Exercise - 90 minutes on the treadmill (3 x 30 mins at 2mph)

Water - 12 cups

Food - 1940 calories (23% fat, 50% carbs, 23% protein)

Breakfast - protein shake, 3 clementines (159)

Lunch - beef/barley/mushroom soup, apple, fruit salad (432)

Dinner - baked pasta with meat sauce and cheese, salad, balsamic dressing (687)

Snacks - protein shake (x2), apple, fruit salad, cinnamon biscotti (1), cheese spread with rice crisps (663)

I’ve had the last shake and brought my fruit down with me to have while I type (or veg out on the couch and watch a movie). It was a great day as I managed to eat well today and avoid the usual temptations. I probably should have taken the time and gone to the grocery store as well, but it’s cold out and I just didn’t feel like it. Next week I’ll probably start restocking the soups as I’m down to the last one of the navy bean and getting low on the onion soup as well. If I start with those two next week I won’t have to do them all at once.

bloomer - yes, I have to admit that planning has to become part of what I do. Maybe just for a while, but maybe for a very long time.

Well, even though it’s only 8pm, I think I’ve beat the two challenges. I made my very responsible dinner (although I’m actually just going to have my salad now). And I only ate one cookie. I did actually take one from the middle, on purpose. With biscotti I decided it’s important to make sure they are cooked well enough. I found something very interesting though. I made the lot and weighed them. It sounds strange but not all cookies are equal. I figured I would take how many calories in the whole batch (2194) and divided it into the number of ounces (25) which left me with 88 calories per ounce. So after I had my pasta I added an ounce of cookies into FitDay and decided that would work. So I went back upstairs and made fruit salad (for later) and my usual salad for dinner, and weighed a single cookie. It was less than an ounce and I figured that was enough. It turns out that my single biscotti was 61 calories. And it was nice, but just knowing how much that second cookie was going to cost, for lack of a better word, I decided against it.

They were cool enough to put away, so they’re pretty much out of sight now. In a day or two I won’t even remember they are there. I’m actually quite proud of myself. To be entirely honest though I’ll leave my overall reporting until closer to bed time. It’s already planned, so there shouldn’t be a problem. You never know….

bloomer - I think planning is the key (at least for me). Too much of my eating in the past has been ‘just grab something’. Even when dieting before I would still not really plan or have dinners ready ahead of time (fresh or frozen). Since cooking is an easy time to pick at what you’re cooking, it’s probably better (for me) to do the batch cooking and freeze the portions. Even if I pick a little (you do have to taste), it’s only that first day.

mizu - no, she doesn’t want a party, but the neighbour is going to do it anyway. I did try and talk her out of it, but it really didn’t matter what I said. We’ll have a family/friends party in the early summer, without announcing it as a birthday party. The neighbours one will be in February. I suspect in the end she’ll enjoy herself. Well, I hope so.  Oh, and yes, cookies are evil.  In the end I think things like potato chips (salty) tend to call to me more.  That’s why I bought the baked Crispers, and Tortillaz to feed that need.

I can’t say that I slept in, but I didn’t really get going until about 11am. I knocked off the first 30 mins on the treadmill with little difficulty (did the indoor hills one). I just looked at the clock though and it’s almost 1pm so I think I’ll leave the other two sets until after lunch. Today’s challenge is two-fold. First, I’m on my own for dinner tonight. In the past few months this has been an excuse to either do take-out, or at least go to the grocery store to buy something. That something usually ends up including chips and ice cream. So to combat that first one I actually divided up the meat sauce into single portions which I’m going bake with 2oz of pasta and an ounce of cheese. Originally it was going to be 3oz of pasta, but I changed that because of the second challenge.

It’s a definite go that the neighbour will be having a birthday party for my mother (still working on the idea that it’s a surprise). Although she’s said I don’t need to do/bring anything I do kind of feel like I should. So, I looked out a couple of cookie recipes and will make at least one tonight while she’s out. The first one is a cinnamon biscotti, only because I have all of the ingredients in the house. So the plan is to get that first one going so it’s done before dinner, even if it pushes my dinner out a bit. So, the second challenge will be to not eat more than one cookie (and an end piece so it’s smaller). I’ve planned the day so that after dinner I’ll only be at just under 1300 calories, but I don’t want to end up eating 500 calories of cookies.  If I have time after dinner I’ll go out and get what I’m missing for the other recipe I’m going to try.

Wish me luck!