All Hail Caesar [Salad]

On day #2 of the new phase of my diet I accomplished what seems like a few big milestones. To begin with, I ordered a salad from a salad bar and managed to incorporate 5 different kinds of vegetables, grilled chicken, and a low fat vinaigrette, as well as leave out croutons, dried fruit, cheese, and all types of salad dressings involving the words ‘ranch or caesar’. I also walked the long way to the subway, and even stopped in a few stores to do some perusing of the sale racks to increase my steps for the day. When I got home I opened my refrigerator, which still mirrors a miniature Trader Joes Pop-Up Shop, and reached for the baby carrots and hummus instead of the sesame crackers, which, in the past, have never been forgotten at any time I have had direct involvement with hummus. I know, I know. None of the above are life changing events or extreme weight loss techniques, but each one of these occurrences are small miracles to me. I have also realized that reflecting on my day, as I did both yesterday and today, truly reinforces my awareness of ‘I Can’ and does not allow much room for ‘I Can’t’ to enter my mind, therefore more or less forcing me to stay on track. I’m not sure how, but I have essentially tricked myself into sticking to this diet! But, again, it has only been two days, and tomorrow is Thursday, which sounds like a pretty good day for Mexican.

 

Trader Joe Schmo’s and All He Has to Offer Me

Octavia Spencer at the Oscars wearing Tadashi Shoji
Notice the brilliant gathering creating a slender waistline making her curves look like hot stuff!

Day 1. Okay, more like Day 5789371, but who’s counting, right? This morning when I woke up I felt like it was a good day to start over diet-wise, health-wise, personal economy-wise, so lets just call this Day 1. Capiche?

If there is anything that I have learned through my struggles with dieting it is that planning is key. And plan I did. Last night, after I shoveled down some seriously delicious Japanese cuisine (points for that dinner will not be revealed), I decided enough was enough, and I headed to Trader Joe’s for healthy groceries to last me the rest of the week. Now here’s the thing about Trader Joes – It’s a nightmare. Each time I go in there I swear I’ll never go again. The line STARTS at the entrance of the store and in order to even catch a glimpse of the extensive selection of delicious delicacies they have to offer, you are forced to act similarly to a lab rat, winding in and out of the people labyrinth that occupies the entirety of the store. And then, you get to the check out, and even though your cart is filled to the brim, your bill is only fifty dollars. FIFTY DOLLARS. Seriously! I dare you, try to spend more. You can’t. I’m not quite sure how, but I think it is impossible to spend even one penny over fifty dollars. And there in lies the reason why I continue to return to the impossibly inexpensive most wonderfully packed grocery store in New York City. In fact, I’d love to know HOW it is so cheap. If anyone has the answer please email me. Seriously. Afischma@gmail.com.

And that is how I planned to start Day 1, with all of my cheap goodies that I bought while in a Japanese food coma. This morning when I opened my fridge to retrieve some almond milk to add to my double espresso (all you Italians keep quiet, Nespresso makes some seriously strong coffee), I was greeted with a sea of healthy options to help me stay within my points allowance for the day ahead. My planning gave me the ability to further plan, and right then and there I allocated my points for the entire day. I packed my breakfast (fage 0% greek yogurt – 3 Points) and my lunch (Pita Pocket with Hummus and vegetables – 5 Points), and snacks to keep me satisfied throughout the day (a cut up apple, baby carrots, and a peach – all 0 Points). It felt great to know that I had set myself up for a successful day! But with all this planning I’m starting to feel a bit like my mother, so I might need to cool it tomorrow.

Knowing that I would effortlessly be within my daily points allowance was a relief throughout the day. In fact, I’m pretty sure I felt skinnier just because I knew today would be a success! Okay, probably not, but my outfit did a good job at faking some initial weight loss. Today’s outfit incorporated one of my very favorite fashion details: gathering. For those of you who don’t know what gathering is, its that detail that makes the fabric of a garment look rouched. Okay, wrong word for non fashion people. In simple terms gathering makes a garment look ‘bunched up’ (my boyfriends description), or tight while being folded to accentuate curves and minimize waistlines (my favorite things relating to gathering). Gathering is a fashion GIFT to gals with curves. Even when not feeling as trim and slender as I was today, gathering gives the illusion of a waistline and hides that beer pouch that you grew in college and are still trying to work off. No? Just me? Moving on…

All in all I feel really great about Day 1 and I am even looking forward to Day 2. Hopefully I will wake up tomorrow and God will finally have given me the gift of my maternal genes. Probably not, but a gal can dream, right?