Small Victories

Friday was my first truly difficult day, diet-wise. I honestly could not decide if I'd rather lose weight or eat a doughnut. I was good, but the urge to throw in the towel was unexpectedly strong.

Yesterday my husband and I went out to eat. He was craving meat - specifically burgers - so we decided to see what we could get at Red Robin, intending to order a burger and replace the fries with a salad. It turns out they have on their menu something called a "Lettuce-Wrap Your Burger." Here's the description from the site:

A juicy beef burger topped with red onions, fresh tomatoes and Cheddar cheese all nestled between cool lettuce. Served with a side salad and balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

So we ordered that. And you know what? It was delicious. It satisfied our burger craving without too much guilt and we still got plenty of vegetables with our lunch.

I don't like special ordering at restaurants. I don't mind replacing the occasional side dish but asking for "no bun" or "no mayonnaise" and then having to check when the food arrives to see if they actually did it - well, that's not just my bag. I was so pleased to see they had something already on the menu for folks who didn't want the temptation of fries and a big old bun. Sure, this was clearly geared toward folks on Atkins or South Beach, but I'll take it.

Wow.

I made the Power of One leaderboard one last time. I didn't expect to, but I guess Nutrisystem gave me that extra boost there at the end.

I wonder what the next challenge will be. It's supposed to start up next Wednesday again, and probably won't be a solo challenge this time around. I guess I'll decide if I'm going to participate when they announce it.

Checking in

First, the weigh in, after 9 days on Nutrisystem:

Weight change this week: -4
Weight change so far in 2011: -13

Glad to see all this hunger and frustration hasn't been all for naught. :) (Actually, my husband and I were just talking about how we have more energy and have been sleeping better, so I'm not complaining.)

Gym recap: First Day to 5k, week 1, day 2
Distance 2.08 mi
Duration 30:00
Pace 14.4 min/mi
Speed 4.2 mi/h
Calories 187

First Day to 5k: week 1, day 1

I ran and it didn't suck! :D

Distance 2.25 mi
Duration 30:00
Pace 13.3 min/mi
Speed 4.5 mi/h
Burned 216 kCal

Hungry McGrumplesaur Awakes

I am so starving. I could barely wait until 11am to eat lunch. I would switch my afternoon snack to morning except that I need to eat something right before going to the gym after work. So I just suffer. Hmmph.

Of course, I'm probably a special case, because I'm one of those people who can eat pretty much nonstop between breakfast and lunch, but then am almost never tempted to snack in the afternoon or evening, both of which are written into this program.

This past weekend was somewhat momentous, so I thought I'd share.

Saturday

• My husband and I went out to eat for the first time since starting Nutrisystem. We had Mexican food (Guadalajara in Charlottesville, VA), where we both ordered the chicken fajitas. They came with Spanish rice and refried beans, and of course there were chips and salsa on the table. I ate zero chips (!!) and only ate half my meal (and only one of the two tortillas). I did have all of my refried beans, because those are a special favorite of mine, but while I felt fuller than I have since starting Nutrisystem, I ate considerably less than usual and was not hungry.
  
• That evening was tough, though, because it was a party where people brought goodies. I purposely brought a veggie tray with no dip, so I had something to mindlessly munch on while chatting with people. I tried a little of most of the dishes, eating more than I should've, but far less than I normally would've. I also skipped all the crackers and chips (a special victory because Doritos and Tostitos are my favorites!).
  
• Near the end of the evening I was going to try a death bar (this amazing-looking/smelling dessert bar that appeared to be made from chocolate chip cookies, peanuts, and joy). My husband said I shouldn't, and I resentfully threw it in the trash. I was not happy, but at least I didn't succumb out of spite. :)

Sunday

• I had to spend most of the day out on the town. I packed one of my ready-to-eat Nutrisystem lunches (a chocolate peanut butter bar) and figured since one of my errands was right near a Whole Foods, I'd try out their salad bar. Despite being sorely tempted by loads of delicious-looking dishes, I stuck to the veggies and a light balsamic dressing. And I was full enough after that I didn't bust out the bar until about an hour later (though I was definitely hungry by that point).
  
• Later that afternoon, after tromping around DC for 3 nonstop hours, we stopped at a Starbucks to hit the bathroom. They had the most amazing-looking apple fritters, and I was hungry. But I didn't have one.

Today

• I was exhausted when I woke up this morning and was tempted to run through the McDonald's drive-thru just to get a large soda, but knew I'd be too tempted by my beloved sausage burritos, so I skipped it.
  
• In the office kitchen were all kinds of goodies: cucumber sandwiches, chocolate cake, scones, chocolate-pumpkin Bundt cake, and chocolate covered strawberries. I sat and stared at them on multiple occasions but managed not to actually put anything into my mouth.

Tonight I start the First Day to 5k program (again). Here's hoping my knees cooperate.

More Food Babble

Yesterday was difficult on the diet front. I woke up absolutely ravenous, and breakfast barely quieted my stomach. Work was the same as ever, but about two hours after dinner I was so freaking starving that I picked my dessert based entirely on its size (yay pound cake) and then practically inhaled it.

Today has gone much better.

I don't know how much weight one needs to lose before clothing starts to fit differently. I do know I shouldn't expect to lose more rapidly than a pound or two a week, meaning I'll hit my goal weight anywhere between this coming October and May of next year.

Talking to my sister helps, since she shares my genes and went through this process several years ago. I suspect she didn't lose nearly as much weight as I need to (I have roughly 70 pounds to go) but she understands the struggle.

So far the main lesson I am learning from Nutrisystem is to make the vegetable the largest part of the meal. For most meals we start with a biggish salad (with no cheese - a major change for me) and treat the Nutrisystem entree more or less as a side dish. It's a good thing we like salad, but I'd die if I hadn't found a dressing I like (Newman's Own light raspberry walnut vinaigrette).

The categorization of foods surprised me: carrots count as vegetables, while peas and garbanzo beans are carbs.

I've been crap when it comes to exercising this week. Mainly I worry that increasing the number of calories I burn each day will make it just that much harder to adjust to this dramatic decrease in calories consumed. (Okay, that's a lie: mainly I only want to deal with one thing at a time, and this diet is a hell of a one thing.) I do, however, plan to start running again on Monday.

Upcoming challenges:

• Doughnut Day. Every Friday morning my office provides free doughnuts, bagels, and muffins. I am weak in the face of pastry. However, I have a plan: one of my breakfasts on the plan is a chocolate muffin, so I'll bring that to work and eat it when everybody else is eating their Friday morning goodies. Luckily, the baked goods are one floor down, so I won't even see them unless I make a special trip.
  
• Saturday: going out to lunch with a friend. This will be our first meal out since starting the program. Not sure how I'll handle this one yet; it'll really depend on where we go. Luckily, the friend we're seeing is a Weight Watchers alumnus, so I have high hopes that he won't derail us by insisting we go out for pizza. :)

Weekly Weigh-in

Weight change this week: -1
Weight change so far in 2011: -9

This actually might be just a touch high, as I forgot to weigh myself before dinner like I usually do.

Evidently there's only one more weigh-in for this "Power of One" project. Huh. I doubt I'll keep up the Wednesday Weigh-in schedule, but I'll pop in now and again.

Today is day 3 of Nutrisystem and I think my body will have completely adjusted by the end of the week. My stomach feels vaguely unhappy most of the time, which may be hunger or might just be a reaction to my drastically increased fiber intake, but it gets better each day. And I've found it's pretty easy to not cheat because I know exactly what and when I'm eating next. Sure, I've been more or less measuring my day by how far away my next meal is, but I think that will go away once I get completely used to the reduced portions.