Saturday Scale Says

This morning the scale read 173.2.  That is slightly above my zone of tolerance, but it really hasn't bothered me.  Even knowing that I have this trip coming up, I haven't gotten all freaked out it.  In times past, the somewhat recent past, I would have been trying to starve myself between now and Wednesday morning so that I could see a certain number on the scale. 


Would I like to have a lower number on the scale?  Of course!  But, I've learned that those freak-out crash things are counterproductive in the long run. I know what I have to do to get to my goal.  If I do those things I'll make steady progress and that is all I want, an overall downward trend.


I believe I have made peace with the concept of not being able to set a goal to weigh a certain amount by a certain date.  It really goes against my analytical brain.  I hesitate to say that because every time I do, it seems like I'm reminded that I haven't made quite as much progress as I thought.

Of course, I'd like to be at my goal weight sooner rather than later.  But once I get there I want to stay there.  I have a certain confidence that I will get there.  I just can't say when.

Apples

I have really been enjoying cooking lately. Since 65MD and I got together and agreed on the menus for the week, it has made life so much easier. One of the purposes of making out the menus was to keep from getting in a rut and to think of new and healthy ways to prepare some favorites. Last night as a part of our evening meal, that was apples.

I'd often 'fried' them with water, a little splenda & cinnamon for myself, but 65MD eschews all artificial sweeteners. So, last night, I used some local honey in place of the splenda. It served a dual purpose, besides sweetening the apples it helped with our allergies. It gave the apples a little different taste, but we both agreed we like it and will do it again.

I love it when stuff works out like that.

Smooth Sailing

I've got several days of smooth sailing here.   Time is stretching out between challenges and I only have two biggies on the horizon right now.  The next is a trip to Charleston where 65MD ('65 Mustang Driver)is presenting some research at a conference.  I love these trips.  He's busy until mid-afternoon, so can sleep in, shop, whatever and then we see the sights in the late afternoon and evening.  It is great.  We leave early on Wednesday morning and will be back Saturday.

We've worked out a fairly good pattern of eating out, which is great.  My problem is that restaurant food is usually very high in sodium and fat.  I'll just make the best choices I can, and deal with the consequences.  We're flying so I won't be able to take any food with me, but I'll find a local market and get some fresh produce that I can eat raw to have in the room for breakfast and lunch.  My only real issue will be the evening meal.  The place where we are staying does not have a workout facility, so I'll have to get creative about that. 

In the meantime, 65MD and I sat down and made meal plans for time between now and then.  He's totally on board with my choices, and has told his son that he will be too!  65MD has said for years that he'd like to lose 20 or so pounds.  Now that we're in the same neighborhood of amount of weight to lose, he's all ears about what I have to say.  And totally willing to do what I want.  He recognizes that this is a healthy way to live.


Now, all I have to do is make it work.

Happy Birthday, 65MD

Today is 65MD's birthday.  He's so special the whole country called a holiday just for him.  ;-P

We're having a chilly, rainy day so our plans have been switch up a bit.  That's OK.  I am enjoying it anyway.

I'll get back in to my routine a little better as the week progresses.

I hope everyone has had a nice, restful long weekend.

Saturday Scale Says

This morning 170.6!!

Watermelon

I love watermelon.  It is my very favorite fruit.  I love the ice cold sweetness on a hot summer day.  When I was growing up one of my grandfathers planted a patch of watermelons just for me.  They were called sugar babies.  They are a dark, dark green, almost black and grow to be about the size of a basketball.  I have hunted and hunted my adult life for a sugar baby and was unsuccessful until last summer.

65MD and I had gone to a local farmers' market.  I spotted it from afar.  I excitedly pointed out that there were sugar babies ahead and we had to buy one, no matter what the cost.  As we got closer to the booth we heard the proprietor telling another customer that the watermelons were indeed sugar babies.  I gave 65MD my best "I know everything" look and we bought one for $3.  We considered in an investment since we could use the seeds to plant vines this summer.

As the summer approached and we began to plan our little garden and gather seeds, I reminded 65MD often that we had to leave ample room for the sugar babies.  He was glad to.  There was only one problem.  He couldn't find the seeds.  We scoured the entire house, high & low and could not find those seeds anywhere!  I was disappointed to say the least.  One day as we were buying other seeds, I noticed a package of sugar baby seeds.  We got them. 

It took three tries for us to finally get some vines.  It seems the neighborhood 'wildlife' have learned about the fresh food in our back yard and get a good bit of it.  Finally, finally, the little green balls formed and I waited excitedly for my first homegrown sugar baby since high school.  They never seemed to get much larger than a baseball and then disappear.  There were five small ones the week before my sister came to town with her family and I was so hopeful that one would be ripe so that we could enjoy it while they were here.  Sadly, they never seemed to get any larger.



Again, one by one the little watermelons disappeared.  Over the weekend I went to check on them and there was only one left.  Nearby was a bit of rind where a neighborhood critter had feasted on the mini melons.  There was a bit of red left on the rind, which made me think perhaps that was as large as they were going to get.  I took the little rind to 65MD to get his opinion and he agreed.  We picked the lone remaining watermelon then.


Here is a picture of the whole melon.  That is a peach beside it for perspective.

Since the fast was over, I decided a little watermelon would be in order.  I was quite surprised when I cut it open and found this:

It was a bit overripe, and I was a little disappointed in the taste.  It wasn't so sweet. We'll try again next summer.  We finally found the original seeds.

The Fast

I started a three day fast on Monday. I didn't tell anyone that I was to fast for three whole days, not even 65MD at first. The main reason being, that I didn't want to announce another FAIL. It was do or die time for me. I knew that if I was successful, I could move on. I really didn't know what I would do if I was unsuccessful. It really wasn't an option. I went about 84 hours without food of any kind. I drank mostly water, but did have other sugar free beverages.




On Monday morning, I got a comment from Timothy saying that he was going to stand with me in this and fast on Monday with me, which was all I'd said. He even gave me a good fast to follow. That made me cry, it was so kind. Of course, at lunchtime at work, I had to come clean about my fast, even then I only said for the day. Everyone was incredibly supportive. (Why do I doubt my friends?) Mid afternoon, someone asked how I was feeling, and I had to say I felt GREAT! My mind was clear, I had none of that vague sadness around the edges of my mind. I felt like I could run a race, I had so much energy. Monday evening, l did a full 20 minutes on the stair stepper with no problem. In fact, I went over a bit because I was watching TV and wanted to see the end!



On Tuesday, however, I woke with a screaming headache. I was a little nauseous and thought I full on migraine was in my future. I thought it might have been triggered by the fast, but wasn't going to let that deter me from my goal. Then I remembered that we'd slept with the windows open and my problem was probably allergies. Since I couldn't be sure what the problem was, I took some Excedrin and a taste of honey. By the time left for work, I felt like the old me. Tuesday evening even after the stair stepper, it seemed like I had a lot of extra time. 65MD and I sat out on our porch and chatted during the evening. It was a lovely time.



Wednesday I woke up feeling fine, no headache. I could not drink all the water that I usually do in the morning. I felt quite full and so I didn't force any more down just for the sake of getting all the water down. I got through the day Wednesday with no issues, although for some reason, Wednesday evening was the hardest part.



I feel great. I feel in control again, like the old me. I'm being extra careful about my choices today because I don't want to defile my nice clean body. I had one piece of Ezekial raisin bread with cream cheese spread on it for breakfast. So far, so good!



I had a couple of big surprises. One, I lost a lot of weight. I'll announce that on Saturday as usual. That will help keep me from overeating today & tomorrow. Second, I never felt bad other than the headache, which I'm convinced was allergies. I was concerned that going three days without food would cause some woozieness at least. I never experienced any ill effects physically. Quite the opposite, I felt great most of the time.



I know that part of is was taking control back, but I really think a larger part was the cleansing that my body needed. In fact, I felt so good, that I'm thinking of making a fast a monthly habit. I probably won't do a three day fast again, but I could easily work in a one day fast each month. I just might make it my last day of the month plan.