Thursday

At this rate, I'll be getting new clothes next week... I said every 5 kilo, I get some new item of clothing. I'm at 4.5 now. At 15, I'm going to get sushi at the David Citadel. Right now, it feels impossibly far away though. 

I'm meeting with the dietitian tomorrow. We'll see what she has to say about my life.

In the meantime, here's what I ate:

Breakfast: coffee, yogurt drink (300 calories)

lunch: coffee, a little bit of broccoli soup, cottage&yogurt&strawberries&banana

snack: 1 bite of a cupcake (Ephraim ate the cupcake. I just tasted it.)

Dinner: chicken soup w/ 1 breast, 1 cup (before cooking) of pasta. 

Wednesday - Why Eating Dairy Out is a Bad Idea

Sunday was my anniversary. It was also Yaakov's anniversary by some odd coincidence. We decided to go out, but it didn't work out on Sunday. Today, I had an *interview over the phone, so I had to get a babysitter to watch my kids and keep them from making the interview impossible. Since we already had a babysitter when Yaakov got home, he decided that we should go out.

The problem is that Yaakov keeps mehadrin and there are no meat mehadrin restaurants in Modiin. So we went to a cafe. Cafe Cafe to be precise. Yaakov had the tuna salad, which sounds all healthy until you see how much tuna and how much mayonnaise is in that tuna. I had the shakshuka, which isn't really bad - it's tomatoes and tomato sauce and peppers and two eggs, served with fresh cut tomato and cucumber on the side. The problem is the bread. They give you a smallish loaf. each. My **compromises were that I got the whole wheat (I strongly prefer white), and I left about an inch of it uneaten. I did spread a little butter on it, but I had less than half a pat, and a pat is 36 calories...

All in all, I'm not sure if it's actually worse than the steak, baked potato, and salad I would have had in a meat restaurant, but it was so much less exciting and filling. 

*I think the interview went pretty well. The company does interesting things, so I'm kind of psyched about it.

**compromises: I was given a piece of advice by a dietitian. She said that whenever you eat, you should always compromise on something, give up something. I don't buy it for most of what I eat, since most of what I eat is genuinely healthy, and there's no reason I can't allow myself a full cup of strawberries or whatever...

Today's Food:

Breakfast: yogurt drink

lunch: coffee

dinner: shakshuka with salad and bread and a tiny bit of butter.

Tuesday

So today, I had chocolate. That is good stuff. If I were a god, I'd make chocolate calorie-free. Heck, with the anti-oxidants, it would be a health food... "Eat your chocolate, honey, it'll make you grow big and strong..." Actually, the whole way that food works is pretty awful. We're hardwired to enjoy calories. You'll never hear someone say "wow, I can just go for a whole bunch of broccoli" or "I'm really jonesing for some celery." I mean, don't get me wrong, strawberries are absolutely delicious despite being low in calories, but they're the exception, not the rule. Anyway, I certainly crave white fluffy foods like potatoes and pasta and marshmallows... 

A poll... Someone recommended that I try to eat five different colors of food in each meal, so I ask you, readers, just one important question... skittles or m&m's?

I didn't get in any exercise today. Will hopefully go walking tomorrow. Any readers interested in being a walking buddy...? Kate? 

Food:

Brunch: cottage cheese and yogurt (1.5%) and strawberries and banana, coffee

snack: celery, 3 cherry tomatoes, 1/2 a carrot, coffee, 1 piece of kinder chocolate

dinner: chicken soup w/ chicken, zucchini, carrots, sweet potato 

after: fireball

Monday

Today I woke up with a fever, but tried to live a normal day anyway... that was a moderate success.

breakfast: yogurt shake (600 calories)
lunch: coffee
snack: 1 red hot
dinner: 2 slices of light bread with salmon spread (starkist - not amazing), 1 cup creamy broccoli soup, cottage cheese and strawberries.

Sunday

I'm down another kilo, which makes 4. That means I'm 1/10th of the way there! What's even cooler is that one kilo from now, I'll be 1/8th of the way there, and come on, after that, it's easy peasy ;)

I'm now job hunting as I've decided that a salary would be a nice thing. If you hear of any jobs for mattress testers, sleep-lab training assistants... no wait... sorry, I'm looking for writing work, web oriented stuff. 

I did the long walk (about 4K) today, and it was really hard, but I didn't give up, so those calories are burned and muscles are exercised even if it was an uphill (literally and figuratively) battle.

And here's the food: today was a coffee day. and by whipped cream, I mean the fake stuff that's about 30 calories for the amount that goes on a cup of coffee.

breakfast: coffee w/ whipped cream, 3% cheese with fruit cocktail

lunch: coffee w/ whipped cream

snack: coffee w/ whipped cream, 1 egg, fried in olive oil. 1 bite of tomato

dinner: 1 chicken thigh & 1 chicken wing, broccoli, 

post-dinner: fireball

Od Shabbat Avra B'Sheket...

It was a quiet Shabbat. Yaakov and I weren't up to going to shul Friday night. In the morning, Yaakov took Kinneret, and I went later and backpacked Ephraim so that he couldn't get down and spread germs among the children. He didn't have a fever all day, so despite the fact that he still has a cough, he's going back to gan in the morning. 

An hour before Shabbat, I decided to make chicken soup. I put chicken pieces, zucchini, and barley in the pot, added chicken soup mix, and cooked for the hour. Then I left it on the platta until Shabbat lunch. It could have used some celery and carrots, but it was pretty good. Those powders really do taste good even if they don't have msg to make your tastebuds dance anymore. Since Yaakov and I both have colds, it was nice having soup for lunch. The chicken from the soup was... mechubas (laundered!), meaning little flavor, but that's ok.

So here's what I ate today...

Breakfast: coffee

lunch: 1/4 slice of bread, soup, 1 chicken breast

snack: 2 red hots

seuda shlishit: 1.5 corn thins, celery, 1 glass orange juice

melaveh malka: chicken soup, 1 chicken wing, 1 thick slice of challah.

Friday - Craving Sugar

No time to post anything interesting...
Breakfast- cottage cheese & yogurt & fruit cocktail, coffee
lunch - slice of apple, 1 handful of popcorn, 1 animal cracker, 1 square of chocolate, cup of coffee
dinner - will be chicken, rice, and salad

Friday - Craving Sugar

No time to post anything interesting...
Breakfast- cottage cheese & yogurt & fruit cocktail, coffee
lunch - slice of apple, 1 handful of popcorn, 1 animal cracker, 1 square of chocolate, cup of coffee
dinner - will be chicken, rice, and salad

Thursday, No Sushi

Tonight I went to the Jerusalem Twestival. It was a really nice event. I think I've discovered why I'm not into twitter. I have nothing interesting to say. Indeed, my life is so very boring that I blog what I eat. Oddly, people are willing to read this, but seriously, what's wrong with me that I feel the need to post every morsel that goes in my mouth? It's because, plain and simple, I have nothing interesting to say. I'm feeling a little depressed about this. I thought I was clever and interesting, but really... not so much.

The speakers at the Twestival were great, and it was fun to put some faces to the names I've known, especially Safra-knit. Overall it was a great evening.

 For those who are reading to find out what I ate... 

Breakfast: cottage cheese, yogurt, fruit cocktail, coffee

lunch: coffee w/ whipped cream, yogurt w granola

snack: handful of peppers at the Twestival

dinner: turkey pastrama sandwich on light bread, 1 cup of beans

Still No Movement on the Scale

There's still no movement on the scale. I'm down 3 kilo, but it just won't go any farther.

Today, I was craving junk all day, especially sugar. I stayed in control though, on the sugar count, at least. I did an hour walk (around 4km), so despite going a little overboard at dinner, not a terrible day.

Breakfast: cheese (3%), gil, strawberries, banana, coffee w/ fake whipped cream

Lunch:  1/2 cup creamy broccoli soup w 1/4 cup added milk, a package of the tiny little sour pressed candies (winkies, smarties, fizzers, whatever you call 'em)

Snack: coffee

Dinner: ~2 cups pasta (I know, I know), lots of broccoli, lots of sauce with meat. 

Back on the Wagon

Yesterday, I walked 40 minutes. Today, OneTiredEma and I walked for about an hour. I tried to map the walk on google maps, but either I'm not patient enough or it's not friendly enough. It did confirm that the walk was over 4 kilometers, but I couldn't get much more than that out of it. I'll have to try again later. A lot of people have suggested that I should try Weight Watchers either online or in group... I hate to spend the money on it, especially since I can see a dietitian for free...I have an appointment in a little over a week. My neighbor across the way has been giving me pep talks. She lost substantial amounts of weight working with a dietitian, so I guess I'll try that. 

Food:

Breakfast: Coffee, cottage cheese & yogurt & strawberries & banana

lunch: 1 cup creamy broccoli soup, 1 yogurt with granola (this is the danona kind that's 150 calories including the granola), 1 red hot, 2 pickles

snack: 1 cup coffee

dinner: 1 can condensed tomato soup (prepared, of course), 2 pastrama (1%) sandwiches on light bread.

snack: 1 fireball

Monday, Shushan Purim

I'm feeling absolutely defeated at this point. I'm still down 3 kilo, but I was hoping for more and it's just not happening. Today was a better day than yesterday, but I feel blah about it.

breakfast: coffee, cucumber, 2 tiny cottage cheese w/ strawberry things.
lunch: celery, celery w/ peanut butter and raisins (1/2 stalk of celery),
snack: yogurt drink w/ acai berry...not noticing appetite suppression
more snack: american smarties/winkies/whatever they're called (sour compressed candies), 1/2 cookie,
Dinner: 2 bowls chulent/goulash soup.

Could Have Been Worse

I'm not going to detail everything I ate over Purim, because it's a mess. I don't even remember everything. There were wafers and hamentaschen and chestnuts and a mini chocolate bar...It was baaad, but not nearly as bad as I've been in previous years, so that's something.

The two main meals were
1. 1/2 a bagel w/ lox and 5% cream cheese and lots and lots of veggies.
2. a lot of roast beef, salad, beer bread, lots of potatoes

And today will be a better day.

Just One (off the wagon) Shabbos

Friday Night: 2 bowls goulash/chulent soup, 1 slice challah, 1 chicken breast, 1 chicken wing
Shabbat Day:
breakfast: coffee
1 piece bissli
lunch: 2 bowls goulash/chulent soup w/ kubeh,
snack: 1 muffin (180 calories), 1 red hot
dinner: 1 banana, 1 yogurt w/ granola (150 calories)
post megillah reading: 4 carob butter-chocolate chip cookies, 1/2 slice carob-almond cake, 1/2 hamentaschen

I'm afraid of what tomorrow brings...

It's (Almost) Time to Say Good Shabbos

Today's exercise consisted of a walk in the sun to donate blood, followed by the discovery that the bloodmobile was on the other side of a parade route and a somewhat dejected walk home.

breakfast: coffee, yogurt drink
lunch: coffee, 2 yogurts with granola
snack: 1 cup broccoli soup, 1 bowl chulent/soup, 1 kubeh, 4 little puffy things (like bissli, but puffy), 3 little runts candy...
and shabbat is still to come with chulentish soup, chicken, and salad.

Fast of Esther

Today I didn't eat.
After the fast was over, I had
1 red pepper
cottage cheese+gil+pineapple chunks+strawberries

so, in all, a good day.

Week's Almost Over... Wednesday

no exercise today :(
tai chi is canceled tomorrow because tomorrow is a fast day.

breakfast: coffee, cheese (3%)+gil+pineapple chunks+strawberry
lunch: 2 bowls creamy (non-dairy) broccoli soup.
dinner: 1.5 cups pasta w/ tomato sauce, 1 can tuna w/ low fat mayo, some cucumber slices, yogurt with fruit and granola
snack: 5 small candies

Tuesday

Breakfast: Coffee, yogurt w/ strawberries and banana
lunch: 2 veggie cutlets, tomato, cucumber
snack: diet ice cream bar (37 cal), 8 adashim (like M&Ms)
snack: 2 pieces of bissli, 1/2 veggie burger
dinner: 2 chicken breasts, 1/2 can of corn

Monday #5

I should have weighed myself today, but the scale I bought less than two weeks ago was already malfunctioning (it said it was low on battery), so no weight today. I replaced it, but too late in the day for a weigh-in. I got medium exercise. I walked to the mall, back, to the mall again in one go, because the postman showed up as I was arriving at the mall and I had to go back to pick up a package. I also walked the long way (as opposed to the seven+ flights of stairs way) to Kinneret's gan, and just to make things fun, I backpacked Kinneret to Ephraim's gan and then Ephraim the rest of the way home. I also took Poofy for a slightly longer than usual walk. so all in all, it probably adds up to 30 minutes of walking... something, but not fantastic.

Food:
Breakfast: Coffee, cottage cheese & gil & strawberry & banana
Lunch: coffee, peanut butter and jelly sandwich on light bread. I think I'll have an avocado sandwich tomorrow.
Dinner: omelet with 2 eggs, fried mushroom and onion, and one slice of 9% cheese. tomato, cucumber, cottage cheese, 3/4 of an orange
After: fireball

Sunday, Week 5

Today, I got some decent exercise. I had to take K to gan in the morning, so I took her by cab and walked home, then I did a 40+ minute walk in the evening. Thanks to Rachel, who picked up some low-fat luncheon meat for me. It was quite delicious.

breakfast: yogurt drink (550 calories)
snack: coffee
lunch: coffee with fake whipped cream (the fake whipped cream is 200 cal per 100 grams, so it's actually not so terrible)
snack: more coffee, string beans, cucumber, cherry tomato, pepper (noshed at a friend's house)
Dinner: 1 bowl mushroom barley soup, 2 slices of light bread, about 200 grams of low-fat luncheon meat
snack: fireball

Motzei Shabbat

There are so many thoughts swirling through my head right now. A lot of anger, outrage, and sadness about the pigua in Itamar, a feeling of impotence, a feeling like I should be feeling more, but somehow, I've managed to cap my emotions in some way, which I guess is a coping mechanism, but somehow I'm upset that I can cope, that anyone can, that we can sit in front of our computers and check our facebook and eat our food and drink water and just keep living when something so horrible has happened. On the other hand, I realize that the opposite response would be worse. Our country cannot be paralyzed by acts of terrorism. I just don't know what to feel or how to express it.

Onto the usual daily food run:
breakfast: cottage cheese&gil&strawberries&banana, coffee
lunch: mushroom barley soup, chicken, some mayo/ketchup dressing on the chicken
snack: 1/2 apple (kids got the rest)
dinner: chicken breast, chicken leg
snack: fireball

Friday, not Great

So today I was invited to a simchat bat. I made a deal with myself that I could eat up to 400 calories there, which I think I stuck to ok. Problem was that it was supposed to be instead of breakfast and lunch and I got seriously hungry at around 2... I did do a 30 minute walk (back from the party), so that helps a little.

breakfast: coffee (2 cups), cucumber, pepper, salad with a little bit of bulgarian cheese (3 cubes), one bite blueberry cake, 2 bites strawberry and cream, one small serving of chocolate creamy cakey goop.

lunch: 2 cherry yogurts.

dinner will be mushroom barley soup, salad, chicken, and rice. 

Thursday.

No exercise today. I was tired and rain was falling. (that somehow sounds better than "it was raining" - which it was raining? I know that's how the language is used, but it sounds awfully weird.) Difficult moment of the day: Yaakov had made Ephraim a hummus sandwich. I handed it to him, and he refused it. I almost bit into it. I should lose 2 lbs just for not biting!

Food:
prebreakfast: carrot, coffee
breakfast: frozen yogurt drink, ~350 calories
lunch: celery and 2 bowls of lentil soup (w/ meat)
Dinner: 2 bowls lentil soup.
After: there will be a fireball later.

Another Wednesday

The house is mostly unstocked... thinking about it makes me hungry.

breakfast:

cottage cheese+gil+ strawberries (we're out of bananas)

lunch:

yogurt + fresh fruit + branflakes (prepackaged - 230 calories before Ephraim ate about 10 bites of it)

dinner:

chicken, zucchini, sweet potato, 1 vegetarian chicken cutlet (not breaded)

After:

1 fireball

Tuesday, Week 3

Today, I got myself out for a walk. Tomorrow is a Haifa day which is a big mess on every score. I hope that I'll be able to manage ok.

Breakfast: Coffee, Frozen Yogurt
Lunch: baked chicken breast & zucchini
Snack: Fireball
Dinner: baked chicken breast, zucchini, sweet potato
Snack: runts candy (1), fireball

Monday yet again

I've noticed my readership dwindling. I guess no one really cares what I eat. I really need the accountability though. Knowing I'm reporting to a group on every bite I eat helps me eat less. So the question is, should I move  my diet to a separate blog, and hopefully some of you will come check up on me a bit?
Let me know.
In the meantime:
breakfast: Coffee w/ milk and agave
Cottage&Gil&strawberry&banana& agave
Snack: fireball
Lunch: 2 cherry yogurts
Dinner: 3 veggie burgers w/ ketchup, string beans, pickles,

Sunday Week 4

the scale isn't showing any progress at this point. I'll have to check tomorrow morning, maybe threaten the scale a little...

Food today:
pre-breakfast: coffee w/ sugar and milk.
breakfast was eaten at a tfillin party: 1 bagel with cream cheese, some vegetables dipped in cream cheese, 1 small slice cheese cake, 1 chocolate chip cookie, 1 pickle, 1 cup of coffee.
mid-afternoon: 2 coffee yogurts
late afternoon: cup of coffee (yes, #3 for the day)

Dinner: 1 bowl mushroom-barley soup, 2 slices light bread, 100-140 grams corned beef, ketchup. One orange-flavored candy (runts type)

Shabbat

Does anyone know if pomelit (jaffa sweetie) is bad with statins?

So Friday night dinner was: challah, salad, 2 bowls of mushroom barley soup, and 1 chicken breast (shake-n-bake) salad had a dressing of low-cal mayo with lemon juice. was not great.

Shabbat:
Kiddush: breadsticks with hummus (about 1 breadstick with 2 tablespoons hummus)

Lunch: 1.5 bowls mushroom barley soup, 1 chicken breast, salad, 3 pieces of pomelit.

Snack: 1/4 can apple pie filling

Dinner: Cottage cheese+gil+strawberries+banana+ agave syrup.

Friday, up to Shabbat

No exercise today...
Food:
Breakfast: Yogurt drink
Lunch: cottage & gil & strawberries & banana
Snack: carrots and celery
more snack: 1 bowl mushroom barley soup

Planned for dinner: Mushroom barley soup, chicken, rice, salad

Thursday. Almost through 3 weeks.

This morning, I had tai chi class. I was running late, so I took a bus, and I walked back, but the short way. Still, the class counts as exercise.

Food:
pre-tai chi: 1 large cappuccino

Breakfast: 1 large cappuccino (yes, a second one), 1 frozen yogurt with mostly fruit toppings

Lunch: 2 vegetarian chicken cutlets (the non-breaded kind), asparagus, a cherry yogurt

Dinner: 1 cup macaroni with sauce, tuna (quite a lot) w/ mayo.

Overall not a great day. And I will probably have one fireball before I go to sleep.

And Wednesday...

Today, with Rachel's help, I bought a digital scale (it was on super-sale only if you have a certain credit card, which she has and I don't). It confirms that I've lost about 2 kilos.

Today, I got some exercise. I did the full kid pickup on my own, which is 7 flights up, add Ephraim to my backpack, then go up another 3 flights of stairs with him on my back, then walk back home with him still on my back.

Tomorrow is tai chi.

Food was decent today. I went out for breakfast, which threw things off a bit, but not terribly.

Breakfast: muesli/yogurt/fruit/honey - about 400 calories, I think. Cappuccino w/ sugar.
Snack: Fireball
Lunch: 2 eggs, fried in olive oil with lots of onion and mushroom.
Dinner: 1.5 chicken breasts, string beans, 3/4 cup white rice w/ soy sauce
+1 more fireball

Tuesday #3

So I'm seeing a definite drop of 2 kilo, even though my scale is... blah. I want to get a new one - a digital one.
I didn't get much exercise today, and I can't go walking now because Yaakov isn't home yet.

Today's Food:
Breakfast: coffee
cottage cheese w/ strawberries and banana (we were out of gil)
Lunch: 1 yogurt
Snack: cup of coffee
fireball
Dinner: 2 steaks (400 grams total) + 4 zucchinis, steamed.