Culinary Debauchery

So, I'm already up 0.4 pounds, and I haven't even had Thanksgiving dinner yet. I've decided not to sweat it, though. I love Thanksgiving - even more than Christmas. There's no stress of sending out x-mas cards, shopping for gifts and wondering how to afford presents, not artificial or forced happiness and annoying music. It's all about enjoying friends, family, and good food. And in my family, it's not just a one day thing. It's an all out, 2 day event. Total culinary debauchery.

But because of this diet, I found myself actually filled with anxiety. So I've decided to let myself have a few days of guilt-free (almost) consumption. Normally, I would put on a few pounds or five, and not worry about it until after new years. But this year, I've already dropped 6 pounds, and I plan on dieting in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plus, I've discovered my 4 1/2 year old loves doing yoga with me at night. So after putting Ruthy to bed, it's Rory and Mama time to do yoga. So not only am I doing something good for my body, but I'm setting a good example for my daughter. In the greater scheme of things, being a pig for a few days probably isn't something that's going to have big impact on my diet. It may not be the wisest choice, but it's one that I can live with.

"Great wisdom may resemble foolishness."
-Chinese proverb, Lao-tzu.

P.S. I love Chinese proverbs!

Ctrl-Alt-Delete

Good news and bad news. I was totally stressed out about my west-b test that I had to take today (a basic skills test in math, reading, & writing you have to pass to get into a teaching certification program), that I sort of forgot about my diet. I always eat when I'm stressed (or sad, lonely, happy, excited, ok - maybe it's not such a good excuse), but I didn't eat as bad as I normally do. Thursday, latte and scone. Friday, 2 poptarts - not terrible, but not good. Saturday on my way to the test, I stopped at McD's and got an egg mcmuffin and a latte. That's not so bad, except I also got a cherry pie, and of course you have to get 2, because they're 2 for a $1, and only one is $0.89, and I have to get the most for my money, right? That was a rhetorical question. Anyway, the test was way easier than I thought it was going to be (yay!) so to celebrate afterwards, I stopped at Starbucks and got a ginger snap latte and a donut - argh!

But, the good news is I did something besides sit on my butt this week. Thursday I did another 3 hours of lumberjack aerobics stacking wood, and after I got home from my test via Starbucks, I went for a brisk 45 minute walk. The highlight of which I got to pet a baby cow through the fence, and on my return trip, he came running up to the fence when he saw me walk by, so I got to pet his nose again. I guess that's one of the perks of living out in the country (If you don't think petting a calf's nose is a perk, then you probably belong within the city limits).

On a more inspiring note, I just finished reading this book called "Crack the Fat-Loss Code: Outsmart Your Metabolism and Conquer the Diet Plateau" by Wendy Chant. Some one recommended it to me because it sounded kind of like what I was already doing. But this book makes the most sense of any diet book/program that I've ever read - and let me tell you, I've read and tried ALOT of them. She actually explains why you (and I really mean Me) reach that dang diet plateau on every single diet. You know how it is, you loose weight to a point, then you get stuck, get discouraged, and go for the donuts. At least that's what I do. And it's not about depriving yourself either, which can only be maintained if you live in a vacuum, except the 1st 7 days of the diet. The 1st week is called the carb-deplete phase, which I'm not looking forward to, but I can do anything for 7 days. So monday, I am going to"Ctrl-Alt-Delete" my diet plan. I'll let you know how it works out.

carbohydrate hedonism

Last night I raided my kids halloween candy. I've made my confession, and my bathroom scale is my penance. Enough said.

Flower Girl Wrangler

Wedding Food. That says it all. Actually, I did pretty good considering my old habits. Friday was my brother-in-laws wedding rehearsal and dinner, and Saturday was the wedding. I decided to give myself reprieve from the restricted carbohydrate diet, and enjoy myself and celebrate with my family. The dinner was at Round Table Pizza, and I actually only ate 4 very skinny slices (really about 2 regular slices) of pizza, and of course I had some cake. Pre-Diet I probably would have downed twice that no problem. But to even it out, I probably burned about 3,000 calories (OK, maybe only about 300) wrestling the girls in 3 wardrobe changes at the photographers that morning at JC Penny's, and then "practicing" at the rehearsal.

The day of the wedding, I was so busy I hardly had time to eat. I was having guests from out-of-town stay at our place after the wedding, so I frantically tried to clean my house and had to hide a week of unfolded laundry, clean up toys, crumbs, dirty bathrooms, etc and put it all into to some semblance of peace, order, and tranquility. Picture a duck gliding gracefully through the water, and it's odd-looking web feed paddling furiously under water. I think I burned another 3,000 calories wrangling my 2 and 4 year old flower girls trying to keep them clean and occupied at the church before the ceremony. As it was, I had to use 5 safety pins to repair Ruthy's dress that she ripped climbing on the chairs. Trying to get them to smile and look at the camera while on a time line is no small order, either, and as I told Rory to close her knees, I heard echoes of my own mother saying the same thing to me when I was a child. Oh, and did I mention the chapel was 85 degrees? Thank god for deodorant! The girls did make it down the aisle before the bride, but then thought it was a good idea to turn around and pick the petals back up, so I had to go get them, but that was actually kind of cute and entertaining. My mom was there to take Ruthy out of the chapel, which I really appreciated so I could be there to hear the ceremony. Lindsay was absolutely beautiful, and the ceremony made me cry. It was a 3-tissue wedding. It truly was the best wedding ceremony I've witnessed, and it makes me believe that they will have good things ahead of them.

But more about me...well, it is MY blog. The reception was also really nice, and I partook in 2 glasses of wine. I actually didn't pig out, although this is mostly because while I was away from my seat, the buss boy took my plate away before I could finish. If only I could have a bus boy like that at home - ha ha! And of course, I did have cake. It was from Boraccinni's after all, and whoever heard of someone refusing a cake from there!? All in all, it was a really good time, a wonderful wedding, the couple looked absolutely happy and totally in love. I'm so glad that Lindsay is part of the family now. But thank god that's over!

P.S. I'm not weighing in until Thursday....for obvious reasons.

Am I imagining it....?

So why is it that when I'm dieting, as soon as I eat something I'm not supposed to, I feel fat. And I don't mean mentally, either. Just yesterday, I was noticing I finally don't feel like an overstuffed cushion ready to split at the seams. The muffin top (let's face it - "muffin top" really sounds so much cuter that it actually looks) at the top of my jeans felt smaller. But as soon as I put that piece of bread in my mouth, my pants instantly felt like a tourniquet. Carbs bloat, but shouldn't it take an hour or so? It just goes to show you how much power the mind has over the body - or is that the body over the mind? It's all too confusing in my carbohydrated state. I think I'm going to go eat some more bread. Just kidding - maybe.

day 4

I'm down 3.5 pounds from monday, my start day. I really, really want some carbs. But I was good yesterday. I really wanted to cheat, but I didn't. Night time is really diffucult. I took a sauna with my husband, so that took half an hour, and but the time I got out of the shower, it was 9:00 already. So I watched ghost hunters and folded laundry, then went to bed at 10:00.

And away we go

Ok, so I started my diet yesterday. I weighed in at a whopping 205.3. I'd like to justify it by saying I'm 6 feet tall, but it's still alot to weigh even at that height. I am approaching my diet the first week with a low carb approach to try to flush the carbs out of my system. The idea being that muscle tissue stores glucose, and those reserves need to be depleted before the body burns fat. I think it takes 72 hours to deplete those reserves, but I'm not 100% sure on the timing. The trick is, when your body starts to burn fat, to give it just enough carbs so it doesn't go into famine mode and try to slow metabolism.

I should probably set goals for myself so I can guage my success (or lack there of, if the case may be). Long term goal: to get to 175 lbs. That's the weight I was in highschool, which I wasn't particularly skinny nor fat, so a reasonable weight to be after having 2 kids. The skinniest I've ever been has been 155, and that was after I was sick for 3 months (I did look good, though, despite the pasty complexion). Short Term, to get to 190 by the end of the year after holidays, etc. I weighed myself this morning, and amazingly enough, I lost 2.5 pounds in 1 day. Probably that was all water; I was peeing all day and night.

I went to my MOPS meeting, and I actually did not partake in any of the baked goodies (Oh they looked so goooood..). But today, while Rory was at preschool and Ruthy was napping, I had a cup of coffee and a piece of the pumpkin bread I baked for the meeting. I knew I shouldn't have done it. I'll do better next day.

I really hope this blog doesn't turn into an account of my lack of will power.