I got a compliment! :)

Calories eaten yesterday: 1096
Fat: 38g (33%)
Carbs: 53g (21%)
Protein: 122g (46%)
Weight this morning: 135
Calories burned in exercise today: 388

Decent weigh-in the morning. I'm okay with it, though of course I always want to see something lower. About 10 pounds lower and I'd be happy!

Went to the gym this morning. I did one hour of weight training and 40 minutes of cardio on one of the older ellipticals. I finished by walking the 30 minutes into work from my train stop.

I received a compliment at the gym today from the buff black guy who hits on all the pretty women. He say my photos on the member success board and complimented me on how well I had done. He said I did the best of all the people with stories posted. (The truth is that most of the stories don't have before and after photos, but mine does.) He told his friend with him to take a look at my story and joked about getting personal training from me. LOL! I was embarrassed, but it felt good. :)

Here's the photo the guy commented about. I wrote the text out below the photo since you can only read the text in the larger sizes.

I forgot to bring in the 2 oz. of cheese I put on my menu for today. I bought an 8 oz. block yesterday and cut it into 4 pieces. I was going to eat one of those pieces today. :-p Less food means more Diet Coke and chewing gum. :-p I also forgot to bring two teabags from home to have tea. Oh well.

Tomorrow I hope to sleep in and go back to the gym on Wednesday.

I send birthday cards to Mom and Eleanor yesterday. Their birthdays are only a new days apart, at the end of November. The next project to to wrap Christmas presents.

Week 102, Day 5

Calories eaten yesterday: 1249 (gym day so I added two protein shakes)
Fat: 25g (19%)
Carbs: 79g (26%)
Protein: 171g (55%)
Weight this morning: 130.4 (One week ago: 130.6)
Calories burned in exercise today: 248

Here's a photo of me with my runner's number for this year's race (May 17th). I'm so excited! Click it for a larger size.

I got a sort of compliment today from a random black guy ogling me as I walked home from the laundromat with my laundry cart in tow. It's a slight uphill grade the whole way back.

He said, "I can tell you have muscle." I just smiled and kept walking. He added, "You're small, but you got muscle." He might have said, "It's small," but I think it was "You're small." I said "thanks" and kept walking. Kinda creepy, but a compliment is a compliment. :) It feels weird being one of the few while girls in a primarily black and Hispanic city. The guys are always ogling me.

Anyway, now I'm "small" and have muscle. :)

Exercise was walking to the laundromat and back, and then from my apartment to the 7-Eleven by the bridge, then the last 10 minutes into work from the bus stop just past the airport. Walker Trackers says it's about 4.3 miles total and it took me just under 1 1/2 hours. :)

I want to give blood again now that my iron levels are where they should be. I talked to the Red Cross about their Saturday hours. They have shortened hours during May on Saturdays (closing at 2 pm), but beginning in June they will close at 3 pm. I need to wait until after the race to give blood anyway, so right now I'm thinking the first Saturday of June so Brad and I wouldn't have to leave church super early to get there.

Saturday is the best day because 1) It's my cheat day. I stuff myself with the bad snacks after giving blood. Giving blood and stuffing myself on Friday and then having a cheat day the next day is counterproductive. 2) I sometimes get lightheaded afterwords and don't want a repeat of the time I nearly passed out on the bus. If Brad is with me then I will be safe and have a ride home.

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Week 102, Day 4

Calories eaten yesterday: 1191
Fat: 25g (19%)
Carbs: 77g (26%)
Protein: 165g (55%)
Weight this morning: 130.6 (One week ago: 131.6)
Calories burned in exercise today: 359

I forgot to record this yesterday. I got a compliment from the Russian lady who works in the IT department downstairs. She said, "You are so tiny. Are you on a diet?" I said I am always on a diet and eat about 1200 calories a day. She asked if I count calories and I said yes, I use a food journal.

Anyway, someone called me "tiny"! :) I don't see myself that way, but I'll take the compliment anyway. :)

Speaking of which, a guy today at the gym (I finally made it to the gym today!) asked if I had lost weight. That's very sweet of him, but I said no, I haven't. I've been maintaining pretty consistently, but haven't lost any.

Yes, I finally made it to the gym today. Yay! The first time in about two weeks. Blah. I've definitely lost strength, but I pushed through my weights workout, going lighter when needed. I forgot my knee brace so I stuck with the elliptical for cardio - 30 minutes.

My Bay To Breakers number and timing tag arrived today! Yay! Now I'm all ready for the race. I pulled out the sucky Olympus camera last night. It's the best camera I own that's light enough to run with. It doesn't work well, but it's the best I have. Next time I buy any camera, new or used, I'm going with FujiFilm. I have yet to have a bad experience with a FujiFilm camera. Anyway, I'm giving the camera a sort of trial run today to see what it can do and plan to look over the instruction booklet I downloaded.

The belt clip I order with my iPod Touch is on it's way, but the actual iPod hasn't been sent yet. I've heard great things about it, but I want to try it myself! I hope it gets here soon!

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Overtime, Day 1

Calories eaten yesterday: 1117
Fat: 21g (17%)
Carbs: 81g (30%)
Protein: 142g (53%)
Weight this morning: 131 (One week ago: 130.2)
Calories burned in exercise today: 306

I felt pretty good yesterday for the first time in a long time. Well, I also felt pretty good Saturday during the hike Brad and I took. Hopefully the lower dose of my thyroid meds is taking effect.

Speaking of thyroid meds, I'm moving things around to space out my iron from my meds a bit more. I can't easily avoid the calcium before bed that might hinder absorption, but I can take my B-50 with iron later in the day, and take the B-50 in my vitamin packet (that I had been giving to Brad) in the morning. We'll see if that change gets the Free T3 levels up at all.

I keep forgetting to mention a compliment I got on Easter Sunday. Dale and her husband (don't recall his name) drove up just to come to St. Paul's on Easter Sunday. They says it is their spiritual home even though they now live out of the area. Anyway, during the passing of the peace they see me and say hi. The husband says something like, "You just look better every year." :o) I'm not any thinner or more toned than last year, but I'll take it. :) Here's a photo of what I looked like Easter Sunday.

Today I went to the gym again. I wanted to make it twice this week even if it's two days in a row. 1 hour of weight training, 1 hour walking on the treadmill (3.6 miles).

I'll be eating extra today. I'll be at work until 3 a.m. and that means hunger. L. is taking time off to see New Kids on the Block. I brought some celery to eat.

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Fasting

Calories eaten yesterday: 438
Fat: 7g (13%)
Carbs: 44g (40%)
Protein: 52g (47%)
Calories burned in exercise today: 295

My calories were so low because I'm never hungry after a binge and have been toying to eating very light for weight loss.

I got a compliment from the woman down the hall today that my stomach was so flat. Um...no, though it is quite a bit flatter when I haven't eaten. I'm trying to fast today but may or may not make it. If not, I have some protein shakes, cottage cheese, and chicken breast in the fridge here at work.

It's weird...I'm SO hungry, yet my empty stomach feels good. Anyone else experience that? It's odd. It also feels good to control the food instead of it controlling me. I am so done with a cookie (or any food) having control over my life! Don't worry about me. I have a ton of body fat to live off of and this is just one day. :)

Someone commented on my blog that every photo they have seen of me I looked great. Well here's a photo I took just yesterday. My tummy was relaxed in this photo but I was not pushing it out. Not such a great photo right? That's why I need to get really serious about getting this off. Click the photo for a larger size.

Exercise today was walking to the laundromat and back, then down to BART, then from BART to work.

See you all Sunday with a full report on the rest of today and my weekend.

Don't forget - Sunday is Palm Sunday! Glory, laud, and honor to the King of Kings!

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Week 88, Day 2

Calories eaten yesterday: 1259
Fat: 22g (16%)
Carbs: 125g (40%)
Protein: 136g (44%)
Weight this morning: 134.2 (One week ago: 131.8)
Calories burned in exercise today: 332

I'm pretty happy with my calories yesterday given that I exercised so much. I need to stay under 1300 on gym days and under 1200 on non-workout days if I want to ever get this weight off. The thyroid meds don't seem to have helped my metabolism one iota.

I've felt reasonably well the last couple of days. I was wiped out after my workout yesterday but as the day progressed I felt better and while I am tired from my workout today I don't feel totally wiped out. I know the biggest problem is low ferritin which I am working on getting up. I think that if I can get my ferritin up my energy would be much better.

Today I went to the gym and did lower body and ab weight training for one hour, then hopped on the elliptical for 30 minutes. I walked to work from BART.

Tomorrow is my mail run into the City.

My current food before and after my workouts goes like this:
Breakfast is one scoop of whey protein mixed with water, and one serving of Cream of Wheat. After my gym workout I have another scoop of whey protein mixed with water, plus a 100 Calorie Pack, usually the Barnum's Animals Choco Crackers (my fave!). Then I walk to work from the train station. I'm going to see how that works out for me.

I got a compliment from this lady I see at the gym sometimes. She is overweight and seems to look up to me simply because I can do things she can't. Today she said that I was "advanced," though in truth I have seen women lift much heavier weights than I can, and do things (like pull-ups) that I can only dream of. She also said I have a "nice figure." Now that kind of compliment I like to hear. :)

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Week 67, Day 3

Calories eaten yesterday: 1224
Fat: 19g (14%)
Carbs: 103g (34%)
Protein: 150g (49%)
Weight this morning: 133 (One week ago: 132.2)
Calories burned in exercise today: 511

Crap. My weight is up today. For now I'll blame the hot dogs. I had the fat free turkey dogs for lunch, dinner, and snack and they are high in sodium.

Finally got back to the gym. That felt good. I did an hour of upper body work using the 8x8 system Joe told me to try - 8 sets of 8 reps. I had to go pretty light to complete all the sets and reps and got very few exercises done because each one takes so long when you are doing a total of 64 reps of everything.

For cardio I ran on the treadmill. It felt so good to get back to running again. :) I started out at 5.2, but I felt good and strong and topped out at 6.7 mph, though I couldn't maintain it for very long. In the end I did 35 minutes and covered 3.55 miles, so my average was about 6 mph. FitDay says I burned 290 calories from the run alone, but I doubt it was nearly that much.

The gym had Muscle Milk Light on sale, so I bought a canister, plus one each of the 24 Hour hand towel and bath towel.

I had my protein and carb snack and walked to work from BART. I bought some groceries to go to the new house. I want some food there so I have food to eat right when I move in. I had Brad take the Muscle Milk, towels, and groceries to the new apartment.

I had an NSV at the gym today. I was laying down on a bench doing tricep extensions and the guy who calls me "Slimmy" came over. I stopped my exercise and lowered the dumbbells. He said no, to put them back up, so I did. So now I'm laying there with my arms up in the air, holding the dumbbells. Then he said something like, "Girlfriend, look at that. Your tummy is flat. I'm impressed," and lightly patted my tummy. I just smiled and he walked away. That felt really good.

My move is next Monday/Tuesday. I am taking the day off work and will not have Internet access so I won't be posting. I do have to work Sunday and will check in then, and then back again on Wednesday. Hopefully by then my phone will be turned on at the new house so I can hook my modem up.

I'm planning a cheat day on Monday. Tuesday I hope to be totally on plan, but no promises. It's going to be a stressful, long couple of days. I'm stocking up on healthy, easy food at the new house - 100% Whole Wheat Light bread, Special K Protein Plus cereal, low-carb chocolate soy milk, sugar-free peanut butter and Walden Farms jelly, cottage cheese, turkey pepperoni, fat free cheese, and South Beach meal bars. I'll have everything I need to eat healthy, even though my calories will be high.

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Cholesterol, blood sugar, HbA1C, & thyroid madness

Calories eaten yesterday: 1277
Fat: 27g (19%)
Carbs: 103g (32%)
Protein: 151g (47%)
Weight this morning: 128.2 (One week ago: N/A)
Calories burned in exercise today: 95

Alright! Finally under 130 today, but nowhere near a new low. I have been very good all week keeping my calories low. And I'm finally back in my skinny shorts today!

I got a sort of compliment today. I saw somebody at work who I don't regularly see. It's hot out so I'm wearing shorts and a tank top. The lady said I was "too skinny" and that I'm losing too much weight. I told her I was in a normal weight range (I am). She said it didn't look good on me (I disagree), that she could see my bones (she meant my collarbones, which I think are my sexiest feature). She also said I have skinny legs. People just get so used to "fat" as the norm that a normal weight on someone becomes "too skinny." Still, I'll take it as a compliment. :)

My blood test numbers from my doctor came today. I asked them to send me the results because my follow-up appointment isn't until late next month (and they are doing my PAP that day so I will be flying high on some serious pain drugs).

Anyway, as I suspected, the egg yolks were raising my LDL (bad) cholesterol. The LDL was back down again. Here's the numbers and the ranges:

Total cholesterol: 162...125-200
Triglycerides: 55...<150
VLDL: 11...5-35
Calculated LDL: 66...<130 - with no other risk factors it should be <160
HDL: 85...>46
Cholesterol/HDL ratio: 1.9...<5.0

So my total is way down (it was over 200 last time). Triglycerides are up slightly, but still very good, probably because I'm eating controlled-carb now instead of low-carb. VLDL is up slightly, but still excellent. HDL is down very slighty, but still awesome. And my total/HDL ratio is down to the lowest ever, probably because my overall total is down.

Fasting glucose was 81. HbA1C was 5.0. The paper says non-diabetic is less than 6.0. Mean plasma glucose was 101 (no range given), with this note: On September 6, 2005, Quest Diagnostics changed the calculation based on Hemoglobin A1c from an estimation of mean whole blood glucose to an estimation of mean plasma glucose. This was done at the recommendation of the American Diabetes Association. Mean plasma glucose levels will be generally 10-20% higher than mean whole blood glucose levels.

My thyroid results were interesting. TSH and T-4 were in range (TSH was on the high end, though), but T-3 was out of range, a little high. I know I am always cold and have difficulty losing body fat, but a very easy time gaining fat. I did some online research and being hypothyroid (high T-3 and TSH) does slow down metabolism! That is me! Other symptoms are difficulty losing weight and "cold intolerance." It's all falling into place now!

T-4 Total: 5.3. The range is 4.5-12.5. In range.
T-3 Uptake: 35.5. The range is 22-35. Out of range.
Free Thyroxine Index: 1.9. The range is 1.4-3.8. In range.
Thyroxine-Free: 0.9. Range is 0.8-1.8. In range.
TSH: 4.07. Range is 0.4-4.5. In range.

The bill for all these tests came today. The entire physical came to $502! Wow. Lupe negotiated a 25% discount, leaving $376.50. My employer covers 80% ($301.20), so my portion is $75.30. Today is payday so I gave Lupe a check right away.

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Week 60, Day 2

Calories eaten yesterday: 1366
Fat: 25g (17%)
Carbs: 99g (29%)
Protein: 175g (52%)
Weight this morning: 133.2 (One week ago: 136.6)
Calories burned in exercise today: 466

Something I forgot to report last week - that black guy at the guy who always says, "Hey Slimmy," or "How you doin', Slimmy," said that twice to me last week. :) He said something to me today while I was stretching, but I didn't catch it because I had my iPod on.

Pretty normal workout. I spent one hour on lower body and some core work. I started with three "sets" of walking lunges up and back on the ramp with the 8 lb. dumbbells. The 5 lb. dumbbells used to be too hard and now look at me! I know my butt will be sore tomorrow. I'm always sore after my lower body days. :)

Ran on the treadmill for 31 minutes, most of the time at 5.9 mph, but faster the last few minutes. Covered exactly 3 miles.

Walked to work from BART. Since Dad's check came I stopped at WalMart for Alli (I had a coupon), Special K Protein Plus, batteries, headphones (mine finally died), and two knee braces.

There was cake at work today and I was a bad girl today and ate 3-4 bites of frosting. Bad Victoria! How am I going to lose weight when I give into frosting with such abandon? One bite, ok. But 3-4? Way too much. I am walking extra laps around the hallway at work to make up for it.

Tomorrow I go into the City to get my mail.

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Week 56, Day 2

Calories eaten yesterday: 1233
Fat: 33g (25%)
Carbs: 101g (34%)
Protein: 123g (41%)
Weight this morning: 134.2 (One week ago: 134.2)
Calories burned in exercise today: 445

Today was lower body day. I was going to take my workout journal to the gym but forgot. Next week I'll write everything down and post a "typical" lower body day workout just like I've already posted a typical upper body day.

I spent one hour on lower body and abs. Since there are fewer leg exercises I know than arm exercises, I have more time for abs on these days. I started with the walking lunges, 3 rounds up and back down the ramp with 5 lb. dumbbells and I kept my balance the whole time. I'm getting better! :) I used to hate the walking lunges but now I like them. :) When I did the wall sit with the ball I could see a little definition in my thighs. :)

After this I got on the treadmill and ran for 30 minutes. I did a slightly lower speed today because I'm a bit tired. I covered 2.88 miles. Then I took the train to my stop and walked the last 1.5 miles to work (30 minutes).

Tomorrow I am doing my bi-monthly trip into the City so no gym but I plan to do that 1.5 mile walk from the train.

Small victory - the guy who winked at my last week did the same today when I saw him. :)

I have an appointment with a personal trainer on Wednesday. I was part of a class action lawsuit and I got a free half hour session out of it. Right now I am thinking that I will have the trainer check my form on some of my exercises and make sure that I am doing them most effectively. I think I am seeing a girl this time.

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Upper body day at the gym

Calories eaten yesterday: 1220
Fat: 30g (23%)
Carbs: 100g (34%)
Protein: 128g (43%)
Weight this morning: 130.2 (One week ago: 130.2)
Calories burned in exercise today: 447

I decided to track all my exercise today since I haven't actually written it down in a while. I'm doing reverse pyramids starting at high weight and few reps and moving to lower weight and higher reps.

Strength:
Exercise: weight/reps, weight/reps, weight/reps

One-armed dumbbell bicep curl: 20/6, 15/10, 12/12
Arnold Press: 25/6, 20/8, 15/12 (lbs. per dumbbell, double for total weight)
Laying dumbbell tricep extension: 15/8, 12/10, 10/12 (lbs. per dumbbell)
Dumbbell lateral raise: 5/15, 5/10, 8/5 (not quite ready for the 8s yet) (lbs. per dumbbell)
Seated back row: 80/8, 70/10, 60/12
Lateral pulldown: 90/7, 80/10, 70/12
Dual axis row: 75/8, 70/10, 65/12
Men's push-ups: 3 sets of 10
Ball sit-ups with 5 lb. weight held above head: 3 sets of 12-15 crunches
High row: 60/7, 55/10, 50/12 (lbs. per side - double for total weight)
Standing calf raise: 495/8, 480/10, 465/12

This took about 1 hour.

Cardio:
31 minutes running on treadmill, mostly between 5.7 and 6.0 mph. Tried to stay in the 90% range of my MHR. I covered 3.05 miles.

I got dressed and had my protein snack on the train: 1 scoop whey protein (130 calories) mixed with a 1/2 cup cottage cheese (90 calories), and a 100 Calorie Pack for my high-GI carb.

I walked from where I got off the train to work, stopping at McDonald's to treat myself to a Diet Coke. 1.5 miles and about 30 minutes. 447 calories burned.

Assessment:
I could barely eek out 6 reps on the 25 lbs. dumbbells on the Arnold Press. I really do want to go up to the 25s because 20/15/12 lbs. is just too easy.

On the laying tricep extension my left arm is noticeably weaker and on the bicep curl my right arm is weaker.

Oh, I almost forgot - I got a compliment today. A guy I see at the gym a lot walked past me as I was leaving and said, "Hey there, Slimmy." :D I love to hear that.

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Week 55, Day 3

Calories eaten yesterday: 1398
Fat: 32g (21%)
Carbs: 107g (31%)
Protein: 163g (48%)
Weight this morning: 131.6 (One week ago: 132)
Calories burned in exercise today: 85

I got sort of a compliment at the gym yesterday. As I passed through the weight room to the cardio room I saw a guy I see at the gym a lot and he winked at me two or three times. :) No one ever flirted with me when I was heavy, but now that I'm a normal weight and the guys see me working out so hard with the weights, they flirt with me. :)

My butt is sore from yesterday's lower body workout. Didn't do anything today. I tried to sleep in until the jackhammer started downstairs. :-p I walked from the train station to work, stopping at WalMart on the way - 30 minutes. I'm ready for an awesome April now that I have the binge out of my system. I've been burning off the excess carbs and pounding the water.

Tomorrow I hope to go back to the gym and do upper body.

I wanted to share a "before and after" photo with you. The first photo was taken May of 2004. I'd been on Atkins about 2 months at that time. The second was taken last Saturday wearing the same dress. You can really see the difference in how I fill out the dress in the first photo, but not in the second. Click the photo to see the full size.


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Week 53, Day 4

Calories eaten yesterday: 1279
Fat: 30g (22%)
Carbs: 98g (32%)
Protein: 141g (46%)
Weight this morning: 132.6 (One week ago: 131)
Calories burned in exercise today: 457

My calories were higher yesterday (and will be today, too) because I worked out and have a Diet Rock Star (20 calories) and a Special K Protein water mix (30 calories) on workout days.

I left home early this morning because I had to stop by the bank and order checks. It took quite a while and I got to the gym late. I spent one hour on upper body and core. Push-ups are easier. Yay me! I felt better than yesterday, but my butt was really sore from doing lower body.

For cardio I struggled through 30 minutes of running between 5.5 and 6.0 mph, but I can't sustain 6. My heart won't let me. I wanted to cover 3 miles in 30 minutes. I managed 2.92. Then I got dressed, had my protein and carb snack, and walked to work from the train station (35 minutes since I stopped at WalMart and that's a huge parking lot to walk across).

Tonight is laundry so I'll sleep in tomorrow.

Today I starting chatting with a guy at the gym. He said he hadn't seen me in a while and that it looked like I'd lost weight and bulked a bit. I have lost some weight, but I don't know about the bulking part. Still, I'll take the compliment. :) I know I am stronger. I just don't think I've put on much (in any) actual muscle.

I'm eating the last half of my last Atkins peanut butter bar today! I only have the almond brownie bars left, and I already sold them to Brad so I am officially done with the Atkins bars. I'll have the South Beach bars from now on. They have fewer calories.

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Week 50, Day 4

Calories eaten yesterday: 1324
Fat: 25g (18%)
Carbs: 114g (36%)
Protein: 140g (44%)
Weight this morning: 130.4 (One week ago: 129.2)
Calories burned in exercise today: 440

Pretty good day at the gym. I did upper body but would have been stronger if I had taken today off and just gone in tomorrow. I may go tomorrow, too and do lower body again. We will see.

I did one hour of upper body weights and read a magazine article (Muscle & Fitness Hers) about using free weights first and machines last - something do do with the stabilizer muscles. So that's something I'll need to work on. I usually hit the machines first to make sure I can get them before the noontime crowd comes in and hogs them. A trainer saw me doing my dumbbell rows wrong and corrected me, so that was nice. She also said I had a good musculature and that I needed to gain muscle instead of lose any more weight. I actually agree with her. I'm very close to my goal, but I would love to build some muscle.

My half hour of cardio was running on the treadmill at 5.5 and above mph. 2.78 miles I think. What an endorphin rush! Then I had my usual protein and carb snack and hopped the train. I walked to work from the train station I get off at - another 1.5 miles and 30 minutes. FitDay says 440 calories total, 227 from the running! :)

One cool thing happened at the gym: I was stretching my quads during my cool down. This one black guy I see at the gym a lot (not the super buff one - a different one) walked past me, stopped, came over and squeezed my quads, said "Oooo!" and then put his hand up to high 5 me. :D I love moments like those. The guys there actually respect me because they see me working so hard. :D

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Week 43, Day 2

Calories eaten yesterday: 1233
Fat: 30g (22%)
Carbs: 98g (32%)
Protein: 133g (44%)
Weight this morning: 137.4 (One week ago: 136.6)
Calories burned in exercise today: 87

The computer still hasn't come. It was originally supposed to be here on the 3rd, then it was changed to the 5th, and now it's the 8th. I tell you, Fed Ex totally sucks.

Brad was supposed to drop both computers by at the computer guru today, so I called him and asked if he could drop them tomorrow. He said he won't be home, but someone will be there. He said he'll take the iMac apart right away and then call me before doing the hard drive transfer. *sigh* I ordered the computer on December 27. What is taking Fed Ex so long? Apple sent it out right away. The computer has been in their system this whole time.

Went into the City today. Got my mail, then went to Old Navy and exchanged the pajama pants again. This time I tried on the pants before exchanging. The small is a bit tight everywhere but the waist, but it's the only one that stays on my waist. Well, my hips. These are hip-hugger pajama bottoms. Oh well.

Then I went to the bank to cash the property check - I will put that money toward the computer costs for taking the iMac apart and transferring the hard drive. Then I hit GNC because my Gold Card expires so this was my last chance to buy stuff with my discount. I got SlimQuick drink mix and carb gel packets for the race this May. I also bought vanilla soy milk and Slim Mints.

During my shift I ran next door to Subway to get bottled water. As I paid the guy there mentioned that I hadn't been there in a long time (true), and said I was "too skinny"! I love compliments like that. Me - too skinny! I don't think so, but I never get tired of hearing things like that. :)

I have a serious case of the hungries today that I am fighting off. Blah.

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Week 35, Day 4

Calories eaten yesterday: 1360
Fat: 37g (25%)
Carbs: 115g (35%)
Protein: 132g (40%)

Weight this morning: 131.2 (One week ago: 132.2)
Calories burned in exercise today: 86

A new low for a Wednesday! Excellent. I'll gain it all back next week and need to lose everything I possibly can. This vacation will set me back a long way. I'll be off my diet for a whole week. Eek. I remember how bad Conference set back my loss. It took me weeks to get back to where I had been.

I forgot to mention that I got a compliment at the gym yesterday - two actually. :) First there was that guy who called me "Slimmy" before. As I walked past him he said, "Hey Slimmy. How ya' doin'?" I live for compliments like that.

The other was this big, muscled guy. He's very vain and only flirts with the skinny girls. We were on machines next to one another. He flexed his muscles (and kissed his bicep - he always does that!). I flexed my right arm and he pretended to be all impressed and asked me to do it again. I know I don't have a lot of muscle, but there is something there. :)

Those NutriSystem Nacho Crisps I ordered on October 10th finally arrived today. Good going, NS! 26 Nacho Crisps and 2 chocolate biscotti. The Nacho Crisps are the new reformulated kind. They now have 100 calories instead of 120, 5g net carbs instead of 4g, and only 9g protein instead of the 12g before. I'm not impressed. These also have the new "Nutrisol" stuff in them. I'm not sure why that's supposed to be healthier.

After spending all that money the last two days, I got two e-mail bills today - Direct TV for $58 and PG&E for $33. It's that time of year when the gas bill skyrockets. Bleh. I also spent nearly $70 nonexistent dollars on groceries today.

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Week 33, Day 5

Calories eaten yesterday: 1316
Fat: 35g (25%)
Carbs: 108g (34%)
Protein: 133g (42%)

Weight this morning: 131.8 (One week ago: 132.6)
Calories burned in exercise today: 243

My horror story for the day. I ordered a maintenance order of desserts from NutriSystem on October 10. It shipped out on the 11th, but I never received it. Called UPS; they said it was returned to NS because NS has shipped it to my P.O. box! MY P.O. is for billing, not shipping! NS should know better; they have my shipping address and every other order has been shipped to it. So I had to call and get them to reship it. I am not amused. I think they have monkeys working there instead of humans.

Ok, the good news for the day: I got a compliment at the gym. It was from a girl and it came out of the blue, the way a guy might approach me, so I think she may have been a lesbian admiring me. No biggie there. As long as she doesn't hit on me, I'll take the compliment. :)

Anyway, she passed by me and stopped briefly and said, "I just wanted to say, you look really good. I can tell you've been working out." I love compliments no matter who they come from!

I joined Facebook yesterday. Here's my profile there.

I ran out of ZMA a couple days ago and won't be getting more. I take magnesium supplement on the side anyway.

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Week 30, Day 3

Calories eaten yesterday: 1399
Fat: 32g (21%)
Carbs: 108g (32%)
Protein: 159g (46%)

Weight this morning: 133.6 (One week ago: 134.6)
Calories burned in exercise today: 245

A new low for a Tuesday. Yay! Incidentally, last Tuesday (134.6) was also a new low for a Tuesday. The previous Tuesday low was 134.8 way back on July 24. And now I am finally seeing 134 or less on a Tuesday! Yay me!

Went to the gym and did a lower body workout. This torched my legs pretty bad and I had a difficult time getting through my cardio. I finally settled for 20 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes walking at 4.0 mph.

Tomorrow is no gym and perhaps some grocery shopping, then back to the gym for an upper body workout Thursday. Friday Brad and I hope to hit Huckleberry Park since we haven't done it yet. We have driven past it to get to Sibley and Tilden.

Well, I had a 100 Calorie Pack of the Oreos after my workout today. Gosh those things are good, and I know I am doing something good for my body. High GI-carbs after weight training are the one time when "bad carbs" are a good thing. I also get the "good for me" feeling when I snuggle down in bed after eating my nightly 1/2 cup of cottage cheese - cottage cheese is 80% casein protein so it's an amino acid drip for your muscles throughout the night. :)

Oh, I got another compliment at the gym today from one of the men I see there often. As I walked by he said, "Hi Slimmy." I just said hi back and kept on walking, but boy did that boost my ego!

After taking a break from my last round of diet pills I started in on the Lean System 7 (review) bottle this morning. I had some results from it last time. Don't know if it was a fluke or not but I thought I'd give it another try. Hopefully I'll see some good results.

More NutriSystem food reviews:
Sour Cream and Onion Soy Chips snack - These were okay, but I like the Nacho Crisps better. The first ingredient is soy flour, which bloats me, so I will eat just one per week and hope I can get away with that. These were given to me free and not something I would have bought. 100 calories, 10g net carbs, and 9g protein.

White Cheddar Soy Chips snack - Another okay food. A bit bland, and I like the Nacho Crisps better. The first ingredient is soy flour, which bloats me. 110 calories, 11g net carbs, and 9g protein.

Strawberry Toaster Pastry and Apple Toaster Pastry breakfast - The first two ingredients are wheat flour and high fructose corn syrup. Since when is high fructose corn syrup a low-GI ingredient? Since when was 18g of sugar healthy for anybody? These were given to me by someone and are not on the diabetic program that I signed up for. 180 calories, 3.5g fat, 32g carbs, 4g fiber (28g net carbs), 18g sugar, 8g protein.

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Week 28 Weigh-In

Start: 154
Week 1: 150 (-4) - Week 2: 148.6 (-1.4)
Week 3: 146 (-2.6) - Week 4: 147.2 (+1.2)
Week 5: 145.6 (-1.6) - Week 6: 144 (-1.6)
Week 7: 143 (-1) - Week 8: 142.8 (-0.2)
Week 9: 143.6 (+0.8) - Week 10: 141.2 (-2.4)
Week 11: 143.8 (+2.6) (carbed up for the race)
Week 12: 142.4 (-1.4) - Week 13: 142.4 (-0)
Week 14: 141.6 (-0.8) - Week 15: 139.4 (-2.2)
Week 16: 140 (+0.6) - Week 17: 139.2 (-0.8)
Week 18: 139 (-0.2) - Week 19: 138 (-1)
Week 20: 135.4 (-2.6) - Week 21: 137.2 (+1.8)
Week 22: 139.6 (+2.4) - Week 23: 143.2 (+3.6)
Week 24: 143.6 (+0.4) - Week 25: 137.6 (-6)
Week 26: 139.6 (+2) - Week 27: 142 (+2.4)
Week 28: 137.2 (-4.8)
Total loss: -16.8

Ok, now to catch up on other numbers.
Calories eaten Thursday: 1442
Fat: 30g (19%)
Carbs: 107g (31%)
Protein: 139g (40%)
Weight Thursday morning: 132.6 (One week ago: 134.4)
Calories burned in exercise Thursday: 254

Calories eaten Friday: 1495
Fat: 31g (18%)
Carbs: 85g (23%)
Protein: 160g (42%)
Weight Friday morning: 132.6 (One week ago: 137)
Calories burned in exercise Friday: 251

Weight Saturday morning: 133.8 (One week ago: 137.4)
Calories burned in exercise Saturday: 0

Calories burned in exercise today: 276

Down 4.8 pounds this week! Yes! This is what happens when I cut the soy flour out of my diet. Just 0.2 above my goal - again.

Made it to the gym today and did some weight training pyramid work. I decided I needed to write down what weights I'm using for each exercise so I took my old exercise journal with me. My workout took longer than usual because of writing everything down, but now I have a record to follow.

I forgot to mention that I got a compliment at the gym on Thursday! One guy said he didn't know if I knew, but my back was getting some muscle. I needed to hear that because after seeing how bad I looked from the back I have been trying to do more exercises that target my back.

I won't have any trouble getting 140g of protein today and my calories were higher than I liked, so I skipped the extra scoop of whey protein that my trainer recommended. Tomorrow, though, instead of having an Atkins meal bar I will have a protein shake. Same number of calories, but the shake is much higher in protein. And I really should get over my fear of 1400+ calories on gym days.

I forgot my lunch today, but had a can of tuna in my locker so I grabbed that. There's no salsa at work so lunch was just plain tuna with a slice of fat free cheese melted over it. Oh well. I drained the water off into a separate container. The cats will love it.

As I have mentioned in the past, not only did I take photos at the September 13 staff dinner, but Lisa and our boss Jon did as well. I now have all the photos up and decided to make a photo set devoted just to staff dinners. Currently there are three dinners that I have photos of; these are the first four photos in the set. Photos five and on are all from the last dinner.

staff dinners photo set

Brad and I did the Tilden/Sibley parks trail on Friday. We didn't make it all the way because I just wasn't into it, but we did find out that though both parks are up in the hills, to get from one to the other you have to go down, across a valley, and back up the other side. So no matter which direction you come from you end up with uphill at the end. This Friday we started at Tilden. Next Friday we will start at Sibley and hopefully make it all the way.

On Saturday morning I had too much fruit for breakfast - two bananas and a large apple. Oh well, I guess cheating by eating too much fruit is better that cookies and cake!

On Saturday morning I had too much fruit for breakfast - two bananas and a large apple. Oh well, I guess cheating by eating too much fruit is better that cookies and cake!

After church, I cleaned up lunch all by myself while everyone else listened to a presentation from the Missionary Society. Due to my big breakfast and too many snacks, I wasn't hungry for lunch, but I snitched some of the food as I cleaned up, included two small slices of zucchini bread, one of my weaknesses. I also had one of Beck's homemade peanut butter cookies.

And now for a few photos I took over the weekend. Click any of them to enlarge.

views from the Tilden/Sibley parks trail




Abby sleeps in the cat tree


Friday's dinner - chicken breast and zucchini

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Staff dinner at El Torito

Calories eaten yesterday: 1302
Fat: 34g (25%)
Carbs: 101g (33%)
Protein: 127g (42%)
Weight this morning: 134.4 (One week ago: 133)
Calories burned in exercise today: 260

Abby ran away again. I left the door ajar while I took out the trash and she got away. This is the third time since I moved into the apartment so I'm not really worried. She'll come back in three or four days when she gets hungry enough.

I have more info. on my sister's baby. Her name is Marina Celina. She was born at 10:00 pm, weighed in at 6 lbs. 9 oz., and was 19.25 inches long. She's a little small, but she was three weeks early. Pictures will be posted on my Flickr account as soon as I can clean them up and post them up. So far, I have six photos posted, but the remaining ones need some cleaning up. I'll get them up in a day or so.

My department at work had a staff dinner at El Torito Mexican restaurant. I had the beef, chicken, and shrimp fajitas with no rice, beans, guacamole, or sweet corn dessert thingy - just meat and grilled veggies. No tortillas. I think they used a lot of oil though, so it had a lot of calories. Unsweetened iced tea and Diet Pepsi to drink. I had a few tortilla chips and several bites of the appetiser platter, but mostly just dipped on NutriSystem chips in the salsa and ate those. I tried to be good. Pictures forthcoming, including a photo of my dinner. I am going to weigh a ton on the scale tomorrow. My metabolism is very slow and my body stores every calorie I eat as fat.

I made it to the gym today. I am a certified gym rat. The front desk staff know my name without looking at my membership card!

I got a compliment at the gym today! I was resting between sets on a machine and a guy walked past me and paused. He said something like, "You need to stop (working out). You are looking too good." I live for compliments like that! (c:

Today was a semi-cheat because of the staff dinner, so I bought a a box of Oreo 100 Calorie Packs and had one after my workout - the theory being that you need fast digesting carbs after your workout to replenish muscle glycogen and help the protein get into your muscles. So I had my regular protein shake plus the 100 Calorie Pack. Eventually I hope to have a 100 Calorie Pack after all my gym workouts, but I would like to reach goal first. I gave the box to Brad to hold onto for me so I won't be tempted. I really love these packs - they taste great! They taste so good and are perfect for after the gym - bleached flour and sugar. You don't get more high-GI than that.

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