That Depends...

Nutrisystem Day Three

It snowed a bit here overnight so the schools had a two-hour delay. I should have taken advantage of that time to exercise or organize something, but instead I used the time to catch up on some desperately needed shut-eye. Who knew that detoxifying your body fat, sugar, white carbs, caffeine and alcohol could wreak such havoc on your R.E.M. sleep?

Luckily this system makes it pretty easy to plan and pack lunch and snacks for the day, because I had to hustle to get in to work after the bus left. Nutrisystem gives you a daily meal planner that makes it so easy to keep track of your entrees and supplemental food. It also gives you a space at the bottom of the page to keep track of your water intake.

We are about to enter a Capital Campaign at work, so we've hired a consulting firm to conduct a feasibility study. For the past two months, I've shared my office with a nice enough gentleman named Carl. Carl drinks coffee that smells like maple syrup (at first I thought he smelled like syrup and I wondered if he had a two year old at home who gave him goodbye hugs during breakfast. I later found out that his only child is a Yorkie named Sparkles or Skittles or Jazz Hands who is blind and routinely falls down the stairs.) He talks to himself all day, sometimes verbalizing his half of an entire conversation happening in his head. He's also been known to spontaneously break into song, which was a lot of fun over the holidays. "Santa Baby, hurry down the chimney toniiiiight." Carl also says Ciao. A lot. Carl makes me glad that I work from home most days. But I digress...

So, after the usual morning chit-chat, I got on with my day and on with my water. And I quickly realized that the problem with drinking 8 glasses of water a day is that you also have to eliminate 8 glasses of water. And urgently. And cruelly, only a few ounces at a time. So every time my concentration reached a peak, so did my bladder and I had to jump up and rush off to the ladies' room. After about the 6th time, Carl gave me a reproachful glance over his glasses, eyebrows lifted to the heavens, and said, "Yaright?" To which I lifted my empty 16 ounce bottle of Aquafina, tilted it towards him and replied, "Third one today. Water in, water out. Capice? Now can you please stop humming It's Raining Men?" Ok, that last part I made up.

Breakfast: Cinnamon Swirl Granola Bar. This gets a solid 8. It was delicious. Crispy and chewy and full of cinnamon-y goodness.

Lunch: Pea Soup. I read some good reviews about this particular soup, so my expectations were high (and you know what they say about expectations). It wasn't awful, but it had a fake smokey ham flavoring that turned me off. Also, it was a little gritty, but I suppose it did moderate job of impersonating a cup of pea soup. Score: 4

Dinner: Pasta Alfredo with Chicken. Surprisingly, this was delicious and more surprisingly, it was a shelf meal. The presentation left a lot to be desired, but I suppose it would have been more appealing if I had transferred it to a real dish. The chicken was very moist, the noodles firm enough and the sauce was tasty. Plus it was filling. I didn't even finish my salad, though I did eat a small plate of asparagus. I figured after drinking all that water, I should add some smelly pee to the ongoing bathroom circus. Alfredo gets an 8.

Dessert: Carrot Cake. Solid 5. It was what I expected. Sort of dry... thin layer of "frosting" on top. It was OK with tea, but only OK.