For dinner, I ordered the fresh tuna filet with broccoli instead of a baked potato.  I ordered some low-calorie ranch dressing on the side.  It was a very tasty dinner.

At the beginning of the meal, I turned down an appetizer.  There was one in particular that caught my interest.  It is basically egg rolls made with rib meat.  It sounded pretty good, but I thought I would be able to avoid it completely.

As I am eating dinner, I kept thinking about the rib rolls, and I started to reason that the appetizer split three ways would not be that bad.  So, we went ahead and ordered the appetizer.  I ended up eating one and a half rolls.  That actually wasn’t too bad.

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I then started to think about this being a birthday celebration and what I should allow myself to do to celebrate my birthday (yet again).  A dessert split three ways seemed to make sense to me.  We ordered a terribly big dessert and split that as well.

The dessert was vanilla ice cream, toffee candy, and a delicious apple pie at the bottom.  It tasted so good, and it was full of calories.  I couldn’t get over how good it was.  I don’t know why.  I know it is not good for me, but, it was a special occasion, and it does not happen often.

What is your rule for birthday celebrations, especially your own?  Do you allow yourself to eat bad things on your birthday?  What about other people’s birthdays?  Please leave a comment.

Breakfast:  NutriCinnamon Squares Cereal; Egg Whites; Raisins; Bread, rye; Morning Coffee; Milk, nonfat or skim

Morning Snack:  Cheese, lowfat; Mandarin Oranges

Lunch:  Fettucini Alfredo; Cabbage, raw; FF Dressing

Afternoon Snack:  Chocolate Chip Cookie

Dinner:  Fresh Tuna with Broccoli and Low-Cal Ranch Dressing; JOE’S ROCKIN’ RIB ROLLS TM

Dessert:  FLANIGAN’S SHENANIGAN TM

Drinks:  Crystal Light; water; iced tea

Exercise:  30 minutes on recumbent bike at 138 bpm.  I’ve completed 50% of my weeky exercise goal.

Pedometer:  ?

Probably the most exciting part of the frozen selections from NutriSystem and Schwan’s is ice cream!  It’s cold, sweet and delicious straight from the freezer.  The new options certainly enhance the dessert selection from NutriSystem. 

Here are the five frozen desserts (don’t miss the pictures below) in the NutriSystem Select plan.  There are other desserts that are frozen, but they are meant to be served hot.  The Apple and Peach Crisps can be heated in the oven or microwave.  You can add a little bit of whipped topping, and you’ve got a great dessert.

Ice Cream Sandwich:  This is just like you remember!  Plain vanilla ice cream sandwich between two chocolate layers.  It’s soft and creamy.  It’s cool and chocolately. I’m really happy with this dessert.

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Fudge Swirl Sundae:  This frozen dessert is the best of both worlds.  Ribbons of chocolate fudge float through the creamy vanilla ice cream.  The ice cream is cold and delicious on your tongue.  The chocolate fudge lingers a little on your tongue and gently melts away. 

Blueberry Parfait:  Blueberries and cake are a great combination, and that’s exactly what this dessert offers.  Let it defrost in the refrigerator, then add some light whipped cream.  You’ll enjoy the contrast of textures in this dessert.

Chocolate Fudge Bar:  Chocolate delivered ice cold and creamy smooth.  That’s what this dessert offers.  This bar will bring back childhood memories of chocolate fudge bars straight from the ice cream truck without all of the calories.

Orange Creme Bar:  Who would have thought orange and vanilla would be such a great combination?  It is, and I have enjoyed it for years.  I can enjoy it again as part of the NutriSystem Select plan. 

Every other week, Schwan’s visits.  Every four weeks, they bring my NutriSystem Select foods, and I’m thrilled to have them.  I usually save them for the weekend as a treat. 

What frozen treats are part of your healthy eating plan?  What frozen treat are you not eating on your healthy eating plan?  Please share your answers in the comment section below.

Breakfast:  Apple Strudel Bar; Egg Whites; Peach; Bread, sourdough; Morning Coffee

Morning Snack:  Ham, low-fat; Pineapple, canned, water-packed

Lunch:  Hearty Minestrone Soup; Brussel Sprouts, cooked

Afternoon Snack:  Orange Crème Bar

Dinner:  Wedged Potatoes with Sliced Beef Steak; Carrots, cooked; Mandarin Oranges; Oil, canola, olive, peanut, safflower; Barley, cooked

Dessert:  Blueberry Parfait

Drinks:  Crystal Light

Exercise:  none today.  Will I ever get over this stupid cold?

Pedometer:  ?

• 275 pounds:  December 1 or December 8
• 250 pounds:  1/26/2009 to 2/16/2009
• 225 pounds:  3/16/2009 to 4/27/2009
• 200 pounds:  5/11/2009 to 7/6/2009
• 180 pounds:  6/22/2009 to 8/31/2008

I am now using 2.50 pounds as my minimum average weekly weight loss.  I am still way above 3.00 pounds, but I had a couple weeks with little loss, so I changed the minimum.

Here are some pictures of myself at 70 pounds lighter:

Confession:  I did not make it to the gym this weekend.  It was just one of those weekends.  It really sucks.  Since I am going to the gym only once per week, missing the one visit per week feels like I am missing a lot.  I am still losing weight, but I want to build muscle, and I have to get to the gym to do that.

Body Weight:  284.5 pounds.  That’s 70 pounds less than when I started NutriSystem Advanced on June 15th.  That’s 75.5 pounds less than my all-time high of 360 pounds.

Breakfast:  Blueberry Muffin; Egg; Banana; Bread, whole-wheat; Morning Coffee

Morning Snack:  Crabmeat; Banana

Lunch:  Tomato and Corn Chowder; Cucumber; FF Dressing

Afternoon Snack:  BBQ Soy Chips

Dinner:  Stroganoff Sauce with Beef and Noodles; Green Beans, cooked; Mandarin Oranges; Oil, canola, olive, peanut, safflower; Rice, brown, cooked

Dessert:  Chocolate Caramel Bar

Drinks:  Crystal Light; water

Exercise:  30 minutes on recumbent bike at 138 bpm.  16.67% of weekly exercise goal is complete.

Pedometer:  ?

1. Buy a camera.
2. Make sure the camera has storage for your pictures and batteries.
3. Take your camera with you, if you think you’ll see something worth capturing.
4. Take pictures.
5. Transfer the pictures from your camera to your computer.
6. Once your pictures on your computer, decide what to do with them.  Print them.  Post them.  E-mail them.
7. Preserve your pictures.  Organize them.
8. Share your pictures.

I may have missed some steps, and some steps might be optional, but you get the idea.  There’s a lot to capturing pictures.

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Despite the difficulty I find in taking pictures, I do have several pictures of myself.  They were taken before June 15th, the day I started NutriSystem Advanced.  If you click the Photo page, you will see what I looked like at almost 360 pounds. 

Since I’ve put my “biggest” pictures out there, I am going to make a concerted effort to get newer pictures out there.  I’m sure you’d like to see what I look like 65.5 pounds lighter, and I will want to be able to post pictures of me when I’m 75 pounds lighter, 100 pounds lighter, etc.

Breakfast:  Cinnamon Swirl Granola Bar; Egg; Grapes; Bread, oatmeal; Morning Coffee

Morning Snack:  Cottage Cheese, 1% Fat; Applesauce, unsweetened
Lunch:  Pasta with Beef; Cucumber; FF Dressing

Afternoon Snack:  Cheese Puffs

Dinner:  Mashed Potatoes with Meatloaf and Tomato Sauce; Brussel Sprouts, cooked; Raspberries; Oil, canola, olive, peanut, safflower; Bread, oatmeal

Dessert:  Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar

Drinks:  Crystal Light

Exercise:  no exercise today.  This is my day off!

Pedometer:  ?