Whadda you know? I survived

I survived my first day of conscious eating. I had some hunger pangs yesterday during the late afternoon but did not succumb to the cookies for the commute home. Did not chow down on the pistachios while at the laptop in front of the TV. (I’ve been on a pistachio binge the past few months—Trader Joe’s 50% salted pistachios are like none other.)

I made a recipe for WLS Grilled Cheese & Turkey Half-wich I found on Jennifer’s My Crazy Life!! blog (shout-out!) that looked yummy. And it was. Unfortunately, the whole-wheat low-carb tortilla I used did not agree with my grumpy band and—well, you know what happens next. My band is pretty tight, and there’s a long list of things it won’t tolerate. Unfortunately (or I suppose it’s pretty fortunate), bready stuff gets stuck, sometimes even the breading on fried shrimp. Later I was hungry and tried some Trader Joe’s white bean hummus. Yum! The band said no. I have to realize that once the band has spoken, you don’t poke it again.

Today I tried a different tactic. I had a protein shake on my drive to work (my commute is almost an hour). I like Nature's Best Perfect Low Carb Chocolate because I can get 50g of protein in about 8 ounces. It doesn’t have enough chocolate taste for me, so I added a couple of pumps of Torani sugar-free chocolate syrup (about a half-ounce) and a big spoonful of instant espresso powder. Years ago when I did a liquid diet you used to be able to buy chocolate extract in grocery stores, but it seems to have become a gourmet item with gourmet prices. The sugar-free syrup is a pretty good substitute.

For lunch I had a half-cup of cottage cheese with paprika on it and I was stuffed. Thank you, grumpy band.

When the afternoon cravings hit, I shook up a Click mocha with 8 ounces fat-free milk and 4 ounces water. Everyone seems to like the Click products a lot, but I’ve been underwhelmed the few times I’ve tried them. Perhaps I like a stronger coffee flavor, so I’m going to add espresso powder next time. I’ve been known to get a quad tall latte at Starbucks, so you know where I’m coming from. I have a Keurig brewer in my office and nothing weaker than extra bold drips into my cup.

I just did the math and I’ve had 87g of protein today. I’m happy. My band is happy. My scale will be happy. I’ll be happier.