Day 4 - Weight 127.2: Asian Flavors Soup

I'm up really early this morning because I'm headed back home to California today. Alarm goes off at 4:30am and I am up and running. I like to leave early because I get home before mid-day and it's easy to get back into the swing of things. Today, I have an added excuse because I want to get home before I need to eat my lunch. We usually stop to eat in Primm or Barstow because that's where we fill up on gas and take "the girls," our dogs, out for a little rest-stop experience. For seven years, we've only had Zoe, our cockapoo, but now we've also got Daphne, our little red toy poodle. I won't be able to eat anything at a restaurant or fast food place during that stop, so I'll take my apple and melba toast with me to snack on in case I really feel like I can't make it for the whole 6-hour drive.

I gained 2/10ths of a pound since yesterday and I don't know why. Maybe the water is balancing out? I'm not worried, though. Just keep on keepin' on.

A funny thing happened on the way home during our stop at the California "Border" Agricultural Inspection. I say "border" because it's not at the border or even close to it. It's quite a ways past Baker. Well, we get stopped and the inspector asks if we are only bringing the one dog in the front seat into California and I say, "No, we actually have two," and I point to our new puppy in the back seat on my son's lap. She says "Oh, OK," and asks if we are bringing any produce. I tell her that I am and that I have apples, spinach, and lettuce from Costco. Then she asks, "Where are the apples from?" I look quizzical and say, "Ummm, they're just from Costco." She says, "But where are they actually FROM?" And I say, "I have no idea where they were grown." She says, "But you're sure you bought them at Costco?" I assure her that I am quite sure that I bought them at Costco and she tells me that there are some fruit bugs going around right now but she is sure my apples are fine. I thank her and she waves me through. And I wonder about how she didn't learn any additional information about my apples but suddenly she is sure that they are fine. Oh, well...

We're home by 10:30am (you gain an hour heading back to Cali) and it feels good to be home. But C-O-L-D! How can we be having such cold weather in June? We always have June-Gloom but this is ridiculous. I'll have to put an extra blanket on the bed!

Michael got his B-12 shot today, so he'll have his first HCG injection tomorrow and start his two loading days. As for me, as soon as the car is unpacked and the dogs are settled in (this house is a whole new environment for Daphne, who we've had now for only 6 days) - I NEED to have my snack. Today's diet looked like this:

LIQUIDS
2 C coffee, 2 liters water, 1 C Yerba Mate tea

SNACK
Strawberries & Melba Toast

LUNCH
Steak in tin-foil w/ 1 TBSP lemon juice, salt, pepper
Asparagus, steamed with water (Pour liquid from cooked steak over asparagus on plate to serve)

SNACK
Apple & Melba Toast

DINNER
Asian Flavors Soup (Recipe below)

Every recipe I am including here is made up by me, mostly on the fly. Which literally means I am making it up as I am making my meal . It may turn out great, fine, or not-so-great. Later, I am planning to take pictures of the meals but I need to get my camera together for that. Hopefully, soon.

ASIAN FLAVORS SOUP

• Shrimp, cooked (I buy them pre-cooked, frozen. Cut the tails off shrimp while frozen and before weighing. Why weigh what you aren't going to eat? After thawing, slip off the little bit of shell that is left at the tip. This way none of the shrimp meat is wasted)
  
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• Pinch Red Pepper, ground
• Spray Bragg Aminos
• Salt & Pepper
• 2 C Water
• Lettuce, Romaine
  

Warm first six ingredients over medium-high heat. Add lettuce and turn heat to low. Cook for 2-3 minutes until lettuce is soft. (It's quicker to use pre-cooked shrimp but you could easily cook the shrimp in the first step. It would only take a few more minutes).

Rating: Not great and not bad. It was so-so. Very edible. It made me feel like I was preparing for my main course at Thai Juan On in San Juan Capistrano. Sadly for me, this was the main course. LOL!

Today was a hard day. Much harder than yesterday. 6 hours of travel may have had something to do with it. I wasn't actually hungry but I am really missing "eating." The verb of eating. Action word. There's not much actual "eating" going on when you have such a limited food intake. Tomorrow I may eat my snacks with my meals instead of separately just so that I can have the action of eating more at one sitting. As long as you eat the snacks at least 6 hours apart from each other, you are supposed to be fine.

One thing I'm noticing on this diet is how true all of the flavors are and I think that's definitely a positive. I'm really tasting my food. My taste buds really seem to be appreciating each subtle flavor; the sweetness of a strawberry or the saltiness of the Bragg's. The food feels so clean and healthy and I am loving that. Like going on a cleanse. I'm also savoring every single bite. I've noticed that I am cutting my food into almost tiny pieces so that I can have more bites. In our family we are always sharing a bite with each other with a "Here, taste this, it's fabulous." On this diet, every bite is my own. Not one morsel can be dropped, shared, or wasted. Only two VLCD's and I am already feeling this way... It's actually kind of interesting to watch yourself and how you react to such a strange diet. It better work!