I have been contemplating finishing the Sonoma Diet and pursuing a new one that is more in line with my lifestyle.  I really do not have any time to cook the fabulous meals on the Sonoma Diet.  I am also a very bad cook and hate cooking in general.  I have not acquired the skill of sitting down and writing out the weekly meals so I can go to the grocery store to purchase all the necessary items.  As a result, I feel that I am a horrible example of somebody on this diet.  I cannot fault the diet.  I have just found that this diet is very difficult for a younger person with an extremely active social life that includes dining out and spontaneous weekend trips.  I have learned a great deal and altered my eating habits. 

It’s a few days before our cruise.  While my weight has stayed the same, I have noticed that I am more toned.  I still have a lot of flab to work off, but it’s slowly getting there.  I tried on my bikinis again & they were actually somewhat loose on me.  This is very encouraging considering when I bought them, I had a slight but very dreaded muffin top.  I do believe that the good eating habits I have learned from the Sonoma Diet have had very positive effects on my health, including those that I cannot see.

My thighs are killing me!  That walk last night really made me realize how out of shape I am.  It’s a good pain though.  I imaginged little fat cells being burned away.  That made me feel better when my thighs felt horrible.  I have been loading up on water and increasing my fruit and veggie intake per the Sonoma Diet.  I do feel more alert and healthier even if I am not shedding pounds as quickly as I would like.

DH and I went walking tonight.  I figured that if I cannot keep up with the Sonoma Diet meals, exercise may balance out my unhealthy and stressful eating habits.  I really needed this exercise after a full week of not working out.  We speed walked through our nature preserve, and it was very invigorating.  The weather has been a lot cooler here so I enjoy working out outdoors.

This is a bad week.  I’m trying to get everything wrapped up at work since I will be out of the office for two weeks.  I have to start wrapping things up two weeks out because we are in third quarter closing.  This means that it usually takes a lot longer for people to respond to emails/projects.  I have been so swamped at work that I am exhausted when it’s time to go.  I have also been so focused on work that I have forgotten to pack work out clothes when I leave each morning.  That means I cannot workout at the end of the day.

I went to the store yesterday to buy some snacks for our office.  I specifically purchased fruits that I can use as a snack as suggested by the Sonoma Diet.  Today it came in handy.  For lunch, I had an apple.  This does not sound like a lot of food, but I slice it into several smaller pieces.  It actually takes me a long time to eat it all.  Due to the length, I end up feeling full off of this one piece of fruit.

 
My problem is though that this fruit goes bad after a few days.  That means I am constantly going to the store.  Since it is just DH and I, we only go to the store eve

I had another after work function tonight.  I had two last week as well.  These events are very fun but horrible with my Sonoma Diet.  I am trying to limit portion sizes, but in some instances, if a more senior person offers you an appetizer, you cannot turn it down.  The idea behind these three events was to network.  They are held after work which means I am quite hungry upon arrival.  There are appetizers and drinks followed by dinner and drinks. 

I am trying to get back on the Sonoma Diet.  I worked out again today after work to attempt to elimiate the weekend meals.  I ran on the treadmill for 10 minutes and then did my leg workouts.  I tried to get on the eliptical maching again, but I seriously cannot see why people enjoy this.  I feel so awkward on this machine.  I do not know if I am supposed to be using more of my arms or my toes to push down or the back of my feet.  I also feel like my hips are swaying when I am on it.  It makes me feel dumb.  It also does not help when there are several guys in there working out with me.  I start to feel paranoid and imagine that they are staring at me doing the exercises incorrectly.  I tell myself that I am just making new excuses to avoid exercising and that nobody is looking at me. 

Today my husband and I met for lunch (a first) at a local sushi restaurant.  During the week, they have 2 for 1 sushi.  I really limited myself on the white rice (very bad on the Sonoma Diet).  I found that it’s easier to just eat the fish on top & not fill up on the white rice. 

Maybe this Sonoma Diet thing is working.  While getting ready for work this morning, I passed the mirror and noticed that my legs, butt, and thighs were a lot smoother.  The cellulite was slowly going away!  After work, my husband also commented that my thighs “weren’t as lumpy anymore.”  Ha!  This is very good encouragement.  All the healthy eating I have learned from the Sonoma Diet and the increased exercise is paying off.  This success motivates me to stay on that treadmill for 5 more minutes when I really want to quit and not have that bowl of ice cream when everybody else is