The basic NutriSystem program

Calories eaten yesterday: 1658
Fat: 73g (40%)
Carbs: 59g (14%)
Protein: 142g (35%)

Weight this morning: 151.4
Calories burned in exercise today: 106

Still well above 150. Sucks. I have got to get this weight off. I tried on the new Old Navy size 8 "just below waist" jeans I bought Monday and they do fit! They are probably stretched out from other people trying them on. The true test will be after I wash them.

Went grocery shopping and bought nonfat plain yogurt, nonfat cream cheese, nonfat sliced cheese and shredded, low-cal Salad Spritzers dressing, tomatoes, and nonfat Dannon yogurt. Also my usual staples - salad, low-fat cottage cheese, cucumbers, and celery. I looked for the Carb Smart ice cream and there was none! I didn't even see a tag on the shelf! Oh whoa is me if it's been discontinued! Argh! There was a "no sugar added" ice cream, but that doesn't come in Rocky Road!

I asked how the NutriSystem meal plan works, and here's the basic run down of what I get:

Breakfast:
NutriSystem Breakfast Entree + 1 Fruit + 1 Dairy or 1 Protein

Lunch:
NutriSystem Lunch Entree + Salad + 1 Protein or 1 Dairy

Snack:
1 Fruit + 1 Protein or 1 Dairy

Dinner:
NutriSystem Dinner Entree + 2 Vegetables + Salad with low-cal Dressing

Dessert:
NutriSystem Dessert + 1 Fat

Serving definitions:
Veggie:
5 g max carbs
2 g min protein
25 max calories

Fruit:
15 g max carbs
60 max calories

Low-GI Carb:
15 g max carbs
3 g min protein
110 max calories

Fat:
5 g max fat
45 max calories

Dairy or Protein:
12 g max carbs
7 g min protein
3 g max fat
100 max calories

I'll make tweaks (for example, I like to eat 6 times a day and need protein after my workout), but that's the basic program. I'll sub the fruits out for something else (carb, veggie, or protein). I also need to horde my dairies for nighttime so I can have my cottage cheese. Actually, going by the above example, I'd need to save out just two dairy servings for my cottage cheese.

Here's a link to a visual representation of the yellow book we get with our food.

And here's my NutriSystem profile. The start and current weights are approximate right now. I'll update it when I actually start the program.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, fitness, exercise, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

More on NutriSystem

Calories eaten yesterday: 1378
Fat: 64g (43%)
Carbs: 60g (18%)
Protein: 122g (36%)

Calories burned in exercise yesterday: 0
Calories burned in exercise today: 91

Didn't make it to the gym. I was just too tired and I'm still sick. I did walk to work from the BART station, even though it started raining a couple of times. Hopefully Brad and I can go walking on Friday if it isn't raining.

No official weight yet. I was about 151 this morning. I'll take an official weight before I start NutriSystem.

I'm thinking about this new diet program way too much. Last night I dreamed about it. I dreamed I got my order. It came in a small box, rectangular, and fairly flat (only a few inches thick). All my food was in there and fit because the portions were so small. Freaky.

Tomorrow is shopping day and I see some encouraging things. I could be wrong, but it looks like I can have unlimited lettuce of all types. Yay and yum! I'm going to buy that salad spritzer dressing that is one calorie a spray. Cucumbers and celery are also unlimited, as it raw spinach (but not cooked) I need to buy non-fat cheese, both for the turkey and beef burgers on the program, and to make my cauliflower potatoes out of. Also non-fat cream cheese. I think I will buy one of those bags of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. A huge bag is only 100 calories and 12g carbs.

A veggie servings is 1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw. Tomatoes are okay and listed as a vegetable - 1 medium tomato is one serving. I won't buy any fruit of course, except for my Saturday treat of berries. I'll sub in an extra serving of veggies or protein in place of the fruit. I'm not clear on how to count the Quaker oats I have. I posted that question to the board.

[Update on oatmeal and soy milk. Here's how to figure it:
From posts of info received directly from NS counselors:
1 Vegetable Serving = 5 g. carbohydrates, 2 g. protein, 25 calories
1 Fruit Serving = 15 g. carbohydrates, 60 calories
1 Low-GI Carb Serving = 15 g. carbohydrates, 3 g. protein, trace of fat, 80 calories
1 Fat Serving = 5 g. fat, 45 calories
1 Protein (lean) = 7 Grams of protein, 3 grams of fat and 55 calories
1 Dairy (or Dairy/Protein) Serving = 12 g. carbohydrates, 8 g. protein, a trace of fat, 100 calories

NOTE: I have also seen 7+ gr protein & no more than 3 gr fat, and the occassional yogurt at 120 cal - for a dairy/protein serving in the E-Classes with Mary Gregg, NS dietitian

Free Foods = A food that is 20 calories or less... You can add 2-3 free foods to your meal plan

So the oatmeal would be approximately one fruit plus one low-GI carb, and the soy milk would be one dairy serving, except the kind I use is of course lower in carbs than the type they allow. I don't need the sugar. So I may be able to have a bowl of oatmeal before hitting the gym sometimes.]

Alcohol is okay as long as it doesn't hinder weight loss. Only 1/4 cup of tuna is allowed. I think I'll just call that a 1/2 can. Close enough. A protein serving of turkey or chicken is 1 oz. WTF?!? One egg or three egg whites are also considered one protein serving. 2 oz. of shrimp are allowed. They lump dairy and protein together. But like I said, I can sub a serving in for the carb servings (of which there are more than enough). 2 oz. of veggie proteins (veggies burgers, etc.) are allowed.

Here's some general Q&A on foods:

Q: Is the milk in the cereal counted as the dairy serving for that meal?
A: The 4 ounces of milk you add to your cereal or pancakes does NOT count as part of your dairy serving at breakfast; the addition of the milk is simply considered part of the entrée itself. Therefore, if you're having cereal or pancakes, you would still need to add a separate, full dairy serving(s), just as you would with any other breakfast entrée, per your meal plan.

Q: What do I eat with the Hamburger (or Hot Dogs, Ham Slices, Chicken Fillet)?
A: There are a few entrees that indicate on the package "serve with a whole-grain roll." This added roll, which you provide, is considered part of the entrée and NOT counted as the carbohydrate serving for that meal. You should choose any roll that has up to 120 calories; whole-grain is preferable.

Q: Is coffee allowed on the program?
A: Yes, coffee is an unlimited beverage on the NutriSystem program. You may use artificial sweeteners and preferably a non-dairy creamer that has less than 20 calories per serving.

Q: Can I have alcoholic drinks on the diet?
A: We do not encourage individuals to consume alcohol on the NutriSystem program; however, we do understand that many people drink occasionally for social reasons. If you do choose to consume alcoholic beverages, we recommend that they be consumed just occasionally and in moderate amounts. Alcohol provides no nourishment, can leave you feeling dehydrated, and adds calories which may affect your weight loss. But if you choose to drink, here are some recommendations:
. Avoid drinks like daiquiris (177 calories), margaritas (210 calories), wine coolers (192 calories), sweet wines (102 calories), and mixed drinks
. Use diet and sugar-free mixers such as diet soda, club soda or diet tonic water
. Drink water while you are drinking alcohol to keep you hydrated
. Choose wines that are of a dry variety
. Choose a beer that is light and/or low-carb

Q: Is it ok to use canned vegetables and fruit?
A: Due to their sodium content, we do not recommend that you use canned vegetables. But if you do choose to have canned vegetables, rinse them well to remove as much sodium as possible. For fruit, fresh is the best choice. Be careful when choosing canned fruit, and only choose items that have been canned in their natural juice or water, rather than heavy syrup that has added sugar.

Q: Why are some of the vegetables limited on the regular vegetable list and unlimited on the salad vegetable list?
A: The salad vegetables are eaten raw and because they are so low in calories, we do not feel that it is necessary to limit them to a specific amount. (There is a natural limit to how many raw vegetables anyone can eat at one time.) When the vegetables are cooked, however, they do condense, so you are getting more in a cup of cooked vegetables than in a cup of raw vegetables. It is also easier to eat more (too many) if they are cooked. If, however, you are hungry on the program and want more vegetables, an extra cup or so will not interfere with your weight loss.

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NutriSystem's idea of fat as evil and carbs as good is of course the same old low-fat mantra we've been fed all our lives. I see cutting fat as a way to cut calories, not because fat will make me fat or make my cholesterol go up. It's kinda sad to see so many misguided people still buying into the food pyramid and all the lies the media and dietitians feed us.

Okay, rant over for the day!

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, fitness, exercise, obese, overweight, NutriSystem

Signed up with NutriSystem

Had a very productive sick day at home yesterday. I probably could have gone into work. I got the kitchen organized a bit, finding places to put a couple boxes that were sitting out. I also organized the area under the sink. I threw out a bunch of stuff in the freezer and got that organized. I went through my FitDay journal and cleared out a lot of the foods. If I need to add some back in later I can, but for now it's pared down quite a bit and it feels great! I pulled a bunch of my tax stuff together and began organizing the stack of papers sitting there. I even found a $40 check I had forgotten about.

I cooked and froze the extra-lean ground beef, and took the cooked chicken breast, individually packaged them in sandwich baggies, then put all the baggies in an extra large baggie and marked them. I found some more high fat stuff to give away - two jars of pasta sauce under the sink and a small jar of mayonnaise in the fridge. I brought them to work today and Brad snagged them.

I ate way too much yesterday, but today I begin anew with a planned out lower-fat, lower-calorie (and of course low-carb) menu.

Well, I finally bit the bullet today and signed up with NutriSystem. I went with the diabetic program since it is a bit lower in sugar than the regular program, something very important when it comes to the free meals they choose for you. I went to the Web site, picked 28 days worth of meals, and then called the guy at NutriSystem I talked to Saturday. On Saturday he said that if I sign up via telephone I get two weeks free instead of one (the second month also has a free week) so that's why I did it by phone.

I opted for the "pay later" option, which will give me the option of paying over time. If I'm careful with my money I could probably pay about $200 a month of the $300 program cost, so roughly 2/3. He did a quick credit check (which I guess I passed) and I'm good to go.

When I got the invoice by e-mail I saw that the guy had forgotten to apply my $30 coupon code to my order. I called back and talked to a lady and she said she could apply it to my next order, which is fine since I'm planning on giving this program at least two months and then I will see where things stand. I don't know if this will work, but I guess I am desperate. I should have the meals (35 days worth including my free week) by the end of the week. The guy I talked to said that he would make sure my free meals came from the choices I'd already made, but we will see. He couldn't get the coupon right, so I don't know if I can trust him in this.

I am not giving up the principles I learned on Atkins: sugar is bad, low-carb is healthy and gives me energy, protein is essential, and fat is not unhealthy.

During my bimonthly run into the City I stopped at Old Navy and bought another pair of jeans. I got size 8 because I will wear them again! They even had my favorite "just below waist" type. :) My umbrella got turned inside out and snapped in the wind, so I also stopped at Ross and bought two new umbrellas and a pair of sunglasses (my old pair broke ages ago). It was pouring rain when I got back across the Bay, so I didn't get to walk to work from BART.

Don't know if I will go to the gym or not tomorrow. With all the rain I really need to do something for exercise.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, fitness, exercise, obese, overweight, fat, NutriSystem

Gratuitous Abby photos

I took a lot of photos of Abby while I was home sick, so for your viewing pleasure, here's the newest pics of Abby. Click any of them to see the full size.

Abby's leg sticks out of the cat tree


Abby parks her furself in front of the heater


Abby gets up from in front of the heater


Abby curls up near my pillow



Abby with her legs sticking out of the cat tree


Technorati tagged: Abby, cat, cats, feline, felines, tabby, diary, life

Update...finally

Well, that last post sure caused a firestorm! Carron even copied one of her responses to her new blog. Carron, don't worry. I'm not going to delete your comment. I delete only under extraordinary circumstances, and sorry, but you are not extraordinary. You are just another vegetarian (or maybe vegan?), all emotion and no science. Hey, Jimmy Moore is looking for Biblical reasons on his blog why the Atkins diet is sinful. Why don't you drop over there are tell him?

Anyway, let's see....my life of late. I came down with a cold and was out of work on Wednesday and Thursday. I'm supposed to work today, but decided to take it off. I'll go back in tomorrow. I also have an hour and a half overtime tomorrow and Tuesday because Lisa has to work her other job until midnight so I need to stay until about 12:30 a.m. Lisa will drive me home so no big deal. I should be able to get to bed at about my regular time.

Thursday I stayed home and did nothing. Wednesday and Thursday I pigged out on way too much food, so Friday I had nothing but a small non-fat sugar-free Cinnamon Dulce latte, two cans of chicken broth, and green tea. I also had a chiropractor's appointment with massage. I took the bus there and then Brad drove me home.

I decided I need to cut calories to keep my weight gain from getting even more out of control, so I gave Brad a bunch of high fat stuff I had around the house - a huge bowl of 10% ground beef, a bag of pork rinds, some whipping cream, and my cauliflower "potato" dish because it was made with low-fat products instead of non-fat. Later I found some avacados and gave those to him Saturday. In trade I want him to buy me some bottles of Merlot and White Merlot, which I am running low on. The easiest way for me to cut calories is to cut fat, so I'm going to buy non-fat products from now on except for cottage cheese - there's two varieties of low-fat and one has extra calcium added, something I need.

Saturday I skipped church and slept a lot, but Brad and I showed up later at Pastor Brent's house to see One Night with the King, a movie about Queen Esther. My biggest complaint is they should have followed the Bible more closely. There was ice cream served but I didn't have any. I had a sugar-free pudding cup I brought with me, way too much popcorn, and tons of Diet Coke.

Today I plan to stay home. Tomorrow before work I have to run into the City for my bimonthly mail run. I will stop at Old Navy and buy a new pair of size 8 jeans to replace the pair I ripped. I will not buy the next size up because I will get back to size 8 again!

I'm still looking into NutriSystem. I've made a couple of calls to them to ask questions. If I go with it I will have to go with the diabetic program - it has less sugar, which can only be good, especially when it comes to the free meals they choose for you; the lower the sugar the better. Other than that I figure I can sub in lean protein any time I'm supposed to supply my own bread. Time to stock up on tuna! The cats will love that because they get the tuna water I drain off. NutriSystem is woefully low in protein, and I need to keep it high so I can work on building muscle. Their idea of carbohydrate ratios is about 55%, and only about 80g protein. 80g is way to low for someone like me, and 55% carbohydrate will only make me miserable. So yeah, if I do this I'll have to tweak the program a little.

I wanted to add one more thought. This occurred to me Ash Wednesday, but I haven't had a chance to write it down. Ash Wednesday is, of course, the beginning of the six week period of Lent leading up to Easter. When the ashes are placed on your forehead it is with the following words, "For dust you are, and to dust you shall return." It is a reminder of our mortality, that someday we will be just as the dust now placed on us. And the thought that occurred to me is how ultimately useless weight loss and health and fitness is. Someday all the work I put into it won't matter at all. My body - both fat and lean tissue - will decompose to nothingness.

That's not to say that none of this is important. In the short term of life, here and now, it is important. But in the eternal view of things it's not. I'd just like to put off the eternal a little longer by taking care of myself, and feel better about myself now by getting off the weight.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, fitness, exercise, obese, overweight, fat

The truth about Atkins

Due to people being too afraid to sign their names to anonymous messages, you must now have a Blogger login to comment. I have tried my best to be patient, but most anonymous commenters can't even type their name. If you can't type your name, don't type a message!

Ok, on to the topic of the post.

---

There seems to be some major misunderstandings about Atkins and weight loss. I'm home with a cold and PMSing, so don't take any terseness in my tone personally. There's been a nasty cold going around my church and I finally caught it. Everyone else has already had it.

First, if your friend got sick "doing Atkins," then trust me, he was not "doing Atkins." A lot of people take what they see in the media as the gospel truth about the program (and sometimes try to copy it ), always with disasterous results. I'll bet he never read the book and probably didn't eat any fruits or veggies.

Atkins is a healthy program full of fruits and vegetables. The media won't tell you that, but read the book - it's all there. Do you believe what PETA says (and the media reports) that Dr. Atkins died of a heart attack? It's not true. He slipped on the ice while walking to work in a late Spring snowstorm in New York City. He hit his head, his brain swelled, the doctors tried to reduce the swelling by pumping him full of steroids (that caused massive water retention), but he died a week later. His widow, Veronica, is still alive and healthy and carrying on his legacy. Do a Google search on her name.

I eat way more fruits and veggies than ever before - way more than the "five a day" the goverment says to eat. My diet is primarily fruits, veggies, meat, and some dairy. What is unhealthy about that? I've been eating this way for three years and still haven't gotten sick (other than the occational cold). All my blood tests have come back normal. Additionally, my adult acne cleared up and I no longer get eczema flare-ups.

By the way, avacados, tomatoes, lemons, limes, and cucumbers are all fruits. A fruit does not have to be packed full of sugar to be a fruit. People on Atkins focus on non-sweet fruits.

Second, simply eating to satiety doesn't work for me. I take a medication with a side effect of weight gain. It does this by making me hungry 24/7. In fact, it's the reason I gained 40 pounds and went on Atkins to begin with. Try losing weight on a med that makes you gain! Here's a photo of my little weight gaining pills. Going off the medication isn't an option. I wish it were.



Third, my recent weight gain is simply from eating too much. Someone suggested that I was eating too little and lowering my metabolism. Since I wasn't losing I decided to give it a try. I ate a little more and promptly started gaining. I have to go hungry just to maintain, no matter what diet I am on.

Carbs and me do not get along. I am at risk for diabetes and carbs will only hasten that on. I have seen what a high carb diet has done to my diabetic Dad and I don't want his fate to happen to me. He's burned out most of the beta cells in his pancreas. I'd like to be kind to mine so I don't end up the same way.

Fourth, men lose easier than women. You naturally have a higher muscle mass and lower fat percentage than women. You can eat more and still lose. If a man and woman weighting the same go on the same diet, the man will lose more weight faster. That's just basic physiology. Women are cursed that way.

Fifth, I exercise. I've been a regular at the gym for over three years now. As the Atkins book says, "Exercise is a non-negotiable." If you are not exercising, you are not doing Atkins.

If you want to know what Atkins is about read the book or go to the Web site: www.atkins.com. But please don't disparage a program that you only know about through the media and a friend who didn't have a clue how to do the program right.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, fitness, exercise, obese, overweight, fat

The Soft Science of Dietary Fat

How much hard, scientific evidence is behind the "Fat is bad for you" message that America has heard for the last 30 years? The answer might surprize you.

The Soft Science of Dietary Fat
by Gary Taubes

During the past 30 years, the concept of eating healthy in America has become synonymous with avoiding dietary fat. The creation and marketing of reduced-fat food products has become big business; over 15,000 have appeared on supermarket shelves. Indeed, an entire research industry has arisen to create palatable nonfat fat substitutes, and the food industry now spends billions of dollars yearly selling the less-fat-is-good-health message. The government weighs in as well, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) booklet on dietary guidelines, published every 5 years, and its ubiquitous Food Guide Pyramid, which recommends that fats and oils be eaten "sparingly." The low-fat gospel spreads farther by a kind of societal osmosis, continuously reinforced by physicians, nutritionists, journalists, health organizations, and consumer advocacy groups such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which refers to fat as this "greasy killer." "In America, we no longer fear God or the communists, but we fear fat," says David Kritchevsky of the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, who in 1958 wrote the first textbook on cholesterol.

Full article here.

Technorati tagged: high carb, diet, Gary Taubes, low carb, Taubes, obesity, cholesterol, statins, fat, heart disease, low fat

Ash Wednesday

Calories eaten yesterday: 1532
Fat: 72g (44%)
Carbs: 45g (12%)
Protein: 112g (31%)

Calories burned in exercise today: 0

Blessed Ash Wednesday everyone! I am sick today and staying home from work. But I did go to the noon service at church. Here's a couple pictures of the ashes on my forehead. Click to enlarge.




I'm taking today off counting since I'm home sick. I stopped at Starbucks on the way to the church and had a small nonfat sugar-free cinnamon dulce latte. It didn't taste as good as lowfar, but oh well. I need to eat a lower fat diet if I'm going to maintain my weight, never mind losing. I'm PMSing and craving chocolate. Maybe I'll make some Atkins brownies.

After I got the latte at Starbucks I went to a nearby restaurant and got a Cobb salad. The told the guy to go easy on the bacon and guacamole. When I got home from the church I had Quaker oatmeal with low carb chocolate Soy Slender soy milk. The first try made a mess in the microwave, so I had to wash the plate in the bottom of the microwave and then try again keeping a close eye on it. Next time I'll use the stove and see if I get better results.

Reached 20,000 hits on this blog yesterday! If you scroll down to the very bottom of this blog you'll see the count on the site meter. :) Here's what my desktop looked like. I can't get the full size on blogger, so the .pdf file follows.


http://my_sigs.home.mindspring.com/sigs/20000.pdf
Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, ashes, obese, Lent, overweight, Ash Wednesday

Over 150 :(

Calories eaten yesterday: 1736
Fat: 84g (46%)
Carbs: 49g (12%)
Protein: 163g (40%)

Calories burned in exercise today: 100

Went grocery shopping. My weight this morning was 152. That's a 10 pound gain from my goal weight and a 14 pound gain from my lowest weight. I'm now a size 10 once again trying to squeeze my fat tummy into size 8s. I need to get serious cutting back on the calories and fat and just try to keep my protein up. I bought turkey ham for breakfast instead of bacon, extra lean ground beef (7% fat), and chicken breasts.

When I got back home I cooked the lean ground beef I bought last week (10% fat), froze it, froze the extra lean ground beef I bought this week (still raw), and prepped the chicken breast. All I need to do is pop it in the oven when I get home.

I'll use up the food I have and then start eating the extra lean stuff.

I don't know why I'm gaining. You can look at my FitDay journal and see that for every day (except Saturday when I don't count) I am burning more than I'm eating. Even counting Saturday as 3000 calories I am still burning more than I am eating overall.

By the way, my journal can be accessed anytime in the sidebar on the right. Just look for this graphic and click on it.



Also take some time to peruse the other links in the sidebar. There's all sorts of stuff!

I am seriously considering NutriSystem. You can pick your own meals and they do have lower carb/higher protein options. Also, when it calls for a starch I could just sub in a protein instead - same number of calories per gram. Their idea of how much protein a person needs per day is, in my humble opinion, seriously deficient, especially for an active woman like me looking to lose fat rather than muscle.

This weekend after church we are going to Pastor Brent's house to see One Night with the King, the story of Esther. I haven't seen the movie and would like to so I'm going. The problem - it's also an ice cream party and there will be other carby snacks.

To keep myself away from the ice cream I am going to make the Dixie Diner donuts. High as hell in calories (due to being more fat than anything else), but it should keep me away from the high-carb, high-fat ice cream. The other option is the Atkins brownies, but they make me fart because of the sugar alcohols and I'm going to be around people. They would be a good choice otherwise. I may do both and then give the unused portion to Brad.

My only exercise was walking to work from the BART station, stopping at Pac N' Save for shredded cheese for the cauliflower "potatoes" I'm going to make this weekend. I'm going to make it with a half can cream soup and only a little cream cheese since I have to use the last half can of soup before it goes bad.

I also bought a glass bowl for mixing stuff. I only have one large bowl and I used it this morning to put the cooked ground beef in. I've needed another for ages. I'll use it tonight when I make up the cauliflower recipe, but I won't get a chance to actually bake the dish until later this week. Oh well, it's for Saturday so it's not like there's a big hurry. I'll make the donuts and/or brownies on Friday.

I finished pumping up the exercise ball last night. The ball-as-chair is working out okay but I definitely should have gotten the smaller ball (55cm instead of the 65cm ball I got). Oh well, it will still work.

I feel kind of sick today. I hope I'm not coming down with something. I guess I'll know when I wake up tomorrow! No matter what, I am going to Ash Wednesday services.

Today is Love Your Pet Day. I gave Xena and Abby wet food for breakfast before I even knew this. :) They are both doing well, by the way, and their fur is soooo soft on the high protein cat food I give them.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, fitness, exercise, obese, overweight, fat

Badness

Just recording this here just in case anything does happen. Lately I've run into some psycho people.

First, Tuesday or Wednesday of last week I was waiting for the 62 bus at the Lake Merritt BART station, like I do every night after work. I have about a 20 minute wait each night so I paced up and down the block to pass the time and get in some extra steps on my pedometer. On a bench a ways back from the street were a black guy and his girlfriend. He started bad talking about me to his girlfriend loud enough for me to hear. I ignored him.

When the bus came all three of us got on. They sat at the back and he continued to bad mouth me, talking about me having green hair and being a witch and a bitch. His girlfriend was totally not into it and was trying to calm him down, but he was not about to stop. I ignored them and pulled out a word find puzzle to pass the time on the ride home.

When they got off he shouted at me calling me bitch and wanting me to look at him and asking me if I had a gun. I continued to ignore him and they were finally gone. When I got off a few stops later, the bus driver (who I know - I ride with him Tuesdays and Wednesdays) asked me what that was about and I said I didn't know; I'd never seen those two people before in my life. He told me to be careful - wise advice since this guy was very dangerous. I feel sorry for his girlfriend. She must be really needy to be with him when she could do so much better.

Anyway, that was the first incident.

Second incident was just this morning. After I worked out, I walked down the steps of the BART station to catch the train to work. A black woman was ahead of me and I was about to overtake her since I was walking faster. Instead, she circled around behind me and looked intently at my backpack. I have a button on there that says, "9-11 Never Forget," and I thought maybe she wanted to know what it said, so I stopped briefly to give her a better look. As I walked off, she headed over to the Subway store (yes, there's a Subway in the subway!) and I headed toward the fare gates. I overheard her say, "Yeah, that's her over there." I don't know who she said it to since I didn't see anyone else, but it creeped me out.

What is it with people having a problem with me? I don't know any of these people, have never seen them before, and have no idea why they have a gripe against me. I've never done anything to them or hurt them in any way. What - is a white girl not allowed to live her life just because she's white and the city is mostly black? I have no issue with them or I wouldn't live here. Why do they have an issue with me?

If you are the praying type I could use prayers for safety. I have no clue why these people seem to hate me and I can't stay home 24/7 to avoid them. So just please pray for my safety. Also, please reply to this post. While dates on posts can be changed, I don't believe the time stamp on comments can be and I want a record here just in case.

My workout anniversary!

Calories eaten yesterday: 1613
Fat: 76g (44%)
Carbs: 36g (9%)
Protein: 176g (45%)

Calories burned in exercise today: 248

First, I forgot to mention yesterday that I started the Candistroy program on Saturday. I think this is a three week program like the Parastroy.

Today marks my three year anniversary of my first workout! What better way to celebrate than by working out? So even though I was tired I hauled my sad, flat butt off to the gym and did an hour of weights and a half hour of cardio. Happy anniversary to me!

There were a few reasons I was so tired. The Chinese morons in my neighborhood are still setting off fireworks at all hours on the day and night, even though Chinese New Year is past. Between the fireworks at the wee hours of the morning, the car alarm that went off twice, and staying up late trying to get my new exercise ball inflated, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep. Seriously, is there a reason you are setting off fireworks at 4 a.m.???

Here's a diet tip - SlimQuick doesn't work. Zip, zero, nada, no help. Don't buy this one. I wasted money on two bottles and took it for a minimum of one month, just like they say to do. It was no help at all. I didn't lose an ounce. If anything, I've gained weight in the last month! As much as I'd like to think it's muscle, my poochy tummy says that's a lie. I'm slowly gaining, not losing.

In order to break up my gym days, and because Ash Wednesday can't be moved to another day (lol), I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow, two days early. Then Wednesday I am going to the noon service at a local Episcopal church, and Thursday I'll be back at the gym again. Hopefully Brad and I can walk the lake on Friday after my chiropractic appointment.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, fitness, exercise, obese, overweight, anniversary

Photos of my weekend

Calories eaten Thursday: 1744
Fat: 82g (43%)
Carbs: 46g (11%)
Protein: 114g (27%)

Calories eaten Friday: 1778
Fat: 86g (47%)
Carbs: 47g (11%)
Protein: 113g (27%)

Calories burned in exercise Friday: 329 (walked around lake twice)
Calories burned in exercise today: 271

Settle in. This is a long post.

Did some more research on BCAA and learned more. First, a recap of what I wrote in an eariler post:

The same article says BCAAs are easily converted to glucose, so I think I won't take that.

But then I found this information on it.

What Are Branch-Chained Amino Acids?

The BCAA Are A Group Of Three Essential Amino Acids:
1) Leucine
2) Isoleucine
3) Valine

Point blank, exercise promotes increased BCAA oxidation (Shirmomura et al., 2004). This increased degradation of BCAA helps maintain energy homeostasis by providing carbon as a direct energy source and glucose homeostasis by providing substrates for the citric-acid cycle and gluconeogenesis.

Amino acids are categorized as glucogenic, ketogenic, or a combination of glucogenic and ketogenic. A glucogenic amino acid when metabolized gives rise to pyruvate or other TCA cycle intermediates that can be used for the production of glucose through gluconeogenesis.

A ketogenic amino acid is metabolized via the fatty acid pathway and gives rise to actyl-CoA, a fatty acid precursor. Leucine is completely ketogenic, valine is completely glucogenic, and isoleucine is both glucogenic and ketogenic. Valine and isoleucine can both be used to produce intermediates for glucose production via gluconeogenesis.

The problem is, I can't make heads nor tails of these three paragraphs. The rest of the article is equally obtuse. I also found this post helpful, especially the last several paragraphs.

I found ZMA this weekend and bought it. GNC didn't have it, but a health food store that Brad likes to go to did. I started taking that last night. The magazine also said to have decaf green tea before bed (along with cottage cheese or plain yogurt) as the L-theanine in it helps to relax you and fall asleep. I picked up some at WalMart on my way to work.

Ok...whew. Now for a recap of the weekend.

First, Thursday night. I baked a sugar-free chocolate chocolate chip cheesecake with blueberries. This is the usual cheesecake I make, only with blueberries on top. The berries definetly made it better.


Friday Brad came over after work and we hauled Xena off to the vet to get her claws clipped. I also had them weigh her - 9 lbs., 2 oz., on the low side for her.

Then we took Xena home and walked around the lake twice. From there Brad got something to eat at Safeway and then we went to the Creation conference in Castro Valley sponsored by Neighborhood Church and Answers in Genesis.

Here's some photos from that. Click to enlarge them.

pamphlet for the conference


book and DVD tables


me


me showing off my purchase of 6 DVDs

Then Brad drove me home and we had some dinner and he went home.

Saturday morning I went to church. At the break I had my usual carb fare - Cheese-Its, etc., but also three pieces of See's candy someone brought. Big mistake. The blood sugar spike and crash left me nearly falling asleep during Sabbath School. Only 6 hours of sleep the night before didn't help either. Lesson: stay away from the high GI stuff; it's evil.

Brad came at 1 and we had lunch at church and then headed for the last Saturday session of the creation conference. We never made it because traffic was so heavy. That's when we hunted down the ZMA. Here's a couple of random pics of our drive on Highway 80. Click to enlarge.




Then we went to Quinn's Lighthouse for dinner. Here's pics from our dinner. Click to enlarge the photos.

Brad with a Fat Tire beer


me with Merlot (of course)


After dinner, still drinking Merlot, but now with coffee, too.

While we're all it, here's a random picture of Xena I took on Friday. I wanted to pick her up and she ran away and hid behind the curtain in the bathtub.


Made it to the gym today and did an hour of weight training and a half hour of cardio. I heard a trainer talking to a client while in the stretching area and he said that it was good to sit on an exercise ball while on the computer as a way of strengthening your core. I thought that sounded like a good idea so I bought a large (65cm) exercise ball. It comes with a pump, but in order to not overinflate it I need a tape measure, so I'll do that when I get home.

The 65cm ball is for people taller than me, but it should be a good height to sit on, and I can do other exercises, too, even if my height of 5'7" dictates the 55cm ball.

I'm getting good at girl's push-ups. I can do 10 fairly easily. Now I am working on the men's push-ups - much harder - but I will get there!

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, fitness, exercise, obese, overweight, supplements

Photo of exercise ball courtest 24 Hour Fitness store.

30 signs you might be a hard-core low-carber

From the Shrinking Goddess Web site. This one fits me better than the first list I posted.

Suspect you may be a hardcore low-carber? Worried because your friends have started calling you, "Dr. Atkins, Jr."? Compare your story to these symptoms to see if it's hopeless or not!

That’s right, you too might be a hardcore low-carber if...

1) You look at any food item and think, "Hmmm. I wonder how that would taste with a couple packets of Splenda on it?"
2) You think "Mock Danish" is a major food group.
3) You tell all the newbies to watch out for the low carb treat items, but you get ‘em yourself sometimes. (OK, well maybe that’s just me!)
4) You read labels for EVERYTHING. Even stuff you have no intention of buying or eating, because you’re curious.
5) You shop in thrift stores to maximize your clothing budget.
6) You sometimes buy clothing items in a size smaller than you wear, because, well, you will wear it. [I have personally done this one many times!]
7) You have a clue what nitrates, transfats, and the glycemic index is.
You refer to dropping your weight into the next lower 10-pound range "hitting a new decade."
8) You’ve heard of "the whoosh fairy" and you court her shamelessly.
9) The appliance that consumes the most water in your house is YOU!
10) You have enough supplements in your cabinet to open a mail-order health food store. [OMG! Yes!]
11) You know what each of your supplements do.
12) People ask you routinely about the carb counts in various foods...and you know. You have become a walking carb counter.
13) Your ears perk up every time you hear "low carb" on TV commercials.
14) A few apple slices tastes like a decadent dessert. (You’d never eat the whole apple, ‘cause that’s like 20 carbs!)
15) You’ve built muscles lifting your water jug all day, every day.
16) People stop telling you about how "dangerous" low-carb is and start asking you for advice.
17) At least two people have started eating low-carb because of your success.
18) You’re not interested in all the foods you used to live off of. All that sugar just sounds yuck!
19) Overdoing carbs makes you feel bloated, sluggish and depressed now. [SO TRUE!]
20) You’ve given the advice, "Get the book, get the book, get the book!!" before.
21) You read labels for EVERYTHING. Even stuff you have no intention of buying or eating, because you’re curious. [OMG! I do this ALL THE TIME!]
22) You’ve given the advice, "Get the book, get the book, get the book!!" before.
23) You laugh at people who tell you that you need to "quit losing so much weight." Because you know that you’ll stop when you’re good and ready and not a second before.
24) Somebody refers to you as "small" or "little" and you’re so excited, you hardly hear the rest of the comment!
25) You’re militant about eating low carb and know that you’d eat that way even if you didn’t need to lose weight. In fact, you’ll continue after the weight is gone, because you feel so damned good!
26) You’ve used the phrase, "If I can do it, I know you can, too!"
27) You’ve posted before, during/after pictures anyplace. [Several places!]
28) You just snort when somebody talks about all that "unhealthy fat" in foods.
29) You demand that people who haven’t seen you for a long time comment on your weight. (OK, well, maybe this one is just me again, too.)
30) Your read lists of the signs of being a hardcore low-carber.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, obesity, obese, overweight, fat, South Beach Diet

Lots happening, little accomplished

Calories eaten yesterday: 1706
Fat: 85g (48%)
Carbs: 50g (13%)
Protein: 119g (30%)

Weight this morning: 147.8
Calories burned in exercise today: 103

Been thinking about carb cycling lately, though I still have some more research to do. I got to thinking about it due to this blog post. This person got it from PJ's book-long post about low-carb in general and further down, carb-cycling in particular.

I did a Google search and came up with this site. It mentions a three day split - one day high carb, one day low-carb, one day no-carb (except for veggies). An acceptable high-carb food that's mentioned is slow cooked oats. Slow cooked oats are also mentioned on my old Atkins day-at-a-time calendar as an acceptable breakfast food, and a slow-digesting carb that I actually like. I wonder if I couldn't do a version of carb cycling, with my "high-carb" days still being fairly low, but higher than I am now. Oats for breakfast would be a perfect slow-digesting carbohydrate to get my carbs up without spiking my blood sugar. Add some Splenda, cinnamon, sugar-free syrup, or sugar-free jelly, and you'd have a nice, hearty breakfast.

Anyway, this is something that I am beginning to look into.

I stopped by WalMart on the way to work and bought a small canister of the oats. It has 24g of net carbs per 1/2 cup serving. It is supposed to be cooked with either water or milk. I think low-carb chocolate soy milk might be good - it would give a protein punch to the carbs and flavor it at the same time.

I also bought a new Pullman backpack. I decided to pay more and get a better quality one since the one I just bought a few weeks ago broke so quickly. I got American Tourister brand, which has a 10 year warranty. Hopefully this one will last!

I wanted to get a toilet plunger at WalMart also, but they didn't have a good quality one so I gave it a pass.

I never got in to see the dentist today. I went there and spent over an hour waiting (12 noon to 1 p.m.), then was told it would be a very long wait indeed. I told them to take me out of the que; I had to get to work. This was just to check on the oral surgery, so it really isn't important and I didn't reschedule. The guy is only in on Thursdays once a month. I have to work and I can't afford to spend all day there. Another woman had a 10 a.m. appointment with the same dentist (the oral surgeon) and at 1 p.m. was still waiting to be seen! So I wasted a perfectly good morning getting nothing done. I could have workout out, but NOOOOO. The dental clinic would rather waste my valueable time.

I have an appointment on March 2 for the whitening (it's a Friday so I don't have to work), and on March 9 for a regular cleaning (also a Friday). After these are done I will start worrying about the cavities I have. I doubt I'll be able to get them all filled this year, but I can maybe get a couple done before I max out my benefits at work.

Little exercise today due to the dentist. I did walk to work from the train station of course. Hopefully Brad and I can walk around the lake tomorrow.

I unclogged my first drain last night! The bathroom sink had been emptying slow. I bought Drano, followed the directions (pour in half the bottle, wait 15 minutes, then pour hot water down the drain [I used boiling water]) and voila! the sink now empties like it should.

I was supposed to finish the Parastroy today, but I miscounted the pills somewhere and wound up with two in the ParaRid bottle left over. I'll take those tomorrow morning and be done with it, then start with the Candistroy on Saturday. I don't think the Parastroy helped at all.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, fitness, exercise, obese, overweight, cleanse

Quaker Oats photo courtesy of Moonbattery.com.
Drano photo courtesy of Aubuchon Hardware.

Not much going on today

Calories eaten yesterday: 1891
Fat: 94g (46%)
Carbs: 53g (12%)
Protein: 146g (32%)

Calories burned in exercise today: 94

Not much happening today. I went grocery shopping and found Enviga on sale so I bought several cans. They had berry and peach. I tried the berry when I got home, but I think I like the peach better. I haven't seen the green tea flavor yet.

Tomorrow I have a noon dentist appointment just to check on my oral surgery. The last time I was there the dentist said he wanted me to check back in a month. No problem. After this I will go back for my teeth whitening and then I need to see about getting a cleaning and getting my cavities filled.

I've added a new widget to the right hand column. This one shows recent readers here who are registered at MyBlogLog. Check out my profile and take a minute to register. It's free and they won't spam you and then you will show up in my readers widget!

I'm really hungry today. Don't know why. After eating lunch I grabbed an Atkins bar from my locker and wolfed that down. It's going to make my calories pretty darn high, but it certainly hiked my protein up. Maybe I'll just skip the pork rinds to get my calories down a bit.

I read in Muscle and Fitness Hers today that the best post-workout protein is both whey and casein. I'm thinking of taking my whey protein shake mix and adding a ready-to-drink shake with whey and casein. That would give me more grams of protein right after my workout and add a bit of casein also. The quote: ...a combination of whey and casein proteins after working out spurs the greatest increases in lean muscle mass.

The same article says BCAAs are easily converted to glucose, so I think I won't take that. The article also says I should be taking zinc magnesium aspertate (ZMA). It increases testosterone and insulin-like growth factor-1. That doesn't sound too bad. Maybe I can try this when my L-Glutamine runs out.

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, fitness, exercise, obese, overweight, supplements

Black History Month and "Diversity"

When I first became a Christian over 10 years ago and was searching for a church, I noticed a lot of churches billing themselves as accepting of "diversity." However, their meaning of diversity had nothing to do with the actual meaning. "Diversity" was (and still is) a buzz word for "we accept practicing homosexuals as members."

What does this have to do with Black History Month? Truthfully, not much. But some people equate homosexual practice to being black.

Now I'm not going to argue about whether one chooses to be homosexual. We cannot choose who we are attracted to. I did not choose to be attracted to men, and I believe that most homosexuals do not choose to be attracted to the same sex. In this sense, having feelings toward a person of the same sex is like our skin color - it's not chosen.

HOWEVER - and this is a big however - being black has nothing to do with behavior. Being black doesn't present a choice to do or not do something. Homosexuality is quite different. As rational animals, humans can choose whether or not to act on the desires we have. A person with homosexual desires can make a choice to act on those desires or not.

This is where my faith comes in. My faith tells me that acting on those desires is wrong. And here we come back full circle. Many churches who champion "diversity" think that acting on those desires is normal and natural and perfectly acceptable to God, whatever the Bible might say.

What brought this topic to mind? Glad you asked. At Easter each year I attend a local Episcopal Church. I am on their mailing list, so I get their monthly newsletters. I usually glance at the pastor's monthly essay to see what he has to say. February's newsletter (.pdf) was about - you guessed it - Black History Month and diversity. Listen to how the pastor uses the word "diversity":

At our Vestry retreat last weekend, each of us was acted to tell what it was about St. Paul's that we valued. It would be no surprise for you to know that "diversity" was a chief core value in the group. I suspect that is so among many of us.

But "diversity" can take on many meanings. [Tell me about it!] Is it race? Is it same-gender relations? Is it economic, or simply the fact that we enjoy one another's God-given uniqueness?

...I learned to see us in our different ways as a "salad bowl" where difference is recognized along with relatedness. I think that is what is valuable to us as a faith community about months like Black History and Gay Pride in June. These are times to give special attention to whom we are in our own diversity.

I encourage you to see this month as a time to celebrate our diversity as a faith community. It will deepen your own spiritual growth!

So here we have the pastor of a church equating Black History Month with Gay Pride Month. It should surprise no one that St. Paul's mission statement starts off with these words: St. Paul's Episcopal Church is a diverse, welcoming community. What they really means is that they are a typical liberal church who accepts people who practice things that Bible condemns. The real St. Paul wrote against homosexual practice in Romans 1, but this St. Paul's church accepts people into membership who engage in it.

I have no problem with diversity in the things we can't choose or change - our skin color, our gender, the people we are attracted to. But we must always live by the rules God has laid down if we our to call ourselves His children and take the name "Christian." And He has said homosexual practice is wrong.

Moreover, our own bodies tell us it's wrong. The vagina of a woman makes it's own lubrication to more easily accept a male's penis. The penis was not meant to go into the anus - it is "exit only" if you will, and teeming with bacteria that the penis is not meant to come in contact with. In case you are wondering, yes, I believe anal sex is wrong among heterosexual couples, too. Our bodies were not designed for the practice, period.

Technorati tagged: morality, politics, gay, homosexuality, diversity, Black History Month, Christianity

Calories eaten yesterday: 1495
Fat: 75g (47%)
Carbs: 45g (13%)
Protein: 104g (29%)

Calories burned in exercise today: 97

Ripped my favorite pair of Old Navy jeans today. Grrr. I was just in San Francisco by the Old Navy store yesterday. I pulled at the top of the thighs on the jeans and riiiip - a nice tear on the right leg. I tossed them in the trash. Now I need a new pair of jeans and I want Old Navy. It'll have to wait two weeks until I'm in the City again.

Stopped by Safeway today to get salad since I didn't buy enough last week. I check out the soda aisle looking for Diet Pepsi Jazz. I didn't find that, but I did find two 12 packs of Diet Coke with Splenda! I haven't seen that in ages since it's been discontinued. I guess someone found a couple cases in a storage room and put them out. I would have bought both if I could have carried it, but one was hard enough. If the other is still there tomorrow when I go grocery shopping (doubtful) I'll buy it.

Here's two pictures of me drinking Enviga today. Click to enlarge them. Sorry for the poor quality. I took these earlier today on my camera phone with no editing.




Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, fitness, exercise, obese, overweight

Calories eaten yesterday: 1577
Fat: 69g (41%)
Carbs: 64g (17%) :(
Protein: 117g (31%)

Calories burned in exercise today: 112

I didn't see anything about rain on the forecast, so I didn't take my umbrella into San Francisco with me today. It began raining partway through all my running around. I ducked into a drugstore and bought an umbrella. That kept me dry while I finished my errands and enabled me to walk to work from the BART station. During the walk the rain stopped and the sun came out. That was my only exercise today.

I got another check today from the property Dad gave me. Instead of depositing it to my IRA, though (like I'm supposed to, but haven't done lately), I put it into my savings so I can put it toward my vacation in July. I'm planning on cashing in some comp time to get some money for vacation, too.

I also got the check from Mom today for my teeth whitening. I called the dentist and set up the appointment for March 2, my first free Friday. Soon my pearly whites really will be pearly white. :)

My latest medication prescription from Canada came today. I see when my doctor called in the prescription he gave me 400 pills (300 remaining now) so hopefully I won't have to see him for a while. Awesome! Here's an example photo of my pills. Sometimes they are oval and sometimes they are round. Click to enlarge:


I get the generic, which is not available in the U.S. A three month supply from Canada only cost me $69.21! :)

I need to cut back on the carbs I'm eating. I've been tired lately, and strangely, I think it might be because my carbs are too high. Generally speaking, the lower my carbs are, the better I feel. So I need to work on that. I think the simplest thing to do is cut out my cold tea each day, and cut out tomatoes on my salad. I'm not cutting the cottage cheese even though it's 8 carbs because I want to see if it helps me build and maintain muscle. Besides which, I need a natural source of calcium since I don't drink milk (due to the sugar content of 12g a cup).

A word on diets and drinking, as it seems there is some misunderstandings. When I say "pina colada" I don't mean those sugar-filled, insulin-elevating things that most of the world calls a pina colada. I use low-carb pina colada mix put out by Baja Bob. It has 1g of carbs and 7.5 calories per ounce. After adding rum and ice, two large glasses run me about 330 calories and 9g carbs.

Compare that to 9g of carbs and 77 calories per ounce in a regular pina colada; an 8 oz. can will run you 61g of carbs and 526 calories! Yike!

Wine, as you may know, is naturally low-carb - the yeast eats most of the sugar in the grape juice, leaving 1g or less of carbs per ounce. (Dessert wine is the exception.)

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, fitness, exercise, obese, overweight

Creationism and "Evolution Sunday"

With the Answers in Genesis creation conference starting this Friday at Neighborhood Church in Castro Valley, I have been thinking more about evolution and creationism. The conference runs Friday-Sunday, but I'm only going to a couple of the sessions. I'm definitely going to the one Friday night called Strategic Evangelism: 4 Power Questions to Ask an Evolutionist.

I'm not sure if I'll go to any session on Saturday. That will depend on whether David or someone else would be willing to give me a ride from church over there. I'm not going to the Sunday School session on Sunday morning because that's the beginning of my work week and prime workout time. I need all the gym time I can get with how busy I am this week and next.

I am looking forward to this conference because I have been indoctrinated my whole life to believe in evolution, both in the public schools and at home. I remember seeing Inherit the Wind at the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon (we lived about a two hour drive away at the time) so saw several plays. We spent the entire drive home talking about how true evolution was. I never questioned any of this until college when I saw a video of a debate between an evolutionist and creationist. It was only then that I realized how weak the evidence for evolution was. If there is more evidence I would like to hear it.

Along those same lines, this past Sunday was Evolution Sunday in many churches. They describe their mission thus:

On 11 February 2007 hundreds of congregations from all portions of the country and a host of denominations will come together to discuss the compatibility of religion and science. For far too long, strident voices, in the name of Christianity, have been claiming that people must choose between religion and modern science. More than 10,000 Christian clergy have already signed The Clergy Letter demonstrating that this is a false dichotomy. Now, on the 198th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, many of these leaders will bring this message to their congregations through sermons and/or discussion groups. Together, participating religious leaders will be making the statement that religion and science are not adversaries. And, together, they will be elevating the quality of the national debate on this topic.

And what does The Clergy Letter say? Let's take a look:

Within the community of Christian believers there are areas of dispute and disagreement, including the proper way to interpret Holy Scripture. While virtually all Christians take the Bible seriously and hold it to be authoritative in matters of faith and practice, the overwhelming majority do not read the Bible literally, as they would a science textbook. Many of the beloved stories found in the Bible – the Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah and the ark – convey timeless truths about God, human beings, and the proper relationship between Creator and creation expressed in the only form capable of transmitting these truths from generation to generation. Religious truth is of a different order from scientific truth. Its purpose is not to convey scientific information but to transform hearts.

We the undersigned, Christian clergy from many different traditions, believe that the timeless truths of the Bible and the discoveries of modern science may comfortably coexist. We believe that the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny and upon which much of human knowledge and achievement rests. To reject this truth or to treat it as "one theory among others" is to deliberately embrace scientific ignorance and transmit such ignorance to our children. We believe that among God’s good gifts are human minds capable of critical thought and that the failure to fully employ this gift is a rejection of the will of our Creator. To argue that God’s loving plan of salvation for humanity precludes the full employment of the God-given faculty of reason is to attempt to limit God, an act of hubris. We urge school board members to preserve the integrity of the science curriculum by affirming the teaching of the theory of evolution as a core component of human knowledge. We ask that science remain science and that religion remain religion, two very different, but complementary, forms of truth.

Evolution is "scientific truth"? It's frightening that they got over 10,000 "Christian" clergy to sign this letter! Not surprisingly, California leads every other state and territory in the number of signatures at 807. The next closest state is Pennsylvania with 692. Mississippi has the fewest signatures at a mere 16.

Thank God my church doesn't participate in this! The theory of evolution is just that: a theory. It has not been proved.

Technorati tagged: clergy letter project, creationism, creation, Evolution Sunday

My weekend, and more photos

Calories eaten Friday: 2187
Fat: 95g (42%)
Carbs: 54g (11%)
Protein: 167g (33%)

Calories burned in exercise Saturday: 247
Calories burned in exercise today: 256

Brad and I managed to walk on Saturday. He could see a break in the rain so we scampered off to the lake. We had just enough time to go around once when the rain started again - perfect timing! Then we went to Starbucks and I had a small sugar-free Cinnamon Dulce latte. The milk and whipped cream had sugar, and they put cinnamon sugar on top of the whipped cream so probably 25g carbs, give or take. Still only about half of what a regular latte would have been. Brad had a large Cinnamon Dulce latte with regular syrup, and an orange juice.

When we got back to my house I had way too much Carb Smart ice cream and made flax bread for Brad and I with the cream cheese frosting and I added blueberries to the bread before microwaving it. It was a little messy, but very delicious. I recommend trying this, but lightly cover it while cooking (the blueberries sometimes explode), and eat it with a knife and fork. Good sub for french toast, but due to the high fiber content you can only have one slice.

Made it to the gym today, but I am still beat from the blood donation. I couldn't work out as hard as I wanted to and had to rest more than I'd like, but I spent an hour doing weights and a half hour doing cardio (did the stationary bike). I had one of the new "Zero Carb" berry flavored Rock Star drinks in the blue can to give me energy - pretty tasty, even if I don't believe for a second that it really has zero carbs. I'll have to look for a 4 pack in the stores. Once I got to work I had another Rock Star drink - the regular sugar-free in the white can. That's how wiped out I am. I got a regular night's sleep last night, and Friday I went to bed early and slept about 10 hours.

I need to do more back work. I have no muscle on my back at all. They have a whole slew of machines at the gym for the back and I need to learn how to work them. Right now I am only familiar with a few of them.

I won't be able to work out the rest of this week. I'm busy every day. :-p

Here's some random recent photos. Click any photo to enlarge.

the place they stuck me with the needle for giving blood


the nail bed is finally completely white


close-up of toe I had surgery on - nicely healed!


one of the scratches Xena gave me


me at Lake Merritt - Brad & I walked around once on Saturday

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, fitness, exercise, obese, overweight, blood donation

Lose a pound in five minutes!

Calories eaten Thursday: 1899
Fat: 85g (42%)
Carbs: 55g (12%)
Protein: 140g (31%)

Calories burned in exercise Friday: 0

Want to lose a pound in five minutes? Give blood!

View the top 10 reasons to give blood and the top 10 excuses people use to not give.

When they did the finger stick to check my iron level I came out at around 50%! Wow. I ate spinach salads all week. I am sure that is why it was so much higher than usual. Last time I was around 41 or 42%. My blood pressure was low - 99/59. That's only the second time I've seen both numbers below 100. The other time was when I took a blood pressure test at WalMart. Last time I gave blood my blood pressure was 122/66.

Here's the photos from my blood donation Friday. Click any photo to enlarge.

the room for blood donations


me giving blood


the bandage they put on after I gave blood




the sticker they gave me after I gave blood


me with my "I gave blood today" sticker

I broke 2 million steps yesterday! Go me! I started tracking August 22. Not too shabby. Scroll down the link to the "Million Steps +" area and then look for "Newbirth."

Filming for Prince Caspian, the second of the Narnia movies to be released, is underway in New Zealand! I guess this means I need to re-read the book post haste!

Technorati tagged: atkins, diet, atkins diet, low carb, weight loss, health, blood donor, Prince Caspian, obese, overweight, fat, Red Cross, blood donation