144 Erev Deadline: Don't Worry, Be Happy

The title of this blog is referring to the deadline of Ruby's birthday (tomorrow) that I set for myself to lose the 30lbs (or 40, as the Sleep Clinic Nurse noted). "Erev" is the Hebrew word meaning "the night before".

Whenever I have a day off but Ruby has school, we have fallen into a pattern where I will drop her off and then head off to the gym. It's actually pretty nice and if I time it right I can watch her class go swimming (naturally, like my broken yolk(s) this morning, it didn't). As with the last few times I have been to the gym, I have been tortured by upsetting television that makes it hard to properly concentrate. Today, it was the London Bombings (again). Why must they play CNN? I'm not saying that it's not important to be well-informed but I can get my information outside of my hour workout window. I was concentrating on my birthday today, but I did observe some things to laugh about.
• 2 70 year olds horsing around while playing basketball
• a 70 year old man riding the recumbent bicycle in an oxford shirt.
• An ad on the 'wellness machine' that takes your blood pressure that said "this space for sale.'
• A young guy who was playing air guitar and drums while on the workout-bike.

Breakfast
Two Eggs Over Easy
Turkey Bacon (2.5 strips)
2 oz 50% Lite Cheddar
Peppadews
Tea

Workout Snack
1 6oz strawberry yogurt
1 cup strawberries
20 almonds

Lunch (a cobbled together thing)
Leftover chicken and cabbage stir-fry
Salami and Cheese
Pickles

Post Lunch Snack
~1/2 cup nuts
1 oz cheese

Dinner (It's a biggie)
I got the 7-course tasting menu at Radius, Boston. It looks like a lot of food, but the portions were small and I shared them. There was also a bottle of Syrah that was magnificent. The list below does not even begin to do justice to the exquisite food.

Three Rolls with Butter
Squash and Yogurt
Oyster
Gnocchi
Squab
Fluke
Lamb
Pineapple/Ginger Ice Cream (palate cleanser)
Chocolate Gnash

I didn't have the best eating-strategy-day to prepare for a big dinner. I did however, do 55 minutes and 4 miles on the elliptical trainer. I would have gone the full hour but I thought I was going to cramp out. I was determined to raise my metabolism. Emily and I discussed where this dinner would take place for a long time and we finally decided to go to Radius. Everything about the meal was incredible, and slowly but surely, I had one of everything that I had avoided for 144 days—the four bad white things: whole milk, white sugar, white flour and white starchy vegetables (potato). It didn't feel like playing hooky as much as it felt like "I've saved and now here's that rainy day." I knew I was going to get back on the horse tomorrow. But it was a glorious few hours.