Day 15

Today will be the 15th day since I started trying to stick to the "Eat to Live" plan. Though I've lost six pounds, I've had a couple off really off days. Last Friday was my dd's end of the school year sleepover, and we had a luau theme. I ate everything that they ate, including subs, chips, s'mores, ice cream floats....and overate it. I didn't feel sick or anything, but definitely felt regret. However, I let it go as just one day in my life, and carried on as usual the next day. Until dinner, that is. We went to my nephew's birthday party, and I didn't take any food with me, thinking that they'd have the same thing they always have: sandwiches, raw veg, and lots of fresh fruit. Wrong. They had burgers, brats, hot dogs, macaroni & potato salad, and watermelon. I felt a bit of dismay, let me tell you. I don't even like macaroni or potato salad! I waffled, but knew I'd binge later (due to massive hunger!)  if I didn't eat something. I ended up eating about 1/3 of a burger (which completely disgusted me because it was a frozen patty from wal-mart and was only med-well done....blech!!!), about 2 T of each salad, and about 3 cups of watermelon. It was okay. I was about 80% full, and even turned down cake and ice cream (unheard of for me!). That was made easier because it was wal-mart cake (trans fats!) and Breyer's ice cream (don't like theirs much). In hindsight, I wished I'd taken a veggie burger and stashed some crudite in my purse or something. Live and learn. I don't want to be the weirdo who brings her own food to people's houses, but I also want my cholesterol to go down!

I saw my doctor to have a bump removed from my scalp (which is hopefully nothing!), and told her about my eating change. She asked if I wanted to go off my cholesterol medication for the summer and then have a blood test to see if it had made a difference. I jumped at the chance, though she cautioned me not to be too upset if there wasn't enough of a change to stop the meds. I feel hopeful that there will be, though.

I used my food processor to shred a sort of cole slaw made of red cabbage, carrots, and raw beets. It's kind of blah by itself, but with an orange or 4oz of fresh pineapple cut up into it...yummers. Tomorrow I'm making my family Black Bean Burgers from the cookbook Veganonicon. I'm curious to see if they like them or not. They do like most bean dishes, so I'm optimistic. My 7-year-old chose 15-Bean Soup from the grocery store last week, and ate two bowls of it at dinner. I left out the seasoning packet, adding some spices instead, and made it meatless. My dh and 12-year-old didn't seem to love it, but didn't complain either. I've been feeding them meat 2-3 times a week, so maybe that's keeping them satisfied.