Waist Not Want Not...

So, it seems that me being banded is having an impact on S. I'm not sure that our relationship is 100% responsible for this (maybe 75%?), but he has put on somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 pounds in the last three months. Honestly, I don't see it, but he feels like he's too heavy. The reason for this? The guy does not like to waste food -- a good thing in general, but it can be bad when you're dating a bandster who never finishes her meal... So, when we go out to dinner or eat at my apartment, he'll often do a decent job on my leftovers. And... presto change-o.... those extra calories turned themselves into about 10 pounds! Yikes!

Interestingly, I also was a member of the Clean Plate Club from childhood until I was banded. I'd often keep eating until my plate was empty, regardless of whether I was still hungry. Now that I'm banded, I regret to say that I waste a lot of food. I try not to, but I can't always take a To Go box when I'm out, and leftovers (especially steak and chicken) aren't always that band friendly. I also tend to throw out a lot of vegetables... I'll use some of what I buy, but can't always finish everything before it goes bad. I don't like doing that, but I'm not about to consume a ton of extra calories that I don't even want to avoid wasting food. I do try to buy in smaller quantities, but it's not always possible.

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On the S front, we've been talking about how to remedy his recent gain. I've decided not to offer him my food, but to let him know that he is always welcome to have a bite of whatever I am eating and that, if he wants some, all he has to do is ask. That way I can avoid feeling like a food pusher.

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We're also going to do a healthy cooking challenge.... so, on nights when we're having dinner in together, we are going to take turns cooking healthy meals... with a view to seeing who can cook the best meal. That started on Thursday night. I made a nice salad (arugula, pancetta, ricotta salata and pears with a dressing of honey, Champagne vinegar, lemon juice, fleur de sel and pepper), followed by pan seared halibut with steamed green beans, roasted tomatoes and fingerling potatoes. Here's a photo... (I tried to rotate it... and saved it as a rotated version... but it's still showing up wrong...)

Lest we go too, too crazy, I also made a tiny dessert... individual lemon tartlets that I made from scratch (we split one). This was a really easy recipe -- the crust has roasted almonds in it (I put them in my coffee grinder because I don't have a food processor), and the curd is basically fresh squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, eggs and a bit of cornstarch to thinken it. The other thing I did was to tell him that I could only stay over his apartment on Friday night if we could find a workout for me to do on Saturday near his apartment (otherwise, I'd miss my usual yoga class). That was actually really easy -- there is a yoga studio right across the street from his apartment, so I took in a class there, and also got S to go to spin with me on Sunday! I felt so good about us helping one another to be healthy and keep on track with our fitness goals. I think this is a great habit for us to get into, and am sure that it will undo the side-effects that he is experiencing from "banded life!" :)