Full disclosure - up eight pounds

In light of this annoying post about how maintenance isn't so hard after all, I realize why things seemed so easy - I was eating too much and on my way to gaining eight pounds. I would say three of those pounds were probably an improvement, but the other five were unnecessary. So I decided to stop eating so much at night and quickly lost one, with the goal being to lose four more. The plan was to (1) add back the stairs at work most days, (2) eat smaller dinners and (3) engage in less mindless snacking-picking at sweets. I kind of did ok with 1 and 3 but not so well with 2. Then work got busy and I've only done the stairs twice a week or so lately. I also have become lactose intolerant in the past few months (!!!!) - which means I can't fill up on non-fat protein. This is a huge adjustment for me. I may get the pills to take with dairy because it makes me sad not to eat it.  It also means I'm eating more calories for the same amount of satiety. And then there were the 6 lbs of latkes I bought for a party we never had. SO after a good start I kind of got lazy. My clothes are kind of on the cusp of tight. I like them loose.

I'm not really whining about gaining weight  - more just fessing up in the interest of full disclosure. I look fine and feel healthy. (I may be whining about the dairy - Greek yogurt specifically - but I'll adjust.) I think it's almost funny that I can't lose four pounds after all the weight I lost before. Where is my discipline? What happened to my motivation?? Why does it take 5+ pounds to even notice I've gained one?

Today my stair-climbing friends RAN up all 56 flights!! Tomorrow I'm joining them.

calamari in padella con limone e pangrattato

I got Jamie's Italy out of the library. It's really fun to read but kind of infuriating to try and use. I can't quite say why. I think the recipes are really simple sounding but either involve complex ingredients like octopus and squab, or massive quantities of cream and butter - and I just can't bring myself to make fettucini alfredo. And everything involves fennel. I don't know why, but I just enjoy reading it more than using it.

But the above recipe seemed simple enough. Saute breadcrumbs in olive oil and a few other ingredients - then cook up the squid and lemons and top with parsley and the breadcrumbs.

At any rate - I thought it was delicious - and fast - and not too expensive. I think Dave and I ate $11 worth of squid. Of course the kids had pasta and a bowl of cereal. It just wasn't worth the battle. Natasha ate one ring and said she didn't like it but she did eat the whole thing. I think Dave was less impressed than me...

I am picking up on a few tips though - use a lot of fresh herbs, lemon zest and put a new twist on old things. I do want to try tuna meatballs but they seem a bit labor intensive. I guess it's not a week-night cookbook. 

I don't see why I can't make these...

Perhaps I'll buy some dumpling wrappers and try making these...I do need a working food processor. But they really do look quite simple.