Argh! I can't win!

I finally got out to Dick's yesterday to see if I could get an IT-band strap there. They didn't have exactly that, but they had the dual straps that look more like a knee brace, and those had adjustable neoprene buffers to put where you need the most pressure. So I wore that all day yesterday -- it was surprisingly comfortable and seemed to be doing a lot of good (even with the NEW pain that cropped up on Sunday below my knee on the inside of my leg... sigh...). But at bedtime I took the strap off, and I discovered I am allergic to the neoprene!! The reaction wasn't too bad -- at first just some redness that I could have dismissed as a result from 8 or 10 hours of pressure, but it was accompanied by a burning sensation (took me a bit to realize it wasn't the IT-band itself, but on the surface) that soon gave rise to a rash. The rash was mostly gone by this morning, but from what I've read about the neoprene reaction (it's actually more likely a reaction to the chemicals they use to process it, but you can't wash them off) it gets worse if you keep exposing yourself to it, so I'm disinclined to use the brace again. It cost more than the IT-strap usually does, too, so I'm going to see if I can return it. Grrr.

They had a single strap, but it was designed to go below the knee. I tried it on in the store to see if I could wear it above the knee, and it slipped right down over my kneecap as soon as I moved. I also can't order the strap that Amazon has (with Amazon Prime, so I'd save on shipping) because it's neoprene, too, which means I'm going to have to order the same one I have, which costs more to ship.

My weight was 142.5 this morning. It has stayed in the 142-142.5 range all week -- surprisingly consistent! My entire success at the "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants" approach so far has been a switch to cereals with far fewer ingredients, a switch to cage-free eggs (but that was because of the egg farm stories -- gross), and a lot more vegetables at dinner. I've tried to keep my meat portions small at dinner, but I seem to be the only one trying for that. Oh, and it was fish four times this past week (two nights of leftovers, of course) so that's an improvement. I'm going to work on better lunches but we're trying to use up what we have (macaroni & cheese for the kids, some cans of ravioli for them, some lunchmeat with more ingredients than a package labeled "smoked ham" should have, etc.) first.