Ex Foodie On The Edge Of The Weight Plateau

I am stuck! Yes, I have reached a plateau...I am can see the mountain top, but I have been stuck at 205 lbs for 9 days. I weigh myself daily...it keeps me focused on my end goal! The last nine days my scale has maintained a steady 205 lbs. I know I should be happy...I know, I do and I am happy to be able to wear some of my size 14 clothes again. So please bear with me...let me just grieve for this moment....for just one post.

What happened? As a foodie I gave up all that I love! Last weekend I went to DC with Ron and I did not indulge in my favorite restaurants. I even exercised! For crying out loud I ate nothing but veggies, no rice, no bread, nada...nothing I loved. I drove past my favorite old haunts...Butterfield 9, Zola’s; I did not go to Tara Thai's, which is my all time favorite! I sacrificed! I avoided Adams Morgan, Bilbo Baggins in Old Town and B. Smiths in Union Station. Folks I suffered! I helped my friend Tanya with an estate sale, I carried boxes and worked hard. Plus, I walked the entire perimeter of Hains Point in the cold, which should given me a pound off! Why I am still at 205 lbs? Okay, I am losing inches...but that is not as gratifying as seeing the numbers drop off the scale!

I have to lose 1 lb this week or I am going to make reservations at the Palm and eat an entire side of cow with a huge baked potato! I have been eating the equivalent of grass for weeks now! That alone should have helped me drop a few extra pounds. I go to the gym 3 times a week and I work out 1 day with a cute (albeit high priced) trainer. Hell, if I don’t lose a pound this week Amen the gorgeous trainer may get bitten. He does remind me of a filet mignon with a side of steamed broccoli...tempting and healthy!

What should I do? Please help...


Signed foodie on the edge of the weight plateau

The March 10 weigh in...Whoa!

Started at 221 and I now weigh 208. Not bad for 6 weeks? With only 2 weeks of solid workouts. Well, the majority of the weight came off with the change in my eating. I had on a pair of pants this week that once was once tight, now I have room in the thighs and waist line.

I will admit I did cheat. I went to a Bobcats game earlier this week and they did not have anything appealing to eat. Now as a vegetarian, I could have eaten nachos, pretzel or some other dish. But, I opted for a hot dog. A foot long .....Yes, that’s right 12 inches of Nathans finest, topped with chili, Cold slaw and onions! When Ron and I were ordering it slipped off the tongue as if I did not ban meat from my diet. Ron was taken aback by my bold declaration. I simply stated 1 coney dog....but it echoed and reverberated loudly. Ron nicely said..."Sara, are you sure?" I was like huh....sure about what...I was oblivious to what I had ordered. He gently reminded me by whispering in my ear..."sweetie, that is meat and you are now a vegetarian" I was like oh....Oh. By the time I opened my mouth to say no, the hot dog was in front of me. What could I do? I handed over the $20... (You know sinning is not cheap, especially in a major stadium!) and headed towards the mustard. Ron shook his head and gathered the change from the bewildered cashier. He politely told her I was recovering Hot Dogolic. She giggled and said oh that is why she had a glazed over look in her eyes!

By the time I put the mustard on my dog, guilt was setting in. I have even encountered a little angelic cherub sitting on my right shoulder, who said. "All that hard work, changing you’re eating habits, enduring a colonic and exercise is now going back to your inner tube that you were trying to get rid of...tsk tsk tsk!" I was shocked...I stood there in the middle of Bobcat Arena rationalizing why I ordered this hot dog. I looked down at the hot dog and said to Ron..."Why did I order this?" Ron being the polite potential boyfriend, stated, "Sara you don't have to eat it. Toss it" Now I am a member of the clean plate club, yes, my mother God bless her soul, taught her 6 kids not to waste any of the food she and my father worked hard to provide us with. Therefore, I have always cleaned my plate, no matter what was on it. Trust me, I have eaten my way around the world and I have a cast iron stomach. So tossing food is not part of my being. I mean for goodness sake, I ate mopar caterpillars in South Africa! I was a survival instructor and have eaten worse than a Coney Island dog!

So we walked slowly back to our seats and with each step the hot dog got heavier, it felt like a brick. As we sat in our seats, the 12 inch hot dog now weighed 5 lbs and looked unappetizing. I could not bring myself to eat it. Then as magically as the angelic cherub appeared, a little devil appeared on my left shoulder and said "Eat it, you deserve it and 1 little hot dog is not going to hurt you." I took a bite, it was tasty but not as tasty as I imagined. The normal euphoric feeling I get from food was not there. The hot dog was a little salty, slightly undercooked and the chili was bland, cold slaw had too much Mayo and the onions over powered the entire taste. The mustard was that cheap yellow brand, with no muster. It was messy to eat with the dog slipping and sliding out of the bun. I was like damn what a mess! After 3 bites...I was disappointed and looked at Ron. Now Ron was watching my reaction to my hot dog. "Not good? Not what you expected? Well, sweetie you can toss it" he said. I wearily shook my head in agreement and he took the hot dog, got up and tossed it. Did I mention Ron has the makings of a GREAT boyfriend? He arrived moments later with the cheese pizza and a bottle of water.

God bless that man! I did pay for my 3 bites later on in the evening. Let's just say there was a nuclear meltdown and fumes erupted for about 30 minutes. Thank goodness it was after Ron had dropped me home. I am not sure if I have the makings of being a GREAT girlfriend for Ron. He must think I am a nut! LOL. If he does he has not said a word. Just that I am beautiful and fun to hang out with. Note to self; don't tell someone you are a vegetarian until I work out all the kinks. I will post a picture of myself later today.

I must say I am proud of myself and how I handle my moment of weakness! I did learn a lesson....something’s are better left to the imagination!

My March 1st Workout! I never thought I could smile so hard during a workout!

With 2 weeks of eating nothing but vegetables and 2 successful colonics. I was ready for my first session with my new trainer. Let me first tell you that my trainer is a fine specimen of a man! I will refrain from using his first name to maintain his anonymity (that is until he allows me to use a photo of him on this blog). So until then, let's just call him Amen. Amen has an 8 pack, lovely pecs and gluts that would make you want to run to the gym every day. I was saying Amen to myself everytime he was within my eye sight. I have not smiled so hard since I was a teenager running for some small town beauty pageant.

Amen is a striking man, not only due to his gifted physique, but his personality is great. He is attentive and very good at motivating me. As if I need motivation to get to the gym for our date...oops I mean our workout. Yes, the workout...I digressed. Amen worked out my trouble areas and trust me he has his work cut out. I have more than a few trouble areas! He showed me various techniques that we will use to get rid of the inner tube around my waist.

I will be working out once a week with him because a trainer is expensive and going to the gym on my own twice a week. I think its a great start. Especially with my new lifestyle. I refuse to call this a diet. It is a lifestyle change.

My lifestyle change was put to the test this past weekend. With the CIAA in town, I had friends visiting. Now we all know when friends visit, diets go out the window! My new lifestyle change was put to the test and I passed. I ate reasonably only having 2 small desserts and I did not eat meat or anything fatty. I ate fish and a lot of vegetables. I did prepare brunch on Sunday and had to cook bacon, sausages, biscuits and French toast. But I also prepared fresh fruit and a lighter egg dish for myself. I made sure all the fattening dishes were eaten by my guests and all leftovers were discarded immediately. Later after my guest departed, I got on the treadmill and ran like the wind. I waited to weigh myself and did so this morning, I did not gain a pound! All the walking we did this weekend worked to my benefit!

Today is my second workout with Amen and I think he will be proud that I did not gain weight after my great weekend. So the lesson learned is stick to your routine, even if you have guests or you travel. You don't have to compromise or feel guilty. There are tasty alternatives!