One More Day...

I had difficulty sleeping last night. Every once in a while, I just can't get to sleep. Apparently, this is one of perimenopause's symptoms. So I worked on Field Day plans through half the night, and then went back to bed and slept for a few hours. It wasn't great, but I grabbed a nap later in the afternoon.

For breakfast, I ate 3 oz. of ham steak. After dropping the kiddo off at science camp, I headed for the dentist and a teeth cleaning. Then back home to prepare for Field Day grocery shopping. I need to get supplies for about 40 people. Off to Costco! Lunch was a Muscle Milk Light Chocolate Shake. Yum! It was nice to have something sweet in my mouth after all of this meat. Dinner was some herb roasted turkey.

Tomorrow is the end of the first week. My next appointment and the day of reckoning! I think my weight loss has been pretty good, but tomorrow morning I face the scale!

Calories In: 615

Protein: 72.09%
Carbohydrates: 12.1%
Fats: 15.79%

Hope Is a Very Thin Diet

It's important to have structure in any of life's undertakings. Structure makes it possible to discipline yourself to stick to a plan, and supports the plan's execution. You can start a diet with great hope for pounds shed, but if you don't have a plan, you likely won't achieve your goal. Hope will be extinguished. Hope is not enough.

Although this diet is severe for the first week, there is a structure to it. This is making it easier for me to stay in compliance. I know what I have to aim for and I just do it.

This morning's breakfast was 3 oz. of ham steak. Lunch was 3 oz. of turkey breast.

Today was consumed with more Field Day preparations. I've been plenty busy and this has helped keep my mind off food. I also slept better and more last night so it was a better day all around.

By the time dinner rolled around, I still had enough calories left to have 3 oz. of hamsteak, 3 oz. of turkey, and 1 slice of Canadian bacon! I stuck to the diet a little too well.

Calories In: 640

Protein: 83.72%
Carbohydrates: 3.72%
Fats: 12.56%

Caution: Hungry Dieter - May Bite If Provoked

Today is Day 4 of my diet and the first day that I'm supposed to test my urine for ketones. I did so and the strip turned a medium shade of brown. This means I'm definitely in the moderate range of ketosis and burning ketones. Ketones are a byproduct of fat metabolism. They are produced by the liver from fat to be used as fuel when your body doesn't have enough carbohydrates. Any excess ketones are excreted in the urine and not converted back to fat. The scale also shows significant improvement. In part, this is probably the loss of some water weight, but now we know I'm starting to shed fat too.

This morning I ran out of the house with 3 oz. of Canadian bacon in my hand. It was the kiddo's first day of science camp and I didn't want to be late. We made it on time.

It's hard to describe how I'm feeling right now. I guess the closest I can get is that I feel both lighter with a slightly lower energy level than usual. I mostly ignored it.

Today was workout day. I grabbed 3 oz. of smoked turkey on the way to the gym. I was wondering if that would hold me through my workout. It did. By the time I finished the workout, I was actually feeling somewhat better. I also drank a full 32 oz. of Powerade Zero Lemon Lime.

However, after getting home, I was voraciously hungry. Since I had worked out for 70 minutes, I decided to treat myself to one slice of turkey (about 1 oz.) That helped and prevented me from eating everything in sight. Dinner was 3 oz. of halibut and some Vitarain Raspberry Green Tea. When I added everything up after dinner, I was still about 80 calories under my minimum calorie goal. So I had another slice of Canadian bacon.

So far so good, even if I'm hungry.

Calories In: 653
Calories Out: 375

Protein: 73.38%
Carbohydrates: 7.19%
Fats: 19.42%

"Our Bodies Are Our Gardens...

...our wills are our gardeners." William Shakespeare

Day three and I'm still managing to stick to this diet, though it isn't easy. It does seem to be paying off, even at this early stage. Today was the first day I got on the scale and it appears that I've lost close to 6 pounds. That's a good start, keeping in mind that my scale and the doctor's scale undoubtedly don't quite jive.

This is the first day I haven't had a "cheat". This morning I ate 3 oz. of ham steak for breakfast. Lunch was a forgettable vanilla whey protein shake. Can't someone make these things taste any better? The chocolate one I had a few days ago was pretty bad too. Dinner, though, was really tough. We went to my mom and dad's house for dinner, which was roasted chicken, mashed potatoes with pesto, fritata, and my brother's pineapple upside down cake for dessert. I ate a miniscule piece of the chicken. Giving up the pesto was tough, so I put a dot of pesto on my chicken - maybe a quarter of a teaspoon, just for a taste. Fortunately, pineapple upside-down cake isn't one of my favorites, so that was easy to pass up, though I was really curious to taste my brother's cooking.

Truly, this is a contest of will power. All things being equal, that would probably be fine, but I am a "stress eater". I'm also busy enough that I tend to eat on the run and it's hard to find healthy options on the run. So I need structure to be successful, and a whole lot of grace!

I'm entering all of my food and exercise into the Livestrong.com MyPlate application. They have a great database of food and I can enter it anywhere that there is internet, so I can keep doing this while I'm on vacation. When I got home tonight, I entered dinner and discovered I was about 200 calories shy of my goal, so I was able to eat a little more. That was not at all what I expected, and a pleasant surprise.

Calories In: 586

Protein: 75.65%
Carbohydrates: 10.36%
Fats: 13.99%

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger...

.. and thirst, for they are sticking to their diets!

Day two went pretty well. For breakfast, I had two scrambled eggs and 2 slices of Canadian bacon. Lunch was 3 oz. of ham steak. This was perhaps a mistake as I didn't realise that the yolk contains so much fat (cholesterol). Dinner was more problematic, since I went to a party tonight. The party was at 7:00 pm, so I decided to skip dinner at my regular time and eat at the party. Dinner was approximately 3 oz. of grilled steak and grilled seasoned pork. As this was a "Moms and Margarita" party, I did allow myself one small margarita, but that was all. I didn't nibble anything else, despite the fabulous looking, most tempting guacamole. The party was fabulous! Many thanks to our hosts!

I am hydrating quite a bit, which is necessary with this diet. Lots of water and some diet sodas. My favorite water is Hint, though it can be hard to find. If you have a Whole Foods nearby, they carry it and sometimes, Costco. No calories, carbonation, or synthetic sweeteners - just water with the essence of some fruit, such as watermelon, blackberry, pear, and lime. Yum!

Even so, the margarita put me over my calorie limit by the amount of the margarita.

Calories In: 795

Protein: 49.7%
Carbohydrates: 12.42%
Fats: 37.92%

Today is the First Day...

...of my new high protein diet. I've been exercising for months and no weight loss has happened.

I've had it. This is WAR!

I've signed on to a medically supervised diet regimen. For the first week, I'm allowed to eat 6-700 calories of protein a day. Because this is a very low calorie diet, I have to take some high quality dietary supplements. Nothing outrageous, just lots of vitamins and minerals. The idea is to burn up all the energy from carbs in my body, so that I start burning fat, while at the same time maintaining muscle mass.

I had a chocolate whey protein shake for breakfast. It was okay, but only just. Then I did my usual one hour boot camp workout at 24 Hour Fitness. For lunch, I had 3 ounces of Canadian bacon.

I managed to get through most of the day without blowing it. Almost, but not quite. When I put away my son's remaining Mint Milanos, I "sneaked" one.


By dinner, I was really hungry. But it's date night, the night Duane and I usually go out for dinner and a movie. We met at the mall and I had 3 ounces of grilled chicken and a Diet Coke for dinner. I then went shopping while Duane finished his dinner. If I was thinking I wouldn't have to see his food, I was right about that, but wrong in that there was food everywhere else. Even the corndogs, which I despise, looked good. Sort of. Well, not really. I walked away quickly.


We went to see Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time tonight, which was excellent, but without the popcorn. Thankfully, Duane spared me and he didn't get any either.


Total Calories In: 651
Total Calories Burned: 589


Protein: 64.33%
Carbohydrates: 19.8%
Fat: 15.79%