Today I found a great source for CarbRite Diet Bars at a really great price! Check out VitaDigest. They have the best prices around.

They offer boxes of 12 for over 64% off. And if you buy four boxes or more, you get a bigger discount.

I like the taste better than the South Beach bars, and I tend not to like protein bars (like Balance Bars, etc.), so I think that’s a positive endorsement.

We generally take it very easy on Sundays, attending church and puttering around. But with the first moving truck coming on Tuesday, that’s a luxury we can’t afford. We packed most of the day and ate whatever we could find.

I must say I’m liking the egg, turkey, muffin thing. As long as I an find whole wheat English muffins, I’m a happy camper in the morning.

It’s tough to diet when your life is packed with good people and things to celebrate. With my dad’s 80th birthday party looming large, we were compelled to celebrate with a big family BBQ when my uncle and aunt came to town to visit dad. They couldn’t make the Monday party, but the weekend was available.

I did avoid the homemade root beer, thank you very much, as well as the chips, potato salad, and ice cream. I stuck to one hamburger and veggies.

With the move looming, and way too much to do, I decided to cut my trip a tad short and leave Friday night instead of Saturday morning. No cafeteria today. A morning run and a workout hefting my bags and cooler down all the stairs and to the car. That should count for something.

Almost identical schedule to the day before, but I did eat with Jessica, my oldest daughter. (She’s a student at BYU who works on campus.)

I’ve also been exercising every morning. Just a brisk walk and a bit of plank. I’m certainly not sleeping well in this itty bitty bed with a lousy mattress and not enough blankets. It’s the middle of summer and it’s freezing!

Another mod of the diet. Yesterday I did go to the cafeteria for one meal and I ate the huge salad with some protein. But walking past the huge array of deserts—deserts that are included free on the meal plan—was enough to do me in.

Instead, however, of eating a chocolate brownies with chocolate icing, topped with chocolate twist ice cream, chocolate sauce, and chocolate chips, I was content to have a bowl of granola with skim milk. Not equivalent, but it satisfied the desire for sweetness without quite as much damage.

I will be spending the entire week at BYU attending Education Week, an adult education event I try to attend every year. I’ll be staying in a dorm. I’m suspending my day count because I don’t want to miss any of the workouts/menus. But I’m still going strong.

The challenges? No exercise equipment, no kitchen, no refrigerator, restaurants and junk food everywhere.

The solutions? A pre-planned menu, a portable fridge, running shoes.

In order to avoid eating at the cafeteria or fast food restaurants, I decided to bring most of my food and store it in a little, plug-in fridge in my room. It has to be portable and small in scale. Then every morning I’ll run and do as many seconds of the plank as I feel compelled to do. I’ll also carry and drink water all day long.

Here’s the menu I came up with:

Meal 1
1 whole wheat English muffin
1 hard-boiled egg
3 egg whites
2 slices low-fat ham
1 banana

Meal 2
1 pint skim milk
1 South Beach meal replacement bar

Meal 3
2 rice cakes with natural peanut butter
1 small apple

Meal 4
Cafeteria meal including mostly salad with protein and fruit

Meal 5
3 ounces tuna (in pouch)
16 raw almonds
1 orange

Meal 6
Rice, bean, corn, chicken dish (meal 4 from week 1)

The first day of my plan was a revelation. In spite of all my criss-crossing of the campus on foot and hoofing up and down hills, I felt utterly stuffed. I was actually dreading the next meal because I just didn’t want more to eat. This feeling persisted to the point that I actually skipped the cafeteria meal and, instead, had a container of fat-free yogurt and a cheese stick from a vending machine.

I’m packing food again today. And I’m not a bit hungry. Walking past the doughnuts and fries and chocolate is really not even a challenge. Good eating.

Because of circumstances beyond my control, I’m suspending my full participation in Live the Life. I’ll be out of town for a week and then moving to a new house. I’ll still work out the best I can and eat multiple meals with decent carb/protein/fat ratios. But I don’t want to miss the full experience, so I’ll resume with Day 43 after the move.

Yesterday was Sam’s 50th birthday. That meant french toast (not bad; whole wheat bread, heavy on egg white, sugar-free syrup) and sausage (not good) for breakfast. Then we had a healthy day, but it was followed by dinner at Tucanos (thumbs up for lots of protein, but thumbs down in every other way) and cake and ice cream at home.

This will be our little secret.

We are moving next week and so most of our free time has been consumed with packing. This hasn’t yet wreaked havoc with my Live the Life quest. But it hasn’t been really good for the rest of the family. They are only eating the same things I am for dinner. With all the goings on, I kind of forgot to buy the “other” food.

Will be easier if I can integrate this into a whole family meal plan.

Due to scheduling issues, we moved our date night to Saturday. Which, again, brings up the popcorn problem.

We went to a great movie theater that has a number of theaters and a commons area with a number of restaurants. When you purchase your dinner, you have the option of taking your food into the theater to eat. If this complex were closer to our home, we’d go there every time we see a movie.

For dinner I purchases a grilled chicken salad with low-fat raspberry vinaigrette dressing and a diet coke. So far so good. OK, and then we got a tub of popcorn. But at least we didn’t add extra butter!