6 days and counting, and week 4 of the lifestyle change...

i hate the word diet.. it brings up thoughts of starvation and plates full of twigs and leaves. that is not what i'm doing. i'm not on a diet. i've implemented what i like to call a "lifestyle change". i'm on week 4. my food habits have improved 20 fold.. i start off each morning with a glass of orange juice.. and umm.. a cigarette, but that's another task waiting to change.. at a later date.. then i have a banana and oatmeal when i get to work coupled with a 12 oz cup of 7-11 french vanilla cappucino (i just can't seem to break that habit, though i did go from having a 24 oz cup to a 12 oz cup. that's much better than my previous lifestyle which didn't even really allow for any sort of breakfast..

lunches and dinners are harder.. but it's getting easier as time goes on. i get new ideas on what i can eat and how i can cook it so it'll taste good without adding a ton of calories. i've discovered spice packets which contain little to no calories and zero fat, though they're usually high in sodium (one at a time.. please!). my favorite one is this one and oh my god can i tell you how delicious it was?? i just used broccoli, cauliflower and green beans instead of the bland veges they recommend in the recipe.

the hardest thing has been staying away from bread.. i love bread, of all shapes and sizes. the softer the better. but now i just limit myself to one or two slices of whole wheat bread per week. no rice, no pasta (well, i just found out that couscous is, essentially, pasta, so i'm a bit sad about that). but i hear it's damn good for you so i may still indulge once in a while.

as a result of this lifestyle change, i've been cooking a hell of a lot! and i somewhat enjoy it, except that it more often than not cuts my evenings in half.. i.e. by the time i'm done cooking and ready to unwind, it's almost bedtime. being disciplined sucks.

i've lost 4 pounds and shed 4% body fat. not bad eh? i actually feel better.. and from what i can tell from comments from my doctor last week as well as a friend from california whom i haven't seen in 5 months, apparently i look better too. i'm pretty happy about it overall. i still get tempted with all the junk c throws down on a daily basis, but i try my damnedest to hold off on the junk food cravings until the weekend, and even then, i can't say i go crazy about it or anything.. it's all in moderation.

moderation is a great word.

i've only had 2 pilates classes so far.. they're going well.. i had to cancel this saturday's class to meet the california friend for lunch, but i'll be back on track next week. for next week is the big week.. the week i've been dreading, yet preparing for the past month or so. but i'm excited because i feel like i've made a conscious effort to make sure i enter this new decade on a good note. and so far that's exactly what it's been: a good note.