Miracle Fruit

So...I just read an article on the New York Times website -read this- about Miracle Fruit!

Apparently the stuff makes sour things taste sweet. The sensation lasts about an hour per berry which is good because the berries run you over $2.00 each! I doubt I could get them here in town. These are definitely special order material!

Maybe if I ever get a decent job I'll treat myself and some friends to a sour/sweet taste party with some of these.

Month 5 Check In

Well as if the last post didn't give it away I've made some big inroads, at lease as far as weight-loss goes. How did the month go...

Food:
I didn't cook much this month. I've been eating less and spreading out what I had on hand. I have been going to the Farmer's Market every week since it opened (with the exception of 1 week when I had to be diverted). I haven't bought much but I haven't been cooking so it is ok. better to not waste it, I say.

Exercise:
I got in to the gym infrequently maybe 6 times this month. But with the weather being nicer out I've been walking a lot more. I have a pedometer and in the winter i was getting an average of 6000 steps a day and now I'm getting 9000 every day and over 12000 most days.

Self-Denial:
Well as of a few days ago I no longer have to deny myself alcohol! Yay! I'm still not touching the Ramen and I intend to keep it that way. The booze still presents a problem as I can't gauge how many calories are in any particular drink. I expect mixed drinks, like those I prefer, are fairly high in calories so...I've decided to make a new rule: No drinking at home. This should limit the alcohol I'm getting in my system because I am too poor to go drinking all the time. I will lift this self-imposed ban after the next 20 come off.

Weigh In:
190! Now officially , at least according to the official starting weight, this is not a full 20 pounds of weight loss but it is close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades.

Total weight loss in 5 months….17lbs!

Plan:

I want to lose the next 20 in 4 months. To do this I need to be a little more on the ball with exercise and cooking.

Today's food log:

Breakfast: The very small leftovers of the smothered steak and mashed potatoes from Claddagh Irish Pub and a Red Bull

Lunch: Home made shrimp with Arugula Risotto and a pasta salad from Pinkus

Dinner: A BLT from Amy's Cafe and A Sprite and a Pepsi (both standard cans)

Gym: Nope and only 6285 on the pedometer.

Cheers!

Wow, it's been a while! I bet you all are wondering what happened to me...Not much actually. I lost my job and I've had to scramble to find a new one and make enough money on e-bay selling some crap I had in storage to make rent. I've been very tired at night and haven't had time to drop any notes here but I hope for that to change.

I have not been cooking much but I have been working out when I can and the result is here to see...

CHEERS!

20 pounds gone! Or at least what I'm going to call 20 pounds. I've come to the decision that I can't really be sure how heavy I was when I started this mess because I was not weighing in regularly and on the same scale so...I've decided to call 190 the point at which I get to drink again. I hit the magic number last week and on Saturday night I toasted my success with some friends at La Hacienda on Park Street. And later that night at Maduro's on King Street. I decided to go ahead and drink for a variety of reasons and now I'm glad I did.

There is a country song that with some minor adjustments could have represented me these last few months, at least if you ask my friends: “You ain't much fun since I quit drinking”. The difference of course being that I sobered up and I stopped being fun. Apparently “There is a kingdom called Passive Aggressiva, and I am their Queen”~Addison from Grey's Anatomy. Everyone seems to think I am more forgiving of faults when I know that there will be a drink available at the end of the day. Granted I didn't drink every day before I gave it up for the diet but hey...These have been some rough months and I have been without any vises all year. (Last year I broke-up with my boyfriend so that go rid of the sex, I don't smoke or do recreational drugs, and then I quit drinking) So I was starting to take up the vise of being mean to everyone and everything I guess. Well, no more!

I have lost weight to reach the first milestone and now I can have the booze back, but not the Ramen. That is gone for good. There is nothing that the Ramen can give me that I can not get from a better source! (Although it is pretty much the perfect hang-over preventative or palliative)

I do realize that sobriety has played a role in my weight loss and I will not discount that role just because the alcohol is back in my life. I could not have lost this weight with the ease and speed that I did if I had been drinking hard the way I had last year. Because of this I have decided that drinking is to remain a special treat and not to return to my former drunken ways – at least not for another 20 pounds.

The booze is back but only at restaurants on special occasions and at parties in my home or the home of others. Hopefully I will cease my sour ways now and everyone can breather a little easier, especially me... I have a lot let weight on my chest!

So toast to me. “To 20 pounds! And 60 more around the corner!”

Month 4 Check In

Hello and welcome to the Month 4 review! Despite my near total silence on this blog I have not been doing all that badly. I've just been tired at night and not had the energy to post. I promise to make it up to all of you my faithful readers. So how did it go?

Food:
I cooked a bit more than I have been up til now. This has been good for the diet I think.


Exercise:
I was averaging 2 times a week but I'm still going and trying for better. I did not get in to the gym everyday like I wanted at the end of last month.

Self-Denial:
Still going strong on the no Ramen no Booze.

Weigh In:
194! I've lost all the weight I gained in March and one pound more.

Total weight loss in 4 months….13lbs! Only 7 pounds until I can drink again! I'm going to shoot for the rest of this 7 pounds by Cinco de Mayo. I really want a Margarita.

Plan:

Cooking every Monday and Thursdays if I can afford to.

Go to the Farmer's Market every Saturday now that it is open. This works towards 2 goals: I get more exercise and I get more fresh veggies for food.

Drag my ass to the gym even if i don't feel like I have the time. 5 times a week should be reasonable.

Get a job (Last month I lost my job at the University so I am going to have even less money this month to work with for food but hey I will find a way. I always do.

Today's food log:

Breakfast: 2 Pieces of Breakfast Pizza (Glass Nickel) and a Red Bull

Lunch: A left-over Orange Chicken from Asian Kitchen (normally a really good cheap Eat but the Orange Chicken is not good, don't order it. Get the Tso's Chicken if you want a spicy breaded chicken dish)

Dinner: More left over Orange Chicken (there is at least 1 more meal in the dinner I got possible 2 more) and a Red Bull and half of a Baby Cake from Sentry. (I love those cakes they are so cute and small. ~I was feeling stressed out and I bought it to feel better. I'm not going to claim that I don't stress eat like so many women out there. but I try to limit my stress eating to only a handful of items and only a couple times a month.)

Gym: Supreme 60 minutes of Cardio on the elliptical and arm weights

Belated post on Florida

When I was in Florida I tried a little experiment...I attempted to take pictures of everything that I ate. It was kind of like a conscious eating thing. I figured that if I had to take a picture of everything that I put into my body and show it to all of you I would be less inclined to eat poorly. I'm not sure how well it worked but I did get most of the food I ate on digital memory and here is just a silly little slew of pictures and comments about the food I ate while on Vacay.

So first off...This is my sister. Isn't she great! She hosted me down in FL and drove my ass around so she deserves kudos (and no I'm not talking the candy bar)

Here is my first meal (I am using the term loosely). Red Bull at the O'Hare Airport.

Here is my lunch at JFK. (JFK, by the way is a terrible airport. The plase smells like the kind of public toilet no one ever cleans) The sandwich I brought with me from Madison (Rathskeller) but the soda and Chinese I bought at the airport. I only ate half of the sandwich but I ate most of the Chinese. The most disappointing thing about the Chinese...

They used jarred mushrooms! How difficult would it have been to get real mushrooms? The flavor and most importantly the texture would have been vastly improved! But I guess that was just too difficult for them after all, they are operating out of the JFK Airport, not Times Square or Madison Ave.

This is what I had for breakfast every day I was at Mary's. Red Bull, Banana, and Yogurt. This Publix brand fat free key lime yogurt was divine just so's y'all know.

First Lunch, Fantastic Japanese place (I don't remember the name) Mary and I shared a Pork Tonkatsu Platter and Tempura Appetizer. We each had a Miso soup. That night we had Chinese take out.

Then we went to Universal Studio's for a day. We brought our own lunches to save money and eat slightly healthier (Sandwiches from Publix). The following day I cooked for the pot luck we went to. I made:

Vegetarian Moroccan Couscous Salad. It is easy and yummy. I've been making this dish since High School when I was a vegetarian. The spread at the Pot Luck was amazing and i did not hold back:

After the pot luck we ran off to Spam-a-lot. and then I ate dinner at Mary's place (Left over Chinese Take-away). The next day we stayed in and I have no idea what I ate. The last day I was there I cooked dinner for Mary Phil and my Dad who had arrived. I make Chicken Casserole and for some reason I have no pictures of it. Oh well. Then I left Florida and had the naughty breakfast I always get in Florida:

Dunkin Doughnuts French Kruller YUM! Then I headed home.

I'd like to think that I didn't do too badly on the eating front. But then again I always want to think that.