Author Archives: Chef Denise

The last 2 weeks have been incredibly busy both at work and at home, so I was actually shocked to see the scale saying I have now lost 17 pounds! I have to say, it has been challenging. While dieting these last two weeks, I have celebrated my 18th wedding anniversary, spent a weekend with my parents, and visited with old friends from out of town. In my world, such events usually involve eating out with lots of food and drink. So, I had to make a plan for myself before I set out.

First, choosing the right restaurant is important. For one event, we switched our choice of restaurant from the one we originally planned to go to—the one w/ super gourmet buttery food—to another great option, one w/ lots of fresh seafood. I have gotten into the habit of ordering my fish blackened so I have lots of flavor, and I request no oil or butter. Second, I planned what I was going to eat and how much before I got to any of the restaurants for any of the events, and this planning included any appetizers. Appetizers can be very dangerous, and most times I just skip them now. However, when I do order one, I’ll usually just order another appetizer for my entrée or choose something else that is on the small side. And I never feel bad for not finishing—I am pretty good about guessing my portion size and I try to stick to it even when eating out.

Next weekend may be trickier—a weekend in the desert for the wedding of one of my best friends!

My first week without weight loss—Ugh! But, as I’ve said before, I need to be able to live with this plan, so if it takes me a little longer to lose, I’ll deal with it. And, I didn’t do as well balancing out my fun activities w/ increased exercise as planned. Moreover, I didn’t expect my fun to be soooo decadent! Since it was Lori’s birthday celebration (yes, California Chef’s operations manager Lori), I gave myself one full day of throwing caution to the wind. I won’t be doing this again anytime soon, but I think it was worth it: eggrolls (lobster-filled & fried), Kobe meatballs, crab cakes (fried), bacon-wrapped scallops, ribs, more lobster, truffled Mac & cheese, s’mores, bread pudding, and, of course, lots of beverages before, during, and after. I was even mauled by a camel—oh wait, that has nothing to do w/ weight loss. On further reflection, I should just be happy that I survived the celebration and didn’t gain any weight this week:)

Surpassing the 10-pound milestone is a great feeling! My clothes fit better and I can really feel the difference. After last week’s asthma attack, my doctor gave me a one-week steroid pack to fix me up (in addition to a breathing treatment and a big shot in the butt). To my horror, she told me not to be surprised if I gained a little weight and if my hunger increased. Well, I was in no position to argue, so I bucked up and prepared to be hungry.

It may be obvious to everyone else, but I’ve figured out that having diet-friendly snack choices readily available to me makes a huge difference. Otherwise, I wind up eating 2 or 3 snacks searching for something satisfying. So, I have a few “go to” snacks always on hand, like string cheese & fruit, healthy spreads & Wasa crackers, and bean dips w/ brown rice chips. And in case I’m hungry between meals or between official snack times, I have some raw “free” veggies washed and cut up (“free” are those veggies that you can eat as much as you like of because they’re incredibly low in calories). Also, I’m lucky to work where we always have some low-fat peanut butter cookies if I need something sweet. But even more than cookies, my favorite “go to” is yogurt & granola. It’s great as an official snack or for when I haven’t planned a meal, because I can eat it any time of day w/ or w/o fresh berries.

So, my hunger is under control, and I’m 1/3 of the way to my goal—and now only 4 pounds to half-way there!