Twenty Lbs Down and Houlihan's Restaurant

I began this post last Thursday, after I did my "official" home weekly weigh-in:

Hooray, in spite of my anxiety, general craziness and lack of patience in weighing myself, I've now lost twenty lbs! It was a tough week keeping my motivation up, since I had no immediate scale gratification. I can't visually judge my body with any degree of accuracy. I can understand how people with anorexia can have a distorted body image. How I see my figure seems completely controlled by my emotions, so when I didn't have any concrete proof of my progress, I'd look in the mirror and think, "Do my thighs look fatter? Is my stomach larger or smaller?" I try not to obsess, but it is difficult.
Kristian said that my legs are looking shapelier, which was super sweet of  him.
So, I feel happy and thin (ner)!

This week, I tried to do some ab exercises on a mat (more about this in a upcoming post) and my dogs went wild with delight. They were sure that I was on the floor to play with them. It made my attempts kind of ridiculous. They were play fighting where my legs should go, and I ended up crunching with a ten lb. Zoe on my chest. I don't know if she made things worse, but muscles all through my torso ached for two days after.

Finally, we went to Houlihan's Restaurant for dinner on Wednesday, which was a new place for us. I was very happy to discover that they have something called "Small Plates." The idea is that you can order more than one and sample different dishes. My idea was that I could order one, and still have room for a small dessert (I know, so much to learn). So, I got the 4 oz grilled salmon with mashed potatoes and a watercress salad. It was the perfect amount and so delicious. The salad had balsamic dressing, and I have to admit I wasn't crazy about the combo; it seemed bitter to me. But, I am not a natural salad lover. I'm trying to learn to want it. After dinner, Kristian and I split a s'mores fondue crock, which is, "Warm chocolate ganache, marshmallows with crystallized graham cracker sticks & strawberries." It was fantastic!They do offer mini desserts for one. We were very pleased with the meal, and the price, and plan on going back often. Minus the dessert, it will be a perfectly reasonable and satisfying place to eat out yet support a healthier eating style.