Day Twenty Eight

Today was another day "off the plan." I was going into the city to meet with my mother and brother, so I knew we would not be eating diet food.

First Meal

• wild mushroom ravioli with sun dried tomatoes and peas in a tomato cream sauce (not pictured)
• half portion of carrot cake (not pictured)

We ate at the cafeteria of an art museum. The food was spectacularly delicious, rich and flavorful, nice textures - just fabulous. My mother and I split a portion of carrot cake, which was really quite wonderful. I thought that if I was going to splurge, this was the way to do it, instead of ordering horrible delivery pizza.

We did spend most of the day walking around the city and the museum, so in some ways, I got some exercise, but hardly enough to off-set the way I've been eating.

Second Meal

• leftover pizza (not pictured)

When I got home, my boyfriend had eaten most of the leftover pizza but left me about two slices' worth of garlic bread pizza and about one slice of pineapple thin-crust. Of course I wolfed it down, and of course it was delicious, but I'm not exactly proud of myself.

Day Twenty Seven

Unfortunately, today was one of those "off the diet" days. I slept late and woke up with just enough time to scribble down a few more notes for my exam.

Sort of Lunch

• bowl of whole wheat fusili with pepper, tomato, onion, garlic, pickled jalapeño slices, spices, and low-fat ricotta cheese (not pictured)
• glass of skim milk

Wolfed down as I got ready for my evening class. It was tasty but difficult to eat quickly because of all the spices.

Evening Pig-Out

• Domino's garlic bread pizza with sausage (not pictured)
Domino's thin-crust pineapple pizza (not pictured)
• garlic butter and marinara dipping sauces

I have absolutely no idea what possessed me to order this. Yes, I had done well on a three-hour exam. Yes, I had run an errand immediately after class. Yes, I was happy that I was done with classes and was now on spring break. And yet, this was not the best way to celebrate.

Call it Wednesday night syndrome. I actually had ingredients in the fridge to make one of my favorite meals (which I have previously said I enjoy more than take-out). It took almost two hours for this to get delivered. I could have easily made a diet meal and stuck on the plan, but no, I wanted to pig out.

I tried to stay sensible, but basically failed, eating two slices of the garlic bread pie and about 1/4 of the thin-crust pineapple (together that's like half a pie).

I hope it doesn't do too much damage come weigh-in.

Day Twenty Six

I didn't have classes today, so I ended up sleeping really late. I also stayed up late studying for a midterm, so generally, I'd say my sleep schedule is shot.

Breakfast

• whole grain Total with raisins, almonds & skim milk
• low-fat cottage cheese

I like this breakfast. It's pretty much always satisfying.

Lunch

• whole wheat fusili with pepper, tomato, onion, garlic, pickled jalapeño slices, spices and ricotta cheese
• fresh herb salad with carrots and lite creamy Parmesan dressing
• green grapes

When I went to cook this recipe (which I've made before recently), the leftover tofu in the fridge was disgusting and rotten. The grocery was already closed, so I just slogged through it without the tofu, knowing it would be protein deficient. I added more ricotta than the recipe called for and was heavy-handed with the spices, particularly in light of the jalapeños I added. Still it was tasty, hot and mostly satisfying. The salad and grapes were a refreshing counterpoint.

Snack

• reduced fat Triscuits with hummus masbacha
• baby carrots

Still a favorite, still delicious.

I wonder how many ways I can photograph this snack?

Dinner

• Gardenburger on a whole wheat roll with barbecue sauce
• fresh herb salad with cucumber and lite creamy Parmesan dressing
• green grapes
• skim milk

I think one of the greatest pleasures of this meal is slicing fresh cucumber, which is one of my very favorite smells. This was tasty and satisfying - just what the doctor ordered for some late-night studying.

Day Twenty Five

As I mentioned at the end of the last post, I didn't get a chance to sleep before my afternoon classes, so I was really bushed. I was almost dozing off in my first class, which bugged the hell out of me - I really hate that kind of thing.

Breakfast

• peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat toast
• green grapes
• skim milk

I ate this shortly before class, hoping it would give enough of an energy burst to see me through. Obviously it didn't work.

Snack

• chocolate-covered peanuts (not pictured)

During the break in my class, I ran down to the school cafeteria to try to find something that would wake me up. I thought the chocolate would give me a quick burst of energy and the protein in the peanuts would keep me going. Unfortunately I read the package wrong in my haste, and what I thought was a one serving 160 calorie pack (which is appropriate for snack meals) was actually double that, making it 320 calories, almost a meal. Bummer.

Lunch

• broiled tenderloin
• steamed spinach
• "Healthy fries" - sliced and broiled potato with seasoning

When I got home in the evening (I stayed to work after my night class), my boyfriend declared that he had gone on the Atkins diet. I was ridiculously exhausted, frustrated with my work, and so hungry I thought I might faint. As I tried to process what it meant for him to be on Atkins, I opened the fridge and found a beautiful steak nicely wrapped up for me. He called from the next room, "I thought you might like a steak for dinner!" What a wonderful man.

I made some mistakes cooking this (overcooking the steak, undercooking the potato), but it didn't matter. It was so good to have real, stick-to-your-ribs food, and I'm sure my body appreciated the iron and protein from the steak.

Dinner
skipped
I ended up falling asleep before I had a chance to make dinner, which is probably just as well, seeing as I'd gone over my snack calories and certainly made a mess of things with pizza the day before.

Day Twenty Four

I was exhausted from cleaning and ended up sleeping in pretty late. Either I am on a ridiculous sleep schedule or something is a little wrong with my body, but 4 or 5pm are normal wake-up times lately, and that's not good.

Breakfast

• egg and turkey bacon sandwich with whole wheat bread
• blueberry Light n' Fit yogurt

I was excited about this meal because, eggs, turkey bacon - how can you go wrong?! But I found it rather disappointing, maybe something about the textures or the flavor of the eggs. The yogurt had actually expired in December, but it was still fine to eat (even though I feel gross even as I type that) and a nice counterpoint.

Lunch & Snack

• 2 slices thin crust sausage & mushroom Papa John's pizza
• garlic breadstick with pizza dipping sauce

I had this around dinner time. My boyfriend says he was thinking about the leftover pizza all day, and I have to admit, it was one of my first thoughts on waking too. This meal was insanely delicious and really hit the spot. It also marked the transition from cleaning to all the school work I had put off all weekend as I geared up for an all-nighter (boo).

Dinner

• Gardenburger on whole wheat roll with barbecue sauce

I had this around 6am after staying up all night working. I never got a chance to sleep, so shoving this in my mouth was about all the rest I got. I didn't bother making a salad or having fruit, planning to do it later, which I never did.

Day Twenty Three

This morning my boyfriend and I had a terrible fight about cleaning the apartment, then spent the day lugging stuff around and reorganizing. Not so fun.

Breakfast

• peppers and eggs with Parmesan cheese
• reduced fat Triscuits
• vegetarian bacon
• sliced kiwi
• skim milk (not pictured)

I took my time cooking this, as it was the only sanctioned avoidance from cleaning. It was very tasty, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I usually do because of all the nastiness surrounding it. It's strange to not enjoy food, but there it is.

Lunch

• Gardenburger on a whole wheat roll with barbecue sauce
• fresh herb salad with lite creamy Parmesan dressing
• green grapes
• skim milk

I took a break to go grocery shopping and got a different kind of veggie burgers than usual - these were strange and a different flavor than plain soy patties. They weren't terrible, just... different.

I had worked up quite an appetite with cleaning, so this was a very satisfying meal.

Dinner & Snack

• 2 slices thin crust sausage & mushroom Papa John's pizza (not pictured)
• 2 garlic breadsticks with pizza dipping sauce (not pictured)

In a fit of I don't know, insanity, I thought it was a good idea to order pizza and breadsticks, reassuring myself that we would actually stick with the prescribed one slice and one breadstick which comprises a meal.

Fortunately, we did okay. We each had two breadsticks and two slices, which is about 100 or 200 calories off of the dinner and snack calorie allowance. With all the heavy lifting and constant movement around the apartment all day, I think it almost balanced out, and I was determined not to beat myself up about it. It was a nice reward for a hard day's work.

Fourth Weigh-In

182.5. Down 2 pounds, woohoo!

I guess it just goes to show that sticking on the diet really does work.

I'm really proud of myself because this week I was barely even tempted to cheat. I worked around my habits to find ways to make it easier to stick with, and in the end, it worked!

Next week I'll take measurements again to see if I'm making any headway on losing actual fat.

Day Twenty Two

The day before weigh-in usually makes me nervous, and I've been making a concerted effort all week to really stick to the meal plan to the letter.

Breakfast

• cottage cheese mixed with pineapple, wheat germ and almonds in a whole wheat wrap
• tropical fruit

I think I had this meal once before when I was first doing the plan, and I enjoyed it a lot. I made a few changes, as it's supposed to be strawberries and walnuts in a pita, but the concept is basically the same. It was refreshing and light, which I enjoyed, and though the wrap started leaking toward the end, it wasn't too messy.

Lunch

• Lean Cuisine Fiesta Chicken
• fresh herb salad with lite creamy Parmesan dressing
• tropical fruit

In many ways when I eat these frozen meals, I am at the mercy of whatever our grocery has in stock (which is often not a lot). In this case, I hit the jackpot. This was probably the best frozen meal I've ever had, diet or otherwise.

The chicken was flavorful and tender, the sauce cheesy and tangy, the rice and beans just fantastic, and it was actually spicy enough to resemble Mexican food. The salad and fruit were a nice cool-down and the flavors all went together well. Quite an enjoyable lunch.

Snack

• graham crackers with Smart Balance peanut butter

I love this snack, whether it makes me feel like I'm in kindergarten or not. Fantastic.

Dinner

• Lean Cuisine Rosemary Chicken with spinach and brown rice
• fresh herb salad with lite creamy Parmesan dressing

I hate to say it, but this was awful. The spices were weird, it was soggy, and the spinach was abysmal and dominated the whole dish. This was one of those meals I had to just choke down and try not to taste, which is unfortunate because it sounded so good and I had enjoyed the afternoon meal so much.

Weigh-in tomorrow - I hope it goes well! This is one of the first weeks I've stayed on the plan every single day without fail, so I would like to see some progress.

What Numbers Mean

Diana is one of two plus-sized models in the competition on this season of America's Next Top Model.



Here are her measurements, given during the first episode, side by side with mine:

	Diana	V
BUST	39"	42"
WAIST	31"	35"
HIPS	45"	44"

She was praised by Tyra for being perfectly proportioned, and though this is not the most flattering photo of her, she really does look quite lovely in many of her others.

Torso-wise, we're not so far off, except for how much larger I am around the middle. And to be honest, I think I have nicer legs. Of course a key difference and the reason why I don't exactly have model proportions: I'm only 5'4", whereas Miss Diana is definitely over 5'7"... worth remembering.

I would have to subtract about 10 inches from all of my measurements to get somewhere model-sized for my height.

I'm not going anywhere terribly interesting with this, just a reminder that numbers really don't tell the whole story, and I should probably concentrate on the big picture of my overall health rather than say "Well plus-size models are my clothing size / measurements, I must be doing okay..."

Day Twenty One

I didn't have any classes today, but I'd stayed up really late last night (probably because I'm on some warped schedule from all these late-night work sessions lately). I decided to take it easy today, slept in nice and late, and did some relaxing projects.

Breakfast

• peppers and eggs with salt, black pepper, and Parmesan cheese
• reduced fat Triscuits
• vegetarian bacon
• raisins
• skim milk

This is my luxury meal, the one that I can do with my eyes shut and always enjoy immensely. It doesn't actually take that long (especially in this case, since I had diced the pepper earlier in the week when we didn't have eggs), but I like to eat it slowly and enjoy all the textures and flavors.

I don't know what is wrong with me lately, but I just can't stop nuking the bejesus out of vegetarian foods. As with last night's Gardenburger, I really overcooked the facon - you can see the scorch marks in the center of the top piece. Perhaps I'll have to read the instructions next time and get a more accurate sense of time.

Lunch

• Lean Cuisine Salisbury steak with macaroni & cheese
• fresh herb salad with lite creamy Parmesan dressing
• kiwi

I dreaded this meal after the last Lean Cuisine was such a disappointment, but it was unbelievably good! Really tasty and satisfying, and the salad was some kind of perfection.

I'd seen kiwis sliced like this in a Martha Stewart spread, so I thought I'd give it a try, that maybe they'd be a little easier to eat than the gooey slices I usually prepare. Not so much. Also, it was unsettling to have a different proportion of seeds, middle, core etc in each bite - I think I'll go back to slices.

Dinner

• Gardenburger on whole wheat bread with barbecue sauce
• fresh herb salad with cucumber and lite creamy Parmesan dressing
• sliced kiwi
• skim milk

Good old stand-by. I cooked the burger better this time and found it moist, tender, and really quite enjoyable. The salad was very refreshing.

Snack

• chocolate rice cakes with Smart Balance peanut butter

This snack was very tasty, as usual.

It was a relief to make it through another day without blowing the diet.