Good blood pressure

I went to my doctor toward the end of this week, just to check in and refill a prescription. Nothing new, nothing exciting. I swear he was only in the room with my 5 minutes at the absolute most. I must make it too easy for him, with no questions at all. The nurse was in before him for about 10 minutes, so I guess it really will be worth the $125 or whatever they charge. The bad news? I've gained weight since I was there a year ago. The good news? My blood pressure is very good - 102/60. Can't complain about that!

I've had some delicious salads this week, and I got all of them on the reduced rack at the grocery store. One day I found a bag of broccoli coleslaw for 50 cents. They might have been worried it was getting close to past date, but it tastes just fine. I can't really tell the difference between it and regular cabbage coleslaw. They also had a bag of fresh spinach for 99 cents. I was planning to cook that one night, but just a day later at the same store, they had bags of Dole complete Caeser salad mix (lettuce, croutons, dressing, and parmesan cheese) marked down to 99 cents. There were coupons right near them for $1 off, so I bought two of those free. They are still plenty fresh, and I've been having those with the fresh spinach mixed in for lunches and filler for dinner for several days this week. Yum! It makes me feel SOOO healthy when I go up to the checkout and I have all this green leafy stuff! (They probably look at me and wonder where I buy all the junk food that I must eat, because I sure don't look like I just eat salads!)

Missed a few days

I missed a few entries, but have not abandoned anything. My dear MIL passed away January 1, so it was NOT the great start to the new year that I'd been hoping for. I would usually have used excuses in a situation like that to "start the diet" next week, but I'm trying hard not to think of it as a diet that starts & stops. I want it to be an ongoing method of focusing on what I eat, why I eat, where I eat, etc so that I can control it better. I'm proud to say I've done okay these past few days!

The day we spent at the hospital with MIL, I chose wisely in the cafeteria - a sandwich wrap with grilled chicken, mustard, and lots of low-cal veges for one meal, and then later a tossed salad with light dressing and a banana. Both were very good!

Yesterday between an interview for one job and going to another job, I was very hungry. Instead of fast-fooding it, I stopped at the grocery store and snagged some sliced ham, an apple, and green tea. I did falter a little last night. People had stopped by our house with tons of food, but I tried to be reasonable with that too.

Through it all, I managed to drop another 2 pounds, so I updated the ticker on the side. Go me!

Begin at the Beginning

I plan to officially start this journey to lose weight on January 1, 2009. I know, I know, it looks like yet another new year's resolution that millions of other people make. But I am determined to win! And, since losing is winning, I'm determined to lose too! See, I can't possibly fail.

For the next few days, I'll be working to mentally prepare for this as I do grocery shopping. I don't live within walking or even short driving distance of any stores, so if I don't have forbidden foods on hand, I can't mindlessly binge on them. Cookies and other sweets are my downfall. I also have a heavy diet coke habit to break. Then, there is this grazing thing of nibbling off and on all day long. And there is always the habit of having dessert after dinner, and sometimes lunch, and sometimes even breakfast. Who the heck has dessert after breakfast?! Why, me, of course.

So you see, there is a lot to gain control over.