Sometimes temptation proves too great

Today I was weak...

This afternoon Chris was working in the basement. I was just about the watch the first episode of the new Doctor Who series, I was sitting on the couch with the dogs, and I thought about the delicious bag of Sour Cream and Onion chips in the cupboard — An unopened temptation left over from cheat day yesterday.

Suddenly I was in the kitchen looking at the chips. I thought about how eating them would slow down my progress this week, I thought about the punishment I would receive by cheating (Rule 2), and I opened the bag...

As The Doctor and Amy Pond saved the planet, I was eating chips like it was the last bag on the planet. The dogs stared in disgust, well, more like in anticipation. I gave them each a small one to relieve my guilt.

As I stuffed handfuls of chips in my mouth all thoughts of the consequences disappeared. Then... the basement door opened. There I was, Sylvester the Cat with Tweety Bird in my mouth — one yellow feather dangling from the corner of my lips. Chris took one look at me, mouth full of chips, half empty bag on my lap, dogs surrounding me, and laughed.

I was caught.

So what does one do? Well, first I finished the chips. If I'm going to be punished, it's going to be worth it. Then I ate 2 chocolate bars.

And I now have a weeks worth of morning dog walks.

Oh well, I'm human.

You thought I'd gone off the rails, didn't you?

I'm back.

I know it's been a while since my last post and you probably thought I'd given up, started eating everything in sight, and now weigh more than when I started. Well, shame on you, I'm a machine.

Get ready for it! I've lost a grand total of 14lbs. since I started 4 weeks ago (Chris has lost 20!). This is the first time in about 2 years that I've actually made real progress towards getting back in shape. I won't lie, it has been work, but it's totally worth it.

Some of my weaker moments include going to bed early because I was crawling the walls, desperate for a cookie, or a Twix, or an Ah! Caramel... seriously 7:30pm in bed. That's happened more than once, more than 4 times if I'm being honest.

I also invented a long weekend loop hole and allowed 2 cheat days at Easter... I know pathetic, but I had it totally justified (extra day off from work, extra day off from diet, right?) and it was delicious!

But having said that, both Chris and I have been surprisingly dedicated to the rules. We've eaten well for 6 days, not talked about cheating, and really enjoyed our days off, really, really enjoyed our days off — usually Saturdays (except Easter long weekends where it's Friday and Saturday HA) I may have to keep that loop hole. It didn't really hurt our progress and made a big difference to the fun of the weekend. So, I say do it!

A lot of people have asked what I'm eating on my 6 non-cheat days. I'll start by saying that I'm not eating anything labeled low-fat, low-carb, low-taste. I don't buy light mayonnaise, or low-fat cream cheese. Probably the only diet item on my grocery list is... wait for it... Diet Coke. I drink enough of it that it makes sense to drink 0 calories versus 120. Most other light products aren't really much lighter and for the amount you consume, so you may as well have the real thing. Having said that, I'm not eating sugars, and I limit fat and carbs (not eliminated, but moderated).

OK, here's what I'm eating:

Breakfast

Usually I have eggs and fruit, or yogurt and fruit, or maybe a granola bar or half a bagel w/ cream cheese and a yogurt. Some combination of that depending on how much time I have. If I'm eating at home, or in the car, or at the office.

Lunch

I eat the same lunch every day. Boring, right? But I like what I like. So, I eat a ham sandwich with lettuce and tomato with pepper on whole wheat bread every day — EVERY DAY! I love it. It fills me up and tastes great. There was a time I would have added cheese and mayo but really if you add tons of veggies (sometime I add cucumber, or sprouts, or mustard) it adds the moisture that mayo would have. And with all the veggies you can't really taste the cheese anyway, so why add the fat and calories? I follow every ham sandwich with some fruit and another yogurt.

Dinner

There's a lot of choices for dinner, but I limit fat (maybe a little olive oil) and keep carbs under control. So, sometimes I have chicken, veggies, and a baked potato with salsa instead of butter or sour cream, or sometimes I have a little sour cream. Sometimes I have a sandwich with salad or a homemade burger on the barbecue with a salad. I've made Thai chicken curry with vegetables instead of rice, meatloaf with mashed potato, not potatoes. The list of foods is endless, but it's a balance.

Evening snack

You guessed it, more yogurt and fruit...

And that's really it. Simple.

Now what?

Do it: At the grocery store try shopping the outside perimeter only for your meals. Fruits and vegetables, breads, meats, and dairy.

Eat it: Bacon and eggs for dinner with a slice of toast... just 3 slices of bacon.

Workout with it: Bittersweet - Sophie Ellis-Bextor