Nice milestone...

I was going through the closet over the weekend, looking for any spring-weight and summer-weight clothes to possibly take on vacation to Florida next month. And I ran across an old pair of jeans -- size 54, which was my lowest point on the first time 'round, before our first son was born. Since I've been wearing slacks in a size 58, and they've been quite loose, I thought I 'd check to see how close I was to wearing the jeans.

And they fit.

As did another pair right beneath them on the shelf. Now, to be fair, these are "relaxed fit" jeans that have already been broken in, but hey, it means I must be getting reasonably close to my low point, and I still seem to be dropping size steadily. In 13 months (to the day), I've dropped from a 66 to a 54.

That said, a very nice sports coat/slacks combo in the same size is still too tight to wear (I could get away with it in a pinch, but I'd look like someone who was squeezing into his clothes after putting on 15 or so pounds), and the dress shirts have a way to go -- they were always a bit snug, being "tall" sizes, which taper in the middle, and they're quite snug at size 18 1/2, whereas my "big" size 19 shirts fit quite nicely at the moment.

So, given that my low was about 330, and I was pushing 500 last January, I'm going to estimate a total weight loss of about 140 pounds in 13 months. It'll be nice when I drop down to the point I can actually track my weight with a normal bathroom scale, but for now, I'll let the fit tell the story.

Valentine's Day Dinner

Okay, it may be a little late for Valentine's Day planners looking for something to do, but this can still give a good idea of how to make a special, even somewhat fancy, special occasion meal without breaking the carb budget.

Last night's special dinner included:

• Appetizer: low-carb cheese pizza; cutting the tortillas into heart shapes before topping and cooking
  
• Main course: Grilled ribeye steak, seasoned with salt and pepper; with horseradish dipping sauce
• Side: Mushrooms sauteed in butter, salt, pepper, and a splash of white wine
• Side: Asparagus sauteed in butter, salt, pepper, and nutmeg; with a Dijon hollandaise sauce
• Dessert: Homemade, sugar-free chocolate truffles

All things considered, the hollandaise sauce didn't work too well (though it was very naturally low-carb), but everything else came out very nicely. Watch this space for the dipping sauce and truffle recipes.

Carbohydrate Addiction

Ever since I first tried Atkins, I've realized that I was intolerant of carbohydrates; that is, they tend to do pretty bad things to me. Weight gain, of course, but also lethargy and being more susceptible to illness and allergens.

What I've come to the far more recent revelation about, however, is that for me, carbohydrates represent a true addiction. I've noticed this during some of my recent "cheat meals", where once I start, I have a hard time stopping -- knowing I'm going overboard and I still can't stop. Worse, while it's a treat and a pleasure to do so, after a while, I start feeling miserable while doing so... and I still can't stop.

Maybe it's not a clinical definition, but it has certainly served to convince me that carbs are simply something I'm going to have to continue to fight with myself about for the rest of my life. The good news, as with any addiction, the first step to overcoming it is recognizing the problem. This past weekend was my wife's birthday, and we used our cheat meal to celebrate that. Now, I'm certainly not going to say I didn't have "too much", but I was able to recognize the signs of an oncoming binge and I was able to stop myself before getting that far.

Will I be able to do so next time? (Especially with it likely being for Thanksgiving!) Who knows. But at least I know I can do so, which is some encouragement.

Also encouraging is the fact that I've lost roughly 100 pounds since January. Still quite a long way to go, but I've lost eight inches on my waist, and I can start to see signs that I'm getting close to my smallest size in the last 15-16 years. Hopefully, this time I'll stick with it and keep that weight off plus drop some more.