12W12S2P Update: Red October

HOLA, LOVERS! (Yes, that was a shout-out to the Jennifer Lopez-tagged posts from Go Fug Yourself -- go check them out if you love making fun of J-Lo and her highly suspect and questionable fashion choices, as I do. Because La Lopez? Totally dresses like a VERY EXPENSIVE, VERY CRAZY PERSON.)

Anyway. Been quiet for the last week and a half. Sorry about that. Right now I am still at my last recorded weight: 227. (Cue Marla Gibbs singing the theme song from that old sitcom.) Over the weekend I was unable to get an accurate weight because, once again, I had "tummy trouble."

Right now I am tired and stressed out and I have been grazing all day long. I didn't document the pita chips or the couple of spoonfuls of mac & cheese I ate, and I think I'm not going to. I am just going to work on not doing that any more. We have plateaus from time to time; I can't let this send me off the rails.

Hopefully when I weigh in this weekend I will have at least a 1-pound loss, to get me back into a losing state of mind. I know I haven't gained anything back -- at least, I don't think so -- but I really want to get back on the pace of losing 2 lbs. per week, like I was. I've only lost three pounds in the last three weeks and it's starting to get into my head.

Obliviously on, I shall sail ...

12W12S2P Update: Skinny Jeans

Lost 3 lbs. in the past two weeks -- a little off pace, but since I had PMS, I'll take it. I also bought some "skinny jeans" over the weekend, which is a big milestone for me.

This week I'm trying something new at lunch: sandwiches (which is code for "we didn't go to the store this weekend and I didn't want to stand in front of the Lean Cuisine bunker at Giant when I was already running late for getting dinner on the table"). Picked up some 7-grain light bread and some lunch meat. We'll see how it goes.

Also: it's almost Halloween! Which means I will be eating the crap out of some Frankenberry and Boo Berry cereal for the next couple of weeks. I love being on a diet where this is allowed.

12W12S2P Update: Update

Something I forgot to mention yesterday: my daily calorie budget is now 1,402. That's fourteen hundred and two. That extra two on the end seems kind of random, like someone actually looked at the number and went "hahaha, let's add a couple so we don't freak anyone out." When I started using LoseIt! I was allowed close to 1,600 calories a day, and if I lose even one more pound I will be under 1,400 calories a day, which seems like it's just crazy.

But here we are, anyway. People are asking me how I am doing this, and I am only half joking when I say, "Starvation." Of course I am not really starving, not really, but some days it feels like it. Some days I have to really talk myself out of eating tortilla chips, lest I be unable to stop myself from eating the entire bag. "Close my eyes and think of England," as they say in certain other circumstances. (Go Google it.)

To adjust for the reduction in calories, I have made one small adjustment to my current plan. For the past few weeks I have been eating Lean Cuisine-type entrées for lunch with 300 calories or fewer -- I have changed that to be 250 calories or fewer. So now the basic idea is 300/350/600 with whatever is left for snacks. I don't really want to go any lower at breakfast -- it is the most important meal of the day, after all -- and I won't be able to get much smaller at lunch, so dinner will be the next place to face cuts.

And I will tell you right now: I will give up meat entirely before I give up my mashed potatoes. Most days I am down to around ½ cup of "carbs" (starchy sides) at dinner time and I am okay with that, so meat is the next logical place to make cuts. I really don't want to give up my afternoon snack or my dessert (and I am afraid that a popsicle just won't cut it -- I need something sweet and heavy, like cookies or ice cream), so meat is next. We'll see.

By the by -- if you're reading this, and you use LoseIt! (you can now update online without the iPhone app), and you want to be my friend, let me know. This is working for me, and I want to provide as much support for others as I can. Join me!

PS -- Those technical difficultiesfrom the other week? Constipation. Done now. No worries.

12W12S2P Update: Mashed Potatoes

Down 30 officially, and close to 50 unofficially. Nothing fits, not even my socks. I give the hell up.

Now we're getting to the time of year when the weather wreaks havoc on a diet -- fall. It's getting cool and all I want to eat is potatoes, and then sleep for weeks at a time. Heavy foods: pot roast, pumpkin pie, cream-based soups. Don't know anyone who thinks a salad is filling in cool weather. I caved in today, a little bit, and made meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner. More calories than I usually eat for the starchy side, but they were damned good; here is the recipe I used.



Lighter Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

• 2 medium red-skinned potatoes
• 2 small Yukon gold potatoes
• 4 medium-to-large cloves garlic
• salt, for boiling water
• 1 tablespoon butter
• ½ cup fat-free half-and-half
• ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• pepper and/or dried chives, to taste

Peel potatoes (leave as much skin as desired). Cut into 1" cubes. Peel garlic. Add potatoes and water to saucepan. Add water and salt to taste. Boil until potatoes fall apart when stirred. Drain. Add butter to pan, then return cooked potatoes to pan. Add half-and-half and Parmesan cheese and mash by hand to desired consistency. Season with pepper and chives; stir and serve.

Makes about 2 cups of mashed potatoes, with about 160 calories per ½ cup.


Honestly, delicious. And it satisfied the craving I was having. Also, we made the meatloaf with turkey, and we're having it again tomorrow with gravy and egg noodles. So we're multitasking, whee!