Losing a part of me

As I said I would, I took my sons to Lone Star Texas Grill for lunch yesterday. Now I remember clearly that the low-calorie meal that I usually order is the Fajita Bowl with grilled chicken, minus the cheese and the poblano crema. While the nutritional value lists this item as 810 calories with 1210mg of sodium, 18g of fat (5g saturated), 35g of carbohydrates, and 32g of protein, from what I can tell by removing the cheese and the poblano crema that would drop to 690 calories with 900mg of sodium, 6g of fat (0g saturated), 32g of carbohydrates, and 25g of protein. Overall, I think I did a decent job on that meal. Nevertheless, I decided to cut out two meal replacements yesterday, just in case…

As I was chatting with Leslie last night, we discussed how difficult the first day back on the program can be. We were both hungry, and possibly even a little hangry… although not with each other. I told her that it was likely more difficult for her yesterday, if only for the fact that I had an actual lunch. I hope we will both make it through the next few days without too much difficulty.

I told Leslie that I decided that when I weighed myself this morning, I would have lost a pound from yesterday. When I stepped onto the scale today (after a pretty decent bowel movement) I realized that I was not one pound down. In fact, I had dropped 3.8 lbs., my best weight since the day I put the program aside for the sake of being able to get through my classes. That was fifteen days ago. I am now only 1.4 lbs. from matching my best weight from this diet go-around… and two pounds from being able to cross off another mini milestone on my fridge chart! I am truly stoked about the progress. In fact, as I was writing this journal entry, I felt the urge and had another very productive bowel movement. I might have lost even more!

I have a lot of work to do today but am still planning on going out for a jog after my midday meal replacement. This morning, I had a lovely video date with my wife on the balcony, and we again discussed our weight loss progress. She did well this morning as well, so we were both happy with our progress. As I have said in the past, she and I joke that on the first days of the program I only need to look at a shake to begin losing weight again, so even with the meal that I had, we had both expected I would do much better. Yay!

I have been hungry these last couple of hours. I told Leslie that I did not want to enjoy my midday meal replacement until 12:30, and now that is only ten minutes away. I have also had a lot to drink… in addition to my three cups of coffee, I also finished two large bottles (750ml each) of water, which is very good to help my weight loss. It also means that I have spent a lot of time running to the loo, but that is to be expected.

Okay, I am going to publish this article, drink my shake, and go for my jog/walk. I am going to try to do ten kilometres total (I will jog at least 3km, but possibly more), and I will walk the rest. My last outdoor jog/walk was 90 minutes, and I should be able to do that easily despite the heat (it is now 30°C and sunny), but I will listen to my body. I think the Army trained me to keep going despite any level of fatigue I may be feeling, but I know that I am no longer 22 years old and have to think of the aftereffects as well as what I may be feeling at the time. I will take my large bottle with me but will not hesitate to stop into a convenience store to replenish should I finish it.

Speaking of the Army, I chatted with an uncle in Israel this morning. I need to get a copy of my service record to submit with my US Immigration papers, and the consulate informed me that I have to get that directly from the Army… and the Army finally responded to my email and told me that I need to call them for it. What a royal pain… without a contact in Israel it would be an expensive series of overseas calls to get it, so he will make the call and try to get it for me. I am crossing my fingers that they do not rebuff him… I suspect his rank should get through at least some of that bureaucracy though.

Have a great day folks!