Zero = fifty-four

First, Friday's totals. I had a mini binge Thursday and then Saturday is my regular semi-cheat day, but Friday was on plan.

Calories eaten Friday: 1551
Calories burned: 1872
Calorie deficit/overage: -321
Calories burned in exercise: 0 (no exercise)
Fat: 66g (40%)
Net carbs: 59g (16%)
Protein: 78g (21%)

The reason I didn't get any exercise is because I stayed home and redid my blue hair color.

Friday was also dentist day, take 4. I went in to have them check the deep cleaning they did two weeks ago. They said it looked a lot better. I pointed out one place on my gums that still bleeds when I brush and they did some quick tartar scaling. They used the probe to test the pocket depth of my teeth. This goes on a scale of 1-whatever, with 1 being the best. I had a few places that were 1s, but I also had a few 7s (!). The dentist said there were a couple places that bled when he probed (better than 2 weeks ago), but that it didn't necessarily mean it was still infected; it could just mean that it was still healing.

I Googled "natural cures for gum disease," and the one thing mentioned over and over was tea tree oil. One site said to put a drop on top of your toothpaste when you brush. I have an appointment with the periodontist this week for a consultation and plan to ask him about anything else I can do to get rid of this gum disease once and for all, as well as what toothpaste he would recommend.

Today I jumped online and bought tea tree oil, tea tree oil mouthwash, and tea tree oil toothpaste from VitaCost (I'm linking more for me than for you).

I also bought more L-Carnitine, against my better judgement. They seemed to have really good prices. Then I came across this page on Carnitine, and the following paragraph might explain why it's not working for me:

Individuals taking L-carnitine as a sports supplement to improve fat metabolism and muscular performance should stop using it at least for one week each month.

It also says to take 1,000-2,000 mg a day, not to exceed 2,000, and to split it into two doses. I will give all these suggestions a try.

I tried to buy more shirataki from Low Carb Connoisseur, but the value pack I usually buy is temporarily unavailable.

I'm told confession is good for the soul, so now I will tell you why 0 equals 54. Today is 54 days into the low-carb weight loss challenge, and 0 days cheat free, meaning that today is a major cheat.

Yes, I slipped up. I woke up this morning and couldn't face another day on plan. I've been so good for so long; I fell off the wagon. Breakfast found me at McDonald's, then some junk food at Safeway (some for then, some for later - Twinkies, a donut, jalapeno poppers, double chocolate muffins). For a snack I had a small fries at another McDonald's as I walked to work, and a pumpkin muffin and pumpkin Frappuccino at Starbucks. I'm now drinking tons of Diet Pepsi Jazz; I found a 2 liter of Strawberries & Cream - my favorite - at the store.

I did get in an hour 23 minutes of walking and had over 10,000 steps by the time I got to work. I stupidly wore sandals with very thin socks. The balls of my feet rubbed against them the whole way and are now raw and killing me.

I am a true carbohydrate addict. The one thing my body doesn't need is the one thing I crave. Like an alcoholic, I will never be cured. Once you've eaten as much of the forbidden fruit as I have, it holds an allure that will never go away. Lord have mercy.

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