Day 4 - Temptations

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Today was a challenge, like I knew it would be. But I went in mindful and ready for this challenge...well, at least about the food.

How I prepared:
I roped Jon into working out with me this morning. We recently purchased the all-cardio DVD of The Biggest Loser workout. We hadn't tried it yet. So to make sure I got in enough cardio today BEFORE Thanksgiving dinner we decided to do the warm-up (5 min), the 1st workout (20 min), the 2nd workout (10 min), cool-down yoga (5 min). Ummm...yeah. This DVD KICKED OUR ASSES! I mean, it was a tough 20 minutes to begin with, but then to tack on the extra 10 was a KILLER!. But I was determined to make it through. I was sweating bullets by the end!

Food:
I don't cook, usually, but somehow I agreed to make a dish for Thanksgiving. Picking the most innocuous (and the one with 4 ingredients or less!) I chose green bean casserole. I was cooking this for 17 people, so I needed double the amount of everything. I ended up buying 98% fat-free soup and 1/2 the cans of beans I used (french cut green beans, of course) were no sodium. Also, I cut the amount of milk and soy sauce it called for by 2/3. We only put a sprinkle of fried onions on top. It was hardly necessary! The casserole was flavorful and 1/2 the fat and sodium!

Beginning of the night:
I drank water all night. Everyone was drinking wine and really enjoying the chips, cheese, crackers, and shrimp with cocktail sauce set out for the appetizers! I did not partake in anything but the raw veggies and 2 naked shrimp (no cocktail sauce). And I didn't dip the veggies in the delectable looking spinach dip! Too tempting!

Dinner:
I filled my plate with all the fixings I wanted, adding about a cup of the salad and about 1/8 - 1/4 of a cup of everything else. Seriously, I had "bite-sized" tastings of food. And I did NOT go back for seconds. I also didn't have any turkey (I'm a pescatarian) so I ate mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, and stuffing. It was DELICIOUS and I SO could have gotten more but I was really strict about it.

Dessert:
My sister-in-law went to culinary school and bakes the most delicious cakes, sweets, cookies, etc. you've ever tasted. She made 2 amazing desserts. I stuck my fork in the lemon meringue pie that Jon had and it was UNREAL! So good. But that was all I had, with the exception of a mug of green chai tea and a splash of fat free organic milk.

The strangest part of the night was asking my family to support me in my challenge. I got mostly supportive responses. Although I was asked to reveal my current weight and the weight I'm striving for. I did NOT do that. I simply explained I was looking forward to losing 10 pounds in 8 weeks and another 10 pounds before June 19. It was bizarre! We spent a good deal of the evening discussing "the cardio question" and I found myself having to justify my decisions to eat as little as I wanted to and to workout in the manner that I was. My father kept saying, "Don't you think this is too strict a diet"? I explained that I would probably be less strict in the future after I reached my goal weight and was able to begin maintaining. But to GET there I needed to be very strict, at first.

Sigh. I guess it's all a process and a journey for everyone.

I made a guess on the calories I ate tonight and I think I over-estimated but it's better than under-estimating I suppose.

Goal Achieved: To conquer Thanksgiving and NOT be too tempted but still get to eat the food! = Success!

Calories Consumed: 1164 (approximately)

Workout: Cardio (laid out above), 100 regular crunches, 100 reverse crunches, 100 obliques (each side), 100 regular squats (8 lbs), 100 regular pulsed squats (8 lbs), 100 plie squats (8 lbs), 100 pulsed plie squats (8 lbs)

Tomorrow: FIRST WEIGH-IN!!!! :)