Where in the Heck Have I Been?

I've been on the dirt road, getting run over by the wagon. That's where I have been. So, what happened?

The weekend happened. Ah, the weekend. The cliché of the stringent dieter. The weekend totally knocked me off my routine and ran me over. The weekend extended into "I don't give a shit Monday because it's hard enough to deal with Monday let alone trying to run and jump back onto the wagon". Am I trying to make excuses? Nah. But I am trying to explain. And I do feel stupid for having been sucked into the weekend mentality.

So, let's start on Friday, shall we? Friday I was actually amazingly well behaved. After work I was set to have dinner and drinks with friends and then we moved on to a wine tasting. At dinner we shared a plate of nachos and maybe the salsa had sugar in it but who could really say for sure? I tried not to have too much of it. At the wine tasting I was extremely well behaved. Of course I had wine! But I had zero chocolates or sweet things they had out. The closest to the border I got was Stilton flavored with cranberries and another Stilton flavored with oranges. (The orange Stilton was delicious, by the way!) I will call Friday a total smashing success for a fun night out with the girls.

On Saturday I woke up late and ran around like a crazy person in the morning trying to get my son to his art lesson. I didn't eat as well as I should have, meaning I wasn't as regimented in my eating every 3-4 hours. My son and his art teacher had picked up these gourmet cheesecake and chocolate cupcakes while visiting the art museum. The smell of them in the car was absolute torture! He bought one for me and I reminded him that I had quit sugar. "Oh, sorry," he said. Poor kid. I started cooking dinner (pork stew) around 4:30. Of course I had to open a bottle of wine to do so. Soon I had consumed the whole bottle, minus what I put in the stew. In my semi-inebriated state I decided to cut the aforementioned Cupcake of Doom in quarters and try some. I tried less than a quarter and, to my surprise, it tasted awful! Hooray! Success, right? Perhaps. I went to bed after eating some chips from Switzerland (I couldn't read the ingredients but the sugar content - I can read the word "sucre" - was very low).

Sunday was much in the same vein as Saturday. I did have sugar because I had a breath mint and then a butterscotch hard candy at night. I went to the Rufus Wainwright concert, had some vodka, and then had the mint so as not to have vodka breath on my fellow concertgoers. I had the butterscotch after the concert but before I got to the car (and my water) to moisten my mouth. I really should find a good sugar-free alternative for breath mints.

Monday was a complete f-ing disaster. I was all set to have a salad for lunch but the refrigerator here at work is turned to the coldest setting so my salad, which had sat in the fridge all weekend and should have been fine, was half frozen and crappy. Instead of being sensible I went to McDonald's. And then I went again after work. And then I made Tuna Helper for dinner and had that. Yes, friends, I am hanging my head in shame. Monday was not a good food day for me.

BUT!

Instead of wallowing and letting the bad eating choices plague me and weigh (har har) me down I have taken a running start today and am jumping back on that wagon even if it is rolling along at 45 MPH. So far today I have had a string cheese first thing in the morning and then an orange once I got to work around 8. It's almost 10 and my stomach is telling me it's time to eat. I'm going to make a yogurt parfait. I have brought my lunch (Cedarlane's Enchilada Pie) so all should be okay there.

I'll try to post tonight so I can stay on that wagon.

Day 5 Evening

I made the kids mac & cheese for dinner. It was so difficult not to take a bite! I was good, however. Trader Joe's makes a reduced fat mayonnaise that does not have sugar in it. I mixed some with a can of tuna. I toasted two pieces of the Ezekiel bread, split the tuna mixture between the two, and topped with some reduced fat white cheddar and tomatoes. I broiled it for a few minutes. It was delicious!

I think I have been overusing the word "delicious". Must think of synonyms!

In related news, I have learned to sit and wait for my food to digest. Immediately after eating dinner I thought I wanted something sweet. I thought I was still hungry. After letting the food settle I found that I am not hungry. This is a big lesson for me.

One More Thing!

I totally forgot to share what I made for dinner last night. It was so yummy!!

Tortellini
Boil the tortellini until done (I used frozen but you could also use dried). Drain then return to the pot. Have the heat on low, add three wedges of Laughing Cow (original flavor) and a splash of milk...about 1/4 cup. Sprinkle in some kosher salt, grind some pepper into the pot, and add some garlic powder. Stir until the cheese is melted and everything is all incorporated. Deliciousness!

Veal Shoulder Chop
Heat olive oil in an oven-proof skillet. Sprinkle the veal with Emeril's Essence or whatever spice mixture you'd like. Brown for about 5 minutes per side then finish in a 375 degree oven for about 5 minutes.

I added Texas garlic cheese toast for the kids and husband and steamed asparagus for all of us.

It was so wonderful!

(P.S. I should totally put this on my cooking blog...!)

The Fifth Day

I am dragging a little bit today but it is because it's Thursday and raining. I find now that once I actually get out of bed and get moving my energy level seems to respond more quickly than it did before. Perhaps it's because I'm trying to eat something first thing in the morning. Perhaps it's the lack of sugar. Who knows?

This morning I woke in the usual way. I ate a banana at about quarter to seven. At 8:45 I made myself a parfait with nonfat plain Greek yogurt (which I am remembering that I LOVE), unsweetened strawberries that had been mushed up a bit, and a really great granola I found: Nature's Path Sunflower Agave Plus Granola.



This was one of the most delicious things I could think of to eat. One of the things I do miss about quitting sugar are the excellent parfaits from Starbucks. This was a good approximation of one without all the unnecessary crap.

At 10:30 I had a snack of a Honey Crisp apple, lowfat string cheese, and 7 reduced fat Triscuits.

For lunch (12:30) I had the Tamale Pie by Amy's. I put a bit of salsa on it and it was fantastic. It'd be even better with some chunks of avocado and a little sour cream!

Anyway, I am still plugging along. Actually, I would say I am doing better than merely plugging along. This week I would say that I am totally owning it!

Day 4

Day 4.

I never thought I'd make it to day 4 without a mishap but it's true, and here I am to talk about it. The weird thing is I totally have more energy without sugar. I never would have believed it before I started. My commitment to go without sugar is only getting stronger.

This morning when I woke I had a banana pretty much right away. I have just finished a book called Thin People Don't Clean Their Plates: Simple Lifestyle Choices for Permanent Weight Loss by Jill Fleming, MS, RD. One of her analogies was that our bodies are like a campfire. When you wake up you want to feed the fire gently, at first, with kindling. That gets your metabolism started and then you can feed it little by little all day long, enjoying the steady fire (vs., say, the huge roaring out-of-control fire). Once I got to work I had some strawberries with a bit of nonfat plain Greek yogurt. That was probably about 8:30 a.m. At 10:30 a.m. I had some egg whites and lowfat cheddar over a piece of Ezekiel bread. I topped it with some tomatillo salsa and it held me until after 1 p.m. when I was able to get lunch.

For lunch today I had Cedarlane's Burrito Grande with Salsa Roja. I topped it with a bit of yogurt because I didn't have sour cream here at work. It was amazing! I felt sated until now (4 p.m.) when I'm just starting to get the growlies. I think I'll have the Peanut Butter Cookie LARABAR (ingredients: dates, peanuts, salt) and a lowfat string cheese.

Anyway, I have to cut this short for now. I want to write down some more thoughts after reading the previously mentioned book but I'll have to do that later tonight. Ciao!

Day 3 Afternoon

OMG!

I have energy!

It's almost 4 pm and I'm not dragging my butt through the work day!

I just had a snack since lunch at 12:30(ish) and it tasted pretty good. I'm sure my taste buds will change more once I've been off sugar longer but this, I have to say, was pretty awesome. And it's raw.



LARABAR, Cashew Cookie flavor. Ingredients? Dates, cashews. That's it. THAT'S. IT. Incredible!

It has 210 calories but they're good calories.

Forget McDonald's...I'm lovin' it (being sugar free, that is).

Day 3

Day 3 is off to a roarin' start. I felt so awake and good this morning even despite not getting good rest last night. I haven't had shakiness or sweating since yesterday so hopefully that means I am over the hump.

For breakfast this morning I had a bit (about 3/4 cup) of nonfat Greek yogurt. About a half hour later I had a breakfast burrito made by Phil's Fresh Foods. Yup, it's a Facebook link but it looks like they've changed their name to EVOL and don't have the flavor I had this morning. Oh well. This burrito was nomtastic with some Trader Joe's organic tomatillo salsa (no sugar!) and I was sated until about 10:30 a.m.

Snack was delicious as well! I had the recommended serving size of 7 reduced fat Triscuits, a Frigo light string cheese, and a fruit leather from Trader Joe's called "Fiberful"!



This baby has Nutrition Facts to die for. 60 calories, no fat, 5 mg sodium, 14 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 8 g sugars, 1 g protein. The ingredients are Dried Fruits From Fresh Pulp (apple, boysenberry, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, plum, blackcurrant, cherry), Psyllium Husk, Flaxseed Meal, Soy Protein, Fibre Sweet Fibre (Inulin), Ascorbic Acid.

I had to research inulin as I didn't know if it contained sugar. You know, some of these things are tricky! It seems harmless and I am really glad about that because this fruit leather was deeeeeeeeeelicious! I can't wait to try the apricot one tomorrow.

Anyway, this snack was definitely filling and kept me fueled until about 12:30 when it was (is) time for lunch.

Lunch is a can of Trader Joe's (haha, guess where I shopped last night) Organic Lentil Vegetable Soup, 1/2 cup of brown rice, and 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs left from last night. Oh, and a Diet Pepsi. ;-)

I've been reading a lot about Clean Eating lately. In a magazine I got (called, hey!, Clean Eating) there was a quote:

Does this food contribute to my health and wellness?

I thought this was an especially pointed question to ask myself before putting something in my mouth.

Well, that's all I've got so far today. I have to say that my energy definitely seems to be up in the past day or so!