Around the World in . . .

OK, we haven't really travelled since we started the diet, but my own "equator" has shrunk considerably in the last 80 days since we started.   Jule's Verne's story of Phineas Fogg does not dwell excessively on how Fogg dined, but since this blog is intended to discuss our weight loss, I'm going to. 

We're back on "phase 2" of the diet, and it shows.  "Phase 1" spoils the dieter with a steady progression down the dial . . . a pound or sometimes even two pounds every day.  The current phase allows limited intake of carbohydrates and fruits and vegetables that are high in natural sugars.  So as a consequence, we expect to loose a pound or two a week.  

We're doing OK on will power this time around, although we've bent a little bit.  (The boys wanted -- and got -- a package of chocolate chip cookies as their reward for good behavior at the library and park last weekend, and Karen and I have each given in to temptation a time or two.)

Yesterday's menu for the dieters seems to be about normal for phase 2:

Breakfast:  Whole wheat toast with coffee or tea (my wife drinks coffee, I don't)
Morning Snack:  One ounce of cheddar cheese on five whole wheat crackers
Lunch:  4 ounces of mixed greens in a salad with shredded ham and light dressing with a diet coke.
Afternoon Snack:  One ounce of roasted peanuts
Dinner:  3 ounces of boneless sirloin sliced into thin strips and stir fried with mushrooms, shallots and zucchini, seasoned with garlic and ginger and a little bit of soy sauce, with iced tea.
Evening snack:  Cheese and crackers again -- pantry's a bit low before our shopping trip tonight.

Today's lunch will be a 3 ounce portion of the sirloin, with cheese and onions on bread.  I pan fried thin cut steaks last night in the wok while I was slicing the meat and veggies for the stir fry, and they are ready to go as sandwiches this morning.

I have to report, that other than an occasional craving for forbidden foods, the diet has gone a lot easier than I had expected or hoped.

As of 80 days I am down 33 pounds and Karen has lost 25.