Hi guys. I’ve been blogging over at blogtolose for awhile, and I anticipate staying over there for the foreseeable future. I may check back in now and then, but the spam on this site is getting to be a lot to deal with…I just deleted 30 spam comments! I hope to see everyone over at blogtolose.

My weight today was exactly the same as last week. BUT, last week my “weigh in” weight was my lowest weight of the week…this week my “weigh in” weight was one of my highest of the week. So I would say that, overall, I’ve had a successful week.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I got an insane number of steps. I went on a nice long walk and then lost my wallet on the way, which forced me to retrace my steps for the entire walk! I found my wallet eventually, but my step total went way up as a result.

I also tried a new technique for surviving fast food. Now, I am not a fast food person. Most of those places I won’t go near. But every now and then, my husband and I get a craving for burgers and pay a visit to our favorite local chain. While it definitely isn’t health food, the food is fresh and made to order and the service is excellent. No heating lamps, no frozen meat or potatoes, and no trans fat. But regardless of the quality, it is incredibly easy to down a huge number of calories there. I often cut out some carbs and calories by ordering my burger with extra mustard, tomatos, pickles and grilled onions and wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun. But sometimes that doesn’t feel like enough food, and I am very susceptible to the temptation of ordering fries or a shake. (The shakes there are to die for!) So yesterday, I ate some healthy snacks before we left. Sure enough, that took the edge off of my appetite and my lettuce wrapped burger seemed perfect. To be fair, I still did munch a couple of my husband’s fries. But at least I didn’t order my own. One battle at a time!

food:
–Open faced scrambled egg sandwich (1/2 toasted Ezekiel English muffin, 1 scrambled egg, 1 oz. low fat cheese, fresh herbs)
–1 small can V-8
–Small nonfat latte

–1 small orange

–2 whole grain crackers with laughing cow light
–Salad with steak, marinated veggies, and mixed greens

–1 Luna bar

–4 spiced pita chips with hummus
–1 small orange
–mustard grilled cheeseburger wrapped in lettuce with grilled onions, pickles and tomato
–a couple of the huband’s fries

steps: 18110

Have you guys ever seen a pink orange before? I just discovered them. I bought a bunch of navel oranges that looked perfectly normal on the outside. Then when I opened one, I discovered that it was a shocking salmon color on the inside, almost like a grapefruit. Apparently there is a pink variety of navel oranges called cara caras. You learn something new every day. They actually tasted really good!

So, it looks like yesterday’s mini-binge didn’t hurt me too badly…my morning scale reading was actually down .2 lbs. I was determined to get back on track today, and I think I’ve gotten off to a good start. I ate a healthy breakfast and I walked 10,000 steps before lunch! This morning I walked the long way to my neighborhood coffeehouse and got myself an iced nonfat latte. I came home to find the huband blasting rock music and cleaning the kitchen. I decided to join in. So we got some good progress made on cleaning the house, and I got some sun and exercise. I feel great.

So, I have decided to jump on the bandwagon with the

I LOVE ME LIST

1. What do you absolutely love about your body?

Hmm…I love my coloring. It is striking and beautiful and I never blend into a crowd. I also have a beautiful smile.

2. When did you surprise yourself with your physical strength?

Recently? Laugh if you want, but when I conquered my first song on expert mode on Dance Dance Revolution…my feet were flying so fast!

3. When were you braver than you ever thought you could be?

When I’ve stuck out work/school despite being very sick. One year, I had three separate, severe medical crises in a single semester, one of which hit the week before finals. My academic advisor told me to take incompletes in my classes and finish up my work when I was well. I ignored her, put my nose to the grindstone, and finished the semester on time and with almost all As.

4. When did your self-control blow you away?

My husband loves to bake cakes and cookies and homemade egg noodles. I have exercised self-control like you wouldn’t believe!

5. What is your proudest moment ever?

Receiving my scholarship offer from my first choice graduate school.

6. When was the last time you felt absolutely beautiful?

When I splurged on on a pair of expensive jeans that make me look slim and curvy and fabulous.

7. Why do you deserve to meet your goals?

Because I have worked hard and I am taking good care of myself. And because I believe that every woman deserves to feel healthy and confident and beautiful.

I see a lot of women, both in this community and in the real world, being so hard on themselves because they aren’t losing weight as fast as would want to. I can certainly relate to this feeling…I’ve only lost about a pound a month so far. It’s very easy to get frustrated about that when you’re working so hard. I would certainly be happy if my weight loss started happening faster. But I think it’s time for a reality check for all of us.

We worked hard to get where we are and we should be proud of every pound we’ve lost! It really doesn’t matter how long it took. Think back to when you were gaining or hopelesly stuck at a weight you didn’t like. Wouldn’t you have been thrilled to be headed down a good path? Wouldn’t you be excited to be where you are now? That weight is off of our bodies now, and it’s all because of our hard work and good decisions. We should be proud of ourselves!

I’m definitely proud of this community. I see so much strength and determination in this bunch, and I am so impressed and inspired by all of you every day. You are all fabulous, and I hope you take the time to remind yourselves of that.

Check out Roni’s new contest! I can win a Nutrition Smart Scale from Eat Smart and so can you! Click here for details!

I think that starting Phase I over a three day weekend was a surprisingly good idea. I’ve had occasion to go out to eat with the husband a few times and I’ve had more time to cook for myself, so there has been plenty of yummy food and I haven’t felt deprived. I’ve only had one “cheat” so far…I ordered a beautiful chicken and artichoke salad for lunch yesterday. It came with bits of mozzerella, and I’m unsure whether or not they used whole milk cheese (not okay on Phase I). But I’m not going to worry about it too much. In my experience, adding a little bit of regular cheese in salads when I’m out to eat doesn’t cause me much of a problem. I wouldn’t do it every day, but for a treat, I think it’s fine.

I had a really wonderful lunch today…beef and vegetable fajitas in a wonderful salsa-based sauce, garnished with a bit of guacamole. Tasted delicious, but it was really just lean protein and lots of vegetables, and it filled me up for hours.

All of this reminds me that I don’t really gain weight from cooking and eating good food. I actually love vegetables and tofu and lean meat and whole grains. I actually really love cooking those things in new and exciting ways. Sure, I love cream sauces and dark chocolate mousse, too, but those things I eat rarely and as treats. I’m more likely to gain weight when I don’t prioritize making myself delicious, healthy food. Then I just end up starving and low energy and eat whatever carbohydrate-laden packaged good happens to be in my path.

This is all going to get a lot more challenging for me when I have to go to school all day. Figuring out how to keep yourself stocked up with packable, appealing, healthy meals and snacks is something of a challenge. I have my strategies, but it’s so easy to get lazy. We’ll see how it goes.