Ideal again? We'll see...

Bon jour! We are back from Paris and we had a great time! I will try to blog about it in a timely manner. (Ha! What are the chances? But I'm really going to try.)

I ate whatever I wanted and it was pretty heavenly. It would have been even better if I was able to speak French and knew which delicious foods I should order. It could be that the language barrier saved me some calories, who knows? There were plenty of delicious tarts and pastries that needed no translation!

My official weight loss before I left was 14 lbs. in the month that I was on Ideal Protein (minus the Boise binge.) I was surprised that it wasn't more because it felt like I had lost more weight than that but I think it was possibly because I was also building some muscle. Before I left I believe Emily West was down 40 lbs. in less than 2 months but she was nice to say that she thought possibly my weight loss rate was a little less than some others because I didn't have as much to lose. We'll just go with that!

As much as I enjoyed eating everything I wanted, I did kind of miss the way I felt on Ideal Protein. You can just tell that you are doing your body a favor. I think I gained back maybe 2-3 lbs. It's a little hard to tell exactly. I am back on Ideal Protein and hoping to get to my goal weight before I head to New York in about 10 days (so I can eat Crumbs cupcakes - yum!)

If anyone is interested in learning more about Ideal Protein, there is a representative from the company who will be giving a presentation explaining the program and how it works at David's office on Thursday (Sept. 23rd) at 6:00. It should take about an hour. It's free and anyone is invited. No need to RSVP, just show up. Bon appetit! (Yah, I know - enough with the French words! It's annoying. I hear ya...)

Okay... so I'm less than ideal!

I'm sure you are all wondering how the ideal patient is doing? Well, I was pretty ideal until I had to go out of town to Boise for 3 days about 12 days into it. I told myself that I was going to show some self-control and not go hog wild. I did okay the first day. Then the second day things started getting out of hand and then I just gave up all together. Well, 3 days off did not do me any favors! I haven't been able to get into the office for any official weigh ins but it seemed that I gained back about 3 lbs. during my 3 days. It seemed to take my body a while to get back to it's optimum weight burning cycle.

It was very hard to stay on the diet when I went out of town (at least it was for me.) First off, I felt bad for the people I was with (Courtney, Kylie, Kendall and Lori.) It felt like every time they ordered something yummy and I ordered something nutritious like plain fish and broccoli, it's like I was subconsciously saying to everyone at the table, "I'm going to order something sensible but you feel free to stuff your face with that high caloric meal and let's just all watch and see which part of your body it goes to first." That is certainly not what I was saying but it just seems like the dieter is always judging.

The fact that I stare at food with such a desperate longing in my eyes doesn't help the awkwardness of eating with a dieter.

Well, I am now one month into it (with the exception of the 3 days) and I wish I had an official weigh in to report but I don't yet. I will try to get by the office tomorrow. According to my bathroom scale (which is way off from the office in the wrong direction) I think I've lost about 16 pounds. I feel really good but no one really seems to be noticing. My kids look at me and say they can't tell a difference. I'm not sure whether that is a compliment or not.

I keep thinking that I will have to get all new clothes but the reality is that the clothes I own still fit, they just fit like they were supposed to I guess. I'd like to apologize to anyone who had to be seen with me wearing super tight clothing. I guess I didn't realize how much I was squeezing into things! Sorry about that!!

It hasn't been that tough to stay on this diet but it has take quite a bit of self control. I find it easier when I'm at home and can control things. I just eat when I'm supposed to and then stay out of the kitchen.

We leave for Paris Friday morning and I am so excited to eat! How much will I gain back? That is the $64,000 question!