Day 205: Believe In Yourself

"There's no denying it. It's a great feeling when others believe in you. But today, I want to encourage you to believe in yourself, no matter what! Always believe in yourself, wholeheartedly. No matter what people may say or think, if YOU believe in your capabilities to do something, DO IT. Allow your passion to motivate you every step of your journey. Allow your passion to give you strength when doubt tries to set in. Stay true to yourself and do it how YOU see it ! And remember: It's okay to be different! Be uniquely YOU.   ~Stephanie Lahart~

A long quote today but it was perfect for this day. It does feel good when other people believe in you but I've found that being able to actually believe in myself feels even better. Although I have shared this journey from the very beginning I really didn't know what level of support I might receive. My success wasn't dependent on anyone other than me, but every kind word over the past 205 days has meant the world to me. Some things in life do take a village and this epic journey I'm on is certainly one of them. It hasn't been without its challenges, but when you have people cheering you on it helps you get over the rough spots. I knew from the very beginning I had to put my journey out there, in order to keep myself accountable. Done in secret, it's too easy to say "better luck next week" if you veer off course and gain weight. After all, no one else knows! It's not so easy if you're sharing everything with others. So while some people may think my posts are lame, oversharing or a ploy for attention - they are in fact invaluable to my success. If you are one of the few who choose to read them or comment I want you to know how much I appreciate that. I also document this journey so I have something to look back on. I want to look back at Day 1 when Day 365 rolls around and see how far I've come.

BREAKING NEWS: the scale says I lost 4 pounds this week ! That's a total of 82.6 since this odyssey began ! I weighed myself twice because I didn't believe the number I was seeing.

Breakfast was a 4.4 ounce 180 calorie turkey sausage and egg muffin with Highland Grog coffee. This is a Crooks & Coffee selection from the sampler box I ordered. I'm not into fruit based flavors so it's not something I would order. I lean more towards the creme brulee, crumb cake and salted caramel varieties, which are delicious! I never got around to a second cup of coffee. Morning snack was a 155 calorie vanilla shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a 3.7 ounce 200 calorie grilled chicken sandwich dressed with buffalo wing sauce. I also had a chef salad with Kraft Fat Free Zesty Italian dressing. This left about 620 calories for the remainder of the day. I'm going to guesstimate my dinner (see detailed review below) at 500 calories. 100 for the shrimp, 200 for the pasta and 200 for the butter/oil. The tomatoes, artichokes and spinach are "free" veggies. I had a very small glass of moscato wine and estimate that as 100 calories, so I'm at 1190 calories without my evening snack. I've decided to skip the snack and just go to bed.

I slept in until shortly after 9 am, which felt amazing ! I went out to get the mail around 11:15 and when I got home I decided to tackle a weed tree that had regrown on the side of the house. For some reason the guy who mows and weeds for me has ignored it (as have I) and it had grown pretty large. I bought some shears last weekend, so I cut it all down and bagged it up and now the side of the house looks so much neater. It took me maybe a half hour. I was actually able to squat down to trim some weeds that were low to the ground too! I haven't been able to do that in years! I was also able to complete the whole job and bag everything without taking several breaks. Rediscovering stupid little things like crossing my legs and being able to squat down might seem silly but they are huge accomplishments for me.

Since I was eating at an unfamiliar restaurant I took the time to view the menu online and decide in advance what I would be eating. The dish I chose was called Scampi alla Rosalie and the menu indicates it is a family recipe. The ingredients were listed as Shrimp, Artichokes, Oven-Cured Tomatoes, Candied Lemon Zest, Garlic Butter, Spinach and Angel Hair Pasta. I decided to skip appetizers and salads as they all seemed to be calorie bombs. I also decided I would allow myself one piece of bread if it was something more interesting than the usual Italian bread. My plan also called for only eating half of the entree, although I've discovered that shrimp are very low calorie (83 in 6 jumbo) and a great source of protein. Breading and frying them is what adds calories. The only item in my dinner of concern is the pasta. That is where all the calories are. That and the garlic butter. As it turned out, the only thing fancy about this restaurant was the prices! Although my entree was good, it wasn't "pay $32.95 and knock my socks off" good. Truthfully, it was a bit bland. I don't know where the "garlic butter" was ... because I tasted no garlic and there was basically an oil slick in the bottom of my dish. The shrimp themselves were good - 6 jumbo shrimp that I had to cut into 3 or 4 pieces each in order to eat - but there was no indication they had been sauteed in the garlic butter, which would have elevated the flavor considerably. They were just steamed and arranged on top of the dish like a garnish. There was also no trace of the candied lemon zest and that was disappointing. They also come to the table with a cheap cheese to grate over your pasta. For those prices I really expected authentic Parmigiano Reggiano, not the same cheese Olive Garden serves. I'm a poor nobody and I spend the money to buy good cheese! So although it was good and I ate every bit of it, I was a little disappointed in what I got vs. the description. I ate the entire plate mostly because there was only a small portion of pasta so I knew it was within my calorie guidelines. I think the prices are ridiculous and it's unlikely I will ever go there again. On top of that, they just throw a hunk of Italian bread on the table in a towel. I'm sorry, I like my bread in a basket and I also don't want everyone at the table grabbing it to yank chunks off, even if they are family. Needless to say, I skipped the bread. The 3 desserts all got good reviews and looked amazing so maybe they do desserts better than entrees. We also had a server with zero personality. She was all business and even a bit rude when one of us reminded her they hadn't received their glass of wine, after having waited patiently for some time. She didn't even ask me if I wanted a beverage so I just drank water. I don't ask for much but I don't really want a drill sergeant for a server. The restaurant was also very dark. I hate that ! I want to see what I'm eating ! I guess it's a good thing I enjoyed spending the time with my sisters, my nieces and my brother's girlfriend - as that was really the only positive. My mom ended up not going, she doesn't do fancy and after viewing the menu decided she didn't want to go. The restaurant was full the entire time we were there so apparently a lot of people like it. I guess the BMW set doesn't have the same standards I do, because that restaurant is nothing to brag about. I had a better meal, better service and a better time at Portico in Del Lago casino. I also spent 2 weeks in Northern Italy for my honeymoon and every restaurant we ate in made their dishes with simple ingredients, yet the flavors were amazing. The wife of one of Alex's cousins showed me how to make a simple meat sauce that was just a bit of sauteed ground beef, fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. I still remember how delicious it was ! This restaurant purports to offer Northern Italian cuisine but I wasn't seeing it. They seem to throw in all kinds of almost "trendy" ingredients to try and make their dishes sound fancy enough for the prices they charge. 

I opted not to exercise tonight because I'm just too tired and I have a bit of a headache. It was close to 1.5 hours each way to the restaurant so nearly 3 hours of driving didn't help. I have to say, Google Maps did a great navigating from here to Cross Lake and then from Cross Lake to Skaneateles. The trip home was just as effortless and it was nice to hear "welcome home" as I pulled in the driveway. That's a nice touch they added to the app ! I did get some exercise in the yard today so I'm not going to stress over not getting on the treadmill. My plan is to try and get 2 workouts in tomorrow. 

At this point I'm going to take a quick shower and go to bed. Although my dinner was not the experience I expected, I had a wonderful day nonetheless.