The Plateau

250 - Woot!
252 - Dammit!
250 - Woot!!
252 - Dammit!!!
250 - Okay, is this scale right?
252 - I hate you!!!!

For the past month, I have been going up and down with my weight - basically maintaining.  I hit my first plateau at the end of May and struggled throughout June.  FRUSTRATING is an understatement.

But as much as I wanted to blame medicine, stress, and other external factors (McDonald's puts something in their food to be addictive!!!! I swear!), I realized that I needed to take a close look at my eating again.  Somewhere in my journey, I veered off to the left and I need to get back on track.

Was I eating a lot of fast food?  Not really, but I did have a few breakfast sandwiches in the morning and the weekends seemed to lead to eating out in some way.

Was I binge eating at home?  Again, not really, but one time I ate two Skinny Cows in one night.

So what went wrong?  Ugh, a lot and a few things - sounds stupid, well it was!

My working out regime changed.  Jake and I used to go on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.  Then toward the end of May when Jake started school Saturday's became hard to go to.  We skipped two in a row, so switched to working out Monday, Wednesday and Friday, which means I no longer am kickboxing, only boxing.  I am much, MUCH more coordinated with boxing, so my workouts are more intense, or at least I am pushing myself a lot harder than normal.

Secondly, a few important work and personal events happened during June.  I had to eat out twice with work, which is always hard to do when watching what I eat.  Since Jake was going to school and errands still had to get done on Saturday, we would sometimes plan very poorly thus we would get stuck eating out.  Even if it was Jimmy Jones and healthier, smaller choices on the menu, it was still eating out and our bodies weren't used to it.  And I turned 30 and I swear for 3 days straight I ate crap.  Utterly, disgustingly good crap.  But while I was eating, I just kept thinking, wow this isn't as good as it  used to be.  Only exception being Cheetos Puffs - damn I love them!!!

Thirdly, I stopped really looking at my serving sizes and carb intake.  Non-sugar free Kool-Aid has 8 servings, with 1 cup of sugar added.  Just 1 cup of sugar means that for each serving size there is TWO FREAKING CARBS!  That's half a potato!  Half a potato sound like a small amount to you?  Not to me!  Hell I could be eating two freaking Blue Bunny skinny cones!  So I felt a little duped, but the Kool-Aid man of all things - damn him and his smile!!!  And I also found myself snacking at work.  It's so so sooooo tempting to just sneak in some pretzels, a small slice of cake, a bagel, whatever the hell is lying around.

So, after my 30th B-Day blowout, I recommitted to my food plan and began to closely monitor my food choices again.  Just after 4 days, I am back to 250.  I am really hoping to break this plateau!!!  I feel like if I can get into the 240's, I've got it beat and I'll begin to see my numbers drop again.  I'm just so scared of quitting, but it's really not an option that I give myself.

I will say that I did have some 'Ah Ha!' moments during the last month.  One of the best was when I got a small serving size at Wendy's and felt fulfilled - minus the tiny ass cup of water mainly filled with ice.  I was parched dammit!  Don't skip on the liquid!  And at my party, I had a plate of food, no seconds, a slice of cake and that was it.  Old Sarah would have had another slice of cake and would have been constantly eating chips.  It felt good that because I felt full and was used to eating smaller, more appropriate portions, I didn't immediately revert back to old me.  Small victory, but still need to win the war!

Oh and by the way, I am heading to Germany in a couple weeks, so check back after the middle of July for some food blogs!  I actually tried roasted peppers from the grill a while back and requested them again.  I was surprised how much I actually liked them.  Fingers crossed I discover some new German food!  Yum!  (or EEK!)

Building Mussel

I admit, I have been bad about trying new things lately.  I got in this comfort zone and didn't want to leave it.  I was used to eating salad, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots and I just didn't want to try anything new.

Then I went out to dinner with my boss and well... madness ensued!!!

We got to the restaurant unbelievable early for a work dinner.  I was already nervous about dinner because there were things on the menu I hadn't even heard of...so when my boss asked what kind of appetizer I wanted, I was desperately hoping that Cheese Sticks had found their way on the menu.

They hadn't of course, so I was stuck with things like Calamari (which believe it or not, I will eat!), Crab Cakes, Shrimp, Gnocchi, and then mostly things I hadn't heard of or refused to try.

She asked me wanted I wanted and I instantly said the Shrimp - it's a super safe bet - I mean how can they fuck up Shrimp?  <---more about that later!

And then she asked for me to choose another one and I just looked at her, mouth open, speechless because nothing really looked good other than the Shrimp.  I mean the freaking Crab Cakes had strawberries in them--who does that?!?!  Yuck!!

So I tried to weasel out of the situation and make her pick, but no such luck.  She caught on quick that I was a picky eater and told me to try something new, after all I wasn't paying.  With a deep breath, I said I would try the steamed mussels with tomato and fresh herbs.  SCARY!!!

EEK!  I'm going to eat that?!?!

It's laughing at me!!

And there you have it - the Mussels!!  They look like they are all laughing at me cause they know I will be too chicken to actually eat them.  Well, the jokes on them cause I ate not just one but FIVE.  

It's salty and definitely reminds me of swimming in the ocean.  It was nice to dip it in the tomato sauce to give a little acid.  I also liked the sweetness of the Mussel too - salty and sweet and everything nice :o)

One thing I will say is that they do not look yummy tearing them out of their little home.  It's kinda gross but I just tried my damnedest to not think about it and not look at them too much.  Just pop it in my mouth and go about my business.  

Later on, I also got to try some Gnocchi.  It was pretty good too, but the Gnocchi itself seems kinda flavorless - I guess it has to be sautéed with something else to get some flavor?!  Regardless, I liked the creamy inside and the golden brown sides that had bits of herbs on it.  If I get to try some Gnocchi when I go to Italy, I will definitely give it a whirl.  I mean who doesn't like potatoes, or at least potato based food.  

So overall, it was a great night - I tried new things and ended a food drought that seemed to keep going on and on.  It's like I got stuck and now that I tried new things, I want to keep trying!  Woot!!  Here's to building on Mussels!