Week 3: Onward we go!

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If you're new to the site, please check out my first post "The Plan," which explains the blog. 

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  The Weekly Update: 

Current $/lbs = $53!
Current Weight = 143.9
Total Weight Lost = 9.1 lbs.
Money Raised = $482!

 Another 2.9 pounds lost this week!  I'm a mere sneeze away from passing the 10-lbs-gone mark!  Huzzah!

Pictured here is Puck, the strictest of my diet managers.  He approves of my progress, though he also demands that I feed him more.  And more.  

What a lovable hypocrite.

Anyway.  This week was much more stable than last, but still full of little challenges.  I had to modify my portion size yet again, as well as overcome a rigid, several day plateau on the scale.  Now, you should know: For the sake of data-keeping, I weigh myself every day.  But I do NOT recommend this for the average weight-loser.  Your weight goes up and down a little bit every day (up to as much as 2 lbs) due to many factors, like water-retention, salt consumption, last time of eating, muscle swelling, different clothes, different time of day, etc.  And there's not a direct, daily relationship between "eat less one day, weight less the next."  It's more like "eat a little less all week, weigh less on Sunday."  But because I'm doing this for charity (and keeping close tabs on the fund-raising side of things), I weigh once a day.

That's where the plateau and portions come in.  Mid-week, I found myself stuck at the 144.5 threshold.  No matter what I did or how I ate, I couldn't seem to shift below that number.  Unfortunately, I tried to combat this by heavily reducing my calorie intake in the morning and allowing for more in the evening.  This was a bad idea.  After a couple days, I was so weak in the afternoons that I could barely pay attention.  So, I adjusted my portion size to be heavier at breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack, and lighter at dinner.  That helped tremendously with my energy problem, as well as finally dropping me into the 143's (if only barely)!  So, that's one reason for success, I'd say.  Here are a few other factors I credit for the loss:

Chipotle!

      That's right.  Chipotle.  Why do I give it credit for some of my weight loss this week?  Because when Dan and I really, REALLY don't feel like cooking, we can walk to our neighborhood Chipotle.  There, we can get decent Mexicanesque food at a relatively low cost. It's tasty, very filling, and easy to manage caloricly.  Really!

The image above is not from Chipotle's main website, but from a nutrition site called "ChipotleFan.com."  You can click the boxes (as I've done), put in what you've ordered, and get the calorie count for your meal.  Now, this is not an exact science... as the food-servers don't dish out an identical portion size every single time, but still.  This kind of tracking is light-years better than what you can get at most restaurants, where the calories are secret and the portions are temptingly huge.  Which brings me to the second factor of the week....

Have your husband cook for you!

      Yep, that's right.  I married an awesome cook.  And, as he's trying to get into shape too, he's wonderfully sensitive to my caloric limitations.  We've tried to reduce our trips out for meals as much as possible (even though we LOVE it) because it's just too hard to stay on task and within range.  But, when you have a chef like this at home, who needs to go out?  

Here are photos of this week's dining highlights:

Here, (to the right) Dan is plating some Italian-herb-roasted green beans to go along with our leftover meatloaf and an ear of steamed sweet corn, which we top with melted Smart Balance spread, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Yum!

(To the left) This was another of my favorites:  Garlic-lemon green beans, oven roasted potatoes, and baked honey-dill salmon.

Ridiculously tasty!

(To the right)  This, I'm very proud of.  After the meal above, we took the leftover salmon and flaked the fish into the remaining honey-dill-light mayo sauce.  Then we refrigerated it for a couple days.  When we were ready for more salmonly goodness, I made a pot of sushi rice (rice that's pre-washed very well, then mixed with a dressing before cooling to room temperature) and we made "Leftovers-Sushi!"  We skipped the nori (seaweed) and added a few fresh chives for flavor and texture.  They're not very pretty, since this was my first foray into rice-on-the-outside rolls... and we didn't have the structural support that the sheets of nori provide... but they tasted amazing and we learned some tricks for the next time we try it.

This (to the left) is another of our vegetable-consuming achievements:  It's zucchini lasagna!  What's that, you say?  Well, it's lasagna with thin zucchini slices in place of the pasta.  It was really quite tasty and much more calorie friendly.

I've become a true zucchini convert.

And last, but not least:  The St. Paul Farmer's Market!

      Like you've probably read in other posts, Dan and I go to the local Farmer's Market once a week.  It's really great.  We get a nice walk through downtown St. Paul, we stock up on all our fresh veggies for the week, and it's fun!  Here a peek:

The market can be crowded with families, especially on the nice-weather weekends.

Here's a shot of the brick walkway and wooden roofing structures that are found throughout.

Here is a family farm selling all kinds of beans, onion, and kohlrabi (which we've yet to try).

Here's a huge pile of basil and green onions.  It's $1 per bunch.  And the bunches are HUGE.  Compare that to those little dried plastic boxes you can get in the grocery store!

 Here's Dan, buying eggplant.  We've not used it yet (and I've never eaten eggplant before), but we're planning on trying "Eggplant Parmesan" in the near future.  I mean, it's got parmesan in the title.  How bad could it be?

Here's the bi-color sweet corn vendor!  We've tried several varieties and vendors at this point, and I just love the way the bi-color looks.

Besides, this guy slipped us a free ear of corn.  So, I have to like him.

Here's a shot from one of the flower vendors, though we didn't buy any from this particular stand.  Instead, we bought a bundle of sunflowers.  To remind me of Kansas.

Here's a shot looking out toward the "entrance" of the Farmer's Market.  At least, it's the way we usually enter from.  I like that you can see the produce and the downtown buildings in a single frame.  A nice contrast.







And, for only $20, here's our haul!  From left to right, approximately:

-- Seven ears of sweet corn.
-- A bouquet of sunflowers.
-- A bunch of banana peppers.
-- Five red / purple onions.
-- A bundle of garlic-chives.
-- Three huge eggplant.
-- Six green & yellow zucchini.
-- A large bag of green beans.

And... a cat.  Apparently.

Who knew you could pick those up at the Farmer's Market?

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Well, there you have it.  Week three!  Thanks again to all those who are supporting me in this endeavor!

And... like I say every week.... Please continue to spread the word!  I may have met my minimum goal, but I don't want to stop there!  Email donation pledges to skinnyforkitties@gmail.com or write them in the comments below.  

Thanks again!  See you next week!

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