Week 17, Day 5: Chicken hearts! and mindful eating

Friday I'll go weigh in to see what two weeks of neither measuring nor writing down, but some mindfulness and a lot of cycling, has done to my weight loss program. If I'm still losing at a brisk clip, I may continue to play loose with the process. If not, it's back to the food diaries.

There have been some...episodes. Like last night when I had a snack attack comprised of three slices of butter bread and six Oreos.

But I think I've been largely within the guidelines and certainly have put the miles on the bike, some of them pretty hilly.

In other news, I found chicken hearts! at the Reading Terminal Market! and I know they're not the leanest cut of meat in the galaxy but my gosh I loves my curried chicken hearts. I had curried chicken hearts for dinner last night and more curried chicken hearts for lunch today.

Today was a short bike ride -- just eight miles or so -- but I'm going to take the dog out for a walk soon. And an early morning bike ride is on the schedule for tomorrow.

(EDIT: Meant to mention that the swiss chard is well and truly sprouted, whee! And both zucchini and grape tomatoes are down to 99 cents a pound/pint at the Reading Terminal Market. The backyard peaches, on the other hand, are disappointing -- too much bitter almond flavor, presumably from the peach pits)

Week 16, Day 1: 6.2 lb weight loss

I weighed in early -- went down yesterday -- and was pleasantly surprised to find that after two weeks' unbridled license, or so it seemed to me, I had in fact not gained weight but had actually lost 6.2 pounds for a total weight loss of 44.6 pounds over the first fifteen weeks of this diet. Not a bad way to celebrate my 60th birthday!

I suspect that two things are happening. One, because I've been scrupulously measuring and weighing things for several months I've internalized some of the lessons learned. Two, all that bike riding maybe has kicked my metabolism up a notch.

I celebrated with more unbridled license -- a birthday dinner, cooked by Mr. southphl, that included a boneless pork chop served in a white wine reduction; two small redskin potatoes, boiled; a huge helping of steamed green beans with olive oil and herbs; and a dessert sampler of two kinds of store-bought mousse and a small scoop of Turkey Hill Rocky Road ice cream. Also a one-cup serving of potato chips, the better half of a split of Veuve Cliquot, and a bottle of "Gandalf Wine" (Nobilio sauvignon blanc from New Zealand, mmmm.)

This morning I'm a lot less hungover than I ought to be by rights and am eager to get on my bike with Mr. souphl and visit yet another Fairmount Park house. Strawberry Mansion this time, because it is to be closed for renovations at the end of the summer.

Oh, and today's lunch will be leftover bluefish with 99-cent bag veggies; and today's dinner will be black beans, brown rice, and yet still more 99-cent veggies. We still have half of the 99-cent bag o' green beans to steam. Reading Terminal Market is The Light and The Way!

Week 15, Day 6: I can has swiss chard!

I went foraging for vegetable bargains at the Reading Terminal Market today. I found several at the big produce stand in the back. But I also found a packet of swiss chard seeds (Fordhook) in a plant stall. The package says they'll come to maturity in 50-60 days; that they will tolerate a light frost; and that they will grow nicely in partial shade and in containers. Sounds like the perfect vegetable chez moi.

I have two big containers holding nothing more important than volunteer feverfew and perilla, both of which are abundant in yet still other containers, so I think I'll plant me some swiss chard this evening. Mmmmmm... fresh vegetables from the garden in South Philly.

Oh, and the peaches from my potted peach pit seedling tree are ripening, too.

Week 15, Day 5: Muddling back toward the program

Last week I left town for four days to spend time with an old friend in Ohio. Although I packed everything I'd need to be scrupulously on program, when I got there I just didn't feel like it. So I didn't write anything down.

Despite that, I know that two meals a day were pretty spartan, but the third tended to be a serious meal (complete with wine and/or Martinis). And I wasn't exercising much.

Now, on the third full day after my return, I've finally gotten back on my bicycle and done a leisurely 17 miles. I'm not journaling my food again yet, but I'm keeping an eye on portions and measuring at least my starches.

Today's cheap dinner is going to be fava beans. I bought a pound of them dried for $.99 and went through the bother of boiling and peeling them last night. Tonight I'll cook them up with onions, olive oil and fresh herbs as recommended on the package label. I don't feel like putting in a salty chicken buillion cube as the recipe suggests, so I'll put in ... some chicken. Imagine that. I have a a huge head of broccoli to steam, too.

Week 14, Day 2: Wobbling on the Program

Week 13 weight loss: 1.2 pounds. Better than a weight gain, I suppose.

Part of it was my anniversary blow-out: I was so not in the mood for programmed eating. So I ordered (and almost fainted to hear the words escape my lips) a Bluecoat martini, in-and-out, with three olives. Bluecoat American Dry Gin is a gin distilled here in Philly and is unlike any other gin I've ever had.

So, yes, the martini. And then the order of onion rings, which at the Union League is big enough for my husband and me to split. (We once passed a whole order around a table for 12: everyone had one and there were still several left over.) Plus the wonderful Union League rolls, two of them, copiously buttered. Plus a salad that was embellished with heaps o' calories -- little piles of walnuts, blue cheese, bacon crumbles. Most of the time I leave the heaps alone, but this time I ate them all.

And then the main course. It was a grilled cheese sandwich, I kid you not. Three kinds of cheese, plus tomato and (I think) bacon. It came with a lifetime supply of french fries, but by the time I finished the sandwich I was only able to eat one. This was accompanied by a glass of champagne, which the waiter assured me solemnly was the perfect complement to grilled cheese.

And it was. And I had no room left for dessert. And when I went home and tried to account for this train wreck of a dinner I concluded that I'd used all 35 of my bonus points for the week plus another fifteen.

For penance, I rode my bike. A lot. I think I did 100 miles last week. And I mostly stayed on program....except that my naughty husband brought home a bottle of the aforementioned Bluecoat American Dry Gin. I was successful, though, in restricting myself to a few sips of his martini(s).

This week isn't exactly off to a good start. I didn't ride much yesterday, just down to the Weight Watcher's meeting, and I lost my bearings and ate the leftover London broil I'd intended to have for lunch today. So a long bike ride is definitely called for, and we have planned an 18-20 mile ride that includes some big (for me) hills. I am hoping I can recommit to the program now after messing around with it.