168.4 Last Keep Trim Day

I maintained my weight perfectly yesterday and still weigh 168.4! I was all set to go on our walk, but Scott was gung ho to go to the sale at Big 5. We bought me these new pretty purple plaid house shoes that I will keep on when I use the Lifestyler stair step exercise machine. I think I will also tape up my ankles before I use it for awhile. Thanks for the suggestion, Mom.


Happy New Year, everyone! Here is what I ate yesterday and maintained my weight, with just 15 minutes on the stair stepper and no walk:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup soy milk,
Black unsweetened coffee
1/4 Dinner plate Costco combo pizza,
1/2 can Campbell's Select Harvest Healthy Request Mexican Style Chicken Tortilla Soup
Diet Coke
Baked chicken, onion and carrots
Lots of water
1 brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tart

168.4 Keep Trim Day 15

I walked a mile with the dogs yesterday, and then another two miles with Scott later on in the day. It was the first time he had come out walking with me since he slipped and broke his arm, about 6 weeks ago. His arm is getting much better.

I love this pair of size 12 Anne Klein jeans that Mom sent in her hand-me-down Christmas box! These are the only women's jeans that fit me properly. Usually the hips are too tight and the waist is too loose. These are perfectly proportioned for a real woman!

I am having so much fun downloading free books from Amazon onto my new Kindle Keyboard 3G! It's a new marketing scheme all the publishers are using. The books are free when they first come out, and a lot of people post about them being free and read them and post on Facebook how they like the book. When they think they have enough publicity they start charging for the book. This takes a different amount of time for each book. It could take a month or just a few hours.

Here is what I ate yesterday and still lost .4 pounds on keep trim eating, because I walked three miles:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

Half a dinner plate of combo pizza from Costco, Diet Coke

Hamburger patty, 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, 2 cups steamed broccoli, cauliflower, yellow pepper and carrots, lots of water

2 brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tarts

168.8 Keep Trim Day 14

Still holding steady well below my target keep trim weight of 171.4. I weigh 168.8 today. I walked the dogs 2/3 of a mile yesterday.

I am extending this keep trim eating period for the New Year's Eve party we're going to. It will be casual, just a potluck and board games. A potluck means I want to be able to taste everything people bring, though. My plan is to taste everything, but eat very little. That is straight out of Dr. Tarnower's book about the Scarsdale Medical Diet.

I love this picture! Here I am in skinny cut size 12 jeans that Mom sent. I love this pink top, too. It is so comfy! I look like a normal person: not fat and not skinny. The relief I feel in lack of headaches and lack of general soreness in my feet and ankles is the true reward, though.

My right Achilles Tendon is almost healed from when I stretched it too far, too fast the other day on our Lifestyler stair step exerciser. Thank you for the suggestion to wear good exercise shoes while I am on the stair stepper. I don't really understand how they can help me not stretch my Achilles Tendon too far, but they can't hurt. Maybe if I wore some high tops with ankle support they could prevent me from hyper extending.

Here is what I ate yesterday, and managed to lose .2 pounds on keep trim eating:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee
4 slightly burnt decorated sugar Christmas cookies
Half a dinner plate of combo pizza from Costco, Diet Coke
Salmon patty, 2 cups steamed broccoli, cauliflower, yellow pepper and carrots

169.0 Keep Trim Day 13

Doing awesome at 169.0 pounds when my goal for this keep trim eating period is 171.4! Here I am in this photo in grey hand-me-down office pants in size 12, courtesy of Mom, who is now a size 6 and weighs 128! She is shorter than I, so that size looks good on her. You can tell she is my mom, though, because our legs are exactly the same length and we wear exactly the same size shoe.

After dinner last night I had a craving for cookies. Wouldn't you know, I remembered the slightly burnt Christmas cookies we had set aside to be dog treats. They didn't seem quite so burnt as they did when I had 6 dozen unburnt cookies at hand. I ate three and they were yummy! There are a few left, and I might have them with my coffee this morning.

We prayed and prayed for temperatures above freezing last night and this morning so that we wouldn't have to drive through ice or snow to take Scott to the doctor this morning. Praise God, it has been in the 40's this whole time! This is just a general practitioner visit today. Next week he starts physical therapy for his arm, so we will be praying for non-freezing weather on Jan 5th, too.

Here is what I ate yesterday and only gained .2 pounds on this keep trim day:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee
1 brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tart
Leftover baked chicken, onion and carrots, Diet Coke
Another brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tart
1 can Campbell's Healthy Choice Beef Soup (1 can = 2 servings)
3 slightly burnt decorated sugar Christmas cookies, caffeine-free tea

168.8 Lost .2 Pounds One Day on Keep Trim

I lost .2 pounds yesterday on keep trim eating, and now weigh 168.8! In this picture I am tossing all the Christmas present wrapping paper while wearing Mom's hand-me-down pink shirt and the slippers she sent me. You can see our new cross stitch decoration hanging on the TV cabinet over my head.

All the size 12 hand-me-downs that Mom sent fit well! I now have 8 pair of pants that fit. Some of them are too cool for our winter weather here, though. It's still nice to have them! I also have 6 size 10 hand-me-downs waiting in the closet until I can fit in them.

I still have a bit of my cold, but it is getting better. My right heel is a bit sore from being too "gung ho" on the stair step exercise machine yesterday. I figured out how to strap my Kindle to the front of it so I could listen to it read me a book while I exercised. Consequently, I exercised for 12 minutes straight. This is about 6 times as long as I usually stay on the stair stepper. I will have to be more careful not to pull my Achilles' Tendon when I do this. It's a great way to exercise, though, especially when I am sick and don't want to go out in the snow.

We have two inches of fresh snow this morning. It looks beautiful, but I hope it melts before we have to drive to Scott's doctor appointment tomorrow morning.

Here is what I ate yesterday and lost .2 pounds on keep trim eating:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee
1 can Campbell's Select Harvest Healthy Choice Italian Style Wedding Soup, Diet Coke
1 hamburger patty, 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, 1 cup steamed broccoli, lots of water
Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk

169.0 Keep Trim Day 11

It must be Christmas magic. I lost a pound yesterday even though the neighbor gave us a dozen frosted Christmas cookies just when I was relieved we had finished eating the ones I made! He says he made 1,000 of these and passed them out to the neighborhood.

He wants us to call him if we have a birthday and want a cake decorated. I won't be doing that, but here is my free advertisement for his work. It is beautiful! Reminds me of Peeta from "The Hunger Games" series of books by Suzanne Collins.

Maybe fighting off this cold helped me lose my pound yesterday. I sure didn't consciously fight very hard. I fell asleep at 6pm, woke up for an hour at midnight, and then slept till 7 am!

Up until I fell asleep, I was having lots of fun making my new Amazon Kindle Keyboard 3G read to me! It read Ezekiel 29 to me and then most of Jane Austen's novel, "Persuasion."

At first I sampled one of the Audible Books, because I read they have better inflection. I much prefer the normal books that have "text-to-speech" enabled. That way, I can read the words myself as the Kindle reads them aloud. With the Audible books, the words do not appear on the screen. I find I comprehend better if I both hear and see the words, especially while reading my Bible. I paid $6 for the electronic Bible I loaded on my Kindle. All of Jane Austen's novels have passed out of copyright and are free. (Author's life plus 75 years)

Here is all the junk I ate yesterday and still lost a pound through Christmas magic, even without walking:

Small bowl of  Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee
1 brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tart
4 frosted sugar Christmas cookies
1 can Campbell's Healthy Request Chunky Old Fashioned Beef Soup (1 can = 2 servings)
Another brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tart
Leftover baked chicken, onions and carrots, caffeine-free tea
2 more frosted sugar Christmas cookies

170.0 Merry Christmas!

My keep-trim goal is 171.4 and today I weigh 170.0. I am 1.4 pounds heavier than yesterday. I did not walk the dogs yesterday, and that is probably most of why I gained weight.

Yesterday afternoon I came down with a cold from being out in the 20 degree weather all day Friday on that theater assignment. My nose is runny and I am sneezing. I had to cancel my Christmas singing at both churches. This morning I awoke with a scratchy throat. I am drinking hot coffee and that feels great on my throat.

All our Christmas cookies are gone, and the Almond Roca Butter Crunch Cookie Bars, yay! They were fun while they lasted and I am really happy and amazed that I could incorporate them into my diet and not blow it! A planned cheat on my diet rules. No guilt.

We received some Christmas money in the mail Thursday, so yesterday we went shopping at Best Buy! We got an eInk eReader: the Amazon Kindle Keyboard 3G with special offers. Here it is in this picture with a special offer for that Tattoo movie in my theater assignment. I downloaded all my favorite Jane Austen novels on it for free. They are so old they are out of copyright. We also got a Sony Tablet.

It had started snowing when we went out to the car, and it was a little slippery driving home. I was driving and I got a nice shot of adrenaline. We figure if we had stayed in the store 5 more minutes we would not have made it home. Only Scott knows how to put the chains on the tires, and he can't right now with his injured arm. All this happened before I started sniffling and sneezing yesterday.

Here is what I ate yesterday:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

the last chocolate from my Advent calendar

Half a dinner plate of combo pizza from Costco, Diet Coke

1 brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tart, caffeine-free tea

Baked chicken, onions and carrots, caffeine-free tea

Another brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tart

168.6 Lost 1.6 Pounds in One Day

I lost 1.6 pounds yesterday on keep trim eating! It turns out the Mexican food at The Green Onion (a subsidiary of Carl's Junior) is not nearly so full of sodium as Qdoba's food (a subsidiary of Jack in the Box). I had two tasty chicken enchiladas yesterday, but no sodium bloat!

Yesterday I was working at a top secret job and saw "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." It would have been a decent murder mystery if they just stuck with Daniel Craig's parts and left out the dragon girl. As it was, she got raped and took revenge. I could have done without those parts. They made the movie unnecessarily long, too -- two and a half hours.

It was cold in the theater, and as you pointed out Mom, keeping warm probably helped me burn off some extra calories. I just hope I don't get sick. I did go out to my car and crank up the heater in between showtimes. I only watched the whole movie once. Other than that, I only had to stay for the first half hour.

I walked the dogs their mile in the park before I left for the theater. Here is what I ate yesterday and lost 1.6 pounds:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee
December 23 chocolate from my Advent calendar and December 22 from Scott's
1 200 calorie Almond Roca Butter Crunch Cookie Bar
1 cup raw carrots, 2 tablespoons Parmesan spinach dip, Diet Coke
1 cup raw carrots as a theater snack
2 chicken and cheese enchiladas at The Green Onion ($2.16, a third of a dinner plate)

170.2 Keep Trim Day 8

I did a perfect job keeping the weight off yesterday and stayed at 170.2. I walked a mile. Here is what I ate:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries, and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee
December 22 chocolate from my Advent calendar
raw carrots and Parmesan spinach dip, Diet Coke
Leftover baked chicken, onion and carrots, caffeine-free tea
1 Hostess Fruit Pie, apple flavor

170.2 Keep Trim Day 7

Here is a picture of the Parmesan spinach dip I often have for lunch, with raw carrots. We get both at Costco. The Parmesan spinach dip is in the deli section next to the dairy refrigerator. It costs about $6 for 30 ounces. It has sort of high sodium, so now I limit a meal to one serving of this dip, which is 2 tablespoons, and then fill up on carrots.

I keep a small plastic container in the door of my refrigerator, just for packing this dip in my lunch. I also keep a small baggie in my crisper next to the larger baggie that these baby carrots come in, at Costco.

"Carrots and Parmesan spinach dip" is such an easy lunch to pack! I throw the small container of dip and the baggie of carrots in my lunch bag, top with an ice packet, throw in some bottles of water, and I'm done. My lunch is packed in less than a minute.

For the first time in my life, I went door to door Christmas caroling last night! I went with my Bible study group, which includes the elder pastor. We brought the young couple's kids along in a wagon. We handed out flyers inviting the neighbors to our Bible study and to our church for Christmas services. It was really fun and the neighbors really enjoyed it. Many of them gave us cookies. The young couple served cookies and hot apple cider when we returned to their home afterward to warm up. All those cookies did me in, hehe! Apparently the cookie diet only goes so far. I loved it, though.

I'm up 1.2 pounds to 170.2, but that is OK. This keep trim eating period's maintenance weight is 171.4. Success means finishing the keep trim period at or below 171.4. So far, so good! I walked more than 2 miles yesterday. My size 12 corduroy pants are getting loose.

Here is all I ate yesterday:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee
December 21 chocolate from my Advent calendar
4 decorated sugar Christmas cookies
(2 mile walk)
2 cups steamed broccoli with 1/3 cup grated Mexican Blend cheese melted over it, Diet Coke
4 decorated sugar Christmas cookies
1 Almond Roca Butter Crunch Cookie Bar
(Shopping at 2 big box stores)
Leftover baked chicken, onion and carrots, caffeine-free tea
2 decorated sugar Christmas cookies
(over to my friends' to get ready for carolling)
3 chocolate chip cookies
(caroling out in the freezing night for an hour)
2 cups hot apple cider and one chocolate chip cookie

No more parties until Saturday and Sunday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Today we take Scott to the orthopedist. Tomorrow I have a theater assignment for the movie "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

169.0 Lost 1.4 Pounds in One Day Eating Cookies

I lost 1.4 pounds yesterday and now weigh 169.0! I cheated a bunch, too: I lost count at 12 decorated sugar Christmas cookies. Well, I also walked two miles yesterday and did about 5 minutes on the stair step exercise machine, if you take them all together.

No, I did not expect to lose weight by eating more than 12 cookies. It was a planned cheat on my diet during keep trim eating. I was indulging.

But now that I see this result, I remember that lately, on low-carbohydrate message boards, I have heard people say they lose more when they eat more, after a long period of eating less.

I don't pretend to understand the science of it. I only know I ate more than a dozen sugar cookies made with butter and decorated with more sugar yesterday -- and lost 1.4 pounds.

I did not eat anything in the time period that started two hours before I went to bed. I walked a mile before lunch and then another mile an hour after lunch. I have read various theories on how this timing matters or doesn't matter. I am just adding this data to my record in case it might be significant.

Here is all I ate yesterday, and lost 1.4 pounds on keep trim eating:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

December 20 chocolate from my Advent calendar

1 slice of Christmas bread

5 decorated Christmas sugar cookies

(1 mile walk)

2 cups steamed broccoli with 1/3 cup grated Mexican Blend cheese melted over it in the microwave,
Diet Coke

5 decorated sugar Christmas cookies

(1 mile walk)

Baked chicken, onion and carrots, caffeine-free tea

At least 2 more decorated sugar Christmas cookies

171.4 Keep Trim Day 5

I did it! I stayed at 171.4! Keeping the weight off is getting easier and easier, praise God! Here is a picture Scott took of me yesterday, wearing one of his extra large sweaters. I thought it looked Christmasy until I saw the sniper movie poster behind me, hehe!

A couple from our smaller church invited us to a New Year's Eve party at their home, near ours! It is perfect for us: she said to bring our favorite potluck dish and our favorite board game. I only hope Scott feels well enough to come with me, but I got his blessing to go without him, if he doesn't. I am so looking forward to it!

I am extending this keep trim eating period two days, to accommodate the New Year's Eve party. The diet rules only say not to stay on the diet longer than two weeks. The rules don't say anything about not staying on keep trim eating longer than two weeks. It can't, because the idea is after you are at your target weight you stay on keep trim eating indefinitely.

Here is what I ate yesterday and maintained my weight at 171.4:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

December 18 and 19 chocolates from my Advent calendar

1 slice of German Christmas bread

Three cups of steamed broccoli with 1/2 cup grated cheese melted over it, Diet Coke

Half a dinner plate of combination pizza from Cosco's snack bar

Lots of water

three decorated Christmas sugar cookies

171.4 Keep Trim Day 4

Yay! I lost .4 pounds yesterday and I am back to my keep-trim maintenance weight of 171.4! I walked one and a third miles with the dogs in the almost snow. I did a few spurts on the stair step exercise machine.

Last night we had a recital at the smaller church we go to. We had our sister church over and both choirs sang. I was in our choir and I had lots of fun singing. Afterward, we served the Christmas cookies that all the ladies in our church had brought.

I brought most of those Almond Roca Butter Crunch Cookie Bars and a dozen decorated sugar cookies. At first, I got away with not eating anything. I just made myself a cup of Good Earth Tea (which I also brought) and walked around socializing.

But then a lady from our church asked if I had tried her Christmas bread. I had to admit I had not yet tried it. She saw that I tried some and then she put three more slices in my Tupperware to take home! Here are the two remaining slices, in this picture. I had one slice after breakfast just now. She has a heavy German accent, and she says this is German Christmas bread. It has raisins, cranberries and small chocolate pieces in it. It is light and quite tasty.

Here is what I ate yesterday and managed to lose .4 pounds to get back down to my keep-trim maintenance weight of 171.4:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

Half a dinner plate of ham, 1 cup steamed carrots, Diet Coke

Hamburger patty, 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, 2 cups steamed broccoli, caffeine-free tea

1 slice of German Christmas bread

171.8 Keep Trim Day 3 of 14

I maintained my weight perfectly yesterday and still weigh 171.8. In other words, I am keeping the weight off!

Here is a picture of the Almond Roca Butter Crunch Bars I made Friday and am bringing to this evening's church recital reception. The bottom layer is cookie dough and butter, baked 16 minutes. The next layer is homemade butterscotch. The top layer is crumbled almond Roca. They are 200 calories per bar! I ate two of these on Friday, and I think that is why I gained .4 pounds on Friday.

I walked my mile yesterday with the dogs and then Scott came out with me for a short walk down the alley and back. It was the first time he ventured out of the house since he broke his arm. He says he might come to church with me this morning.

I had planned on indulging in a maple bar this morning at church, but alas the .4 pounds did not come off yesterday as I thought it would. No cookies or treats for me until it does come off.

Here is what I ate yesterday and maintained my weight at 171.8:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

December 17 chocolate from my Advent calendar

1 cup raw carrot sticks, 2 tablespoons parmesan spinach dip, Diet Coke

Half a dinner plate of Costco combo pizza, black cherry seltzer water

Lots of water

171.8 Keep Trim Day 2 of 14

We baked Christmas cookies yesterday! We made traditional decorated sugar cookies and Almond Roca Butter Crunch Cookie Bars. I ate a bunch of them and am happy -- and I gained .4 pounds which I will lose today.

I am going to bring most of the Almond Roca Butter Crunch Cookie Bars to a church function this Sunday. They are ridiculously good but at 200 calories per serving they are too rich for my blood!

I walked my mile with the dogs in the semi snow. There is snow leftover on the ground in the baseball diamond of the park. It hasn't melted there. There are also chunks of ice in the grass. It is colder in the park than it is on the street.

Here is what I ate yesterday, the first keep trim day of this cycle, and gained .4 pounds:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

The December 15 chocolate from my Advent calendar

A combo slice of pizza at Costco, with Tropicana light lemonaid

Leftover Chicken and Onion, caffeine-free tea

2 Almond Roca Butter Crunch Cookie Bars, 2 decorated sugar cookies

171.4 Keep Trim Day 1 of 14

I stayed at 171.4 from yesterday to today, and this is my maintenance weight for this 14 day keep trim eating period. It is OK if I go up a pound or two, so long as I go right back down. Keep trim eating is about keeping the weight off.

Scott took this picture of me a few minutes ago. I am laying out the butter to get soft so we can bake Christmas cookies! I took myself off assignments for today, so Christmas break has begun!

Shopping at thrift stores, I can afford to reward myself with clothes, for staying on my diet. In this picture I am wearing size 12 corduroy pants that I bought at the Salvation Army Thrift Store last week. Every month I am in a new size, so these second hand clothing stores are a Godsend for me. I can't afford new clothes every month! It would also be such a waste to buy new clothes one month and then discard them the next. I only buy gently used items. It honestly feels like getting new clothes.

I was going to buy all new clothes once I reached my goal weight of 145, but now I think I might just continue to shop at used clothing stores. As my husband pointed out, I won't feel as guilty if I do gain back weight and can no longer fit into my thrift store clothes. I don't think that will happen, but it is a good consideration. Also though, the thrift stores employ local people, reuse resources and contribute to worthy causes.

I walked more than a mile yesterday. Here is what I ate:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

December 15 chocolate from my Advent calendar

1 cup raw carrot sticks, 2 tablespoons Parmesan spinach dip, Diet Coke

Chicken and Onion with baked carrots, caffeine-free tea

1 pizza snack

171.4 Diet Day 14 of 14

No fair! I am finally off my weight loss plateau, but this is the last diet day for this cycle and I only lost .6 pounds yesterday.

This is a picture Scott took of me just now, wearing one of my new size medium shirts. I am substitute teaching computer assisted drafting for a half day today. I am wearing this burgundy shirt with light grey corduroy pants. I just got called to finish the day in the drama class, too!

It snowed again last night and everything is dusted in white. It is very pretty. It should not affect the roads for driving, not enough for that.

Tomorrow is the last day of school before Christmas break starts next week! Two weeks of carefree living without worrying if there might be a call at 5:30 am to come in to work!

We have decided to plan on baking our Christmas cookies on Saturday, in case I get called in to work tomorrow. I am in a recital Sunday evening at the smaller of the two churches we belong to right now. Everyone is bringing Christmas cookies to share with the members of our sister church, who are coming to see our Christmas recital.

Here is what I ate yesterday and finally lost .6 pounds after a three-day weight loss plateau:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

Cheat: December 14 chocolate from my Advent calendar

3 cups of steamed broccoli with 1/2 cup grated cheese melted over it in the microwave for 25 seconds, Diet Coke

Cheats: Samples at Costco: Applet, cube of Irish cheese, half a mozzarella stick, bite of taquito

Salmon patty, 8 steamed Brussels sprouts, black cherry seltzer water

172.0 Diet Day 13 of 14

I'm still on this weight loss plateau and weigh 172.0. I walked two miles yesterday. There is snow on the ground this morning, so I took myself off substitute teaching assignments. Scott can't put the chains on the tires with his broken arm, and I don't feel confident to do it properly.

I do have a half day substitute teaching assignment for tomorrow already. The week before Christmas break is the second-most difficult week to substitute. The week before summer is the most difficult. My assignment for tomorrow is in an elective, computer assisted drafting, so it should be fun and easy.

Here is what I ate yesterday and only managed to keep the weight off, not lose any weight, even with walking two miles:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

December 13 chocolate from my Advent calendar

3 cups steamed broccoli with 1/2 cup grated cheese melted over it, Diet Coke

Hamburger patty, 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, 1 cup steamed carrot sticks, caffeine-free tea

lots of water

172.0 Too Fat To Wear Wedding Ring

My wedding ring and engagement ring almost fit. That was the saddest thing about my weight gain: not being able to wear the wedding ring Scott put on me when we got married. I have made do with other rings, but it is not the same. Soon I will be able to wear my "real" wedding ring, and on special occasions I will be able to get my engagement ring on. (Updated later with a photo of my wedding ring on!)

Another weight loss plateau: I walked more than a mile yesterday and only cheated a tiny bit, yet I remain at 172.0.

Below is a picture Scott took a few days ago, of me in one of the T shirts he used to wear on the submarine. He wasn't in the food service division, but he had to fill in there sometimes. Those of you who knew Scott then know how tiny skinny he was. Look, I fit in these T shirts! I wear them around the house all the time now. They are the only T shirts I have that are not huge on me.

Even though I am at a weight loss plateau, I can tell the diet is having an effect. My weight is redistributing itself in good ways. The pants I bought just a few days ago are fitting better in all the right places. They do say muscle weighs more than fat.

Here is all I ate yesterday and only managed to keep the weight off, not lose, even walking more than a mile:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee  
December 12 chocolate from my Advent calendar (cheat)
1 cup raw carrot sticks, 2 tablespoons Parmesan spinach dip, Diet Coke  
1 Tator Tot (cheat -- the lunch lady brought these out for the table where I was sitting with all the custodians!)
Leftover Chicken and Onion with carrots, caffeine-free tea

Edited months later to Add:

It feels like a night and day difference, wearing a real wedding ring instead of just whichever ring I had in my jewelry box that fit the ring finger on my left hand. I substitute teach, and a student even asked me how long I had been married, when I first showed up with a real wedding ring on my finger. He looked kind of surprised and puzzled when I told him I have been married 17 years. True, the ring is not the marriage, but it sure is a powerful image that tells people I am married.

I was too fat to wear my wedding ring for ten years -- so long that I lost it. I had to buy another one because I could not remember where I put it. The good news is that my new wedding ring is smaller than my original ring was! I got down to my goal weight of 145 in early march of 2012 and a month later I am still keeping the weight off.

I used to be too embarrassed to tell people why I took my wedding ring off. Now I am almost 50 years old and heck with being embarrassed. I bet I am not the only one who had to take a wedding ring off because of weight gain. If you have had to take yours off, keep track of it! Don't lose it. I am not going to name any specific place for you to put it because thieves read the Internet, too. Just keep a record of where you put it. Don't lose it! Losing my wedding ring is not as sad as being too fat to wear it, but it comes close.

My husband is much more sentimental that I am. He was really upset that I lost my ring. He was even happier than I was when I finally got down to my goal weight so that it made sense to buy a new one, though!

172.0 Diet Day 11 of 14

I lost .4 pounds yesterday and weigh 172 even today! I walked my mile with the dogs first thing after finishing this blog yesterday. I knew I had a busy day and I wouldn't walk when I got home.

Yesterday I helped our pastor lead all the songs at church! It was so fun and I felt overjoyed to be of service. He is from Appalachia and a few of the Christmas carols he picked I hadn't ever heard before he sent them to me on YouTube: “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” and “One Small Child.” They are both beautiful songs and I am glad I learned them.

After that service I had an errand in town, and then I was due at the other church we are attending, for Christmas choir practice! That went well. We have two performances coming up there: one Sunday Dec 18 at 6 pm and the other on Christmas Eve.

I wore a size 12 outfit that Mom had mailed to me from her vast store of clothes that are too big for her. I also wore the soft white scarf she brougt me from her travels a few years ago. I got many compliments on it! I'm wearing these slacks again today to substitute teach in high school chemistry. They are a loose size 12, and soon they will be too big!

Here is what I ate yesterday and still managed to lose .4 pounds:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

December 11 chocolate from my Advent calendar

1 cup raw carrot sticks, 2 tablespoons parmesan spinach dip, Diet Coke

Chicken and Onion with carrots, caffeine free tea

Lots of water

172.4 Comfy Size 12!

I lost .4 pounds yesterday and now weigh 172.4. I walked my mile. I spent $15 at the Salvation Army Thrift Store and now have two warm size 12 pairs of corduroy pants and two size medium pairs of sweat pants -- one with the US Marines logo on it, Hoo Yeah!

Shopping is so fun now that I am a common size. It used to be I would slink into the store and hope to find one or two things that fit. Yesterday I found two whole racks of size 12 and could pick and choose only the things I liked that fit.

I am still 27.4 pounds away from my goal weight of 145, so I only bought 4 size 12 items. When I weigh 145 I will be at least a size 10, maybe even a size 8. Either way, that is a size medium! I have already bought two size medium pajamas and two size medium sweatpants. The pajamas are comfortable. The sweats are snug right now.

I want to emphasize that looks and clothes are not why I am losing this weight. Looks and clothes are just an extra added benefit. (A really fun one, though!)

I am losing this weight for my health. I had terrible headaches when I weighed 240. Mom says it was probably from high blood pressure. How scary is that? I have not had a headache since June! Also, my ankles used to hurt if I stood up for more than a few minutes, let alone walked. That was a problem whenever I had a substitute teaching assignment. Now, I can stand all day and I get tired but I don't ache. I am sure walking a mile every day is helping to build up my strength at the same time that dieting is helping to reduce my weight.

Here is what I ate yesterday and managed to lose .4 pounds, along with walking a mile:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

December 10 chocolate from my Advent calendar

1 salmon patty, 1 cup raw carrot sticks, Diet Coke

3 cups steamed broccoli, 1/2 cup grated Mexican Blend cheese melted over the broccoli

2 quarts of Spokane River water (The water here is the best I have ever tasted.)

172.8 Lost .6 Pounds in One Day

Back down to 172.8! Yay, I lost .6 pounds yesterday! Now that this latest sodium crisis is over, I want to lose down to 169 before this diet period is over! I really should be at 169 after five more days on the diet. It would be great to add a 169 photo to my photo gallery for December!

I walked two miles yesterday, in two separate walks. The dogs were confused at first when I took them out a second time, but they soon became elated. I let one chase a squirrel in the park. It was the most excitement he had seen in months. I am also continuing to get on the stair step exercise machine whenever I get my urges to run in the house. For those who don't know me, these urges come when I get excited about something I have just heard, read, written or said.

I did some more activity around the house, too. We put up our Christmas tree and decorated it. We didn't put the lights on it. Scott couldn't help at all with his broken right arm and the lights were more of a challenge than I wanted to take on. But the tree is assembled and hung with all our unique ornaments from friends and loved ones. We are really glad we put it up. Getting up and out of my chair every hour to do something around the house is really helping me to build exercise into my day without it seeming like exercise.

Here is what I ate yesterday and lost .6 pounds in one day:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

December 9 chocolate off my Advent calendar

Hamburger patty, 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, 2 cups steamed broccoli, Diet Coke

Half a portion of leftover Chicken and Onion with carrots too, 7 steamed Brussels sprouts

Lots of water!

I have decided to drink water in the evenings, instead of caffeine-free diet soda or seltzer water. We'll see how well I do with that. It should be cheaper, in addition to being healthier. What decided me was when I realized my berry seltzer water smells like cough syrup. Nauseating!

173.4 Diet Day 8 of 14

Gggrrr! I stuck to the diet yesterday and watched my sodium and walked my mile and I GAINED .2 pounds! What is up with that? Well, I did cheat a little, eating my Advent chocolate and drinking a glass of soy milk before bed. That should not have been enough for me to gain, though?

I guess this is another weight loss plateau. Maybe it was brought on by the sodium in the Qdoba dinner I had the other day. I found some reduced-sodium canned soup at Winco, by Campbell's. It has 410 mg sodium per serving and there are two servings in a can. I bought one of each of the 6 that looked good. Scott and I can try them and then stock up on the ones we like. We are trying to stock up canned food for emergencies, but I didn't want to have a bunch of sodium that I didn't want to eat.

Here is what I ate yesterday and managed to gain .2 pounds without even having much of anything fun:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup strawberries (OK, those are fun!), 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

December 8 chocolate from my Advent calendar (OK, more fun!)

Leftover Chicken and Onion, Diet Coke

Hamburger patty, 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, 9 steamed Brussels sprouts, berry seltzer water (0 calories, 0 sodium, 0 caffeine, 0 sweetener)

1 cup of soy milk before bed (This may be what did me in. I have not been taking any calories two hours before bed. My stomach was unsettled, though, and this sounded so good. Plus, Mom has been after me to eat more calcium.)

173.2 Diet Day 7 of 14

I ate Qdoba fast food for dinner last night and gained .4 pounds of water weight from all the sodium Qdoba puts in their food. I only ate 1/3 of their meal! There was enough salt in 1/3 of a Qdoba meal for me to retain .4 pounds of water weight! Unbelievable!

Qdoba bills itself as a healthy fast food place. They grill all their meat so it is low in fat. A friend complained about how salty the food was, one of the first times I ate at Qdoba. I had only been watching my weight a few weeks and my taste buds had not yet adjusted to a low sodium diet. She was right, though! Qdoba, there is no sense in billing yourself as a healthy fast food place when you put all this sodium in your food.

I walked my mile yesterday. Here is what I ate:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup soy milk, 1 cup strawberries, black unsweetened coffee

The December 7 chocolate from my Advent calendar

Chicken and Onion with baked carrots, Diet Coke

1/3 of a naked Pork Ancho BBQ Burrito from Qdoba, no sour cream, no cheese, 2 cups of steamed broccoli, black cherry seltzer water

172.8 Lost 1.6 Pounds in One Day

I lost 1.6 pounds yesterday, and now I weigh 172.8. I walked my mile. Here is what I ate:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

The December 5 and 6 chocolates from my Advent calendar

1 cup raw carrots, 2 tablespoons Parmesan spinach dip, Diet Coke

1 salmon patty, 1 cup steamed broccoli, black cherry seltzer water

 Edited Later to Add:

I am now done with my diet and am maintaining my new weight of 145. In all, I lost 95 pounds!

Here are before and after photos. On the left you see me and my husband on the 4th of July in 2011. On the right here we are Easter 2012. On the left, I weighed 220 or so. On the right I weigh 148 or so.

In all, it took me 10 months to lose those 95 pounds. I dieted for two weeks and then took two weeks just keeping the weight off and giving my body a chance to get out of survival mode.

It took me 10 years to gain the weight, so getting the weight off in 10 months was not too bad at all. In addition to changing what I ate, I also had to change the amount of exercise I got every day. I previously did not move around much at all. I sat in front of the computer working all day and read or watched movies all evening. Since last May when I decided to lose those 95 pounds, I have at least walked a mile five days of every week. Some days I walk two or three miles.

I also have exercise equipment in my home -- a stair step exercise machine and a Total Gym. My strategy is to use these during the commercials whenever I watch TV.

I have found that eating prepared foods with too much sodium in them gains me more weight even than eating cookies, pie, and cake gains me. Those are my weaknesses. To avoid eating too much sodium (salt), I cook from scratch half the time now. The other half of my meals, I shop for prepared foods that are low in sodium. I have to read all the food labels, because their idea of low in sodium is not the same as mine. I have to keep my total sodium under 1,000 mg for the day.

174.4 Lost .6 Pounds Cause I Packed a Snack

I lost .6 pounds yesterday! We had to wait through our usual dinner time at the hospital after the x-rays were taken and before our consultation with the doctor. I was so glad I thought to bring the little baggie of carrots I had packed for my lunch. It kept both of us from buying high-calorie snacks from the vending machines. I made us dinner when we got home and we ate at 8pm, 3 hours later than we usually eat.


 It was an eventful day. Scott finally agreed to go see a doctor about his jammed elbow. The x-rays showed a chip fracture. There is really nothing they can do about it, but knowing it is a fracture is reinforcing for him that he needs to take it easy on that arm. The doctor prescribed 800mg Ibuprofen every 8 hours, to take down the inflammation. He says Scott can take that on top of the acetaminophen he is taking for pain.

I walked a mile in the halls during the regular drama teacher's preparation period. Here is what I ate yesterday and lost .6 pounds:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

1 cup raw carrots, 2 tablespoons Parmesan spinach dip, Diet Coke

1 cup raw carrots as a snack while held up in the hospital waiting room

1/3 pound hamburger patty, 2 cups steamed broccoli, black cherry seltzer (0 sodium / 0 calories)

I forgot to eat the chocolate from my Advent calendar yesterday, but I ate it this morning!

175.0 Diet Day 4 of 14

I weigh 175 today, so I lost .4 pounds yesterday. I walked my mile. Here is what I ate:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup soy milk, 1 cup strawberries, black unsweetened coffee

leftover Chicken and Onion with carrots, Diet Coke

December 4 chocolate from my Advent calendar, caffeine-free tea

1 salmon patty, 1 cup of raw carrot sticks, caffeine-free diet soda

175.4 Lost 1.3 Pounds Yesterday

I am definitely off my weight loss plateau! I lost 1.3 pounds yesterday. Now, when I say I need to lose 30 pounds to get to my goal of 145, it doesn't sound nearly so daunting as it did when I needed to lose 95! Thank you all so much for all the great support and advice.

I looked at Walmart for salt-free canned soups. There were none to be found there. Where do you get yours? We are stocking up for emergencies as well, and I would just as soon stock up on salt free canned goods. Do they make salt-free canned tuna and chicken as well?

I did walk my mile yesterday. Here is what I ate and still lost 1.3 pounds:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

1 salmon patty, 1 cup cooked carrots, Diet Coke

Chicken and Onion with carrots as well, caffeine-free diet soda

My December 3 chocolate from my Advent calendar, caffeine-free tea

Edited later to Add:

I did later find some reduced sodium canned and frozen dinners at Walmart. The cans were Healthy Request soups by Campbells. The frozen dinners were by Healthy Choice.

176.7 Lost .9 Pounds Yesterday

I lost .9 pounds yesterday. I walked my mile. I substitute taught yesterday. Here is what I ate:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

1 cup raw carrot sticks, 2 tablespoons Parmesan spinach dip, Diet Coke

My December 2 chocolate from my Advent calendar

Half a dinner plate of ham steak, half a dinner plate of steamed carrots

Caffeine-free tea

177.6 Diet Day 1 of 14

I lost .2 pounds yesterday, on my last keep-trim day for this round. I walked my mile yesterday. Here is what I ate:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup soy milk, 1 cup strawberries, black unsweetened coffee

A whole Hostess apple fruit pie

My December 1 chocolate from my Advent calendar

1 cup raw carrot sticks, 2 tablespoons spinach / artechoke / garlic / parmesan dip, Diet Coke

1/4 pound hamburger patty, 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, 1 cup cooked carrots, caffeine-free tea

1 brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tart

177.8 Lost 1.6 Pounds Yesterday

Eating salt gains me more weight than eating sugar, it seems like sometimes. I took it easy on the sodium yesterday, but ate the sugar, flour and fat I craved. Look, I lost 1.6 pounds. It was all water weight, of course, but sheesh! I will definitely be getting some of those low-sodium canned soups and frozen dinners. Thank you for the tip!

Some people think eating salt is good for you during hot weather. I learned otherwise in a Human Biology class, way back at Santa Monica College in 1985. Eating salt makes the human body need more water. This is because sodium is an electrolyte. Together with potassium, sodium conducts electricity along your nerve axons. At the time I took this class, the mechanism which balances sodium and potassium in the nerve cells was not entirely understood. It was nicknamed, "The sodium potassium pump." Anyway, eating salt (sodium chloride) makes you need more water.

I walked two miles yesterday. Here is what I ate and still lost 1.6 pounds:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

Half a Hostess apple fruit pie (Can you tell I love these?)

1 cup raw carrot sticks, 2 tablespoons Parmesan spinach dip, Diet Coke

1 slice American cheese

Leftover Chicken and Onion with baked carrots, caffeine-free diet soda