Wednesday

Still fighting that cold - hard! The sore throat seems to have subsided; at least, it just itches now. But I have that overall buzzy, out-of-it feeling that one gets with a cold - an overwhelming urge to spend the day prone. Wish I could. I do only have one meeting; I suppose I could do most of the day in a recliner. Worth a thought, anyway.

Slept like the dead last night. According to Lee I got up with a leg cramp once, but I don't remember it, and I didn't wake for the morning until after the radio had been playing at least 30 minutes. That's some serious sleep. Obviously I've needed it. Not that I didn't know that, but until very recently, it didn't seem like I was able to do much about it. Hope I can keep it up for a while.

156.6 this morning; apparently at least part of that 1.2 pounds yesterday was water. You think? Did I mention that i'm feeling a bit out of it this morning? Evidence. Right here.

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements, with extra vitamin D3
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• canadian bacon
  
• cheese
  
• about 5 almonds
  
• 1/2 cup of cashews
  
• salad with meat and cheese and blue cheese dressing
  
• 2 squares of Lindt 85% dark chocolate
  
• 1 chocolate with almonds
  

I was hungry yesterday, but nothing sounded appetizing. Honestly, I wanted cookies. And we didn't have any, and I didn't want to make anything of any sort, and I didn't really want them bad enough to kill off the run of ketosis I have going. So I didn't have anything. I wouldn't call yesterday a fast, but it was a pretty reduced calorie sort of day. The dark chocolate was an attempt to kill off the cookie craving, and I think it worked, so I will keep that in mind. Also, it may be my "treat" tonight, because the other chocolate I had at bedtime was the last one.

No exercise yesterday. If I left the house at all, it was to change the settings on the automatic sprinkler system to water a bit less frequently. The night before (Monday), I did go out and prune bushes in the yard for a while, and even with the cold, had pretty good stamina.

Today will be all about killing off the cold. I've bombed it with Elderberry sublingual thingies, a Mucinex, and a Sudafed this morning, and have washed out my sinuses. I will repeat the Elderberry throughout the day, and the Sudafed if I can find anymore in the house. We have a party weekend coming up, and I want to be healthy.

Tuesday

I was not hallucinating yesterday. Not today, either, unfortunately. No idea how I managed to gain 1.2 pounds overnight, but I have a mild cold (Paleo cold, low-grade sort-of-sore throat and mild malaise), and ate a lot of salty things yesterday to make my throat feel better, so it may just be water. In any event, back to 157.0 this morning.

Sleep last night started early, and ended earlier. That is, it started before 9 because I was tired and achy, and pretty much ended around 3 am because I was achy. I had enough sense to get aspirin at that point, or soon after, but it never quite kicked in, and I never really got back to sleep for real - a short doze or two, but that was it. So the mild malaise is at the forefront of my consciousness this morning, and I'm simultaneously very glad and alarmed that I have nothing scheduled to do today at work - because I'm probably incapable of useful thought, and because it's going to make the day really long.

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements plus a handful of D3
  
• almonds
  
• cheese
  
• cashews - 2-3 handsful (I think)
  
• peanuts - 1 handful
  
• chicken cream soup with green chile and potatoes
  
• salad with blue cheese dressing and pepperoni slices
  
• cottage cheese
  
• pickled jalapeno slices
• one chocolate with almonds
  

Not a bad list, definitely salt-oriented, and I can't say for sure that the soup didn't have flour in it. Much of the day I focused on drinking hot things, trying to wipe out that little irritated corner. It's less irritated today, but occupying more of my throat - don't know if that's an improvement or not. In any event, I'm going to take it kind of easy today - the week isn't going to get any easier, and I'd like to survive the weekend, which is composed of equal parts fun (travel to see friends) and annoyance (having to work - including Saturday - once there).

Anyway, I don't see any reason to move toward a sugar binge because the scale went up this morning. I'll just continue on my current path and see where it gets me.

Monday

Interesting. It appears that eliminating (or severely reducing) sugar for a while may have been the magic key. 155.8 this morning, with daily weight reductions all weekend. The nice thing about that sort of data is that it inspires me to keep it up, to stay focused and disciplined, so I ate very carefully both days.

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• pork sausage (2 patties)
  
• cheese (yellow Cheddar and Dubliner - 6 pieces total, I think)
  
• 2 handsful of cashews
  
• about 3/4 cup of green olives
  
• meatballs with a sour cream and mushroom sauce
  
• smashed cheesy cauliflower
  
• a chocolate with almonds
  

That was it. And I felt like the cashews were almost cheating - like I said, good feedback data enforces discipline for me. I think I can keep this up for a while, and see where it leads.

One other thing reinforcing my discipline here is that I bought my dress for the Mardi Gras Ball, and it fits like a glove, which means that I cannot be fatter than I currently am when that takes place at the end of January. I also should work on flattening my abs a bit. Just sayin'.

Possibly low-carb pizza for dinner tonight - notoriously problematic for me in stopping weight loss cold. I will tread carefully.

No walk this morning - it's drizzly and we were both tired. That said, sleep last night was really good. This bedroom is a bunch darker than our last one, which seems to make a huge difference for me - especially now that I covered over the on/off light on the cable box, which was blue and very bright. I think I'm paying off sleep debt, in that I'm easily able to sleep 8.5-9 hours a night, but once that's done, I would anticipate finally getting into a rhythm and maybe (!) getting routinely good sleep. Kinda nice, really.

We did walk a lot in dress-shopping Saturday. To the point that my left ankle started to complain a bit - it was the more recently injured of my ankles, so I guess it's entitled. Anyway, it continued to function, and that was good to see. And it felt fine yesterday and still does today. So we should resume the morning walks once the rain stops.

Friday

Horrible sleep last night. Didn't get started until about midnight (thank you, work), woke once for a bathroom trip around 3:40 am, and slept until some time between 6 and 7. All in all, it was the best I could do, but I felt run over by a truck this morning.

157.0, though. And that's something. A continued downward trend. Yipee! Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• sausage
  
• almonds
  
• cheese
  
• peanuts (about 1/2 cup, I think)
  
• shrimp and spinach sautee
  
• one chocolate with almonds
  

And that was with a late night. I managed on just the one container of peanuts, where in the past, I've had the open original container of walnuts or cashews. Spent the early evening sewing, finishing up the pillow covers I started last week. (and they look amazing!).

Don't know what's for dinner tonight. Probably out in conjunction with errands. I'm actually a bit amazed it's already Friday. This week's gone really fast. 

No walking this morning - I slept in a bit. Lots of work-related stress and two interviews today. I normally make these updates a lot earlier, but it wasn't in the cards. And I'm quite glad that this is the brink of the weekend. Dress-shopping tomorrow; not sure what else.

Thursday

I'm not sure why I'm feeling uber-cranky this morning, but I am. I just want the world to go away and stop bothering me for a while. 

I got decent sleep last night - straight through from 10-4, I think, and more sleep after 4, solidly through 5 and spottily after that. Leg cramp at 4, if that is germane. It might be.

157.8 again this morning. Okay, I'm okay with a short stall. It's not going up. And, probably more important, I'm sticking to my guns about the added sugar stuff. Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• bacon
  
• almonds
  
• cheddar cheese
  
• swiss cheese
  
• pulled pork BBQ with less than 1/4 cup sauce
  
• cole slaw
  
• green beans with bacon
  
• a chocolate with almonds
  

So a solid day's eating. We were going to have a shrimp thing, but needed to run a few errands, so we ended up at a BBQ place on the way. It was okay, but not the best we've had so far. I think we'll do the shrimp thing tonight - we don't want to waste the shrimp, for sure.

My stomach has been a bit off this week - at least, for the past 2-3 days. Not sure if it's too many almonds, or something else - shoot, maybe die-off of sugar-loving gut bacteria (which would be fine, obviously). Anyway, I hope it's about done.

Got a walk in again this morning - I think that's 3-4 days in a row. It's something, anyway.

Wednesday

Another good day (eating) yesterday, and reasonable sleep last night, although punctuated by a couple of golly-whomping leg cramps. However, I was able, both times, to stomp them out and get to sleep.

We adjusted our approach to a morning walk today - took it before showering and eating - and that seemed to help a little keeping me from feeling quite so sweaty afterwards. A little. A hot flash during breakfast that had my glasses falling off my face didn't help much, though. Ugh.

157.8 again today. Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• bacon
  
• almonds
  
• cheese
  
• cashews (less than 1/2 cup)
  
• peanuts (about 1/2 cup)
  
• bell pepper stuffed with meat (a low-carb "sloppy joe" filling recipe, and pretty good)
  
• one chocolate with almonds
  

That was it. I even managed to resist the potato chips yesterday. Well done me.

My hope, at this point, is to start seeing the scale going down when it changes, more consistently. Up to now, it's just been fluctuating, with a general rising trend.

Also hoping the walk will help with stiffness in my feet and ankles overall. They've been pretty nasty, were both injured in stair-related incidents, and while that seems to be gone, are not as flexible as I would prefer. We also really need to go find the gym and start using it; I need some strength improvements.

Tuesday

My stress levels got a bit high yesterday; they've hired my replacement at work (that's not why), and he is starting Monday (nope, not that, either), and as a result, they're taking both my teams from me, effective next week (ding-ding-ding-we-have-a-winner!). So, until the end of October, or until I find a new job, I will have NOTHING to do. Oh, and then new guy will only manage one of the two teams, so there's quite literally no reason to take the other one.

Anyway, I got to the end of the day with looming unemployment following a period of extreme boredom and terror to contemplate, and took a Benadryl to ensure that I actually fell asleep. Some days, better living through chemicals is indeed better. It worked, and I took it early enough that I'm not feeling all sleep-aid-hung-over this morning.

157.8 this morning. I'm feeling pretty solid on the changes I'm making, and hope to continue them. Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• 2 sausage patties (pork)
  
• almonds
  
• cheese
  
• a single potato chip
  
• pork tenderloin
  
• green beans with bacon
  
• 1 milk chocolate with almonds
  

That was it. A pretty good list, and I'm very proud of "eating just one" chip.

Spent last evening sewing - I'm recovering the pillows in the living room, and got 3 of them done yesterday. They are a big improvement over what I had on them before. I have 3 more to do, but need to swap out some piping I bought for a different color first. We also washed one of the dogs, to see if a bath would help with some itching she's been dealing with on her front legs. It seems to have. And she was really good about being bathed.

I guess that I will be spending large swaths of the next 4 weeks researching how to be frugal, when not applying frantically for jobs. It'll give me some sort of feeling of being in control. I think I'm going to need that.

Monday

Good weekend. Normal weekend. Not one trip to Home Depot, for starters. I got the kitchen decorating (walls, anyway) pretty much done, made jewelry, sewed a pillow cover (1 of 6), got big cleaning done, cooked a bit, and went for a walk.

159.4 this morning - same as on Friday. We ate out Friday night, but at home both Saturday and Sunday dinners. Out for breakfast yesterday. That said, I did probably as well with eating as I have in a long time. Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• bacon
  
• tomatoes
  
• swiss cheese/ham "sandwich" (layered it all with the cheese outside and ate it)
  
• 1 tortilla chip
  
• a half-cup of peanuts
  
• 3-stack cheese enchiladas with green chili (all homemade)
  
• a piece of cheese
  
• a chocolate with almonds
  

The green chili is close. Something still missing from the flavor, but it's a good start. I may add a tomatillo or a tomato next time, for more acid, and maybe use a ham stock for more pork flavor (chicken this time, kinda bland). Also, I'll go slower with the potato starch slurry I used to thicken it - way overdid it this time and had to increase everything to thin it out without making it mildly spicy chicken soup.

Walked a mile and a bit yesterday, so that's good. And our pace was a bit faster than earlier in the week, without trying.

Sleep last night was pretty good - woke about 3:30 for the bathroom, and then slept until about 5. But since we go to sleep shortly after 9, that's a full night's sleep. It's a lot darker here in the morning - I think we're further west in our time zone than Denver was. That, and a superabundance of shade trees.

I'm very pleased with my progress eliminating added sugar right now. I had a hard cider on Friday, which was a mistake (tasty, mind you, but half sugar and half alcohol). Other than that, it's been my bedtime chocolate and nothing else, and I've done that for nearly a week. Once that's feeling more normal, I'll work on the nuts. Also, I think I may be needing protein, and that if I got that regular, some of the cravy stuff would stop. So I'll be working on that (hence the "sandwich" yesterday).

Friday

159.4 this morning. Mexican last night - I did better, in ordering a salad, but not enough better (still ate chips and salsa to excess). 

You know, it would be nice not to have to pay attention to food so much. I realized this morning that I've lost the enthusiasm for paying attention to the issue that I had when I first determined to make the switch. Not that "it's not sustainable"; it is, but sustaining it is kind of boring, especially after I've slipped a bit and need to pay the necessary attention to get back on track.

What would that look like, back on track? What did I do at restaurants back in the day? Well, for starters, I DIDN'T EAT THE EFFING CHIPS. You'd think that would be easy. Just. Don't. Eat. Them. Not a lot of mental energy there. Anyway, I recall realizing that the Chicken Caesar salad was available in a lot of places, and ordering it a lot. I could certainly do that again - or something like it.

To some extent, at home, I'm fighting Lee, too. He wants chips. He wants bread. I don't miss bread enough to worry about it, and he knows he shouldn't want it so it isn't in the home. But chips are. And I get hungry for salt and eat them - or cashews, which should be good to eat but stop any weight loss I might be having just cold.

Maybe what I need to do is to make a list for restaurants, of things I eat and things I don't eat, and just avoid the latter. I may try that.

In the meantime, here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• cheese - about 6 pieces throughout the day
  
• almonds
  
• chips and "green sauce", which I think is sour cream, avocado, and cilantro
  
• salad with chicken and avocado in it
  
• a single "crispy bean taco" - street-taco sized
  
• 2 milk chocolates with almonds - at bedtime
  

Short list, generally good eating, got veggies and meat. Cratered by a couple of bad choices. Okay, that's useful analysis.

No walking yesterday. Sleep was okay. I'm stiff and achy today though. I need to start doing some structured stretching, I think, to get rid of the influence of this chair/desk stuff.

Dinner out with friends tonight. Guess it's my chance to try the list out (which means I'd best write down some sort of list, huh?).

Thursday

Marginal sleep last night; I got to bed late and had to get up early, with the expected side effect of feeling a bit washed out this morning. I still have a headache.

159.0 this morning; some of the Mexican food is wearing off. I had an unstructured eating day yesterday - no actual meals - and it generally went well. My craving for salt was problematic, but I didn't have any sugar at all. A start.

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• almonds
  
• cheese
  
• cashews (I think 2 half-cup portions throughout the day)
  
• potato chips (not so great)
  
• salami
  

I think that was it. And I've only had cheese and almonds this morning, although I expect that dinner, at least, will have more substance to it, now Lee's back. 

Wednesday

Did great yesterday with water and avoiding added sugar. And had Mexican for dinner. Not so great. 159.2 again this morning and feeling a bit bloaty. Sigh.

I'm on my own for a couple of days, so I'm going to try to behave, with no outside influences luring me into bad eating. Skipped breakfast this morning, for convenience's sake. I will probably eat something tomorrow, since I have an interview, but it will probably be cheese.

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• strawberries
  
• bacon
  
• almonds
  
• cashews (1/2 cup)
  
• peanuts (ditto)
  
• cheese
  
• tortilla chips alone (about 5)
  
• chips and salsa and "green sauce" and queso
  
• a taco, including the shell
  
• a "cheese puff", which appeared to be a fried tortilla with queso poured on it
  
• a cheese enchilada, along with a few beans and rice
  

Actually, I think my issues started with the peanuts. Shoulda skipped them. But I was bored. I'm going to try to be less bored today. But notice that I did not have a chocolate at bedtime. Thought about it, but it was too much trouble. That's great!

We did manage a walk yesterday; I didn't do one today. Got better sleep than last week when it was just me and the dogs - I think the evening was less chaotic, and that calmed them down a bit at bedtime.

Not sure yet what I am going to do at dinner time. Salad seems like the least amount of effort, unless the lettuce has frozen (it might have).

Tuesday

It was a lot of water. 158.6 this morning, and I hardly think that was viable bodyweight lost. So be it. 

I managed to achieve my eating goals yesterday. Held off on added sugar until bedtime again, and could maybe have skipped it then. Here's the day:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• bacon
  
• strawberries
  
• almonds
  
• cheese
  
• cashews (in a small container)
  
• potato chips (maybe 1/3 of a vending bag)
  
• steak
  
• salad of tomato, zucchini, avocado, cucumbers, red onion
  
• a single milk chocolate with almonds
  

The potato chips weren't so great, but everything else was pretty good. I also drank a Perrier and another bottle of water, and plan to do so again today.

Sleep was so-so. I had a foot cramp around 1 am and got awakened enough that I got listening to the radio, which was a bad idea. However, I was able to fall back asleep, in somewhat less than an hour.

Got another mile walk in this morning. That's 3 days in a row. I'm hoping my ankles are getting strengthened by this - they do feel better, I think.

Monday

Busy weekend. For one, we got the kitchen painted, and it now feels like our kitchen. The green was just not us. Yellow is. Lots of climbing stepstools, stretching and squatting. My feet stood up to it, for which I'm seriously grateful; I was getting worried that they were really messed up. But they managed that, and a trip to 3 places with shiny concrete floors in a row (Home Depot, Sam's, @Home) without any ankle failures. So I think I'm on the mend.

We did a mile-long walk yesterday morning, and another one this morning. Lee even went out for a longer one last night, but I'm taking things slow. According to the Nike Running App, really slow. Like 18-minute mile slow. But if that's what it takes, that's what I'm doing.

Eating was a bit better over the weekend. Friday night, not so much; I had a late deployment and ended up eating cashews from the jar. So I was 161 on Sunday morning. But I knew a lot of it was bloating of various sorts, and this morning, I was at 159.2, proving me right. I have ankles and toes again, which I didn't most of the weekend.

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• strawberries
  
• bacon
  
• cheese
  
• chicken-based mongolian bbq, with teriyaki sauce (no rice)
  
• a small serving of cashews
  
• pot roast and potatoes
  
• 1 milk chocolate with almonds
  

I decided, after the hard look Friday, that what I need to do is focus on one thing. So my one thing is added sugar. I did really well with that yesterday - I guess the sauce had some, but it wasn't super-sweet - and held out on that chocolate until bedtime. I think if I can keep that pattern going - no sugar all day, and if I make it, one piece of candy at bedtime - I can break the sugar snacking habit I'd started to get into. Once that's broken, I'll work on ketosis. But for now, every morning, I'm going to wake up and decide that for that one day, I won't eat added sugar.

To that end, I put a little salt on strawberries at breakfast, thinking that it would bring out the flavor. Made them taste vaguely like melons. Nasty.

I don't know if we'll keep up the walking thing - Lee got up at 5:30 this morning with a crick in his neck, and we were done with breakfast before 7:30, so we had plenty of time to do it today. Also, the weather yesterday and today was gorgeous - cool (colder here than in Denver yesterday) and dry and clear - and you hate to waste that. I did some gardening as well, yesterday, just a little weeding and deadheading. Nice to get out in the sun for a while. And I don't want our gorgeous landscape to get all nasty from neglect.

Friday

Yesterday wasn't a fast day. Far from it. I'm definitely not in a mental state conducive to self-discipline right now; I think that back when I first started eating this way, I was better able to exercise self-discipline and avoid satisfying the cravings. Failed at that yesterday, in a number of ways.

In addition, this way of eating isn't a new shiny toy anymore, and the new information available is very low-volume, so I can't be obsessed with it as I was then. For me, that's important. 

Not sure what I'm saying here. I'm quite sure I'm not saying that I'm abandoning real food made of identifiable ingredients in order to start touring the donut shops of Houston (and there are a LOT of those around here). Maybe I'm saying that I'm lowering my expectations for a while. Focusing on the health benefits, and working really hard to avoid the sugar and the junk, but knowing that I won't always succeed.

Anyway, 160.0 again this morning. I would like it to be less than that, and I will continue to try to get it down. Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• cashews
  
• cheese
  
• 4 pips of a Ritter Sport milk chocolate bar with coconut filling
  
• peanuts (eaten straight out of the big can)
  
• shrimp bisque with green chiles and creme fraiche
  
• a glass of fairly dry Alsatian riesling
  
• pork "ribeye" with acorn squash puree and cranberry sauce
  
• parts of 3 small souffles
  
• some chocolate mousse as an amuse-bouche
  

It seemed worse at the time. As it turned out, Lee got back earlier than expected from his trip, so we had a birthday dinner after all - quite a dinner, at that. We have a boffo-supreme French restaurant in close proximity to our house, and that's where we went. And then came home and went straight to sleep, more or less (we had a few interruptions of the canine sort).

Weekend tomorrow, after a nasty deployment night. More painting for me; I want to get the kitchen done, at least. Weather is supposed to be ucky, so I don't think we'll get outside much, but dryer and cooler days are on the way, and I really would like to take advantage. I hope my feet are better. They seem to be. And I just emailed an inquiry about how to use the gym we theoretically signed up for, so hopefully that will be an option soon.

Focus going forward: real food. less sugar. more water. fewer nuts.

Thursday

I'd start with sleep, but I had so little last night that I'm not sure it qualifies. Well, that's not strictly true, but I'm quite tired. Dog-tired would be the appropriate term, since it's their fault. I slept about 3 hours pinioned between 2 of them in a very bad posture, and had to switch sides of the bed once I got free. Took aspirin on an empty stomach at 5:50 am because my back and legs hurt so bad.

Anyway. 160.0 again this morning. I did more painting last night, and imagine it has something to do with that. Also the fact that "dinner" consisted of cheese, milk chocolate, almonds, and cashews. Not exactly a fast.

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• bacon
  
• a sausage patty
  
• hot dogs (2-1/2) with mustard
  
• a few potato chips - more than a single handful
  
• cheese
  
• 2 milk chocolates with almond bits
  
• cashews
  

Was that it? I think so. I did manage more water yesterday, for what that's worth - 2 additional bottles of Perrier. Some exercise last night - climbing up and down a stepladder while painting the back hallway and part of the kitchen. I tried something new this time - cutting in a wall at a time, so the rolling was into wet paint. It seemed to work better; the cut-in areas didn't seem quite so contrasty. Also, once I got through an area, it was complete, so I have a completely painted hallway and 2 walls painted in the kitchen. But I have a challenge ahead. The doorways to the pantry and dining room are on two walls that meet in a corner, and the doorframes have less than 1/2" opening between them, behind which, one can glimpse wall color. Not entirely sure how to get that painted without dismantling the door frames. It may be that I just make the necessary mess and wipe the frames down after.

So that's the plan for tonight. More painting. Woohoo - actually, it will be if I can get it completed tonight. I may sneak down at points during the day to do prep - removing pictures and wallplates and things of that sort, moving the fridge - so I can go at it full throttle once I've got the dogs fed.

Not sure what I'm doing for food today. I'm still thinking fat fast, but I need something to eat pretty soon, because I'm actually hungry. Maybe cream cheese.

Wednesday

160.0 this morning. Better than yesterday. Not good enough. I have 2-ish days to myself the rest of this week, and by gum, I'm going to take advantage of them to try to get back on track.

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• cheese - total of 4 pieces
  
• cashews - about 1/2 cup
  
• about 20 chocolate-mint gummy-filled things (at 2g carbs per piece)
  
• bbq turkey
  
• cole slaw
  
• 2 potato chips
  

Was that it? Maybe. I tried really hard not to eat after dinner last night, and I think I succeeded. We had more errands to run (note to self - NEVER move again!!!), and after we got home, I did more painting on cabinet doors - the last of that lot. They aren't quite done; the inside surface is only primed right now - but they can be hung at this point, and I can move on to the kitchen (tonight's project). So I probably didn't eat anything else. I hope not.

Now, if I'd managed not to eat the chocolates, yesterday would have been a pretty good day. Today we have had breakfast, so it's not a fast day, and Lee's here until mid-afternoon, so I may have lunch. If I do, there won't be dinner. And if there is dinner, I think it will be salad.

Sleep was pretty good last night. Dog-ridden, but pretty good. I woke once around 3:30, but went back to sleep almost immediately. Woke again around 5:30 for good - and that's basically 8 hours. 

Didn't manage the additional water. Getting up as soon as I finish typing in order to do so today. I did drink a lot of tea, though. And it sort of did the needful.

I think I will be doing a fat fast while Lee's gone. I think that might be the most effective thing I could do right now - jump-start ketosis and push into a state where I can do actual fasting again. My trial yesterday ended quickly because I got hungry. I should re-read the fat-fast recipes and see what I can use around the house. And at the same time, get my head around more meal plans for eating at home.

Tuesday

At various points over the weekend, probably Saturday morning and maybe Sunday, I was well below 158 pounds. This morning, 160.8. The difference? I think it was spending Sunday painting - I ended up with swollen feet and knees for sure from it; possibly my hands as well. 

Anyway, this morning, I am thinking a couple of changes need to be made. First, I need to be drinking more water. Second, I need to work very hard on avoiding snacks after dinner. Pull the cross-stitch towel out and start working on it at night. Find and use the gym. Something, anyway.

We had a good weekend. Got the lower cabinet painted in the office, programmed the garage door openers on the cars, so we don't have to use the clip-on buttons, found a sweater-jacket to wear on interviews, figured out what we are going to do regarding paint in the upstairs "public" bathroom, and got supplies to paint the kitchen. And then we got to see some friends yesterday, which was the reason we moved down here. So that was tremendous.

Here's yesterday's eating.

• tea with cream
  
• an omelet with ham, cheese, tomato
  
• bacon
  
• strawberries with cream cheese
  
• hamburger salad - salad with ranch dressing with a burger on top
  
• one single potato chip
  
• Prosecco (in a tiny bottle)
  
• mahi with beurre blanc and lump crab meat and tomatoes on top
  
• green beans
  
• about one bite of cheesy grits with andouille
  
• a bite of bread with butter
  
• a chocolate with almonds in it
  

All in all, a good eating day. Maybe more food than I needed, but in general, good. Sleep was less good - we had no internet overnight, and I found myself awake trying to figure out if I wanted to get up to see if there was an outage. In the end, the problem was in the house, and is fixed now, but anything that wakes me up enough to think is a bad thing.

I'm thinking maybe a fast day today - or a fast as long as I can sustain it. Lee's off taking our friend back to the airport and then doing work stuff for a while, and maybe if he's eaten lunch by the time he returns, I won't have to worry about lunch and can fast until dinner. I do believe I'm enough fat adapted to do it.

But drinking water. I should get some started.

Friday

Huh. 157.6 this morning. Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• lemon jello water
  
• the usual supplements
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• bacon
  
• almonds
  
• hot dogs with mustard
  
• potato chips
  
• grilled red snapper with lemon-garlic-oregano butter
  
• salad with blue cheese dressing
  
• a piece of chocolate with almond bits (Hershey's)
  
• 3 Australian dark chocolate mint gummy candies (hard to describe)
  
• almonds
  
• strawberry Haagen-Dasz
  

That's a pretty long list, so I'm surprised that I lost some weight. Probably more water from around my feet, which are feeling much more normal today. My right ankle is still cranky walking around shopping, but not swollen - same with the toes on my left foot.

Sleep last night was quite odd. I woke up at 3:30 am with a leg cramp (right calf this time), turned the radio on (on my iPad) to get back to sleep, but was confronted with college football (Colorado at Hawaii) instead of what's usually on at that hour (UFOs and ghosts and what-not, which I find oddly soothing). It woke me up worse, because I couldn't figure out why football was on to start with. Around 4 am, the airport started landing heavy aircraft over our house (this is somewhat uncommon, but I think we normally sleep through it), and the dog started coughing (he has kennel cough from his week in the slammer). Around 5 we were both awake and turned the radio on properly and I started reading up on home treatment for kennel cough, which is usually viral. In the end, I think I fell back asleep around 6, and slept for another hour. Roughly 7 in all, which is not perfect, but not horrible, I guess.

But I really do wish that college football wouldn't stage night games in Hawaii; that was very disconcerting.

Thursday

I think I ate better yesterday, but definitely paid for it overnight. 158.8 this morning, and two leg cramps that had me swearing under my breath. After number 2, I went and found the magnesium oil, and they stopped. Top of my calf muscle, left leg only (I'd love to understand what's so different about my left leg), and super-painful. 

And every time I hopped up, the dog stole a bit more of the bed and the covers. Made for a less-than-optimal night's sleep. 

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• sausage patties (pork)
  
• cheese
  
• almonds
  
• a few peanuts (finished that bowl and it's now full of almonds)
  
• cauliflower-crust shepherds' pie (ground beef, mushrooms, mirepoix, cauliflower, butter, cream cheese)
  
• a chocolate with almonds thing
  

I think that was it. I do hope to be able to reproduce that shepherd's pie from here out - it was the best one I've made. Really tasty.

We did a little shopping after dinner - in a warehouse store with polished concrete floors. When I walk on polished concrete floors, inevitably, my right ankle craps out. No other way to describe it. Something about those floors make me put my feet in some unnatural position or something, and I get a shooting pain in my ankle/top of foot area that nearly puts me on the ground. I'm thinking the next time we propose a trip to one of those stores or a mall, which seems to have the same effect, I'm wearing the brace on that ankle - see if it helps.

As I mentioned, I put almonds in the peanut bowl for now. See if that helps keep me from gorging on stuff that is less than wonderful for me. It might help. And if I get snacky today, I'm aiming for olives. We have a lot.

Got the pantry reorganized yesterday - we can now find things, I think. Next on my list is the utility room cupboards, which are just full of all sorts of things.

Wednesday

Life still feels unsettled. I wish it didn't, but it does. My current job ends on Halloween, and without a new one, I won't say I'm freaking out just yet, but I'm disturbed. And prospects in this area aren't great. In fact, the major industry is laying folks off in droves. Not in my field, necessarily, but the trend is very much in the wrong direction. So I'm nervous.

159.6 this morning. I need to face facts. How I'm eating right now is leading to weight gain. Combined, no doubt, with whatever hormonal things are going on. Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• lemon jello water
  
• the usual supplements
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• bacon
  
• cashews (small cupful)
  
• cheese
  
• grapes
  
• "cuban sandwich" casserole - pork roast, ham, swiss cheese, pickles, mustard
  
• salad with blue cheese dressing
  
• strawberry Haagen-Dasz
  
• peanuts
  

If I eliminated the cashews, grapes, ice cream, and peanuts, it probably would have been a good day for weight loss. I will see if I can avoid them today. Grapes will be easy, because I finished them yesterday. They were super sweet, too. I should probably revert to strawberries if I want fruit.

Shepherd's pie tonight - cauliflower topping. Good stuff. And a salad, I think. And I will switch out the bowl of peanuts for one of almonds. Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Sleep was okay. Considering we have the new dog sleeping with us, it was remarkably good. I didn't wake up until 4:45, and I drifted back off after that, I think. I'm a bit stiff and achy, though.

No exercise at the moment - I want to let my foot rest this week, after the fun over the weekend. It feels pretty good right now, but I think the walk is what nailed it.

Tuesday

Yesterday got away from me, completely. It was a short day to start with, and I had to make spaghetti sauce before starting work. I was 160.4 yesterday and am 159.4 today. Some time on Saturday (possibly during the early morning 1-mile walk we went on) I messed up my left foot, bad enough that I spent much of Saturday limping. It was a delayed reaction, so that we got done with the walk and I felt fine, but I found it really hard to finish cleaning the bathroom, for some reason. The pain was along the metatarsals on the outer edge. I don't think it was a break, but it's possible that I strained it in falling downstairs a week before, and made that worse with the walk. Don't know. Spent Sunday resting it, and it got more rest yesterday by the nature of my work, and it feels pretty normal now. I also now own a velcro foot/ankle brace, that seemed to help.

Anyway, trying very hard to eat at home all week. I don't know if we will make it, but it's worth a shot. Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• lemon jello water
  
• the usual supplements
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• bacon
  
• cheese
  
• possibly an almond or two
  
• meatballs with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella and parmesan cheese
  
• more cheese (I was hungry after eating the meatballs)
  
• peanuts
  

So all but the peanuts made for a pretty good day. Perhaps when the peanuts in the bowl are finished, I will put almonds in it; they're less "snacky" and I don't think I eat as many of them.

Sleep the past few days has been relatively okay. We have a new dog, rescued from a kill shelter at the last minute, and he's not crate trained. Yet. He will be, so help me. He's small, so sleep with him in our bed is possible, but he likes to snuggle, making us sleep in funny and painful positions. I feel pretty rested, though, and that's a nice change.

I also had a sort of interview for jobs yesterday - with a placement firm. I need to send them thank you emails. A start of sorts. I have a phone screen tomorrow as well. I'm not holding my breath on that one, because I wouldn't have phone-screened me for that particular position. Anyway, some progress there, and in the midst of a localized downturn, progress is nice.