Still Alive!

I'm still alive! Haven't had time to post for the past few days but I am indeed alive and kickin.

Things are going well. I am definitely feeling "in the groove" with respect to the food plan. They say it takes 21 days to make a habit. I'm not sure if that's true (I can make a habit of eating Ben and Jerry's in about 3 nanoseconds), but I do feel like I have a routine going here. Ways I can tell:

• The weekly menu planning and shopping is taking considerable less time. I think it took me 3-4 hours the first week, but I think I've got it down to less than 1 hour (including online shopping via peapod.com).
• I'm not phased by glitches in the plan. Case in point, our office microwave went kaput last week. This makes it tough to eat Lean Cuisines (those little lowfat pizzas just don't make it as popsicles). However an easy remedy was a trip to the building caf to pick up a salad with fat free dressing.
• On a related note, I am improvising pretty well. Case in point, my partner and I took a client to a Sox game last week. I had no idea in advance where we would end up for dinner. We ended up at a sports bar near Fenway Park, and I was able to find a grilled chicken sandwich (no mayo) with lettuce and tomato, with a small (1/2 cup) side of cole slaw. Tasty dinner, no oddball looks from the gang, and "on plan".
• I am finding I can stay on plan pretty well without running to a computer after every meal to make entries in myfooddiary. In fact I've even gone a couple of days without recording food (gasp!). A couple of times I went back to record entries for past days and found I was hitting my calorie quota almost dead-on.
• I am definitely not feeling overly taxed, inconvenienced, or deprived by this food plan. If asked today, I would definitely say this is something I can live with forever.

Meanwhile I am "feeling" a bit skinnier. The slacks and shirts feel a tad looser. This is a huge payoff for me - I have always derived great pleasure from the improvement in the way my clothes fit (or look). Can't wait to drop a pants size!

Thanks to everyone who has been reading my blog and particularly those who have posted comments. The support really helps!