Monday, August 30, 2010

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.

8 comments:

  1. Congrats on the 20 pounds off! That is quite accomplishment. Michele

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  2. Congrats on the loss!

    "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."

    I so relate to this: how I see my body depends 100% on my mood/mind set at any given time on any given day. It's hard. And sad.

    Welcome to the HYC! :)

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  3. Welcome to the HYC! Good luck to you! :)

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  4. congrats on the WL! Welcome to HYC!

    - Lisa
    http://inweighovermyhead.blogspot.com/

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  5. Hi Donell,

    That's an amazing feat! 20 lbs is amazing!
    You're really close to your first goal. Keep it up!

    If you ever need motivation, tips, or want to check out some weight loss plans visit: http://www.weightlossplans.net. It has a great blog too!

    Or follow me on twitter: HelpULoseWeight

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  6. Thanks everyone for your kind words and warm welcome! I will be checking out your blog soon! XO

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  7. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm loving my new healthy lifestyle. Welcome to HYC too!

    Congrats on the 20 pound weight loss. That's great!

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  8. Congratulations on the loss! 20 pounds is a bunch of weight, good for you!

    Love the Small Plates concept, wish more restaurants would follow their example.

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