i have no self control.

i have been off plan since friday. completely, utterly, tragically off plan (fyi, "off plan" in the world of weight watchers is another way of saying "i've been binge eating the fuck out of anything i can get my hands on and pretty much don't care"). it all started with my mother's visit from chicago. the woman loves cheese. brings it with her wherever she goes. so that's one reason right there. if there's a brick of cheese sitting on my countertop, it won't be resisted.

we also had a fine meal at one of my favorite small plate restaurants, cesar. two killer mojitos, their own olive-oil packed spicy tuna with egg bocadillo, smoked trout and endive, killer patatas bravas with aioli and spicy tomato sauce, and paella with chorizo. this meat-laden venture cost me a whole weekend of digestive wellbeing.

as a result of my intestinal malady, we stayed in the rest of the time. and because i didn't feel well, i took that as an excuse to eat whatever sounded good. eduardo's spinach fettucini with a good two tablespoons of strauss family organic european style salted butter, salt, pepper and romano cheese. now that's what i call comfort food. probably ran me a good 20-30 points.

as if that wasn't bad enough, we rounded out the visit with colonial donuts and a croissant sandwich on sunday morning. oh, and zachary's that evening. shit. damnit.

so with that disaster behind me, i was going to clean up my act and soldier on. 23 points per day. no more, no less.

right. i had a box of macaroni last night, followed by two handfuls of leftover halloween candy and popcorn. i'm a failure.

what i eat when i only have three points left

resist the 100 calorie packs, folks. god knows what they did to those chips ahoys and cheetos to make them so lean.

you'll need:

1 whole wheat tortilla (1 point) - i like trader joe's brand
1 tbsp canned organic tomato paste (0 Points)
1 oz soft goat cheese - from your local farmer! (2 points)
sea salt, pepper and oregano to taste

here's what i do. i put everything on the tortilla, zap it in the microwave for 15-30 seconds. it tastes ok.

here's what i should do. get:

1/8 red onion, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

saute garlic in a small pan with cooking spray until clear and aromatic. add red onion. cook until soft. add peppers. cook until it all looks yummy.

layer tortilla with tomato paste and yummy cooked ingredients. crumble goat cheese over the top, add sea salt and pepper to taste.

bake in the oven on a cookie sheet until cheese is melted and tortilla has some crispness to it. cut into slices and devour. enjoy. wish you had more points. consider eating a string cheese and a spoonful of peanut butter. resist.

yeah. that sounds good.

i'm surprised i haven't started swimming

one of the most glorious aspects of weight watchers is the ability to eat relatively large sums of sushi and not blow all your points. the delectible cuisine tops my list of favorite foods. i could eat it everyday, and i pretty much do. in fact, i think one of the reasons why i've stuck with the w.w. program is because i have not been forced to tone down my raw fish consumption, like i have had to do with my linguine alfredo face-stuffing habit.

there is a fantastic little sushi restaurant called moshi moshi a couple blocks down from my place of work. the joint has excellent fish, a wide variety of creative rolls, and a very impressive menu of vegetarian options. when i was riding the veggie bandwagon i lived for their yummy yam roll - tempura friend yam and avocado. it was always ever-so-slightly toasty, too. fresh out of the deep frier. perfection.

my lunch today consisted of rich, buttery hamachi sashimi (7 pieces - 2 points) and a centipede roll, in which 8 pieces of avocado maki are topped with maguro and tobiko (5 points). my wasabi was molded into a little leaf. precious.

i'm satisfied and energized. 7 points well spent. $30 well spent.

ok, i realize $30 is a bit steep for lunch at work. looks like i'll be dining in the rest of the week.