Going Lo-Co

An Informal Scorecard

Posted on February 27, 2011

So at a pot-luck dinner Friday night (I brought the CL-Asparagus Salmon Orzo dish), my friend Cindy said she was enjoying my blog but if I was still eating Phish Food ice cream every night, didn’t that mean I was failing?

Yikes!

Luckily, much wonderful wine was available (thank you Jill), so I was able to avoid thinking about that.  Until today.

Here’s the thing – I am hoping that the many other choices I am making will result in lower cholesterol.  That I can still have my cake ice-cream and eat it too.

But I now feel the need to grade myself – to review my lo-co plan and what I’ve done to date.  (Mostly to check if I’m delusional).  Here’s what I’ve accomplished so far:

• New Breakfast Regime.  Grade: A.  Instead of a 1/2 bagel with lox every morning, I now eat steel-cut oatmeal with a 1/2 apple & handful of almonds & wheat germ (all cholesterol-lowering ingredients) every morning.  I miss my bagel and lox something fierce, but this has STUCK.
• Metamucil Daily.  Grade: A.  Have only missed a few days of this – and now know to chug it before it turns to sludge.
• Lunch that’s not mayo/cheese-based.  Grade: C.  I like to make a tuna-melt-on-a-tortilla panini for lunch.  Total withdrawal was making me sad, so I’ve added it back in once or twice a week.
• Dinners that are low-fat/lean-meat/bean-based. Grade: C.  I have relied on Cooking Light recipes for years, and found some great new dishes.  But I have yet to find any great beans or lentils recipes.  And planning dinners remains the bane of my existence – as witnessed by several trips to Five Guys Burger & Fries when the clock struck 6pm and a lo-co dinner had not magically appeared.
• Exercise Daily. Grade: F.  As posted, I have to fix this but just don’t know how.  Well, I know how, it’s just not yet happening.  (Wow, look at all that passive voice?!)
• Snacks/Ice Cream.  Grade: F.   In addition this week to my daily Phish Food treat, I actually made Onion Dip.  And though I made it with low-fat sour cream, eaten with Low Fat Ruffles (which actually, all 3 of us prefer), STILL, this was ridiculous.
  Oh, and new discovery:  Double Stuff Oreos are OK: I can limit myself to 3 per day.  But Keebler Fudge Sticks are no longer allowed in my house.  Ever.  Sorry, Eric.

The real test will be next week:  I have an appointment for a cholesterol blood test. Given my mixed informal report card, it seems clear I’m going to have to do more…be more rigorous about my lo-co diet and exercise plan.

Fingers crossed there’s SOME improvement… and that maybe, just maybe, I can lick this cholesterol thing without having to totally forgo Phish Food.