To Digest or Not to Digest

Ok. I've been stressed lately. My Love has essentially kicked me to the curb. As usual, my natural response to stress is to practice avoidance by fixating on anything other than what initially triggered the stress. So... back to old habits and obsessions.

Food Check:

Jewels: Two tablespoons of tuna (blended with lemon juice and New England beans) and five pickle chips (30 calories).

Tammie: I would lie and say that I did healthy, but I didn't. I had a Big Boy, fries with tartar sauce, and a cherry coke from Frisch's.

Symone: I had 8 chicken tenders from Burger King with onion rings. I ate very last tender and every last ring. I had water to go with it though. There, that was healthy enough?

Jewels: Sooo NOT healthy, Symone. You had deep fried with a side of deep fried!

Symone: I was rewarding myself for losing weight.

Jewels: There are better ways to reward yourself. Food should never be considered a reward.

Symone: I know…

Mollie: Salad with chicken. And water. Healthy.
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Before I got back to my desk, I had to grab my Pepsi and Lays Chips… ummmmmmmmmmmm… I tried to be healthy.

Jewels: Tammie, you are so lucky that your boyfriend works with you. I’ve had sooooo much caffeine today. It’s made me incredibly aroused. It’s a weird side effect. Sadly, I have no outlet.

Tammie: LMAO. Lunch time is the greatest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
____________________________________________________________________

My New Friend:

Adam: Spaghetti O's, Teddy Grahams, and Pretzels.

Of course, this meal is totally unacceptable. Tomorrow, I will be packing lunch for him tomorrow which will consist of two tablespoons of my famous tuna and five pickle spears. And no, he CAN NOT eat breakfast! By the end of the week, he may regret befriending me.

Shut 'Em Down

Last night I came to the conclusion that I am going a bit too far with this whole food obsession / weigh loss thing. I decided that it was for the best that I shut this blog down for it encourages my obsession. But today, I went and did it again. I stepped on the scale. To my surprise, I discovered that I am two pounds down from yesterday. Two pounds! Ok. I can’t stop now. I have to keep blogging. I have to keep focusing. I need to lose more weight!

Pissed

I just weighed myself and discovered that I've gained a pound!!! I am so pissed off. I have been trying to keep my body healthy by forcing myself to eat for nourishment, even when I didn't want the food in the first place. So much for listening to My Love. I should have held out until it was absolutely necessary for me to eat.

I was so freaked out and pissed off after weighing myself that I decided it was time to go back to ******* ** *******, which I did. Now I have a pounding headache out of this world! I always forget about the headaches. All I want to do is lose 18 pounds, is that too much to ask?!?!? I hate fat. I hate calories. I hate food.

Getting Back on Track

Jewels: Divas, what have you had in your mouths today?

Tammie: I went to Captain D's. I ordered fish and fries. I only ate the fish.

Symone: I had a McChicken sandwich and fries. The fries were cold by the time I got to eat though. That was my first time having a McChicken. It was good!


Jewels: Symone, I love you so I am going to put this as gently as possible. You are falling into your old unhealthy eating habits. What happened to the lose weight or die trying attitude that I so admired?


Symone: It all went out the door the day the scale told me I weighed 179! It's no longer about losing weight. It's about toning up my Under Belly and being healthy so I live a long life and don't die of a heart attack at 31.


Jewels: Symone, you have to get back on track! I will help you. Please, start counting calories, bites, and chews. I don’t want you to give up or give in. Trust me when I tell you that toning is not enough! It's never enough!


Symone: I refuse to be like that. I will continue to watch my portion sizes, cut back on fried foods, and exercise. If I lose weight, I do. If I don't, I don't. Now, I'm not going to go crazy and eat a ton of calories, just because that's not healthy for me. But I'm not going to go calorie crazy either. I have to have curves. I'm turning into a hottie ;)

Jewels: Symone, with all due respect, if you are indulging in Jr. Whoppers with cheese and McChicken sandwiches, you are not eating healthy.

Symone: You have a point. You are so right. I will drink an extra 64 ounces of water tonight to cleanse my system. I'm thinking of having at least one day a week where I only eat fruits and vegetables to cleanse my system. I thought about fasting once a week...but I'm still a big girl, I can't do that yet.

Jewels: I just think it is important that we keep our focus. You felt so good about the fact that you were losing weight. If you were to gain it back, you may feel like a failure.

Symone: I thought about it, and you are right.

New Obsession

Tammie: Good morning ladies! Has was everyone's weekend? J, how was the new Meijer?

Jewels: I was at Meijer’s for two hours! They had some great deals. Strawberry Mini Wheats were 3/$5.00. Johnsonville Brats 2/$5.00. (They now make turkey cheddar brats, so of course, that is what I bought.) Dole salad mix was buy one get / one free. Angel brand tissue (which I don't particularly care for) was half price. They ran out, so I got a rain check.

Symone: Mini Wheats are awful! Didn't I just tell you I got tired of chewing after eating just five of them? I saw a commercial this weekend that says they have 8 layers of wheat. You have to be a freakin' vampire to chew through 8 layers of wheat!

Jewels: Ironically, someone else said the exact same thing to me this morning. Well, actually it wasn’t nearly as illustrated, but the meaning was same thing. She said that she couldn’t swallow, not chew, but swallow Mini Wheats. When I told her that she was bizarre, she threatened to touch me! She knows that I get uneven if I am not touched symmetrically!

Symone: You need HELP.

Jewels: WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP SAYING THAT?

Tammie: BECAUSE YOU DO!! You are too obsessed with so many things. ******* ********** ********** *** ******** *** ******* *** * * ***** *******.

Symone: OMG, ********* ************ ********** **************** *********** ************ *********** ************************* ************** **********

Jewels: In all seriousness, I truly resent being compared to * ******** *****.

Tammie, *** ****** * * **** ******** ***** *** ** ***** *** *** *. ** ** *****. ******* **, ********.

Symone: **** ***** *** ** ***** ******. ***** **** ***** ** * ******* *** *** *** ******** ***** **. ************** *** ****** *** ****** *** **** *** *** ***

Ok, here is my new obsession - soft skin. I am addicted to it. I just went and bought some lip stuff on my lunch break because I didn’t think my lips were soft enough. Jewels, guess what I got? Blistex Lip Medex! You got me hooked on that stuff years ago! I love the tingly feeling! I also bought a hand pampering set from Mary Kay. It makes your hands incredibly soft. I need to get more body scrub so I can exfoliate my skin. I love it when my legs are smooth! I think I'm in love with myself! Or maybe just obsessed with my skin. Jewels, you have definitely made me crazy over the years. I was never crazy until you.

Jewels: I would sooner try meth than touch Blistex again! That stuff is ADDICTIVE! It took a long time for me to break free of that addiction. Be careful, Symone! Use sparingly.

And yes, you are in love with yourself, which includes your skin. And yes, I admit that I have contributed to you being a little on the crazy side.

Symone: It's very addictive. The tingle is gone, so I'm about to put more on. It's addictive, but it works. As long as I don't look like I smeared Crisco on my mouth, I'll be ok.

Jewels: Don’t do it, Symone. Pace yourself!

Symone: Too late.

Jewels: You really need to try to get control of this today.

To Sleep Perchance to Eat

My Friday's breakfast consisted of fruit (refused to count the how many slices of fruit), hot tea (no sugar), and water.

For lunch, one slice of veggie pizza from LaRosa's, salad with Honey French dressing.

Admittedly, I felt extremely guilty for eating both the pizza and the high calorie dressing. To make matters even worse, Amber's step-daughter offered me a cookie! There was no way in hee haw that I deserved a cookie after such a fattening lunch. However, I didn't want to appear to be a complete nut, so I reluctantly shared an oatmeal raisin cookie with the young one.

I planned on going out to dinner with My Love; however, the distance between us made me not want to dine or even eat at all. Weight loss tip #44, when you are hungry but do not want to consume calories, pop a sleeping pill and take a nap. If you are extremely lucky, you may dream of eating. Unfortunately, I did not.

My Love woke me at 9:30 pm insisting that I eat dinner. Of course, I said that I wasn't hungry, rolled over and went back to sleep. Approximately a half hour later, "Wake up. You need to eat something." My Love had left home and gone to pick me up dinner. I was mortified! My Love chose one of the highest calorie dinners that I could imagine: a Chicken Philly Sandwich with onion rings!!! My Love is so calculating. I could not refuse a meal after My Love had taken the effort to actually leave the house and pick up dinner. Also, to make the food appear less intimidating, My Love only placed half the sandwich on my plate with three onion rings, no ketchup. Because I don't care for onion rings, I ate them first. (Psycho tip # 26, always save a bite of what you enjoy most for last. It ensures that you end your meal with a good taste in your mouth.) I then slowly ate my half of the chicken sandwich. Although it was delicious, I would have preferred to remain asleep so that I could have spared my body the unnecessary calories.

At any rate, I've been doing much better the past two weeks with not obsessing on my weight; however, my menstrual cycle has had such a negative effect on my body and self image. I've been so bloated these past few days that My Love actually suggested that I take "something" to help with the problem. Heck, gotta love honesty. At any rate, it's been at least two weeks since I've ****** ** *******. Once my period has ended, I may resume. Not permanently, just temporarily.

Here is what others had for lunch today:

Amber: Pizza and salad. I'm not sure how many slices she ate. Probably just one. Actually, she can afford to eat two slices. I wish I had her body.

Symone: Jr. Whopper. My ADD is preventing me from remember exactly how it was prepared or what accompanied the burger.

Tammie: She almost cried because her "friend" surprised her with lunch from Frisch's. He ordered her a Big Boy sandwich, minus the middle bun. He asked to substitute the regular bun for a rye bun and American cheese for Swiss. She also had fries and a cherry coke. Tammie was touched and almost in tears that Tim cared enough to notice and retain exactly how she liked her food prepared.

Personally, I would have been touched too. Anyone who takes the time and initiative to memorize your food preferences and ensured that it is prepared to your liking truly cares. I would suggest you keep him or her around indefinitely.

Angel of Mercy or Devil in Disguise?

I have been convinced by doctors and weight loss experts alike that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. However, I view skipping breakfast as an effective way of eliminating up to 1/3 of my daily caloric intake.

This morning was just like every other morning I've had for the past few weeks. I slept through all alarms (three alarms from the cell phone and one alarm from the clock) and was running late as usual. After my shower, I was still exhausted and cranky. I heard my telephone ring. I went to answer when I noticed the display read "Vinnie". My brother's voice was not the first voice that I wanted to hear in the morning. The call went unanswered. Around 20 minutes later, my second call of the morning came in. I checked my phone. Thankfully, it was my daily good morning call from Amber. I needed to hear a soothing voice.

Amber was also running a little late for work. However, under no circumstance does this woman like to go hungry. No matter how late she may be, she always makes time for breakfast. She informed me that she was stopping at Arby's and wanted to know if I would like our regular: Egg and cheese croissant and orange juice. Out of instinct, I immediately thought of all of the calories that I would consume, so I initially declined her offer for breakfast. However, I then thought about how tired I felt and realized that the food and vitamin C from the OJ would serve a dual purpose. One, it would provide me with some much needed energy. Two, it would help keep me from getting ill from all of the coffee and tea which I planned to consume throughout the day. So, I changed my mind and asked Amber to pick me up breakfast as well.

I arrived to work and ate my breakfast. I was thankful that Amber was kind enough to bring me breakfast. It was delicious as usual. Once I was finished, I didn't feel the regular, slight degree of guilt that I normally experience. Nor did I focus on calories (too much). I ate it; enjoyed it; and was done with it.... until later that day. Amber and I were discussing how many calories we felt that we had consumed throughout the day. Amber matter-of-factly informed me that croissants were extremely high in calories. In all honesty, I've wondered from time to time how many calories were in our regular breakfast, but for some reason or another, I've never taken the time or initiative to investigate. I decided the time had come. I needed to know exactly how many calories were in a croissant. The answer: 180! How, why, and when did somebody put 180 calories in a single croissant? Croissants are light and fluffy. Shouldn't they also be light in calories? My next question was how long has sweet Amber known that she was pumping me full of delicious, buttery calories? All this time, has Amber been an angel for making sure that I was eating breakfast, or a devil for pumping full of puffed pastries. The verdict is still out. I have not yet decided.

Who Ate What?

Jewels: Ok. Ladies, what have you had to eat this morning? I had Cinnamon Tea (without sugar). No food. There is probably only 2 calories in the tea.

Molly: White Castles. Sausage, egg, cheese on a biscuit. Hash browns and an orange juice.

Tammie: That sounds good. Lunch time is soon for me and I'm starving. I had a cup of coffee and some M&Ms.

Symone: Coffee yuck. M&M's - now that's something I haven't had in a long time! I'll have to get some today.

Jewels: NO, Symone. Please, don’t do it. Don’t get the M&Ms. Dang it, Tammie. See what you’ve done?!?

Tammie: Step away from the vending machine. I only ate a few. I just couldn't' t have coffee on an empty stomach.

Symone: *sigh* You guys are taking all the fun away from me! Ok, actually I pigged out all weekend, so I really need to get back to the healthy diet today. Friday night I had Alabama's for dinner. Saturday I had a chicken cheese steak sandwich. Sunday I had chicken tenders & fries, then I had Olive Garden for dinner. I refuse to take the blame for it though, I'm getting ready to come on so I'm blaming it on my hormones.

Jewels: It’s not your fault. It was definitely the hormones. Tell me, did you do as I suggested and only eat half of the Alabama’s meal?

Anyways, I pigged out this weekend too. I can’t tell you how many peanut butter cookies I had to eat. Sunday, we went to an Indian Restaurant. I didn’t eat too much. And guess what? I k*** e********* d***! No more craziness… until I feel better.

Does anyone know what they will be having for lunch? I am having chicken salad (Miracle Whip Light, one egg, relish, pepper) on oat bread and water.

Symone: Maybe I will have Indian for lunch! Ok, let's face it. I'm going to have my same, boring, bland Subway for lunch today. I might spice it up with a salad from Wendy's. Nah, that's too much running around. Boring Subway it is.

Jewels: It maybe boring, but it’s helping you to reach your goal!

Molly: I want a salad with grilled chicken over it.

Jewels: That sounds nice and healthy. What kind of dressing?

Molly: Either ranch or honey french.

Symone: Honey French sounds great!

Jewels: I love Honey French and Honey Mustard. However, I have stopped using them because they are HIGH in calories. I now use Wishbone Salad Spritzers. There’s only one calorie in each spray. The Honey French and Honey Mustard have around 130 calories in two tablespoons!

Symone: At this rate, I'm never going to lose weight. I can't just eat for nutritional value, I have to eat for the good taste of food. I've shrunk my stomach, but I still need food to taste good. *I know all the health books say that a healthy maximum weight for someone my height is 150, however, I have no desire to have a 6 pack and no curves. I would much rather weigh around 160 and have some nice curves. I don't even care if I never drop another size in my waist, I just want to flatten my tummy a little more and get rid of my "pooch" under my belly button.

Jewels: I want to be 1 something really low.

Symone: You can't weigh more than 130 now.

Jewels: The hee haw I can’t. I am going to weigh myself now. I should have done it this morning. If the results are bad… Tammie & Symone, you know what I have to do! Wish me luck. I’ll be right black.

Molly: Symone, Tammie, why in the world is Jewels counting calories!!!

Symone: Her crazy self thinks she needs to lose weight. All she needs to do is tone up. She's always had a great shape, she's losing her mind.

Jewels: I am not being as neurotic as I’ve been within the past couple of weeks. Can I have credit for that?

Symone: Yes, you can. I'm actually proud of you for pigging out this weekend, good for you! You should eat a nice dinner tonight. You deserve it. Then go burn off the calories.

Jewels: Forget all that not being neurotic talk. I just came from the scales. Can you say 141?!?!?!? One of you needs to leave work and come and check on me! I am thisclose to losing it!!!

Molly: Well, you don't even want to know what I weigh!!!!!! You may pass out.

Tammie: Jewels, stop tripping. You are no where near fat. You need to learn to love you no matter what. Be so confident in yourself that no matter how thin or how thick you are that you know you still look good. And no one’s checking for the Olsen twin look. It will make you look like you are on that stuff. Get it together girl. And you can't go by what these quacks say is the right weight for your height. The average woman is at the least a size 12 (me). The media and these celebs have created this false image of what we should look like. I have been thin and I didn't like being that thin. I'm so much happier that I gained some weight. I don't really want to lose any; I just need to tone up what I already have. You don't need to lose any weight. No one should be starving themselves. I love me like no one else. And I can't see me hurting myself. Think about that the next time you look in the mirror or weigh yourself every 5 minutes. Jewels, STEP AWAY FROM THE SCALE.

Symone: I agree. I would never want to look like the celebrities; they need meat on their bones. I don't want to have a 6 pack, that ain't me. I was most comfortable at a size 12. Heck, I looked darn good. Even now, if I didn't lose any more weight and could just tone my tummy some more, I would be happy.

Jewels, you have to stop. Your body is bangin'. Be happy with it. You're a beautiful person inside and out. Know that and believe it.

Jewels: I believe no one and I believe in nothing. Leave me alone to wallow in my misery.

Losing My Appetite

Ok, I know that people that are mentally ill or have had nervous breakdowns often don't look at things the way the rest of the world does, but this is getting to be ridiculous. We have a customer (you may have heard me complain about him before) who just plain STINKS. We actually refer to him as Stinky (not to his face). We really can't describe his scent, it's just foul. It's like sweaty bizalls that haven't been washed in YEARS. It's like what you imagine the smell to be like when you think of the little booths at the freaky deaky store where you put a quarter in and men get to watch a few minutes of a flick, and you know they sitting there pulling on they stuff and letting it splat on the ground, and you know ain't nobody going back there and cleaning up all that splat - that's what he smells like. Not that I've ever been in a Splat Room, but that's just what you imagine it smells like. When he walks into the branch, the whole place starts to stink. He's sitting by the door, and I can smell him at my desk, which is about as far as Jewels' kitchen from her front door…now you know that's bad!

My thing is, when you stink that bad, YOU KNOW YOU STINK! GET YO FUNKY AZZ IN THE TUB AND SCRUB! Stankin' azz pink toe!

Desperate Texts

OMG! I'm getting ready to start my period and it's making me bloated. I'm super fat again! I'm going to jump in front of a bus.

Jewels: Whatever you do, do not hurt yourself. Focus on how great you are going to look once all the bloating goes away.

I wouldn't really do death by bus. It's not a sure death. I could wind up crippled for life. I would do rat poison mixed with my favorite food.

Jewels: How do you know the rat poison would be effective. It could just make your hair fall out.

I would digest enough to be sure it would kill me. If I gain weight, I will buy mass quantities of it to make sure it works.

Jewels: Please don't do it. I need you. I couldn't survive without you.

Ok. I won't. I will just get gastric bypass surgery. Think I can find a doctor to do it? By the way, you looked super thin yesterday.

Jewels: You would not qualify for the surgery. We just have to keep doing what we've been doing. BTW, I don't look thin. I am huge. You looked great. I can tell you've lost a lot of weight.

My jeans are baggy in the thighs today. That's a good thing. You looked thin. I want to be you.

Jewels: Baggy jeans are a good sign. I wish I could lose as much weight as you. You're my hero.

No, you're my hero. Go to Target and buy the book Extreme Fat Smash Diet by Dr. Ian Smith. It will be our diet bible.

Jewels: I wouldn't be able to make it through Phase I. I am a weak loser.

We can just skip to the last phase. We don't have time for gradual weight loss!

Jewels: That's right. We want instant gratification!

Right! Who has time to lose weight the healthy way?

Jewels: Hell, you know I am far from doing the healthy thing. I wish that I could get so sick that I would be unable to eat.

Only the flu works that miracle.

Jewels: I always get the wrong illnesses.

Me too. I will forever be fatter than you.

Jewels: Don't say that! Regardless of how much either one of us weighs, I will never be satisfied with my body.

You need help.

Jewels: So do you!

A Bit About Symone

I forgot to send these to you yesterday! Symone's Weight Loss Battle:

Bust 42.50" lost 1.75"
Waist 37.50" lost 5.00"
Abdomen 45.25" lost 2.00"
Hips 45.00" lost 1.75"
Thighs 24.50" lost 3.50"
Arms 13.50" lost 3.00"
Weight 188 pounds lost 16 pounds
Body Fat 39.80% lost .80%, which equals 8.01 pounds of body fat.

Total inches lost 17" since last measurements were taken.

Food yesterday: Lunch - 4" Subway turkey sub (turkey, 2 mini triangles of cheese, less than 1 teaspoon of honey mustard), bag of Baked Lays, and water. Dinner - Caesar Side Salad from Wendy's (no croutons) and 1 cup of Sugar Free Jell-O (10 calories). Estimated total daily calories less than 600.

Food Today so far: Breakfast - 1 cup of Yoplait Whips yogurt, 160 calories. Plan to have an additional cup of yogurt and a cup of Jell-O for lunch for a total of 330 calories throughout the day. Having taco's for dinner tonight - I will most likely have just the taco meat and some corn as a side item. Not sure of the calorie content, but I'm estimating it's going to be high, so I'm trying to save calories for this evening. Will be drinking water throughout the day.

I'm having a strange feeling in my stomach, it started yesterday. It doesn't feel like my stomach felt when it was shrinking (when I wasn't eating anything). It's like my muscles are constricting or something. At first I thought all the water was pushing my stomach back out, but several people reassured me that wouldn't be happening because I'm peeing the water out as fast as I'm drinking it in. I'm not sure what the feeling is, but I'm not concerned about it yet. It's not a hunger feeling…it's weird. I've also been reassured that I'm not stretching my stomach back out, because I never eat until I get a full feeling, and that would be when my stomach would be stretching - when it feels really full. I have a doctor appointment next week and I will be asking her about the funny feeling - could just be from the weight loss - body getting used to the new weight.

I haven't had a chance to go to the gym this week because of my pt job schedule and my eye dr appointment on Monday, but I will be going to the gym on Saturday morning and maybe Friday after work.

Personal Thinspiration

Val Babe,

I am so upset with you for not telling me Chavonne was in Atlanta. I can't wait until she comes to Cinti for a visit. I am going to post Chavonne as my Thinspiration for she hasn't gained a pound since we've known her. Actually, she is thinner than when we first met! I will post some older pictures of the three of us (the pictures from New York) at a later date for weight comparisons.

Love ya,

Jewels

Denial

Denial:
1. disbelief in the existence or reality of a thing.
2. Refusal to recognize or acknowledge;
3. Sacrifice of one's own wants or needs; self-denial.
4. Psychology. an unconscious defense mechanism used to reduce anxiety by denying thoughts, feelings, or facts that are consciously intolerable.

I have come to realize that I have been in denial concerning certain aspects of my life. I've refused to acknowledge the obvious regarding certain matters that I no longer have the privilege of ignoring. So, to keep a harmonious balance in my life, since my mind has been in denial for so long, I feel it only fair for my body to experience the same. My motive is not to torture myself or lose weight (ok, that's an added benefit). I am merely interested in getting more in-tune with my mind and body and soul. My food intake today: two cups of Winter Earl Grey Tea, sugar-free gum, and water.

Tammi's skipped breakfast today. Her lunch consisted of a turkey sandwich on wheat bread with miracle whip and Swiss cheese, a bag of Grippo's BBQ chips and her favorite soda, Dr. Pepper.

Today,Amber decided decreased her breakfast portions to help cut back on calories. Normally, she consumes 1 1/2 servings of cereal. Today she only ate one serving of Frosted Mini Wheat cereal with 1% milk with Milled flax seed added to it. She enjoyed a Grilled Chicken Salad from LaRosa's with Honey Mustard dressing and one slice of garlic toast.

My Dearest Val has been too busy to eat or drink today. Her caloric intake: a big fat ZERO. You go, Val. You’re my hero!

We are still waiting on Angel's intake.

Food For Thought

"I have learned over the years that I love me no matter what. God made me unique and different from other people for a reason. Society has given us this false image of how we're supposed to look. And women in particular are trying to live up to that image. I don't care how I look in a bikini, I am still wearing one. I'm comfortable in my own skin. I used to be very apprehensive about how I looked because I have A LOT of stretch marks, now I could care less. It's okay to want to change things, but make sure you are doing them for you and you only. Not for what you think someone else wants to see. " -- Tammi

Fasting Tuesday

I have a dear friend who fasts once a week for spiritual purposes. Each Tuesday she skips breakfast and lunch. I figure if Amber who weighs in at 130 lbs can go a day without eating, so can I. Tea without sugar is allowable, so I had hot tea for breakfast. Sugar-free gum for snack. Water and a fresh piece of sugar-free gum for lunch. For dinner, it was Skyline. Because I stopped eating red meat one month ago, my regular 3-way (steamed spaghetti, chili and mounds of cheese) was not an option. Amber once told me about the Vegetarian Black Bean coney (black beans, rice, onions and mustard served on a steamed bun and covered with cheese) that Skyline offers. Apparently , it's a secret coney for it is not listed on their regular menu. Curious to try it, yet skeptical as to its taste, I decided to order only one coney. To drink, the usual water with light ice and a lemon wedge. I was sure to drink a full glass of water before my Veggie Coney arrived. When it did, I was pleasantly surprised by the taste. I loved it! My mind then began to race. The questions that filled my head:

Why isn't this meal option listed on the menu?

Why have I not heard of this before?

Is this coney saved for only "special" patrons?

May I have another?

The last question I could answer myself. Oddly enough, although I had skipped breakfast and lunch, I didn't have a large appetite. Or maybe all of the water I drank gave my body that false feeling of being full. However, because I had much to accomplish in the evening, I decided that I better eat another coney so that I would have energy to work and exercise. Unfortunately, the second veggie coney put me over the edge! Abdominal distention and nausea set in almost immediately.

Lesson learned: I should have only eaten one coney. I never should have justified eating the second by saying I needed energy. Jewels is making a vow to listen to her body in the future and not allow greed to control what she puts in her mouth.

Tammi (Profile : 5'2", 147, nothing but back!):
Breakfast – Cheese Danish and Mt. Dew.
Snack – Hot Coffee
Lunch – Wendy's Single - no cheese, pickle, mayo, and onion only. Fries but I only ate half of them. And I'm still nursing the cherry coke.

Symone’s food intake, written in her own words, is below as :
I had a cup of yogurt and 64 ounces of water today. So far that's only 120 calories. I'm going to lunch in a second, and I'm going to the Mexican place near my job. I will be having a chicken & cheese quesadilla. I have no idea how many calories that will be, but I will have water with my meal and I will not eat again until dinner time, when I will eat a very small portion of whatever we have.

Stop obsessing about food. If we're both obsessing, how on earth are we going to make it? Is this a rhetorical question?

Stressful Monday

Is there really such a thing as comfort food? If so, my dearest Tammi was unsuccessful at locating it. Unfortunately, during trouble times, she has a tendency to lose her appetite3. So, for breakfast, Tammi indulged in... Nothing. As far as lunch was concerned, she chose to consume a bit more of Nothing. Dinner, she opted for several bites of... yes, you guessed it... Nothing. I wonder if she lost any weight yesterday.

As for yours truly. I had a regular day of eating.

Breakfast - Half a raisin bagel with light cream cheese. Winter White Earl Grey Tea with sugar.

Lunch - Salad with red onion, tomato, cucumber, feta cheese. I actually used two types of dressing, T. Marzetti's Honey Mustard (approximately 2 tbs.) and Wishbone Raspberry Spritzer (10 sprays). I also drank a 1/2 L of water.

Dinner - Bowl of Cheerios and a 1/2 L of water.

Food Intake For Saturday - Today's weight 142 lbs

The world moves faster. People move faster. Everything is faster with the exception of my bowels. They aren't moving and haven't moved in the past week. However, do you think that I would allow this to keep me from enjoying a delicious meal?

All day, I was too busy to take time to eat. I had 1/4 cup of coffee with light sugar and heavy cream. I drank water for lunch. Needless to say, by 6:30 pm, I was starved. The intense hunger that I was experiencing was not an unfamiliar or unpleasant feeling for me. The downside is the extreme weakness that results. My partner who understands my body volunteered to drive us to get a bite to eat. The restaurant of choice: The Cheesecake Factory.


Because I am at my heaviest weight ever (142 lbs), I usually do not order an appetizer when I dine out. However, since I was thisclose to passing out and the restaraunt was rather crowded which meant that service would be inevitably slow, we decided to share an order of Fried Macaroni and Cheese. We both know that Macaroni is unhealthy by itself; once it's fried and served over a creamy marinara sauce, it becomes a dieter's death trap! Nonetheless, we indulge. Half way through the Fried Macaroni, I begin feeling somewhat nauseated. I wonder if I've been a victim of food poisoning. However, my dining companion was not experiencing any of the symptoms.


We place or respective orders. I chose the Orange Chicken. My partner opted for the Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta. By the time our order arrived, we were both full from the appetizer and ready to escape the cold of the restaurant. We requested to have our meals packed to go. And since we were at Cheesecake Factory, dessert is a must. No matter how full or bloated we were, our bodies demanded a slice of Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake to take home.

So, my food intake for the day consisted of:

Water
Coffee (1/4 cup, light sugar, heavy cream)
Fried Macaroni and Cheese (half an order)
Bread (3")
Orange Chicken (5 bites)
Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake (5 bites)