Tuesday

Five day holiday weekend.  So, let's see.  I weighed myself on Sunday morning and was excited to see 144.9.  Unfortunately, I think the scale may have been resting on the base molding again; either that, or I pigged out big time at Christmas dinner (also a possibility), because yesterday morning, it said 149.0.  Twice - I double-checked.  Fasted breakfast more or less, yesterday, had lunch, and had cashews and cheese in lieu of dinner.  148.3 today - a slight improvement.  Here's yesterday's eating:

• tea with cream
• Monday supplements
• cheese (around 10:30 am due to actual hunger)
• naked "philly cheese steak" burger at Ted's (opted for beef)
• iced tea
• a half-sour pickle (we think these are naturally fermented)
• a few spoonfuls of some really weird coleslaw
• cashews
• more cheese
• lots of hot tea throughout the day

I'm feeling like I'm fending off a cold, sort of - a bit stuffy, some vague things going on at the back of my throat, stuff like that.  Have been doubling down on the Vitamin D for the past few days, and I don't think it will get any worse.  But my throat was on the verge of sore last night, and noshing on cashews, with their salt, seemed to help a bit.

Christmas dinner was ham, cheesy-sauced potatoes, greek salad, ambrosia salad, green beans, a slice of challa (for my sister-in-law's challa, I eat wheat - and it's only once a year), and an ice-cream dessert thing.  Also wine and several glasses of champagne, so the weight makes total sense.  Apart from that, we ate pretty well over the weekend; a few sausage balls (carby, but using gluten-free Bisquick), some corn bread, and a little candy - not much at all, really.  And the weight is already backing off.

I fasted again this morning because Lee is sick (sick to his stomach; possibly food poisoning, possibly a virus of some sort) and was kind of restless last night, so I opted for 15 minutes' more sleep over food.  I think it was the right choice.  I have cheese with me, and we'll probably have taco salads for dinner; everyone (who is eating, anyway) is looking to knock at least a few pounds off.  I might go to the gym tonight, as well - maybe, anyway.  Our boot camp thingie starts in two weeks, and I'd like to be marginally strong to start out with.

Wednesday

And so we roll around to the final day of this shortened work week, with two further short weeks to go - got Monday off for Christmas and then for New Year's.  Family arrives tonight, and, if I'm honest, I am anticipating a not-so great weekend.  Too many people around, and I'm not good with crowds.  I am trying hard not to be irritable in anticipation - it may turn out fine - but I can feel it lurking in a corner, waiting to spring on me.  Paleo eating can only fix so much.

That said, here's yesterday:

• scrambled eggs
• bacon
• tea with cream
• the usual supplements
• walnuts
• dark chocolate
• a cookie (homemade, contained wheat, I'm fairly sure)
• hot and sour soup
• teriyaki beef skewers with Chinese mustard
• popcorn (a small one, they said, but small is the new pretty big, if you ask me)
• two Brach's mint thingies
• more chocolate
• more walnuts

I brought stuff with me for the movie - we went to Sherlock Holmes after a Chinese dinner - but wanted just a small amount of popcorn.  There's no such thing anymore, apparently, and I failed to exercise self-restraint and did finish the bag. 145.7 this morning, no surprise

I think we are doing another movie tonight - Mission Impossible, before we can't on account of company with small children.  But dinner at home, first - if I heard right, stuffed peppers.

Off starting tomorrow, so I think there will be cooking in my future, as well as one Mexican dinner out, and Christmas with family.  I will try to take it easy.

Tuesday

Someone is toasting raisin bread nearby.  One of the SAD foods that I do miss occasionally is toast of any sort, but raisin toast is just piling on a bit.  I had breakfast this morning, so I'm not hungry, but it does smell good.

Back to normal yesterday, mostly.  I did eat all the cheese I brought to work and, well, here's the full scoop:

• tea with cream
• the usual supplements
• cheese
• Lindt milk chocolate truffles - 3 of them
• Meatballs with spaghetti sauce and provolone cheese
• salad with meat and dijon vinaigrette
• dark chocolate - some with blueberries
• 2 Brach's mint thingies

I believe that was it.  145.2 this morning, so much of the retained water was shed.  However, I'm still suffering from some level of inflammation this morning, I think - had an abrupt migraine aura (arcs made of sparkly triangles in my left field of vision) after drying my hair.  Took 3 advil and 2 fish oil, and ate breakfast in the dark, and it had mostly gone.  I can feel the headache threatening a bit, but think I caught it in time.  I completely buy into the threshold theory of migraine triggers, and thinking back over my long weekend, I suspect I was piling up quite the stockpile of triggers - stress, lack of/bad sleep, less-than-optimal diet, dehydration.  I'm just glad that I have a very recognizable aura, and that it's very responsive to intervention of some sort.

Had breakfast this morning - eggs-and-bacon.  I brought walnuts with me to work today, rather than cheese, since I think they're a bit less inflammatory.  It sounds as if we are eating Chinese for dinner and going to a movie after, and I'll just have to go easy on the Chinese.  Probably some hot-and-sour soup and the teriyaki beef skewers for dinner, and I'll bring more walnuts or hazel nuts to the movie.

Monday

My four-day roadtrip is complete, and I am very tired.  Thursday we brought the contents of a two-bedroom apartment down from the second floor via stairs, and out through the complex into a trailer.  Friday we attended graduation ceremonies, and Saturday and Sunday, we drove.

I ate well on Thursday, I believe; eggs and bacon, tacos?, pork osso buco and a big salad, a bit of creme brulee.  Friday was similar, although I did have an order of fries for "lunch"; dinner was chopped steak with onions and mushrooms over mashed potatoes, and I ate most of it.  Saturday I managed a naked double quarter pounder with cheese at lunch and then had Mexican food for dinner (lotsa corn - and I could tell overnight; corn seems to be very inflammatory in my system).  Sunday was eggs and bacon for breakfast, and junk food throughout the day - chocolate blueberries, a few roasted hazel nuts, and fries for lunch (which were tasty).  We had chicken and salad for dinner, and all of us went to bed well before 9 pm. 

I'm at 146.6 today, much of it general inflammation.  My feet are swollen, and I ache pretty much everywhere.  I preferred to stay in bed an extra 15 minutes this morning, so I could say I'm fasting right now, but anticipate eating later - I have cheese with me.

One thing I did notice; despite hauling quite a few boxes down the stairs on Thursday, I wasn't in the least stiff on Friday morning; I actually felt pretty great.  I hope it all qualified as "lifting heavy things" and will be interested to see the effects on my upcoming "boot camp" program, starting in about 3 weeks.

Back to the routine (sorta - not like next Sunday isn't Christmas, and not like we don't have family arriving Wednesday).  Meatballs for dinner tonight, with either spaghetti sauce or stroganoff sauce.  And more salad, I think.

Wednesday

Bummer - I didn't post a weight yesterday.  I think it was 143.3, but I could be wrong.  At any rate, it was 143.5 or .7 this morning, after a fairly intense fast.  Easy, but I didn't eat from about 8 pm Monday night to nearly 7 pm Tuesday, give or take.  Drank lots of tea, though.  Here's the details:

• tea with cream
• the usual supplements
• double quarter pounder with cheese, no bun
• 2 peppermint nougats
• 2 dove dark chocolates
• the last 1/3 of the small bag o' potato chips

That was it.  I was still peckish when I went to bed, which is where the chips came in.  They helped - and may have helped water retention overnight.  I woke up this morning about 3:00 am, just achy - sore back and sore calves.  I don't think I've been doing much, although hauling the animals around last night might have had an effect.

Leaving tonight for Phoenix for 4 days (of which, 2 are on the road back).  Probably won't be eating wonderfully, but not an excuse to slack off, either.

Tuesday

I ended up going Christmas shopping instead of eating anything organized for dinner last night, which resulted in a not-fasting assortment of finger foods in the end.  Here's the day:

• fat-bomb smoothie
• the usual supplements
• tea with cream
• cheese
• dark chocolate
• more tea with cream
• cheese
• walnuts
• a small portion of potato chips
• peppermint nougats (only 2 last night!)
• Dove dark chocolate (also only 2)

I was not hungry this morning and needed to wrap presents (they wouldn't have got done tonight, for sure), so I fasted.  Tea with cream and supplements only - and I didn't bring any cheese with me to work.  If it gets unbearable, the dark chocolate and hazelnuts are available - but I may try to make it to dinner tonight.  Or past it, come to think of it - after getting home tonight, I have to:

• get the dogs to the kennel
• get the guinea pig to my sister's house
• rearrange the cat's feeding setup to make it easier for the neighbors to feed her
• pack for me (not much; most of my stuff went by car over the weekend)
• tidy the house
• set timers as necessary/possible
• wrap any additional items that show up in the mail/UPS today
• print my boarding pass
  
• set out the maids' Christmas bags so that they'll notice them
  

I'm sure there's more - or will be, once I get home and think of things.  What I don't see in all that is time to eat.  Hmm.  I'll figure something out, I guess.

Monday

Stevia is extremely sweet.  Almost nauseating - no, it IS nauseating in its sweetness.  I made a fat-bomb smoothie yesterday (a batch, actually) and put 3 minuscule scoops of powdered stevia in it - I'm assuming that the scoop is the equivalent of a teaspoon of sugar, or is meant to be.  The half I drank yesterday was ghastly sweet - rather like drinking pure powdered sugar.  I put more berries in the other half this morning, and it was better, but still too sweet. 

Finally tried the pickles I've been brining on the floor of the pantry - and a) they did not kill me, or make me sick, and b) they're pretty darn good!  Salty rather than sour at the moment, tasting of dill and garlic, and with a nice crunch.  And good for me - what more could anyone ask?

Here's yesterday's eating, which led to a weight of 144.4 this morning:

• fat bomb smoothie
• cheese at various times throughout the day
• a smallish portion of potato chips
• dark chocolate - about 4 pieces
• Brach's peppermint nougats - about 4 pieces
• walnuts
• half-pound burger patty with a great crust on it (just sayin)
• salad with vinaigrette

I was at 143.9 yesterday morning.  I blame the candy.  No idea what's in a peppermint nougat - I'm sure it's mostly not food - but they taste like Christmas, all by themselves, so I bought a bag.  Trying to keep consumption light - aiming for no more than 3 pieces per day.

I think that's it.