Day 45: Halfway, baby!

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS to the folks who just finished! You all look amazing, and your guidance has been invaluable. I look forward to hearing how the first few weeks *after* the PCP are going!

Uh oh. This means we're the big kids now. Yikes!

So I have to report on the dinner party last night: wonderful. There were 8 of us in all, my husband, my parents, some old friends who we hadn't seen in years, and some new friends who we just met last year after moving back to Kentucky. It was a nice mixture and we had some really interesting discussions.

Since this was kind of a Bastille Day party, all the food was French. One friend brought some lovely munchies -- baguette, cheese, sausage, cornichons, olives. Everybody snacked on those while my husband cooked an amazing dinner: fish poached in wine with tomatoes and zucchini, potatoes au gratin, and green bean salad with tarragon. There was lots and lots of wine too.

And here's how I handled it: I talked, I sipped lime Perrier in a wine glass, I inhaled deeply all the wonderful smells coming from my kitchen, and I sat down to eat with everybody else and had my egg white & apple & milk (also in a wine glass -- thanks Elena!). I explained to everybody what I was doing and they all said, "Good for you!" I won't pretend it was easy but it was easier than I thought it would be. Since we ate kind of late, my dinner and my evening snack all kind of got folded in together, which meant I had plenty to eat and didn't feel deprived. I looked around the table at my friends all having a good time and I felt very rich indeed.

One of our friends is a professional pastry chef, so she brought dessert:


Beautiful, right? I had my yogurt with honey & pumpkin pie spice (thanks, Royce!) while everybody dug in and tried all the desserts. Again, not totally easy but easier than I would have thought. I had the tiniest taste of the lemon curd tart and I can honestly say I didn't want more -- super sweet. About a third of this stuff is still in my fridge. This is a huge victory for me: to have these kinds of lovely sweets (made by hand by someone I know and love) in my home, and I'm not raiding the fridge at midnight.

One of the reasons it was easier to stick to my plan is that I was wearing a dress last night that I bought in 1994. I don't think I've ever worn it comfortably before, but since I bought it on a trip to France, I've hung onto it. I decided last night was the time to pull it out -- and it looked great! Sooooooo rewarding.

It was also easier to stay with my plan because everybody knew what I was doing. I've taken Patrick's advice very seriously to tell everyone I know, and that really helps to keep me on track. If nobody in the room had known I was changing my habits, it would have been a lot easier to eat with abandon. I've been posting a link to my blog on Facebook every week, and it's amazing the people who are cheering me on and helping to keep me honest.

And now, the morning after the dinner party, I'm tired because I stayed up too late, but I'm not hung over from too much wine or too much food. The kitchen still smells amazing and I'm enjoying that too. I had leftover salmon for breakfast, which was weird but surprisingly okay. Getting ready to go work out.

Wow, halfway through! The changes are just amazing.