We made it to the end of week four and I’m happy to report the scale is still moving in the right direction. I’m officially below 260, which feels good — though I’ll be honest, Thursday had me a little worried when I stepped on and saw 261 staring back at me. Stuck to my morning weigh-in routine, stayed consistent, and by the weekend we were back under 260.
The meals this week were a real mixed bag in the best way. Standouts included the chicken shawarma wrap (the homemade tahini sauce makes it), the honey mustard pork chops, and hong shao pai gu (红烧排骨) — those red braised pork ribs that my happy healthy wife made. Those were delicious, though they do shrink down quite a bit once they’re cooked. On the “just okay” side, the pork mushroom dish didn’t excite me much, and the Cajun shrimp was good but we may need to find a different seasoning since happy healthy wife isn’t a fan of the Slap Ya Mama blend.
Now for the bigger story this week — exercise. Last summer I started having hip pain and my doctor sent me to physical therapy to strengthen my bursa muscle. The funny thing is, walking actually helped the pain, so we started doing long walks — 3 to 4 miles, an hour or more. I got used to it, no problem. But here’s what surprised me: all that extra walking didn’t move the scale one bit. Not a pound. That’s when it really clicked — it’s the diet that does the heavy lifting, not the exercise.
Week 5 is already looking good. Happy healthy wife requested steak, so Claude put together a whole week of steak-forward American dishes. We’re kicking it off tonight with slow-cooked short ribs. Stay tuned.
