Watermelon

If there was ever any one food that would bring me back to writing Patti's Plate, it would have to be watermelon. Not only is watermelon my favorite fruit, but it is full of nutrients, water and a lifetime of memories. Watermelon was and is a part of me. My recent craving of it has reminded me that it has been missing from my plate for a long, long time. As I take a bite of this sweet delicious fruit, I am reminded that much has been missing from my proverbial plate for some time. Let's see if I can get some of my sweet life back. 

Hillsides

Today was a bittersweet day. I celebrated the birthday of the woman I work for, who was recently widowed. She wanted to go to the cemetery to bring flowers to her husband's grave. We spent a peaceful morning there, and then went to an early lunch. The solemness of the occasion slowed me down and eating became an afterthought of the day.  I learned something interesting about my eating. When I am anxious or rushed, I want to stuff my food down. When I am peaceful and relaxed it becomes much less about the food. (Although it was still really good.)

Fab's

Last night I went out to dinner with good friends. I try to stay away from Mexican restaurants and Italian restaurants when dining out, because I find that I have less control surrounded by some of my favorite fattening foods. Our friends picked the restaurant which turned out to be Italian.  I made sure that I looked at the menu first online so that I would have an idea of what I could order and not be tempted at last minute. Surrounded by many delicious sounding pasta and pizza entrees, I found a steak salad on the menu. Before I even left home, I decided that's what I would choose. The salad was still probably more than I should have eaten for a weeknight, and it did have shredded cheese and lots of steak on it, but I still did better than everyone else at the table who opted for big plates of pasta. I left the table feeling more than satisfied and very happy with my choice. 

Preparation

I know I'm in bad shape when a random man at the gym comes up to me and tells me that I'm doing a good job. He then goes on to tell me that "weight loss is 90% what you are eating, not exercise at all." Gee, thank you kind stranger. I'm so glad I got my fat butt out of bed this morning to go to the gym at 6 am!

However, he is right. Exercise is obviously good for me, but several small low calorie meals throughout the day will help me continue to lose. I have not made food preparation a priority or a habit yet. Today I will make it a priority with the help of my new meal boxes. If I can make today a success, perhaps I can make a habit of it in the future.

Beet Cauliflower

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.


(I promise to write more later.)

Filet and salad

Just a quick post: I don't want you to think I'm not working on getting skinny, but I have been very short on time the last couple of days. I haven't had enough time to dwell on my diet. However, I am definitely doing a good job of watching what I eat. I haven't been prepared enough to eat small meals throughout the day. I have skipped meals rather than eaten something fattening. That is not a healthy way to diet, and I am not suggesting you try this in your own homes, but it does show my determination to lose weight. I'm not eating enough calories, but the calories I do eat are enjoyable!

Fish, spinach and peppers

I can hardly believe that the excitement of the last couple of weeks is over. It was a whirlwind of happiness. Now, it's back to the task of losing more weight. I am still determined to finally get down to my goal weight. I am more determined than ever to get thin. I have a new family to visit and enjoy. I need to make sure I stay healthy and fit for a long time. I haven't had the energy to get back to the gym yet, but I have gone back to my healthy eating!

Wedding Day at Pelican Hill

How do I even begin to describe last night? It was truly a night to remember.

My daughter found the most amazing man to become her husband. We could not possibly be happier. What better way to celebrate my daughter's marriage than to have plenty of food, drink and laughter. Yup. We had it all! Oh, and did I mention an abundance of LOVE?

Lucques

You have to know something about me.....I seldom order fish in a restaurant, unless I'm on a strict diet. Tonight, I had no desire to be strict, because I was in the midst of a celebration. We met my daughter's fiance's family for dinner, the night before her wedding. We went to Lucque's, the restaurant her "husband to be" took her to on their first date. The ambiance was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the blend of our two families was perfect. So, although I gave myself permission to have a two day hiatus from my diet, I still went with the fish, because I knew it was lighter than ordering meat. My tastebuds got a wonderful surprise! The barramundi was indescribably delicious! And it shouldn't affect the fit of my Mother of the Bride dress! 

Engagement News!

As I said before, I've got lots going on!!! One of my weight loss goals was to be able to walk down the aisle at my daughter's wedding without the embarrassment of being fat as Mother of the Bride. Hmmmmm, didn't quite make it. My daughter got engaged last week, and has already planned her wedding for next weekend. Doesn't really give me enough time to reach my goal, does it? That's okay. I'm so excited for her. Last night we went to dinner after bridal gown shopping. I ordered a spinach salad with shrimp, grapefruit and cashews. Notice her diamond ring sampling my meal?

Spinach drink

I have tons going on right now, and it's hard to understand a new diet on top of everything else that I am doing. But, I am trying! Long story short, I don't even know if my protein pancake is allowed for breakfast. I think it is allowed on the high carb day, but I'm not sure yet if bananas are allowed on the low carb day. I'm too busy to really check it out. Another problem is fitting vegetables in at every meal. I understand having them at every meal except breakfast. I love my protein pancake so much that adding vegetables to the meal is a little awkward. Oh well, for now, I made myself a protein drink with spinach. At least I know that I got my protein and veggies in. Hopefully, I will have some time later tonight to read all about this diet. 

Carb Cycling!

It's still early, but I am starting to learn about a new way to lose weight. Featured on the television show, Extreme Weight Loss, Chris Powell and his wife, Heidi have had much success helping people lose weight. Hopefully, by reading their book, they will help me. I almost didn't write this post today, because I have not set up my link to allow my readers to buy this book. (I'll do it soon Leo) but, I am so excited about starting this plan, I decided not to wait. The idea behind carbohydrate cycling is to eat a high carb diet one day and a low carb diet the next, so that you trick your body into burning more calories. You are also required to eat 5 meals a day, with protein and vegetables at every meal. I think this will bring the biggest improvement to my weight loss. I know, believe it or not, I have not been eating enough throughout the day. 

Little lunch

I had a moment of clarity today. I've put a lot of time and effort into losing weight, yet I am still overweight. It would be understandable if I started out at 500 pounds, but I didn't. So, why am I still fat when I've been at this so long? I still have not made losing weight a real priority. Sometimes the small meals I eat may actually be sabotaging me. Quite often, because I am unprepared, I don't even eat enough. Lunch today is a good example. The lunch I took to work consisted of a little boiled chicken, a peach and a slice of avocado. I was low in calories but that's not enough to keep my body running at a fat burning level. Hopefully, this is about to change. Tomorrow I will tell you about a new diet I am embarking on. Stay tuned. 

Thai Steak Salad

Most of the reading I've done lately, advises eating 5 small meals a day. This helps to keep your metabolism going, and keeps you from getting too hungry. I did not follow that advice at all today. I had one great, really delicious meal, and I hope I didn't do too much harm. I can't imagine that I did. I stayed way within my calorie allotment for the day. We took my mom out  for a late lunch, early dinner. We went to South Beverly Grill where I had the "Jungle Thai salad".  It usually comes with noodles, but I ordered it without noodles and extra lettuce. So good!!!

Mushrooms and Peppers

It was a very disappointing dinner. If you are a loyal reader, you know by now that Saturday night is date night. Sometimes we include my mom, once in a while we go out with friends, but usually it is just Tony and I. Tonight we decided to choose a new place. Big mistake! I'm not going to include the name of the restaurant, since they are relatively new, and will hopefully get it together one day. The music was loud, the food was mediocre, and the bill was high. We won't be back unless we hear about a major change. I ordered a salad and filet, and we shared  an a la carte side dish. Even though Tony would have loved the fried potatoes, or bacon mac 'n cheese side,  we went with the healthier choice of mushrooms and peppers. Even though I am not strict on Saturday night, I am still making better food choices. Wish I had been better with my restaurant choice!

Kale Salad

I've mentioned before what a great job I have. I feel the need to say it again. I love my job. After spending the day on the computer, my boss/friend asked me to stay for dinner. It was a good way to skip the rush hour traffic, and I didn't need to cook dinner for myself. She already had food prepared and there was enough to share. We ate steak and a yam, and she introduced me to a delicious Kale, Brussels Sprout, Broccoli mix salad.

Tony took advantage of the night alone and splurged on Mexican food take out. All three of us were happy!

Boiled Chicken

This feels like such a slow process. I have been going to the gym every morning since I promised myself I would almost an entire month ago. Except for a weekend cheat now and then I have been really putting an effort into my diet. Why do I feel like I should be so much thinner by now? Yesterday I was so good, I thought I was going to drop about 5 pounds overnight. I boiled and weighed my chicken. I measured a tablespoon of olive oil for my salad and I only ate half of it. I drank lemon water throughout the day. My 4:00 snack was boiled endives with lemon. I weighed myself when I got up and the scale read exactly what it said yesterday. I know, I'm not supposed to weigh everyday. But, I really thought I was going to be pleasantly surprised.  Unfortunately, I was just surprised.

Gazpacho Soup

Tonight I was only slightly prepared. I had chicken breasts in the refrigerator waiting to be cooked.

I came home from work tired, but with good intentions. I sat and chatted a while with Tony, and then we discussed dinner. He was very hungry, but agreeable to eating whatever we had on hand. I offered to boil chicken breasts, and you could tell he was less than excited. Still, he kept saying in a very sad voice that he would just eat whatever I was having.  I ended up feeling bad for him and suggested we walk to the Valley Inn. I knew I could find something acceptable on the menu for me. I ordered the gazpacho soup which I have never eaten there. It was fresh, tasty, and the vegetables were crisp and delicious.

I also ordered a shrimp appetizer as my entree. I ate differently than usual there, but enjoyed it as much as always!

And Tony was happy.

Steak and yams

I am delighted with my dinner tonight. I've stayed within my calorie allotment for the day, and I thankfully didn't have another salad for dinner. As much as I enjoy my salads, I need a little more variety during the week. I weighed my steak on a scale, and measured out 4 ounces. I ate a half of a yam and a couple of cups of boiled tender endives. It doesn't look like a lot of food, but I ate slowly and I was totally satisfied by the time I was done. I drank tons of water while I ate which probably helped to make me feel full.

Another day down!

Salad, again

I made a relatively boring, routine dinner for my Monday night meal. I'm not putting much effort into my meal planning. I stopped off at Whole Foods on my way home from work, bought Arugula lettuce that was already triple washed, and a piece of chicken that was already cooked. I came home and made it into a salad. The laziness I brought to the table, made me feel like I didn't deserve to weigh less today. I have the day off, so I plan to grocery shop, buy more vegetables, and see if I can come up with a dinner that is dietetic, but more creative than my dull plain salad. Patti's plate needs to become more palatable!