It's been almost four years since I've posted on my so-called blog. FOUR YEARS. So much has happened in my life since then. I won't go through all of it (mostly because I know that no one is reading this). I'll just hit the major points.

I got married!
I moved to New Jersey (hmmmm.)
I still have Percy, the incredible cat.
I now live in a normal house, not a shoebox of an apartment.
I have a car that I get to and from work with.

It's amazing how all of these things listed above (except being married) were normal before I moved to NYC, learned to live without, and have now become luxuries.

Anyway, on to more important topics. The real reason I have decided to start blogging again is that I have a started a crazy, insane, regimented diet and I want to write down how I am feeling, track my progress, and just use the blog as a tool to keep me sane and share my thoughts.

Today is Day 2.

I began yesterday, 1/4/2010, with the Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet. I weighed in at 189 lbs. I know it sounds ridiculous, but he only uses the word cookie to entice you to eat these so-called cookies. He specially makes them so that they are edible but not delicious enough so that you will binge on them and sabotage your diet. Very crafty man, this Dr. Siegal. The key to the cookie diet is to keep you on a low-calorie diet without hunger attacking you. I saw a girl on the Today Show who had lost 85 lbs. on the diet and she was truly an inspiration. If she can do this, I can do this.

Yesterday, I did well. I started with the oatmeal raisin cookies and followed the directions, not eating any until I felt hungry. I was able to get through the day just fine. When I came home, I had a 500 calorie dinner consisting of organic chicken and broccoli nuggets and sauteed mushrooms. The only speedbump that I hit was after dinner, around 10:30pm. The hunger pangs I was feeling were so great that I just had to eat something. So I went for a cucumber, figuring it was the lowest calorie, healthiest thing I could consume. I don't think I did too badly on the first day!

Today, I tried the chocolate cookies and did just fine. I finished all 6 cookies without going too crazy and then when I came home for dinner, I made stir-fry with ground chicken and veggies. I only used maybe 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil and the portion I made was for my husband and myself. Not bad. I just find that at night, when I am lounging around the house, I think about food and get very tempted to eat. I need to occupy myself with something, which is why I have started reading more. I just started reading Julie & Julia which I am enjoying greatly. I want to cook everything in the book that she writes about. I have such a passion for food, cooking, baking, eating. It is really hard for me to be on a diet like this, but I had to take control as my weight was spiraling out of control.

I yearn to be back at 150 like I was a few years ago. I was by no means thin, but I was normal. I could fit into normal clothes, looked great in jeans. Now I find myself with no clothes to wear, spilling out of my fat jeans, and avoiding social situations because I am afraid of what people will think of me seeing that I have gained so much weight. This has to stop!!

Every time I want to reach for a piece of chocolate or order lunch from The Cheesecake Factory, I have to consciously remind myself of how I want to look and feel and remind myself that the only way to get there is by sticking to the diet and of course the most important thing, TIME. I'm not going to see results in one day, or two days. I am hoping after having such a restricted calorie intake (1000 a day) that after a week I should be feeling a slight difference. Dr. Siegal says that 3500 calories equals 1 lb of fat. After 3 days, I should have cut a total of anywhere from 3000-5000 calories in just 3 days. That should be at least 1 lb!

I will be checking in as often as I can and tracking my progress.

Goodnight!