Feast or Famine

In the past two weeks (which were Weeks 2 and 3 of our 12 week program), we have had a party at our house with around 15 guests, and celebrated a major holiday (Happy Independence Day). Feast or Famine? In addition, we had three power outages (really two, the second “only” lasted for an hour).
The second and longest of these shorted out the control panel of our new (as in May) stove!!!! We were unable to cook anything for about five days and subsisted on salads and ordering take out. We planned the party accordingly and had cheeses and crackers, and some homemade dips and spreads. This was actually quite handy as we were then in control of what was being eaten, and how much of it we actually ate. But there was no counting or thinking going on under the stress of hostessing… In addition, what we didn’t have control of was the fact that a wonderful friend brought five bags of Pepperidge Farm Cookies to our house, and that there would still be half a cake left when the party was over. The cake was an obvious issue and we through a big chunk of it away just to get it out of the house. I have learned that cookies are also a problem food. While I have portioned them off throughout the week and counted every devoured one in my records, I have also noted that I have consumed a good number of calories in cookies – and cookies are not a category on the food pyramid. This leads me to acknowledge that cookies are a forbidden fruit, and should be handled carefully.
There are other foods in my life that I have successfully eliminated. This past Lent I took it upon myself to give up Diet Coke. I actually gave up all soda, as I know myself well enough to know that I would replace Diet Coke with the sugary stuff without blinking and that would go nowhere good. I think I actually had withdrawal for about two weeks – where I was emotional and sleeping badly and cranky – oh so cranky. But I succeeded in breaking the habit and have not replaced my soda consumption with any additional caffeine – so it was a doubly good decision! I also go to sleep at 6 pm every night – NO – not REALLY. I do go to sleep easily (half a page into my nighttime read….) and usually pretty solidly – except for the new kitties who like to party between 4 and 5 a.m. And because of the success of the Diet Coke Extraction, I decided at the end of Lent to eliminate something new –– gummy candy.
Gummy Candy? Really? I know I know – how old AM I? But I love gummy candy – chewy, sugary, corn syrupy balls of fruity deliciousness – even when you can’t tell what specific fruit the candy is trying to taste like. And more than anything - sour gummy candies. If you have never tried them – Sour Skittles are so very yummy! But I don’t eat them anymore. I haven’t had a Skittle or Jelly Bean or Starburst or Gummy Livesavers with sour middle in months. And I’m okay with that. It’s actually really cut back on my spending money – I used to stop on my way home and get a DC and little bag of candy for myself for the drive. That can really add up. I should total what all I’ve saved since Lent and get myself a present.
Okay, back to the real stuff. Right after the party at least the top portion of our stove was made operable, and in honor of the 4th of July, and in honor of the fact that I was able to pick two jalapenos and several chili peppers out of our vegetable garden, we had an all American Feast for the holiday – tacos. We had them with homemade salsa and fresh lettuce. And they were delicious – which is good – because we made a huge batch of the taco meat and – well – must research whether we can freeze that. But again, we were able to figure out how much of what we were eating, and while I don’t think either of us tracked yesterday, we were both back on the wagon today. Then again, neither of us weighed ourselves today, so tomorrow could prove a reality check, but I think not. I have good feelings about tomorrow and I’m going to cling to them.

Update - (the next morning)
Total Weight Loss
D. Diva - -11
D. Doctor - -9