G.i. WEEK 6: R.I.P. METABOLISM

I had to admit I was a trifle disappointed when I weighed in today and found I'd only lost barely a pound. I was hoping for a bit better than that to make up for the plateau I found myself on last week. I have been trying harder to eliminate those naughty little red items from my menu but they do seem to slip in occasionally -- especially on the weekend when I want to go out and party with my friends.

This Saturday was another example of that when I joined the gang a Amberjacks for an evening of Blues with my son's band, and a whole lot of beer (although it was "lite" beer). And the other thing is, I am not getting enough aerobic type exercise and I know that counts for a lot.

I did managed a few small walks and today I made it to waterfit, but my schedule is so full these days I haven't as yet had time to go to the gym. I found all my hand weights and exercise videos last night though. I have one for Tai Chi, one for Jane Fonda, one for Yoga, and one I bought some time ago from Weight Watchers. So I am really going to try and get myself into a routine again. It seems that once you break your routine it is so hard to resume it. I used to be good about doing stretches and floor exercises every single day and for months now I haven't even attempted it. Laziness, I suppose. I also have some very good Jenny Craig fitness walking tapes and now the nicer weather is returning I will defintely try to get out with those as they keep you stepping at a very good pace. There are stretching exercises before and after you start your walks too, which is important to remember.

The menus themselves have been delicious and easy to stick to. (It's the occasional extras that cause me grief. Last night while watching the Oscars I ate a big bowl of popcorn with a bit too much (lite) marg on it. I should look for the WW popcorn and use that instead. But last week I cooked most of my meals from the G.I. book and their menus are excellent. I just made up this week's grocery list and have included most of their menu suggestions along with a couple from Weight Watchers.
Can't go wrong there.

I swear though that my metabolism has died somewhere over the past few years. And it's my aim to revive it. Otherwise I am not going to see any remarkable results (as usual). But...as they say: "Slow and steady wins the race". So like the pokey old tortoise I hope that by May I can have lost at least ten pounds.
(**I think it's important to say though, that people have been remarking how well I look. My friend asked me Saturday if I"d lost a lot of weight. She was surprised when I said it was only four pounds so far. So there's hope yet!

THE G.I. DIET WEEK 5: IT'S ALL THE FAULT OF THE WINE!

OK, I goofed. But it was Valentine's Day and my friend invited me out for dinner at an Italian restaurant. So you can't eat pasta without Italian wine, can you? And I did. I also indulged in a delicious taramisu dessert. (I have to say here that I DID leave half the tortellini, however!) Well...it wasn't entirely the Italian dinner. I went dancing later. More wine. But I did have some exercise doing the salsa. (Excuses, excuses)

And then there was yesterday --- the ceviche was perfect and the sole was too. But did I need to sample those glasses of excellent Argentine and Italian wines? How can you eat ceviche and sole without a nice glass of crisp white wine?

So today I got up early enough to make sure I headed for the pool for a waterfit class. Weighed in. Do the scales lie? I was exactly the same weight as last week.
And I have to admit that if I'd not overindulged this weekend I'm quite sure I'd have been down at least a pound.

Whine, whine, whine....It's my own fault for not being stricter with myself. Also not getting enough aerobic exercise these days. So my resolution for this week (week #6) is to be more careful and try to work harder at this. It really isn't difficult. I just have remember to stay away from that wine!

WEEK 4 OF THE G.I. PLAN: I'm Shrinking!

CHINESE NEW YEARS DINNER AT FLOATAS
(No, the sweet and sour spareribs were NOT on the plan!)

Well I'm finished WEEK #4 of the G.I. Diet Plan and although I'm still finding myself making a few little slips (as in the photos), basically I am finding it a very easy program to follow. My biggest problems is drinking the required 8 glasses of water a day and getting more aerobic exercise. This weekend I had a bit of free time and went dancing Friday night (that's one of my favorite exercises -- dancing salsa). And today I went for a two hour walk (also another favorite exercise pastime of mine)
But -- I need the pool and the gym!

These meals I have photographed aren't what I've been eating this week. This week I have been making menus from the G.I. book and cooking up some delicious meals.
So far I've tried the Egg & Ham Rollup; The beef and kale soup (excellent!); tuna cassarole; stuffed portabello mushroom; linguine with clams (so delicious!) and the best of all: orange chicken with almonds. I can't say I've been starving or feeling deprived. I also have learned to like the no-fat yoghurt (with fruit) and squirrely bread is really good too. I always try and remember to take my snacks with me and find that by doing so I am not starving when it comes to meal times. (For snacks I'll usually have almonds and a piece of Laughing Cow cheese.)

The good news is, although I haven't been to the pool yet to weigh myself, I did take my measurements today and discovered I have gone down an inch from last week. So I am shrinking, slow but sure and that's good!

I'm looking forward to week #5 and determined to get back into a better exercise routine and watch those items off the red and orange list that keep sneaking into my diet!
***weighed in 3 pounds less than when I started. Hoping for more loss next week.

CHICKEN TEMPORA BENTO BOX
(Uh Uh, not the Tempora either!)