Tailgate Tally

The tailgate tally was a success! Despite being extremely nerdy and a bit overly conspicuous, I was able to count my consumption by placing a dot with a sharpie on my wrist. Early in the day, I found myself tempted to have "just one" cookie, but I know that the average cookie is about 150 calories. These were not average cookies, but were a little oversized, so I am pretty sure they were more like 200 calories a pop. And oddly enough, I was successfully able to rationalize with my tummy - I decided to wait for the french fries and wings rather than eat the cookie.
I must say by the way, that this choice was not regretted - the wings were better than those served at most Maryland restaurants. Good job Uncle Tim!
So as usual, the geek attack has worked for me.

Gathering Will Power

It is an absolutely gorgeous day here in Maryland, and the forecast for State College tomorrow is just as good, with rain beginning in the evening. For those who have never lived in Happy Valley (again, I pretend that I have readers other than my family) it rains there ALL the time. Little umbrellas in the book bag are a necessity. But tomorrow should be optimal for beer consumption. I am pretty concerned about my will power for tomorrow, because it has not been all that stellar throughout the week. While planning, I neglected to remember an after-work meeting which is always accompanied by those little mini-quiches and weenies. (I don't actually like the weenies, but it is fun to say, tee-hee.) I naively told myself that I would not partake, but to no avail. It was as if those weenies marched right onto my plate. I ate three of them, and I don't even like the weenies. I also ate several quiches, and a few of the little mini-chicken quesadillas. In all, I managed to eat 600 calories. So much for will power.
On beautiful days like these, I also feel more like having a nice brew to relax after work - another thing I had thought I would give up in order to prepare for the required gorging tomorrow.
I did have a few triumphs. I managed to stay off the coffee all week, and I walked every day. Today, it was so nice that I walked the full hour at lunch. On my spreadsheet, these items are tacked on to the end - the coffee acts against me, but the walks act in my favor. I already go to the gym 3 times a week, so the walks are just a welcome bonus.
My recent weight loss was also noticed by a sort of stranger. We all have these sort of strangers in our lives, whether it is someone who attends the same church or the checkout person at the grocery store or even the neighbor we see daily while walking the dog. In this case, someone who goes to my gym mentioned that I must have lost a lot of weight, because my face looks thinner. I am not certain if she has me confused with another sort of stranger. Also, I am not really aiming to reduce the size of my face. But what the heck, I'll take it.
It is weird, but I am actually more inspired to continue trying to lose weight by the negative feelings I have - how I still have pants in my closet that don't fit, and how I still wear a size bigger than I'd like. This positive feedback has just made me want to get on the scale and see if it is true. I almost did it the other day, but I decided to wait for the doctor's visit I have scheduled for the 29th. I am worried that I will go into a minor depression when I find out...

Tail Great

Oh Boy, it is going to be a tough week. The reason: a tailgate. For those unenlightened -- I of course am pretending at the moment that my readers are "virtual fans" rather than my family -- a typical tailgate menu consists of burgers, and beer, and cupcakes, and beer, and taco dip, and beer, and fried cheesecake, and crown royal, and sausage sandwiches, and beer, and french fries, and beer, and just about anything else - only no water (or ketchup). Oh, and did I mention beer? It is no exaggeration to say that the above list could represent my own personal consumption during past events. (Though I might drink more beer, and perhaps have more than one shot of crown royal. Oh wait, did I say perhaps?)
I have similar problems at parties, shin-digs, barbeques, buffets, hoe-downs, and hootenanies. Somehow, I am magnetically attracted to food, and despite a complete and total lack of actual hunger, I EAT. I have actually seen pictures to illustrate this phenomenon, taken at a friend's baby shower, where I strategically placed myself in front of a cookie sheet full of taco dip. One could arrange these pictures flip-book style and watch as the dip miraculously disappears. I have, of course, claimed that others had helped to eat the dip, but this is mostly a lie. True, other people may have had a bite or two, but for each bite by another, I had four. I was the only one in the room who did not have to leave my seat to eat the dip, and most did not get up while watching my friend open her gifts. The cookie sheet was easily half-empty after I had rampaged it.
I have very little control over this. As I say, the food just seems to come to me: I do not seek it out. Since beginning my diet, I have gone to several parties, and I have never successfully stayed within my goal. At our company's winter party, I planned for an embarrassing amount of calories (I cannot reveal this number - it is just too mortifying.) I will only say that I went over it by about 500 calories. And the worst part is that I thought I had done well, until I took inventory the next morning. (And by the way, the beer does not help the memory when trying to take stock.)
So, I have worked on a strategy in an attempt to reverse this crazy food attraction. I know that it seems very very geeky, but drastic times call for drastic measures. So I will be keeping notes as I eat (and drink). Don't worry, I have a high limit on the calorie consumption allotted - I will be giving up my snack for the week, and continuing with the coffee cut. I only hope that it is enough.