My internet isn’t connecting today and that makes me incredibly squirrely. I’m used to checking in with my Facebook friends, my AOL’s, and even work. That knits a kink in my knickers! Also, it’s my niece’s birthday and I’d like to wish her a happy one before it’s all used up. It’ll be late tonight before my husband gets home to jiggle whatever wires the cats have raced through, but at least with the time difference from here to Alaska, it’ll still be late afternoon/early evening her time when I’m up and running again.
It’s my day off thanks to MLK. My weekend wasn’t all it could’ve been, so I’m glad to have a do-over today. Saturday was nice in many ways because I started the day on the scales and had enjoyed tremendous loss. Sounds funny as I type it and say it I my head…Who enjoys tremendous loss? That’s normally associated with death. This was far from it. I’m l-i-v-i-n-g…better and better each day. Saturday night I enjoyed a candlelight dinner with my hubby at a very nice restaurant, compliments of my 16 year old son. He gave us a gift certificate for Christmas; the first shopping he’s done under his own power as a new driver. I did not fret the evening. I went into it with over 700 calories left for the day, and I navigated the menu like a pro. Not like I haven’t done this before, right? I had what I genuinely wanted, but didn’t succumb to the remaining hot rolls and herb butter, nor did I order dessert. Instead, I had seared scallops and shrimp (4 of each), jasmine rice, seasonal steamed veggies, ONE roll with herb butter, and a single glass of wine. It was so good. Sunday morning was the kicker…the dog whimpered to announce he was ready to go out. I went to get up, but the other dog was lying by the side of the bed and I had to get out around the obstacle. I did something wrong and a pain went through my lower back so severe that it took my breath and made me feel faint and clammy. It was the most bizarre thing! I was fine lying down, and I was fine standing. Sitting was uncomfortable, and getting from standing to sitting or vice versa was excruciating. It made going to the bathroom problematic…everything. So I stood most of the day and puttered in the kitchen trying new recipes and planning for the week. I had taken a Rx painkiller, but it didn’t help; it just made my head foggy. I didn’t feel any relief until this morning when I took 3 ibuprofen and a hot, hot bath. I think the time in the tub gave the ibuprofen time to start working, and by the time I got out, I felt normal. I have since made myself a fresh pot of coffee and am enjoying a mug now with a tablespoon of cream. Not something I make a habit of, but I had a wee small amount left from holiday baking and decided I’d ration myself some.
I highly recommend the Splenda cookbook. Everything I’ve tried has been a delightful find. Yesterday I made a margarita cheesecake. It uses cottage cheese, fat free and light cream cheeses, and light sour cream. It also uses whole eggs and additional whites. It is very rich and creamy looking and the taste is pleasing. I made mine using a recommendation printed off to the side using pretzels instead of graham crackers for the crust so as to add a bit of saltiness if you prefer your rim salted when enjoying the real thing. I do, so I did. Even my son ate it without thinking anything was amiss. (aka: diet) What he didn’t like were the breakfast cheesecakes I made yesterday as well, from the same cookbook. I agree to an extent. They were not top shelf. They were a shelf or two lower. I can easily fix that. I think what we both found offensive was the immediate almond flavor from the extract the recipe called for. It hit me like something that might have been sitting in a musty cupboard. We’re not really into almond. That, and the orange peel surfaced, so it was a little grainy on top. Otherwise, the consistency was that of cheesecake, and I could easily see pairing this with fresh berries, maybe even some melted sugarless jelly glaze! The almond extract needs to go…perhaps orange or lemon…or brandy…rum…coconut….just not almond.
TyLing brand Wasabi Sauce is a new find I am crazy about! We are a family of sushi eaters, and we love the salty goodness of soy sauce with the punch wasabi mixed in gives. This sauce, recommended for use on tuna steaks (let me just say, yuk), is the perfect blend of sweet and salty, ginger and wasabi! It is fantastic drizzled in a wrap of chicken, onion, green pepper, lettuce, and cucumber. That was my lunch yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I use ½ of a Joseph’s whole wheat, oat bran and flax lavash bread for 50 calories, weigh out 2oz shaved deli chicken, measure the sauce, and allow myself unlimited veggies. That, at the same time I lowered my daily budget by 100 calories. It takes a lot of vegetables to reach 100!
I just finished making a bowl of carrot salad. Sugar free orange jello, a large can of drained crushed pineapple, a can of sliced water chestnuts, and most of a pound of carrots, grated. It’s something nice to have on hand to fill up empty spaces.
The other thing I did today was I called and scheduled my yearly ob/gyn appointment AND my yearly mammogram. Both are overdue, sort of. I got my mammogram reminder in July right around the time I first started down the path I’m on now. I didn’t want to be all pumped up about my newfound success only to be met by a Dr saying I needed to lose weight, or peddle weight loss surgery to me again. I wanted to make it happen on my own. All I needed was time. And then I got off track, so I needed more time. So here I am today, I'm doing it AND I have time! Yay! The ob/gyn visit wasn’t as pressing. I’m still in the bracket where once every other year makes them happy providing there’s nothing suspicious from the previous year to pursue, and there isn't/wasn't. Throughout the whole fertility, or lack thereof, regimen I saw him monthly…for years….up until maybe a year, year and a half ago. He could probably paint the thing from memory. (that was funny, I don't care what scars you get from the visual) I still harbor this tiny bit of hope that one month I’ll be late and have an entirely different reason to see him. So maybe that’s why. Have I given up hope? No. Not really. But, as always, they are booked way out, so I won’t see him until April 12! Do you know what that means??? It means if I can meet my monthly goals between now and then, I will be 45-50 pounds lower than the last weight he saw me at! That, and blood work will follow that visit, so I will have a good, solid 3 and a half months of healthy living under my belt! That HAS to make a difference in test results. Knowing I’ve made the call and have committed to the visit, I feel more determined to live this way every day. I want the absolute best results I’ve ever seen. The numbers are important to me, and I’ve often wondered what my Mom’s numbers looked like when she was my age. I know my parents were on a multitude of medications for every malady known to man or beast, and so far I am drug free. My cholesterol isn’t great, but still not prompting anyone to lower it by means of medicine. My blood pressure was 128/78 when I had it checked last. That’s not bad. I’ve always looked forward to blood work results in the past, and that was when I was maybe eating healthy foods, but not watching portions. Over the course of the last 25 years, I’ve whittled my choices down to life sustaining ones; some days I just ate too many of them. I wasn’t so fortunate on the mammogram appointment to be scheduled months out; I go day after tomorrow!
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