After all my talk about not being able to eat that much anymore, I had another slight cave-in last night. I say “slight” because it didn’t seem to affect me in the way that the others have. When I weighed this morning, I was at my lowest number yet (172.2). Yes, I do wonder how much better my progress would have been if I hadn’t consumed a large bowl of Caesar salad, packed with croutons, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and regular (not nonfat) creamy Caesar dressing (at 200 calories per 2 tablespoon serving), paired with a good-sized salmon steak that had been grilled on a cedar plank. And oh yeah, did I mention that I had a nice glass of wine with it? And about 3 large pieces of garlic bread?
I did work out strenuously yesterday, prior to this large and high calorie feast, but portion control? I simply didn’t care. And something about the salad was not filling. Neither was the fish. Or the garlic bread. I kept trying to guage my hunger, like Bob Greene teaches in his The Best Life Diet, and I honestly did not feel like I was stuffing myself, even though I stretched the meal out over about an hour and kept pacing myself.
It was all so delicious that I absolutely did not care. Sigh.
But this morning it was back to the task at hand. I stuck to my plan quite well today, not really experiencing any temptation. I’ve decided that once I reach my goal, I’m going to plan one of these deliberate larger meals perhaps once a week. For now, though, I need to once again regroup and get re-focused on what I want out of this. Although I’m in far better shape than I was a couple of months ago – as evidenced by the fact that I am now able to wear all the capris that were way too tight last summer – I’m still not at the point where I want to be. I’m in the low 170s, but I’d like to be 160…or even in the mid-150s. The low 150s are a supremely good weight for me, healthy and relatively easy to maintain (as long as I keep working out a few times per week, and keep eating fruits and vegetables).
I’ve lost about 18 pounds total, and I am approximately at the halfway point. I need to remember that although I’ve come a long way, I still need to stay focused. An occasional cave-in is not going to ruin things or derail me completely, but it’s slowing my progress. We go on our summer trip the second week of July. That’s less than 2 months away. I’d like to be in the low 160s by that trip. The only way I can achieve that weight is to remain vigilant. I might even need to amp up my workouts. I cannot get lazy or think that a gigantic meal or glass of wine is not going to make a difference.
