Friday, 9/24/10:

Weight before eating today:  157.5

Daily Calorie Goal:  1200 or less

Total calories eaten today: Over 2000.  (BLECH.)

Friday was a good day for me, calorie-wise, right up until the end of the work day.  At 7:00 p.m. I dropped baby off at Grandma's for two hours, and my teenager and I hit the mall for some retail therapy.  She loves the mall, but I loathe it.  I get hives.  

We were there for our weekly "Mom & teenager time."  We try to do something together a couple hours a week, just the two of us.  This week, I tried to talk her into seeing "Eclipse" again in the theater.  She rolled her eyes at me.

Anyway, we got to the mall, and being at the mall around dinner time usually means snarfing at the Food Court.  Of course it doesn't HAVE to mean that; I COULD have brought a Kashi bar and a bottle of water with me.  But what the @#$* fun is THAT?!

Pretzel Time!

Within an hour, I had inhaled a "Toffee Walking Stick" from the "Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory."  I'm not 100% sure of the place's name; it's a huge kiosk with wall-to-wall sugary carbs; that's all I know.  I also have NO IDEA how many calories are in one of those sticks.  ICK!  I followed the foul thing with a can of Dr. Pepper pilfered from my Mom (150 calories), and a medium-sized pretzel bites with cream cheese from Pretzel Time (575 calories).  ONE tiny little hour, and my previously-wonderful calorie-counting Friday was in shambles.  But honestly,  I felt OK about it, because I had done really well until that point.  And I felt positively VICTORIOUS when I drove away from the mall without allowing the Cold Stone Creamery's tractor beams to alien-abduct the car, as it sometime does... 

On a related note, one book that I've read and re-read is "The Cabohydrate Addict's Diet."  There are some aspects of the Carb-Addict's Diet that I absolutely agree with, and which really work for me.  

LOVE this book!

The diet is similar to others like Atkins & South Beach, in that it has you eating lots of protein and extremely low carbs throughout your day, to keep up your energy and and reduce hunger pangs.  Then, if you've made it to dinner time and you've followed the plan up to that point, you get what they call a "Reward Meal."  EVERY DAY.  This meal has zero limitations; it allows you to eat WHATEVER foods you're craving, and whatever size portion you want.  The ONLY restriction with your reward meal is that it can last only ONE HOUR.  For one hour each day, you get to eat your favorite foods, or the foods you've been craving all day, and you get to do it guilt-free.  

The Whopper

 The bizarre thing is, this diet actually works.  As strange as it seems, and as unlikely as it sounds that you'd be able to lose weight while still indulging your cravings, it DOES work.  The trick is to not go so over-board on your reward meals that you double (or TRIPLE!) your calorie intake for the day.  It's worth reading the book, and trying the diet... it works, every time I follow it to the letter!