That’s garbage. To pretend like dieting in the summer when you’re surrounded by family and loved ones and long weekends is not easy.

So mindset is what it takes. Jan makes plenty of comments on my discipline this go-round on focusing on my health. And while he’s right – I am pretty focused, it’s not easy. It all comes down to my frame of mind.

Firstly – cardio? That’s a no-brainer. I love being active. I love hiking trails, rollerblading, walking to the Lake. I’m hoping taking the weight off my knees will get me back to really running.

So it comes back to the food. I’ve order up a whack of Epicure spices to help create tangy, delicious and easy sauces that fit within my meal guide in the upcoming days and weeks. And trust me when I say – not every dish is a win. Some of them plain out suck. And it’s choking them down and hoping for the best on the next one.

The willpower to watch my family devour a gooey, delicious pizza was hard. So, instead, I motivated myself to create a pizza that I can eat. We tried it on a tortilla. We won’t cook it on tin foil next time – it made the pizza hard to remove. But trial and error. We’re also looking into creating our own cauliflower crusts.

I also ran into time issues. Yesterday, my family had to leave by 5pm, making dinner for 4 o’clock. That’s simply not doable for me. 4 small portions a day cannot be completed by 4:30pm. I cannot wait from 4 in the afternoon till the following morning at 7 or 8am to have breakfast. Instead, I had water and congregated until I was eating my own regular dinner hour. Much to his credit, Jan wouldn’t let me sit and eat alone. He joined me like the incredible human he is.

And speaking of Jan – this week, he really ramped up the names of the various recipes we’ve developed, and he’s now branching out and concocting neat ideas himself. For example, a girlfriend of ours suggested using cabbage instead of lasagna noodles. Jan tripled the batch, and now I have three suppers at my disposal. A banana and whey powder with eggs can create some of the most delicious banana muffins, ever. And if you save your cheese add-on, fajitas can become a real banquet. Dudes, the curry plate Jan served up had me eating little tiny portions because I didn’t want it to end.

I’ve said many times this week, why/how could you cheat on a program that literally allows you to eat food you actually enjoy?

Food this week:

The mood swings have been minimal, despite it being Shark Week. And weighing out the food is being habit. The math is becoming ingrained (if I have 3 oz of that, I can have …) and I’m getting choosier on the add-ons. Maybe I’ll have ice cream instead of cheese, I think to myself, and suddenly it’s after supper, and I’m enjoying fat-free Dutch chocolate ice cream on the deck with my partner and our kids and suddenly life is okay and simple, and delicious.

So how did we do coming out of Week 2?

I’m giving myself an A+. Here is where I need to add that my initial weigh in came the Thursday before the weekend I indulged on my last couple of days of feasts. So the first picture we took I was, in fact, 228lbs. However, when I logged into the program the following Tuesday morning (Week 1, Day 1), I was 230lbs. So with that adjustment, I have lost 11.8 lbs and 6″ off my waist. My next goal is to shimmy down to 200lbs before I head back to the Y in September. That’s where Tracy and I left off.

Are these lofty goals? Yes.
Did anyone every get anywhere without being their own driving force; setting goals, seeing them through and giving themselves the permission to congratulate themselves on a job well done? No.
Give yourself the chance to be your own champion. Because you are the critic in your own life. Impress yourself, first. The rest will follow.

You can do this if you want to.
— c ☆