The toughest part about following a training diet is the monotony. I love to cook and bake, and even though I’m usually moderate about it, I love to eat.

Lately I’ve become obsessed with what other people are having for lunch. Anything seems so much more interesting (although maybe not as nutritious) than my vegetable-laden spinach salad with boneless, skinless chicken breast. I ask my best friend where she’s going for lunch everyday, and it’s always somewhere envy-inspiring. When The Boy went for all-you-can-eat sushi last week, I made him tell me, in graphic detail, about everything he ate…from the first bite of appetizer to the very last crumb of rice. Ah, heaven. It’s almost as good as eating it myself. Okay, it’s not, but let me continue to dream, all right?

During these last three weeks, the office has thrown the most temptations in my path. Home is pretty safe, since The Boy decided to join me in eating healthy. Sticking to a training diet is a heck of a lot easier when the person next to you isn’t chowing down on Doritos. The Boy also makes my salads for lunch each day–he’s been such a wonderful help, and I can’t imagine doing this without him. Trust me, the last thing you feel like doing when you stumble in the door at nine pm, worn out from three hours of training, is chop a bunch of veggies.

Anyways, the office…so far, there have been several kinds of cookies and full-fat cheese sticks at a meeting; a fundraising pizza and cupcake lunch; and a tree-planting ceremony with Timbits. I managed to skirt them all, but the pizza did smell incredible. Mmm, pizza….

The good news is, I’m seeing the results of my hard work. People are starting to notice and comment about how lean I’m looking. I’m not sure how much more weight I’ve lost this week, since I’m not going to weigh myself until Friday morning, but I suspect it’s a bit. Which makes a considerable difference when you weren’t overweight to start with.

Until I can treat myself with the occasional decadent lunch again, I’ll comfort myself with my favorite food porn: http://annies-eats.com/ and http://bakeat350.blogspot.com/ while I eat yet another salad with chicken.

If anyone has ideas or recipes for making an extremely healthy lunch more interesting, please throw them my way!