Yes, we have no bananas

Made a big mistake today. Wednesdays are a weights + cardio day, so I headed to the gym at lunch per usual plan. Problem was that my morning was busy, and every time I meant to go grab a snack and refuel for the workout, I got sidetracked. You see, I always try to put some direct energy in my system so I can be strong and finish my workout, and don't pass out during it. A measly 500 calorie breakfast is long gone 4 hours later, and my body needs fuel. Usually a banana is sufficient to keep me going, and at 100 calories it is a perfect snack.

I get to the gym and the line is too long at the cafe, so I figure "what the heck" and go without fuel. Yeah, that was a bad decision. I did manage 45 minutes of weights, abs, and rowing, but I had no energy doing it. I think I worked hard - got good reps in, but it felt terrible and I was clearly done and enervated at the end. I'm pretty sure if I would have tried cardio that I would have passed out on one of the machines. I definitely learned the hard way I can't let my fuel run low.

Dinner tonight was pretty simple. Cleaned three long-stem artichokes, diced them, and soaked them in lemon water until I was ready to cook them. Added a teaspoon of oil to a non-stick pan with a teaspoon of minced garlic, browned it, and then added the artichokes. Added the juice of half a lemon, a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, two tablespoons of stock, and salt and pepper, and then reduced the liquid until it was almost dry. About 150 calories a serving for a nice pile of artichoke.

In the same pan I fried (dry) the leftover potato-celery root mash from the weekend into pancakes. The pancakes got nice carmelization on the outside, and stayed mushy on the inside, so it really only added a little depth of flavor. Two small "pancakes" were probably about 150-200 calories each. I put a little pile of arugula sprouts on top of it for a texture, color, and flavor contrast.

I then pan seared and broiled some lamb chops. Lamb is not the ideal diet food by any means - one of those little chops has 400-500 calories in it. I topped it with some of the leftover mushrooms from the weekend, and the total meal was likely over the 700 calorie target I set for myself. Which is okay because I was reasonable and still at a deficit for the day.