Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Wednesday

Leaving on vacation this afternoon.  148.4 this morning, so I think the ballgown is safe.  Phew!  This has been harder than I'd anticipated.  And don't think for a minute that I'm going to pig out while gone - I'm not!!!  Yesterday was another weird one, due to being on my own.  Here's the breakdown:
  • cheese (cheddar first thing, swiss when I got home - probably 2.5 oz max)
  • the usual supplements
  • tea with cream
  • two clementines
  • a bag of beef jerky
  • 10 chocolate cherries
  • rather too many cashews
That was it, basically.  Never got around to eating dinner properly; I got busy and by the time I wasn't busy, I wasn't hungry.  Today should be just weird.  Flying at 3:50, so dinner at that point is out.  Leaving for the airport at noonish, so lunch is kind of out.  Probably a large tea-with-cream while waiting for the flight, and another plain tea on the plane.  Then dinner late, after we land.  So far, I've had tea with cream, supplements, cheese (just 1), a clementine, and 5 chocolate cherries.  Suspect more chocolate is in my future.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Note to Self

Now that I'm supplementing Copper, a day in which I devour both walnuts and dark chocolate is likely to give me a headache.  Both items are on the top-10 list for copper content.  Explains my state of brain this morning.  Which is gone now, for the record.

Tuesday

Holiday yesterday - one I tend to forget.  Anyway, I was at home.  Managed, over the weekend, to sustain the loss I saw by Saturday morning, so I'm still at 148.2.  It was touch, yesterday, though.  Dealing with the rest of the family leaving for New Orleans, and even with not having the dogs around, since they departed yesterday for "camp", left me at way too much of a loose end.  Nonetheless...

Here's yesterday as I recall it:
  • scrambled eggs
  • tea with cream
  • bacon
  • the usual supplements
  • cheese (in various forms, including shredded at one point)
  • homemade live pickles
  • walnuts (about 1/2 cup, I'd say)
  • potato chips - approximately 1-1.5 servings
  • soup - beef made with homemade stock, very tasty (having it again tonight)
  • chocolate - one small piece of a 70% cacao bar with orange bits in
  • obsessive consumption of chocolate cherries from TJs
I had the munchies - no other way to put it.  Toward the end of the half-box I managed to get through, they didn't even taste good, but I kept at it.  I have a raging headache this morning - possibly as a result.

Today I've started by having a piece of cheese (no time to cook when it's just me, and I don't want to open any more bacon), and have two clementines and a package of beef jerky with me to be going on with.  I started the day with 3 advil at 5 am.  It hasn't quite done the job, however; I can have more in about 1/2 hour, and will.

To help with the hot flashes, I started on straight black cohosh yesterday.  Maybe it's a bit early to judge, but it helped with sleep last night a good bit - while I did move about a lot, and periodically threw my feet over into the cold side of the bed, I didn't truly wake up until 5.  Now, I should add that I tried the natural light experiment for a while last night, but gave it up as a bad job after about an hour and some - too damn hard, and I need to be able to see.  So the end of my evening was me reading in bed on my iPad - as artificially lit as one can get, albeit via the Kindle app's "sepia" setting, so less blue.  Maybe that made a difference - and maybe it didn't.  Going to go back to normal entirely tonight.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Friday

Sleep was better last night - didn't wake up until just before 5:00 and went right back to sleep until the alarm went off.  Nice!  Just before bedtime, I read an interesting article by a guy who had twice experimented with a month-long period where they didn't use artificial lights at night - candles only.  He noticed in the summer that he had a couple of sleep-debt payback nights, and then settled nicely into an 8-hour rhythm.  In February, his family went into a 14-hour bi-modal sleep pattern, with 2 hours of "quiet wakefulness" followed by 4 hours of sleep, repeated once, and wrapped up with a final 2 hours of quiet wakefulness.  

I have two nights by myself next week, after Lee leaves for New Orleans.  And I'm going to do reading and what-not by candlelight, after 7:00 pm both nights.  Because they saw results immediately, and I would also like to see that.  In my case, it'll probably be sleep-debt payback, but even that seems like a really critical thing to do.

149.0 this morning.  I am rather pleased.  Eating yesterday was 67g Protein (25%), 82g Carbs (30% - eek!), and 54g Fats (45%).  Not the balance I would like to hit regularly, but it was damn near a fast day, wrapped up with Mexican food, so I'm not complaining.  Here's the breakdown:
  • tea with cream
  • the usual supplements
  • a bag of beef jerky
  • 3 clementines
  • chips and salsa and guacamole (we left chips in the basket)
  • beef fajitas without tortillas
  • rice
  • one chocolate cherry almond thing
That was it.  Ate breakfast today - with 4 pieces of bacon instead of two - and we have a work party tonight, full of finger-food.  Salads before we go.  But I think I've got a handle on things - I'd got into the habit of snacking on nuts and so forth, and have simply been eating way too much.  Will be keeping things under control until next Thursday, at least, and should be fine for the ballgown.  And I think I can handle life on the ship, armed with this information.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Thursday

Menopause is starting to assert itself again.  Hot flashes a bit last night, but worse, what I think was a panic attack that woke me at 2:45 and made it very difficult to get back to sleep until close to 5:00.  So I'm dragging a good bit today.  And this is with melatonin; heaven knows what it would be like without.

150.2 this morning.  Here's yesterday:
  • a piece of cheddar cheese
  • tea with cream
  • the usual supplements
  • one clementine (meeting late prevented me from eating the other)
  • about 1/2 pound of gyro meat with onions
  • tzaziki sauce
  • about 1/2 cup of rice
  • I'm guessing a serving and a half of potato chips
Because I got some.  I don't want to use cashews for salt cravings; they're too expensive.  The chips worked fine and dandy.  LoseIt tells me I was at 28g protein (wow - low!!!) 13%, 58g carbs - 26%, and 62g fat, 62%.  Everything much lower than yesterday, but the protein seems very much too low.  I think I've seen guidelines indicating I should be eating around 1 g of protein per kg weight (okay, mass.  Whatever.  I did take Physics), and that would be closer to Tuesday's level - 68ish grams.

Today may not be much better, truly.  No breakfast again, owing to the bad sleep, and so far, I've had a clementine and a bag of beef jerky.  I think I'll go get some lunch...

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

A bit of analysis for yesterday

Every so often, I put my day's eating into LoseIt on my phone, just to see what I'm doing.  I did it for yesterday, and I'm not liking the results much.  71g protein (17%), 79g carbs (19%), and 114g fat (63%) for the day.  The cashews (I think they came up to 3/4 cup) accounted for 33.6g carbs on their own, although they contributed 47.6g fat and 15.7g protein.  But what I really wanted when I ate them was salt.  And crunch.  Two servings of Lays potato chips would have been fewer carbs - 30 - and everything else.  Granted, they're cooked in soybean oil or some other nasty Omega-6 krep, but they would have satisfied my salt and crunch jones and been more in line with how I want to eat.  And I think I could have lived with just the one serving.

The clementines were relatively negligible - 17.8g carbs, some of which was fiber, and a little protein.  But I don't know if I want to take that hit daily.  Knowing what they contribute, though, at least I can make a more informed choice about eating them.

I saw a review of a device allowing one to make potato chips in the microwave recently, that ended with the suggestion that one could do it one's self with a plate, just fewer at a time.  I think I will acquire a couple of small potatoes and use my new peeler to make thin slices, add a little light olive oil and salt, and see what happens.  Then, I've controlled the oil content, and have something that is better for me than noshing on bloody cashews.

Wednesday

Sleep is difficult again, right now.  It's very cold outside, which makes Lee preternaturally cold and causes him to want a warm bedroom.  And I prefer a cold bedroom.  Add to that the return of hot flashes - so far, not constant, but certainly annoying, and requiring me to kick the covers off.  So I'm a bit tired.  150.6 this morning again.  Here's yesterday:
  • scrambled eggs
  • bacon
  • tea with cream
  • the new usual supplements
  • two clementines
  • meat loaf (1-1/2 pieces)
  • sauteed mushrooms and onions in butter
  • green beans
  • salad with blue cheese, cranberries, walnuts, and balsamic vinaigrette
  • one chocolate almond cherry thing
  • three handsful of cashews
I did stop there - full - in the evening, which I guess is a good thing.  More salad-with-meat variation tonight, though not sure what, exactly.  I had a piece of cheese for breakfast this morning; we didn't want to get up.  Two more clementines with me should that prove insufficient.  But most of my calories in the evening, certainly.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Tuesday

I think yesterday I achieved a bit of traction in controlling some of the cravings and what-not.  And 150.6 this morning, so maybe it will pay off.  Here's the day:
  • scrambled eggs
  • bacon
  • orange juice (just a little)
  • the new usual supplements (the old ones plus copper, iodine and C)
  • two clementines
  • queso dip and chips (but not many - fewer than 10)
  • steak-and-wedge salad with blue cheese dressing
  • a chocolate-almond-cherry thing
  • a handful of shredded cheddar
  • a handful of cashews
I think that was it.  Did breakfast this morning again - not sure if skipping it has caused problems over the past few weeks or not - and have two more clementines with me at work.

Regarding a move toward the PHD, obviously, I added the 3 supplements to my morning.  I'm thinking that getting the pound of starchy veg per day could be interesting, to say the least.  But I'm also thinking that an occasional Domino's gluten-free pizza can be added to the family menu, and maybe some other starch-based items.  So I need to be thinking of menus.  They also suggest frequent bone-based broth/stock, which I do make, although not the way they describe; I think cooking it for 24 hours with a bit of vinegar extracts pretty much everything out of a bone, rather than 3 or 4 passes of a couple hours each.  And I am doing ferments - got pickles going right now.  And we need to eat them soon - or over the next 2 months or so.

Mardi Gras the end of next week, followed by the cruise.  I think we can manage to eat pretty well on a ship; there will be a beignet consumed in New Orleans, and probably some roux.  After the ball - I just have to fit in that dress and then I can relax.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Monday

Wow.  I've got nothing this morning.  151.4.  Lee and I are committed to eating variations on "meat and salad" for the next two weeks, and after that, don't know.  I added 3 of the PHD supplements to my mornings - copper, iodine, and C.  No idea if they'll do much, honestly.  

Slept like crap last night - added another duvet to the bed and fought with it all night.  My shoulder hurts, my neck hurts, I have a mild headache, and I'm dehydrated - my eyes and skin are drier than dry.  Oh, and hot flashes, of course.  Looks like we're heading in for another round.  That, or I'm feverish - the dry eyes and high temps sound more like that, truly.

This is our last full week before vacation, though.  That's got to be worth something, right?

Friday, January 11, 2013

Friday

151.8 this morning.  I truly am on the brink of throwing my hands up in despair.  Oh, and I'm starting to get a few mild hot flashes, as if things weren't wonderful enough.  Gah!

The ball is two weeks from yesterday.  I can hold on trying to eat more salads and fewer nuts and less cheese and so forth for two weeks, but without any hope of substantive change, I guess.  I did buy a Spanx thing to wear with the ball gown, which will help a bit, but it's just so annoying.

Once we get back from the cruise, I'm going to re-read PHD and try it for real.  I'll use this to make a list of specific actions, and go from there.  Not sure what else I can do, really.  I'm hoping that the change will get me a bit more energetic; of late, I've just been so draggy this winter.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

What is it - Thursday?

I flew out Sunday for a 3-day vendor conference in California.  Went to Disneyland that afternoon, including walking to and from (3 miles right there, plus whatever roaming I did in about 4 hours in the park).  I ate pretty well - and had only some almonds for a snack; they didn't offer crap in the afternoons.  Anyway, this morning, despite swollen feet (like in, my shoes don't fit so great), I'm at 151.0.  

Some observations:
  • I struggled with the not-snacking thing.  It was hard.  I'm a boredom eater, and I was kind of bored.
  • Rolfing allowed me to sleep 3 nights in a hotel bed with a pillow that was so flat as to be non-existent, and feel reasonable today.  My right shoulder, in particular, is feeling pretty good - unlike after 3 nights in the hotel bed with bad pillows back in September.  Huge mobility improvements overall, and substantial pain reduction.  Not 100%, mind you, but adequate.
  • While I stayed pretty darn low-carb, I only had leg cramps one night - and it wasn't after the walking.
  • I was able to eat low-carb off their dining options - cheese and fruit at breakfast (2 apples and a banana), salad and meat at lunch (one day was pot roast and mac-and-cheese - bizarre combo), and something light in the evening - a Chicken Caesar one night, nothing the following two, actually.  So that went pretty well.
  • My stomach rebelled big-time yesterday, and is still unhappy.  I'm not sure what the cause was.
  • I did take Melatonin each night, but/and slept like a rock until 3 am local time.  Not sure what goes on at 3 am there.  I was able to get back to sleep fairly easily after.
Anyway, back to the routine.  Meat and salad for dinner tonight, sounds like.  I had a fat-bomb smoothie for breakfast this morning, to get the MCTs going - got in after midnight last night, so am functioning on not a lot of sleep.  Better tomorrow, I desperately hope.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Friday

This is one of those days.  I'm in a putrid mood for a variety of reasons, one of which is that I'm up to 151.0 again this morning.  Here's yesterday:
  • scrambled eggs
  • sausage (2 patties)
  • tea with cream
  • the usual supplements
  • roast beef (2 thin slices)
  • green beans
  • shredded lettuce
  • pico de gallo
  • taco "meat" (Country Buffet - I'm guessing there were fillers)
  • queso sauce
  • 4 pieces of cheese
And I stopped.  Note that I ate no identifiable sugar yesterday, although the sausage were "maple" flavored.  I see nothing there to add a half-pound to my weight.  Nothing.  It's very irksome.  Effing hormones.

Travel for work early next week, starting on Sunday.  3 days in Anaheim for a conference.  Sunday afternoon at Disneyland.  I'm thinking turkey leg.  Gonna find out where they dispense them this time, by gum.  And get a lot of walking in.  Somehow.  I'm taking beef jerky and walnuts with me as stopgap items, in case the food is atrocious.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Thursday

Sugar is evil.  I hate to agree with Michael Bloomberg about anything, but there it is.  I'm having an awful time resisting the stuff just now, and am back at 150.4 according to the scale this morning.  So I'm sort of thinking that my only hope for the next 3 weeks, until the ball is over, is to avoid eating sugar - a 21-day detox, whether I feel toxic or no.  So that's my plan.  I hope I can do it.

Here's yesterday:
  • coconut oil
  • tea with cream
  • the usual supplements
  • beef jerky (2 bags - I was really hungry mid-day)
  • 6 chocolate almonds (somebody brought them to work)
  • pot roast with juice and veg (carrots and celery)
  • baked sweet potato with butter
  • 1 dark chocolate cherry almond cluster
  • 5 chocolate blueberries
  • 2 candy-covered cherries
  • 1 Lindt white chocolate ball
  • 1 Ghirardelli dark chocolate mint square
  • 1 chocolate meltaway thing
  • Walnuts, to try to stem the tide
  • 2 pieces of cheese
See what I mean?  Once I got started with the dessert items, I had an awful time stopping.  That said, the keto-stix said I was in ketosis at bedtime, and my calves are fasciculating this morning, darn them.  

Stuffed bell peppers for dinner tonight.  And NO dessert.

I'm also going to start climbing the stairs each morning (and on other opportunities as they arise).

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Wednesday

So, I'm liking the new scale.  It's fuss-free, for starters - just step on it, no zeroing to start with.  And it "forgave" my eating sins of yesterday - rather than go up, it went down - to 149.0.  

All told, yesterday was a wretched eating day.  Lots of candy, and the end of a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos just before bedtime.  Between that, some breakfast and some pork roast and salad for dinner.  And a lot of tea.  I am not going to bother with the details, since it was choppy and I don't actually recall everything.  

Finished the PHD book yesterday.  And now I'm digesting, trying to figure out what exactly I want to do with the info.  The book addresses health in a bunch of different dimensions: adequate nutrition, avoidance of toxins, healing chronic infections/infestations, circadian rhythms, and exercise are the ones I can recall.  Paleo low-carb helps with some of the nutrition, but their list of supplements is a bit intimidating.  And there's the starch thing.  From an eating standpoint, the starch thing would be the biggest change, followed by the "gentle cooking" stuff - and I'm not sure I would enjoy the results of that, since I'm quite fond of the Maillard reaction.  So I intend to continue roasting and browning my food for now.  Regarding the starch, I did invest in tapioca flour and xanthan gum yesterday, and am now equipped, in theory, to create gluten-free pizza dough, full of safe starches.  We'll give it a try, but maybe not to the full pound per day of starchy veg just yet.

More on the others later.