I’m calling this week “Hold Steady,” and not after one of my favorite bands either.
My father is in town this week and I am happy to have not gained a pound and, in fact, can report I’ve lost another two.
My dad is the king of huge portions. When I was a kid, he’d pour my cereal in a mixing bowl, give me as much ice cream as I could ask for, and never told me I couldn’t have whatever I wanted to eat. When I was eight and out to breakfast with my dad, I remember telling the waitress I wanted twelve orders of toast. The waitress giggled, looked at my dad, and my dad said, “You heard her, she wants twelve orders of toast.” Twelve orders were delivered.
I never once was told “no” when it came to anything when my dad was around. So, needless to say, I equate my dad with excess. We spent the few days he’s been here eating at good restaurants, dining at my favorite taco truck, and grilling filet mignon. Amazingly, though, I haven’t gained weight. I have been good about watching my portions, or rather I’ve successfully employed my banking system of calorie counting.
For example, when I knew that we were going to my favorite Italian restaurant, co-owned by chef Mario Batali, I knew I wanted to eat. I split a grilled octopus appetizer, shared cheese from the fresh mozzarella bar, and ate half of my pasta entree. I had a few bites of the delicious fresh bread before dinner, but not an entire piece. During the day, I grazed on some fresh fruit and ate a grilled shrimp taco for lunch. Since I didn’t eat much all day, I felt like the gourmet dinner was my treat.
Granted, I know that eating very little all day to bank calories for a gorge-fest later is not a good diet plan. However, when I knew I wanted to enjoy a large, gourmet meal later, my method of saving calories worked.
My dad is here for one more week, and my goal is to lose another two pounds. When he leaves for Ohio, I am going to try a juice fast for a few days or a cleanse. I am hoping that this will jump start my weight loss and I can report bigger losses within the next few weeks.
Photo via Webmd
