Lovely Diets

Both Lovely Dieters have explained that Wave 2 of the Sonoma Diet is more difficult than Wave 1 due mainly to (drum roll please): Freedom. There are more foods to choose from, more tasty meals to try, and plenty more temptations.
However, I've only had one or two "off" days, and the outcomes of each has been interesting.
1) I didn't feel well after eating foods that my body used to crave. Plain ol' white granular sugar and I no longer get along under most circumstances. Simple carbs also make me a bit ill (I had some angel hair pasta with dinner last night, and actually missed the nutty whole wheat penne I've been eating on occasion the past few weeks). While I used to love dessert -- especially cookies! -- I don't miss it, and have been generally unimpressed the few times I've indulged. I'm learning when it's appropriate to try a bite, and when I'm just fine without.
2) Following a day of over-doing it, I have Wave 1 day to get me back on track and that generally makes me, and my stomach, much happier.

Still haven't stepped on a scale, and don't expect I will before my yearly physical. However, I have gone down a skirt size which is exciting/expensive. Also, I'm noticing some more subtle changes in my physique. While I'm not suddenly a size 6, I do notice that things are flattening out; fewer noticable "bumps." Most of my clothing is a little bit loose now (except for the things I accidently shrink in the laundry... they will never fit anyone with a normal body no matter what size as they don't seem to shrink proportionally). I've been weeding out some clothing and deciding what I might want to add for the summer. The only problem with gradual weight-loss is that it makes maintaining a wardrobe rather difficult.

So, that's where I'm at. I'm really quite glad to have been introduced and encouraged to do the Sonoma. I feel healthier, well rested... gorgeous. And really, you can't beat that.

Two indulgences I must share:
1) Sugar-free Chocolate Torte at the Olive Garden. Comes with strawberries and a sugar-free vanilla cream sauce.
2) No Pudge! Fudge Brownies. Fat free, 100 calories, decadent and chewy and made with whole wheat flour.

(the L train being that magical train that lets you lose weight while you ride)

Day: 26
Mood: Tormented. Turmoil-ed. Bad butterflies in my tummy. None of this has anything to do with dieting however.
Weight: 25 <--- almost back to pre-sabotaging-myself weight

So, I'm dropping the pounds back down. My body apparently didn't want them anyway, as it let me get rid of three in one day. And I wasn't even that well-behaved yesterday. I had a Misto shake. And I skipped breakfast. Shocker!

So now I have to try and keep my lovely mood of 'woohoo-it's-the-weekend-I'll-eat-what-I-want' under control. Good luck to me.

Plus, I honestly started to exercise again yesterday. Went for a nice little run with my roommate's dog. And boy, did I miss it (the running, not the dog). And as an added bonus, I picked up some new freckles.

Peace out.

Day: 25
Mood: Chagrined
Weight: 28

So, housesitting, Easter and mountains of free food (I'm poor! How can I turn down free food?) have done me in.

I'm starting over on Wave One. Except I may throw in a few Wave Two vegetables that I have lying around...because food cannot be wasted!

Ooh, but I had some excellent pineapple upside down cake on Easter. Mmmm.

Day: 14
Mood: Tired.
Weight: Unknown

So, it seems that Wave Two has opened up a whole new can of Ways-I-Can-Cheat. I can cheat by having an extra glass of wine. I can cheat by having a handful of chocolate chips for breakfast (on Saturday- oops!). I can cheat by having my fruit later than my meal, as a dessert. Mmmm...Microwave Baked Pear with laughing cow cheese and cinnamon. I can cheat by having a Wave One meal instead of Wave Two.

Anyway, this week I am going to try to really do Wave Two. I can't provide my weight this week, as I am house sitting and the two scales this house has have a five pound difference between the two of them. I don't know what to trust. So I'll trust in Sonoma and see what I weigh when I get back to my house on Friday!

My new power food (though it isn't one of Sonoma's): Sweet Potatoes. Can't get enough of them...and by enough of them I mean 'the one daily dose that I am allowed'.

New exercise: Scraping paint and gardening. I'm helping my parents get their house ready to be sold and that is a killer workout.

Reflections on Two Weeks:
The main thing is that I love the array of fresh foods that I have added to my diet. For the first time in my life, I am truly loving vegetables. And once I get myself solidly on Wave Two, I think I'll feel the same way about fruits!

Day: 8
Mood: too busy to know

Breakfast: Honey Nut Cheerios and milk

Lunch: Salad: raw spinach, bell peppper, vinegar & olive oil; smoked salmon; water

Dinner: Panera: Bistro Steak Salad -- greens, steak slices, gorgonzola cheese, balsamic viniagrette; vegetable soup; diet pepsi w/lemon

Snack(s): 11 almonds, Diet Coke (Caffiene Free)

Exercise: 20 minutes anerobic


Day: 9
Mood: busy, but content

Breakfast: Mushroom and Swiss Omlette; whole grain toast; water & coffee

Lunch: Chicken Ceasar Salad wrap; water

Dinner: Tandorri Chicken; raw spinach with roasted red pepper and eggplant salad; multigrain pilaf; zinfandel (2 glassses) & water

Snack(s): 11 M&Ms; Laughing Cow spreadable cheese & 5 Triscuits; roast beef sandwich: one slice whole grain toast, hoarseradish, slice of cheddar cheese, roast beef; cranberry cheese and sips of wine (at wine tasting); vodka tonic; lemon drop (shot)

Exercise: Saturday-- and I had to work


Day: 10
Mood: sleepy

Breakfast: scrambled eggs (2), toast; seltzer.

Lunch: Panera: Bistro Steak Salad -- greens, steak slices, gorgonzola cheese, balsamic viniagrette; vegetarian black bean soup; ice coffee

Dinner: Sushi: tuna roll, salmon or california roll; cucumber and avocado salad; water

Snack(s): 11 almonds

Exercise: Perhaps a trip to the gym is in order

It has been a whirlwind of a weekend between work engagements and social butterflying. And, all in all, I think I've come out ahead.
Two notes:
1) I am taken aback by the things we traditionally feed others -- think "lunch will be provided seminars," picnics, family get togethers, school lunches. This week, I planned two meals for a weekend training day: Breakfast - donuts, coffee, juice. Lunch - wraps, chips, cookies, soda. Pretty normal fare. And yet, as I rounded an aisle in the grocery store I was struck by the fact that I could only eat one thing in my overflowing cart: Diet Coke. Why is it second nature to feed food we ourselves won't eat to those we love. I know not everyone needs to do the Sonoma with me, but should I be encouraging unhealthy eating?
Courtney and I held a wonderful Sonoma celebration last night which included Tandorri Chicken and a wonderful eggplant/roasted red pepper salad. We put as much time in care into the meal as one might for any picnic or barbeque and the food was spectacular.

2) I didn't know how powerful sugar truly is. During the training seminar we played a "getting to know you" game with M&Ms. I was all for it, but I only made it through the blue ones on my plate. I felt a little sick from the sudden addition of sugar.
Wine with dinner last night had a similar effect, although instead of ill my mouth was very dry. This is due, I am sure, in part to the quality of the wine. But also, I imagine, the sugar in the wine. I had a similar reaction to a rather badly made vodka tonic later in the evening while out celebrating a friend's birthday.


Good Things About Day Ten:
-Sushi
-Wave 1: Done!

Bad Things About Day Ten:
-Wave 2 has no clearly set length as it's based on getting down to an ideal weight rather than a certain number of days
-It looks easier to lose track of meals on Wave 2

Day: 7
Mood: Tired

Breakfast: shredded wheat & milk

Lunch: chicken tenders; broccoli, cauliflower, red bell pepper, tomatoes; water & unsweetened iced tea.

Dinner: Salad: Spinach, red bell pepper, avocado, balsamic vinaigrette; broiled chicken; tabouleh salad

Snack(s): cheese stick, hot tea


Exercise: 25 min. cardio

It was a bit hard to wake up this morning... hard to pull my butt out of bed and to the gym. And while, generally, I feel awake and ready to face to world, but I never really go there today.
At lunch, I gave into my sleepiness and "cheated." Not too bad. I had chicken tenders with breading on them. No sauces, no french fries, one onion ring, lots of vegetables.
I didn't feel well most of the afternoon-- headache. Simple carbs are poison. Must learn this lesson.
However, I resisted the urge to buy a "treat" at the grocery store by talking myself out of the 100 Calorie Oreo Snack Packs. "It's not the calories that count," I said. "It's the carbs." Then I grabbed a bit of smoked salmon to have with lunch tomorrow (cause I'm growing a bit tired of chicken) and skedattled.


Good Things About Day Five:
-avocados and tomatoes are still on sale
-I enjoy putting meals together

Bad Things About Day Five:
-tired
-headache

Day: 6
Mood: Contentish

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 1 slice multigrain toast, ice coffee w/cream & 1 packet of Spleda

Lunch: Salad: romaine lettuce, raw spinach, red bell pepper, chicken, hummus; water & unsweetened iced tea.

Dinner: 1/2 wrap w/chicken, lettuce, beans, salsa and cheddar; water and unsweetened iced tea; Salad: avacado and tomato

Snack(s): 11 almonds, hot tea


Exercise: 25 min. cardio; 20 minutes lifting/anerobic

I haven't had sugar since Day 1's "accidental SweetTart." And, surprisingly, I haven't been missing/craving it like I thought I would. At first I grudgingly used 2 packets of Slenda in my coffee, convinced it would never be the same. However, over the past two days I've felt like it's been too sweet, so I went down to one.
Today, as I was starting the yogurt cheese for Saturday's Sonoma Celebration, I tasted plain yogurt for the first time in years. In my head, plain yogurt is bland-- almost tasteless. However, today my tongue disagreed. It was so creamy with a hint of sweetness. I'm looking forward to the addition of plain yogurt to my menu. Yummmm!
I've started noticing other flavors too - Court's right: bell peppers are fantastic. So's spinach.
It's rather eye-opening. We become so reliant on the tastes of processed, prepared and preserved foods that we lose the ability to really enjoy REAL food. Healthy food's tastier than you might think.

The cafeteria did not deliver on dinner tonight. My wrap was uninspired. But then I went to the grocery store and found that avacados and tomatos were on major sale (double yum!). And I've layed in a mini Sonoma improved chocolate stash for later. I, apparently, have more will power than I thought, but Wave 2 allows for occasional bite sized peices of antioxidant rich dark chocolate, and who am I to argue?


Good Things About Day Five:
-retrained taste buds are better

Bad Things About Day Five:
- No complaints

Day: 10
Mood: Triumphant!
Weight: 23-1/2 lbs.

Well, this is it: the last day of Wave One. I've made it! And it really was much, much easier than I'd anticipated. Eating more natural, less-processed foods that I cook myself is fun and tasty. And I've lost 6-1/2 pounds: nothing wrong with that!

That out of the way, I ate more than I should have last night. I refuse to call it cheating because I was still hungry after dinner, so I had more to eat. I'm not starving myself, after all, I'm just dieting.

I had 1-1/2 whole wheat pitas, lightly sprinkled with mozzarella cheese and melted: rather like a quesadilla. Mmmm, it was delicious. I probably should have had veggies instead, but oh well.

My goal for these next ten days, now that I am on Wave 2, is to up my exercise. I've had a lot of trouble being motivated to run after my half-marathon, but I think the only way to beat that is to drag myself out and run anyway. Also, I was legitimately a little too busy these past few days with the huge paper I had due.

And I am house sitting this week, which means (drum roll, please): free food! I love free food, yes I do!

Breakfast: 1 cup of Kashi GoLean cereal with 1 cup of Skim Milk.

Tomorrow, I may have eggs to stir it up a bit. Then again, cereal is just so easy. Ooh, and I am allowed to have plain yogurt for breakfast tomorrow. But I've never had plain yogurt, and it might not be any good.

Lunch: Same as yesterday.

I am not writing all that out again. But yesterday's lunch was so fabulously delicious and easy (plus I had half a can of tuna leftover), that I decided to try it again.

Dinner: Asparagus Salad

From the Book. I am very excited to try this recipe!

Snack: Red Peppers (what else?). Chilled hibiscus tea.

I love pink tea.

Good Things About Day Ten:
- Tomorrow I start something new and exciting. Things I plan on eating:

- Blueberries

- RED WINE

- Sweet Potatoes
- Pink Tea
- The loose fit of my khaki pants this morning (and I'm trying to figure out when I last washed them, which could be it, too. Dirty pants are loose pants...and if that doesn't sound sexual, I don't know what does).

Bad Things About Day Ten:
- Still fighting that half a pound.
- Last night's extreme after dinner hunger: where did that come from?

# posted by that mckim girl @ 2:50 PM 1 comments

Day: 5
Mood: Halfway there! Is that really my face?

Breakfast: 1 cup Whole Grain Shredded Wheat, 1 cup milk

Lunch: Salad: romaine lettuce, raw spinach, red bell pepper, chicken, feta crumbles, mushrooms, hummus, balsamic vinegar, olive oil; water & unsweetened iced tea.

Dinner: Salad: raw spinach, red bell pepper, chicken, mushrooms, humus, balsamic vinegar and olive oil; whole wheat penne; water and unsweetened iced tea

Snack(s): colby cheese stick, ice coffee w/cream and Splenda


Exercise: 25 min. cardio; 20 minutes lifting/anerobic

Today, while sitting through yet another pronunciation lecture on the Carmina Burana I caught my reflection in the large mirror at the back of the chorus room. And my immediate reaction is, "Where am I?" I then spent the rest of refersal staring at my chin and my gorgeous long neck.

I love Sonoma.

When I was first looking into the Sonoma, I laughed off the "After Wave 1, you won't be able to understand how you ever ate the larger portion sizes you're currently used to." Right. Sure. Just a few days and suddenly a life-long habit will be changed.
But really, I couldn't finish my dinner tonight (those grains seem to expand when they hit my stomach) and I didn't need the between lunch and dinner snack, nor did I obsess over what I would be eating next.

And my new skirt is too big... so are my pants... and the brown jacket that I used to find "slimming."

Not that I know how much I've lost... but it's a fantastic feeling to have your clothes getting too big.

Good Things About Day Five:
- It's working!
- My neck
- humus

Bad Things About Day Five:
- Tuesdays are the longest-day-of-my-life

Day: 9
Mood: The Magical Mellow derived from an almost all-nighter.
Weight: 23-1/2 lbs.

Only one more day on Wave One- hurrah! Though I have to say the idea of adding fruit to my current repetoire o' food sounds...expensive. But wine. Mmmm. Chocolate (once in awhile). Mmmm.

Last night I stayed up until four-thirty in the morning working on a paper. I chugged Diet Mountain Dew and Tab energy drinks all last night and all through the day today. I'm kind of dehydrated because of this, but there's nothing I can do. Sometimes, a girl needs her caffeine to survive.

From now on, I am only counting whole pound losses, not half pound losses. Afterall, a half pound can be just a tiny weight shift on the scale. And then I'd be pretty disappointed if it showed back up the next day. Half pounds are sneaky like that. So, whole pounds only.

Breakfast: 1 cup of Kashi GoLean cereal with 1 cup of Skim Milk.

Mmm...fiber twigs (Katharine, don't knock 'em til you've tried 'em!).

Lunch: Half of a whole wheat pita stuffed with canned tuna, spinach, red peppers. Pita spread with a mixture of laughing cow cheese, olive oil and spicy mustard.

This was delicious. I wish I was still eating it instead of just writing about it.

Dinner: Spinach salad with red peppers, blue cheese and black beans.

I've already made this up and it is sitting in the kitchen fridge.

Snack: Sliced red peppers. Too many diet sodas.

I realize that I will eventually get tired of red peppers if I continue to consume them at this rate. However, they are so delicious! Last night, I discovered a fabulous late-night-paper-writing snack: red peppers with melted laughing cow cheese. I used the cheese as a kind of dip. It doesn't melt very well, but the contrast between the hot, soft cheese and the cold, crisp pepper is excellent.

Sometime soon, I am writing an ode to the Red Pepper.

Good Things About Day Nine:
- Almost done Wave One!
- Making up my own absurd recipes.
- Laughing cow cheese goes with EVERYTHING.

Bad Things About Day Nine:
- Excess of diet soda.


Quote:
You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients.
~ Julia Child

Day: 4
Mood: Pleased

Breakfast: 1 cup Whole Grain Shredded Wheat, 1 cup milk

Lunch: Salad: romaine lettuce, raw spinach, red bell pepper, chicken, feta crumbles, balsamic vinegar, olive oil; water & unsweetened iced tea.

Dinner: Salad: raw spinach, red bell pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil; whole wheat penne; broiled chicken; water

Snack(s): colby cheese stick, 11 almonds, ice coffee w/cream and Splenda, red tea


Exercise: Contemplating an evening trip to the gym for BodyJam.

Part of the point of this experiment is to make deliberately healthy decisions. Still, I wonder if it's healthy to be thinking this much about food. About an hour I've finished my last meal, I'm envisioning the next. What'll I eat? What can I change up? Should I stick with what works? What's in my fridge? etc. I look forward to the day when the diet has become somewhat second nature and I don't obsess so much.

A nice side effect has been my return to the kitchen. It's been nice to take a few ingrediants and mix them up into something tasty (and healthy). I'm looking forward to trying a couple of the recipies in the book later in the week (Salmon. Yum!).

Good Things About Day Four:
- The prospect of a Sonoma Dinner later in the week

Bad Things About Day Four:
- Nothing bad about day four

Day: 8
Mood: Tired
Weight: 24 lbs.

I was almost perfectly behaved this weekend. Sure, I had a few too many meatballs at dinner on Friday night. Sure, my lunch salad yesterday had bacon and honey mustard dressing (which I only used a tiny bit of). Sure, I had a sugar free Rita's tangerine (sugar free means calorie free when speaking of Italian ice, right?). But still.

And then I went to my parents' house for dinner last night. And I had three glasses of red wine.

Oops.

Anyway, I refuse to beat myself up about it. I still managed to lose half a pound this weekend. I'm six down. I'm happy and healthy and bopping along.

Tonight is going to be kind of tough, as I'll probably be pulling my first grad school all nighter to get a paper done. And when I stay up all night writing papers, I want to snack. I'd better go out and buy some red peppers!

Breakfast: 1 cup of Kashi GoLean cereal with 1 cup of Skim Milk.

Almost out of Kashi. Should probably pick up some more of that at the store as well.

Lunch: Romaine lettuce with Balsamic vinegarette. Two Chicken Breasts and mushrooms in a Marsala wine sauce.

I'm still trying to figure out how to eat out on the diet. The correct thing would have been to just eat one of the Chicken Breasts. But I was still hungry, and I wanted that other chicken breast, so I ate it. It happens.

I can't figure out if Marsala sauce is okay on the diet or not. I think it is almost okay. Certainly a light wine sauce is fine, but I think something is added to thicken the marsala sauce (flour, perhaps?). I think if I made my own Chicken Marsala, it would be fabulous.

But for being dragged to an Italian restaurant for lunch, I didn't do half bad.

Dinner: Chicken Tabloueth (made-up word) over greens.

I have to finish the extra Tabloueth that I made for my trip this weekend. And then tomorrow, I must eat all the vegetables in my fridge so they don't go bad!

Good Things About Day Eight:
- Stripper Class tonight (finally)
- Losing Six Pounds

Bad Things About Day Eight:
- Having to eat leftovers.
- Cheating.
- Wanting to eat cheese with dinner tonight. Will have to do some replanning...


Quote:
It is a great thing to know our vices.
~ Cicero

Day: 3
Mood: Go with the flow

Breakfast: 1 cup Whole Grain Shredded Wheat, 1 cup milk

Lunch: Scrambled eggs; Romaine lettuce, broccoli, cooked spinach, olive oil and champagne vinegar; water & unsweetened iced tea.

Dinner: Salad: raw spinach, red bell pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil; whole wheat penne; broiled chicken; water

Snack(s): colby cheese stick**, 5 almonds, ice coffee w/cream and Splenda, red tea
** My local grocery doen't have the Laughing Cow cheese the Sonoma author recommends... but the cheese sticks I bought are organic and low-fat -- seemed like a fair trade.

Exercise: See below.

This past summer I sprained my back. I'm not really certain how I did it, but it was one of the most painful experiences of my life and I'd prefer never to have to experience the pain of a lower back spasm ever again. EVER.

Unfortunately, that is not my lot. Every once in a while, I wake up and everything is out of wack. I can only find comfort in standing extra tall and trying not to move my torso when I walk or lying on my bed. It's rather awkward. Today was one of those days. I'm hoping that tomorrow things will clear up (they generally do). But I didn't make it to the gym, or really much of anywhere else.

The time between meals was a bit easier today. I saved the iced coffee for the afternoon as a
"snack" of sorts and actually prepared my own dinner rather than visiting GLAR (breakfast had proven less than inspirational, and I've bought my own grains to prepare at home and take with me as an addition to my dinners).

Good Things About Day Three:
- resisted multiple candy offers with pinache

Bad Things About Day Three:
- back spasms

Day: 2
Mood: Chillaxin'

Breakfast: 1 cup Whole Grain Shredded Wheat, 1 cup milk, ice coffee w/cream and Splenda

Lunch: Salad: Romaine lettuce, raw spinach, broccoli, turkey breast, olive oil and champagne vinegar; water & unsweetened iced tea.

Dinner:Salad: Romaine lettuce, raw spinach, broccoli, cucumber, sunflower seeds, olive oil, vinegar; steamed broccoli & pea pods; beef**; 1 slice multigrain bread; water & unsweetened iced tea.
** The pickings in the cafeteria are a bit slim on the weekend. The guy serving said it was chili (it had kidney beans mixed in); it tasted like bbq. Needless to say, I put 1/3 cup of it on my slice of toast and called it protein. I really couldn't bear the thought of eating lunch meat with my salad/vegetable combo.

Snack(s): 11 almonds, water

Exercise: It's Saturday -- I went to a movie and indulged my creative side.

I woke up at 8am very well rested and ready to start the day. This is rather abnormal for a Saturday. Perhaps its the Sonoma, or the fact that I went to bed at a conventional time (10:30ish). I dunno, but it was lovely.

I had another headache today for which I continue to hold the simple sugar detox accountable. I've noticed that I am satisfied at every meal, but very, very hungry when the next meal rolls around -- I suppose I am teaching my body to be satisfied with what it needs rather than what it wants/has grown accustomed to.

Speaking of, I've started craving the strangest things. Last night it was Spinach Dip, an after-school snack my best friend and I would make during our high school years. Today, while I was watching Clive Owen do a masterful job of robbing a bank in 'The Inside Man" I really wanted pizza. Really, really wanted the cheese on the pizza, actually. And sitting in a theatre full of snackers didn't really help matters. I'll have to take some almonds to my next matinee.

Good Things About Day Two:
- mmmm.... broccoli (another power food!)
- still chugging along


Bad Things About Day Two:
- Headache-- I was reluctant to take anything (asprin, excedrin, etc.) because I wasn't certain that using a OTC drug when you were trying to clean out your system was a good idea. After all, they don't give anything to heroine addicts when they're going through withdrawal, right? My friend laughed at my question (and the suggestion that going off simple sugars is anything like going off of illegal drugs) and explained that "they" give heroin addicts methodone.... I popped two Excedrin immediately!
- semi-mysterious dinner protein