Tuesday, September 30, 2008

I'll tell if you'll tell!

Apparently it's a bad weight day in general. What was that about preparing our bodies for hibernation? By that tactic we should keep gorging for the next six weeks or so and then eat nothing for three months.

Last week wasn't a great exercise week for me--only one day at the gym and one day riding my bike. I rode to work again yesterday (so I guess technically that makes it three days of exercise, but that'll be my only riding day this week so I'm counting it in this week) and until I get lights, that will have to be my last day of commuting by bike. And I haven't been watching my diet at all, so as of today I'm back to counting calories, which seems to be the only thing that works for me.

Oh, OK, I was 144.4.

I plead the Fifth

My weight this morning was artificially inflated after dinner at Kabuki last night.  And two beers and a largeish glass of wine (the alcohol was over a five- or six-hour period, but it still leaves me feeling icky the next day) and some Manchego cheese.  And cake, of course.  And candy corn throughout the afternoon and a real, full-sized peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch -- sad that that's such a luxury.  So today I was carrying food weight around still, and while I did have a generous quantity of calories yesterday it wasn't two and a half pounds' worth, so I'm not going to post the number I saw.  (Besides, Amy says I get the week off, so there!)

It's Tuesday... and it feels like Monday

I wish is was. Maybe then I wouldn't have weighed myself this morning. Ugh. I have a new all time high. This is surprising because ever since last Wednesday I have had a very sore tongue from my temp crown. This means eating is more trouble than it is worth. There is absolutely NO pleasure from it. Which is kind of sad because there have been good foods to be had. Last night was chicken paprikash. You know - that is very odd. I mean, yes, my tongue hurts - and it is hard to chew, and to swallow, and to talk - but that shouldn't stop food from tasting good. I mean, I should be craving ice cream. I'm not. I have had painful dental situations before - and a history of cancersores too, but that has never made the food just unappealing. Maybe I am on to something here. Nothing too interesting though, because it didn't help me with my weight today. Sigh.

Laura still hasn't moved out. She is supposed to be working on it today AGAIN - but her furniture is still in the room. As long as her BIG furiture is in the room I can't really do anything else. I told her I want to paint a layer of Kilz down there and can't because of her furniture. She hasn't replied to that email. (For the record I was much more diplomatic than I was just now...) I am tempted to start in there anyway. I mean - She moved out almost two months ago!!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Designer Handbags

I went to a fake purse party last night. I bought a fake Kate Spade. This is my second fake Kate Spade. I looked at the Dooney Bourkes also and considered a REAL Kathy VanZeeland. It was pretty ugly though - and when I realized that the only reason I was considering it was because it was a REAL one, and they are trendy I smacked myself and put it back. I did realize however, that I am shallow enough that I want a real designer handbag. Not an ugly one though. I would rather spend a ton of money and get something really classic that will last me forever. I like Kate Spades - www.katespade.com. I also like Dooney Bourke. Coach are nice too. However, ALL of these are $400-ish. The advantage of a really expensive purse is that I can't just decide to get one and then get one - I have to "save my money" which means that before I have enough I will probably lose interest until the next fake purse party buying opportunity.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

140.0

My weight has been see-sawing over a two-pound range for the last week, and fortunately it sawed instead of seed today, so this was the lowest I've seen in a bit.  Then I blew it all by taking the kids to Chick-fil-a tonight for dinner.  We needed to go to Lowe's (I've been digging and replanting daffodils for three days now, a job I've never done and which I officially LOATHE, but once the digging and planting was done I didn't want to leave it just bare mulch, so I was putting mums in and I didn't buy enough on the first pass) and Chick-fil-a was close by.  So was Fazolis, which would have been my preference, but I was outvoted.  I thought that was a good thing, since at Fazolis I end up with too much cheese and too many breadsticks, and at Chick-fil-a I could just get a cool wrap, which I did, and I barely ate any dressing, even.  But Chick-fil-a is dangerous because they have their coffee-caramel milkshakes, which are REALLY awesome.  Cecilia helped me drink it but I still had the lion's share of the 810 calories.  That's 2/3 of my calorie goal in one chunk.  Ugh.  I haven't wanted any junk food since, though, as you can imagine.

The gardening has been great exercise.  And it keeps me from snacking because I'm usually out there for a couple of hours (or more) at one go.  I have all kinds of soreness in leg and arm and back muscles.  I know it's not very high-calorie work but it adds up, and it's good for my muscles.  But I was getting mighty cranky at the bulbs today.  I only got half of them replanted yesterday, so today I had a dull job ahead of me, and the darn holes wouldn't stay dug -- I'd put a bulb in and the dirt would collapse around it before I could get the others in the cluster in as well.  Even more annoying, the dirt would fall UNDER the bulbs so I'd plant it eight inches deep and it would scoot up to four before I could get two more in the same hole.  I was growling at the bulbs and growling at my kids because they all wanted to help, which mostly meant them bickering over who got to hold the watering can and who closed the door in whose face, which made me even crankier at the bulbs.  So, great exercise or not, I do NOT want to do this job any more than absolutely necessary.  Ugh.

143 again

I don't know what was up with that 144.8 on Saturday. I was back down to 143 today. Not losing, but at least not two pounds up! Oddly, my weight on Saturday was after a full week of exercise. My weight this morning was after three days of NO exercise. I was on my feet all day Saturday at the Grand Prix but only moving very slowly, then did nothing on Sunday. I brought my stuff to go to the gym yesterday and ended up not going--I had forgotten about the traditional post-Grand Prix department lunch out.

I had such a beautiful commute to work today. The weather was perfect and the effort felt like next to nothing. I kept hitting milestones on the way (well, intersections where I mentally break up the trip--end of long hill, halfway point, beginning of suburban ugliness) and thinking "how did get here already?" I wanted to just keep going when I got to campus. I need to get lights for my bike--in a couple of weeks it'll still be pretty dim when I set out in the morning, and while I'm making it home long before sunset currently, that won't last much longer.

I didn't weigh-in

I actually forgot this morning. That is remarkable for me and Rebecca would be so proud. I DID remember to take my vitamins, which I haven't remembered to do since last Friday. I thought about weighing myself yesterday - and I remembered in the shower today - but I forgot again until I was fully dressed down to my jewelry and shoes - so I didn't get on the scale. I was actually curious to see what my weight was doing too. I am mid period - and I wanted to see if I was still not gaining my normal 4 pounds.

Katie and I went to Bonefish last night for the first time in many, many months. The last time I went (which was without her) was in July - but I really can't remember the last time the two of us went together. The arctic charr was back on the menu - but it wasn't as good as it was last season. It was a smidge dry, and less flavorful. Oh well.

Katie and I photographed a wedding on Saturday. The couple was a friend of Charles - and so also Katie's. It was a beautiful day. The ceremony was in a park/beach and the reception was in two side by side back yards. The lighting was a bit too sunny or dappled (if we tried for shade) but the pictures are turning out good anyway. There were 5 each bridesmaids and groomsmen, and four little boys and two junior bridesmaids - so a large wedding party. I have been spending all of my free time since Saturday editing photos. I hope to get them done by tomorrow end of the day. I will let you all know when they are posted to my smug mug.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Would someone please tell me why I'm gaining weight?

This is insane. I was 143 on Tuesday and today I'm 144.8. I've been eating normally (not religiously counting calories, but not eating anything extra, and no parties or meals out) and exercising really well (two days swimming, two days running, one day commuting by bike this past week). And there's no indication that I'm retaining water either. So what's up with gaining nearly two pounds in four days?

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

143

I think that counts as holding steady from last week, which isn't bad considering all the stuff I ate over the weekend!

I'm just back from the pool, my second attempt at swimming. After the awful time I had that first time I was nervous about this, but the goggles made a HUGE difference in my comfort level, as did just taking it a lot slower. Now that I know that freestyle kills me, I paced myself better--breaststroke every other length as a "rest" and I only did seven lengths of just freestyle. So I did 11 laps/22 lengths again, but didn't pause as long at the end of each length, and only once had to stop to catch my breath in the middle of a length--and that was because I had gotten a mouthful of hair. I also did the old lady breathing with freestyle, taking a breath every other stroke instead of every third or fourth as I used to be able to do when I was young and had good lung capacity! So: goggles, slow pace, regular breathing and a REAL shower afterwards instead of just rinsing off and I feel much better than I did after that first time. And yesterday I was back to doing a 5K in under 30 minutes on the treadmill so I'm feeling pretty good overall. If I bike to work tomorrow and swim again on Thursday, I will have done a complete sprint triathlon over four days. All I have to do is work that all into just one day (and under four hours) within the next year.

Carpool Tunnel Vision

I was back concretely within my weigh range that I have been for the past several months. Yay! This is a good thing because the extra two pounds that I saw the last couple of weeks were really scaring me. I still need to figure out how to lose the extra weight - but I am really happy right now just to be holding steady. I seriously have that "no sudden movements" when it comes to my diet though.

I think I am developing carpal tunnel syndrome. I have had two weird things with my right wrist for several months now. First, pushing the doors at TESSCO open sends a shooting pain up my wrist unless I brace my elbow against my body before I push (and I never remember to do that) and around about 4pm my fingers go numb. It is the sort of numbness that you get when you are too cold, like your fine motor skills are gone. So I start shaking my hand and sitting on it to "warm" it up. I thought it was the air conditioning. However, last night I was working on a project which involved a lot of mouse clicking, and I was in pain up to and beyond my elbow. It still hurts today. I tried everything to relieve the pain and thaw out the numbness, but nothing worked. So, I need to have that checked out.

As I was driving home I was thinking "Oh finally! A medical condition that is in no way connected to my thyroid." I was wrong about that. Did you know that people with thyroid conditions are more susceptible to carpal tunnel syndrome? I didn't either until I looked it up on Mayo to find out what I could do about it in the meantime. I thought it was a joke!

I need to add that to my list of stuff to discuss with my doctor - however, I am beginning to think with this that I should address it sooner rather than later. Sigh. I guess it was to be expected in my case. I do so many fine motor hobbies, it make sense that would be something that would show wear and tear sooner or later.

No clue what I weigh

But on Saturday mom's scale flashed 139.5 and the  next day it flashed 136.5, so over the course of one intestinal virus I dropped three pounds.  Ugh.  My real weight was, of course, higher than that, since Mom's scale is consistently lower than mine, and I've probably recovered a bit of that weight in the meantime, since I'm not still dehydrated, I hope.  But my appetite has remained small.  I've barely moved since I got here so I'm losing muscle mass in all of this.  Today we've got a field trip planned so it won't be quite such an inactive day.  Tomorrow we go home so I'll weigh myself on Thursday, by which time my appetite should be normal again as well.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Ocean!

Wow was this weekend beautiful!!! Sarah and I spent the weekend at Ocean City with Claire and Connor. Claire and I went down Friday night and Sarah joined us Saturday around 11:30am. It rained the whole way down and so I was sure it was going to be a gross weekend - but Saturday morning I woke up to beautiful sunshine! I got Claire up and we were on the beach by 8:30am. The two of us walked up the beach 1/2 a mile and then back down. So I got a mile of straight (well, sort of lopsided) walking in that morning. Beach walking is hard. Your legs are tilted, and the ground keeps disappearing out from under you... The water was nice - a little chilly - and the waves were just right. We played together in the surf for a while, then I sat in the sun and watched Claire play even more. Once Sarah arrived we went to the boardwalk and only walked a little bit, then went back to the beach for about another 2 hours. That night (when we were playing miniature golf) I noticed that my body was REALLY stiff. Mostly my knee joints and my left side hip. Sigh. I could barely bend over and squatting was right out! I couldn't get my own ball out of the golf holes. I think it was because of the way the ground moves under you in the ocean. It think that was really hard on my joints. I didn't take any glucocemene this weekend. I still felt stiff Sunday morning, but it felt much better in the water (which makes sense since water supports you). So again we spent about 3 hours on the beach. We then cleaned up the condo, hit Candy Kitchen (there ARE rules you know!) and came home. I was SO stiff and sore when I got out of the car when I got back to Baltimore!! I took a hot bath last night, and I seem to be mostly fine today - except for my sun burn.

I have a make up yoga class that I have to take either today or tomorrow (it is the last week of the session). I am going to see what time it is being offered tonight to see if I can get that in. I hope that will help work out some of my stiffness.

We ate crap all weekend. My stomach behaved until I was leaving town. Sarah said I need to try bio-feedback to see if my problems are stress related. I think they possibly could be, and so does Rebecca, but they are also food related. It was the cantaloupe that my body didn't like - and it is normal for me to react to raw fruits and vegetables. But it wasn't until I was heading home that I reacted. So, maybe my life stresses me out. But I can't tell, and I don't know what all to do about it. I had NO reflux all weekend, despite the fact that I was eating Oreo cookies and pancake syrup the whole time.

I did the drive via Delaware this time. I don't like the bridge and so I loved that I didn't have to use it. The tolls were $13 on the way there - and I can't remember coming home. I think it was one less on the way home - but I honestly can't rememeber. I think I saved $4 or $5 on the way back. And it took longer. Sarah was home a good 45 minutes before I was... Of course I did have to stop twice on the way home. Once to get gas and then a second time to deal with my cantaloupe issue. I wouldn't have done it all in once stop except the gas station had no bathroom. So that was a lost 15 minutes or so.

We used to do day trips to Rehobeth. I want to start that again. It is SO relaxing to be at the beach!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Someone brought doughnuts

They're sitting in the back room, calling my name.

I haven't posted in a while because I was mortified about my weight after Labor Day. The week before that was bad enough--I think I was 143.something. So I worked really hard that week (that was the week I went swimming) and by Friday I was down to 141.8. Then came Labor Day weekend--Girl Scout pool party (can't do that without hamburgers and s'mores) followed by the trip to New York for Miriam's party (road food, party food, diner breakfast, more road food) and on Tuesday I weighed 145.4!!! Ouch. Plus at that same time I came down with a horrible cold and was knocked flat for a couple of days, so I continued eating badly and not really exercising (only two days that week). I've managed to shed a bit of that weight, but as of yesterday I was only back to 143.4. So pretty much back where I started that was "bad enough." And now there's doughnuts.

I was at a conference on Monday so I didn't get to the gym that day, but I got in yesterday and today I rode to work (that counts as two workouts in my mind since I do an hour in and an hour home). Oh, I took a different route today--one that cuts off the hill from hell. I was a bit worried about the road because it has no shoulder to speak of and I didn't know how busy it would be. Turns out it's not that busy, and there are traffic calming bumps and sharp curves that keep the cars either off the road entirely or just slow, so it was really nice. It also cuts off the worst intersection I had to deal with (highway overpass with multiple traffic lights and exit lanes, ending in me making a left turn--not fun). So my average speed was faster today and the trip was about 6 minutes faster overall. I guess that doesn't seem like much, but if I can get washed off and dressed in six minutes, that gets me at my desk on time!

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

142.5

Back to where I was!  Not that I ever got much below it.  But on Saturday we went to a party (and there were s'mores -- OK, so I'm weak) and on Monday we went out to dinner and a movie (high-cal food and popcorn) and I'm still reeling from that, weight-wise.  And it won't be better tomorrow, because today for Daniel's birthday we had cheese fondue (but not my homemade bread -- the starter hasn't been revived in a long time and it's still too sluggish for the bread to rise) and cake.  Tomorrow will be leftovers of unhealthy food.  By Thursday I should be eating like a normal human being again, though, and with Daniel out of town I will probably eat lightly.

I missed exercise yesterday -- my gym time conflicted with our date and the day was otherwise busy -- but today I worked out at the gym, and I have an appointment Thursday as well.  I wish it were daily, but every other day will have to do, this week.

I lost a pound

of blood last night - but it didn't seem to help. FINALLY they took my blood. I don't trust their new system for anything... Last time my iron readings were 12.0 from one finger and 10.9! from the other. You need to have 12.5 to give blood. I almost didn't go last night because I had hardly eaten all day - I did double up my morning orange juice, but didn't drink anything other than one cup of coffee (which I am not supposed to do), I had a really frazzley day and so just wasn't in the mood. But I went anyway figuring my iron would be too low. It wasn't! Well - they still had to prick both of my fingers - 12.2 was the first one and then the next one was 12.8! So I gave my pint of blood. They let you drink now while you are giving the blood. It never made sense to me that they wouldn't let you replace your fluids while it was happening. It USED to be that they wouldn't let me drink my water after they started taking my history. Oddly - today both of my finger pricks are hurting, and I have a big skid mark of burst blood vessels where the pressure cuff was last night. I wonder why that is. Anyway -so I am not sure why my iron was OK yesterday. I have eaten a total of four sandwiches in the past week (well, three and a half - I burned a grilled cheese sandwich to charcoal last Wednesday but ate the insides of it...). So maybe the regular bread made a difference. I have also been taking the whole foods multi vitamins instead of the regular kind. Maybe THAT made the difference. I don't know... Anyway, it felt good to donate again. I don't have to worry about it again until November 3rd.

I want to start running. Or more precisely I want to be able to run. I keep seeing people around running and I am envious. Their bodies seem to move so freely. And then I get an image of me in my head running and I scare myself. First of all - I wouldn't be running - it would definitely be more like trudging... Then I think how strenuous WALKING is for me and I cringe even more. My body gets in my way. I would love to be able to trust that all the pieces would move the way they are supposed to - but I smack myself regularly when I walk, and trip over my feet, and my thighs rub together. So I need to start out slowly - and find some place where no one would see me or be injured by my cumbersome form landing in unpredictable places. I think I will start trying to run again on my treadmill. I need to unearth my treadmill. I am SO looking forward to having my exercise room. I can't wait for Laura to finish moving her stuff out... YAY!

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Turns out I *am* in better shape

Last summer I rode up to the top of Brush Mountain and back home again and vowed never, ever to attempt it.  I say "rode" -- that means I got a third of the way up before I nearly collapsed, trudged alongside the bike for what seemed like a mile (probably a quarter to a half mile), biked, walked, and biked the rest of the way.  But I've been on my bike so much this summer that I was really getting curious as to how I would do if I tried it again, so I did.

Better, it turns out.  Not great, but better.  I stayed on the bike the whole way, going really, really slowly, but I made it to the top and never felt like I was going to die.  I just kept pushing the pedals around one more time, and then one more, and that got me there.  I took the long way home (very hilly, more down than up, and it turned out to be a lot of fun) for a round trip of fifteen miles.  I seriously considered continuing on the Huckleberry Trail to add another five miles, but my back was getting tired from leaning over (my legs were fine) and the trail was packed with people on foot today (not surprising -- it's gorgeous out).  Maybe next time.

My other evidence that I'm in pretty good shape is that I put on Daniel's heart monitor before I went out.  I lay down and my heart rate dropped to 57 inside of a minute.  So my resting heart rate is really good.  While I was out my peak rate was in the low 180s, even on the mountain.  Most of the time it was in the 160s, which is where I like it to be at the gym -- I know they have complicated formulae for determining ideal exercising rate, but that's where I perceive exertion without exhaustion (over 170 my face gets red).  I got stuck at a traffic light and it dropped to 131 before the light turned about a minute later.  The average for the trip was 168.  Not shabby. ;-)  Gadgets are fun.

Friday, September 05, 2008

Comment on Emily's post that was getting too long

When I was at Bead Camp I had comparatively few stomach problems however, almost instantly when I got home things started up again. Not to be crude - but the problem I have been having the most is lots of gas. LOTS of gas. And daily reflux, brought on by eating - anything. I started thinking that being more actively gluten free was probably strongly contributing to my low iron problem I have been having lately. I haven't switched back entirely but I started having regular bread in the mornings for breakfast. Today we had no eggs, so I have an extreme headache - but I think that was because of the lack of protein, not the intake of gluten - but I could be wrong.

I met with Rebecca again on Wednesday and told her I thought I was going to ease off on on the gluten free - mostly just with bread, which is very limited in my life anyway. I don't mind GF pasta, and I use rice a lot. I am OK with corn, so allowing gluten back in my life is really a pretty small concession. She seemed to think it was OK to see

The other revelation that I had talking to Rebecca is that now that she has me eating more regularly, and paying attention and responding to my hunger signals, my headaches haven't been as bad. Or - more specifically - I notice I get headaches when I am hungry, and since I am now seeing my headaches as a hunger signal (and responding to them) my headaches aren't as regular as they used to be, and mostly go away if I eat something. OTOH, I have also noticed that when I DO get headaches (like today) even though I can directly tie them to what I have eaten or not eaten, they are definitely worse than they used to be.

My biggest concern is my GI issues. I am making a list of things I want to talk to my doctor about. The last annual I had I had several things that I wanted to discuss with her, but she didn't spend ANY time with me then. So this year I am going to be prepared - I am writing it down so I can hand it to her. It is kind of frustrating because I have NEVER been the type to go to my doctor with a list of complaints and "health issues" so now that I actually HAVE some I don't know how to get my doctor to listen to me. The past three or four months have been much worse than I have experienced in the past. Yes - maybe they are just gross, uncomfortable things that I have to get used to, but I think that if there ARE things you can do about them it would make more sense to do them now rather than wait until they have cause more severe issues.

Plugging away

I don't have anything interesting to post -- I'm just trudging along with my diet and didn't want to wait until Tuesday before posting again.  I am back to the world's most dull daytime foods -- cereal for breakfast and a ham or turkey sandwich for lunch.  That leaves me with the most flexibility for dinner, and sometime during the day I'm eating a piece of fruit (mostly pears this week, but some bananas as well) and I have something sweet after lunch (currently the very dangerous Rainbow Chips Deluxe cookies, 80 calories apiece and hard to quit with one).  My weight is finally (slowly) budging downwards; I'm still not outside the range of mere fluctuations yet, but at least it's not consistent anymore!

Amy, how's dropping the gluten-free going for you?  I'm nervous about you doing that -- you had such a poor reaction to the gluten test and your weight has been more consistent of late, though you said it's creeping upward most recently.  If it suddenly flies up again we'll know!  But I also know you cheat on the gluten regularly (e.g. when you're at my house or camp) and it hasn't been that bad for you.  Here's hoping.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Moderate Exercise

This one is interesting - but depressing...

I did a Google search for "moderate exercise." Everyone talks about how much moderate exercise you need to do - but what exactly IS moderate exercise? I mean, personally when I think of something as moderate or done in moderation, I think of it as slightly less than what you really desire - or something very, very average. So "moderate exercise" could be anything from walking to the bathroom three or four times a day to running for 1/2 an hour five days a week. It is very subjective. Personally, what I would consider "moderate" exercise is nothing that would make you too sweaty or make your face break out, and can be done in less than 15 minutes... and preferably with some sort of toy surprise at the end... like a new fun pair of socks. 8-)

British

Why is it that everything the British write sounds like a Monty Python routine - or at least a joke? I liked this article. I think it must be because they use words like squillion.

I think obesity being connected to income and education is a chicken/egg question. Are poor people FAT because they are stupid (don't know what they should be eating) and lazy (don't exercise enough) or are they POOR because they are stupid and lazy? Or are they stupid because they are poor and fat or are they lazy because they are poor and stupid - and onwards with the word combinations. See? Chicken/egg.

There was one comment that the reason well educated, good income people are not fat is because they have the opportunity to get more pleasure out of life than through just eating. I agree with that. People who are more engaged are going to spend less time watching the telly and eating crisps. However, I am well educated, make a decent living, have a million interests and I am still fat and lazy and poor - or something like that...

Three years

It was three years ago that we started this blog. Well - sort of. Offically it was on September 6th, but it was the Tuesday after Labor Day that we started - so I think of today as the anniversary. That means it has been 2 years and 10 month since I lost any weight. Sigh.

I was especially high this morning. I was UP outside of my "allowed zone." In fact, I am seriously edging on 100 pounds overweight. That shocked and horrified me this morning. I was feeling pretty chill for the past few weeks about my weight. I mean, I know I weigh more than I like - by a fair amount - but for most of the summer I have not been GAINING weight - so that is a good thing. But I guess for the past several weigh in days my "not gaining" has still been on the high end of my range - which I guess counts as gaining if my "holding steady" number is constantly slightly higher. Gack!

I didn't eat well this weekend. I ordered a pizza Saturday night (grilled chicken, ultra thin crust, green peppers) and ate that for all meals all day Sunday. I had a blueberry muffin and sushi on Sunday. That was about it. I didn't cook anything myself - and I didn't have enough protein. I also think I was heavy on salt comparatively. I probably haven't been drinking enough water lately - I woke up with creases all over my body this morning - which is usually from not enough water. I will try to increase that. Again. Still. I never seem to drink enough water.

The only exercise I got this weekend was taking Davey for a walk on Sunday night. We did about 2.5 miles. I really liked walking him. I like walking at night. I don't know why - but I think I always have. There is something vaguely edgy about it. It reminds me of Halloween, and being at Pennsic and being a teenager and stuff. I get more urges to walk at night than any other time. However, I would never do it without a dog. I noticed that even with mild mannered Davey Dog people I passed would give us a little bit of distance. I like that. It is like walking around with an obvious defense weapon. Unfortunately, getting a dog of my own is out of the question. I think I may ask John if I can walk his dog for him. I never seem HIM walking his dog - but I know he takes him over to his parents a lot.

142.5

I am very consistent these days.  Every single day this week I weighed either 142.5 or 143.0.  It's boring.  I exercised Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, plus a little bit on Saturday and Sunday, and again on Monday of this week.  Monday through Thursday I averaged 1200 calories.  I had around 1400 calories on Friday, Saturday, and Monday, and my only "bad" day was still under 2000.  So I would like to have seen a decrease in weight, but I'm not distressed yet, because the 142.5 at the beginning of the week was kind of a fluke, and my jeans seem to fit a little better (but it could be wishful thinking.  I also know that weight loss is slow at this weight since I can't safely cut back a large percentage of my caloric needs, so I shouldn't expect to see any more than one pound a week, which means any loss I might see is within the daily noise level, so I'm not going to see a change for a while.

But an occasional fluctuation on the scale would at least be interesting!!