Day 58

So Thanksgiving...

As is tradition for the past several years, we had Thanksgiving with Chuck's Grandpa - also named Chuck - at a restaurant about half an hour away in Georgetown, CA. So I had my Nutrisystem dinner (a sausage and pepperoni pizza) around noon and we headed up there shortly after 1:30. Two hours of drinks and hors d'oeuvres. I had a glass of wine and a couple of pretzels with hummus. Calling that a win given the mini beef Wellingtons and other puff pastry treats being passed around. 

Once at the restaurant, I was STARVING. But instead of getting the "Turkey Dinner" which consists of turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and some other fatty carby items, I ordered a rib-eye steak. Everyone was served cream-based corn chowder. I didn't eat mine. We all got salads with ranch dressing, I ate that. Steak came with mashed potatoes and gravy, I ate a few bites of each before I was full due to the small Nutrisystem portions I've become accustomed to. We brought the rest of the steak home for Chuck to have in sandwiches. 

Then it was back to Grandpa Chuck's house for pie and ice cream. I had none, but did have a glass of champagne. 

I'm calling this a win, even though I strayed pretty far from my original plan. Plus seeing a drop in the scale the next day confirms the win. 

I went right back on plan starting Friday and am going strong. My food order for month three was processed last week, so you have at least 5 more weeks of bloggy entertainment from me! I love the ability to customize my order. For month two, I ordered a lot of items that were great in month one. For example, I got a ton of Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizzas, and a lot of the Hot Pocket type lunches. They got old during month two, so I got myself a wider variety of items for month three. I also discovered that while waffles with peanut butter are a delicious breakfast, sometimes I just want to grab and go without having to get out the toaster. So I ordered more bars and oatmeal bites (they're like little cookies!) for month three. 

Thanks for following this journey with me! 

Day 56

You guys, I’m so happy to report movement on the scale. In the right direction even! And after a food-centered holiday!!! 

I'm excited to share with you how Turkey Day went,  but this is just a quick post to share good news. 

Stay tuned for details!

Day 51

I've been neglecting this blog. Mostly because I've been in a rut. I've been eating "off plan" more than I'd like to admit and weight loss is stagnant. But that changes today! We're back at it, enthusiastically! 

Thanksgiving is this week. Luckily, we're having dinner at a restaurant with Chuck's family. My plan is to have a Nutrisystem dinner before we leave and just have a side salad at the restaurant. I'll arm myself with Nutrisystem snacks. 

Day 38 - Lame

Nutrisystem continues to go well. Sunday was the anniversary of my dad's death, which is always a rough day for me. I stayed on plan knowing that a wine and pizza splurge were waiting for me for dinner. It was delicious and I was right back on plan Monday morning. Chugging happily along otherwise with a noticeably smaller belly. I do feel incredibly guilty for bailing at the last minute on a friend's birthday party Saturday night. So guilty I can't even bring myself to reach out to her to apologize. Passive aggressive me knows that she subscribes to this blog and will get an email. Hopefully she won't hold it against me too much. I was feeling super bummed and I knew former coworkers potentially were going to be there that I just am not ready to face yet. Anyone else feel like they're always being judged? No? Just me? 

The in-laws have landed on a Thanksgiving plan and, thankfully, it's the same restaurant we've been to for the past few years. Not much of a temptation, so I think if I shake up the schedule that day and have a Nutrisystem dinner at home before hand and arm myself with a few snacks and Nutrisystem lunch bars in my purse, I might just get through it without technically cheating. 

Of course I'll still be making my holiday fudge for the office. I'm at a new job so they don't know it's coming yet. But I do enjoy making it and don't enjoy eating it, so it's the perfect thing to do at the holidays. Are some of them also trying to lose weight? Yes. So is it a little bit mean to bring in fudge? Probably. But if I can resist the chips and salsa, bagels, even Rubio's that gets brought in, they can resist fudge if they want to badly enough. Justification? For sure. 

Day 34 - The "D" Word

There are some words that I just really dislike. Moist, ointment, panties. And dieting. 

A guy that I barely know who sits near me at work (can't even refer to this guy as a coworker because I have no idea what he does) overheard me and a coworker having a conversation about bacon. He later asked me if I'd ever had pork belly and he knows a great place (don't worry, he wasn't asking me out, he's old). Then he says "But I know you're dieting so just let me know when it would work for you."

I have many issues with this conversation. For one, I never said "oh yeah, let's go." Secondly, we've never once had a conversation about this Nutrisystem thing so he must be eavesdropping on me and my peeps more than we realize. But mostly, "dieting." Why do I hate this word so much? I never use it. I never say "I'm on a diet" or "I'm trying this new diet." It even bothers me when Chuck says "I'm going to go back on the diet" (Lean for Life, it's ketogenic and he's lost a ton of weight using it). 

Is it because we've all been "on diets" that are unsuccessful? Or maybe because if you're on one, you'll eventually be off it and go back to your old habits? I don't know. Food for thought I guess. 

In other news, have you discovered these gems yet? They are GREAT for protein. Mozzarella cheese wrapped in meaty deliciousness. Yes, probably higher in fat than Nutrisystem would want, but they're delicious and one can only eat so many hard boiled eggs. Two pieces counts as a "PowerFuel" with 125 calories and 9g of protein. 

Day 33

I honestly don't have much to report. Still chugging along. Another non-scale victory last night: I picked up McDonald's for Chuck on my way home from work and got nothing for myself. Not even a Diet Coke. Instead, I had a Nutrisystem meal: Mac & Cheese with Turkey Sausage. I added hot sauce. And I had a Nutrisystem soft pretzel for an after dinner snack. With I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray and a sprinkle of Kosher salt. Delish. 

I've decided to ditch my last two Turkey Sausage and Egg Muffin breakfasts. They need cheese, the egg feels watery, and even though they're piping hot out of the microwave, they're cold before I can finish them. And they're not so big that they take a long time to eat. I dread them and it's just not worth it. Life's too short, right?

My only current complaint is that the freezer is FULL since most of my second month's order is moslty frozen foods vs. the "shelf stable" items.  There's not much room for anything else, but then again, what else do I need in there? The frozen meals taste better and I figure there have to be fewer preservatives in the frozen stuff than the items that can sit in your pantry at room temperature for a month. I try not to think how cheese ravioli in meat sauce doesn't need refrigeration...