Laundry Day

This is going to be a very boring post.  I don't have any exciting news.  No pictures here.  (although, I have a very cute photo op next to me that includes Pekingese face)
This is me airing my in-my-head dirty laundry while I'm between loads of real life dirty clothes laundry on this beautiful sunny Saturday.  This post is just a journal entry in my food battle I suppose.  Because I'm feeling anxiety right now.  I'm just  beginning to enter the "maintenance" stage of life reguarding  my diet. I no longer need to lose weight on the scale to feel good, I have a 3 pound buffer.  I have a meeting with my new long term nutritionist on Wed the 23rd and until then I'm still following the protein and carb plan, not yet adding starches, nuts and what not (what nut?).  But now I'm "weening" back in by adding new veggies like black beans and tomatos, and for protein I am adding Greek yogurt (YUM) and soy burgers!! (which sounds exciting but I've yet to bother with them because my chicken , turkey and eggs have become so routine and I can forsee a regular burger without a bun, but a soy burger?  C'mon, this particular patty needs a vessle)
I've been doing diligint for 6 weeks now, and I feel SO.MUCH. better in every aspect of my life.  I have more energy.  My belly issues are a thing of the past.  I am stronger.  My CLOTHES fit better.  I am getting comments 10x's a day about how great I look.  I am getting things done that I have been procrastinating for years (floorboards are looking good!)  All of these things give me 2 results.  They actually do make me realize how "not great" I was looking / feeling prior to this change. And they all motivate me to stay this way.  But I have a few obstacles to get through before I'm certain I have this in me long term.  Tomorrow we are going to brunch.  At Oystercatchers.  All you can eat, all you can drink Mimosas, champagne and Bloody Marys.  I love me some Mimosas.  Seriously.  The old me could go tomorrow and drink 6 of them.  I'm not a huge splurge-for-breakfast person but come Sunday brunch I do love "the waffle".  Brunch buffet to me means 6 Mimosas, 2 enormous plates of peel and eat shrimp, and a gigantic waffle with strawberries and cream.  Tomorrow it means control.  I will leave out the orange juice and have just champagne.  2 glasses.  (Maybe 3...I do have to get my $46 worth after all, and we are celebrating the hubbys birthday so I see many toasts to him because I love the man and he deserves a few toasts; he works his ass off, and he has been so good and supportive of me.  Even when I was looking frumpy and feeling down he still loved me).  I will have an egg white veggie omelette, and 5 ounces of peel and eat shrimp.  I've been weighing my food for 6 weeks already so I've got a good concept now of what an ounce looks like to the hungry eye.  I will skip the waffle.  If this were next week I would fit in a waffle. But I'm not there yet and I'm going to do this right.  I cheated last week with the Wasa crackers (and lots and lots of extra protein and veggie servings) and last week I gained 4 ounces.  Not the end of the world, but a reminder.  Weight happens.  If I were to gain 4 ounces a week every week for a year, this time next year I am up 12 pounds.  My clothes don't fit again, and so on and so forth. 
That leads me to my next problemo.  I only gained 4 onces while cheating because I worked out intensely for 4 1/2 hours that week.  My body needed the extra protein to sustain my workouts.  Also, the gain was likely muscle, because while I gained the ounces, I still lost 1% body fat in the same week.  The extra protein I added was strategic.  It was pre and post workout, and I was attempting to turn it into muscle.  So even though the scale went up, I considered it a successful week.  (BTW, my weeks are Wed-Tues).  I reached my goal of maximum acceptable body fat...  25%!!!  But I reached this because I exercised my ass off (pun intended).
This week I am sticking to the diet, but I have worked out ZIP.  I skipped my 2 hours on Wed because the Oak pollen is killing me and I am borderline miserable with the allergies.  I don't want to cross that line and feel full blown sick.  Thurs, Fri and Saturday are work nights.  See the post below where I whine about my work routine.  Sunday when I usually go to the gym...  buffet day.  (insert dramatic music of your choice here).  Monday I will hopefully resume my healthy exercise habits, but it is Brian's birthday and it is his choice of what we do.  I'm betting he'll want to hop on the MTB trail at some point, but I wonder if he remembers what I told him last year about the  holiday his birthday shares a date with .   Hmm that could potentially involve muscle building.  But that's another blog entirely ;)
Wow, would you look at that time fly!  I have a load of whites to put in and darks to fold!  Happy Friday my 12 blog readers!  (It's Saturday for you normal folks, but for me with my funky service industry lifestyle, it is TGIF!!)  Yeay baby!