Shhhh....Don't Tell Jackie

by DMC

I cheated today, and Jackie is no doubt going to want to flog me with one of her 10,000 dog leashes and then kick me down a flight a stairs if she finds out what goodness I had today. I ate my rice, beans, and corn mixture for lunch -- a very small bowl worth. Around 3:00 at the office, I started to get really tired, and a coworker asked me if I wanted anything from Starbucks. Well, I needed a break, so I went with her and had a hot chocolate and a chocolate biscotti. But, I really only wanted to dip the biscotti into the hot chocolate and have a few sips of the nice, warm chocolatey drink to satiate me. So, I ate my hot chocolate-dipped biscotti and downed a few sips of the hot beverage, then tossed the rest out. Sure, it was a bit of a waste of money, but Starbucks doesn't offer a smaller hot chocolate (they should!), so I had to make do.

Jackie and I Must Be On the Same Page

I ate lunch out, too... I'd forgotten to pack my rice and beans for lunch, and I didn't have time to get home to heat some up. So, I had to make an emergency run through a drivethru and do as little damage as possible. My choice--Taco Bell's Fresco menu -- the steak soft taco has 160 calories, so that's what I bought. It's not a lot of food (about the only thing that would be for 160 calories is celery!), but it took the edge off my hunger. When I got home, I had my serving of rice and beans, which tasted magnificent and totally satisfied my hunger...for about an hour and a half. Now, I'm hungry again and trying to resist the urge to raid the refrigerator.

The scale only went down about half a pound this morning, so unlike Jackie, I am not quite at pre-holiday weight. I still have about four pounds to go before I reach that point.

But, you know what? The holidays were kind of worth it. Okay, not every single piece of food I stuffed into my mouth between Halloween and New Year's...but much of it! Except that mystery pastry I had at a work conference. THAT I could have done without.

Day 4

I lost 8 lbs in 3 days and my headache is so much better. I am now pre-holiday weight, and ready to get into some real weight loss in preparation for the summer.

I did eat lunch out today, but I was pretty darned good. I doubt it'll kill me.

Day 5

by DMC
I started this post-holiday rice/beans/corn bootcamp on Friday. Today is Day 5 (or the 4th day, however you want to look at it). The scale is down about 4 pounds. It's actually been remarkably easy this time around. I live on about a cup and a half of rice and beans (mixed together) and some corn on the cob (it's off season, so instead of my own home-grown corn, I go to KFC's drivethru and get some corn). I am also allowing myself 1/4 of a whole wheat pita (so tear one in half and then separate the half pocket into two very thin pieces of whole wheat pita bread). I spread a modest amount of hummus on the toasted pita quarter. That entire snack is about 70 calories (being generous).

I'm scheduled to go out for a business lunch on Thursday, so wish me luck. I've decided in advance I'll either order rice and beans (if the restaurant has it) or a salad with dressing on the side and just use very, very little dressing.

Yesterday, I went to Jackie's for dinner. She makes a mean batch of lentils--Yum! She was kind enough to give me a batch to take home, so I should be set for today and tomorrow. I tried once to make lentils like she does, but mine came out pretty pathetic. I don't know what her secret is, maybe it's all the German Shepherd hair that must get into it (ha ha), but whatever the secret...it works!

Back in the saddle! Day 3

And I have to say, after the gluttony of the holidays, it feels like a relief. It's only hard for me to do when people want me to go out to dinner with them. Oh dear. But I was thinking again yesterday...all this is is the Starving People's Diet. People live on this diet year round without thinking they are dying...and actually, I'm on day 3 and I'm not suffering, I am breathing a big sigh of relief. Honestly. I have pots bubbling away on the stove right now: Brown rice, black beans, and lentils. It smells familiar and comforting.

In two days I lost 6 lbs of holiday weight. OK that is pure nonsense. It can't have been actual fat, duh, it was just sugar puffiness from holiday food. But I'm glad to see it gone anyhow. And today I get out the old beginning yoga tape (yes, VCR!) and start stretching. Nothing difficult, just very minor stuff.

I had a headache for the ENTIRE duration of the holidays...anybody think sugar and white flour might have had anything to do with it? Well, I do, that and a pinched nerve in my back, so diet and stretching are obviously the best course of action. I don't want to live on pain pills. That headache was deadly and lasted 4.5 weeks. cannot go on with it. I would rather STARVE.

Ah, the holiday yo-yo

by DMC

Well, Halloween came and went, with all its sugary, high-fructose goodness, followed closely by Thanskgiving, then Christmas, and finally, New Years.

Suffice it to say, I've eaten enough food in the past three months to last me the year... I'm ready to hibernate for the winter and get rid of the extra 7 pounds I've gained back. I can feel it in my clothes and see it in my face. Yep, I've gained weight. Of course, I'm still substantially lighter on my feet than I was when Jackie and I first started this culinary adventure, but I'd like to continue the progress, not start sliding backward.

So, I've made a commitment to go back on the rice, beans, and corn diet for the next 10 to 14 days. Why the range, you might ask. Because I'm shooting for 14, but I'm not entirely confident I'll make it that long!

I'll be exercising more, that's for sure. No, I haven't joined a gym (heaven forbid), or taken up palates, jogging, kickboxing or any of that torture. I did, however, find an old Richard Simmons VHS "Dance Your Pants Off" tape at a thrift store for 39 cents.... and got an extra 10% off that because it was sale day. Yes, I still own a VCR. I'm clinging to it like a shipwrecked survivor clinging to a tiny piece of floating wreckage. It doesn't hold me hostage with DVD ads, and no VHS tape has ever been "incompatible" with it. I don't have to go through the menu from hell to "burn" something to it (I just hit record), and there are still tons of old movies and shows on VHS that haven't made their way to DVD.

But I digress.

I believe I was talking about exercise. I received a Wii this holiday season, and I promptly went out and bought a Wii Fit Plus. So far, I've gotten to level 3 of the obstacle course and FINALLY made it all the way to the boat by flapping my wings (I realize this means nothing to anyone who doesn't have a Wii Fit Plus... but too bad!)

When I first started it up, brand-spanking-new out of the box, I had to go through the body test and profile set up. It took my stats and put me through a body balance test...and then promptly declared, on my wide, high-definition, plasma screen that I am "OBESE" (with sound effects for added effect). It even puffed out my little mii (avatar) on screen to add insult to injury.

I'm returning the damn thing.

Kidding!!! I'll keep it, but Nintendo... if you're listening...how about a little less truthfulness in your next version? Why don't you replace obese with "height challenged." After all, if I were six feet, three inches, I'd be just perfect. Or, how about "evolutionarily advantaged." With my metabolism, I'll outlast 90% of the population if there's ever a famine.

Unfortunately, I don't think there's going to BE a famine within my lifetime, so at the moment, I'm just "obese." I like calorie-count.com better. They say I'm only overweight, not obese.

Anyway, I'm back...blogging... and I'm determined to lose another 20 lbs this round. Today was my first day on the rice and beans diet. I did fairly good, but as things turned out, I didn't get to eat a thing all day until dinner, when I was finally able to get home from work and microwave my cup of rice and beans. I even unwrapped a little corn on the cob I had left over and finished that off. I'm still dying of hunger, but I'll manage. No pain, no gain. No hunger, no loss. Right?

Starting again

I'm back on the POW diet. I didn't really gain weight after coming off it, but didn't lose any more, either. So I'm beginning to think that, if no social occasions are going on, I should always eat that way...I'm on day 3 and I'm now hungry. Oh well, trying to resist. It's a little difficult because I'm stressed today. I will try to drink a lot of non caloric fluid.