Shrimp and Grits???

I am one of the luckiest people on the planet. I can say this for a million reasons but today I will just pick one. Today I was able to visit with my son, Ted. I went to see him in Carlsbad, CA where he lives.  It was great to see him and visit. We went to lunch, and I definitely got caught up in the moment since I seldom see him. We were looking over the menu, and there was a part of me that said, "celebrate, eat anything you want, you are with Ted, and you rarely see him." The other part said, "eat healthy, and remember you need to be accountable to your blog." I looked at the menu, and noticed that all of the salads were pretty highly caloric. I knew I could have asked to have the blue cheese or candied walnuts left off, but then I  would have been stuck with the same boring salad I make for myself almost daily. The waitress came to the table and recommended the shrimp special. She said that most people who come to the restaurant come for that dish. She strongly suggested it.
Two thoughts went through my head:
1) Shrimp is very low calorie.
2) I hate to hurt her feelings.
I ordered the special. Honestly, less than two seconds later I had buyer's remorse. I knew I had made a bad choice.  The shrimp special came with grits and a special sauce. I don't even like grits!Ted even felt bad for me because he didn't want to hurt her feelings either.  He offered to share his food. The good news is that I only ate a couple of shrimp. We took the rest of the food with us and hopefully his roommate likes shrimp. Learning lesson from this experience? The waiter or waitress only want you to be happy. Order the food that will make you happy in the morning.

Salad, yet again.

I'm very late in posting yesterday's entry. Let's see how many reasons I can come up with.
1) I couldn't bear to see Mom's picture not have top billing.
2) I ate another boring salad with grilled chicken for dinner.
3) I had nothing clever to say.
That's it, really. But, I have to tell you,  I was very happy when I got on the scale this morning. I am the lowest I have been in a long time. (No, don't expect a skinny person when you see me, just be happy that you haven't seen me in a while.) I have to admit, part of my success is eating boring meals. I know that salad with different veggies and a lean protein works for me. So, sometimes I will eat it over and over again. It doesn't make my blog very interesting, but it helps me lose weight.

Mom

This is a picture of my mom and her Sunday afternoon lunch. She is 90 years old and still has quite an appetite. She has an appetite not only for food but for partying and going out. Thank goodness she had four kids. If she's not going out with one, she's going out with another. Two thoughts come to mind when I look at this picture. 1) My dad never had a chance. He was overweight and obviously his metabolism couldn't compete with Mom's. 2) I inherited Mom's appetite and Dad's metabolism. Bummer!

The Six

I loved dinner tonight. I felt like I was cheating, because it was just so good. But, really? I ate almost all vegetables. Compare it to what I used to eat daily and there really is no comparison. I didn't eat any bread or anything fried. The only "non Virgin" thing that I ate was a little fresh Mozzarella. It was actually Burrata and so worth it. We went to dinner with a friend that I have known for over 30 years and her husband. It was the first time that I have been to the restaurant, The Six, in Studio City. I will definitely go back again. We started our meal by sharing small plates of cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. For my "entree" I ordered another small plate of beets.
Day 4 on the Beck diet suggests that you give yourself credit for any positive changes or tasks that you accomplish. Well, I am definitely happy with myself tonight. Sure, I would have loved to have eaten  the delicious looking hamburger that I saw the waitress delivering to another table. Or sharing a piece of one of the many small pizzas that they offered. (or eating my own) But, my mindset is slowly changing and I am still focusing on health. Today was an easy day to give myself "credit"! Good job, Patti!

Artichoke

After a day of careful eating, I have eaten a very light dinner. I ate a cup of homemade chicken soup for breakfast. For lunch, I ate two ounces of grilled chicken and a honey crisp apple. For dinner, I ate a grilled artichoke. Period! I considered eating more, but quite frankly, I couldn't figure out what else to eat. We went to Stanley's for dinner. It was very difficult for me to understand what was gluten free. I guess I have more reading to do. However, I knew that the time it would take for me to eat an entire artichoke, would equal the time it would take Tony to eat a salad and an entree. So...that is all that I ordered. And I feel satisfied. Day 2 of the Virgin diet is over.

 

7 Foods to Avoid

If I lost a pound for every dollar I've spent trying to lose weight, I'd be on the Dr. Phil show looking anorexic. Today I bought another book. "The Virgin Diet" by nutritionist, JJ Virgin. She claims that most people with an obesity problem suffer from food intolerance. It is similar to a food allergy, but not as severe. You slowly suffer from the ill effects of certain foods without really noticing. She advises giving up 7 of the highly intolerant foods for 21 days, and see if you notice a difference. If you do have an intolerance, you will not only feel much better, but lose weight as well. You are probably wondering which 7 foods are the culprits. Here is the list: soy, sugar, (including artificial sweeteners), eggs, corn, dairy, peanuts, and gluten.
I can pretty easily give up most things on this list. The hardest item to avoid is gluten. It is hidden in so many things, and it is not actually listed on the ingredient labels. I know not to eat breads unless it is labeled gluten free. But gluten hides in so many products - even ketchup and white pepper!
We'll see if I can manage this one. As far as today goes, I have succeeded. I made a chicken soup for lunch, and salad with grilled chicken for dinner. It was a bit boring, but I finished day 1.
The new behavior introduced on Day 3 of the Beck Diet says you must eat sitting down. That is an easy one for me. I am a diner not a grazer.  

 

Patti's patty

Tonight I didn't have to worry about anyone but myself. I was home alone and could make anything I wanted for dinner. I was looking forward to dinner because I really hadn't eaten much today. I ate a cup of shrimp soup for breakfast, shrimp soup for lunch, and grapes as a snack. I was definitely hungry for dinner, but I didn't want to go to too much trouble since it wasn't really necessary.  I looked in the freezer and decided to defrost a hamburger patty. I added a few vegetables to eat with it and I was finished. It's amazing how easy cooking can be when you only have yourself to please. As I said earlier, I am still following "The Beck Solution" program. I need to pick two diets. I am picking up a new book tomorrow that I think I will use as my primary diet. It is called "The Virgin Diet". (Virgin is the author's last name.) I watched her on an infomercial recently and she requires only 3 weeks to see results. That sounds doable. My back up plan  will be plain old calorie counting. There are so many apps for the Iphone to track calories, that I think it will be a reasonable back-up plan.