Having the option (and a confession)

I could easily get used to having weekends off. It's only been a few weeks, but I am already finding myself loath to make plans unless absolutely necessary. Today I slept in, then ate breakfast and made lunch to take with me. It wasn't that much work, but I took a lot of food with me-- I was worried about being out of the house and not having something safe with me in case I got hungry. It was needless, as I wasn't hungry. But still, I felt better having the option and not needing it than if I'd needed the food and not had it. This afternoon was the gym, then watching my sister and cousins make dinner. That last part was probably the highlight of my day. I've felt pretty good today; not deprived, and not craving anything in particular. I think the preparation is key to that, and as such Monday and Thursday will be my hardest days. I'll have to leave the house at 7:30 AM with all of my food for the day, because I don't come home until 10:00 PM. Keep your fingers crossed, please!

It's helpful to write down what I'm eating-- even more accountability, I think. Feel free to skip these updates, if they bore you. (But please keep reading; I need to know you're out there!)

Breakfast: whole wheat english muffin with vegan margarine and cherry preserves; banana; soy latte (with one pump mocha and three pumps dark cherry syrup)
Lunch: huge green salad topped with black beans, corn, cucumber and peach/mango salsa; handful Lays Waves potato chips; diet soda
Snack: soy yogurt; fruit leather strip; two clementines
Dinner: vegetarian fried rice; sauteed mushrooms; three vegetarian shu mai; sliced red and yellow bell peppers; kiwi; watermelon; Fat Tire and Abbey Ale
Snack: Healthy Pop Kettle Popcorn; strawberries; herbal tea

Confession: I sort of unintentionally cheated at dinner tonight. I had already put the shu mai in the microwave before realizing that there are egg whites in them. They were listed about 12th on the ingredient list, so I imagine there was only a small amount of egg whites in the three pieces that I ate-- but I felt it would be wasteful not to eat any of them.

I donated 74 pounds of food to the Foodbank this afternoon. In a way, that was validating in itself; after seeing how much food that was, I feel great about the 50 pounds of food that will be donated to them as I lose the weight. I also decided to go back and volunteer next weekend. It'll be mostly warehouse work, but I think it will help motivate me to be involved in the work they do.

On an opposing note, I weighed myself this morning. The number on the scale was ENORMOUSLY disappointing. While I am still vain enough that I'm not willing to post that number publicly, let's just say that 50 pounds is a low estimate for the weight I have to lose. :(

But, I will get there. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

More good news: I walked 11.11 miles this week. Tomorrow, back to yoga.