Friday, September 28, 2012

Friday

In the end, yesterday was almost a fast, too.  Lee had to be out of the house very early, so we just skipped breakfast for convenience; I grabbed a couple of pieces of cheese to tide me over, and out we went.  So the cheese was my breakfast, and I guess beef jerky was my lunch.  147.0 this morning and a mildly upset stomach.  Here's yesterday:
  • tea with cream
  • the usual supplements
  • cheese
  • jerky
  • chocolate cherries (I confess that I finished the box when I got home - about 1/3 of it, I'd say)
  • chips and salsa - only a few
  • wedge salad with bacon, tomatoes and blue cheese dressing - this was half a head of lettuce from the planet of the giants - I did not finish it
I guess that was it.  When it turns out that you eat hardly anything, it seems it's rather hard to lose weight.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Thursday

I think it's Thursday, anyway.  My brain is foggy this morning, and I'm achy.  But we walked last night, near-fasted for me, and it may just be aches and pains.  147.4 this morning, no idea why.  Here's yesterday:
  • tea with cream
  • the usual supplements
  • cheese
  • 6 chocolate cherries
  • Chicken Piccata from Mimi's, with buttered broccoli and carrots
  • Walnuts
That was it.  I was pretty ketotic yesterday afternoon, judging by the taste in my mouth (one of my clues), and I don't really think the carbs from 6 chocolate cherries and about 15 walnuts would have busted me out.  But I could be wrong.  I've been wrong before.

The walk was a mile and a half, per Elizabeth's Nike thingie, and we did it in 21 minutes.  I figure her tracking thing is more accurate than my occasional (usually too late) glance at the clock on the wall, so 14 minute miles.  Not too bad, considering.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Wednesday

A quick note: Yesterday's migraine prompted a carb binge after dinner - potato chips (possibly for the salt) and chocolate.  147.2 this morning, no surprises.  I don't have time to go into detail, but am fasting today, seriously, for reasons other than nutrition.  More tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Tuesday

Well, that was interesting.  I was heading onto the freeway to start my commute when I noticed the first stirrings of a migraine aura.  Mine are visual - arcs of sparkly triangles in the left field of vision - so I'm stuck in a restricted access road going 65 miles/hour, with some distortion to my left.  I am happy to say I made it to work without incident, managed to get 3 advil down while driving, and the aura disappeared about halfway to work.  Ugh, though.  I never used to get these, and can only blame hormone swings, since they pre-date Paleo.  Right now, I can feel some pressure in my forehead that I am hoping will not blossom into the real deal.

146.0 this morning, so those same hormones seem to be willing to play along with weight loss.  I appreciate that, at least.  Here's yesterday:
  • scrambled eggs
  • tea with cream
  • bacon
  • the usual supplements
  • cheese
  • chocolate cherries (5 total all night, I think)
  • a chicken breast
  • about 10 green olives
  • salad with vinaigrette dressing
  • a chocolate caramel Ghirardelli square
That was it.  I wasn't hungry enough during the day to snack, for which I am grateful.  Elizabeth and I went walking before dinner, to boot; she said that she'd been fasting all day and was a bit cranky, although she didn't seem to be.  I did my first mile (of 1.5, approx.) in about 13 minutes, which isn't bad.  Cut my stride way down to reduce arm swings, and my shoulder is quiescent today, so that appears to be the ticket.  I'm still taking turmeric for it, prophylactically.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Monday

Well, let's see.  What's been going on?  A good weekend, I think - for eating, anyway.  I'm down to 146.8 this morning, and mean to keep it that way.  Our weekend involved lots of being out and about, mostly meals in restaurants (all but yesterday's breakfast, I think), but few opportunities to snack.  Elizabeth reports a loss of at least 15 pounds on her Whole 30, which she is considering limiting to a Whole 21 because life without cheese is just not worth it.  But she's doing really well - ignoring chips and salsa at Mexican restaurants, and having only a tiny bit of rice at the hibachi place.  And then buying Junior Mints at the movies as a least-worst option and not bothering even to open the box.  It's now residing in our pantry to keep from bugging her.  She's pretty chuffed at the progress, for sure.

I had some fun on Saturday morning - a friend is starting a venture representing a clothing line, and was having a trunk show, so I went to check things out.  And found that, regardless of size label, I fit every garment I tried on, at least to be able to fasten it without strain.  I also found that clothing that's not "me", and which I would not wear voluntarily, actually looked fairly good on me.  I guess I could start a new career in modeling if I felt inclined - or not.  In the end, I bought 2 skirts that I believe I will wear.  The weird thing is that I bought one of them in a size 6 (yes, that is NOT a typo) and the other in a size 10.  Same line, same company, one would think they'd standardize sizes.  But I tried on multiple size 6s and 8s and had no problem zipping any of them, other than getting my arms into a position that would allow me to pull up back zippers on dresses.  Crazy.

At the movies on Saturday, we split half of a dark chocolate bar, and I had a fizzy water - quite a change from the days when a large popcorn vanished before the previews ended.

Anyway, here's yesterday:
  • tea with cream
  • the usual supplements
  • part of a bowl of primal hot cereal (recipe from a Mark Sisson book) - unfortunately rather nasty as I used almonds that had gone bad
  • 4 pieces of bacon
  • cheese - 2 or 3 pieces
  • turkey - 2 slices
  • chocolate cherries - maybe 4 or 5 throughout the day
  • fewer than 10 chips with salsa and a little refried beans
  • cheese enchiladas with nasty green chile (I was hungry, so I ate them)
That was pretty much it.  I was at 146.6 yesterday, so I would tend to imagine that the Mexican had its usual effect.  Whatever.

On the hormonal front, I am, unfortunately, suffering from hot flashes again.  What is this, round 3 or 4?  I'm really really done with it.  Wish it were done with me.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Friday

Walked again last night - 17 laps in about 15-20 minutes.  11.6 laps is a mile, so nearly a mile and a half.  My legs are not suffering from this, but my shoulder is feeling hateful again this morning.  More turmeric, more Icy-hot, probably some Advil in my future.  I don't want to stop the walking; I need it.  But I also need to let my shoulder recover from the bad pillows.  Maybe I do a couple of walks slower, without the racewalk arm-swing.  Something like that.

149.4 this morning - I think that's what I was yesterday as well.  Here's what I ate yesterday:
  • scrambled eggs
  • bacon
  • tea with cream
  • the usual supplements
  • beef jerky
  • cheese - 1 piece cheddar and 1 piece Kerrygold Dubliner
  • brats (2) with dijon mustard
  • sauerkraut - the last of my homemade stuff
  • a little cole slaw
  • 1 chocolate cherry
  • the rest of the coconut milk ice cream
That was it.  I will definitely be making more of the sauerkraut this fall, especially as I now have a mandoline.  But this weekend, I think I'll be working on dehydrating the rest of the carrot crop for flour - maybe it will make only one supreme failure of a cake, but I think it's worth a try.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Thursday

I don't know if yesterday could be called a fast day or not; between bedtime the night before and dinnertime yesterday, I only ate about 12 olives and a thing of beef jerky.  Now that's obviously eating something, but not much, really.  I was good and hungry by dinner time, for certain.  And we had Mexican.  149.4 this morning.  Here's the breakdown:
  • tea with cream
  • the usual supplements
  • olives (12ish)
  • beef jerky
  • 2 pieces of cheese
  • chips and salsa (half the basket of chips - don't know how many, but fewer than 20)
  • naked chicken fajitas (including guacamole, sour cream, and cheese)
  • part of the serving of refried beans
And then I stopped for the night.  I know snacking is not a good thing, so I did my best not even to start, and that worked.

Back to the gym tonight for more walking.  What I put in on Tuesday didn't really hurt yesterday, but at least I was moving a bit.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Wednesday

I may have screwed up my right shoulder again while on vacation.  Stupid hotel pillows - had me sleeping on that shoulder but with my head practically on the mattress, rather than elevated a decent distance.  One was too thin, two were too thick.  Anyway, we went walking last night at the gym - day 1 of protecting my Mardi Gras ballgown investment - and I swung my arms as one does when racewalking.  And got nearly no sleep last night due to the resulting pain.  I have Icy-Hotted it and took a bunch of turmeric this morning, and hope to get it calmed down quickly; I really don't want to have to go back to the MAT therapy again.  Fragile, though.  Wow.

150.0 this morning.  Down a bit, and fasting today for a while, primarily because I got nothing resembling quality sleep last night - between the shoulder and a crazy-nasty leg cramp (outside above my left outer anklebone, wanting to twist my foot up to touch my leg on that side.  Ugh!).  I brought some green olives to work with me for any hunger issues, because I'm not wanting jerky.  Here's yesterday:
  • scrambled eggs
  • bacon
  • tea with cream
  • the usual supplements
  • beef jerky
  • meatloaf (whole 30 compliant, made the panade with coconut flour)
  • salad with blue cheese
  • some chocolate of various types
  • walnuts
I need to get my sleep fixed.  No idea why, but it's been utter crap lately.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Tuesday

Post-vacation.  We ate fairly well, but had dessert here and there, and some cashews and chips and M&Ms on the way home.  150.6 this morning, and not too surprised.  Starting the walking tonight.

Biz has managed a "whole 7" so far, apparently, with good results boosted by a stomach virus of some sort - lost 12 pounds in the first week.  She is happy at the progress, but is missing her dairy products.  Oh, well.

No food log for yesterday.  I'll resume tomorrow.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Thursday

And a-vacationing we go - tonight, anyway.  I need it.  Sleep has been dicey of late, and I'm tired and cranky and need 4 days of nothing but possibly driving.  Should be good.

Yesterday, I fasted breakfast for convenience, and ate garbage the rest of the day.  However, my body seemed to need it, or something.  148.2 this morning.  Whatevs.  Here's the confession of my dietary sins:
  • tea with cream
  • skipped the supplements
  • beef jerky
  • 3 Lindt 85% squares
  • salami
  • cheese (eaten from a bag of pieces, no idea how much)
  • chips and salsa
  • coconut pineapple ice cream
  • 1 Ghirardelli square with caramel
  • 3 chocolate cherries
You know, I look at lists like this, and realize how my values have changed.  This really wasn't garbage.  A little chocolate heavy, a few carbs - but I bet we were in the 50-75g range, max.  The Lindt comes in at 8g carbs for 4 squares.  The Ghirardelli is another 8 for the one.  Add a few chips (the salsa quantity was maybe half a cup, probably less) and the pineapple, and sorry, not garbage.  Go figure.  It felt like bingeing at the time.

Fasted breakfast for convenience today, too - had the animals to feed.  Work is providing us with lunch if I opt to have some - and I might, I'm rather hungry right now.  And then we have the airport - wait for a plane and maybe have something.  We'll see.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Wednesday

148.8 this morning after shedding what seemed like a lot of water weight yesterday - but not through yet, I think.  Fine.  Here's yesterday:
  • scrambled eggs
  • bacon
  • tea with cream
  • the usual supplements
  • 3 cashews
  • bunless double quarter pounder with cheese
  • coconut milk pineapple ice cream
  • two Ghirardelli chocolates
  • potato chips
The day started out well, but degraded toward the end.  If I had the courage of my convictions, I'd throw out those damn chocolates.  Probably won't happen, though.  I am having fairly nasty carb cravings right now - and I think I know why.  The other day, en route home, I was dying for garlic bread and spaghetti.  Neither of which I've even considered eating for about 2 years.  Go figure.

The ice cream, so called, was my first attempt with my birthday present, which works quite well, I must say - I had frozen stuff in about a half-hour, unattended.  It was good; just coconut milk, coconut shreds, pineapple, and vanilla.  Not ice cream, by any stretch, more fruity in flavor.  I plan to try cream-based stuff as well, possibly with eggs for a custard.  Looking forward to experimenting - especially with very low sugar stuff.  Cream, vanilla, and fruit puree/chunk combos, stuff like that.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Tuesday

I did not sleep well last night, and this morning, I feel like crap.  Tired, sure, but also achy and hollow.  Not sure what's going on - Lee felt like this yesterday, so it's possibly some sort of disease.  Certainly I feel far from eased.  Whatever.  149.6 today, after a good eating day, I think.  Here are the details:
  • tea with cream
  • bacon
  • scrambled eggs
  • the usual supplements
  • beef jerky
  • 1 square Lindt 85%
  • 2 squares Ghirardelli what-have-you with sea salt
  • cheese
  • grilled shrimp
  • broccoli
  • salad with blue cheese dressing
  • walnuts
That was it; really, the only bad things on that list are the chocolate.  I think we're dealing with hormonal water weight right now - should know for sure within the next day or so (of course, because I have a vacation planned).

Elizabeth is trying a whole 30.  I lent her my book, and will support her as much as possible with advice or encouragement or whatever, because I found it a bit irksome (they're right, it's not "hard", but it is).  Hope she can pull it off and kick start some health improvements.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Monday

And it's my birthday to boot; I'm 51 today.  And I weigh 148.8 pounds and feel pretty good, apart from the mild hangover resulting from being the only person at dinner last night willing to finish the bottle of wine we bought (five people should have been able to get through it easily, but nobody wanted more than a glass, so I ended up having about 3 - and I'm a huge lightweight).  

Anyway, I was at 147.8 yesterday morning, and didn't eat much that was bad yesterday, apart from some fries (pommes frites, to be strictly accurate, as it was at a french restaurant), the wine, and the creme brulee for dessert.  Okay, maybe not such a great eating day.  Here's the details:
  • tea with cream
  • bacon (7 slices, to finish some up before it could go bad)
  • cheese (3-5 pieces throughout the day)
  • a small container of potato chips
  • 2 or 3 Ghirardelli chocolate squares (hmm, this is getting worse by the minute!)
  • steak with brie-butter on it
  • squash with butter
  • fries
  • wine
  • creme brulee
I think that was it.  I'm paying for it this morning - until the Advil kicks in, anyway.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Friday - at last!

And this time, it's real.  I was able to fast with very little effort yesterday, and got home pretty hungry.  We had Mexican for dinner, which might not have been the best choice, but it tasted good.  And 3 paleo brownies after - to get them finished off before they spoiled.  And that was my eating for the day.  A slightly more detailed breakdown goes like this:
  • tea with cream
  • the usual supplements
  • chips and salsa
  • a bit of guacamole
  • enchiladas montada (3-stack, cheese) with red sauce (by accident)
  • 3 paleo brownies
150.0 this morning - not a big improvement, but I feel somewhat less puffy.  And I had a leg cramp around 5 am, which would point toward some ketosis.  I'll take it. 
I'll try to get some walking in this weekend - but my intent is to sew a bit.  Should be time for both.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Thursday

Four-day workweek syndrome strikes; it should be Friday today, dammit!  We were ahead of the game until dinner last night, and blammo, it was suddenly, mental Thursday.  No idea how that happens.  In any event, I'm fasting this morning after a night of not-so-great sleep (woke up cranky at 3 am and could not get to sleep until close on 5:00).  Hope to keep it up until dinner.  150.2 this morning, and a bit puffy around the ankles again.  I do wish I didn't have hormonally-related water retention quite so much these days - or at least, not in my ankles.  Here's yesterday:
  • scrambled eggs
  • bacon
  • tea with cream
  • the usual supplements
  • beef jerky (got bored)
  • brats with mustard (2 of them)
  • sauerkraut (live)
  • potato chips
  • walnuts
  • two paleo brownies
  • a piece of Ghirardelli dark chocolate with caramel and sea salt (these are amazingly good)
That was it; I will be giving some thought to a serious return to ketosis for a while, I think - what's above would not have done it.  The fast may.  I am also parking my car farther away from the building (not as far as it could be, so I can work on that), and trying to take the stairs more.  We probably should have gone for a walk last night - might have helped with the sleep some.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Wednesday

I had a busy day at work yesterday, which meant that I didn't need to eat to deal with boredom.  Not a good thing, boredom - especially when my reaction is to fixate on carbs.  Today looks fairly action-packed as well, especially during the afternoon when things get hyper-boring, so I hope to repeat the process.  149.6 this morning, so some of the weight dropped off.  Here's the day's eats:
  • scrambled eggs
  • bacon
  • tea with cream
  • the usual supplements
  • cheese (2 pieces)
  • steak-and-wedge salad with blue cheese dressing
  • two paleo brownies
And that was it. 
 
I bought my Mardi Gras ballgown last night - ordered it from a bridal outfitter in town.  Based on the size we opted to go with, I have no margin to gain weight between now and January 26th, so I will be adding some regular walking to my life, somehow.  I do think the short twice-daily walks I did at my old job (to and from the car) were just enough that, when stopped, I gained some weight.  About 5 pounds' worth, I'd guess.  So if I find a way to get walking again, somehow, somewhere, relatively frequently, I think I should be able to push them off and make them stay there - and that should be enough for safety through the holidays.  That, and completely avoiding holiday snacks.  I have a goal, and that will help.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Mon - err, Tuesday

Ah, the three-day weekend.  A nice one, got a lot of little things done.  Didn't think I ate much yesterday, but something wasn't right.  150.0 this morning, after 148.6 yesterday.  Here's the day:
  • bacon
  • tea with cream
  • cheese (5 pieces, throughout the day)
  • 2-1/2 hot dogs
  • potato chips (not an awful lot, but maybe enough) with mustard
  • a paleo brownie (made another batch - those things are really good!)
  • meat loaf
  • southern style green beans
  • ice cream (coconut-pineapple, this time)
  • a Ghirardelli dark chocolate square with caramel and sea salt
The beans were over-salty this time (some day, I'll get the proportions right - but not yesterday).  Maybe that caused some water retention.  I don't know.  Not going to worry about it.
 
I cooked yesterday.  Put up green beans, owing to a surprise donation from my former sister-in-law (8 meals' worth, all blanched and frozen).  Made tomato sauce from the garden's tomatoes - 6 cups, give or take.  Made meatballs to freeze, and as seen above, meat loaf and brownies.  It was fun - I think I finally sat down around 3:30, after starting about 8:00.  And now we have 4 meals of meatballs for those "Crap - what are we going to eat?" nights, which occur all too often (tonight might be one of them, but we could have leftover meatloaf, I think).
 
Less than 2 weeks until vacation (long weekend in San Diego).  Looking forward to it.