Dinner, Day Six

• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/4 medium onion
• 3/4 cups sliced zucchini
• 2/3 cups pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• cumin, garlic powder, chili powder
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1 flour tortilla
• 1 oz. low-fat cheddar cheese
• 1 apple

This was very tasty and satisfying. I added garlic and the cheese, which was not originally called for (but how can you have Mexican flavors without cheese?). My boyfriend loved it too and we both thought it was a particularly well-suited combination of flavors.

I'm feeling really good about this diet again and thinking that I need to try out recipes and find a couple favorites to start using as staples. I'm getting more used to preparing the meals, which is a very good feeling - I can actually see myself keeping this up for a year or more.

On that note, if I am able to lose 2 pounds a week (as is recommended), it will take me about 1 year and 1 month to lose all the weight I have to lose... which would be about late March 2007. Of course I know that I will not always lose 2 pounds a week, particularly if I don't step up the exercise, but I'm prepared for a long commitment. What's more though, it will really show even if I've just lost 40-50 pounds. I just learned of a wedding coming up in October, and I was genuinely excited to think that I'll have lost a significant amount of weight by then and it will be apparent to my friends. For once in a long time, I'm looking forward to dress shopping, particularly when I know I have almost eight months to prepare.

Oh man and tank-tops and bikinis in summer 2007! That will be really really nice.