Crispy Falafel Pita with Yogurt Sauce

After many jokes about waffles, I made falafel.  This was pretty tasty and due to the use of a food processor, worked pretty quick.

Whole Grain Mustard Chicken Salad

This was...ok.  I suppose it would've been better if I had cooked the snap peas a bit less, or cooled them a bit more.  But even so, it was ok.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Curry

I adjusted this a bit.  I didn't fry the shallots, and used chicken thighs over the legs.  I liked it quite a bit.  It could've used more spice though.  Perhaps the unlabeled dried small red peppers I got from the market weren't as spicy as I thought they might be.

Scrambled Eggs & Apple & Feta sausages

Sausages were pretty good, eggs (farm fresh) were pretty good too.  Quick and simple, sometimes what is needed.  This was, by no means, a balanced meal though.

Health

I went a little nuts on Sunday / Monday, and on Monday I got my first "yellow" reading in a long time.  So the realization that I can't take a break...ever, was hard to digest.  The take away from this is that I was even hungrier the next day for garbage food, then I was previously.

I've been hovering around the the next big mark number mark.  And even though the loss since the max is significant, to me it would be meaningful to be under the big 300 again.  I have trimmed off 62.2 pounds (as of Friday).  I can tell form the way my own body looks that I've gotten rid of a lot of the portions of fat around my body (I can flex my legs and see blood vessels, which is kind of gross), but there still remains a lot of abdominal fat.

On the positive side, the bullshit program that my work gave me a choice to do (in person vs the one I picked, online) is generally over.  No instead of having to listen to the combination of about 20% science and 80% bullshit for 30-70 minutes a week, it's now these refreshers that are between 5-15 minutes (with no quiz).

I have been listening to The Foodist, which is interesting, and seems to have less bullshit in it, but still a dash here and there.

So far here's what I've learned for myself, these are not to be taken as scientifically based, since my sample size is 1:

1. You will be hungry as you adapt down to the proper caloric intake level (for loss or maintenance), and probably even afterwards.
2. There is a difference between being hungry and needing to eat.  I have an advantage here in being able to test my blood sugar and being able to tell where I am at.  I now have a path to say no, this isn't a lower then normal (note: not low) blood sugar, this is just a craving.
3. When you eat garbage food, you will be hungrier for a while afterwards (last time was about two days).
4. The majority of weight loss comes from the change in what you eat, you probably aren't going to burn enough calories to counteract extra food.
5. Remove / Reduce sugar sources from as many things as you can.  This can be very difficult.  My list:
   1. Yogurt (removed)
   2. Coffee (removed) - only sweetener in coffee now is residual from dairy additions
   3. Cereal (reduced) - Change in type and amount (now is a topping to my unsweetened yogurt)
   4. Bread (reduced) - changed non-Joseph bread to smaller loaf and reduction in sugar addition
   5. Soda (already gone)
   6. Fruit and/or Vegetable Smoothies (removed) - can create a sugar spike
   7. Alcohol (reduced) - I just tossed a "beer" cause it was to sweet, after tasting it
   8. Peanut butter (in progress) - trying the first instance of peanut butter + salt, it was hard to find something without sugar but also had salt (even a tiny amount)
6. You need to:
   1. Either pay attention to what you are eating (no distracted eating)
   2. OR limit the amount of eating by rules (ex: breakfast, I still read, however my breakfast consists of 170 grams of yogurt, 29 grams of Granola (very low added sweetener).  I have the option of:  Coffee (hot or cold brewed) with milk and/or a slice of toast with butter).
7. Eat slowly
8. Balance your caloric intake based on your doctor or dietitian's recommendations.   Currently I strive for 50% Carbs, 30% fat, 20% protein