A Sensible Dinner - Pearlieq's Journal

[toystoryduo]

Welcome back pearlieq!

I haven't had a chance to read your trip report in it's entirety yet, but it sounds like you had a good time. I'm sure you and your DH will lose the vacation weight quickly. You CAN do it!

Have a great week!

 

[goldcupmom]

Wow! Pearlieq!! Welcome back!!


I just read your trip report and it sounds like fun, but confirms that IF I talk DH into a cruise for our 25th next year it won't be on Dis. Although I"m told I act like a kid, I'm just not up for it!

Hope you're having a great week! Don't sweat the weight, it will come off.

I bet the kitties were thrilled to see you (or are totally ignoring you and punishing you for leaving them behind).

 

[pearlieq]

Well, I'm happy to report the cruise weight is all off except for one pound. Time to start tackling the Christmas weight!!!

Our neighborhood is having a garage sale this weekend. Sales were pretty good today--I got rid of an old TV, sewing machine, and some videos. I was pretty happy with it! I'm now sitting around waiting for DH to get home. He said it could be as late as midnight, but I hate sleeping without him, so I'm just going to watch mindless TV and wait up for him.

I hope all is well with everyone here. Have a great weekend!

 

[toystoryduo]

Way to go getting the cruise weight off! I knew you could do it! Keep up the good work!

Hope you had a good Memorial Day weekend! Take care!

 

[goldcupmom]

Hey, Pearlie!! I've been thinking about you!

Hope things are going well with you , and the kitties!

Have a great week this week!

 

[luckywife]

Hi Perlieq!

I've spent the last several days reading your entire journal. I feel like I actually "know" you now. I am new to WISH and your journal has really inspired me!! It really made me realize that even with the "off" days we all seem to have when it comes to losing weight and changing our lifestyle, we CAN DO THIS and just have to keep telling ourselves that each day.

Hope you're doing well

Donna

 

[pearlieq]

Hi Perlieq!

I've spent the last several days reading your entire journal. I feel like I actually "know" you now. I am new to WISH and your journal has really inspired me!! It really made me realize that even with the "off" days we all seem to have when it comes to losing weight and changing our lifestyle, we CAN DO THIS and just have to keep telling ourselves that each day.

Hope you're doing well

Donna

Hi Donna!

Thanks for reading and taking the time to post! I hope things have been going well for you--I'll look out for your journal!

 

[pearlieq]

7/4/06 - Happy 4th of July!

Thanks so much Julie and Tracy for stopping by. I sure miss "hanging out" with you guys.

Things haven't been going as well as I would have liked in the last couple of months. I would love to trot out lots of excuses (does Christmas still count?) it's really been that I've lost motivation and have been totally undisciplined.

I really want to turn this around. My knees have been feeling well lately, but I haven't been taking advantage of that blessing and exercising. I'm spending way too much time in front of the TV or computer (or, more often than not, both at the same time ) and I'm getting that feeling again that life wasn't mean to be lived this way.

I've definitely gained back weight. I can't tell you exactly how much I weigh, because I've gained back enough that the scale can't read me. God, I can't tell you how painful that is to type in black and white. If I had to guess I'm around 340 pounds, which is still better than where I started, but won't be for long at the rate I'm going.

One thing I'm going to do to try to help the problem is to start taking Glucophage again. It's a medicine that will help reduce my insulin resistance and might help me get some control over this 6 month long carb bender I've been on.

The medicine will help some, but the rest is up to me. I guess I'm still at the stage where I'm looking for a miracle cure--something that will just *poof* my problem away without any actual effort or challenge on my part. I'm just dawning on the idea that this might actually take effort or work.

I can't decide where to start. I lay in bed before I fall asleep and I tell myself that tomorrow I'm going to be this perfect person. I'm going to bound out of bed at 7am, and head right into the spare room to exercise before showering, getting dressed, and logging into work. Then I'm going to have a perfectly balanced breakfast, work dilligently and without interruption all morning, then maybe stop and do some chores before having a high-protien, high-fiber lunch with at least 3 fruit & vegetable servings. Then I'm going to finish my work, do more chores, maybe catch a walk or other light exercise, and do something productive and personally fulfilling with my afternoon. Evenings will be spent fixing a lovingly home-cooked, nutritious dinner for us and then working on home projects and hobbies before I do some gentle streching and head to bed at exactly 10:30pm. And small forest creatures will follow me around all day, and we'll sing cheerful songs.

As you can imagine, with these images in my head, I'm often a failure before 8:00 in the morning. I'm trying to be sane about this and just to to pick one thing to work on over the next few weeks. I think I've got it narrowed down to one of two:

1.) Get exercise each day
2.) Stopping my afternoon binge/free-for-all

I'm really torn. Both are worthy goals and have lots of benefit. Right now my gut is telling me to work on the binge. The exercise goal would probably be easier, but the binge is a much more destructive habit. I'm going to do some research on behavior change and figure out what the best way to break a bad habit is.

Anyway, that's my plan. I know this has been a long rambling, but it feels good to get it all out. I really have missed it here.

 

[pearlieq]

7/5/05

8:15am

--1 LC peanut chicken
--1/2 cup peas
--1 cup milk

I didn't feel like "breakfast" foods today, but I was proud of myself for actually making an effort to eat a balanced breakfast instead of just skipping it and snacking all day.

I don't think I'll have much, if any, work today, which means I'll have lots of unstructured time--dangerous! I'm going to need to be on my game.

I forgot to tell about our adventure on July 3rd. We were winding down that night around 11:00pm and we heard barking that sounded like it was right at our door. We go downstairs and there's this big dog just sitting there. We look around, don't see anyone else out, so I took the dog into the garage to read his tag. It was just a rabies tag, and of course our county said that they still didn't have the 2006 records in the computer yet (Hello! It's July!) but that we could leave him in the pen at Animal Contol and "someone would get him Wednesday". Heck no!

So, we took him up to the emergency animal hospital to get him checked out and to see if he was micro chipped. No chip, but we found out he was a pit bull! We was the sweetest, most well behaved dog I've ever met. They checked him over and he appeared to be fine and well cared for. He wasn't dirty or thin, so we think he had just gotten out that night--probably freaked out by all the idiots setting off fireworks in our neighborhood.

We couldn't take him it, so the local police took him for the night. They think they'll be able to track his rabies tag. By the time we dropped him off at the station it was after 2 am. He was such a sweet boy, and very scared. I hope he gets home soon!

1:00pm

--1 Snickers bar
--3 potato chips
--2 Lean Pocket Ultra meatball & mozzarella

The Snickers bar kind of jumped into my hands as I made my second errand stop this morning and was getting hungry.

I'm trying for damage control. I figured I'd eat it with lunch, so I could balance out the carbs with some fiber and protien. Also, I decided to eat it first, so I wouldn't have the taste in my mouth after my meal.

I've got to say, I'm not sure it was really worth it. It took me a grand total of 3 minutes to eat. The first bite tasted really good, but then I got involved answering a work email, and before I knew it I was on the last bite! I don't think I quite got 280 calories worth of kicks out of it.

I've mostly spent the day working around the house. Our master bedroom has been neglected for a little while. Plus, it's upstairs and in a corner of the house, and tends to get a bit warm and musty. I stripped all of the bedding and began washing it, and tossing a couple of the pillows and running out for replacements. Hopefully this keeps me somewhat occupied for the afternoon.

5:15pm

--1 corn dog
--1 sm handful of chips
--1/2 cup cottage cheese.

Is this the best thing I've ever fed myself? No. But I'll take it. It's not a binge! I think I waited too long to eat today, but I'm still learning. I think what's going to help me stop the afternoon binge is keeping lunch carbs under control, keeping busy, and trying to use gum to distract myself when I feel the need for mindless munching. I'm feeling pretty good about this afternoon.

The kitties are doing well. Magellan is asleep on his blanket (I brought a comforter down to wash several weeks ago and he appropriated it as his own. I haven't had the heart to take it away.) and Diana is on top of the cat tree alternately dozing and watching the neighbor kids play basketball. They'll be 2 on July 23rd and I can definitely feel a shift in their personality. They're growing up!

7:00pm

--1 sloppy joe on a really good light bun
--carrot sticks
--potato chip
--2 T or so onion dip
--1 orange
--1/3 cup leftover macaroni salad

Yummy dinner!

9:15pm

--2 corn dogs

I was hungry again.

 

[Jane E.]

Pearliq, its great to have you back again. I've missed reading your posts.
I can't believe your Humane Society didn't have their computers updated. Thats terrrible. It was a good thing you were there to watch out for that pit bull. I think I would have been too scared to touch it. Speaking of animals my cat is now permanently grounded. No more outdoor excursions for her! I feel bad keeping her in - she loves the outdoors but lately she's been escaping. How are your furbabies behaving?

 

[pearlieq]

7/6/06

8:15am

--1 LC peanut chicken
--1/2 cup peas
--1 cup milk

So nice, I did it twice! I can't believe it's already Thursday. This week just seems all bizarre.

I had quite the nightmare this morning. DH and I are taking my mother to Las Vegas later this month so she can see the new Cirque du Soliel Beatles show and Elton John. So I had this dream today that we took her to WDW and somewhere during the trip we got on each other nerves and it degenerated into fighting so bad that she left the resort and wanted to go home! I sure hope that doesn't happen on our trip. My mom and I are best in limited doses together, so this will be the longest stretch we've spent together in a while. Hopefully we'll have so many fun things to do that everyone will be in a good mood and will be too distracted to get irritated with each other.

11:45am

--2 low carb tortillas
--2 eggs
--handful of shredded cheddar jack (yum!)
--1 orange

It's amazing how great food tastes when you're actually hungry! And then it feels so good to be satisfied afterwards. So far my morning has been really quiet. I cleaned the master bathroom. I did a little bit of work. Woot.

I'm thinking about going to the library this afternoon, but I'm not sure I'll be able to make it happen with work today. I keep getting questions/requests dripping in--no real end in sight. I might have to wait until later in the afternoon.

I'm gearing up again to focus on not bingeing between now and dinner. I fully expect at least one substantial snack--maybe even another one needed if DH is late tonight--but I want to avoid mindless, uncontrolled overeating.

3:00pm

--lots of potato chips
--1 LC peanut chicken w/peas
--6 (count 'em 6!) granola bars
--maybe more (milk?) but I don't think so.

Well, I really laid an egg with this one.

I think I had 2 problems. First, my lunch was too small. There needed to be more there to hold me. Secondly, and most importantly, I only had a half-hearted plan to get through the afternoon. And you know what they say about failing to plan.

7:15pm

--chicken curry w/brown rice

I must say I really am lovng my curry recipe. Pretty easy, very healthy, and tasty! The brown rice turned out great too. I used Alton Brown's oven method and it came out perfect!

9:30pm

--2 corn dogs
--more potato chips
--mik

Well this was just silly! I had absolutely no need for extra food!

 

[toystoryduo]

Good morning pearlieq!

It's great to see you posting here again! I hope you have a wonderful time in Vegas with your mom. I would love to see that Cirque show! Please let us know how it goes.

Have a great day today!

 

[Lesli54]

Good morning, Pearlieq!

I am so glad to see you are back. Every once in awhile, I peek in, but don't have much time to write. However, I am slowly changing that.

I too need to return to better eating. With many of our meals being catered the last few months, I have almost forgotten how to cook. Anyway, I am ready to get on with better eating habits as well and exercise more so that I can regain my strength.

What do you say that we try to stick this out together.........again...but who's counting?

We can do this and the fact that you have recognized that you need to get a grip before the scale runs too far away is the best place to start. Portioning out your meals again will do you a world of good and I am sure that you will soon feel the difference.

I hope that you have a wonderful day!

 

[pearlieq]

7/7/06

It's so great to see you, Lesli. I'm definitley with you! We can do this!!!

8:30am

--1 cup brown rice
--1 T butter
--1/2 cup cottage cheese

I don't know why I wanted this for breakfast. It just appealed to me. I really am enjoying brown rice a lot more these days. I like the extra bit crunch from the extra bran.

So yesterday was a disappointment. I'm trying not to let guilt get me down, but I do feel bad about it. One thing I need to get back to remembering is not to keep junk foods in the house. I had bought the chips for the 4th and the granola bars because they were low sugar and I thought they'd be OK. They weren't. I'm just not strong enough now to keep trigger foods like that in the house. If I'm going to binge, let it be on fruit, popcorn, and whatever I can stuff into a low carb tortilla. After all, we don't encourage alcoholics to keep a case of beer in the house, do we?

The other thing I need to do is get a lot more serious about my plans for the afternoon. I tried to "wing it" yesterday and look what happened! So on weekdays I need to commit to writing down my plan for the afternoon. So...

Today's Plan for the Afternoon:

1.) Leave for library around 2:30 - 3:00pm
2.) Enjoy a snack at Camille's sidewalk cafe when needed (smoothie or thai salad)

DH should be home around 7 or so. He won a free pizza, so he's bringing that home for dinner. I'm going to try to start with about half of what I would normally take, but I'm not going to get upset about it if I go back for seconds. Rome wasn't built in a day.

12:00pm

--1 orange

Change of plans for the afternoon. One of my girlfriend's and I are going to get together and go to the local outlet mall. The new Lane Bryant outlet just opened up today. I think we're going to go to the Red Star Tavern there, where I'm going to enjoy one of their sandwiches with either a salad or asparagus on the side. On the upside, there will be plenty of walking. But, in all likelihood there will be a stop at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. I've already decided that I'm going to get one thing--maybe a dipped strawberry or Oreo and enjoy the heck out of it!

If we get done before 5pm, I'll probably still go to the library, but it not, I'll catch it next week.

12:45pm

--1 turkey sub w/provolone
--1 bag barbecue chips

Well, so much for plans. We wound up at Jimmy John's, where I had a very, very yummy sub I've been craving for days. Then we went off to the mall, but since my friend had to be home early, we just went to the one store, so no chocolate, which is just is well after I enjoyed the chips!

I'm home now, taking care of some last work things for the day. I think I'm still going to head to the library. The wheelchair I ordered for my mom for our trip to Vegas just arrived as well, so I'll probably tinker with that some tonight.

6:30pm

--1 egg & cheese rollup
--1 apple

I was hungry again when I got home. DH should be along with pizza in an hour or so, but I just couldn't make it and didn't want to get crazy-hungry.

The library was fine. I had the misfortune of sitting directly in front of a guy who kept reading everything to himself in a whisper. Very strange!

7:30pm

--1/2 cheese pizza
--1/2 order bruscetta

I had planned to stop early, and I almost made it, but then DH and I got to talking, and I got to picking at the leftover pizza, and pretty soon it was gone. I'm not upset over it--I had planned for it to happen, but next time maybe I'll get up and wrap the leftovers right away and I won't let DH put the pizza on the table with us. I'll leave it in the kitchen.

9:00pm

--1 pc sugar free angel food cake
--1/4 cup cool whip

This certainly wasn't necessary, but way by far the best of the options that flitted through my mind!

 

[Lesli54]

Good Morning, Pearlieq!

I think you are off to a great start today. You are right not to feel guilty, but to realize that some things need some work. I love the idea of planning out your day. Putting yourself on a schedule to learn new habits works wonderfully.

I hope that your day is really good.

 

[pearlieq]

7/8/06

I'm very happy with yesterday! I made it though without losing control and bingeing, which is what's important to me now!

After all that pizza last night I'm really not all that hungry now, so I'll probably hold off on breakfast for a while. We're going out to look at granite slabs for our countertops today. Maybe I'll grab a yogurt before we go.

11:45

--1 3" section sourdough baguette w/butter
--1 bowl cream of chicken soup
--1 chicken parmesan sandwich
--4 or 5 chips
--1 scoop spumoni
--4 lemon tea cookies

What a treat! After we went and selected our stone, we went to Maggiano's for lunch, since we were in the neighborhood. This was a big, calorie-heavy meal, but it was a real treat and every calorie was worth it. Well, not every calorie--next time I would have skipped the bread and stopped eating the sandwich when I was full, not finished it because I couldn't take it home and didn't want to waste it. I am not a human garbage disposal! But the rest I don't mind--it was all worth it and special treats I can only get there.

Selecting stone was fun. We settled on a color called Verde Butterfly, which I think will go well with our cherry cabinets, maple floors, and white appliances.

Here's a link to the color: http://www.marblemaster.com/granite/granite_tile/Verde_Butterfly_Granite_Tile.html

4:45pm

--1 small enlightened smoothie from Jamba Juice

I was feeling a little thirsty and peckish after doing some more shopping during the afternoon, so we stopped at Jamba Juice. I'm so, so, SO glad they started making these lighter smoothies and offering them in smaller sizes. This was only 150 calories for a big, filling portion and it was really yummy!

6:30pm

--1 turkey, ham, & cheddar sandwich on hard roll
--1/2 ear of corn w/butter
--fresh fruit & baby carrots
--a few party nibbles (cheese spread on a cracker, garlic dip with wheat bread)
--1 hawaiian punch
--1 cupcake
--20 or so peanut M&Ms

When we got home from shopping we had a message from our neighbor inviting us to go play Dungeons & Dragons with her and some friends of theirs I really enjoy. I've never played and never thought it was my thing, but DH and I figured we'd be good sports and try something new. It did turn out not to be my thing, but I still had a great time hanging out with the group. All of them are very smart and have a great sense of humor, so they're always a treat to be with.

Unfortunately, I started feeling not so hot a few hours into the evening. I was hoping it would pass, but it didn't so I had to bail out early. I encouraged DH to stay and keep playing--he'll just ride home with our neighbors.

An since I apparently can't talk about a meal without doing a post-mortem, I'm pretty happy with how I did. I stuck with mostly fruits & veggies as sides and just tasted the other offerings. Do I wish I was a perfect person who could keep her mitts out of the M&M dish when the hosts sets it right in front of me? Sure. But I kept it to a few handfuls and tried to stay mindful of what I was eating.

All in all, I'm happy with today. It was a lot of heavy eating, but mostly done mindfully and without losing control. I'll take it!!!

 

[Lesli54]

Good morning, Pearlieq!

I think you did really well yesterday. You looked alot more in control and were clearly thinking quite a bit before making your choices. The pizza incident is over, but now you have a plan for dealing with that next time.

I hope you enjoy counter shopping. While your at it, will you pick up a whole new kitchen for us?

Remember, you can enjoy your day and still be in control.

 

[toystoryduo]

Good morning pearlieq~

Yesterday sounds like it was a good day for you! I know that you said you started not to feel well yesterday. How are you feeling today?

I hope you have a great Sunday!

 

[Lesli54]

Good morning, Pearlieq!

Love the color of the counter top. It will probably look really nice in the kitchen you describe.

Even though the meals weren't light, I think you still managed to keep control and that is a plus. You went for a more sensible snack and realized that a smaller size is just as filling, then at the party, you chose carefully to through in some veggies and not just "carb out". Way to go!

I hope you have a wonderful day today!

 

[pearlieq]

7/9/06

10:00am

--1 1/2 cups curried chicken & veggies

I've been waiting for these leftovers all week! I love my curry and it gets even better the second time.

Today should be a pretty quiet day. DH and I have to clean, then I think he'll mow the lawn while I go to the grocery store. Ah, domesticity...

I'm feeling better so far today. Thanks very much for asking, Tracy!

1:15pm

--the rest of the curry chicken (a little more than a cup)
--2/3 cup brown rice
--1 carton light yogurt

I was pretty hungry again. I was really jonesing on Chinese food, but I couldn't find something healthy that sounded appealing, plus I really got to hungry to wait for it. So I finished off the curry.

DH is feeling pretty sick today, so maybe we actually did have a little touch of something. I don't think we're going to do much today. I might get out for a bike ride later. I think I'll save the shopping for tomorrow. I've got what I need for dinner tonight, and if work is slow I'll be glad for something to do.

4:15pm

--1 apple
--1 large chicken sandwich w/cheee, bacon, and brioche bun
--a few grilled veggies

I can always tell when I'm doing pretty well because I wind up eating every 3 hours, just like a baby!!!

DH and I decided on a local grill which makes a wonderful chicken sandwich. I was super hungry before we left, so I grabbed a small apple to help stave off stupid choices. I ordered exactly what I had planned--this wonderful, decadent grilled chicken sandwich. I requested no fries and the offered me veggies and I took them up on it. Unfortunately when they got there they were swimming in oil or butter. I had a couple of pieces, but mostly just stuck to the sandwich.

This, for me, is the prototype for all my future restaurant meals. I got exactly what I wanted, enjoyed it thoroughly, and didn't eat anything extraneous. I'm pretty happy!

After dinner we stopped at the grocery store because I had a taste for ice cream. So far ice cream hasn't been too much of a trigger food, so we'll see how this plays out. I use cones to keep portions under control. I got the Edy's Grand Light--they were BOGO so I got mint chip and chocolate. We'll see how this goes!

6:45pm

--1 mini bag microwave popcorn
--1 cup light ice cream on a cone

Yummy snack! I think we're going to order Chinese later.

8:15

--4 crab rangoon
--sm sweet & sour chicken w/sauce for dipping (maybe 1/4 cup, tops)
--1/2 potsticker

I was pretty happy with this. I resisted the free eggroll, which would have been easy to eat simply because it was there. Then I did myself one better and even left behind some chicken, even though it's usually my MO to finish the container. I feel pretty darn good about it!

10:00pm - 12:00pm

--the rest of the sweet & sour chicken
--1 egg roll
--1 ice cream cone

Well, the day kind of ended with a whimper. I should have just marched myself to bed, but DH was in a poker tournament that took over 4 hours (on the plus side, he finished 8th out of 10,000 players!) but I stayed up with him and wound up munching. Not the end of the world, but not great either.