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.

Monday

New Year's Eve.  Normally in years past, I'd be thinking of resolutions regarding eating better and losing weight.  And again, this year, not so much.  We'll be doing some tweaks, but we've been tweaking all along, so hardly a resolution.  And I'm trying to figure out how to get some strength-improving exercise going, but if I had to bet, it will not be done at the gym - we just can't get there regularly right now.  

149.2 this morning, but no idea if that's actually an improvement over Friday or not - our scale crapped out on us and this is from the new one.  I think it is, though.  I ate pretty reasonably all weekend.  Not sure I can recall yesterday, but here's what I remember:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• wine (prosecco and pinot noir)
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• steak
  
• a few fried potatoes - maybe five
  
• mint chocolate chip ice cream
  
• two raspberries
  
• ham
  
• green beans
  
• chocolate (one almond dark chocolate cherry cluster and one meltaway square)
  
• a spoonful of coconut oil
  

I feel like there might have been more than that, but what the day amounted to was a noon brunch on an empty stomach that left me quite full for much of the rest of the day, and a very light dinner.  I don't recall snacking, but I might have done some.

Bought a copy of the Perfect Health Diet yesterday, while killing time at a bookstore before brunch.  I've always liked their website and the Jaminets seem to be level-headed and sane.  The book is also level-headed and sane, and makes a fairly compelling case for upping carbs a bit, using starches - rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tapioca.  So I'm thinking about making a slight shift.  Not sure if I want to do it now, or after Mardi Gras, though - really don't want to risk the dress not fitting if the starch should add weight initially - apparently, that happens.  In any event, the book got me considering taking coconut oil more regularly, so I added the spoonful last night and had some this morning in lieu of breakfast.  Their principle is, essentially, that if we provide ourselves with balanced nutrition, all the items that we're designed to need, hunger will diminish and we should start overcoming illnesses and what-not.  Makes sense to me.

I am fairly sure I've hit ketosis again - haven't been all that hungry over the past couple of days, which is nice.  I was easily able to sit through Les Mis on Friday without any movie snacks, and didn't miss them in the least.  So I think we're on the right track, basically.

I will be exploring the details of the tweaks I want to make here, before implementing them, I think.  One of the things that helped me so much when I first went Paleo was to have defined what I intended to do before I did it, so that I had something to base decisions on.  Of late, I've been floundering a bit, and it shows, I think.  In general, I would like to improve strength in my arms and legs, particularly, and lean out just a tad.  And nutritionally, I think I need a little less emphasis on the fatty acids and a bit more on plants.  So I'll be thinking through a plan to achieve both of those.

Friday

Back to routine yesterday - work and all that.  150.6 this morning - I've been juggling around a handful of pounds since forever, it seems.  And will continue to juggle until I drop everything - or something.  Anyway, here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• bacon (4 pieces)
  
• the usual supplements
  
• chocolate (2 stale pieces of See's candy - which I should have resisted)
  
• cheese
  
• coconut flakes
  
• beef with snow peas, no rice
  
• hot and sour soup
  
• chocolate (1 piece of a filled milk chocolate thing that Lee got for Christmas)
  

I think that was it.  We spent the evening getting drape-clad headshots of the girls for a news article about the Mardi Gras court, which was a fine distraction from boredom eating.

I started today with a fat-bomb smoothie that was light on the berries - seeing if coconut oil will be more filling for me than bacon fat.  This is based on Jamie Scott's latest post about calories and ketosis - the gist is that different people have different nutritional needs based on muscle fiber type and other body comp details.  He suggested a bit of experimentation to see what does and does not work - so I'm experimenting.  Also trying to figure out what to do about exercise - my shoulder is feeling enough better that I think it might be a good idea to lift a bit - so maybe I'll get the free weights going at home again, since our schedule makes the gym really impractical.

Thursday (I think) - first day back from vacation

A week ago, it appears I weighed over 151 pounds, and after a week of being at home with the cheese and sausage and candy, I'm down to 150.0.  It's been a struggle, but I have finally made it back into reasonable ketosis, and am hoping to start losing again.  Had leg cramps last night, and while I'm groggy this morning as a result of the lost sleep, as well as stiff and achy, darn glad to see them.  Weird, I know.

No idea what I ate yesterday, I'm sorry to say.  Bacon, cheese, chocolates, nuts, part of a filet and a salad - that might have been it.  Oh, and carrots with Alouette cheese. 

I'm thinking we need to find a way back to the gym for the next month - after all, within that period, the ball takes place, as does the parade and the cruise, and I would like very much to be in shape for all of them.  And I'm not just now.

FWIW, though, my shoulder seems to be settling down at last - the Rolfing is helping with that and lots of other things, so I'm hopeful that I'll be able to work out without pain.  Going to try, anyway.

Thursday

Bona-fide fast yesterday; just tea with cream until dinner.  Gained about a pound.  Go figure.  I effing HATE menopause.  It's water - I can feel it in my ankles.

Here's the list:

• tea with cream
  
• the usual supplements
  
• pizza-top from 3 slices - double meat, double cheese
  
• two pieces of cheddar
  
• about 8 chocolate blueberries
  
• 1 dark chocolate candy thing
  
• walnuts
  

I think that was it.  Seriously - no way I ate enough to gain weight.  And I was starving this morning; not helpful, since the dog woke us up at 3:22 am throwing up and it took the rest of the night to get back to sleep, so of course, we skipped breakfast. 

Grrrr.

Wednesday

Into ketosis yesterday morning, and right back out of it.  Three meals (unusual for me), mashed potatoes and mousse at lunch (office party), chips and salsa at dinner, chocolate after.  That's all it took.  Fasting today - on purpose, so I intend to go until dinner.  See if that helps.  150.2 this morning.  Could be worse.

Here's yesterday:

• tea with cream
  
• scrambled eggs
  
• bacon
  
• the usual supplements
  
• salad with Italian dressing
  
• a tomato with dressing, balsamic vinegar, and mozzarella on it
  
• pork loin, slightly gravied, probably a roux
  
• about 2 Tablespoons mashed potatoes
  
• Chocolate mousse with bits of cake clinging to it (it was embedded in the cake; I was trying to eat around that)
  
• chips and salsa
  
• guacamole
  
• chicken fajitas without tortillas - guac, sour cream, pico de gallo
  
• a little green chile
  
• about 6-8 chocolate blueberries
  

So not a great day.  My intent, through Mardi Gras, is to make most of my dinners along the meat-and-leaves lines - either a main meat dish with salad, or meat in a big-ass salad.  I'm probably still going to buy a Spanx, though - just in case.

Tuesday

I may be moving this to my Springpad; depends on whether gmail stays available from work or not.  In any event, 149.6 yesterday; 150.0 today after a semi-fast.