Too good to be true

So, remember all that crap I said I ate last night? 

I'll recap it for you just in case you missed yesterdays post.

After dinner I had some macaroni salad, which made my left hip and arm hurt, which is my typical reaction to MSG these days.  I felt so bad I ate a cookie.  One of those pratically plastic sugar cookies from Walmart.  Then I ate a second cookie.

I figured I would have a gain when I got on the scale this morning.

Well, guess what?

That's what.  1.2 lbs lost.  Apparently MSG laden macaroni salad and plastic cookies are safe.

WTF!

I rarely eat that crap!

I did much better today.

My arm was still hurting so I put it in a sling again today.  I just don't have the willpower to rest it any other way.  I think the sling the last two days has really helped. 

Clearly the inflammation in my arm wasn't a big deal, since the scale was down this morning, so I decided to test today.

It was beef.

I'm REALLY hoping that works out this time. I'm so bored with the same foods everyday.  So bored that I took watermelon for my snack today.  Only when I went to get my snack, I couldn't find the apple I thought I brought and just ended up eating the almond butter I didn't eat at lunch.  Only after I got home and saw watermelon in the fridge did I remember.

Oops.

I kinda think it's better this way.  Watermelon was on the menu for today.  A new fruit on a day that's a test for a new protein.  I'm not a fan.  My first time around I had so many inconclusive tests that I need to be more careful than that.

Hopefully I'll get a good read on the beef.

B

Picnic and inflammation

I've been anything but loyal to the plan lately.  Yesterday my coworkers and I had a picnic and played beach volleyball.  I used it as an excuse to go completely off plan for the day.  It was nice to indulge, but the scale payed me back with almost a pound and a half gain.

I'm sure it wasn't all food, though. 

I skipped the volleyball playing because my arm was still hurting.  By the time I got home, it was a bit swollen and hurt pretty bad.  That's even with sitting out on volleyball (which was torture!)

I saw the chiropractor this morning and the inflammation was worse.  I wasn't able to do much of anything with my right hand.  I had it adjusted and it was clearly out of alignment.

At the office this morning, I was trying not to use my right hand, but just wasn't successful.  The pain got worse throughout the morning and by lunch I had it in a sling again.

All that said, I know I'm dealing with inflammation in this injury.  You can still see the swelling. 

I think I need to push pause on the testing until the inflammation from the injury passes.  I'm going to try to stick to "safe" foods, but I have to admit that after all this time with such a limited menu that it gets harder everyday to stay on plan.

Tonight, I had some macaroni salad with my dinner that was left over from the picnic.  My body isn't happy.  While I don't usually have an MSG reaction to this particular macaroni salad, I seem to be having one right now.  My left arm and leg hurt pretty badly and it's almost enough to make me forget about the pain in my other arm!

The first time around I really loved the Spicy Vegetarian Soup and I've been out for a while.  Tonight I made more so that I can try to enjoy the next few days.  I had to take a few liberties with the menu since cutting vegetables is out of the question right now.  What I could get frozen I did, and I swapped out the zucchini for yellow squash since it was available frozen. 

I still needed to cut up the onions and carrots, since I forgot to buy those frozen and my little chef Lindsey lent a hand.

I'm so thankful for her help today!

B

Injury

For a few weeks I've been dealing with a injury to my elbow with pain that radiates into my forearm.  The chiropractor said my radius was rotated in my elbow in a bad way.  I started three weeks ago and has been slow to heal.

Well, Friday at a birthday party my daughter grabbed me by the hand and pulled me through the room.  By the end of the night it was clear that I had re-injured my arm.  Saturday it wasn't too bad and seemed to be healing again. 

The I did something stupid.  I decided to do a little work on my car.  I changed the headlight and had to take the battery out to get to it.  Lifting the thing was very painful.  Then I changed the sparkplugs.  That doesn't seem like a strenuous task until you consider that it was half an hour of using tools with both hands...especially difficult after I had lifted the battery.

By late afternoon I had to ice my arm.  By the end of the night I had it in a sling.

I tell you all this because I gained weight yesterday.  Is it because of my injury?  There doesn't seem to be a lot of swelling.  I just don't know.

I'm tying this left-handed with my right arm in a sling, so I'll keep this short. 

B

Let's March

Well, if any of my band or colorguard friends are reading this, you'll be surprised to find that the title of this post isn't referring to that kind of marching.

I meant this kind of marching
. 

 

Yesterday, Lindsey and I participated in the March Against Monsanto in Blacksburg.  It was just one march site among many across the country.

Neither of us has participating in any kind of protest, so we didn't have any idea what to expect.  At our location, we found people who are passionate about their right to know what they are eating.  That's why we were marching.  I simply want products using GMO ingredients to be labeled so that I can make the choice for my sweet Lindsey.

She's not entirely convinced yet.  That's OK.  She's 9.  She understands that Monsanto's seeds grow corn that have insecticides IN them, not just on them.  She also understands that those insecticides are designed to make a bug's stomach explode, killing it.  She even goes as far as to say this isn't likely to be good for us to eat.  But when I tell her that Monsanto's corn is used in thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of food products that she loves like candy and soda, she's a little hesitant to commit to giving them up.

That's OK.  She's 9.  For me, it's enough to know that I'm raising her to take a critical look at her food, to ask questions, and to make choices.

I won't go into detail on everything wrong with our food supply.  There's tons of information out there and I hope that you might go out in search of it.  Here's a few links to get you started:

• March Against Monsanto:  This is the national site for yesterday's march.  Click on their Links tab and you'll find a good starting place for your own reading and watching with links to research and videos.
• The march in national news on USA Today.
• The Blacksburg march in local news on WDBJ7.  Lindsey and I are in the video three times.

Now on to my progress with The Plan.  Yesterday was a test for rye, using a rye cracker.  That thing barely qualifies as food as far as taste in concerned.  It's just a step above cardboard.

Since the cracker isn't something that I want to eat again, I'm not so upset that my testing results aren't certain.

I gained 0.2 lbs.  Maybe it's the cracker.  Maybe it's the inflammation in my ankle from standing for so long.  Maybe it's the handful of chocolate chips I ate last night.

For now we'll just call it a maybe.  It was a maybe last time.  I'll have to test rye again, but I'll find a better food, maybe rye bread.

B

Undoing the damage

Well, friends....I've not been very good at taking my pictures the last few days.  I have a few, but am missing about as many as I have.  So I'm not even going to try to reconstruct them.

They key them in the last two days was undoing the damage of the four day break last week, as well as the five course meal I had on Wednesday.

For the most part, I've been sticking to the menus.  There's a few notable exceptions.

First...I'm really digging pumpkins seeds.  Kroger's Simply Organic bread has some raw unsalted pumpkin seeds and they were on sale this week.  I'm eating them like they are going out of style, and they are perfect for the unscheduled munchies that have been plaguing me for the last few days.  It's good to have a go-to snack.

Even with all that munching, I lost 1.4 lbs after Thursday and 2 lbs after Friday.  I'm almost back to the lowest weight I was before the break.

Another break from the menu is my Friday doughnut.  I actually spent half a minute thinking about not eating it.  I knew I was going to a birthday party last night, so the logic went like this..."Doughnut or cake?  Doughnut!"

So I ate it unaplogetically. 

My previous doughnuts replaced my afternoon snack.  This time I just added an extra morning snack.  I know I can't get away with it everyday, but it seems I can get away with it once a week!

Last night at the birthday party, I had two waffle fries and 3 bites of cake.  It didn't seem to affect me at all.

I've noticed that I can have a bite of almost anything.  I've yet to see a bite or two cause an issue since restarting.

I'm so glad I restarted.  I'm finally getting good data.  I know now that goat cheese and almonds are friendly.  The first time around I wasn't sure.  It feels good to be getting good information and that helps me to be motivated to move forward!

B

Excess....

Wednesday can only be summarized one way.

Excess.

Maybe gluttony is another good word...

I was on a good track.  Really.  Look!

Then a certain coworker popped into my office and told me about a beer tasting dinner that night.  The road to hell is a slippery one, friends!

Obviously, if craft beer is involved, I was gonna go.  So I did.  Then this happened.

I couldn't exactly photograph a five course meal...plus beer...so the menu will have to do.

Wow.  So much food, so much beer!

I had a wonderful night.

I love that the plan isn't about control and guilt.  If I want to eat a five course meal with LOTS of beer, I can.  Then I'll slip in a rest day and move on.

Life's good.

The number on the scale wasn't....but I'll deal with that another day!

B

Beer is good!

 I know it's not normal to drink beer during the cleanse days...

Beer is one of the few things that tested well last time around, so I went ahead and had a few after work today.  Good beer at a great bar with even better company just seems like a fantastic way to unwind.

Yesterday's food was almost a repeat of the day before, with addition of almonds.  I was surprised to have them so early on. 

It's also great to know that the almonds are probably friendly,  Check out today's weigh in.

Score!  I'm down 1.2 lbs!

Almonds AND beer are friendly!

I know I probably can't drink beer everyday and expect to still lose weight, but it's nice maybe once a week.

B

Starting Over

Well, friends, after a little break, I'm back on plan.  I basically got frustrated.  My test results have been hard to read because there weren't big weight changes on my test days.  The big moves were happening on the rest days and I think it's probably pretty normal not to have big losses two days in a row.

Combine that frustration with the super busy week I had last week, and it was just so easy to fall off the wagon.  It all started with the anniversary party we had at the office.  I ate a muffin and the world's best cookie cake, and had a Coke on account of the migraine I had that day.  I went home and was in too much pain to eat, so I took meds and crashed.  When I woke up I was hungry, but didn't have the strength to fix anything so I ate potato chips for dinner.  The road to hell...

Friday I kinda tried in that I had Plan meals for breakfast and lunch, but the leftover treats called my name during the afternoon meeting, so I had some.  Then I had planned pizza for dinner as I had my neighbors over as a little farewell shindig for Shelley and Dana (who were moving.)

My body didn't like Friday at all.  I woke up in the middle of the night, sweating and puking.  It was awful. I wish I knew if it was the pizza or the combination of that, beer, and the sweets at the office.  Who knows.

Saturday I traveled to Tennessee to visit family.  Breakfast was a bowl of cereal, a chicken salad sandwich for lunch with cole slaw, and steak with a baked potato and salad for dinner.  It didn't sound so bad, but all of it was untested.  Oh...and M&M's.  Yeah.

Sunday was a mess too.  I was starving at breakfast and couldn't seem to get enough cereal.  For lunch we went out and I had a stromboli, then ate the leftovers for dinner.

Ever wonder what four days off plan looks like? 

It looks like a 5.5 lbs gain.

That's what.

Holy cow!

I'm pretty sure it as the pizza and stromboli since they both made me feel like crap.

I decided to start over on day one.  I really need some test results that expand my food options.  I didn't feel like moving forward from day 14 was very constructive since all the menus at that point call for food that haven't tested well.

So, here I am.  Back "on plan."

Life hasn't gotten any less busy, I'm just planning for it.  Yesterday Lindsey had a soccer game, so I ate dinner at the game.  

It's kinda weird having dinner on the soccer field.  It's not eating there that's weird, it's that I'm eating healthy food.

Most people who eat at the games are bringing fast food with them.  I haven't seen other parents pack food from home...ever.

Is fast food that much a part of people's lives?  I don't get it because I haven't eaten fast food on a regular basis for years.  It's part a health issue, and part a money issue.  I could have paid 5 bucks for processed crap, or just brought my dinner from home.

I'll admit dinner is never that hot by the time I get to the field.  I warm it up at the office and put it in my cooler.  But after a 30 minute drive to the soccer field, it's just "not cold", at best.

That doesn't really bother me though.  I know I'm doing the right thing for my body.

Check out how it went on day 1!

1.6 lbs gone!  Woo hoo! 

I'm glad I got back on plan!

B

Break day 1 review

Yesterday was a total mess!  I woke up with a migraine and struggled through the day.  It didn't help that it was a pretty big day at the office...

By lunchtime, I was barely on my feet and shaking from the pain.  I would have gone home, but I had a webinar to host at 3.  So, I toughed it out.

I turned to one of my odd migraine treatments, Coca-Cola.  Weird, I know.  But it usually works.  So I chugged a bottle, then washed it down with a double chocolate muffin and the best damn cookie cake I have ever eaten.  (Eva, that rocked!)

The treats were part of a celebration at the office.  We celebrated a 21st wedding anniversary!  Congrats David and Donna!

Sorry I didn't get pictures.  I was barely on my feet at that point.

Eva ended up hosting the webinar for me because I just couldn't muster a pleasant voice.  Still, it got my blood pressure up a bit and I was worse by the time we were done.

I got home and spent the night in my chair.  I took two tylenol with codeine tablets and an Aleve.  When that kicked in I was finally hungry again and had potato chips for dinner.

Sounds like a rotten day, huh?  I ate all the wrong things, didn't drink my water, and really fouled it up with a soda.

And guess what?!?!?!?!??  I lost 1.2 lbs.  What a mess.

B

Day 13 review

Well somehow I've managed to completely foul this thing up.  I'm exactly at yesterdays weight, meaning that I'm retaining the inflammation from the 1.2 gain the day before.

I did keep the whole wheat cereal in my day yesterday.  It's the only thing that's new.

I also had extra vegetable timbale at dinner because I was still hungry.  I would have had more salad, but I'm out of greens and need to run to the store.

I'm so frustrated right now.  I first hit this weight 10 DAYS AGO!!!!

I am making absolutely no progress.  I admit that I've taken several liberties with the menu.  There's a thousand excuses for it, and it comes down to the fact that I just don't have the time to cook somedays and I have to resort to things like frozen veggies.  Also, the recipes make a ton and the menus don't use all the leftovers.  I can't afford to throw the food away so I adjust the menu.

I'll go into greater detail on all that later.  I just don't have the time today.

If I can just get through today, then I'll need to replan and find my way forward.

Day 12 review

This was anything but your ordinary day.  It started with a new breakfast.  I had some Kashi shredded wheat cereal mixed in the my flax granola.  With warm coconut milk, it practically melted and was amazing!  I admit it wasn't quite as filling as all flax granola, but the variety was welcome.

I had really good intentions for lunch.  I had planned a bed of mixed greens with leftover Vegetable Timbale on top.  Then I got a lunch invitation that I just couldn't refuse!  So....I warmed up the leftovers and had that before I left for lunch.  We went to Olive Garden and I ordered a salad with just romaine and onions and vinegar and oil dressing.  I had hemp seeds and pumpkin seeds in my purse that I added to the salad.  They brought one of those huge bowls of salad and I ate the whole thing!

That reminds me.  I saw a good joke on Facebook the other day, posted by Engine 2 Diet.

How to tell if your salad is big enough:
1. When you take it out at work, people ask you who else is joining you.
2. Regular salad bowls? Please. Your salads need a large mixing bowl to fit everything.
3. If you went to Whole Foods and got the same salad from the salad bar it would cost you at least $30.00.
4. Your friends regularly tell you "There is NO WAY you can eat all of that!"
5. 10 minutes in to eating your salad, you have barely made a dent. 

I can relate to all 5!  At lunch, my lunch buddy was a bit surprised that I ate the whole bowl.  I really need one of those bowls from Olive Garden...

Just in case you are eagle eyed, you may have noticed that the picture of the salad doesn't look quite like the rest.  I finally forgot to take a picture.  Well, kinda.  It's not the first time.  I confess.  I've forgotten before, but I've always had another picture of the same meal, or in the case of yesterday's apple, I just ran to the kitchen and took a picture of another!  Today was unrecoverable.  Oops.

Dinner was interesting too.  On the way home, Lindsey declared that she wanted tacos for dinner.  I had ground chicken in the freezer.  It was a test for a new veggie and I wanted to test tomato, so I figured that salsa would work for that.  The picture looks kinda nice.  The only problem is that my homemade tortillas didn't work out so well today. 

They were dry.

They broke.  

Oops.  Again.  So, that pretty plate got turned into a messy taco salad.  Lindsey did the same and she insists I share the picture of her half-eaten dinner.

She's pretty proud of the fact that she had so many veggies on her plate without protest.  We're making progress.

I'm proud of the fact that I managed to make a "plan" meal, serve her the same thing, and have her like it.

Score one for mom! 

Then there's this.  I gained 1.2 lbs.   GRRRRrrrrr!  I have been losing and gaining the same weight for over a week now.  I'm so damn frustrated!

It's hard to follow the menu's exactly because they often call for foods I didn't pass.  Sometimes an option is listed, but that option is also usually one I didn't pass.  This is especially true for snacks.  The only two snacks I'm sure about is a piece of fruit or hummus and carrots.  Most of the snacks are calling for rye crackers or almonds (sometimes almond butter.)  I haven't passed either of those.

 I also wasn't a saint yesterday.  I had wheat twice, and I haven't tested it twice in a day.  I ate a bite of a breadstick at Olive Garden and had one of their chocolate mints.  I also put sour cream on my dinner since I seem to tolerate milk ok.  Is the weight gain from any of those, or from the salsa?

I have no idea.  After a rest day, I'm going to retest tomatoes and keeping all those variables reigned in.

B

Rest day review

I was so glad to have the flax granola for breakfast again.  It was so much more filling that the pumpkin chia pudding. Can you believe I actually want the flax granola now?  At first I wasn't that into it.  Now I'm wishing for it each day!

Hands down the best part of my meals yesterday was the carrots for dinner.  They are just frozen carrots.  I warmed them up, then added butter, cinnamon, and sugar.  SO GOOD!!!

We had a quick turnaround for dinner in order to get to Lindsey's soccer game at 6:45 which is why I opted for frozen veggies and had precooked the chicken the night before.  It felt great to have a super quick meal on the table.

Speaking of things to be thankful for...I'm super thankful that I had a successful rest day and lost 1.2 lbs!  Woo hoo!

Now here's what's scary.  I know that the day after a huge loss is usually more modest.  Add that to the test for tomatoes today and I'm a bit twitchy.  Further, today calls for cereal mixed in with my flax granola.  I'm not so sure about that.

Maybe I should stick with all flax granola today?  I don't know.  I should be ok with the cereal.  It's all whole wheat, and I tested fine on wheat bread....so...I have no idea.

Wish me luck!

B

Day 11 review

Yesterday I had the Pumpkin Chia Pudding for breakfast.  It was like pumpkin pie with crunchies.  Fantastic!  It was so rich that it was hard to finish, but unfortunately it didn't stick with me all morning and I was pretty hungry by lunch.  Next time I make it I think I'll add more chia seeds.

With dinner, I had the Vegetable Timbale.  It doesn't seem like much when you are making it, but bake it and magic happens in your oven!  I loved it and was able to get Lindsey to at least eat it.  She asked for bread crumbs on it.  I gave her some honey crunch wheat germ instead (which I often sub for bread crumbs) and she was happy with it.  I'm really looking forward to the leftovers!

I feel like my body is betraying me.  I'm up 0.8 lbs this morning.  That's about a pound and a half gain in two days.  What the hell?!?!?!

Yesterday was SUPPOSED to be a rest day.

There were actually a lot of variables.  I had the new pudding for breakfast.  Even though pumpkin was previously untested, it was on the menu, so I ate it.  I had coffee with that fake powdered creamer at the Mother's Day breakfast we went to.  I ate lunch super late.  I'm not sure I got all of my water, and I had the Vegetable Timbale that had more cheese than I usually eat.

Is there really a way to know what exactly my body reacted to?  I don't see one.  Is it possible this is leftover reaction from the eggs the previous day?

SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!

I'm slipping in an extra rest day today.

Wish me luck.

B

Day 10 review

I can't say I did anything exciting yesterday.  After being out late Friday night, I just wanted to chill at home, so I did.  In the late afternoon I ran to the store for a few groceries and stopped by the local nursery for a few plants.  I got more lettuce and rosemary, a hanging basket with little tomatoes and a pepper plant.  Now let's just hope I test well for tomatoes and peppers!

I'm not pleased with what the scale is telling me today.  I'm up 0.6 lbs.  It was probably the eggs, but I'm still in denial.  It may take me a while to wrap my head around being sensitive to eggs! 

I'm upset about it mostly because it would have opened up so many options for me! 

There were still a lot of variables yesterday...not enough water, too much wine, a new chocolate bar...yes, this is denial talking. 

Want to bet that I'll end up testing eggs again?

B

Doughnut day meals

I really did have good intentions yesterday.  Then I got to the office and the doughnut fairy had been there.  Damn fairy comes every Friday and knows exactly which doughnut I can't resist! 

So....my rest day became a test day for a glorious little confection. 

I didn't exactly behave myself last night, though.  After dinner I headed back to Blacksburg, had a beer with a coworker at Boudreaux's, then went to Gillie's for a few glasses of wine and dancing to the music of The Floorboards.

What a great night!  The band was good and I danced most of the time I was there.  I was with a Meetup group and so enjoyed their company! 

After a doughnut, a beer, two glasses of wine, and out dancing until 1am, you'd think that I'd pay that price on the scale.

Check it out.

I'd sure love to know how this is possible!  I'm down 0.4 lbs!  It must have been the dancing! 

I'm so glad the doughnut fairy and I can still be friends.

B

Day 9 meals

I was a mess today!  I forgot to take the chickpeas for my soup.  My snack was halves of two different apples.  And I was partway through my dinner before I remembered to take a picture.

I need to get it together.  Or maybe I need to stop daydreaming about the day when I've achieved a 10 pound loss....nah.

Dreaming is good.

Friends, I was so excited to have something new for breakfast today.  Although yesterday's bread at lunch didn't do much for me, the break at breakfast with almond butter was the cat's meow.

Seriously delicious.

Now let's just hope that my body responds well to the almonds.  I've only had them one other day and I wasn't sure just how friendly they were and my weight loss was small.  But that was the day right after a big loss, so maybe that was why it wasn't much.

Although this plan is designed to minimize variables, there are still A TON!

Obviously I didn't do a good job of managing the variables yesterday.  I gained 0.2 lbs.  It was supposed to be a rest day!

I accidentally turning it into a test day by having almonds and beef, neither of which I'm sure are friendly, on the same day.  Dumb.  I know.

Time for another rest day!

B

Day 8 review

Yesterday was a test for bread.  While I had been looking forward to it, I honestly didn't find it all that satisfying.  I mashed a piece of avocado on it and sprinkled it with sunflower seeds.  The book called for goat cheese on the bread, but I put it on the salad instead.

It's a good thing I can eat the same thing day in and day out.  While the menu reads like it's a lot of variety, it's really ten tons of salad.  A big ass salad at lunch and a smaller salad at dinner.  I wonder if I'm starting to look like a rabbit?

Today we celebrated a coworkers birthday and went out to lunch.  I just wasn't ready to eat out yet.  I probably could have managed a salad, but instead I went and just drank a glass of lemon water.  Then when I got back to the office I had lunch at my desk.  My salad was a lot better than the bowl of iceberg lettuce and carrots I would have gotten at the restaurant.

I'm glad that I'm finding ways to still have an active life and keep on my plan.  It's proof that I can do this long term.  There is nothing forbidden and I get to choose when I want to deviate.  I've done every diet on the planet and for the first time I feel in control.

It's an even better feeling to finally see that scale moving after a year or more of watching it stall or move in the wrong direction.  I'm down 08. lbs today.  I suppose that means I passed the bread test!

B
 

Day 7 review

I hate to say it but the food is getting a bit repetitive!  I really need to move forward with testing to get more options available to me!

I'm finally starting to like the flax granola.  It took a while for it to grow one me.  It got much better after I started eating breakfast at work again.  At first, when I was hungry after breakfast, I didn't want to like it.  After delaying breakfast until 9, I finally gave it a chance.

The most satisfying thing about my day was the beer after work.  Yes, two days in a row.  Is that a test in itself?  (Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.) 


After dinner, I got a text inviting me out for a drink.  At this point I had already had a beer and a glass of wine after dinner.  Having another drink was probably asking for trouble, but since the invite was from a certain someone I'd like to some more of, I went anyway.  Thankfully, the consequences of a beer and two glasses of wine in one night weren't bad.  I was still down 0.2 lbs, which is awesome since I slept terribly. 

I probably need to chill on the beer for a few days....The good news is that I suspect today's bread test to go well.  Since there is wheat in beer and I tolerate that well and I'm eating whole wheat bread, I have my fingers crossed!

Wish me luck!

B

Beer day

Sadly, most of the day was pretty unremarkable.  I used my rest day menu, which I've already had a few times.  It is already feeling like an old friend.

At 7 minutes until beer-o'clock, I realized I had not yet had dinner!  I had meant to eat earlier and leave the office right on the hour.  So, I hurried to the kitchen in the office, nuked the chicken and veggies, drenched it in coco sauce, and scarfed it down...while still standing.  There was no time for the salad greens.  At two minutes till, I was done and ready to go. Priorities.  Beer.

Imagine my shock when I walked into the bar and my beer didn't appear. It's sad.  I'm such a regular that I no longer need to make eye contact with the bartender and nod.  (She's known my drink for a long time now.)  At this point, my beer just appears.  Today it didn't.  Not only were they out of my favorite, they were out of my second favorite!  Ugh!!!!!  Somehow I managed to chose another.  Such a hardship!

Lucky me!  Beer is friendly!  I lost 0.8 lbs!  Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have I mentioned that I really like beer?

It's good to know that I can have one with no side effects on my weight loss.  Keep in mind that I only had one beer and I had an extra glass of water to make up for it.  I doubt that two beers would be a good idea, but I can always test that at a later date.

I'm a happy girl!

B

Day 6 review

Steak.  Hmmm.  Steak.

Today was a test for steak.  It was so delicious.  Even on a salad, it was amazing.  Words just can't express the awesomeness of steak.  Yum!

And check out that snack!  Yes, those are potato chips!  Salt-free potato chips, but still potato chips.  They were on the menu, I swear.  It was an indulgent day!

It's a good thing I had steak to balance out my mood.  I had to go grocery shopping today and again, I had to go to multiple stores.  Ugh.  I'm so sick of not being able to get all my groceries in one place!  I try to do my shopping at Kroger, and every single time they are out of something simple.  This time, it was zucchini and shiitake mushrooms.  They usually have both.

AND...did you know Kroger doesn't price match!  I took the Food Lion flyer with me to the register and tried to get their price of 2/$1.  No go.

It's a good thing I already had to go to Food Lion anyway to get the stuff Kroger was out of.

As if that wasn't enough, there's only one place I can get dandelion tea, dried cranberries with no added sugar, and bulk spices.  Annie Kay's.   My local health food store.  Only it's not so local.  It's 35 minutes away, not too far from my office.  So, to add insult to injury, after two stores, I have to wait until tomorrow to go to the third store.

God, if you're listening, please send me a Trader Joe's, Earth Fare, Whole Foods, or some other store where it's likely that I can actually get all of my groceries at one place!  If that's too much to ask, maybe you could just make sure my local Kroger is actually decently stocked.

Thanks, God.


Now that we have that cleared up, it's time for my daily weigh in.

It's not what I wanted to see....my first weigh gain.  Hellfire!  Apparently my body doesn't like steak as well as my taste buds do.  What really stinks is that while grocery shopping yesterday I bought hamburger.  It's all portioned in the freezer and ready to go.  Now what am I supposed to do with that?!?!?!

This is actually one of my frustrations.  I shop way in advance and prepare my meals the night before....doing all of this without knowing if I'll actually need it.  Last week I cooked the steak on Thursday night, thinking Friday would be the steak test day.  Then Friday morning I woke up to find myself stalled and decided to do the rest day, then repeat the rye test.  SO.....the steak I cooked Thursday didn't get eaten until Sunday.  It's almost like getting punished for my preparation.

Today isn't going to be a standard Plan day.  I'm slipping in a test day of my own, beer.  It's my Monday night thing when Lindsey isn't home to go to The River Company for half-price pints.  The rest of my menu will be based on my rest day menu with the addition of one beer after work.

Wish me luck!

B

Day 5....Take Two

What a great day!  Lindsey and I stayed home most of the day and just enjoyed being together.  I was pretty excited about my weigh in this morning and that really helped me stay focused.  I tend to do better sticking to any menu plan when I'm working.  At the office, I'll only eat what I took.  At home, there's just so much available to me that it's usually an issue for me.

I decided to repeat day 5.  I wanted to re-test rye.  I'm not sure about the first test.  I've not had a strong reaction yet...one with weight gain.  I'm not sure if the stalls were a food reaction, or if it was just because I was at a weight where I've spent a long time.  I've found that those become set points, and on any diet plan, I'll plateau for a few days before I can bust through it. 

Today's weight loss is nothing to write home about.  This is the same result as the last time I tried the rye cracker.  Unfortunately, I was in the same situation, being the day after a big weight loss.  Is this just the normal day after, or is it how my body responds to rye.  I don't know.  For now, I'll skip the rye crackers and maybe test them again later.

Today I get to test steak.  Oh yeah!

B

Rest day

I'm sure I'm completely overreacting to having a day with no weight loss at all.  I decided to do a rest day which means that instead of testing a new food, I repeat the menu from a day that was good for me.  I repeated day 3.

I had my breakfast at the office again this morning, and if you look at the picture, you'll notice I added a cup of coffee.  I haven't had coffee at all since this started and the book says it's OK after the first three days.

Thankfully, I made it through the morning without thinking about being hungry.  This schedule adjustment might just work for me.

I had to eat dinner early because Lindsey had a ceremony for Girl Scouts where she bridged from Brownie to Juniors.  I ate right at 5pm and I wasn't hungry yet.  I knew that if I didn't eat, that I would fall victim to the treats at the ceremony.  Somehow I managed to steer clear of that awesome looking cake!

I'm so proud of Lindsey and the 5 others girls in their troop   As Brownies, they have been so active that they had to add extra layers to the back of their sashes in order to hold all of the patches that they earned!  (Lesson learned.  When they are Juniors, they are getting vests instead!)

I'm REALLY happy with my results from my rest day.  I'm so glad I took the time to do it.  It was a tough decision because I really want to move forward with testing.  I'm really motivated to find a bigger list of foods that my body responds well to.

I was honestly a little worried about the wine.  I had started drinking it three days ago, the exact day that the three day stall began.  I almost didn't drink it last night.  But I invited my neighbor over for a chat and just thought that we might enjoy a glass while we talked. It turns out that the wine is probably just fine!

 It was good to be able to have the social moment.  I've felt a bit like I'm missing out.  I didn't go out to lunch at all this week.  Next week will be interesting as I usually go out with friends on Monday night for a beer at my favorite brewery.  I haven't decided yet how I'm going to handle that.  I'm considering added in an extra test day.  I figure if I repeat my rest day menu, then I can have a beer as a test.  Just one, my favorite, the hefeweizen.

In all, it was a super successful day for me with my biggest single day weight loss of 1.8 pounds!  It's completely amazing   That brings my total loss up to 7.2 lbs.  FANtastic!  And....here's the part I'm tickled about - As I was talking to another parent last night about The Plan, he expressed an interest in learning more.  I'm so thankful to my coworker who shared it with me and I'm glad that I might have been able to help someone else out by sharing it with him.

Life's good!

B

Day 5 review

Since I've been hungry every morning I decided to adjust my morning routine a bit.  Before the plan, I used to have breakfast at the office.  I wasn't really hungry when I was at home, so I tossed a jar of oatmeal in my bag and took it to work.  When I started the plan, the breakfast food wasn't so perfectly portable so I had been eating breakfast at home.

Today I ate breakfast at the office, and I wasn't so hungry.  By the time I got in, I had just started to be hungry, and the full feeling lasted most of the morning.  I'm just going to have to find a way to make the breakfast easier to transport.  Honestly, I'm schlepping a big lunch cooler to work everyday any way, so it should not be that big of a deal.

I'm still thirsty.  I've been putting a lemon wedge in every glass of water.  It's helping a bit.  Instead of "Sahara Dessert" dry mouth , it's more like "Texas in the summer" dry mouth.  Still. 

What's weird about this is that prior to The Plan, I wasn't drinking much water at all and didn't feel thirsty!  Seriously, coffee was my primary beverage, followed by beer.  Now that I'm doing the right thing for my body, I'm thirsty all the time. 

Let's pretend I didn't Google it and read that the most common reason for this is diabetes.  I sure hope this feeling passes!

I forgot my dinner salad at the office and I honestly didn't miss it.  Maybe controlling my morning hunger has lasting effects?

I had dinner at the soccer field again tonight because Lindsey had another game.

She's been eating my food too. It's a bit rough to get her to taste all of the veggies.  I only require a tasting size portion, then she can substitute a veggie that she likes better, which is mostly peas and corn.  This kid used to like broccoli.  I don't know where that went.

It's harder to keep up with the cooking during the week.  I went to the kitchen tonight to prep tomorrows food and just didn't want to turn the oven on the make the roasted squash and kale that I'm supposed to have for dinner tonight.  Instead I got the Spicy veggie soup I have stocked in the freezer and set it out to thaw.I'll need to do another big food prep session this weekend to get me ready for next week!

Well, that wasn't the number I wanted to see.  It's the first where I'm pretty sure there could be a reaction to food.  This is exactly the same number as yesterday.

Yesterday was a test for rye.  The book calls it a "gateway grain" because it's the least reactive.  A reaction to rye is a sign that I may be reactive to other grains as well.

I wonder if I should insert an extra non-test day.  Today was supposed to be a protein test, but I'm thinking maybe I should repeat one of the days where I had a good weight loss, to let my body get reset.  As I write this, I have about an hour before I pack my lunch and dinner and will have to decide.  The content of my refrigerator will decide for me.

B