Jan 18 - Day 9

Good news first!  I weighed myself today and I have lost 11.2 pounds over the first week.   I guess my taking yesterday off didn't hurt after all :-)  My hemoglobin dropped one point so it is moving in the right direction too.

During the day, I did the water aerobics and chair aerobics.  In the water I was able to stay in the deep end for the entire session and the chair aerobics weren't so taxing on my body.  I had to quit a bit early as I had an appointment with the mental health counselor for a follow-up from last week.  Any further sessions will cost big time so unless I completely lose my brain, I will pass.

The day was spent in class after class, pretty much all day.  I participated in a group session "Exploring deeper issues" (of over-eating.)

Next week we are going to visit a grocery store and even though I have done a lot of shopping, I learned some interesting facts:

1. The body can not differentiate between the various kinds of surgar, sucross, fruitose, etc. don't worry about what kinds of sugar is in the food.

2. Partially hydrogenated fat is the very bad "trans fat" and even though a product says "no trans fat" the food industry rounds up and down, so there my be as much as .4g of trans fat in a product (rounded down to 0) and if you eat two servings you may be getting almost a gram of trans fat. The only way to know for certain if there is trans fat is to read the ingredients and look for partially hydrogenated fat.

3. In a recipe, always cut salt amounts in half.  The recommended daily limit for salt is 2,400g and a tsp of salt has 2,300g.  Better still use "half salt" and you have cut the salt content by 1/4th.

If you shop once a week, purchase:
4-6 varietes of vegies and 2-4 varieties of fruit
4-6 proteins, at least 3-5 lean
3-5 varieties of whole grain/starches

If you shop twice/week, purchase:
2-4 varieties of vegies, and 1-3 varieties of fruit
2-4 proteins, at least 2 lean
2-3 varieties of whole grain/starches

Lots more but too much to pass along.

Went to two more classes on "destructive thinking" and stress before heading off to the restaurant for dinner.

Last Friday the class chose Nina's Restaurant, the only 5 star restaurant in town. The goal was to choose from a very gourmet worded menu a meal that was under 800 calories. It was nearly impossible to choose as I didn't know half the words meant on the menu! Plus all the items I liked were filled with cream, fried, or fatty (and very expensive.)  I finally went to the appetizer list and chose "Buckwheat Polenta with a Ragout of N.C. White Shrimp, Shaved Brussels Sprouts,and Cippolini Onions finished with Ricotta Salata & Country Ham." Now ain't that a mouth full!! I also had white wine, a small salad, and shared a dessert with a friend.  I got out of there of just under $31 including tip!  Not bad! I really wanted the "Wood Fired Venison over White beans, Swiss Chard, and Ricotta Gnocchi finished with a Wild Mushroom Broth." The problem I had with that was I was afraid the meat portion would be too large, and since I can't take any food back to the center, I would have had to leave some behind and therefore waste any food I didn't eat, and I didn't like that option. As expected, the food was excellent and the waiter remained cool with the grilling we gave him about what was in various foods, how they were prepared and the portion size.  Other groups have been there and there were expecting us and our questions.

A great day, indeed!