September 30th

A few leg cramps overnight - but, for a change, in my right leg, and for another change, not severe enough to get me out of bed - I just had to point my foot another direction to get the cramping to stop.  A bit more weight off - 151.8 today.  Nice, but one would think it would settle down pretty soon.  Wish I had the faintest idea what I weighed as a high school senior, so I'd know if things were going too far.  I have no intention of becoming anorexic or even unhealthily thin.

Especially since the size M belts that I ordered to replace the size L belts that were too large, are also a bit too large already.  I'm not sending them back again; I'll go find a leather punch and add some more holes instead.  But my mind is a bit befuddled by the possibility that my waist now falls into the "Small" category.  6 months ago, I was buying things marked XL, so that's just a huge paradigm shift.

Finally tracked down some vitamin K2 last night and started taking it this morning.  From what I've read, it prompts regrowth of things like teeth and bones.  I don't really know what to expect from it, but don't at all mind having strong bones as I approach my 50s.  Or teeth, I guess - can't eat meat without teeth.  I hope its effects are obvious, because it's a bit pricey, and requires a trip to Vitamin Cottage to buy, so I'd like some justification for the effort.

September 29th

Most of the water's gone, although I feel rather puffy still, so maybe what I should say is that I'm nearly down to the weight I was on Sunday morning (152.4 this morning), with maybe more to come.  Had a massage last night, which fixed a few things but left me feeling pretty bruised, so there could be more water to shed once that settles down.

Good dinner last night - had a pork tenderloin with a reduction sauce from the drippings and some Auslese Riesling that was too sweet for Lee's taste.  Finished it with some butter and it was beyond tasty.  Along with some green beans from the garden done in the new MealSaver microwave bags with some of the pastured butter - also quite good.

My size 10 jeans arrive today.  The mind is still boggling at that number.

September 28th

Lost a chunk of the weight that was there yesterday, as expected - back to 152.8.  And fasting got whatever was bugging my stomach to stop.  I had a very minor near-cramp overnight (left leg, did you have to ask?), but was able to head it off by moving a bit - didn't have to get out of bed and stomp it off.  I am thinking that we've crested the issue on cramping and may finally be on the downhill side.  Because I've been down to just 1 potassium tablet a day for quite a while, and it definitely hasn't got worse.  So, yeah.

I'm tending to think that I'm going to settle somewhere in the low 150s, maybe the high 140s once everything sorts itself.  Which is fine.  Size 10-12ish for stuff, quite normal - and quite available in flattering clothing.  And healthy.  Despite the neck-ache I have this morning from sleeping on it funny over the weekend, I feel remarkably "bien dans ma peau", as French Women Don't Get Fat says.

This odyssey has been so amazingly easy for me - for once.  Usually, it's Lee who drops weight without effort.  But I feel so free - I don't want donuts or cookies or bread or candy; I prefer dark chocolate and cheese and meat and some veg and fresh berries.  I just don't see myself being even tempted to go back to "normal" eating, and the last time I lost substantial weight, once the Peachtree was done, I stopped with the calorie tracking and the daily workouts and all that stuff, and the pounds came back.  But there's nothing to stop, this time.

There was an article about Drew Carey in the paper over the weekend - he's apparently lost around 100 pounds in the past year, but by doing low-fat, low-calorie, ever-vigilant eating.  And what he described was just so hard!  And he says he's committed to keep doing it for the rest of his life, but that's so much energy to devote to something that should be natural, instinctive.

This is better.  I wish more people knew.

September 27th

So when I weighed myself yesterday morning and saw 152.2, I was really excited about what I could post this morning, because I had behaved myself beautifully on Saturday and had every expectation of doing so on Sunday, despite the fact that we were eating with family that did not necessarily eat the way we do.  And I did behave well yesterday - scrambled eggs with cremini mushrooms, turkey, and mozzarella, and a couple of strips of real bacon for breakfast, 3 naked hot dogs for lunch, and the contents of 2 stuffed shells, a giant salad, a glass of wine, lots of water, and a single scoop of vanilla ice cream for dinner.

The result?  I'm at 153.6 this morning.  Part of it's hormonal, I get that.  But I must have had something that disagreed with me, because my stomach is unhappy this morning.

Whatever.  I'm quite sure it's all water and will go away shortly.  Other notes from the weekend:

• I tried on not one but 2 pair of size 10 jeans on Saturday and they fit well enough that I bought a pair (mail order to get the right length).  I don't think I've worn a 10 since college.  And, as a corollary, my chinos, that I was able to resuscitate a few months ago after they'd been packed away as too small, are way too big - I'm still wearing them, out of frugality, but they're clown pants.  As are the size 14 jeans I bought when - last month, maybe?  I had them on Saturday without a belt - bad move! - and was walking on the back hems and had to keep hiking them up.  So I'll be glad to see that mail order package arrive!
• Commercially produced ice cream - Dreyers or Breyers all-natural - was so sweet as to be nearly inedible.  I think my heavy cream habit has spoiled me, because I was expecting that flavor plus some vanilla and a hint of sweetness, and I got sweetness and a hint of vanilla, and almost none of the cream flavor at all.  I ate the scoop, but next time, I may just opt out of dessert.  And at any family events I host, we're offering fruit and cheese along with whatever the main dessert might be.

September 24th

Still at 152.8, and that's after a dinner at La Loma involving corn chips and cheese enchiladas.  Yum, but nearly always carrying a bit extra with it.  So all good.  Got a minor minefield coming up on Sunday with the family dinner for the girls' birthdays - there's a real possibility that it will include pasta, and there will be cake.  So I have plans.  Eat a really good breakfast, and probably some hotdogs for lunch, and shove a bag of jerky in the car when we leave.  So if I end up having a lot of salad and being hungry (although, it really would be just a minor fast, so no huge deal), there will be nourishment available.

Not much else going on.  Lee finally got below 205, so he's happy.  Hopefully it will continue.

September 23rd

About the same weight (+/- 0.2 pounds; I was 152.8 again this morning), and a night that verged on, but did not achieve, leg cramps.  Good stuff.  I'm wearing a skirt that is a bit too big for me today, which is kinda fun, since it's a Brooks Brothers size 14 that was edging on too small back when I bought it a year and more ago.  I think it can be altered - I certainly hope so, because I'm quite fond of it.  That, and I'm dead sick of giving clothes away, especially when similar quality replacements are so bloody hard to find.

We had stuffed bell peppers for dinner, with about 1/8 cup of rice in them each.  Oh, and green beans - Lee seemed to think we needed a side vegetable.  I also had some chocolate and a hunk of cheese and two cups of tea with cream over the course of the evening.

Finally finished the bottle of krill oil.  Supposed to be more anti-inflammatory than salmon, but I didn't see it.  We're back on salmon now - and I can tell (it inspires fish-burps first thing in the morning - blecch).  But it was doing quite well for my thumbs, and they're a mite stiff just now, so I'm hoping they'll buck up and work their magic again.

Not much else.  Be interesting to see if the cramps start tonight - or not.

September 22nd

Down another 0.2 pounds today - I can remember back in May and June and July when it was coming off at a rate of about 1.5 pounds every other day.  But there was a lot more of it to lose then.  As things stand now, I'm about 1.5 pounds away from being roughly 25% bodyfat, which is pretty amazing.  Had a few moments of the bubbly sensation in my calves this morning early, so I suspect that tonight will be a bad sleeping night.  Hopefully, I'm wrong, though.

I read somewhere the other day some speculation that what makes vegans feel so good when they first start that way of eating is the fact that they simply cannot consume enough calories to sustain life, so their bodies start burning their fat, and the initial feeling of well-being is actually the result of a "diet" high in saturated animal fat (their own).  Makes sense to me.  And I tend to wonder if that's what allows some very low-fat diets to work adequately for a while if they are low in insulinogenic foods.  But I'm not an expert by any means.  I know what works for me, and this is it.  There are days when bread would be convenient (like Saturday to sop up the snail butter - and I had some), and days when I have a vague desire for junk food like M&Ms.  But those days aren't very frequent, and the desires aren't usually strong enough to make me do anything about them.  And I just feel so much better eating this way that it would be sheer stupidity for me to stop.  It has freed me from what was almost a slavery to junk food, and I'm so grateful.  It has made it possible for me to spend a weekend at a wine festival and eating out a lot, all the while knowing that it wouldn't be a weight-gain experience.  Really amazing.  And astonishing that this is basically unknown to most of the population.  I hope Taubes' new book takes off like a rocket - I know I'll be buying one.