So, not only do I get my “monthly visitor” for Christmas, I also get to be sick. Thanks, Santa…sheesh. I intended to blog yesterday, but after my throat got progressively sorer and my head started to hurt, I really didn’t feel like it. Joey sent me to bed, woke me up for dinner, and then sent me back to bed. I promise a better blog tomorrow. Merry Christmas Eve!!
Guys, I’m going to be honest here; I LOOOOOOOOVE mustard. It’s so freaking awesome…it’s the perfect condiment for weight loss…low/no calories, no fat…really, sodium is the only big issue with its yellow-y goodness!
I like it spicy, and I like it plain; I like it with added flavors (although calories become a factor), and I even like it a little sweet now and then. When I was losing my weight initially (fifteen years ago), mustard was my best friend. When we ate out, I’d get chicken, a green vegetable, and a plain baked potato, and I’d ask for a packet of mustard. A baked potato with nothing but mustard and pepper can be sooo satisfying, believe it or not. Even now, I have packets of mustard that I keep in my purse. You never know when you might need one!
In light of the above rambling, here’s part of today’s lunch:
One of the companies we work with sent us a gift basket that included a jar of spicy mustard. I tried a little yesterday and was hooked, so today, along with my chocolate oatmeal, I had about ten of these little “water crackers” (read: slightly greasy, flavorless, cheap crap that gets put in a gift basket because companies know that you’re just going to shove them into your mouth without really tasting them anyway) with probably close to a teaspoon of the mustard on each. HOLY CRAP it was spicy…so good. It was the kind of spicy that burns your nose after you eat it…the kind that almost makes it hurt for you to exhale.
Here’s some more of what I’ve been trying to avoid while at work:
It didn’t help that almost everyone in the office left for the holiday today, leaving me and my friend Erin as the only two in our department (there are usually five of us full-time and two who are helping part-time) to field all of the phone calls and all of the paperwork. STRESS!! Which begets stress EATING:(. I didn’t do as well as I would have wanted to, but I can also look back and see that I’ve done much better than I did at this time last year.
I also had one of those moments today where I looked at myself in the mirror and got really upset…I try not to do that…negative thinking doesn’t serve any purpose other than to create more negative thinking. I usually look at the mirror and just see me, but today, I looked and saw “fat me.” I’ve got to get control of that or I’ll never get anywhere.
I’m almost done with French Women Don’t Get Fat! I can’t wait to share my thoughts about it with you…so much of it has been really enlightening and helpful to me.
Peace Out!
- Pinch yourself whenever you think about chocolate–hard.
- Put a piece of chocolate on top of food that you think is gross…maybe you’ll start to equate the chocolate with the gross food.
- two words: Cat Terds. Yep, bet that chocolate looks good now, eh?
- tell the resident office “food police” that you’re trying to lose weight. You know who I’m talking about…the one who feels the need to comment on everything you eat, so much so that you find yourself cramming chips in your mouth while in the bathroom stall…she’ll find out if you’re eating chocolate…even if you’re in the trunk of your car.
- picture someone who makes you jealous right before you pop that chocolate in your mouth. Then you can start associating chocolate with guilt and anger instead of pleasure.
- smear some chocolate in a diaper and pin it to the wall of your cubicle.
- the next time someone offers you chocolate, start crying uncontrollably and babbling about not wanting her to die. You’ll never get offered chocolate again, I’m sure.
- tell everyone you see eating chocolate that it’s bad for them. Once you’ve made yourself the outcast of the office, you’ll find that there’s rarely any chocolate around your cubicle…or any people, for that matter.
Ok, so these are (mostly) humorous. No one wants to associate chocolate with unhealthy thoughts…chocolate carries that baggage already. But, Christmas is probably the most dangerous time for chocaholics in the office. With corporations giving each other false gestures of goodwill, usually in form of gift baskets full of chocolate and other edible delectables, you may find yourself in a precarious chocolate-war.
The best advice? Out of sight, out of mind. Either remove the chocolate from your line of sight or move yourself away from the “chocolate hub.” Creative placement of fake shrubbery can work wonders here; if you need to move the ficus in front of your cubicle, do it, and don’t feel guilty. Or better yet, move the chocolate goodies to the breakroom or to another part of the office. Even better, lock much of it away in a file cabinet to pull out in June when everyone is bummed at the chocolate “desert” your office has become.
Drink hot tea…lots of hot tea, unsweetened. Green tea is great for this…if you can drink it in its natural state, your palate generally isn’t ready for the overly-sweet taste of chocolate. You’re less likely to think about it if you’re drinking a slightly bitter drink. And Green Tea is just freaking awesome for you, too.
So, there you have it…just a few of the tricks I’m trying to use this year to beat the “Chocolate Monster.” I can’t say that it’s working perfectly, but I also can’t say that I’m doing all of the right things either. We’ve just got to keep on trying.
I generally live a pretty uneventful life…I don’t have a ton of stuff going on and, really, I like it that way. These past two weeks have been INSANE with ITC09 and the ensuing parties! I really wish I could have taken pics of the food last night at the nice, catered party because the presentation was beautiful, but my coworkers would have thought it strange;). So, here’s a rundown of my past couple of days with the in-office festivities!
Thursday was our office gift exchange, and we decided to do a brunch rather than a lunch like we usually do. Kim’s mom made these apple dumplings and we all had a piece for breakfast:
It was fabulous…so gooey and appley. There were slices of apples inside each dumpling…like a little apple surprise! I picked one of the smallest ones in the pan so I wouldn’t feel guilty, but one of the great tricks I’ve learned from years in the weight loss industry is to carefully consider what you eat at parties…don’t waste your indulgences on store-bought goodies, and these were home-made from scratch!!
Check out the spread! This was the “savory” table (save for the fruit). There’s a meat/cheese tray with bread, hash brown casserole, chicken/cheese dip with crackers, fruit, hummus/chips (I brought those…HT five pepper hummus and flax corn chips), some sort of hot fruit salad and a veggie tray.
And here’s the (mostly) sweet table. There are devilled eggs (we ran out of room on the other table), homemade muffins (from scratch), sweet potato casserole, chocolate chip cookies, “pretzel salad” (pineapples/creamcheese/pretzels/butter), and the afore-mentioned dumplings.
Here’s my plate; we had a “waffle station” where Anne was making fresh oat-bran waffles, so I got one of those (no butter/syrup. I wanted to taste the waffle) and my mug is filled with diluted “wassail,” a beverage that Cindy made that was basically mulled apple cider. It was reaaaally sweet, so I diluted it with a little water.
Notice with me a couple of things. First, there’s plenty of empty space left on my plate. Two, I have SMALL portions of the things that I wanted, but lots of veggies. I also ate slowly and deliberately, just like I did at the wrap party, and paid attention to the flavors of each food. Here’s a closer shot:
The sweet potatoes were really syrupy, but good, and they didn’t taste too buttery either.
Here’s my lunch from the next day; we ate the leftovers, so I made a cheese sandwich and had it with blueberries and a plate FULL of veggies and one brownie with white chocolate chips. It was all very tasty!
So, last night, there was a TON of food, and it was all presented so beautifully, at different heights on the table, and everything was in different cast-iron pots and skillets set up on cinder blocks on a white cloth-clad table. It was very rustic but classy. I had two different kinds of salad (one with spring mix and goat cheese and the other a caeser type), a small spoon of mac and cheese, a small spoon of mashed potatoes, and cooked carrots/string beans and garlicky asparagus. For dessert, I had two tiny blondie/brownie things that were very good. So, I didn’t stuff myself until I was uncomfortable, and I felt really good about it!
Today, I’m relaxing…hopefully finishing French Women Don’t Get Fat (can’t wait to give you my thoughts on the book as a whole) and doing some knitting before Shannon comes over for dinner…I’m going to have to figure out what to cook!!
So, I had pretty good pictures from our Christmas gift exchange/brunch yesterday (and I even made good decisions…until I had Chinese for dinner *sigh*), but I fell asleep before I could blog them. Seriously. I was already nodding off during Jeopardy at 7, while farming on Farmville (don’t judge me!!), and when Joey went to take a shower at 7:30, I must have fallen out entirely. He let me sleep in the chair and then ushered me to bed around 9:15, where I promptly went right back to sleep. I even shut off my second alarm this morning at 5:20.
We’re having our nice Christmas party at my boss’s house tonight, so I may not get to post tonight (and there likely won’t be pics of dinner because that would be weird), but I should be back at it on Saturday. Have a good day, everyone!
Man, I’m having a rough time getting back into the groove of taking food pictures. The above is all I have to show for today…my lunch…more sodium-filled canned soup. I’m getting tired of canned soups, for sure…but, I didn’t think ahead and have any lunch ready, so I had to go with what was at hand.
Breakfast was an egg + white omelet with about 1/2 oz shredded swiss cheese. There was also about 1/3 cup peanuts and cashews mid-morning, and an apple and a small square of chocolate after lunch…carrots a little later.
Joey and I stopped at the ol’ Salvation Army this afternoon and I got THREE pairs of workout pants! They’re a little faded, yes, but they are perfectly good and I got all three for only $7.50. If you know anything about me, you know that I lurve all things frugal, so this was a total steal. I needed some more long pants because the only pair I have are these shiny purple stretch pants and are super-dorky. Now, I have some good clothes!
OK, so, on to the mindful eating thing…part of what I’m reading in French Women Don’t Get Fat is a set of strategies and tips to make us more aware of the flavors and nuances of our food. The first step to developing this ability is to EAT SLOWLY and MINDFULLY…not in front of the tv, not while reading a magazine, not even while surfing the net. The point is to eat in a setting where you can take the time to really taste the food and not just shovel it down.
I was nervous about our wrap party tonight because I knew that there would likely be lots of rich foods and especially pasta (a big weakness for me). I did the right things, having the carrots about forty minutes before the party…we also stopped and got a coffee (with 2 percent milk) to kill some time before the party, so I had that.
They had spaghetti and lasagne…both with meat sauce, so I had about a cup of plain spaghetti and some parm, about 1/4 cup pasta salad, and the rest of my plate I filled with salad. I did have a roll and for dessert a tiny piece of (very dry) red velvet cake.
However, instead of eating quickly like everyone else at the entire party, I ate slowly, and like the book suggests, I sat down my fork after every few bites, took a sip of water, and took some time to listen to the people around me. I also took the time to chew thoroughly and to examine the textures and tastes of the foods…it was pretty amazing, really. Did you know that pasta with parmesan is salty enough without adding anything else? Or that a roll with just a little dab of butter is so very decadent?
I laughed a little, really, because I noticed that, when I was just getting ready to start my dessert, everyone else had empty plates and was sitting back, quite obviously stuffed and bloated. For the first time that I can remember, I wasn’t blurpy and uncomfortable. I was satisfied with what I’d had, and although I kind of did want to go back for more, I didn’t, and after a few minutes, I realized that I wasn’t hungry.
Retraining the brain is the bulk of the battle, I know that, but it’s really interesting to see tangible results from suggestions I’ve just read. I’m really enjoying this book very much.
Anyway, tomorrow is our potluck at work…I’m taking hummus and rice worx chips. It’ll be another attempt to resist overeating and to pay attention to what I’m eating…hopefully I’ll have another success story for you tomorrow. We’re also shooting to hit the gym after work, so I might get a chance to wear a new (to me) pair of workout pants!!
Mission # 1 of the last two days has been “rehydration.” While performing in a musical is fun, you can’t just run to the loo whenever you want. As a result, I’ve been grossly dehydrated for the past several days, so I’ve been drinking tons of water and green tea to make up for it:
Breakfast = Gross. If you’ve recently purchased a Kashi Chewy Bar, I’m so very sorry. It was like chewing on a rubber tire that tasted vaguely of peanut butter. My jaws literally ACHED after eating this thing.
Genworth sent us their usual Christmas gift: a tin of peanuts and a tin of cashews, and they are GOOOOOD…I had a few to snack on throughout the day:)
Lunch was Amy’s Tomato Bisque…I’d never had this before, and it was absolutely incredible. I didn’t check the sodium level on the can because I knew it would bother me and I didn’t have anything else to eat, but I’m sure it was pretty high in sodium. Like my penguin bowl? It’s from Hallmark! I didn’t take a pic after I put the soup in because it was ugly. You get the idea…picture the bowl with red soup in it:).
I also finally made it back to the GYM! We did thirty minutes on the recumbent bike, but I cranked the resistance way up so I’d get a better burn. It felt good to work out again and I love having unfettered reading time. I’m currently reading French Women Don’t Get Fat. I’m only a few chapters in, but I’m finding it to be pretty realistic, surprisingly. I figured it would be another “diet fad” book, but the eating philosophy is pretty sound. I’ll have a full review later.
Tonight, we had fresh pasta with pesto (four cheese tortellini). It was tasty, but probably too much, to be honest.
So, my first real day back to food blogging:). Stay tuned..Thursday, I’ll (hopefully) have a story of Falafel success (and a recipe)!
Oh yeah…if “the moment” on Thursday night wasn’t bad enough…yesterday, between the two performances, someone actually asked me if I was expecting. I was mortified, horrified, embarrassed, saddened, and a host of other emotions, of course.
This woman…she broke the “women’s code.” Never ask another woman if they are pregnant. Never. Even if you’re a labor and delivery nurse and the woman is on your table screaming that it’s time to push. Just keep your mouth shut…seriously.
But she didn’t…thankfully, I was with my two best girlfriends who took it in stride and helped me to move on to another topic.
But I still went home and cried. And I only did the performance that I had to do today and then went home so I didn’t have to deal with looking/feeling like a sausage stuffed into that top.
I was like…”God, I already had ‘the moment’ on Thursday night…did we really have to take it to the next level of humiliation??”
Anyway…I’m lacking in positive things to say, other than that school is done for the semester and the musical is over for me now. It’s one that I’m definitely ready to forget.
Food pics to arrive tomorrow!! I didn’t take any today because I didn’t eat much…didn’t want any food on my stomch to mess up my singing. 
Well, I tried my hand at combining my two blogs and it just wasn’t working out. It also wasn’t keeping me honest about what I was eating and (not) doing in the way of exercise. So, I’ll keep my regular blog for knitting, simple living and frugality, and I’m baaack to food blogging over here:). I missed it, to be honest.
Anyway…so, to “The Moment.” Here’s a pic from our Christmas musical last year:
Notice that I’m already looking a little uncomfortable in my top (unlike my friend Katie, who’s just fine). So, I’m about ten pounds heavier this year. And I am noticeably uncomfortable in my top. And, like last year, I have a solo. And, it’s during a pretty rocking song. And, I can’t really move that well. So, I’m kind of humiliated that I’m having this issue. This year is a wash…there’s nothing I can do to make myself more comfortable today and tomorrow. But it won’t be that way next year, I can tell you for sure.
I had a similar moment when I lost my weight initially at 13. I couldn’t fit into a dress I liked when I was getting ready for church. I’m having that moment again. It’s mortifying to stand in front of a couple thousand people in a top that’s too tight.
So, I’m back…not necessarily with my tail between my legs, I don’t think, but with new resolve.
Hi guys! I just wanted to let you know that I’m still here. Unfortunately, I’m finding it really daunting to keep up two blogs and was neglecting my regular blog. I would love it if you guys would join me over at Inner Monologue of a Madwoman as I’ll still be posting some food photos, but not quite as many as before. There will also be discussions of frugality, simple living, knitting, and the everyday woes of a grad student. And lots of kitty pron.
