176.4 Not Exactly Tickety-Boo

This morning I received a comment on an earlier post that described it as tickety-boo. I'd never heard that phrase before and Jeff and I had a lot of fun thinking about what it could possibly mean. I was ironing and was wondering if I was in a tickety-boo zone as I methodically moved the iron back and forth to get rid of the wrinkles. Ohhhh, that just reminded me of my face and maybe my wrinkles would respond to a tickety-boo treatment! And, we have already decided that our next dog will be named Tickety-Boo. And, it went on and on.

When I finished the ironing I looked the phrase up and learned, much to my delight, that it's a British term for informal, fine, excellent, in working order as in "that's the ticket". I still love the sound of the word, but Jeff and I had put a much more titillating spin on it by the time we were done.

So, facing the true definiton, my weight gain is definitely not tickety-boo, and I realized that recently I have relaxed a little too much for my own good. I quit eating salad, I quit eating two low calorie, healthy veges every night, I quit reinforcing the idea of not eating after dinner (you do have to make these things habitual, not a one shot hit, Sue), and I started eating more carbs. Let's hear a great big loud DUH! And, how about a loud "What were you thinking"?

Not exactly tickety-boo!

189.6 Changing Tastes, Changing Choices

As you can see, I'm slowly but surely getting rid of the Vegas weight, as I've named it. I didn't go crazy all the time with eating there. In fact, much of the time I was pretty aware of what I was eating and how much. It was just hard to find obvious healthy things to order much of the time. One of the best eating moments we had was at the Aria Hotel where we stopped for lunch at the Todd English Pub. He had opened one of his first Figs Restaurants in Wellesley, MA where we used to live, so it was a bit of home in the wild and wonderful world of Vegas. After studying the menu that was filled with half pound meat orders, and fries, fat and skinny (I got so excited about skinny fries until Miranda and Alee told me that was all about how the potatoes were sliced, not cooked), and no salads with meat or poultry unless I wanted the 1/2 pound portion added, I ordered the tomato and onion salad and prime rib chili. Both were absolutely divine. I ate about half the chili and about half of the salad and shared the rest.

Often, it is hard to find the perfect healthy choice on many menus. And, to be honest, I never would have ordered the tomato and red onion salad in the past. With the oregano, parsley and, yes, thyme sprinkled on it, it was perfect. I'm still learning, still changing.

194.0 Experimenting and Learning

I met with my jewelry making group this morning. It was a very small group this morning but it's always so interesting to see what others are making and how they put combinations together. The differences in taste, the fun of getting to know new people, and to see what they do really makes the class enjoyable for me.

While I'm with them I realize how different we all are and yet how strong the creative spirit is within each of us. When I ask folks if they'd like to join the class, I hear that they wouldn't know where to begin, that they don't have design talent, that they can't draw and therefore aren't artistic. The truth of the the matter is that there is hardly a right way. If I gave the same elements to 5 people, my hunch is none of them would combine them in exactly the same way. The bottom line is that with a little trial and error if it pleases you isn't that all that matters? I can't draw and I have never had art training, but I just keep trying until I get it the way I like it.

I think long term weight loss is a little like that. You have to use all sorts of elements in various combinations that feel right for you and in the end you have to like what you are doing and believe in it. When I started this I had no idea how all of the elements would work for me, and I have done a lot of experimenting and trying new and old things to help me get this weight off. I'm still learning, still trying new and different things (eating salad for breakfast :) ), and returning to some old, familiar tools (keeping a log of everything I eat). But the basics will always be there and knowing that with awareness and being engaged with the process I'll continue to lose is what keeps me going.

195.2 Salad Is Delicious Anytime! But...

Well, I kept waking up during the night, almost like a kid waiting for Christmas morning. Was I really going to eat salad for breakfast? I got up feeling groggy from the missed sleep and asked myself that same question again. Of course I was because I blogged about it. And so I did. I cut up strawberries, threw in blueberries, pine nuts, and kidney beans. I sliced and diced a red pepper, chopped up romaine to add along with some exotic lettuce combo, drizzled on some salad dressing and sat down to eat salad with my coffee. Honestly, it was delicious. I didn't miss my usual breakfast food and I was pretty pleased with myself. However, within an hour I was starving! I'm going to add more kidney beans tomorrow morning.