Days 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9

It was a long weekend thanks to Columbus Day, which means I have a lot of updating to do, so let us begin -

Day 5 (Friday October 5, 2007)
My cravings are far from gone, but I am sure the reason lies in what I have been eating and drinking. I am far from a drinker, in terms of alcoholic beverages, but I do enjoy a glass or two of wine on the weekends. Usually my husband and I will wait until we put our daughter down for the evening before popping open a nice red wine and cuddling while watching a romantic comedy or horror movie. I really thought I had the strength, no the will power to stay way, but alas, the sweat taste of the ripened grape wine against my lips was too much to resist. Not only did I indulge in a glass of wine, but I had two (and it gets worse come days 6 and 7). In addition, the only exercise I did was about 30 minutes of table tennis (Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays are my usually days off from working out). As for what I consumed – here we go:

Breakfast
2 Large Eggs
1 Slice Kraft American cheese
Carbs: 2.2

Lunch
Zaxby's Buffalo wings w/ Original Sauce
2 Stalks Celery Sticks
Carbs: 6

Dinner
3 Chicken Legs
Asparagus (12 spears) drizzled with Olive Oil, salt, and pepper
Carbs: 5.5

Snack:
2 Glasses of Red Wine
Carbs: 6

Total Carbs: 19.7

Day 6 (Saturday October 6, 2007)
Okay, things are suppose to get easier, right? Well they are suppose to, but when you are addicted to chocolate like I am, it is hard to fight the cravings, course the alternative of giving in isn’t much of one and the options to suppress the cravings are far and few between. I did find some low carb chocolates, which I should avoid, but didn’t. I also found a low carb protein Snickers bar that actually tastes good. I don’t know how healthy it is for you to eat daily, but it is a great source of energy after a great workout. Today I worked out for 50 minutes, doing both aerobics and weight training. I had a great sweat going, so I must have been doing something right and while small, I can start to see a little definition in my arms. Unfortunately, it is the only place I do see a difference. I knew I would not see a difference in the scale because my body needs to burn off the alcohol before it continues to burn off the fat. And I as I mentioned above, the wine incident gets worse on day six. Today I drank three more glasses I wine. We had friends come over, one of whom makes her own wine. So while the men watched the boys we went to a wine tasting and grabbed a few bottles. Food wise, I ate the following:

Breakfast
None – I know that is bad, but we slept in late and by the time we got up and moving around we had to head out the door for a day of fun

Lunch
1.5 Hamburger Patties with Cheese
Green Salad with mushrooms, cucumbers, tomatoes and light ranch
Carbs: 7

Snack
Sugar Free Jell-O
Carbs: 0

Dinner
3 Eggs with 1 Slice Kraft American cheese
Chicken Salad seasoned with Salt and Pepper
Carbs: 2.8

Snack
3 Glasses of Red Wine
Carbs: 9

Total Carbs: 13.8

Day 7 (Sunday October 7, 2007)
So as you can see I indulged in too much wine this weekend and while I wish the consumption stopped on day 6, I have to admit that I had two additional glasses of wine today. However this is the last day I plan on drinking until October 27th. Being honest with myself and readers, I am 99.9% sure I will drink on that day as we are hosting a Halloween party. I will try and keep it to two glasses, figuring others will help drink what I am not able to. I want to make sure there is no wine leftover, preventing me from drinking the following day. But that is down the road a bit, let continue on today’s journey. I planned on working out today, but was too sore from yesterday’s workout. Instead I had a lazy day and played with my daughter. Nothing really eventful happened today. I stuck to the less than 20 carb rule, but drank wine and ate low carb chocolates, which I should really avoid. Still no weight loss today, but know my weight loss is stalled due to the wine I chose to consume. I am guessing I will not see a difference in my weight until Wednesday, but we will see what the scale says tomorrow. Here is the run down of my meals –

Breakfast
Snickers Low-Carb Protein bar
Carbs: 3

Lunch
Spicy Korean Pork
Carbs: 7

Dinner
Chicken Salad seasoned with Salt and Pepper
½ Celery stick with cheese spread
Carbs: 2

Snack
Low Carb Chocolates
Wine
Carbs: 7.5

Total Carbs: 19.5

Day 8 (Monday October 8, 2007)
Had a doctor’s appointment today to discuss the possibility of going on meds to control my insulin levels. Luckily my doctor prescribed Metformin, which is what I was hoping. It is suppose to help regulate my insulin, which in turn should help me lose weight faster, assuming I continue to follow a low carb diet and workout regularly. My doctor would like to see me work out daily for at least an hour, but that is a lot to ask. For now I am going to continue to stick to my workout regimen, which I am happy with. I am also very proud of myself as I was able to fight temptation today. It wasn’t easy, but I did it. After the doctor’s appointment, I took my daughter to an all-you-can-eat pizza joint and though my mouth was watering while my daughter enjoyed her mix of pizzas, I stuck to my guns and ate a nice green salad. I also had a great workout this morning. I did 50 minutes of aerobics and weight training and 25 minutes of yoga. I am really enjoying the workout and am looking forward the changes I hope to see in my body by the end of week eight (I am in week three now). Daily menu here I come –

Breakfast
2 Celery Sticks w/ Hummus
Carbs: 3.5

Lunch
Green Salad with mushrooms, cucumbers, tomatoes and light ranch
Carbs: 5

Dinner
Mushrooms, Shrimp & Squid with lemon juice, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, pepper, crushed red peppers, and cayenne pepper
Broccoli
Carbs: 8

Snack
Low Carb Chocolates
Low Carb Snickers Protein bar
Carbs: 3.5

Total Carbs: 20

Day 9 (Tuesday October 8, 2007)
Today is my first day on Metformin. Haven’t really noticed any side effects yet, which is nice. The key to avoiding most if not all of the side effects of this drug is to continue with a low carb diet and exercising regularly. So far I have been able to do both, with some exceptions in the diet category. I noticed a boost in energy today, but not sure that is related to the meds or if it is because the alcohol has burned off and my body is now burning fat once again. I rather it be the second, but who knows. The scale did drop to 147.4, which while wonderful, it a bit frustrating. Not because I didn’t lose more, but because I didn’t lose more due to the cheating. I can only blame myself this time around. Hopefully tomorrow will show more of a difference, but I am guessing it won’t because today is not a workout day. However, if my Iron Yoga DVD arrives by the time I get home, I plan on working out anyhow.

Breakfast
1 Celery Stick
Atkins Shake
String Cheese
Carbs: 3

Lunch
Zaxby's Buffalo wings w/ Original Sauce
2 Stalks Celery Sticks
Carbs: 6

Dinner
2 Burger patties with cheese, hot peppers, and lettuce
Carbs: 5

Snack
Low Carb Chocolates
Low Carb Snickers Protein bar
Carbs: 3.5

Total Carbs: 14.5

The workout DVD did not come in, so I will reserve my workout for tomorrow