Day 26 - Thursday

I sat down yesterday to share my excitement about this week but found I was so exhausted from the excitement of my week that I fell asleep in front of the laptop...so I'm going to try again to express my amazing excitement, gratitude and enthusiasm...

I am so incredibly excited! Previously, I wrote about the frustration of not always having the time to cook healthy meals and the need for extensive forethought in order to succeed at weight loss (especially with the craziness of traveling to Sin City and so forth...) On Monday, I received a gift from Devin. Included were three autographed cookbooks: Fast Food Fix (great for when you're craving a Big Mac but looking for something under, say, 500 calories), The Most Decadent Diet Ever (the book I've been working from so far - which is good, 'cause this one's getting ratty from going EVERYWHERE with me), and a brand new book (I don't know if I can even reveal the name) which is designed for those who don't have the time to cook! Having tried a variety of recipes now from MDDE, I'm really excited to try some of these new recipes.

So after my absence, here's a brief recap of some of the recipes I've tried: I did a "Fit Into Your Skinny Jeans" gathering, which allowed me to make the Skinny Mini Cherry-Topped Cheesecakes and Tiny Tacos, as well as the Mediterranean Dip and pita triangles. All were good, although the Cheesecakes were by far my favorite. Great for curing a craving! The Skinny Scampi was ah-mazing and the Chicken Quesadilla was good as well. So far, the two recipes I am least fond of are the Chocolate Not Only in Your Dreams Cake and the Potato Chip Crusted Chicken. Of course, I don't eat potato chips to begin with, so that may be a factor. This week, I'm looking forward to trying the Godiva Sundae, the Sausage Breakfast Sandwich, Chicken Cordon Bleu, and the Cobb Salad...who's coming for dinner?

Day 21 - Saturday

One week later, and I'm half a pound heavier...after having eaten crab, lobster, prawns, steak, desserts, sushi, tempura, more steak, dessert, flatbreads, chicken, foie gras (won't need to do that again), dessert...all I can say is, "thank you, God." I am always up on the scale the day after flying, so I am fairly confident that by tomorrow I will have at least managed to maintain during a challenging week.

The first day of the trip, I went to the closest store where I could find produce (Walgreens on The Strip) and purchased half a dozen oranges and half a dozen bananas. That should get me through two to three days, right? Notsomuch. Everyone at our booth ate it within the first day, and thanked me for thinking to get fruit. Hm. Unfortunately, we were so busy, I couldn't get down to the 'Greens again all week, so I was forced to eat the bananas from Starbucks and the Oranges from the Convention Center as my fruit for the rest of our trip.

What did I do differently from past trips like this? I made SURE I drank a LOT of water. Most of the foods are so high in sodium, I thought that if I continued to drink, I might at least keep the water weight off. My friends from House of Knives made this easier by bringing us all beautiful stainless water bottles with thermal lids to use. I know this contributed to my success, as I had to pee every other hour. Other Boss asked if I was in kindergarten because I couldn't hold it.

I also limited my portions (thank you, Devin...) and only ate about three bites of any course. OB was a little freaked out by the waste of food, but so be it. I was able to get him to consume most of the alcohol that was poured for me as well, thanks to advantageous seating and his willingness to consume. I wasn't able to get out and exercise, as we were at the show from 7:30 am to 5 pm and doing dinners from 6:30 or 7:00 to 10:30 or 11:00, so the shoes and iPod sat useless in my (incredibly dark) hotel room.

On a totally separate note, the hotel room, aside from the lighting which made it impossible to tell black from navy (not good when you only have two colors of shirt to wear), had a fantastic view of the Bellagio fountains, thanks to a little snafu with the front desk. After checking in and heading up to room 3548, I was a little surprised when I used my key card and heard someone from inside shout, "Give us 10 minutes!" Oops. Upon returning to the desk, I mentioned that someone seemed to be "busy" in my room and could I please be moved. They looked up the room and immediately sent security up, as no one should have still been checked in, and I was moved to a Room with a View (just not the kind of view I'd almost had...)

So with many many weeks to go, I'm still 8 lbs down, 17 to go to hit the original goal, and raring to continue in a positive manner. Wish me luck!

Day 14 - Saturday

I am growing more nervous about the upcoming trip. Can I pack my scale? Maybe they make scales that you can easily take with you...if so, I need one now, as well as a good way to pack produce when I'm traveling, since you can't take it through the security. I didn't lose any weight the last two mornings, although with the pizza Thursday night I certainly understand half of that. As for yesterday, I wasn't good, but I wasn't bad either...I would like to lose half a pound more before leaving tomorrow...
Today we celebrate Mark's birthday, so the kids have chosen a restaurant where people will sing to him for dinner. I have to find my copy of "Eat This Not That," and look up what I can do at Red Robin.
Last night was the Chicken Piccata (I told you I'd make it again!) and Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing. I learned two lessons: don't leave the dressing on the stove for two long because it thickens too much (a great argument for mise in place), and don't put all the dressing on if you don't think you'll need it. It was zesty and had lots of flavor and I didn't need as much as I made. I want to try this recipe again with a little more care taken to preparation...let's hope in the meantime that my family eats all the fresh spinach and produce that we have in the house before it spoils...
Wish me luck this week!

Day 12 - Thursday

So after the crazy madness that has been the last two days at work (see below), I came home tonight to find darling husband with the can of ant spray and the refrigerator pulled out. The six-legged little vermin apparently overtook the fridge tonight, including the gaskets in the doors. The sitter says she can't figure out why the cleanest family she knows gets ants more than anyone else. Within twenty minutes, the pizza man was at the door, ruining the diet plan for the day. Thank goodness I stuck to it the whole day up until that point. Hopefully with some water, today's dinner won't become tomorrow's thighs.

Other Boss and I sat down yesterday to work out the details of our working relationship. The new org chart was released in the morning, listing OB as the VP of Sales and Marketing and my new title as Marketing Coordinator. Big Boss told me that this was simply a retitling to match what I actually do for the company, but now I report to OB instead of Boss 1. I'm not sure if I just hopped back in the frying pan or if I just made it into the fire...I guess we'll know by how hot it gets!

8.5 pounds down; 16.5 to go...or more or if I can get there in time...

Strange Days - Wednesday, Day 11

Here's what I have discovered in the last ten days: I have discovered that I can't cook Devin Alexander's recipes every day, but that with a little forethought I can plan meals that won't totally kill my calorie intake for the day. I have discovered that a little tiny sparkly donut from Starbucks will kill a craving just as well as a giant Voodoo donut. I have discovered that every day that I choose to drink at least 70 ounces of water, I wake up the next day lighter. And I have discovered that after just ten days of eating smaller portions, I feel fuller with smaller portions.
What I still need to learn is how to maintain a healthy regime when I'm travelling (Lori, input here please). Preparing for a week in Vegas, with dinners at Smith & Wollensky and Japonais, has me a bit nervous. Apparently I need to visit a local produce seller when I get there, because most of what I've been eating is fruit or veggies. Wish me luck!

Wednesday - Day 4

I don't think I have ever weighed myself in the evening, aside from after a round of serious flu-like symptoms, and found that I weighed less at night than in the morning...and yet...today I jumped on just because I was feeling good, and I weighed less than this morning! This puts me at a total of five pounds since Sunday. I swear to God, I am going to build a shrine to Devin Alexander in my kitchen and pray to it before I cook.

I spent the entire day at work peeing every other hour. I know this means that all the weight I have lost is water weight, but I still consider it a step in the right direction if I have cut down enough sodium to spend my day peeing instead of working. That is true progress! On a side note, my bosses were kind enough to infuse some humor in my day when Boss #1 made a comment to Other Boss about how he knew I wouldn't ever let any task go until it was done right, and Kurt looked him square in the face and said, "You better watch out. You're lucky she still works here." Dead serious. I had to choke not to snort laughter in both their faces.

Unfortunately, dinner tonight was ruined (or not entirely) by my lack of forethought. I forgot to pull out chicken to thaw so the chicken quesadillas I promised my family will have to wait until tomorrow. Tonight's substitute ended up being spinach salad (I'll be making Devin's spinach salad later this week, after we buy some bacon) and crab cocktail. At least the crab and cocktail sauce were both fat free...

Tuesday - Day 3

I love the beginning of a new regime - by this morning (was it only this morning?), I had lost 3.5 pounds, in spite of having some (delicious) sushi for lunch yesterday. Last night's dinner was AH-mazing! I made Devin's Chicken Piccata and I will be eating it again either tomorrow or the next night. Eli inhaled the meal, then proved to me that my diet (and by diet I mean food I eat, not DIET) cannot be the same as his. I chose not to serve any carbs at dinner and by 7, Eli was starving! So while I may restrict myself, I need to feed my little Skeletor.

Today, I had the dubious pleasure of an ultrasound on my lunch hour. 24 ounces of water in my bladder while someone pushes on my groin, looking for all my jubbly bits. The minute she said, "you can pee, " I was up so fast I think I actually pulled a muscle. The good news is she didn't see any of the fibroids that the US tech saw last year (do those things disappear?); however there might be adenomyosis and/or endometriosis. So the bad news is that might mean another year or two of toe-curling pain twice a month and you people dealing with an incredible bitch at least once a month...(if you need a calendar to know when to avoid me, please email a request. Depending upon what day of the month I receive the request, it may or may not be honored.

Today's entry from "The Most Decadent Diet Ever" was Asparagus with Sherry-Shallot Vinaigrette. Another absolute winner. Fortunately, I have enough asparagus and vinaigrette left for lunch tomorrow. Put that together with the Chicken Piccata that Lo didn't finish and I'm just about set!

Sunday - Day 1

The kids and I hung out at home today, after an early morning trip to the grocery store to kick off the week. Sunday morning is definitely the time to shop at King City Safeway. If anyone in King City is awake at that hour, they are in church, leaving the heathens to roam the store, listening to Black Sabbath (no, seriously) and "Let's Get Physical" by Olivia Newton-John. It does make for quick shopping though, so the kids and I could be in and out in record time.

My parents joined us for breakfast, a Sunday morning tradition at this point, started shortly after Hurricane Katrina when the whole family was living here. It's a much quieter affair than when 6 kids under the age of 10 were running around the house every weekend. I decided to start with the very first recipe in the book, which was Chocolate Chip Pancakes. While at the store, I did a little impulse purchasing and bought some turkey sausage as well. Having tried it, I don't think we'll ever go back to pork sausage except on those special occasions for Mark (of course, he'll want bacon instead, so I think we're good). We also had clementines, for a well-rounded meal.

The pancakes were pretty good. We all had the same reaction, which was the best reason to keep this recipe was knowing it was better for us. Lisanne, our picky eater, ate four smaller pancakes and loved them (thank God for that). After breakfast, we engaged Nana and Poppy in some Wii time. I drove Nana up the wall with Super Mario Bros. This is the woman who called in sick for four days after she gave me a Nintendo for Christmas in the 90s...to try to master the original Super Mario Bros. The kids thought it was hysterical to watch her freak out every time Luigi died...which was pretty often.

After doing some reorganizing and playing trains with the kids, I started on our early dinner. For dinner, I was going with a "safe" recipe for Lo...Mac and Cheese with low-fat kielbasa. The frustrating part was that my grocery store obviously caters to the blue-hairs in the area and didn't have the lowest low-fat turkey sausage (they didn't have reduced fat kielbasa at all) and the cheese they carry isn't as low fat as Devin recommends. Frustrating. The mac and cheese was very very cheesy. Always the diplomat, Lisanne's response was, "Mom, I like the mac you made with the cheese that came in a box." That's right, she means Velveeta. I wonder if they make a low-fat version of that...she added large quantities of ketchup and found the meal to be copasetic.

Devin lists another mac and cheese recipe on her website. I might have to try that one next Sunday and see if it's met with greater appreciation. I could eat this one again; I just felt like it was a bit pointless when I couldn't get it to the same level of "low fatness" as Devin's.
Tomorrow's dinner? Chicken Piccata and Asparagus with Shallot-Vinegar Dressing. How many should I cook for?

Additional incentive

So I took Mark to see "Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles" today, an early birthday gift. It was a good (not amazingly fabulous) show and we had a good time. Of course we had a great time going to lunch beforehand and being able to talk without midgets around. We went to Oasis for lunch and shared a maza platter with khyaar bi laban instead of baba ghanoush (I hate eggplant), and we shared lamb kabobs. While we were there we were talking about our plans for the year, including my work plans (which we all know are on hold, pending the ultra sound on Tuesday. Yay for 24 oz. of liquid in my bladder while they push on me with the magic wand), our plans for the summer, and so forth. While I won't mention what specifically was said, I will say that he provided me with an incredible incentive to get healthy and lose the weight. (Unfortunately, he also provided incentive for continuing to work at least through June. We'll see how that goes...)
Lisanne called and invited Mom and Dad to breakfast tomorrow. I think we will start the day with Devin Alexander's chocolate chip pancakes - I'll have to cook them in my non-Circulon pans...gosh darn it! But here's the deal: It's time to set my goal. I'm giving myself a halfway checkpoint to keep my head removed from my @$$...by June, I will have lost 25 pounds. I will be exercising regularly (although I'm sure not daily)...and I will continue to work for as long as I possibly can (without pulling out a sharp knife and committing hari kira or some sort of -icide.)
I wish I had some sort of specific incentive that if I did hit the goal WOULD happen and if I didn't hit the goal WOULDN'T. The incentive Mark provided would happen either way - I would just be happier if I were healthier when it happened. Any suggestions? Let me know...