Well, I ate lightly today and feel much better tonight.  No swimming today but I did walk with the dogs and put a strenuous hour in on the stationary bike, plus weights and crunches.  I am having a dinner party tomorrow to celebrate a close friends return from the East Coast- I have to be really careful about portions.  I’m making italian food, my favorite and my specialty (I am an adventurous cook under normal circumstances but tomorrow I’m making a dinner I know my friend will love and that I know I can execute as perfectly as is possible in my apartments’ kitchen).  I’m making Linguini al Frutti di Mare-  seafood linguini with homemade tomato sauce, clams, scallops, shrimp, mussels and calamari, parsley, garlic, red pepper.  Also sauteed green beans with cannellini beans, garlic, goat cheese and basil and a large mixed green salad with roasted pine nuts and kalamata olives.  Bananas foster for desert.  So my plan is as such: eat small portions of all main meal components, send the remaining pasta home with someone in tupperware, no desert (I’m deliberately not making one of my personal favorites so I won’t be too tempted).  That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it.    Today’s food breakdown: low fat vanilla yogurt with grapenuts and a tomato for breakfast, a banana for a snack, a sammy with lite mayo, basil, chicken breast, low-fat swiss, a tomato, spinach, two slices rye.  Again, after the sandwiches earlier this week, all I want to do is chomp down disgusting sammies from the likes of Meconi’s (an amazing Italian deli here) and, don’t judge me, Arby’s.  But, whatever, I’m keeping it healthy and homemade and I know the sammy-fever will dissipate  soon- it always does.    I’m going to handle the dinner party, exercise, stick to the diet tomorrow and make sure my dogs get an insane amount of exercise so they don’t harass my friends.  I don’t want to go into a negative spiral of thinking- I’m persisting with this damn thing, going to go swimming later this week and persevere, dammit!