Week 12, Day 7

I know there are men who read this blog. But I just have to say something. It's diet-related, I swear. -- I HATE the hormonal "issues" that come once a month. Honest to God, I would have killed last night for a chocolate bar. Today I'm tired, run down, bithcy, and I still want chocolate. How can I lose weight if once a month I have The Beast to deal with? Ugh!

And now I must confess to you. I DID give in to the chocolate craving. Today after I dropped Adam off at work, I stopped by Burger King. (I had Doggie with me, so I couldn't go to a grocery store.) I got a salad (lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cheese, no dressing) and a piece of Hershey's pie. Three bites of the pie were enough to make me feel human again. In fact, it was almost too much since I'm not used to sweet stuff anymore. It probably helped that I ate the salad first so at least I wasn't eating the pie out of hunger. The rest is going in the freezer to stay put until next month when undoubtedly The Beast will strike again.

Here's another confession. I have only done a few leg lifts today. In my defense, I have had work to do all day. I'm a freelance writer, and though I don't go to an office, I do still need to be disciplined enough to work. Besides, The Beast has made me really tired. That and the snow blowers came at 3 o'clock this morning to remove snow from the sidewalk right outside my window. I know, I know. That's a poor excuse for being so sedentary today. And to make myself feel better about being a slug, I'm going to try to at least put a few miles in on the bike this evening and some weight work with my arms. But truthfully, I don't think it will be much.

Today's Tip:
Prevention Magazine has an awesome website with a Body Mass Index calculator, a health tracker, quizzes, all kinds of helpful tips and ideas, and some great informative articles. One of the things I found that made me feel better is from a slideshow titled, "Foods Not to Ditch When You Diet". They said that pasta is actually not a bad thing. I suppose they don't mean plate after plate of it like you can get at Olive Garden's "never-ending pasta" event. But still, having some isn't bad.

Prevention says, "Cooked pasta and rice are about 70% water--and eating fluid-rich foods keeps you fuller longer, compared with dry foods, according to research from the British Nutrition Foundation. Like bread, the carbs in pasta boost serotonin to help curb overeating.The proper portion of pasta is ½ cup cooked, or about the size of an ice-cream scoop. Choose whole grain varieties for filling fiber, and add grilled chicken and lots of veggies to bulk up your dish even more."