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Monday, January 22

Last night's glass of lowfat milk became a cup of lowfat hot chocolate. Ooops.

Breakfast: lowfat cottage cheese, coffee with lowfat milk, tangerine juice

Lunch: spinach cooked in small amt olive oil with a squeeze of lemon; plain brown rice

probable dinner: broiled trout, brown rice, roasted beets on wilted beet greens with whatever nuts I have on hand and a bit of goat cheese.

update: lunch did not do much good; snacked on 1/4 c homemade granola in 1/4 c lowfat milk. And tea with sugar. Much better. Likely no exercise today - now that the work thing is past, the other big thing is taking up time. Suddenly two days that were free and clear are totally booked up. :lol: Time to revisit old motto: "better busy and stressed than bored and depressed".

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Tuesday, January 23

Breakfast: orange/tangerine juice, coffee w/ lowfat milk, yogurt with blueberries (defrosted)

Snack: 8 oz miso

Lunch: one pork and cheese pupusa; five bites of fried plantain w/ crema.

planned dinner: something involving roasted veg, couscous, and harissa

Thanks to [smokey?] for the frozen fruit suggestion - I'm looking forward to trying different types in the next several days.

Confession: I have no idea if my 20lb goal is really ten percent of my body weight. I deliberately stay away from numbers. But before Christmas my doctor said I was up 15 pounds over last year, so I chose 20, figuring I probably put on a few more during the holidays.

Will have Mr P look at the scale for me again tomorrow am.

Other confession: last night after dinner ate about 1/2c of experimental brown rice pudding. I would not make this again, yet I couldn't keep from eating it. :lol:

update: walked/jogged my usual 1.6 mile circuit in 22 minutes (fastest ever), and this time with several minutes idling whilst chatting with neighbor. whoo-hoo!

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Wednesday, January 24

Last night's dinner was actually pretty tasty. While cubes of carrot and butternut squash roasted, I sauteed onion in olive oil, then added celery, zucchini, and garlic, then homemade chicken stock, harissa, and spices. By the time the braise was done the stock had reduced nicely. Tossed all the veg together, then place atop couscous that had been cooked in stock and harissa; topped the whole thing with toasted pine nuts. This would make a great side dish for those who want more protein with dinner. Very low fat yet satisfying. Also had about 2/3 bottle of beer.

Did not get weighed, as Mr P left for NJ at oh-dark-thirty this am.

Today's challenges:

1. a bag of Meyer lemons awaits me; the plan is to make a big batch of lemon curd and freeze it. Can I do so without indiscriminate tasting?

2. a friend is taking me to a favorite lunch spot for a belated birthday celebration. Can I resist overeating rich foods?

Breakfast: juice; coffee with lowfat milk; yogurt with banana (did not eat all of either)

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Thanks to [smokey?] for the frozen fruit suggestion - I'm looking forward to trying different types in the next several days.
I think it was me who suggested the frozen blueberries. In my experience, the frozen strawberries from WF suffer a fair amount in the defrosting on the texture front. Now, in yogurt, this doesn't bother me too much, but just a heads up. The other thing to be aware of is that I've found that the strawberries (more than other fruits) seem to pick up off flavors in my freezer. I don't know what's up with that, but if the frozen strawberries stay in my freezer for too long (longer than a month?), when defrosted they taste too much of freezer for me.

glad to hear the blueberries were successful, and good luck with the belated birthday celebration!

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Thursday, January 25: Back on the Wagon

But first, a Wacky Wednesday wrap-up

lunch w/ friend: pom/currant virgin cocktail; bacon, egg and cheese salad; pulled pork sandwhich (didn't eat all); coffee w/ milk

not half an hour after getting home, another friend called - "I'm in the neighborhood" etc - and came by, so...

exercise: friend, dog and I walked 3.8 miles roundtrip to hardware store for two quarts paint

now, this particular friend really likes Belgian beers, and MelGold had posted about the DT glass giveaway at Rustico, and Mr P was still in NJ, so...

dinner: 1/2 duck confit and brie pizza; 1/8 Italian sausage pizza; one Delirium Tremens Nocturnum

If I'd eaten just the salad at lunch maybe I wouldn't feel so bad. It was an excessive day. The only really good thing was that, instead of baking a batch of buttermilk biscuits and serving them with that lemon curd and a big pot of tea (possibly my favorite meal ever), I went walking instead. But still, feeling guilty.

breakfast: juice, coffee with lowfat milk, lowfat yogurt with banana

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Thursday, January 25: Back on the Wagon

But first, a Wacky Wednesday wrap-up

lunch w/ friend: pom/currant virgin cocktail; bacon, egg and cheese salad; pulled pork sandwhich (didn't eat all); coffee w/ milk

not half an hour after getting home, another friend called - "I'm in the neighborhood" etc - and came by, so...

exercise: friend, dog and I walked 3.8 miles roundtrip to hardware store for two quarts paint

now, this particular friend really likes Belgian beers, and MelGold had posted about the DT glass giveaway at Rustico, and Mr P was still in NJ, so...

dinner: 1/2 duck confit and brie pizza; 1/8 Italian sausage pizza; one Delirium Tremens Nocturnum

If I'd eaten just the salad at lunch maybe I wouldn't feel so bad. It was an excessive day. The only really good thing was that, instead of baking a batch of buttermilk biscuits and serving them with that lemon curd and a big pot of tea (possibly my favorite meal ever), I went walking instead. But still, feeling guilty.

breakfast: juice, coffee with lowfat milk, lowfat yogurt with banana

Sounds like even on your splurge day you left a lot on your plate, got a bunch of exercise, and avoided additional pitfalls. Good job.
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Thursday Update:

lunch: a big bowl of collards cooked w/ <1 tbsp olive oil; some leftover couscous

mid day nibbles: one 1/2" square of Gruyere; 6 mini Stoned Wheat Thins; 2 bites lemon curd; big pot o' tea w/ sugar and milk

exercise: 1.9 mile walk in 30 min - damn cold in the wind today!

dinner: low fat butternut squash soup (homemade), with 1 tbsp goat cheese, 1 t pepitas; small piece of Irish brown bread

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Friday, January 26

Big Weekend Ahead

but first, breaking news: lost 3 lbs over the past week. That's four down, sixteen to go

today's challenges: social activity, including exploring new grocery store and dinner at a very fine restaurant; whoo boy.

breakfast: juice, coffee w/ lowfat milk, oatmeal w/ brown sugar (only ate half, though - no appetitie this am)

update: lunch went surprisingly well; cup of tomato bisque and half a grilled Gouda, brie and apple on whole grain sandwich at the new Whole Foods, followed by 2 1oz tastings of wine. Then I ran out before I succumbing to temptation. I am so glad I live far, far away from that grilled cheese counter.

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Friday, January 26

Big Weekend Ahead

but first, breaking news: lost 3 lbs over the past week. That's four down, sixteen to go

Woo-hoo! congratulations on the weight loss---that's huge! I figured you had to lose weight this week. When reading your food journal I was really struck by how 'well' (define as you see fit) you were eating!

And as for the Big Weekend Ahead--yeah, I hear ya'. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to make it through Sunday's activities...

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Saturday, January 27

Ouch, Indeed

Did not go to very fine restaurant for dinner; that was a bit of deliberate misdirection aimed at a friend. Instead, went to bar for surprise party.

After lunch yesterday walked 1.6 miles; was strangely tired. Had a mug of tea w/ sugar. Had a very late snack of tzatziki (lowfat yogurt) with celery and fennel for dipping. Then got so wrapped up in work project I forgot to eat dinner before leaving for bar.

Over the course of the party, ate: three fries, five tater tots, one piece of chicken on a stick (2 bites), and two pepper on bread canape like things.

Also drank three generous pours of whiskey.

Don't know if my tolerance for booze is way down since I stopped having two drinks a day, or if I was drinking on an empty stomach, or what, but never have I been so sick. I don't mean drunk, I mean sick (not that I wasn't drunk, mind you). Mr P was thoroughly pissed off at me but proved his love by providing a pillow and blanket so I could lie on the floor next to the big porcelain fixture in relative comfort.

Pathetic, isn't it?

breakfast, very late: 1/2 glass juice; less than half bagel with tiny smear butter. Knew I needed to eat and drink to feel better but mere thought of comestibles had me heaving.

lunch, at 2:30: miso with small amts collards and rice; drank most of the broth, ate little of the solids.

Hating myself now for excesses leading to waste of a beautiful Saturday. Plans have changed from "go downtown for auto show and gallery show" to "maybe I'll try moving to the sofa". feh.

At least my sense of humor is intact.

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Sunday, January 28

oh, yeah - forgot about the cake. I ate cake Friday night, too.

yesterday dinner: two scrambled eggs, other half of bagel; vast quantities water.

Today I'm taking the day off. Having friends over to do some cooking, so what's the point of going low fat? Best I can do is limit myself to tasting instead of gorging.

Breakfast: juice; coffee w/ lowfat milk; two cream biscuits with lemon curd. :lol: At least I only ate two, with modest amounts of lemon curd.

Lunch: ha. A taste of this, a taste of that as I get ready for the party. A spoonful of sweet potato filling, a taste of buttercream icing.

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There's no use to writing about what I ate yesterday - it was all a blur. I did stick with "only a taste" of most things, but I'm sure the sum was way past diet threshold. Was able to send most leftovers home with friends, but I still have 1. an entire choclate cake; 2. five panna cotta; 3. about 40 oz duck fat. The first two I can toss without too much remorse. But the duck fat? Ohhhh, baby. I'm heading out for duck legs later this week, diet or no.

Not expecting any weight loss this week - will be satisfied with no gain.

Monday, January 29 - Back on the Wagon (didn't I write that recently?)

Breakfast: juice; coffee w/ lowfat milk; lowfat yogurt w/ one Comice pear

Plan for the day: at work; no snacking from office commisary; walk 2 miles at lunchtime; bringing one cup serving leftover beef stew (I like to freeze leftovers for day like this). Dinner will be the challenge, as Mr P will be cooking. He only cooks two things: spaghetti and carryout.

Update: stuck w/ lunch plan, adding only a small amount collard greens; only had ten minutes for walking/jogging by the time we had to be back on duty (there's a certain amount of work must be done during lunch breaks; I only got 15 min to eat). No snacking - hooray!

Dinner was 1/2 order chicken kabob with rice, less than half a piece flatbread, less than half an order humus from Moby Dick (Mr P opted for carryout). And one tiny piece of chocolate cake.

Am planning on taking rest of cake for ravenous coworkers tomorrow.

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...I still have 1. an entire choclate cake; 2. five panna cotta; ...
Argh! The penalties of leaving early. I was eyeballing that cake and eyeballing it, but just couldn't be the first one to cut into it. Homemade buttercream (where's that homer-simpson-drooling icon when you need it?!).

Yes, I too tried to stick with tasting (and I kept trying to stay near the veggie tray, so I tasted more of that), but then there was the caponata to be sampled (again and again), the bread, the cheese...

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Dinner will be the challenge, as Mr P will be cooking. He only cooks two things: spaghetti and carryout.

Gee, if only there were some ragu in the fridge.... :lol:

* * *

As for the duck fat, it's monosaturated fat, like olive oil, accoridng to Lucy Vatel and her French diet-doctor. Not bad for you, just caloric. I wouldn't go making a huge cake of Pommes Anna with a cup of it, as good as that would be, but enjoy in modest amounts. Sauté some garlic or onions in it when making soup, for example.

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Tuesday, January 30

breakfast: juice; coffee w/ lowfat milk; yogurt; pear

planned lunch: another one-cup serving homemade beef stew

panned dinner: spaghetti w/ homemade marinara (lots of olive oil); side of spinach

exercise: doubt I'll have the time; today's work schedule is tight, probably only half an hour for lunch; besides, seem to have pulled a hip muscle yesterday - how the heck did I manage to do that?

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Tuesday update: dinner = 3 oz spaghetti w/ modest amount marinara; one biscuit; one small piece chocolate cake; no spinach. Also, no beer. This is major, as one of the joys in life is that cold one at the end of the day. Also, I was on the job at 0715 yesterday; nominal one hour lunch resulted in 15 min sitting to eat (worked rest of time, and it ain't a desk job); snowfall in Fredneck County resulted in 2 hour trip home :unsure: ; those of you who know what my job is can imagine how I felt crawling through that inanity. Giving up that beer was major.

Wednesday, January 31

Breakfast: juice; coffee; yogurt w/ sliced peaches (from a bag - not very good but better than canned and the so-called fresh currently available).

Today's challenge: dinner with friends at favorite monument-to-protein-and fat-restaurant

update - lunch: last of last week's couscous with peas and corn; a few slivers duck confit :lol:

exercise: walked to bank and post office, 3.6 miles round trip

snack: 1/2 ramekin (2 oz) Meyer lemon panna cotta

dinner: 1 piece foccacia; 2 scallops; 1/2 hanger steak; mushrooms; few bites mashed potato; many bites creamed spinach; one bite chocolate mousse; 3 bites Key lime pie; demitasse hot chocolate

Rockweiler sitings at popular steak restaurant: only one

late evening snack: other half of panna cotta. Really need to throw out the rest.

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Thursday, February 1

breakfast: juice; coffee w/ lowfat milk; yogurt w/ cherries

lunch: one spring roll; 1/2 order flat rice noodles w/ veg and chicken and egg (Burmese)

exercise: 1.8 mile walk

dinner: butternut squash soup (homemade chicken stock, no dairy); wilted spinach salad w/ raisins and a little duck confit; farmhouse cheddar; one glass pinot noir.

It occured to me that not only do I have a decent amount of confit, I have a lot of eggs. Wonder how a confit and mushroom omelet would be for a weekend breakfast?

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Friday, February 2

breakfast: juice; coffee w/ lowfat milk; whole wheat bagel w/ small amt neufchatel

early lunch: other half of hanger steak, 1/3 c creamed spinach; 1/4 c mashed potato; a few mushrooms

exercise: approx 5 mile on C&O w/ a friend (one and a half hours walking)

snacks: half a panna cotta; hot chocolate made with lowfat milk (and not much sugar)

planned dinner: roasted veg w/ a bit of cheese (probably Gruyere) on rice; leftover soup

Deliberately not joining dr.com HH tonight as mindless eating and drinking are so not what I need right now; would really love the socializing, though. This is when I hate dieting the most.

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Saturday, February 3

I Miss Breakfast

My journal entries are distressingly boring, aren't they? yogurt with fruit, or a bagel, or oatmeal for breakfast. It's one of the problems I have when dieting: my palate gets bored. Especially at breakfast, which I love, especially on weekends when there's time to really have fun cooking it. Here are some favorite standard breakfasts:

rice pudding

cocnut rice pudding

German apple pancake

waffles

biscuits or scones with lemon curd

fried polenta topped with maple syrup

a big stack of jelly crepes [as you make the crepes, set each aside on a plate; spread every other one thinly with black raspberry jam]

don't have a name for this one: place a few corn tortillas on a plate, and top with black beans, softly scrambled eggs, crumbled bacon, shredded cheese (Monterey Jack for me); place under broiler 'til cheese melts; serve with a nice picante salsa and a great big glass of fresh orange juice

a big piece of cake or pie leftover from a party

spoonbread with maple syrup (no kidding, this is a great breakfast)

Oh well. Maybe next weekend.

Breakfast today: juice, coffee yadda yadda; bagel with neufchatel

lunch: leftover noodle dish from Mandalay (about a half order)

Last night's roasted vegetables went on plain polenta rather than rice, topped with a few shavings Gruyere; did not eat the soup.

Today's challenge: I'll get plenty of exercise doing some major house projects, but... donrockwell.com dinner at L'Academie de Cuisine. With wine pairing. Hoo boy. Can I eat half of each course without insulting Chef Pangaud?

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My journal entries are distressingly boring, aren't they?

If they're helping you, who cares if they are boring (and I'm not saying they are boring :lol: )

I Miss Breakfast

I haven't made them in a while, but these pancakes from Cooking Light were an old favorite. Some frozen blueberries make them even better.

Can I eat half of each course without insulting Chef Pangaud?

If you want, eat it all. That's why we're doing this, right? So we can enjoy the food we actually want and not feel guilty about it.

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Saturday update: afternoon snack = bubble tea

dinner at L'Academie: ate only 2/3 of the soup; half a slice of bread; half of the fish; 1/3 of the lamb; all of the dessert; 2 glasses wine.

Sunday, February 4

breakfast: juice; coffee w/ milk; yogurt w/ banana and a sprinkle of homemade granola

lunch: half a bowl of potato-eggplant soup; most of a field greens salad (left a lot of the blue cheese); too many truffled Parmesan frites; Mexican panna cotta; cappucino

dinner plan: bowl of soup from A&J

Keeping to anything like a diet is much harder now that the weather is well and truly cold. All I want is rich soups and long braised meats. Keep thinking how good it would be to make a chuck roast and serve with spaetzle...

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Keeping to anything like a diet is much harder now that the weather is well and truly cold. All I want is rich soups and long braised meats. Keep thinking how good it would be to make a chuck roast and serve with spaetzle...
Since it was my turn to cook tonight (after the Gerard Pangaud dinner), I made a parsnip soup from epicurious that required just 2 TBs (I used less) of butter and no other fat. Plus a salad with bacon and a poached egg. :lol:
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My journal entries are distressingly boring, aren't they?

If you think that you should see the postings at the Self magazine forums. One entry after another of Kashi bars and fat free pre-packaged food. I really appreciate you (and the other Fit for Summer participants) taking the time to journal your meals. It serves as a good source of inspiration for those of us who like to cook and want to eat healthier.

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I Miss Breakfast

One indulgent breakfast per week isn't so bad, especially since you're obviously exercising more now. Buttermilk pancakes (adjust recipe to cut back on sugar and/or butter & use skim or 1% buttermilk) in a well-seasoned cast iron skillet are not so bad--not compared to cheese omelets or French toast. Instead of making blueberry pancakes, decrease amount of maple syrup and add blueberries and heat.

Keeping to anything like a diet is much harder now that the weather is well and truly cold. All I want is rich soups and long braised meats. Keep thinking how good it would be to make a chuck roast and serve with spaetzle...

Self-delusional, perhaps, but I felt the same way and decided to compromise. Since beef stew meat was on sale at WF for Superbowl chili, I made a "Reduced Fat" boeuf bourguigon yesterday (2 strips of bacon for 2 1/5 pounds meat, less cooking fat, lots of draining, etc.) which I will serve either w a half portion of egg noodles or green rice (blend green herbs, scallion greens, etc. w chicken stock; skip the shallots sautéed in butter). Otherwise, hot oatmeal and lots of tea go a long way for me in this weather.

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I really appreciate you (and the other Fit for Summer participants) taking the time to journal your meals. It serves as a good source of inspiration for those of us who like to cook and want to eat healthier.

Thanks, but you might change your mind :lol: after reading

Monday, February 5

[Warning: maudlin thoughts ahead]

started off okay with breakfast: juice; coffee; 2 scrambled eggs in 1 tsp butter

continued okay with lunch: very small amount leftover polenta w/ roasted vegetables

was able to leave house project long enough to shop at HT, necessitating snack: decaf latte (whole milk); 1/2 slice HT coconut cake

too exhausted from working w/ contractors all day at the other house: 2 pork carnitas tacos, beans, rice, chips - brought home from Baja Fresh; ate half the beans, less than half the rice, most of the chips.

Something about being at that house all day made me crave sugary starchy comfort foods from childhood - Sara Lee coffeecake, Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, Pop Tarts (brown sugar cinnamon - yeah!)... fortunately I was able to avoid that trash and buy the single slice of coconut cake, which I ate with great guilty pleasure until I realized it tasted like vegetable shortening and sugar and little else. Didn't really satisfy the comfort food need, either.

Comfort food. Interesting concept. It would have been comforting if I'd arrived at that house this morning to find Mom taking homemade cinnamon rolls out of the oven just as the coffee maker finished perking. One of the contractors has been doing work there once or twice a year for five or six years now. He and Mom got along great. She would always have rolls and coffee for him, too, and he'd leave room in his schedule to sit with her a little while. I found myself looking in the big upright freezer in the basement for just one more package (no luck, bro and I got 'em awhile back), and apologizing: "Jerry, I'm sorry but I there's not even a coffee pot in the house!" But he didn't expect me to be my mother.

A lot of factors make dieting difficult - controlling hunger after a lifetime of bad habits, social opportunities involving food. But hardest for me is family associations. Before and after I left the family nest, the family life revolved around food. Comforting memories involve eating - good food, junk food, any food. Fixing up the now-empty house, I'm surrounded by fond memories - memories of food. Like the time about 30 years ago when Dad and I returned from a country drive with a bushel of peaches, and I had to help Mom clean them all (how did Dad avoid that task?) so she could make pie filling - she froze all those pies and once a month until the next summer we had peach pie for dessert. And now there's an empty freezer in the basement...

How am I supposed to diet on days like this?

Enough of that. As for exercise - I must have been up and down the stairs, often carrying stuff, 50 times, often interrupted by dashing to the front door to let the next contractor in... Okay, guess that doesn't count, but I feel worn out anyway.

Cold doesn't bother me, but don't know how much walking I'll get in the next few days, as I have 680 sq ft of wall in need of 3 coats of paint. At least that'll keep me outta the kitchen.

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As for exercise - I must have been up and down the stairs, often carrying stuff, 50 times, often interrupted by dashing to the front door to let the next contractor in... Okay, guess that doesn't count, but I feel worn out anyway.

Why shouldn't that count? If you're moving - it's exercise.

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Tuesday, February 5

breakfast: bowl of cereal w/ lowfat milk (bad choice, as I got the sugar shakes later while up a ladder)

lunch: the rest of last week's spicy beef noodle soup from A&J

snack: the rest of the mustard greens and soy bean salad from A&J

dinner: almost 3 slices pizza (not worth the calories; to be written about elsewhere)

dessert: hot cocoa made w/ lowfat milk, two teaspoons sugar, one teaspoon cocoa

exercise: up and down a ladder for several hours

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Wednesday, February 7

breakfast: juice; coffee w/ lowfat milk; 1/2 serving oatmeal w/ 1 tsp brown sugar - tried soaking the oats overnight in water, then cooking; didn't like the results

snack: a Pink Lady apple; boy do I love Pink Lady apples

lunch, very late: 1c white rice; 1 c steamed broccoli florets; a few bites of hummus w/ a small piece of pita

dinner: 3 measly ounces fettucine w/ homemade marinara; one meatball

exercise: spent 6 hours painting - up and down, up and down the damn ladder; will be doing the same tomorrow; it's getting old but the room will be beautiful when finished; the dog doesn't get it, though, and is wondering why we aren't going for walkies this week.

Today's temptation was chocolate milk. The paint is a deep, warm taupe; wet in the can it looks like chocolate milk. As I am highly food suggestible, I've been craving chocolate milk all day.

eta: dessert: lowfat hot chocolate

I want dessert! A pox on dieting. feh.

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Thursday, February 8

breakfast: juice; coffee w/ lowfat milk; yogurt w/ [previously frozen] peach slices and a tablespoon of homemade granola.

lunch: leftover butternut squash soup (about one cup); a few broccoli florets; about 1 c plain white rice

dinner: pizza (one 8 inch margherita, didn't eat all the crusts) and beer (about 6 oz) at book club meeting.

exercise: same as the past few days

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Friday, February 9

I Am A Big Weenie

...because I just couldn't bring myself to step on the scale this morning. The jeans test indicates I'm probably holding steady. I certainly haven't been eating diet food, but I really have been eating less than I used to. Whether this translates to weight loss or just holding steady, I'll find out. Someday. When I'm not such a weenie.

breakfast: juice; coffee w/ lowfat milk; yogurt w/ 2 tablespoons homemade granola

lunch: one piece of chicken kabob thingy; 1/2 order sag paneer; few spoonsful dal; all the rice; 1/2 of paneer-milk dessert

dinner: ? feeling guilty about overeating at social events last night and today - not sure I'll have dinner as such.

exercise: the paint project is almost done! hooray! yes, my exercise was putting the third coat on today. Soon I hope to resume long afternoon walks with the little dog.

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Soon I hope to resume long afternoon walks with the little dog.

Heya. Why don't we make plans for me to come over for a walk after class next week? Walks would be good for me as well as the dog! (Sorry I missed you earlier this week, I was in Toronto freezing my &%! off.)

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Saturday, February 10

Diet? What Diet?

breakfast: juice; coffee w/ lowfat milk; yogurt w/ cherries

lunch: dim sum w/ friends; ate too much, but (searching desperately for a silver lining) only one piece of dessert.

snack: 3 pieces chocolate; later a cafe au lait

dinner: none

later: going to a party; can I keep from od'ing on whiskey again? shouldn't be too hard. :lol:

eta: consumed only 1/2 pint of beer at party

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Sunday, February 11

I'm Just a Girl Who Cain't Say No

dinner - yes, dinner, eaten slightly after midnight: one glass Gigondas; 2/3 order spaetzle; most of a small casserole of sausages and stewed tomatoes; most of a tarte au citron; coffee w/ dairy of indeterminate type

breakfast (late): juice; coffee w/ lowfat milk; whole wheat bagel w/ neufchatel

brunch party at a friend's house: half a Pillsbury biscuit; 2 slices bacon; currant scone w/ Devon double cream; several small molasses cookies; Lapsang Souchong w/ sugar

dinner: plain white rice; strips of skinless chicken breast (1/2 breast worth) marinated in lemon juice, honey, soy sauce, garlic, ginger; plain steamed broccoli

later dessert: small glass (8oz) of nonfat soy milk; one piece chocolate

With a forecast of "wintry mix" for the next few days (spineless forecasters), I stocked up on good stuff to cook and eat this week. Hopefully I can make the good stuff relatively low fat and keep the portion sizes small. It starts tomorrow when about 13 pounds of chicken backs, necks, wings, and thighs go into the 16 qt stockpot. I forecast lots of soup on the menu this week. And a pot roast, because I just can't find joy in shoveling 100 yards of driveway without knowing there's a beef chuck a-braisin' in the house.

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With a forecast of "wintry mix" for the next few days (spineless forecasters), I stocked up on good stuff to cook and eat this week. Hopefully I can make the good stuff relatively low fat and keep the portion sizes small. It starts tomorrow when about 13 pounds of chicken backs, necks, wings, and thighs go into the 16 qt stockpot. I forecast lots of soup on the menu this week. And a pot roast, because I just can't find joy in shoveling 100 yards of driveway without knowing there's a beef chuck a-braisin' in the house.
Or skating across the ice? I shopped under similar expectations and finished six quarts of stock in the oven yesterday.
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Monday, February 12

Cain't Say No, redux

breakfast: juice; coffee w/ lowfat milk; 1/2 bagel; 1 egg scrambled w/ 1/2 tsp butter

lunch: a few strips of chicken left over from last night; about 1c plain white rice

snacks: one piece chocolate; small ice cream from York Castle; tea w/ honey

planned dinner: pizza

exercise: walked/jogged 1.6 miles in 22 minutes (took the hard way, too - up the steep hill instead of down it)

oops. See, a friend called and asked if I could pick him up in Silver Spring - and offered to buy me an ice cream in return. How could I decline a friend in need? And then he offered to bring us a pizza tonight. How can I decline such generosity? I will attempt (ha) to eat a very small portion.

eta: 2 - only 2 - chocolate chocolate chip cookies. With 8 oz nonfat soy milk. Okay, and a cookie's worth of raw dough, too.

Oh, and one glass of wine with the pizza.

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Elizabeth, keep it up! To be honest, I had wondered if you were eating enough. I don't know if you're a calorie counter (I'm not, and I wouldn't know where to begin with the measuring and calculating), but some days I read your journal and think "no wonder she is hungry!"

Either way, good for you finding time to exercise too. :lol:

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Tuesday, February 13

Back on the Wagon?

breakfast: juice; coffee w/ lowfat milk; 1/2 bagel w/ one scrambled egg

snack (was getting strangely shaky): 8 oz nonfat soy milk; one chocolate

lunch: Asian-style noodle soup*

planned dinner: small servings of chuck pot roast w/ spaetzle and steamed veg; maybe a few cookies for dessert

actual dinner: not so small servings of same; damn that was good; steamed veg = broccoli and carrot

planned exercise: a good long walk in the snow if it doesn't turn too icy.

actual exercise: ha! there was no actual exercise; however, made great progress on work project (in freshly painted room)

*homemade chicken stock flavored with soy sauce, ladled over paper thin sliced veg, ginger, tofu, and cooked udon; drizzled w/ a bit of sesame oil. Not bad, but needs umami.

eta - snacks: tea w/ honey; red hot cinnamon hearts :lol: Candy is not a weakness (I hardly ever eat it), but Mr P always gets these for me for VD, and I do love them... will try to make them last a few more days.

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Wednesday, February 14

Nothing Says "I Love You" Like Shoveling the Driveway

breakfast: juice; coffee w/ lowfat milk; yogurt w/ sliced peaches

snack: red-hot candies

exercise: shovelling driveway for an hour

lunch: 3 oz linguine w/ Swiss chard wilted in brown butter, pinenuts, raisins, and Parmesan

exercise: shoveling driveway for an hour and a half

snacks: more cinnamon candies; homemade chai w/ nonfat soy milk; one chocolate candy

exercise: shoveling driveway for an hour and a half

dinner: corn chips topped w/ cheddar melted under broiler, topped w/ poached chicken and tomato-ancho pepper sauce; one glass red wine

dessert: 3 chocolate chocolate chip cookies

ouch.

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exercise: shovelling driveway for an hour

exercise: shoveling driveway for an hour and a half

exercise: shoveling driveway for an hour and a half

ouch.

According to my nutritionist, shoveling snow burns 600 calories an hour. Even with those cookies you probably burned more than you consumed.

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According to my nutritionist, shoveling snow burns 600 calories an hour. Even with those cookies you probably burned more than you consumed.

I sure hope so!

Thursday, February 15

breakfast: juice; coffee w/ lowfat milk; a few Frosted Mini Wheats; about a cup of lowfat coconut rice pudding*

lunch: leftover pot roast and spaetzle; a few bites rice pudding

dinner: ? gettin kinda cabin-feverish here - might have to head out to a restaurant... uh oh.

eta: dinner - see review of Amici Miei in Restaurants and Dining

a good apres-dinner might be a finger in the throat :o

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Friday, February 16

breakfast: juice; coffee w/ lowfat milk; lowfat coconut rice pudding

lunch: one bottle Stoneyfield Farm lowfat yogurt drink

exercise: lots of housework (does that count?)

late lunch/early dinner: one slice bread w/ teeny amt butter; parsnip soup; bacon, egg, and cheese salad; black currant virgin cocktail

happy hour: glass of Chenin Blanc; very small glass Cabernet Franc; glass (or two?) Champagne

late dessert: 1/2 apple tarte tatain

Thanks for the positive comments last night (you know who you are). You motivate me. :o

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February 28

Jeans still fit the same. Still not able to get self on scale. Exercising alot, eating about the same amounts.

March is going to be interesting. After two months of almost no work, I'm now swamped. The thing about the job is, it's physically very demanding, and I'm gone about 12 hours and too tired to cook when I get home. And there is no place to eat within driving distance given the (nominal) one hour break for lunch, except the on-site canteen, which is awful. I think they must get the stuff Sysco can't sell elsewhere. :o

So, if there's any hope of making it through the month with any weight loss, I need to do some serious meal planning and have plenty of leftovers to take to work for lunch.

On the up side, my social calendar will be empty. No time for dinners out with friends. That ought to help with the weight loss.

Looking for the silver lining,

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