Too Close For Comfort

The most bizarre thing happened to me tonight...right in the midst of my newfound attitude towards healthy eating for life, crucifying Obesity, and gaining optimum health.

I almost ate an entire casserole. It was so close.....too, too close.

Here's the bizarre part....I have NO idea why. I had a good day. It was productive with cleaning house and packing more boxes for the move. No bad emotions going on...no major stress...heck, I wasn't even celebrating anything. No binge feelings, no plans to go over my calories...in fact I'm so in sync with my calorie limit now that I've actually been thinking about dropping them, but decided that's better left for when a plateau hits.

I almost always have around 800-900 calories left by dinnertime. I had the desire for a casserole...something a little creamy and a little cheesy. I had bought some 98% fat free cans of cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and broccoli and cheese a couple of weeks ago, and decided to finally try them. I figured with almost no fat that they would taste like crap. Boy was I wrong. Turns out the broccoli and cheese one I used was entirely too good.

I sauteed (3) 6 oz. chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces w/ my Pam Olive Oil cooking spray. I covered them in all kinds of yummy spices....a touch of salt, black pepper, Adobo, garlic powder and onion powder. I added them to my casserole dish along with 1 c. of instant brown rice, 1 can of the broccoli and cheese soup, some water, 1 jar of mushrooms, and 2 c. of broccoli. I baked it in the oven on 350 for 45 mins and then raised the temp to 400 for the last 15 mins to make sure it was good and done and heated all the way through. When I removed the foil I added 1/4 c. of reduced fat finely shredded Colby Jack cheese on top and watched it melt. I was already starting to salivate.

I went to the computer and added everything up on my nutrition website, SparkPeople, to see exactly how much I could have....I'm ususally pretty darn hungry by dinnertime. And even after nearly 7 weeks of reducing my calories from 4,000 a day to 1550, I'm still amazed at how much volume I can hold and not feel sick afterwards. The entire casserole ended up being 1150 calories, half of it being 575. I decided I needed to eat half the casserole, lol, and I did. Of course I shared some with my puppy dog, so I didn't eat the whole whopping plate full, but probably 80% of it.

Here's the problem. It was TOO good. Just creamy enough, just cheesy enough (I do NOT like a ton of cheese in my food), and the chicken had just the right flavor. I wanted more. I took my plate back to the kitchen, set it down, and stared at that beautiful casserole. After what I had already eaten, I had 289 calories left for the day. I could have had a little more, but I wanted ALL of it.....another 575 calories which would have sent me way over, not to mention probably would have sent me to the bathroom puking my guts out once the entire thing hit my stomach.
Who eats ENTIRE casseroles in one sitting????? Good grief.

I stared at it...my eyes glazing over as if I were in a deep trance...food trances are the worst kind. I could just barely hear Skinny Tammy screaming at me in the background....very, very faint....barely audible.

nooooooooooooooo fat tammy....don't do it!....think of destin....think of the 21 lbs you've already lost....think of how much you're going to hate yourself....it's the day before weigh day for God's sakes......step away from the casserole.....save yourself!

It was so faint...so far off in the distance......I could just barely hear it. The casserole was winning out. I took a bite. OMG it was sooo good. Why do I have to cook so good? Why didn't I eat egg whites for dinner on the night before weigh day? I took another bite. And all of a sudden I was jolted out of my trance like Skinny Tammy was standing right beside me screaming in my ear with a megaphone....

GET YOUR FAT A$$ AWAY FROM THAT DANG CASSEROLE!!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING??? THIS IS YOUR AMAZING MENTAL CHANGE???? THESE ARE THE GREAT STRIDES YOU'VE MADE??? THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL "FINALLY" HAVING YOUR MIND IN THE RIGHT PLACE??? YOU IDIOT!!!!!!!

The best way I can describe the way I felt after snapping out of it is "frightened". I've read in other blogs where if people make a mistake or nearly do, they try to analyze it, identify trigger foods, certain emotions that set off bad eating, etc. I have no answer for mine and that frightens me. I very nearly ate that whole thing....1150 calories in one meal.....more food than any human being needs to put in their bodies in one sitting....would have totally killed all the work I've done this week to get off the sodium gain from all the birthday/restaurant eating LAST weekend.
And I just don't know why.

All I can say is that I hope it doesn't happen again...or if it does, I hope Skinny Tammy is a little more audible from now on. It's really, really bothering me. It's screwing with my mind. It doesn't jive with my decision to get this weight off at all. Yeah, I'm definitely frightened at what a close call that was, and having no reason to explain it.

Moving on....tomorrow morning is my weigh-in. I've drank enough water this week to float the Titanic. As I mentioned earlier in the week, after my 3 restaurant meals last weekend, I got on the scale Monday morning and saw a 5-6 lb. gain. Yikes. We'll see where it ends up. I can promise you one thing though....the following week WILL be a loss. The numbers WILL go down. How do I know that? Because I know what it takes to lose. It takes a decision to do the work, it takes daily consistency on staying within your calorie limit, it takes persistence with your daily exercise...pushing yourself as far as you're able to go. That's what I'll be doing this next week.

I'm really looking forward to the next 7 days. And there will be NO restaurant/Publix deli food this week. NONE. ZERO. I don't care what we're celebrating...I don't care if I win the lottery...we won't be celebrating it in SODIUM HELL!!! If I win, it will be more like....turkey burger and egg whites for EVERYONE!!! I'm buying. ;)

Quote For The Day:

"Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is the one who endures that the final victory comes." -Buddha

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

First I want to say thanks to everyone who has commented on my posts. I have read every one of them, but haven't had time to respond to everyone due to a REALLY busy and enjoyable weekend. But I have noticed....and thanks to those who aren't even followers on my blog, but have stopped by to leave their kind words. You're a fantastic bunch of people and I'm really enjoying the comraderie that is forming with us. :)

My weekend has been spectacular. You already know about the 2.5 mile hike on Friday and the 4 mile hike yesterday. We decided not to hike today and just let our bodies rest. I ran out to the salon and got a pedicure with the money Dwayne gave me for it last week....very sweet. I did a few chores around the house, just enjoying my day until Dwayne showed up to take me to Outback for dinner. I thought his gift-giving was complete but I was happily mistaken.

Last weekend, when he thought it was my birthday and was actually a week early, he gave me $100 for new clothes, $40 for the pedicure and 2 awesome books that I've really been enjoying this week. Today he gave me the sweetest card....4 beautiful candles with lovely scents....and a pair of diamond earrings in the shape of little flowers....they are gorgeous!! I explained before in a post entitled "My Guy" that Dwayne shows his love through giving you material items and cash...it looks like he loves me a lot! :)

Regarding the food this weekend....it's been bad. I admit it. I had a 3 lb loss this past Friday and will probably follow that up with a 5 lb. gain this week. I'm not being melodramatic. I got on the scale this morning and I've gained 5 lbs. since Friday and not sure if I'll be able to get it off in the next 4 short days!

Friday I had a light breakfast and a light dinner but after our 2.5 mile hike we had a heavy lunch in a restaurant. Sodium. Saturday I had a light breakfast and 2 c. of watermelon for lunch....maybe a total of 350 calories before dinner....but for dinner we had that food from the Publix deli...some of it was fried...plus MORE sodium. Today I had a light breakfast and a light lunch....maybe 500 calories before dinner. But then we went to Outback. I had 1 grilled chicken breast, 3 grilled shrimp, 1/2 of my rice pilaf, 1/2 of my grilled veggies, and HALF A LOAF of that dang bread they bring you!!! Plus EVEN MORE SODIUM!!!

I'm not worried about the gain that I so very much deserve and will probably see this Friday and here's why. My mind is still in the right place. I was conscious of every eating choice I made this weekend. It's unrealistic to think I will never eat in a restaurant again.....although most weekends I don't and won't be eating restaurant meals 3 consecutive days like I did this time! But that's just the way the weekend went, I enjoyed every single second of my stress-free weekend....the hikes way more than the food. And I've still got a tight grip on the overall picture and goal.

The weekend was full of sodium...... but it was also full of hiking, together time with my guy and my puppy dog, some lovely birthday gifts, positive thoughts and lots of laughter...and this will usurp any disappointment I earned on the scale this week. The next week will be better and will produce a loss....I just know it! I've got this thing...I'm going to beat it. I've never been filled with so much resolve in my entire life. I've never been so SURE of something before. I know I'm going to slay Obesity. I know I'm going to win. Not exactly sure how long it will take me....hopefully by next April....but if it's a little longer....it doesn't really matter....Obesity is going down!!! It's days are numbered...and that's an incredibly powerful feeling. :)

Quote For The Day:

"Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement." -Brian Tracy