I followed the plan – half a papaya, 2 peanut butter wheat crackers and a glass of milk before a 12000 step hike in the mist. A few slices of pineapple before picking up my friend and heading to lunch at Maya’s Tapas- fried chicken breast with spicy barbeque sauce with lettuce on a toasted brioche bun, garlic shoe string fries and half a slice of chocolate cheesecake with balsamic-chocolate drizzle and coconut guava limeade. Clearly, there is a reason for my pandemic pounds. Dinner, handful of carrots, 12 peanuts and one piece of dark chocolate with macadamia nuts. Total-2 fruit 1 vegetable

And finally, the good news- the scale actually budged in the downward direction prior to today’s planned outing. I can’t expect the same again tomorrow. It’s ok. I am wondering if it is in my best interest to have a day a week where one can relax and eat mindfully and skip the count.

The lunch restaurant had an interesting happy hour special – cauliflower ceviche. That would count as a vegetable and not one that is in the fridge at present. It wouldn’t take much to either add a salad before or after and plan the day accordingly.

Tomorrow starts my second week and the first day coincide with our local farmer’s market. I could use ginger, cilantro, thai sweet basil to help the vegetable cooking challenges this week. Lunch can be green papaya salad. And that should get me back on track. Wondering if it can be a vegetarian weekend.