Phase II, Day 1

Well, two days off of work this week due to the snow. It was quite beautiful, but the longer we are off, the harder my return to work is going to be :) I've been busy working from home today to try and alleviate the onslaught tomorrow (I do expect we will be back at work then). I started Phase II today, and was ever so happy to start my day off with some oatmeal (cooked in non-fat milk) and fruit (strawberries!). I'm hoping the reintroduction of some carbs and fruits into my diet will not affect me in an adverse way. I have a feeling my body will be a bit happier though - I was certainly looking forward to it. The oatmeal was very filling.

I ventured out to the grocery store yesterday to pick up the items I'll need through Day 5 (I started on a Tuesday, so this will get me through Saturday). This is certainly an expensive venture - I'm spending a LOT on groceries. Some items will last longer than the five days of course, but buying fresh produce really hits the pocket book. Five days worth of food equated to about $36/day (ouch), and that was only buying one large pack of chicken breasts. Of course the oatmeal, bulgar wheat, cereal, cheese and other things will last beyond five days, so that isn't really a true reflection of cost, but still, it made a noticeable dent in the wallet! Of course, I was spending at least $10/day on lunches alone in my previous life, but I still like to think I wasn't hitting $36/day...

Snow!

After living in Connecticut for seven years, I happily moved back to Virginia. Connecticut winters were always depressing - they sky, ground, and everything always seemed to be gray for months on end. The last winter I lived there, we had over 65 inches of snow. Needless to say, I have not missed clearing off the car, nor driving in it. I've been in Virginia about five and a half years now (originally from VA), and living near the coast where we rarely see snow. We got snow this weekend! I'm figuring about 6 inches, and it is just beautiful. Of course, I'll have to clear off the car today, and I'm not looking forward to that, but it sure is pretty outside. So, while holed up in the house yesterday watching movies and generally being a lazy bum, I learned something. I cannot keep pistachios in the house. My recipe for lunch yesterday was a pistachio chicken salad, and it was wonderful, however, I could not prevent myself from having far too many pistachios. I figure it could have been worse - I didn't go on a carb gorging fest - but, I know I had more calories than I should have. So, today is another day, and I'm going to take in some extra water (nuts are salty!), and get back on track. I'm heading in to Phase II on Tuesday, and need to get my grocery list and meal planning done. I hope to share some of my favorite Phase I recipes with you this week - there are some keepers, especially lunches.