Week 36 Progress Report: An Epic of Excess

Image source: Flickr

So I’m a couple of days late. My sister’s family was in town for the inurning of my mother’s ashes. More on that in a bit; first, the week-ending numbers:

Starting Weight:	222.6
Original Target*:	237.8
Adjusted Target:	220.3
Actual Weight:	220.6
Loss/Gain:	– 2.0
Total Loss:	82.0
% of Goal:	59.2%
Avg. Loss/Wk.:	– 2.3
*Original target calculated from a starting weight of 302.6 lbs. and an average loss/wk. of 1.8 lbs.

I knew that at least Saturday would be a “diet holiday” because Peggy, my sister, had found a “Tacos and Margaritas Tour” of downtown Dallas for us to try. You see, the last few trips she’s made out here, we were constrained to a very small radius of travel due to Mom’s health issues. Now that Mom, for better or worse, is not a limiting factor, she wanted to do something fun that wouldn’t require us to stay within five miles of Denton, which for all its charms is not especially noted for visitor-attracting entertainment.

And so, the Tacos and Margaritas Tour. Because tacos and margaritas.

The tour was a blast. The group we were with was loud, raucous and full of life. The tour included a taco at each of four locations, with a margarita at the first and third stops. Since I took my dear friend Debbie along with me, who has difficulty seeing at night, I held my liquor intake down to half of each margarita. Peggy finished off my first drink and complained that I’d somehow left most of the alcohol in the bottom half!

I definitely recommend the first stop, Desperados, and the last stop, Velvet Taco. Desperados serves both authentic Mexican and traditional Tex-Mex food, while Velvet Taco is a small chain that does tacos in a variety of food combinations you would never expect. And it just so happens that they’re about a city block from each other on Greenville Avenue, so you don’t have to ramble all over the metroplex to sample them both.

Sunday was a day of rest and recuperation, with turkey soup made by Your Humble Blogger in the afternoon and a dinner of barbecued chicken and pierogis in the evening. Barbecued chicken, as I’ve said before, isn’t too bad for your diet so long as you keep the sauce to a minimum and limit yourself to a few ounces, like a breast or a drumstick and a thigh. But Monday was another epic of excess, with lunch at the upscale Maggiano’s Little Italy and a dinner of steak and potatoes, with red velvet cake available for afters. (I’d blame my older brother Ted and my BIL Michael for the overload, but I didn’t have to eat so much.)

In any event, the week since my last post has seen a series of ups and downs, from a low of 220.0 on October 15 to a high of 222.6 on Tuesday (October 22). As of this morning, though, I’m back below both the plan-month and 90-Day Challenge progress lines. Unfortunately, the fridge is stuffed with leftovers, some of which will most likely find their way to either the disposal or the trash can. We have a strong tendency to cook for more people than are eating, especially when Clan Cronin is gathered together. Here, the discipline isn’t not to eat but rather to eat the same thing every other day. I mean, I like steak and turkey soup, but even I have my limits.

Well, time to work on my prep for my new job. Stay tuned for further adventures in weight loss!