146.0 Why I Love Spokane, Washington

I paid just $9.89 for this pie-shop pie yesterday, complete with this darling cloth bag to carry it home in. Not having asked the price when I ordered, I about died of apprehension when I saw the waitress pulling out this cloth bag.

"Oh no!" I thought, "It's going to be $25.00!"

I grew up in Southern California. I know I keep harping on that, but if you had grown up there, too (or in Manhattan, London, or Tokyo), you would understand why I do keep bringing that up. The minimum it would cost you to take a pie home in a cute cloth sack like this in Pacific Palisades where I went to high school is $25.00. You might even pay as much as $50.00 for it.  

It was the 4th of July. I had promised myself good apple pie for the holiday. I had lost three pounds ahead of time so that I could enjoy my pie. I wasn't leaving that pie shop without my pie. I made a split-second decision to just suck it up and pay the $25.00.

I was sort of defeated inside, but resigned to paying the $25.00. When she said it was $9.89, I was elated! But that is one of the reasons why I love Spokane, Washington. Prices are reasonable here on everything from pie to electricity. I also love the pine trees, the Spokane River, the deer, the parks, the wholesome high-school students I get to substitute teach, and all the other friendly people.

Look, I know I could have gotten a pie for $5.99 at Costco or maybe even cheaper at Wal-mart. But Shari's Cafe and Pie makes the best pie in Spokane. I have not tried all the pie here, but I talk to people who have, and they assure me this is so. Part of my lifestyle change from fat person to thin person is that treats with flour in them are only for special occasions. My treats are going to be the best of the best!

I lost .4 pounds yesterday. I walked about 5 miles, between taking our dogs to our local park on my own in the morning, walking up and down our street with Scott and the dogs in the afternoon, and walking around in Riverfront Park before we watched the fireworks. Here is what I ate:

Sliced small Gala apple candied with 2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter and 36 dark chocolate chips
El Monterey bean and cheese burrito with salsa
Leftover baked chicken, carrots and red bell pepper
1/4 of a Shari's apple pie
Kid's chocolate soft-serve ice-cream cone at the Carousel Cafe in Riverfront Park

148.8 Rocky Rococo Pizza and Pasta

We celebrated my birthday last night by going downtown to walk around and have dinner. We wound up at Rocky Rococo Pizza and Pasta. It was good, and only cost $14 for the two of us! We each got a slice of Sal's Combo. I got a one-trip salad bar, and Scott got these yummy breadsticks that he agreed to share. The food tasted exceptionally good, I must say. It is not a table service place, though. You order at the counter and then they bring the food to you when it is done.

We were trying to go to Cyrus O'Leary's, next door, but it is gone. The employees at Rocky Rococo said the Cyrus owners sold everything and closed about six months ago.

I guess Scott and I aren't the only ones who only go out to dinner on birthdays, anniversaries and holidays, anymore. Others must be doing the same, because Cyrus O'Leary's was really good. It was hopping with business the one time we went there. Of course, that was last 4th of July. Restaurants probably can't survive on customers only coming on holidays and birthdays. It is sad.

Oh! yesterday was also the last day of school! School's out for summer! Woo hoo!

I weigh exactly 148.8 for the fifth day in a row. Yesterday was my forth zero gain day in a row! I walked three times: a mile in the morning with both dogs, a mile in the afternoon with Scott and the dogs, and about a mile in the evening, around downtown Spokane. Here is what I ate yesterday:

Small bowl of Special K and organic soy milk
Sliced Fuji apple candied with 4 tablespoons of chunky peanut butter and 36 dark chocolate chips
Bean and cheese burrito with salsa
Handful of corn tortilla chips with queso
Slice of Sal's combo pizza at Rocky Rococo with small salad, half an order of breadsticks, and three servings of marinara sauce
Kid-sized mint brownie shake at Red Robin

146.6 I don't feel well.

Why do we say, "I don't feel well" or "She is not well"? I know, I know: "well" is the adverbial form of "good," and "feel" is a verb. Strict grammatical rules require us to modify the verb 'feel' with an adverb, 'well,' rather than an adjective such as 'good.'

However, these grammatical rules are flawed. I am not commenting on my capacity to feel. That is, unfortunately, quite unhindered. No, I am commenting on my health. My natural expression of poor health would be, "I don't feel good," and Mom, that is how I am going to say it from now on. Sorry, but Webster's dictionary agrees with me.

I have the first headache I have had in six months or so. I ate breakfast and drank lots of water and am sipping coffee in an attempt to rid myself of the headache.

Scott took this picture of me walking Oreo last week when it was sunny. Right now it is pouring rain. Last week, I felt quite good.

I gained .6 pounds yesterday. Yes, it is time to stop gaining. The weekend is over, so that is the plan. We went to a double birthday party yesterday. Our friend and his son have birthdays a few days apart. There was a bounce house for the kids. Scott and I both tried it, and it was really fun! In addition to bouncing for a few minutes, I walked both dogs half a mile in the park. Here is everything I ate yesterday:

Small green apple with peanut butter and bittersweet chocolate chips
Three donuts at church fellowship -- two were custard filled
Grilled hamburger on a bun with mayo and lettuce, handful of corn chips with cheese sauce and salsa, two grilled asparagus spears, about two cups of cut up strawberries, piece of birthday cake

P.S. The coffee is working! I feel better! No, this does not mean my capacity to feel has increased. I still feel just as well as I always have. No, now I am approaching feeling good, rather than feeling bad. Do not even get me started on feeling badly. Who feels badly? Only uncoordinated people.

147.2 "New" Easter Dress

I indulged in Easter chocolate, cupcakes, donuts, and apple pie. I am not sorry! No regrets! Those were part of a planned cheat on my diet, and I loved every bit of them. The two pounds I gained will come off by Friday.

This is how Scott and I dressed for Resurrection Day service at Valley View Baptist Church Spokane yesterday. Now that I have a nice figure again, I wear my (costume) jewelry again. Look Mom, I finally found a dress that this dragonfly pin looks right at home on!

I bought this "new" Easter dress about a month ago at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. It cost me about $4. I love it! I decided to try and sell my old size 18 silk Easter dress at our first garage sale this summer. These darker colors look better on me than those pastels did.

We were going to walk the dogs more than three miles round trip to Lowe's yesterday, but we both got sleepy. We took an Easter nap instead. That is allowed only on holidays. Here is everything I ate yesterday:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk
Mini Hershey Mr Goodbar
Maple bar
A dozen homemade mini chocolate cupcakes with lemon-raspberry icing
Leftover baked chicken, Brussels sprouts and broccoli
6 oz ham steak with steamed Brussels sprouts and carrots
Hostess Apple Fruit Pie

147.2 Celebrations

My old St Patrick's Day dress fits! Even with how I took the waist in. I took the sleeves in at the wrists, too. This dress was made in the late 1980s. It originally had a very loose fit. It is a size medium (8-10). I call this style "modern Victorian." This is one of my favorite dresses that I have ever worn.

I wore this dress to Lincoln Heights Community Church yesterday, and sang lead in our new band! Scott got most of it on video. They put carrots out for coffee hour, because I am always bringing them. I allowed myself one treat there.

We changed into corduroys and walked the dogs at least a mile around the neighborhood. We saw a big bear-looking dog that could easily get over its fence. It was barking at us so fiercely I was shaking in my boots.

At 3, we went to one of our sister churches, St Matthews Institutional Baptist, for a ceremony honoring their pastor of 17 years, Reverend Singleton. We were so glad we went! The message was about representation, something we had not heard before, but Biblical, and the music was rousing! It would not be possible to sleep through a service there. We have been invited to go back there next Sunday evening for a joint worship service with Valley View Baptist.

I gained a pound yesterday. My rule is one treat a day, but it was Sunday and I allowed myself four. They sure tasted good! I will have to lose that pound today. Here is everything I ate:

Small bowl of Special K and vanilla soy milk
Baked chicken, onion and carrots
Chocolate chip cookie brownie, 20 almonds and raw carrots at coffee hour
Small piece of cake after the pastoral anniversary
Eggs scrambled in bacon grease with mushrooms and red bell pepper
2 slices of bacon

152.6 Alternating Diet Days and Keep Trim Days

I subbed yesterday. One of the lunch ladies offered me a free hot ham sandwich after I had already eaten my carrots and Parmesan dip. It sounded so good that I accepted. I had 5 minutes left and I gobbled most of it down. This morning after my ham sandwich indulgence, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had lost a whole pound!

My guess is that consecutive diet days cause a weight loss plateau. I am going to try alternating diet days with keep trim eating days, and see if that speeds up my weight loss. I only have 7.6 more pounds to lose!

Here I am wearing a tank top from the juniors department, juniors size large. We were shopping last night for new tire chains. Ours are rusted. We bought the type we wanted and tried them on our truck in the parking lot, but they didn't fit. Meanwhile, the sun had set and it had gotten very cold outside.

In all, I think we walked more than a mile, in the parking lot and inside Wal-mart. We took this picture toward the beginning of our trip, while we were still smiling, heh!

Scott tried again to talk me into stopping at my current weight. "You are skinny enough already," he told me. I think he might be worried that I have anorexia. I promised him I will stop losing weight when I reach my goal of 145. I calmly explained that I am aiming for a body mass index of 22, which is supposed to be the healthiest. He wasn't convinced.

I also explained: I want to weigh in at less than 150. If my goal is 145 I will have 5 pounds leeway for Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthday parties and other feasts. I also explained that at the doctor's office they weigh me with my clothes on, so that 5 pounds leeway should make me still weigh in at under 150. The 5 pounds leeway for feasts seemed to soothe his worries.

I ate all this yesterday and still lost a pound, along with walking around the high school where I subbed and walking about a mile inside Wal-mart and in the parking lot:

Small bowl of Special K, blueberries and vanilla soy milk
raw carrot sticks and Parmesan spinach dip
Hot ham and American cheese sandwich on a six-inch French roll
8.5 oz Healthy Choice Ravioli Florentine Marinara frozen dinner (230 calories)

155.4 Snow Cookout!

Well, yesterday turned out not to be a diet day after all, but it was a terrific Valentine's Day! The kids pointed out it was snowing around the end of 5th period. Scott and I had previously decided to have a snow cookout in the park the next time it snowed, and we did!

We got the granny cart he uses for fishing and filled it with charcoal briquettes, lighter fluid, a lighter, tin foil, hot dogs, buns, ketchup, mustard, relish, plates, cups, hot tea in a thermos, napkins, spoons, sugar, and tongs. He pushed the cart through the snow and I slung our lawn chairs over my shoulder like skis -- and we walked to the park in the snow and had a cookout! Putting the fire out with snow was fun, too!

Earlier, we walked the dogs two miles in the park in the snow. I also walk around quite a bit whenever I sub.

OK, so it was Valentine's Day at a high school. The secretary had Dove chocolates out for the subs. One of the teachers had dipped pretzels in white chocolate and covered them with red sprinkles. I ate eight candied pretzels and three Dove chocolates! So good, and I still lost .2 pounds. Here is all I ate yesterday:

Small bowl of Special K, blueberries and vanilla soy milk
3 Dove dark chocolates
8 candied pretzels
raw carrot sticks with 2 tablespoons Parmesan spinach dip
hot dog on a bun with mustard and relish

156.8 Valentine Banquet Picture with Scott

There were 27 of us at the Valentine's Banquet and we all had a great time. It was a buffet. I stuck pretty closely to the keep trim eating rules, but I did have dessert. After dinner we had a sermon, a song and a numbered gift exchange. Someone was nice enough to take this picture of Scott and me together.

The numbered gift exchange was a fun addition to this Valentine's Day party. We did not do a white elephant where you can steal each other's gifts. We just each brought a gift that got numbered as we set it down. There were numbers at our places that determined which gifts we brought.

The only wrench in those works was some gifts were meant for a certain sex. The giver would call out if the host was about to give a boy gift to a girl or a girl gift to a boy. The host would set that gift aside and get back to that person once a sex appropriate gift had been set aside. The host brought two extra gifts just in case.

We were at Walmart again yesterday a few hours before the party, buying those gifts. I bought a potted mini rose plant in a cute ladybug pot. Scott bought a water proof box. There was a limit of $6 on each gift. I received a gift card for a local coffee house. Scott received a pocket knife.

We did not get to our walk in the park with the dogs yesterday. We were going to and then we remembered we had to shop for those gifts. Here is all I ate yesterday and only gained .4 pounds, even without walking:

(I slept through breakfast.)
Healthy Choice Golden Roasted Turkey Breast frozen dinner (280 calories, 500 mg sodium)
1/4 plate medium grilled steak
1/4 plate cucumber salad pre-dressed with oil and vinegar
1/2 plate cooked broccoli, cauliflower and carrots
6 breaded fried ochra
Dessert bowl full of shortcake and cherry pie filling
From Scott's plate:
bite of mashed potatoes and gravy
bite of brownie
bite of fudge

157.8 GAINED 2.2 Pounds Yesterday

I took a day off for a planned cheat on my diet yesterday for the ladies' Valentine's Banquet. Here is all I ate and GAINED 2.2 pounds, even though I walked 3+ miles:

Small bowl of Special K, blueberries and soy milk
7 Hershey's Drops

Salad plate full of cantaloupe, red grapes, and fresh pineapple
Tuna salad sandwich on thick wheat bread
Small chocolate heart

1 Costco combo slice of pizza

I was just trying to maintain, but I am amazed I gained two plus pounds. What an eye opener. I took it easy on the chocolate, but the fruit, bread and pizza crust snuck up on me. The fruit was by far the most enjoyable thing I ate yesterday.

Today will be a diet day, and half of tomorrow. Tomorrow evening we have a couples' Valentine's Banquet to attend. I guess I can only have one "normal" meal per day, if I want to keep my new trim figure.

Mom, I used the money you paid me for doing your resume to buy the outfit in this picture yesterday. The sweater set is size medium Spring Mercer and the pants are size 10 Gloria Vanderbilt. I got it all at Costco. I also got some Levi's, but although they did fit, they were way too young for me. I will return them.

159.0 Diet Day 2 of 8

I lost 1.4 pounds yesterday while eating my Valentine's Day gift from my husband: chocolate covered strawberries from Shari's Berries! I think it was mostly water weight from the salty lasagna I ate Monday night at my sister's birthday dinner. We walked the dogs two miles in the non-icy and non-snowy park. Here is what I ate yesterday and still lost 1.4 pounds:

Small bowl of Special K and soy milk
Three chocolate covered strawberries (100 calories each!)
Leftover baked chicken, onion and carrots
1 strip of bacon
Mushroom, onion and red pepper eggs scrambled in bacon grease (yum!)

I receive a bunch of "fat lady" clothing catalogs in the mail almost every day. It is satisfying to toss them. One of these days I need to tell them to stop delivery. I do receive a few catalogs that have "misses sizes," including Monroe and Main. I had a great time this morning looking through their catalog and noting that everything in there would not only fit, but would look good on me!

160.4 Diet Day 1 of 8

I gained only .2 pounds the week I was gone! I don't want to jinx myself, but it looks like I really am keeping the weight off. It was not even that difficult. I indulged in lasagna and cannoli at my sister's birthday dinner. I ate normal food the whole week. I just stuck with the lowest calorie options available unless something really sounded good (like lasagna and cannoli!).

Aunt Helen's memorial was very sweet. I am really glad I went and saw everyone. My mom gave me a dozen sweaters that I can really use up here. I hadn't seen my cousins in a long time. I got to meet all my sister's new dogs, too, and I especially like this one in the picture with me. He is a rare dog who really wants to make people happy.

Before my aunt died, Scott had ordered me chocolate covered strawberries from Shari's Berries for Valentine's Day. They arrived while I was gone, and he ate some, but I had one for breakfast dessert just now (100 calories). Wow, yum! There are 5 more dark chocolate ones left. I don't really care for the white chocolate ones.

I'm only scheduling 8 diet days this cycle because of Valentine's Day events. There is a ladies' lunch on the 9th and a couples' banquet on the 10th or 11th. I will take a few keep trim days for those and then resume the diet right after that.

I don't want to recall all I ate for the whole week, but yesterday I had:

Veggie omelette, a few bites of hash browns, a few bites of dry rye toast
Two cookies (in-flight snack)
4 ounces of trail mix (peanuts, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, raisins, cranberries, M&Ms)
1 crunchy taco supreme at Taco Bell

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 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

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."

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 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

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!

180.2 Keep Trim Day 8 of 14

I gained that pound back yesterday, but it is coming right off again today. It was a planned cheat on my diet for Thanksgiving, so I feel no guilt and I relished each and every bite. I did walk my mile yesterday. It was a great Thanksgiving Day.

I woke up and had my usual breakfast of Special K, strawberries, soy milk and black unsweetened coffee. I took both dogs for a mile-long walk in the park. Scott is still staying home to nurse his right hand, but says it is feeling better than it was. He is starting to notice the sprains in his fingers, which he couldn't feel before because of the pain of his jammed elbow. He is afraid to go out because even a light touch on his arm or hand is painful. He likes to keep ice on it through the compression bandage, to help control the swelling, so padding his arm inside the sling won't work.

We had our Marie Callender's turkey TV dinners for lunch with a few Pillsbury crescent rolls. I had Diet Dr Pepper. The TV dinners were only 320 calories, but they had 1180 mg of sodium! Yikes! I had a piece of pumpkin pie for dessert with a pot of decaffeinated Good Earth tea.

We were all set to have another TV dinner for dinner, when our friends came earlier than I had hoped and brought us each a huge plate from the Thanksgiving dinner we were supposed to attend. I had given them a big pumpkin pie and some ice cream that I had bought to bring to the dinner. I was hoping for a plate for the dinner, but I didn't dare expect it, and not in time to have for dinner! That was such a nice surprise!

So, we pigged out on really moist home-cooked turkey, mashed potatoes, great gravy, stuffing, yams, green beans, rolls, and two pieces each of my pumpkin pie!

I am having no extras today, so I am hoping that pound will come right back off and tomorrow I will once again weigh 179.2. I still have 6 keep trim days left in which to accomplish that, if it doesn't happen by tomorrow, so I don't feel bad at all about enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving feast brought by a couple Christmas angels!