Week 12 Weigh-In

Weight: 144.2
Calories eaten yesterday: 1644
Fat: 78g (44%)
Carbs: 52g (13%)
Protein: 116g (29%)
Calories burned in exercise: 98

Week 1: 147.6
Week 2: 147.6
Week 3: 147.6
Week 4: 146 (-1.6)
Week 5: 145.4 (-0.6)
Week 6: 144.6 (-0.8)
Week 7: 142.6 (-2.0)
Week 8: N/A
Week 9: 145.6 (+3.0)
Week 10: 145.2 (-0.4)
Week 11: 145.2 (0) (one day late)
Week 12: 144.2 (-1.0)

Total gain/loss: -3.4

Yippee! I stuck to plan all week and lost 1 pound! I'm almost sad that I have a planned cheat on Friday because I know it will mean a (water) gain next week. At least it will just be two meals instead of the whole day. I will do this. I will lose the weight!

Went down to my bank today and took care of the IRA problem by opening a Money Market account. I am supposed to go in a week from this Friday to discuss where I want to invest it. Anyone know anything about investing? I am so clueless!

I tried to pick up the clothes I had altered, but they still didn't have the jeans back. The shirts were done, but there was no point to picking them up if I couldn't get the jeans, too, so I left them there, plus he takes cash only and I don't normally carry that much money on me. This is frustrating because he promised me everything by Monday. Here it is Tuesday, the shirts were finished just this morning, and the jeans still aren't done. Grrr.

And yes, I voted. I hope you did, too.

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Miscellany

Calories eaten yesterday: 1589
Fat: 76g (45%)
Carbs: 50g (13%)
Protein: 114g (30%)
Calories burned in exercise: 273

Whew. Lots happened today.

First, tomorrow is voting day. Please remember to vote! In my opinion, you have no right to complain about the state of government if you aren't doing the most basic thing to change it - voting! So get out there and get your voice heard. Gay marriage is on the ballot in 8 states (thankfully, California already dealt with that one). Here the big thing is "Jessica's Law," dealing with pedophiles and other child sexual predators.

I'm Republican and I received in my mail a voting booklet telling me how I should vote. It was interesting to go through the booklet and see where I differed with my party, and where I agreed. For example, they told me to vote yes on all the bond issues to help "Rebuild California." Yeah, rebuild it and bankrupt it. My Libertarian father taught me one important thing - always vote no on bonds. While I don't vote no 100% of the time, I am this time.

I agreed with my party to vote yes on Jessica's Law, and no on the property tax increase. I disagreed with them about voting no on the cigarette tax increase and taxing the oil companies to fund research into alternative energy.

As for public offices, without candidate statements I am more or less stuck voting party lines, with one exception. My Assembly district only has two people running, neither of them Republican, and I do have candidate statements for them. I'm voting for the Peace and Freedom guy on that one, mostly because he advocates raising the minimum wage and is against the death penalty.

Okay, that's my little voting day spiel.

My packet of information for instructions on joining the National Weight Control Registry came today. I'm pretty sure I'm eligible, but the information I send back will determine that. They wanted proof of my weight loss, either contact information from a doctor or photos. I dug up a couple photos and printed them out in black and white, then taped them to a sheet of paper. I hope that's good enough. There's no color printer at work.

I've having trouble with my IRA. Seems I've exceeded the amount I'm allowed to add each year. They are holding the last couple checks at the bank, and I have two more in my possession. Argh! I have to go down to the bank tomorrow and figure out what can be done. This is money I swore to Dad I would not touch and I intend to honor that, so I can't just deposit it in my checking account and treat it like free money.

My gums are healing nicely. Yesterday as I ate my salad I suddenly realized that I was chewing on both sides of my mouth! So my gums are definitely getting better.

I walked over 15,000 steps yesterday, but I'm tired of taking pictures so no pedometer photo today.

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Just another manic Sunday...

I found the Christian low-carb forum I mentioned seeing before. It wasn't easy to track down, but I did. It's called Low Carb Christians. I registered and made an introduction.

Ate way too much yesterday and didn't do any exercise. But boy was the food yummy! Today it was back on plan (black coffee and two hard boiled eggs for breakfast) and back to the gym. I did about 45 minutes of weights, 20 on the stairmaster, and 25 walking on the treadmill. FitDay says 273 calories burned.

I had a pretty good day at the gym energy-wise and kinda got a compliment. One of the people who signs people up for memberships was hanging out by the front desk when I walked in, and watched me struggle with my Pullman up the four stairs inside the front door. He said in a couple of weeks I'd be lifting it with no problem. I showed him the biceps on my right arm and he said, "Oooo, I'm afraid. I'm afraid of you." :) I'll take any compliment.

I hope to see a loss for the Tuesday weigh-in and that yesterday didn't mess me up too bad.

My gums are healing nicely. I was able to chew gum on both sides of my mouth today! Pretty soon I'll be chewing food normally again. I can't wait for that.

Tomorrow is my bi-monthly mail run into the City. Tuesday is voting day and I will also pick up the clothes I dropped off for alteration last week. Wednesday is back to the gym again, and Thursday is grocery day. Friday I will try to give blood. If I succeed I will indulge a bit in the carby snacks they have afterward. Friday night I am supposed to go to Applebees with Brad and a couple other people from work. Brad's son and a friend may also come.

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The good, the bad, and the ugly, take 2

Friday weight: 143.4
Calories eaten Thursday: 1791
Fat: 81g (43%)
Carbs: 55g (13%)
Protein: 122g (29%)
Calories burned in exercise: 299

Saturday weight: 144.4
Calories eaten Friday: 1772
Fat: 60g (33%)
Carbs: 70g (17%)
Protein: 125g (30%)
Calories burned in exercise: 238

The good:
I broke 900,000 steps Thursday. Only 100,000 more to my first goal of 1 million. Yippee!

The bad:
Seems the low-carb forum likes banning people. I'm not the only one. I received this in my comments on Thursday's post:
Active Low Carb forum is horrible.

I got banned several years ago, just for disagreeing with some information regarding the Four Corners Diet (formerly the Go-Diet). The coauthor of the book was on the forum and got ticked that I had the nerve to say that there were no studies other than the author's, that back up the premise that yogurt loses carbs in the fermentation process. She flipped, complained and I got banned. No intelligent arguments; nothing.

I don't miss it, there are plenty of wonderful forums out there in internet land where we can freely exchange information. I recommend Low Carb Friends; a great website where you will surely be welcome.

I remember seeing a link somewhere to a Christian low-carb forum. It might be worth seeing if I can track down the link.

Let's take a vote. Raise your hand if you agree with one person on the low-carb forum who let loose on me and said that every week I weighed in I "complained" that I was "binging and gaining" "every week."

This is nothing but a bald-faced lie. I can't possibly complain that I am binging every week because at the time this was written I had been cheat-free for three weeks. Before that I had been cheat free for seven weeks. So that's what?...one binge in 2 1/2 months? I also haven't gained every week, as you can see by looking back over my weekly weigh-ins. But hey, what does truth matter when you are trying to bash someone? In my experience, truth has nothing to do with it. If these people don't like you they will lie about you. If you currently go to that forum, be warned!

I'm trying to remove all links from this blog that go to the bad low-carb forum and I think I got most of them. But there are still some links on Flickr to recipes. This coming week I'm going to type up those recipes here, with my changes to make them easier. Keep an eye out for them. I have five recipes, including one dessert, and they are guaranteed to have 20 minutes or less prep time. Hey Brian, Susan might want to try some or all of these.

The ugly:
Got my stitches taken out Friday. I took 1200 milligrams of Ibuprofen before just in case, but this guy is good and he caused very little pain. I told him that the novacaine he injected last week for my surgery hurt the least than any other time I've had it done. He is good! He says I am healing very well, and that the sensitivity to cold should go away within a month. The sensitivity to hot should go away sooner or it could indicate bigger problems, such as a rotten tooth. He said to start using the tree-shaped brush between the teeth he worked on, and not to be concerned if they bleed a little. He said if my gums are too sensitive to do it every other day until they heal better.

After the dentist appointment I walked down to Lake Merritt and walked around it - a little over 3 miles. On the way home I took the 11 bus and got off early and walked the rest of the way. I had over 13,000 steps by the time I arrived home. :)


Click to enlarge.
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The good, the bad, and the ugly

Weight: 144.8
Calories eaten yesterday: 1668
Fat: 84g (48%)
Carbs: 49g (12%)
Protein: 118g (30%)
Calories burned in exercise: 111

The good:
I got a compliment from a guy at the gym today - two actually. I was working on the machine next to him and he said that I worked out hard, that he'd been watching me. I showed him one of my biceps; I'm really getting some definition, if I do say so myself! He asked me if I took steroids, which was just his way of saying I had big muscles. I said no of course, because I don't. But wasn't that just so sweet?

I was so proud. Those little compliments can mean a lot. :)

The bad:
Don't you hate it when people who don't know you offer advice? "Woo" on the low-carb forum told me yesterday that

1) I cheated because my diet was so restrictive - I only ate meat and veggies and couldn't eat yogurt or fruit. Could someone buy this girl a clue? Sheesh. The truth is that my medication causes carb cravings, and I eat fruit and yogurt on Saturdays.

2) That I wasn't eating enough calories and that I'd lose weight if I'd eat more, that 1700 calories is "pretty severe calorie restriction." The truth is that my resting metabolic rate (RMR) was only 1610 at my last test, and FitDay says that I burn only 1980 calories (before exercise). Therefore, it's impossible for 1700 to be severe restriction.

3) That it's not right for me to be hungry. I need to eat to satiety. The truth is I ate to satiety for three days last week (mostly on legal, low-carb food) and showed no loss because of that. That blows point #2 out of the water right there, lol. The truth is that my medication causes me to be hungry 24/7, so eating to satiety every day would result in weight gain. No question about it.

I didn't ask for advice so I resent her doling it out as if I was some 5-year-old who didn't know what she was doing with her diet. She's only about 25 and doesn't take meds that cause weight gain. She has no idea what 10 years and medication will do. Try to lose weight on a medication with a side effect of weight gain! I wish she could walk a mile in my shoes. Maybe then she'd understand. I never had to worry about weight gain at 25. I could eat to satiety and stayed about the same weight. Not any more. Ah, to be young!

Her insanity begins on (link deleted - I do not promote forums that ban me - lol!) at post #1506 and goes downhill from there.

[Update: I was threatened with banning, but only me, because as we all know, I'm the troublemaker. Always. No one else is ever at fault. Ever.]

[Later update: Oh...now I've been BANNED! First "Kristine" says "You're as welcome here as anyone;" two minutes later I'm banned. LOL! Thankfully, I have a build-in bullshit detector - I just somehow know when someone is about to stab me in the back. I think I'm hypersentive to the cues from the episode with Kathi. At any rate, I did manage to delete all info. in my profile before she nuked me. I knew she was lying - "You're as welcome here as anyone else." If you believe that I have some oceanfront property in Arizona at a really low price. Some moderators are just power hungry. Their loss. At any rate, I'm sure my attackers will be absolutely thrilled.

Come and debate like like real women in a truly open forum without your power to hide behind. I dare you! I don't censor blog comments (the way I was censored there) so go ahead and defend yourself. If you are so much in the right you have no reason to be afraid of the truth. Hmmm?]

The ugly:
The stitches in my mouth from last week's oral surgery come out tomorrow. Yay! The waxy/silly putty type stuff they put along my gum line actually started to hurt, so I figured it was doing more harm than good. I pried them off with my fingers yesterday. The ones along my cheek looked really bad with the bloody stitches exposed, but I feel better without those things stuck in there.

The doctor said not to worry if they came out and I think six days is reasonable to leave them in. My teeth already feel better with them off, not so sore. My teeth are ultra sensitive where they cut back my gums, though. :( Hot and cold hurt if they touch the newly exposed part of the teeth. I hope it goes away and that this isn't permanent. :-p

Tonight will be busy. I need to cook up five packages of ground beef for lunches next week, pack said lunches, and do the laundry. Tomorrow I am making the eggplant lasagna again now that I have found ricotta cheese. Oh shoot, I should have bought an extra package of meat for the lasagna. Rats.

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Pastor Phil

A pastor acquaintance of mine from Salam, Mass., Pastor Phil Wyman, was recently sacked by his denomination (Foursquare Gospel). Read this news story and also this one about how it happened. It's very sad.

From the first link:
Last year, local ministers began saying that Mr. Wyman was getting too close to the witches. They pointed to his friendships, his Web site's links to pagan sites, and a photograph that seemed to show him kissing a witch's hand. Mr. Wyman's denomination accused him of aberrance, revoked his ordination and expelled him. One letter to him said he had strayed from Christian teachings and was disobedient.

[...]

Despite his friendships, Mr. Wyman says he has always been careful to observe, not join, pagan rituals. "It's their worship, not mine," he says.

Read the links. There's lots more.

I know how it feels to have friends stab you in the back, but at least I was guilty (it's wrong to stab them no matter what, but at least I'd done something wrong). Pastor Phil hasn't done anything wrong.

Pray for him as he tries to stay true to the mission he feels God has called him to. God bless you abundantly, Pastor Phil.

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Finally weighed myself

Weight: 145.2
Calories eaten yesterday: 1804
Calories burned in exercise: 379
Fat: 83g (43%)
Net carbs: 65g (15%)
Protein: 129g (30%)

Back to where I was last Tuesday so at least those three days of eating too much low-carb food didn't cause real weight gain. No loss because of it, but at least no gain either. Whew!

I was good! When Brad and I went out to dinner I got my cheeseburger without the bun, oil and vinegar on my side salad, and subbed in broccoli instead of potato salad. It was real homemade potato salad; I had one bite of Brad's and it was good stuff. At any rate, I guess I'm pretty happy with 145.2 today.

This might be TMI and is girl stuff, so if you're a guy, skip to the next paragraph. My time of the month has finally started. I'm been skipping periods lately - I had none in July or October. Very strange and not good (and not at all normal for me), but now that it's started I won't worry about seeing the doctor. So I'm relieved it's here. I'm too young to be in menopause.

I see I hit 400 miles in my walking challenge. Woohoo! After I get to 1 million steps, my next goal will be 1,000 miles and I'm 4/10 of the way there.

Walked over 19,000 steps yesterday.


Click to enlarge.
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Week 11 Weigh-In is cancelled

Calories eaten yesterday: 1663
Fat: 74g (43%)
Carbs: 71g (18%) (way too high)
Protein: 115g (30%)
Calories burned in exercise: 106

Week 1: 147.6
Week 2: 147.6
Week 3: 147.6
Week 4: 146 (-1.6)
Week 5: 145.4 (-0.6)
Week 6: 144.6 (-0.8)
Week 7: 142.6 (-2.0)
Week 8: N/A
Week 9: 145.6 (+3.0)
Week 10: 145.2 (-0.4)
Week 11: 145.2 (-0) [Editing in my weight from the next day.]

Total gain/loss: -2.4

I knew I'd be up today so I'm skipping the weigh-in. I ate like Saturday for three straight days and gained a ton. I only managed to get some of that off. :( I really haven't lost any weight since this started 11 weeks ago! What is wrong with my body?

I'm having trouble sticking to plan. I need to be really good six days a week. If I am allowed to give blood in a couple weeks I will make that a free day so I can eat their snacks, but other than that I plan to stay on plan until Thanksgiving. And if I am turned down from giving blood I won't make that a free day at all.

Made it to the gym today. I forgot my weight lifting gloves, but I did 45 minutes of weights anyway. Then 30 minutes on the elliptical, and 20 minutes walking on the treadmill.

I watched two busses drive off today while I ran after them. After the second one at the BART station on the way to work I was so angry I decided to walk over the overpass. I stripped off my sweatshirt near Denny's and decided to just walk the whole way to work, so that was about 30 extra minutes of walking. I had over 13,000 steps by the time I got to work.

My medium size Old Navy size 8 jeans are super tight on me. It sucks that I can eat to satiety on low-carb food for three days and gain so much real weight.

I talked to the folks on the "dinner train" we're having Saturday lunch on (Saturday after Thanksgiving). Their idea of a diabetic dessert includes grapes?!? WTF?!? Grapes are the highest sugar fruit that exists! I'm going to have to pick through the fruit plate for what I can eat. And they wanted to give me a plain chicken breast, although the stuffing looks legal (tomatoes, black olives, Swiss cheese). What's up with that?!?

They also serve no veggies! All there is to eat besides the chicken and plain dinner salad (their dressing has sugar) is fruit and potatoes and bread. I will bring low carb bread with me. God I'm going to look stupid eating so little while everyone else dines on delicious carbs. I asked for no potatoes, will pick through the fruit salad with lunch and again as dessert, and asked for vinegar and oil on the side of the salad, even though it's likely carby Balsamic vinegar. Life as a low-carber trying to eat out sucks. How can people eat a lunch of nothing but carbs and more carbs with a little bit of protein to make it seem healthy? How can people think bread and potatoes are healthy in any way?

I am sooooo hating this and am going to be so hungry. I think I will eat a bunch of eggs or something before going. How can someone serve a meal without a veggie alternative?!?

On the weather front, it's officially winter in my house. Not only am I needing to use the heater and am considering pulling out the down comforter, but after Xena ate breakfast this morning (dry kibble - I'm such a mean mom), I found her curled up in front of the wall heater. She'll remain there for a good portion of the winter, warming her big fat kitty butt. She's my little heat seeking missile. :)

Abby won't sleep in front of the heater. She only sleeps under the bed, or in high places where she can keep an eye on anything that happens. She's my little feral baby.

Not to overlook Halloween, as a Protestant Christian I prefer to celebrate Reformation Day, the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the doors of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517. Wikipedia explains: This was not an act of defiance or provocation as is sometimes thought. Since the Castle Church faced Wittenberg's main thoroughfare, the church door functioned as a public bulletin board and was therefore the logical place for posting important notices.

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Daylight Saving Time and some other stuff

Calories eaten yesterday: 1526
Calories burned in exercise: 243
Fat: 70g (43%)
Net carbs: 55g (15%)
Protein: 110g (30%)

Decided to sleep in today. I needed that. I did walk the 1.5 miles to work from the BART station, stopping at WalMart on the way. I got a cute pair of jeans with paint splatters all over them. Tre chic! They are too long in the leg because my legs are so short, and I already have other stuff that needs altering, so I will go and take all those clothes to a place that does that on Friday. There's two places that do alterations in my old stomping grounds on MacArthur Ave. The jeans are size 6 of course because I always take one size smaller at WalMart.

I tried to buy a 20 pound dumbbell, but they didn't have any in stock. They have mini trampolines for $23. I am considering getting one. I used to have one as a kid and it was fun.

The Friday November 10 I have an appointment to give blood. I hope they accept me. They close earlier now so the best I could do was a 2:30 appointment.

One note on the time change I mentioned yesterday. Next year daylight saving starts early and ends late. DST begins March 11 next year and ends November 4. This is a sort of trial run to see how it works out. If it does it will become the new law of the land; if not, we go back to the current system. Of course, if you happen to live in one of the few states that doesn't observe DST, none of this will effect you.

In regard to the date change, this Web site explains:
On August 8, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This Act changed the time change dates for Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. Beginning in 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. The Secretary of Energy will report the impact of this change to Congress. Congress retains the right to resume the 2005 Daylight Saving Time schedule once the Department of Energy study is complete.

Also interesting is that Daylight Saving Time has not always been observed the way it is today. Wikipedia has a whole section on the history. Read this!

And by the way, it's Daylight Saving Time (singlular), not Daylight Savings Time (plural):
Saving is used here as a verbal adjective (a participle). It modifies time and tells us more about its nature; namely, that it is characterized by the activity of saving daylight. It is a saving daylight kind of time. Similar examples would be a mind expanding book or a man eating tiger. Saving is used in the same way as saving a ball game, rather than as a savings account.

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Angry and tired

Saturday weight: 149.8

As you can see, I am once again a fat pig. I didn't even get on the scale this morning, knowing I'd be over 150. I ate on plan, just didn't count calories. And what happens? I start gaining about 2 pounds a day. Yep, my body hates me.

Did you all remember to set your clocks back one hour? I didn't. So I woke up at the equivalent of 8:30 and it took my an hour to realize my mistake. Maybe I'll skip the gym tomorrow (which would be just cardio since I did weights today) and sleep in instead.

I am in a really bad mood today and won't suffer fools (like the idiot on the low-carb forum who thinks all depression can be cured by getting to the root cause and that no one needs to stay on medication). It's fools like him who I wish could walk in my shoes and try everything and nothing works until medication. He's new there. Maybe he'll go away. One can hope.

But anyway, I'm not in the mood for pontificating idiots and likely to have a sharper tongue than usual.

I'm still in pain from the oral surgery. I think I need to stop the Vicodin; I think it's the reason I'm so tired. I'll just take Ibuprofen if it means getting my energy back. I go back on Friday to have the protective "wax" covering removed from my gums and the stitches taken out.

Second half of the oral surgery is in January. Sometime after that I can get the teeth whitening. I can't wait until I am healthy and all this surgery is OVER. I'm sick of foot doctors and teeth doctors. Just give me my depression meds and let me live a normal life.

At least the periodontist was good. I liked him and he made the whole thing as painless as possible so it could have been a whole lot worse than it was.

Here's the veggie casserole I made for the church potluck this week. Click on the pic to enlarge it.

Recipe: 1/2 package frozen broccoli, 1/2 package frozen cauliflower, 1 can cream soup (any kind), 8 oz. cream cheese. Mix soup and cream cheese, add frozen veggies. Place in 8x8 dish and bake uncovered at 375 for 1 hour. That's it! And the taste is fantabulous!

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Dentist Day, take 6

Thursday weight: 144
Calories eaten yesterday: 1663
Calories burned in exercise: 107
Fat: 84g (47%)
Net carbs: 47g (12%)
Protein: 122g (31%)

Friday weight: 148

I had the oral surgery yesterday. This was complete with stitches. I have to go back in a week to get them removed. The doctor was very nice and knew how to apply the topical anathetic in the best way and how to reduce the pain of the lidocaine injections so there would be minimal pain. I'm starting to lose some fear.

I lost track of how many shots he gave me - maybe 4 or 5 vials in 6 or 7 injections. He said it was fine for me to come back in January for the other half, that a lot of insurance providers do this. He stuck some kind of gummy substance where the stitches were to help them heal better. He said the stuff may or my not last the week and it was no big deal if they came out. They said to go easy on brushing the area, don't use the dental pick brush on those teeth, and no chewing gum for a week. :(

They gave me 16 tablets of a pain prescription of 7.5mg Vicodin and 750mg acetaminophen. $10, dispensed on site. I'm going to save a couple tablets out for my second surgery in January. Yesterday I dosed up on Ibuprofen before my appointment, but I think the Vicodin might be stronger.

The pain isn't too bad, but I am taking the Vicodin as needed. Brad is taking me gorocery shopping this afternoon; I hate to think how humugeous the grocery bill will be. This is going to be a big shopping trip - all the regular stuff, plus stocking up on the heavy stuff such as wine, soda, and cat litter. My steps yesterday were pretty horrible, so I am hoping to walk around the lake with Brad to get some exercise and help redeem today's step count.

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Photo courtesy Geek Philosopher.

More surgery upcoming...

Weight: 144
Calories eaten yesterday: 1538
Fat: 75g (45%)
Carbs: 49g (13%)
Protein: 109g (29%)
Calories burned in exercise: 99

I had my appointment with the foot doctor who has been treating the fungal nail infection I have. It's just not getting better very fast and I have decided at my next appointment (December 13) to just have the nail permanently removed. It's the big toe on my left foot. The skin will toughen and can then be painted and everything just like a normal nail. I let it go so long that it will take forever to get better and I just want to get this over with. I had a lot of questions for the doctor. I already talked to the lady here at work that does the health care stuff and she said they would help cover it, so my out-of-pocket cost would be minimal. It will be cheaper all around to not have to keep seeing the doctor every other month. The only part I'm scared of is the injection to numb the area. Pretty painful from what I've read.

My oral surgery, part 1, is tomorrow. Pray for me. I'm taking the day off so I probably won't be posting.

Walked over 15,000 steps yesterday. My average has been about 12,000 a day.


Click to enlarge.
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Week 10 Weigh-In

Weight: 145.2
Calories eaten yesterday: 1664
Fat: 81g (47%)
Carbs: 62g (16%)
Protein: 98g (25%)
Calories burned in exercise: 113

Week 1: 147.6
Week 2: 147.6
Week 3: 147.6
Week 4: 146 (-1.6)
Week 5: 145.4 (-0.6)
Week 6: 144.6 (-0.8)
Week 7: 142.6 (-2.0)
Week 8: N/A
Week 9: 145.6 (+3.0)
Week 10: 145.2

Total gain/loss: -2.4

Down 0.4 from last week. I guess I can live with that. I'm finding that even eating lunch I can keep my calories down. I'm hungry, but I always am. The key is to keep breakfast small, drink lots, and chew a lot of gum. It does seem that calorie restriction is much more important than the carbs for weight loss, though keeping my fat as high as I can does, I believe, keep me from absolutely starving. And I am finally getting my protein down a bit - probably from eating less meat than before. I think I might have been eating too protein for weight loss.

Week 11 here I come!

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Of salad dressing and blood types

Calories eaten yesterday: 1499
Fat: 73g (47%)
Carbs: 44g (12%)
Protein: 103g (29%)
Calories burned in exercise: 260

The name necklaces for Mom and my Vickitim arrived today, as did my medication (I order through a Canadian company as I don't have insurance). My doormat at home is wearing out; I stumbled across one at WalMart that says "Wipe Your Paws" and bought that. They have 20 pounds dumbbells there for about $12! I think I will buy one. Sometimes I just don't have time to get to the gym and this way I could do my arm curls at home.

My salad dressing bottle exploded over my salad today, resulting in a whole lot more calories than I planned. The nozzle popped out when I squeezed the bottle and there was no way to undo the damage. *sigh* I took a wild guess about how much got onto the salad, but I had to subtract another food to make up for at least a few of the calories. Grrr...I always carefully measure my dressing out so I know how many calories I'm eating.

My blood donor card from the Red Cross came today, along with a letter and a reminder of the next date I can donate - October 27. This is, of course, assuming they will let me with my gums still infected and me not being able to get all the work done until Janaury. I do plan to make an appointment for November 3, even if they reject me. We will see. If they take me, it will be a cheat day. They have delicious carby treats afterwards and I don't want to pass them up this time.

One interesting stat: only 30% of first time donors come back a second time. That's really sad!

Oh, my donor card confirmed that I did remember my blood type correctly from when I gave as a teenager. I am A Positive.

At bloodbook.com I found this:

TYPES DISTRIBUTION RATIOS

O + 1 person in 3 - 38.4%
O - 1 person in 15 - 7.7%
A + 1 person in 3 - 32.3%
A - 1 person in 16 - 6.5%
B + 1 person in 12 - 9.4%
B - 1 person in 67 - 1.7%
AB + 1 person in 29 - 3.2%
AB - 1 person in 167 - 0.7%

As you can see, O+ is the most common, with A+ coming in second. AB- is the rarest.

Walked over 15,000 steps yesterday. My average has been about 12,000 a day.


Click to enlarge.
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Sunday rant

Calories eaten Thursday: 1690
Fat: 74g (41%)
Carbs: 53g (13%)
Protein: 117g (29%)
Calories burned in exercise: 254

Calories eaten Friday: 1701
Fat: 69g (39%)
Carbs: 57g (14%)
Protein: 99g (25%)
Calories burned in exercise: 119

I hope my pastor doesn't read this. I am a bit upset with his wife, Becky. I know I am the black sheep in the church. I am no matter where I go. I wasn't raised with good hygiene habits or anything else. Learning them as an adult is difficult and sometimes impossible. I am the definition of white trash.

But where the problems at church really occur is over my diet. They can seem to eat carbs without worry, but I can't. (Come to think of it, Becky does seem to have a roll around her middle. It startled me when I noticed it with a certain dress she wore a few weeks ago.) If I bring food it is sometimes ignored because the church folks don't want anything low-carb. I think they figure it couldn't taste good. And if I bring my own meal I get strange looks - even if I also brought a dish to share.

This is not the first time this has happened. It's happened anytime I've brought food for myself that they think looks good.

But yesterday just beat all. I brought sugar free chocolate cheesecake to share (photo to the right; click to enlarge it). It went over pretty well. Because I wasn't bringing a main dish, and there is often nothing I can eat (or very little), I also brought a slice of flax bread I had made, and some strawberries. Someone commented that I had strawberries and I said yes, I'd brought them from home. Becky held up a pot sticker with her fork (one of the potluck offerings yesterday) and said she had brought those from home; the implication I got was that I should have brought enough strawberries to share. Um...I brought a cheesecake and it's sitting on the potluck table and you are welcome to some, Becky. Jeez. I'm sorry I can't eat the pot stickers, french fries, and chicken nuggets and all the other bad food. I brought strawberries for myself. You have high carb, high fat food on the potluck table to eat.

Oh...as it turns out the only other food on the potluck table I could eat was some raw veggies with Ranch dressing that Becky brought. I had some, but I eat so many veggies during the week that they didn't interest me too much. Saturday is my day to relax my diet just a bit.

I never get "that" look when I bring a shake or the flax bread because they think that's nasty food. It couldn't possibly taste good so they don't want it. But oh no - if I bring strawberries I'm suddenly evil because I didn't bring enough for everyone. I try to "fit in" by bringing something to share and I still get "that" look because I have to bring my own food, too. I know I don't live up to your expectations, Becky, but I never will. I can't. I am me, with all of my past, baggage, and blue hair. I will never be the "good little Christian girl" that so many church folks think I should be, and I don't want to be. I want to be ME.

See the name of my blog? I am a carbohydrate addict. I love carbs, but they don't love me back. Please respect that I sometimes have to bring my own food without giving me that you-should-have-brought-enough-for-everybody look, especially when I brought an "enough for everybody" dish that is sitting just feet away!

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USA Today article on headcovering

Here's an article on headcovering, from, of all places, USA Today.

It's not out of the ordinary to see Muslim women in veils or chador, or Orthodox Jewish women wearing long skirts, long sleeves and wigs to cover their hair.

But it is unusual to see an American Christian woman covering her hair or adopting a distinctly modest style of dress that defines her as a person of faith in a secular society.

Click to read the rest of:
Traditional living takes modern spin

I really liked this article, because as many of you know, I cover. I talked about my personal beliefs on this in this blog post.

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Not losing weight...

Weight: 144.4
Calories eaten yesterday: 1626
Calories burned: 1951
Calorie deficit/overage: -325
Fat: 70g (41%)
Carbs: 60g (16%)
Protein: 121g (31%)
Calories burned in exercise: 98

I'm hungry all the time, drinking plenty of water, and eating less than I burn, so how come my body is hoarding the fat?!? It seems I can only lose by having a tiny breakfast, no lunch, and a much smaller dinner than I want.

I think FitDay is way off, even though I even put my sleeping in which lower the total calories burned. I'll keep listing my totals, but take out the calories burned and the deficit because those number are way off or I'd be losing something.

I hear about eating 10x my goal weight in calories. That would be only 1400 calories! Talk about starving. My basal metabolism is higher than that and my stupid meds make me way hungrier than my basal. If I eat to satiety I gain a lot of weight fast. I have to be hungry just to maintain, and it's likely the fault of the medication messing with my serotonin. So I'm not depressed anymore, but I am hungry.

Maybe my body want to be heavier than I want it to be. *sigh*

Just kind of down about my weight today. Don't mind me. And I'm not giving up. This is a lifestyle change for me, not a temporary diet.

The good news is I should break 700,000 steps since August 22 on Walker Tracker today. I'll be at my first goal of 1 million in no time. :) If you like to walk, get a pedometer and sign up. The more the merrier.

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Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart

Weight: 144.2
Calories eaten yesterday: 1766
Calories burned: 2102
Calorie deficit/overage: -336
Calories burned in exercise: 259
Fat: 84g (45%)
Net carbs: 51g (12%)
Protein: 139g (33%)

Today is Abby's adoption day anniversary, though I didn't know I would be adopting her when I found her. It's been four years. She's fattened up quite a bit (she needed to), and has settled down as much as she ever will. She seems pretty content to be a 100% indoor cat. I think she knows she has the good life. :)

I remember finding her and her kittens, and trapping and putting her in Xena's playpen. She was so freaked out. She jumped all over trying to find a way out. She calmed down after a while and pretty soon her kittens were being placed with her one by one as I trapped them, too.

After I got her fixed she knew where the food was and always came back. I let her run around outside, and sometimes when I came home she'd be waiting for me on the porch. If not, all I had to do was call to her and she'd be there within just a few seconds.

I took the picture above just this morning. All her pictures can be found on her Flickr photo set. They are in chronological order.

Happy anniversary. I love you, sweetheart.

Doing good with my walking. It looks like I'm over 2/3 of the way to my 1 million step goal. I noticed I was at 668,325 steps yesterday. :)

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Week 9 Weigh-In

Weight: 145.6
Calories eaten yesterday: 1690
Calories burned: 2080
Calorie deficit/overage: -390
Fat: 73g (42%)
Carbs: 62g (16%)
Protein: 130g (33%)
Calories burned in exercise: 223

Week 1: 147.6
Week 2: 147.6
Week 3: 147.6
Week 4: 146 (-1.6)
Week 5: 145.4 (-0.6)
Week 6: 144.6 (-0.8)
Week 7: 142.6 (-2.0)
Week 8: N/A
Week 9: 145.6

Total gain/loss: -2.0

I gained 3 pounds. How charming. I knew I'd be up. After a two pound whoosh (that quickly reversed itself) two weeks ago and then binging last week it was inevitable. That's okay. I have to take the good with the bad, even if the bad vastly outweighs the good. I'll just keep plugging along.

Today is the 16th anniversary of the Loma Prieta quake. 63 people died. 41 of those people died when the Cypress Freeway collapsed on itself.

I found this page about it; it's also where I got the picture from. And here is last year's blog entry about it.

Went to the gym today. Did about 45 minutes of weight training, 30 on the crossramp elliptical, and then just 5 walking on the treadmill since I ran out of time. I had to run to the bank first and that put me behind schedule.

It's official - I can only get half the dental work done this year that I need; the other half will have to wait until January. I have an $1800 cap at work. So far I have used $627.84. That leaves 1,172.16. 80% (Family Radio's portion) of the $1792 of work that needs to be done is $1,433.60. So that must wait. The good news is I should be able to go ahead with the basic cleaning in December and get that out of the way until March or so (I've been told to do it every 3 months).

I got the check for the $1792 from Dad today (of which I must return 80%). I put it in the bank to give it time to clear. Next week I will withdraw half the amount in cash and hold onto it until January, then use my debit card at the dentist to pay for the half of the treatment I can get this year.

I walked over 17,000 steps yesterday. :)


Click to enlarge.
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Another busy day

Weight: 146.6
Calories eaten yesterday: 1582
Calories burned: 2068
Calorie deficit/overage: -486
Calories burned in exercise: 234
Fat: 71g (43%)
Net carbs: 60g (16%)
Protein: 116g (31%)

Spent a lot of time at the gym today walking on the treadmill trying to calibrate my pedometer. I think I have it as good as I'll get it. It slightly underestimates my mileage walking at 3.5 mph, and slightly overestimates at 3.0 mph. I then only had 15 minutes on the crossramp elliptical before I needed to leave. FitDay says 223 calories. I already had 12,000 steps about the time I got to work.

Stopped at WalMart and got some low-carb SlimFast shakes. They are so cheap there! I also got cat litter deodorizer, sugar free gum, Halloween socks, and a Halloween door decoration for only $1 so it won't really matter if someone steals it. It's jack-o-lanterns. I try to stay away from witches and ghosts because of my past.

The shirts I ordered for Mom and Bill came today. I think they came out pretty well and that they will like them.

I also re-ordered my medication from Canada. I'm down to barely over 1 month left, so it was time. They have free shipping and my meds will come from within the U.S. so it will be cheap - well, as far as prescription medications go. It's roughly 67 cents per tablet and this is the generic.

I think I'm fighting a cold so I have been dosing on Zicam and sugar free Cold-Eeze with the zinc stuff in it. Eating clean also helps. I'm sure on my old diet I'd be laying in bed right now. By the way, the Zicam oral mist is nasty. Really nasty. Don't buy it. The Cold-Eeze drops actually taste good, but even the sugar free ones have some carbs so I have to watch myself.

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