Mmm... chocolate...

I got a tip from the message boards that I hadn't even considered- since the Nutrisystem food is shelf stable and shipped in cardboard boxes, chocolate items tend to melt in the summer. Stock up now before it gets too hot out! I decided just to order 2 months' worth of food now and I'm going to delay through the hot part of the summer.

I made it a goal to try just about everything that NS offers so that I could review it here. I've tried a few new things this order and was pleasantly surprised.

Tomato & Corn Chowder (Lunch):


Why was this discontinued??? It's rich and zesty and filled with flavour. Much, much better than the Creamy Tomato Soup. Fortunately, it's still findable at Big Lots stores in the US and I've been able to buy it from other NS clients.


Cinnamon Swirl Granola Bar (Breakfast):


I took one look at this and it was reminiscent of the Apple Granola Bar that ended up in the trash. I took a bite, and fortunately, it was much better. It still wasn't one of my favourite breakfasts but it was edible. I'm not crazy about NS granola bars as a general rule, although I do like the Chocolate Chip one. This bar was sweet and cinnamon-y.


Vegetable Beef Soup (Lunch):


Now this was the big surprise. I wasn't expecting to like this but it was delicious! Full of beef and potato chunks and lots of vegetables. I used to love to eat beef stew with big chunks of sourdough bread and butter. Obviously I can't do that anymore but I think I may save my breakfast carb and my dinner fat to go with this meal in the future. It was very satisfying and I added more to my auto delivery.


I have my next hurdle tomorrow- one of my best friends is getting married. And yes, there's an open bar, which in the past I would have loved to partake. I'm thinking that at this stage of my weight loss though, it's not really worth it. For one night of fun, I'll probably have a zero loss this week if I drink a bunch of empty calories and I want to keep going towards my next Nutribear. I may even skip that slice of wedding cake! Hopefully the food won't be too unhealthy (it's a plated dinner, not a buffet). Either way, I'm sure it'll be a fun night and I'm looking forward to celebrating with him and his new wife.

I have a friend who is also trying to lose weight, but every time something comes up she tells me "It's a special occasion" and goes to town- drinks, dessert, and an unhealthy meal. I can sympathize with her outlook, but there is always going to be something going on- that's life. We are always going to be faced with temptations to give in and settle back into our old habits.

Don't get me wrong- I don't think celebrating once in a while is a bad thing. But I think it really does need to be something out of the ordinary and an infrequent occurrence. Eating like that is one reason that we all got the way we are, and to make this a permanent lifestyle change, we have to find ways to cope with temptation. Like Ashley said on the Biggest Loser this past week- we've changed, but the factors that helped us get overweight have not. They'll still be there long after we reach goal, and we need to be able to deal with them. Our journeys don't end when we finish losing weight- that's when the real work begins.