laughing Cow cheese in lieu of mayo, and accented with some avocado slices).  The past two nights I've had fresh garden salads.  I even managed a mile swim yesterday.  I'm surrounded by all these amazing tomatoes and find it impossible to not get my fill.  I'm averaging about two a day.  Actually, I may have even had three yesterday as I scoffed down sauteed green tomatoes (not nearly as satisfying as the fried suckers, but tasty in their own right!)  Perhaps three tomatoes doesn't sound like a lot, or maybe it does.  Regardless could you (or at least all you tomato lovers out there) resist any less if they looked like the ones below?

Now that is what I call a tomato!  They are so red and juicy and sweet that my mouth is watering.

Now, the South is not immune to "bad" tomatoes anymore than we are.  You can walk into a chain grocery store here and pick up your average looking vine variety.  The red vine variety is usually what I buy up North as it seems to yield the best flavor and ISN'T generally mealy.  Sometimes I find if you go for those luscious big boys in the stores you are left with a flavorless red ball that feels like cornmeal on your tongue.  Anyway, back to the topic on hand....that up North I'm left mostly with the red vine variety (we do have some yummy tomatoes in the summer months but they still aren't quite what these guys are down here) and I have gotten to think these are really good over time.

For a visual comparison take a look below.

Obviously the runt in front is a different variety, but really, which would you go for?  You can even note the color difference, although the photography doesn't quite do it justice.  And no, I didn't find world's largest tomato to put the little guy to shame...most of the ones at the farm stand are that big!  And when you are doing Weight Watchers and counting every little point, this 0 point bomb is pretty satisfying.

I fear I have been spoiled by this unknown discovery.  What was just a legend that I could tell MM he was romanticizing has now been unveiled.  I don't know how I'm going to feel about my home grown tomatoes this summer knowing they are better than store bought but feeble in comparison to their Southern cousins.  Alas I am going to do my best to eat every last tomato in sight before leaving the state of Mississippi.  Then I'm going to put my new mistress out of my mind for good.  Or at least until my next summer visit.  They may even be worth risking heat stroke for in the future.

Until tomorrow, I wish you happy and healthy eating...and for those of you not so blessed with tomatoes like above...try to make do!

Day 6: Where am I and who took my diet will power?

OK....so much for consistency in writing.  It seems most routines get disrupted by vacation no matter how great your intentions.  Alas, what can you do.  I started my New Orleans entry Saturday upon returning.  Apparently I ate too much to continue, and yesterday was another travel day...so I am way off on keeping you all posted on my Southern adventures.  Before I dive into a variety of disjointed stories I will note that there is no weigh in this Monday (collective "Awwwww" noted).  There is a scale here, and it's not that I'd be that embarrassed if I had put on weight.  However, I sort of feel if I use a different scale it's a bit inaccurate.  So I get a pass this week on weigh in and hope that I can contain the damage and possible reign in the bad eating a tad before next Monday rolls around!

Now that business is taken care of, back to our previously scheduled story:

Day 4: Take it easy in the Big Easy...Yeah Right!
I have never been to New Orleans before (my virgin trip was suppose to be the weekend Katrina hit...obviously when we saw radar images from the Gulf earlier that week we cancelled our plans).  My Columbia, MS in-laws thought this a perfect opportunity to jut down for the day, as well to further corrupt an already shaky few days of dieting.  Sigh.  We loaded into the car and made the two hour drive down,down, down into the sweltering heat of the Big Easy.  Upon exiting the car, the sweat instantly begins to pool in a number of unsavory places.  Suck it up and walk on!

Our first stop (it seems this entire trip was one food excursion after another) was a famous restaurant call The Court of Two Sisters (http://www.courtoftwosisters.com/), which featured a jazz brunch.  Apparently there used to be a Sunday jazz brunch at a restaurant at the Hilton but that is no longer there.  Given the way we ate at this venue I'm not too sad this other brunch wasn't around anymore.

It's more fun to tell my food story through pictures...so take a look.

We arrive....no the lady in blue is not me.  I am glad my muffin top is much reduced since the onset of the diet.  Plus I'm pretty private and not sure if there are strangers (I welcome you!!) out there reading me, but not sure I want the world to know "who" I am!

There were two long buffets spreads down the left and right side of the inner restaurant littered with cold and hot dishes.  There were several standards and a plethora of traditional Creole dishes.  Case in point, the infamous Crawfish

What brunch would be complete without a heaping pile of "Breakfast Meats?"

You can't possibly call yourself a respectable brunch establishment unless you have a crew of dedicated staff working an egg station.  I don't know how they did it in the heat, but these cooks deserve a raise.  I caught this picture in one of the only breaks in the line.  You'll have to excuse the picture quality...you don't mess with hungry people at a jazz brunch...I tried to snap and go as quickly as possible.

And the final product...I almost wish I was an Eggs Benedict person because these look damn near perfect!  But that whole Hollandaise sauce thing violates my condiment rule.  As well, the runny yolk is not my bag (When I have a poached egg I cook the yolk through...so in all likelihood I'm no longer eating a poached egg, but what do I care??)

Now, I am a pretty non-experimental eater.  Sweets are one thing, but entrees a whole separate game.  There is always an ingredient in a dish I don't like.  I swear, I am Sally from "When Harry Met Sally."  It takes me at least 10 minutes to order and I'm surprised MM hasn't divorced me over this quirk alone.  Obviously at a brunch the dish is the dish and there will be no special orders.  However, I felt empowered and decided to live on the edge (maybe it's because I'm so damn tired of nonfat cooking spray and leaves, that I'll try anything....almost).  Here was plate number one (honestly, they were small so it looks like more than it was).  Instead of my normal gargantuan helpings, I grabbed a lot of small helpings of things so I could maximize on my eating adventure.  I made sure to try what I thought were most authentic to the area and forgo anything traditional.  The rundown is as follows: turtle soup (yes, I ate Yertle the Turtle), Shrimp Etouffee, Cornbread Stuffing, Grits, Duck L'Orange, some Catfish with a cream/butter sauce (wish I could recall the name because it was AMAZING), Shrimp, and I tried my very first Crawfish.

Given my overly bleeding heart for all critters (If PETA knew me I'm sure they'd recruit me) everyone thought the crawfish weren't going to be a hit.  I live in New England and I won't eat a lobster!  But when in Rome, right?  This is how much compassion I had for the crustacean brethren:

I liked them enough to go back for more.  However, they are A LOT of work for a little meat.  On the plus side, I've been told they are pretty low in calories...so bonus!  I made the mistake of smelling my fingers after peeling a few...big mistake for someone whose olfactory gland might as well lend me to truffle hunting!  My fish fingers were enough to turn me off to eating anymore seafood for the day.  You will note the biscuit on the plate too.  This was more or less my dessert.  I don't want to know how many calories or grams of fat lay in that bread product.  I simply don't care.  It was the most amazing thing I have ever consumed.  Honestly, I will never be satisfied with another biscuit so long as I live.

The meal ended with a few samplings of dessert...nothing that was as impressive as the meal itself.  Again, I will stress that I pigged out by recent standards, but if I look at my efforts compared to the good old days it was a poor showing that I left comfortable verses with a vomit bag "just in case."

Our sweating tour of New Orleans continued through the French Quarter, Bourbon Street (I was forced to drink part of a Hurricane.....more calories and sugar.  Luckily MM helped me out with that one), and then we stumbled on the 24th Annual Cajun Tomato Festival.  I couldn't possibly call myself a respectable tourist without seeking and destroying a pile of Fried Green Tomatoes.  Find them I did...

I wouldn't say I "sampled" these.  I ate 3 of the 4 slices of crispy tart bliss.  I must have complained about the the thirst (I'm sure in part was due to the salt from these suckers, and in part due to the fact I'd likely lost 1/2 the water volume of my body in perspiration along) because no sooner was I about to burst did my father in law show up with a gigantic sized fruit smoothie.  I managed to drink a little.  The cold alone was reason to do so.  But I will tell you that getting in that car for a 2 hour drive back to MS was long, hard and full.

Thus concludes my trip to New Orleans...leaving me with a taste to go back sans toddler and not really on a diet to enjoy all of the city's finest attributes (mostly notably missed on the tour was Cafe du Monde's Beignets...simply too stuffed and hot to eat by end of day.  If you are in the area you SHOULD find the room for them unlike me: http://www.cafedumonde.com/).  

The trip to Columbia, MS concluded with more eating than I've done in months.  I am officially in food detox mode back in Jackson, MS.  I do not think I'm out of the woods yet.  However, I ended last night with a large salad.  Today I had a tomato sandwich, not with the mayo of course!  My mother in law took me to a local farm stand where I picked up some wonderful fresh produce that I'm hoping will keep me on track for a day or so until the next Southern challenge comes my way.

Until then, I wish you all happy and healthy eating.  I hope your temptations far less than mine at the moment!

Day 3: Southern Gluttony Begins

Surprisingly, the first two days of my Tour du Sud have been relatively tame.  A few caveats: we got to my father-in laws house last night.  Normally we are here during the holidays and there are always 600 bowls of candy and treats.  I was anticipating that not to be an issue since it’s June.  Wrong.  Not quite the same as Christmas for Thanksgiving, but none the less there are bowls of candies and nuts stashed in every corner.  I have inadvertently inhaled WAY too many cashews since arriving.  I know those certainly are not low in point value!  (Speaking of points I did take out my calculator to point out my lunch yesterday…hard to point while away but I am trying!).  Second goof up…while I managed to eat a small portion of meatloaf and sides for dinner, I did not have the same luck controlling myself during dessert.  My mother-in-law made banana pudding.  No, this is not just banana flavored pudding.  It’s like a trifle.  Nilla wafers, pudding, and bananas.  The kicker is that the pudding is homemade…no boxed stuff down South!  By homemade I mean sugar, flour, whole milk, and egg yolks.  Never have I tasted such rich pudding.  With each bite I died and went to Heaven a little more.  So yeah, not my finest moment, but I didn’t polish off the entire container either!

I wish I could say the same about my pseudo self control for today.  Once again I began with the mindless cashew snacking.  We ate out for lunch at a wonderful local establishment called The Round Table (notice the hazy quality of the picture....that is the air....you can literally see water droplets suspended).  

This place was my introduction to actual home style Southern Cooking 7 years ago when I made my first trip to Mississippi.  I ate like a hog on my initial visit…MM was actually embarrassed by my gluttony.  I have to say the second time around I exercised EXTREME restrain given the options at my finger tips.  First let me give you a brief description of the restaurant.  You walk into a very homey open room (there are several other rooms through doorways all of the same setup).  The tables are giant lazy susans with 20 or more dishes and desserts.  About 16 people sit around each table and you spin the center piece and continue to reload your plate time and time again.  Take a look at some of the options below.

It's hard to capture the sheer volume of food items at the table (and people don't like it when you stop spinning the wheel...they be hungry!)

Creamed Corn (aka sugar and cream with some kernels mixed in)

Turnip Greens (Note the yellowish buttery color in the liquid AND the bacon pieces...a standard way to cook any vegetable down here)

The piece de resistance...FRIED CHICKEN...it doesn't get any better than this folks!

REAL Chicken and Dumplings (You'll note my diet version looked NOTHING like this)

I will not even include pictures of dessert.  There were pies and custards and cakes of all kinds.  On the entire table there was only one item I would consider diet conscious...cantaloupe.  This is not the kind of place you go if you are dieting.  This is not the kind of place you quietly sip water and munch on melon as an army of Southern women in green shirts work feverishly to refill the bowls at record pace.  The owner is on hand to make sure you are enjoying your meal.  It would be rude not to engage in the art of eating at this fantastic and  authentic local joint.  All things considered, I think I managed AMAZING restrain and did not offend my hosts with my "pickish" eating (by their standards).

Note my father-in-law's plate (remember..this is lunch....we still have dinner to go later today!):

Note my plate (aside from the larger helping of my favorite Chicken and Dumplings I tired to taste a few of the more unique dishes, one being a squash casserole with hamburger meat.  I'd be a liar if I failed to note to you all that I did have a second small helping of C&D's and picked at some fried chicken - bad me!!!)

After our meal we shuffled through the 100% humid soup for air, all the way feeling the urge to be sick.  My semi flat belly had been replaced by what could be easily mistaken as a 5 month maternity stomach.  Ah, I love my food baby so.  I'm still waiting for her to deflate.  I'm baffled that we have another meal to go (dessert is defiantly crossed off the list for me this evening).  With any luck where ever we go (we are to eat out again because it's just too hot to cook) there will be a salad I can call my own.

Even as I've been writing an elaborate plan to head to the Big Easy (New Orleans) has been hatched for tomorrow.  Of course the focus of this entire trip has been where to eat...the walking/eating tour of a Southern gem.  I've never been and am looking forward to this excursion.  However, my diet is not.  Obviously I can't diet in New Orleans any more than here!  So, tomorrow should make for more interesting food choices.  I've decided that Sunday (another travel day back to Jackson, MS) will be dubbed "anorexia Sunday" and I plan to eat nothing!  

Stay tuned for more chronicles from the South.  Posting tomorrow may be late depending on when we return from our little trip.

Day 1 of my Southern Adventure: Travel

Part 1: First leg Bos to ATL

This message is being brought to you from the friendly skies.  Despite pre-trip preparation and organization, the morning rush to get out of the house to the airport was chaos as usual.  My daughter has decided to choose the past two weeks to go on one of her sleep strikes, just in time to travel and visit numerous grandparents.  Hopefully by the time we arrive the troll I left the house with will be all but a distant memory and my normally agreeable, albeit stubborn and strong willed, child will have returned.  On travel days I try extra hard to ensure Little Miss Food Hater ingests something substantial before we go into the abyss of airport food.  No such luck this morning.  Apparently sleep and eat strikes go hand and hand.  After watching her push a few soggy Blueberry Mini Wheats around her bowl I gave up knowing I did not have time to finish the battle.

I also opted to forego my morning cup of coffee.  When I’m traveling solo with the tyke (which is 85% of the time) I try to minimize trips to the bathroom.  Especially while on board.  Aside from trying to cram way too many pieces of carry on and gate check equipment into a stall, I like to reduce exposure to the more offensive germs which I imagine like to hang out in bathrooms.  So, you can imagine my hazy like state right now.  But all is well.  The electronic glow of the portable DVD player has my daughter mesmerized for the time being.  Hopefully that will last.  I am taking the opportunity to write while waiting for the Diet Coke to roll by (probably the only thing that is free on the damn plane!).  I think one can of soda will hang out in the bladder until our next stop, the Atlanta airport (although we only have an hour layover so my bladder may have to suffer all the way to Mississippi).

The last time I traveled it was solo (by solo I me just me) en route to San Diego. Everything is so much easier without a toddler.  I can’t complain because we are blessed with a WONDERFUL traveler.  It’s just the incremental parcels, pit stops, and attempted food breaks that make the trip more cumbersome.  I stopped at my Mecca (Dunkin Donuts) figuring I’d get my daughter a treat for now/later…whenever the mood to eat struck, and some water.  For some odd reason she didn’t want any donut, thank you thank you thank you!  However, standing there watching everyone order egg & cheese sandwiches and giant coffee concoctions was torture.  Usually being in an airport is license for me to eat piles of crap and pseudo fast food (DD or Pizza is about as far down the fast food scale as I go).  However, I am trying to be extra good knowing that giant piles of temptation are only hours away.  Furthermore, I know that I tackled the airport with complete and total success upon my last trip.  Really, there are no excuses.

What is difficult is that I packed half of my pantry for my daughter, and those goodies are sitting inches away from my feet.  She has already woofed down and industrial sized bag of Goldfish crackers.  Her interest in the movie is waning at the moment for some odd reason.  Please dear lord, do NOT chose now to lose interest in television!  I know I’ll have to whip out another snack soon.  Rice Crispy Treats?  Granola Bars?  Dried Blueberries (I know, I could eat some of these, but despite being more on the healthy scale, they are pretty high in sugar).  I should have packed myself a responsible snack, however, I ran out of time to restock my “tide me over” items, like those Kashi Bars I discovered at the airport last trip.  It was crap or nothing.  Nothing won, and I hope that I don’t break down during travel.

Luckily there will be no time in Atlanta for anything other than a trip to the potty.  Then I just have to make the hour flight and I’ll be home free.  Until I hit the in-laws house.  Basically I’m hoping the heat gives me some sort of “food” stroke that makes me not want to eat anything other than diet food.  I predict that I’ll be so damn hungry from airport starvation mode I’ll eat just about anything that is lying around….maybe even dog food!  OK, that remains to be seen.  Stay tuned for Part 2 to follow later today!

Part 2: Second Leg ATL to JAN (Jackson, MS for those of you who may not recognize the call sign)

Longer segment done, shorter flight in progress.  Toddler crack (aka the DVD player) ceasing to captivate interest.  We abandoned the movie presentation ¼ of the way in and proceeded to do stickers and TALK the entire way on leg 1.  I once again ventured to ask if the princess would like to watch a movie.  Due to her response I didn’t even bother taking out the machine.  She doesn’t want to color, eat, or nap.  Basically it’s turning into a big long line of “No’s and stop it’s.”  Thank God this is only an hour flight.  Her feet are now poking at my PC screen.  I am trying to ignore that.  I’m pretty sure if I were a better parent I would not be writing at this moment and would have thought of some amazing game to play whilst 30,000 feet in the air.  However, as mentioned earlier I had no coffee this morning.  The tiny cup of Diet Coke on leg 1 sure didn’t jump start the system.  Luckily, while the little one’s fuse is short and she has no interest in doing anything that I don’t consider mildly annoying things, she hasn’t had a meltdown.  I’m pretty sure she is saving her best stuff for the end of the day or perhaps the next.

Oh, as an added bonus we are seated next to the toilets.  It’s only a 50 seater.  I’ve done this flight enough times and pretty much know the layout of the plane.  Prior to having a child I used to be in the front of the plane.  Since giving birth I’ve been demoted to the stink seats.  I’m sure there is logic and I would appreciate it if my child used the bathroom in flight.  But she went in the airport.  And now instead of taking advantage of our location, I have to endure the stink of other people’s excrement masked by that antiseptic smelly disinfectant.

The beverage cart is here.  Not that the flight is long enough for a real snack service, but I’m pretty sure that the bathroom odor would be enough to curb the once vivacious appetite I had a short while ago. 

I’ve had a handful of Goldfish crackers, 12 mini pretzels and a bite of bagel.  I just ordered my second bag of mini pretzels which will bring the grand count to 24.  Wow.  There are only 45 calories in a pack so I’m pretty sure I’m OK to date.  Oh wait, I lied.  I also had a tiny bite of what Delta likes to call a “cookie.”  I’m sure most of you have had them before.  They’re brown ovals with the words “Delta” embossed on the top.  They taste like burnt cinnamon and have the texture of baby teething biscuits.  Not really sure what qualifies these as cookies, but none the less my daughter is having a fabulous time ingesting some, and breaking the rest into tiny crumbs across her tray table (which of course was fastidiously wiped down with antibacterial wipes prior to any skin contact!).  I must go eat my joke of a snack so I don’t pass out when I have to drag my bag, my daughter’s bag, and the car seat on wheels as she hitches a ride through the sweltering airport.  More to come upon arrival at the in laws.  I hope despite the length this isn’t boring you all to death.

Part 3: The Eagle has landed

In conclusion I have been in Mississippi for a few hours.  To set the record straight, I was not greeted by piles of meat.  There were no sticks of butter handed out with cocktails upon my arrival.  There was not a 16 course meal made with bacon grease for dinner.  Phew.  We all ended up having dinner at the yacht club which allowed me to opt for a salad dressingless salad and blacken tilapia tacos.  I even halved the tortilla which is a miracle for me to give up a bread product.  The heat is, well, hot…but not over powering enough that I cannot breath.  So all in all I’d say (without having actively counted WW style) today was a success.  I don’t feel like I’ve eaten too much.  I’m still thinking I need something to finish off the night.  I will go to sleep tonight knowing the true test begins with breakfast tomorrow.  Both my father in laws have a propensity towards highly caloric breakfasts…but I will not get ahead of myself.  That will be a post in itself. 

This wayward traveler is signing off for the night.  Until tomorrow, happy, healthy eating to you all, and to all a good night!

Don't Worry...content forthcoming...soon

Sorry folks, this is another content light night.  Unfortunately I've been running around like a chicken with its head  cut off (seriously, what a horrible expression) getting ready to cross the Mason Dixon line.  I haven't had much time to think about meal planning, grocery shopping, or what I am actually putting into my body.  That has resulted in not the best choices.  I have seen a new pattern the past few weeks.  After having a successful weigh-in on Monday, I proceed to celebrate with a few days of eating.  I've been slowly working my way through a bag of pistachios from Memorial Day weekend.  I didn't even bother to point those out because I know I'm consuming more than I should in a day!  After putting myself through a serious guilt trip mid week, I'm able to reign in the eating to finish up strong.  Pretty sure that is not the point of Weight Watchers, but hey, right now I'm just trying to cobble together a diet in-between company, end of the school year parties, mom gatherings, and now travel plans.  I'm beginning to realize there is no getting back to a routine, but the very routine I'm in is one of constant change.

Last night I was out with all the other Moms from our Pre-School.  It was a much needed night, and I was really glad it was on Monday so I could follow my above mentioned routine.  The menu was Tapas.  I allowed myself to enjoy a glass of Sangria (the last time I had this was for my sister's 30th...suffice it to say I didn't recognize pictures that had been taken that night and I swore of drinking for the year) and snacked on a variety of tid bits.  I could have easily plowed through an entire sampler plate on my own, but the pressure of eating in front of others, especially those who know I'm on a diet, kept me in check.  Are any of you out there equally influenced by other's eating habits?  Seriously, if I'm in a group I feel like I'm observing what everyone else is eating because I don't want to be the one that everyone talks about after I leave.  "Dude, did you see how much see packed away?"  I'm pretty sure NO one else thinks like this, would notice what others are eating, or would think to say anything behind anyone's back.  But in a strange way I'm sort of glad I have this bizarre insecurity as it probably helps me not to polish off more than I really need.

Tonight I was looking forward to a nice simple meal.  I hadn't planned anything but knew there were some odds and ends in the house.  That was quickly derailed upon venturing into the fridge.  I decided to clear out some old food (there was actually a container of blue rice....I kid you not....I've never seen mold turn something blue before).  I wish I hadn't looked too closely because there was a huge food accident in the back of the fridge.  There were so many containers of old food that I didn't see the spill of tomato sauce going the length of the back of the fridge and pooling under the fruit drawer.  There is nothing more repulsive to me that cleaning dirty sticky caked on stains out of a fridge.  I imagine the swarms of bacteria that are probably crawling onto my fingers as I vigorously scrub.  After I did battle with the sauce I moved through the rest of the shelves until the job was done.  At that point it was almost 9 and my taste for food was not strong.  I ended up having a bowl of microwave soup and a piece of Naan.  Nothing special, but quick, and not super high in points (9).  The down side is that I'm left sitting here writing about this instead of something meaningful, funny, or inspirational.  I can assure you that funny is to come once down South.

On a side note, want to send a shout out to my sister.  She is almost at 20 lbs lost herself (dieting in groups really does work...so for anyone of you out there dieting on your own, try to connect yourself to someone as it's nice for support).  She is on the cusp of going down to a different number bracket too....1 pound away at her weigh in this AM.  One of those irksome moments where you are happy to be knocking at the door but cursing the fact that you just didn't have quite enough will power to lay off that last glass of wine or chip or piece of bread, because maybe that would have meant the difference in that one measly little pound.  But I'm so proud of her.  She has farther to go than I and is just staying with it through the ups and downs knowing that eventually she'll make it.  So keep going sis....even if it takes twice as long as planned it's the fact that you're getting there.

Until tomorrow, happy healthy eating to you all!

Monday Weigh-in...Week 12 and still going!

The double weigh in was a success today.  On my two home scales I stand at 153, so another pound chipped off the old body.  On the official Dr. Scale I was 152.  I think, despite the extra pound, I will call myself 153 and keep working off my own scales moving forward.  But it's nice to know in the back of my mind I'm one pound less.

I am happy to report I'm feeling a lot better because I know I'm still losing weight while I've loosened up a bit on my restrictive eating.  I have been tracking a little bit less, which I do NOT really encourage.  I still account my most my success to being vigilant about counting and tracking all my eating.  I need to make sure I continue this practice because I think it's pretty easy to slip back into old habits.  But knowing I can "slack" off a bit during the week makes this process easier.  Especially knowing that I am about to enter the land of temptation, the deep South, makes me breath a little bit that I can eat here and there.  I do know that I am going to have to track much more than I have because I know this is the perfect time to completely fall off the wagon.  Nine days is a long time to be away from home and routine.  Throw in some travel days, and you can see how a diet can become derailed in no time at all.  On the plus side, I'm pretty sure that whatever calories I do ingest will be promptly sweat out within minutes of consumption.  Did I mention I am not a good hot weather person?  I was in FL in August once and I really thought I was going to die.

The big question now is how much more to lose.  I had arbitrarily set 20 lbs as a goal.  I am within 1 pound of that goal, but I still don't feel "done."  I think there is still some miscellaneous pudge and chub in areas there shouldn't be.  I am beginning to let go of the idea my stomach is going to shrink much more than it has.  I think shy of a tummy tuck (or at the very least some damn sit ups) I'm stuck with that fat roll.  But some clothes are still snug and I don't think a little extra weight loss is a bad idea.  In an ideal world I would get myself down to 145 (I haven't seen those days since early college).  I think that is a long shot, but it seems a good "new" goal to set.  The idea being that I would have a 5 pound swing, making 150 my ceiling.  It would be nice to not worry about a few extra pounds putting me above my goal weight.  I'd rather be under so I can go up and down depending on heavier entertaining weeks.  My Dr. thought shooting to be between 145 and 150 was perfect, even though she was A OK with my current weight from a clinical perspective.

So, that sums up another Monday.  That gives you a bit of an update on my new goal as I'm approaching completion of Phase 1!  I hope everyone else is having results and continued perseverance in their dieting.  All I can say is keep up the good work everyone.  One day, one week, one month at a time.  It adds up eventually.  So keep it up!  Until tomorrow, happy healthy eating.