Thanks for noticing.

Score another one for me. I was standing at the fax machine early this morning when a co-worker walked by. I greeted her, and she replied, then hesitated a second and said, "I wasn't sure if I should say anything, but you look like you've lost a lot of weight. Good for you." I said, "Oh, thank you very much" and she nodded and kept on walking. I can see why people are hesitant to say anything -- most of the comments I've gotten have been with a disclaimer of sorts. It's a pretty sensitive topic and I think most women, at least, understand that. But I honestly don't mind anyone commenting on it, because I have worked hard and I continue to work hard. Although I guess they always run the risk of hearing, "Well, I've been ill" or something like that.

I ate over my calories on Saturday, but I knew I would. What does a banded girl eat at a chain steakhouse? I'll tell you.

First, I broke the rules by ordering an alcoholic beverage (not a carbonated one) and sipping it slowly throughout the entire meal.

Then, I ate a few bites of the fried appetizer that Beau ordered, but avoided the bread.

Next, my salad. It was Caesar, as I have learned that some raw veggies are a problem but lettuce never is, and I'm not into getting something stuck in public. I love the Caesar dressing. I picked at it slowly, because I didn't really want to eat it before the entree arrived.

Then the entree, which was a seven ounce filet and a baked sweet potato (hold the butter, but yes, I want cinnamon and pecans). It has to be really high quality steak. If I'm going to blow out my calories, I'm going to do it on something good. It's also easier to eat very tender meat. And if I ordered a ribeye or a NY strip, I'd end up ditching a good portion of it anyway because I don't eat chunks of fat. I ate the salad with the entree, and ate most of it. I ate about a third of the sweet potato and half of the steak. The rest made a good lunch the next day. I always get steak medium rare -- I don't see a point in getting it any other way -- and careful reheating makes it turn out just fine.

I eat beef maybe a couple of times a month now, as it does unpleasant things to my tummy. But I do like steak every now and then.

I randomly tried on my size 18 jeans the other day. I can get them up, but zipping or buttoning them over my gut is out of the question. Someday soon, I hope...