A wonderful Valentine’s Day with my husband is coming to a close. We started the day at La Boulangerie in Novato where the coffee is served in gigantic cups. Just the thing I needed to get my engine running.
We made time for a walk and enjoyed the first hints of spring as we passed by the flowering trees in the neighborhood. I have to admit that 65 degrees and February still don’t sink into this New Yorker’s brain, but I’m not complaining. I don’t think that there would have been a walk in cold, snowy Manhattan if I still lived there.
And, the big finale came this evening with dinner at my favorite place, John Ash in Santa Rosa. The restaurant was adorned in red, white and pink balloons, roses, and twinkling white lights. A very romantic backdrop to a delicious meal of celery root and truffle oil bisque followed by filet mignon, mashed potatoes and baby carrots.
I saved a lot my points for this evening and indulged in a small scoop of homemade caramel gelato and a few bites of lemon angel food cake. Yum!
It’s time to call it a night…Valentine’s Day 2010 goes down as a winner.
Talk to you soon.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Lost weight...saved $80
I had to get out of the house today, as I have been pretty much a prisoner all week. With the exception of getting out to my Weight Watchers meeting on Tuesday, I have been indoors working on my supercollars® and watching the days turn into nights and back into days again.
My husband was working, so I really didn’t have a plan. I got in the car and drove to Vintage Oaks, home of Costco, Target and a bunch of other stores. I decided to pick through the racks at Marshall’s just in case something jumped out at me. I was amazed when it did.
Because of the weight I have lost, I was able to buy a bathing suit that I had seen at Nordstrom’s for $109…except it was $29.99 at Marshall’s. I can now fit into a lot more items than 21.4 pounds ago, and the bathing suit is one of them.
I’m not sure which part I was more excited about, the price or the fact that I could fit into it. Doesn’t matter…it’s in my closet now and waiting to debut on the upcoming cruise later this month.
Happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow!
Talk to you soon.
My husband was working, so I really didn’t have a plan. I got in the car and drove to Vintage Oaks, home of Costco, Target and a bunch of other stores. I decided to pick through the racks at Marshall’s just in case something jumped out at me. I was amazed when it did.
Because of the weight I have lost, I was able to buy a bathing suit that I had seen at Nordstrom’s for $109…except it was $29.99 at Marshall’s. I can now fit into a lot more items than 21.4 pounds ago, and the bathing suit is one of them.
I’m not sure which part I was more excited about, the price or the fact that I could fit into it. Doesn’t matter…it’s in my closet now and waiting to debut on the upcoming cruise later this month.
Happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow!
Talk to you soon.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Preventing bad dreams
I’m done eating take-out for quite a while. Today, everybody involved in production of the supercollar® left for the long weekend, and my house became a silent cave where I hid from the world.
When it came time to make dinner, I was so over pizza, Chinese food and Taco Bell that I had to eat Greek yogurt, fresh raspberries and a couple of granola bars. Even though I exercised portion control on all of that brought-in stuff, the combination of too much salt and too much grease has made me feel “cruddy.”
I loved my dinner. It tasted clean and light. I didn’t leave the table with instant bloat. And, I believe that I will sleep better because I had some wild dreams earlier this week that I attribute to the strange meal program that had entered my body.
Speaking of dreams, that’s on the agenda…right now.
Talk to you soon.
When it came time to make dinner, I was so over pizza, Chinese food and Taco Bell that I had to eat Greek yogurt, fresh raspberries and a couple of granola bars. Even though I exercised portion control on all of that brought-in stuff, the combination of too much salt and too much grease has made me feel “cruddy.”
I loved my dinner. It tasted clean and light. I didn’t leave the table with instant bloat. And, I believe that I will sleep better because I had some wild dreams earlier this week that I attribute to the strange meal program that had entered my body.
Speaking of dreams, that’s on the agenda…right now.
Talk to you soon.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Pizza and Chinese food...heat and repeat
This week has been the most challenging eating experience since joining Weight Watchers. Because I’m in the throes of production of the supercollar® and running up against shipping deadlines, I have had no time to do anything but order deliveries of food from any restaurant that will deliver to my house. I have quite a few people at my house at all times of the day and night, so cooking for them isn’t an option.
Last evening, we had Chinese food. The evening before that, we had pizza. Today’s lunch was leftovers of pizza and Chinese food. It’s an endless cycle of removing Styrofoam containers and aluminum foil wrapped slices from my refrigerator and reheating things, followed by running the dishwasher so that we have clean plates. I’m not enjoying most of the food because I’m not paying much attention to it while I eat it. I miss fresh cooked by me meals which will resume tomorrow.
But, sometimes you just have to “roll with it.” This is one of those times. I have been very careful with portion control. I had two small slices of pizza for dinner two nights ago and ordered chicken and asparagus plus white rice for dinner last evening. I divided the Chinese food into three portions and ate the second third for lunch today.
No more time to chat…back to work for me.
Talk to you soon.
Last evening, we had Chinese food. The evening before that, we had pizza. Today’s lunch was leftovers of pizza and Chinese food. It’s an endless cycle of removing Styrofoam containers and aluminum foil wrapped slices from my refrigerator and reheating things, followed by running the dishwasher so that we have clean plates. I’m not enjoying most of the food because I’m not paying much attention to it while I eat it. I miss fresh cooked by me meals which will resume tomorrow.
But, sometimes you just have to “roll with it.” This is one of those times. I have been very careful with portion control. I had two small slices of pizza for dinner two nights ago and ordered chicken and asparagus plus white rice for dinner last evening. I divided the Chinese food into three portions and ate the second third for lunch today.
No more time to chat…back to work for me.
Talk to you soon.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
150 postings...150 days
Today I am writing the 150th posting to my blog and thinking back to the days leading up to deciding to publicly discuss my weight loss. If you have followed me from the beginning, you know that the Academy Award nominated movie Julie and Julia was my inspiration for blogging.
I had not tackled blogging before this “project” but I do write non-fiction, “how-to” books and articles. So, telling people how I am working through losing 50 pounds in a forum that is free and easily accessible seemed the right way to do it.
I am asked if I ever have a day when I am faced with nothing to write about…not often is my answer, but it does happen. It’s just like writer’s block when working on a book. It’s not really that you have nothing to say; it’s more about being in the state of mind to say it.
This week, for example, I am knee deep in preparing to launch the supercollar®, my company’s dog collar with a built-in retractable leash, on HSN in March. My mind is focused on the many steps involved in taking a new product to market, especially when the market is the 93 million households that get HSN.
All of these months of being on Weight Watchers help me to go on autopilot with my eating. But, it would be easier for me to write this blog about supercollars® rather than losing weight because that’s what I am thinking about most of the day…and night.
And now it’s back to work on supercollars®. No rest for the weary, but excited, entrepreneur.
Talk to you soon.
I had not tackled blogging before this “project” but I do write non-fiction, “how-to” books and articles. So, telling people how I am working through losing 50 pounds in a forum that is free and easily accessible seemed the right way to do it.
I am asked if I ever have a day when I am faced with nothing to write about…not often is my answer, but it does happen. It’s just like writer’s block when working on a book. It’s not really that you have nothing to say; it’s more about being in the state of mind to say it.
This week, for example, I am knee deep in preparing to launch the supercollar®, my company’s dog collar with a built-in retractable leash, on HSN in March. My mind is focused on the many steps involved in taking a new product to market, especially when the market is the 93 million households that get HSN.
All of these months of being on Weight Watchers help me to go on autopilot with my eating. But, it would be easier for me to write this blog about supercollars® rather than losing weight because that’s what I am thinking about most of the day…and night.
And now it’s back to work on supercollars®. No rest for the weary, but excited, entrepreneur.
Talk to you soon.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
21.4 pounds lost in 21 weeks...loving it!
Weigh-in day, week 21, and 1.2 pounds lost. For those of you who keep track with me, the total is 21.4 pounds. I am pleased with my loss this week and believe it is due, in part, to a readjustment.
This week, I paid careful attention to weighing my food. I think that after five months of being on the program, it’s easy to think you know the amount of food you are eating just by eyeballing it. And I think that you may be wrong. I was.
By readjusting my eyes to the correct portion size, I know that my point tracker was more accurate. I wasn’t that far off, but I think that if I kept going without using my food scale, I would have eventually reached a multi-week plateau.
I will spot- check my portions every week to prevent “the slide” back to thinking that I can evaluate the correct weights of all foods. It only takes an extra few seconds but clearly is worth it.
Talk to you soon.
This week, I paid careful attention to weighing my food. I think that after five months of being on the program, it’s easy to think you know the amount of food you are eating just by eyeballing it. And I think that you may be wrong. I was.
By readjusting my eyes to the correct portion size, I know that my point tracker was more accurate. I wasn’t that far off, but I think that if I kept going without using my food scale, I would have eventually reached a multi-week plateau.
I will spot- check my portions every week to prevent “the slide” back to thinking that I can evaluate the correct weights of all foods. It only takes an extra few seconds but clearly is worth it.
Talk to you soon.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Bite size brownies
Let’s talk about Super Bowl Sunday. Now that I have recovered from not writing my posting yesterday, I can focus on one of the biggest eating days of the year. My husband and I were invited to a party that we have attended for many Super Bowls past. We are always happy to be invited back.
The day began with the decision to take a walk before we left for the party. It was a beautiful, sunny morning and we headed out for 45 minutes to get a little exercise. When we returned, it was time to put together the “thing” we were bringing to the party…bite size brownies iced with cream cheese frosting. Both the brownies and the frosting were created in the gourmet kitchen of Safeway.
It’s really easy to pop an entire brownie in your mouth while frosting it, so that’s why I didn’t do either. My husband was the designated dessert guy and I stayed clear. I have to admit, however, that I opened the refrigerator to make lunch and saw all of them sitting on a platter and for one second my hand began to head towards the little guys. But, I came to my senses and ignored them.
The party hosts barbecued a turkey, so I made it through the four hours of our visit unscathed. A helping of raw vegetables and my indulgence in half of one deviled egg did the trick for me.
I knew that I was going home to the Super Bowl commercials since we always TIVO the game and then fast forward to each commercial for a review and our commentary. Of course, we do that alone since most of party guests were way more interested in the game. Not me…after years of watching football I will admit that I really don’t understand how the game is played.
Talk to you soon.
The day began with the decision to take a walk before we left for the party. It was a beautiful, sunny morning and we headed out for 45 minutes to get a little exercise. When we returned, it was time to put together the “thing” we were bringing to the party…bite size brownies iced with cream cheese frosting. Both the brownies and the frosting were created in the gourmet kitchen of Safeway.
It’s really easy to pop an entire brownie in your mouth while frosting it, so that’s why I didn’t do either. My husband was the designated dessert guy and I stayed clear. I have to admit, however, that I opened the refrigerator to make lunch and saw all of them sitting on a platter and for one second my hand began to head towards the little guys. But, I came to my senses and ignored them.
The party hosts barbecued a turkey, so I made it through the four hours of our visit unscathed. A helping of raw vegetables and my indulgence in half of one deviled egg did the trick for me.
I knew that I was going home to the Super Bowl commercials since we always TIVO the game and then fast forward to each commercial for a review and our commentary. Of course, we do that alone since most of party guests were way more interested in the game. Not me…after years of watching football I will admit that I really don’t understand how the game is played.
Talk to you soon.
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