145.0 Cliff in Dark Shadows and Return of the King

My butt used to get stuck in these lawn chairs! That was one of the first things that made me realize I was fat. Believe it or not, I lived in denial of being fat for years. I never wanted pictures taken, because subconsciously I knew that if I saw myself in pictures, I would have to face facts.

The photo on the top was taken last summer, after I had been dieting for three months. At 220 and a size 18, I thought I was an OK weight, at the time. When we got home and I saw the pictures, my resolve to slim down to 145 and a size 8. That is where I am today, in the bottom photo.

I saw the Tim Burton / Johnny Depp movie "Dark Shadows" in the theater yesterday. It was silly. The only parts I liked about it were the 1972 setting and the in-jokes about the "Lord of the Rings" movie "Return of the King." I was 9 in 1972, and I loved seeing Victoria's white tights and flip hairdo, not to mention all the cool clothes Michelle Pfeiffer's character wears.

Coincidentally, we had just been watching "Return of the King" the night before I Saw "Dark Shadows." The large prop used for the helicopter pad type cliff in Minas Tirith is the same large prop used for the widow's leap hill in "Dark Shadows." The shape of that cliff is very distinctive, and even though they dressed it completely differently, the shape remains the same. I might not have noticed, had I not just been watching "Return of the King" the night before.

I walked my dog a mile yesterday and shopped for about an hour. I lost .2 pounds. Here is what I ate:

2 Fuji Apples with peanut butter and chocolate chips
Dinner plate full of leftover cheese pizza
Bean and cheese burrito with salsa

146.6 Glow in the Dark Mini Golf Spokane

    Last night for Scott's birthday we played glow in the dark miniature golf under black lights, with the family we usually have Bible study with on Wednesday nights. It was so much fun! Most of us didn't even know we would be under black lights, but we wore enough white that we all glowed in places and that made it fun to see each other moving around. The little girl wore sneakers with lights on them that lit up whenever she stepped and that was especially cool down there in the dark play area.


We also ate surprisingly good pizza for dinner there, played arcade games, and watched the kids climb all over apparatus that reminded me of my old Habitrail hamster cage. We got something like 500 tickets from the arcade games we played, and the kids had fun getting little toys and candy in the store ticket shop.

We brought ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins for desert. Since it was a Wednesday and not yet the busy summer season, the manager let us put our ice cream cake in the freezer before dinner, and our leftover pizza in the fridge while we played miniature golf.

The glow in the dark mini golf course is 18 holes downstairs under the restaurant and arcade. It is open year round. We could tell it originally was just a regular miniature golf course, and we applaud whoever thought of painting it with glow in the dark paint. What a great idea!

The place is Wonderland Golf and Games 10515 North Division Street, Spokane, WA 99218 (509) 468-4386. They have outdoor mini golf, too, and lazer tag. In summer they also have a batting cage, go carts and bumper boats.

I lost .2 pounds yesterday, even eating pizza and ice cream cake! I walked 3 miles with the kids at school. Here is everything I ate:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk
Bean and cheese burrito with salsa
Whole dinner plate of Wonderland pizza - supreme and taco varieties
Two glasses of lemonade
Lots of ice cream cake -- mint chocolate chip and cookies and cream
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147.6 Substitute Teaching Is Like Being a Grandma

I am so blessed to have work that I love! I fell in with some students yesterday as I was walking to the bus stop after school. They were complaining about some of their teachers. I raised my eyebrows and good-naturedly warned them I was a substitute and that I could hear them. "Oh, substitutes are nice!" they said. "Yeah," I said, "We can afford to be nice. Substitute teaching is kind of like being a grandma. We spoil you and give you back to your regular teacher."

These were high school students, and they laughed and agreed with me. I explained that I have been a regular teacher, and it is not easy. I told them I much prefer being a substitute.

I saw this T shirt at Wal-mart this morning while I was shopping for Scott's birthday card. It reminded me of that conversation I had with those students yesterday, and made me smile. In case you don't know the reference, it is a play on a commercial for Las Vegas, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

I forgot to weigh in yesterday, but I have lost .2 pounds since Sunday. I am at my goal of 145 to 149.9. Yay!

I walked a mile to bus stops yesterday, and I walked the dogs a mile around the neighborhood. I wore shorts and soaked up some of the sun we had yesterday.

Here is what I ate yesterday:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk
2 small bananas
Handful of raw baby carrots and 2 tablespoons Parmesan spinach dip
1/4 a Costco combo pizza
Small green apple with peanut butter and chocolate chips

144.8 Sweater Dad Gave Me

My dad picked this sweater out and gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago. It is a size 14, and I was a size 18. The trick of wearing loose clothing to look skinnier worked on him. He thought I had lost weight when I hadn't. Dad's Alzheimer's was not recognized yet, at the time. This sweater is a bit too big, and it has seen better days, but I will try to keep it forever.

Besides, this sweater matches this mug that Mom bought me at Heavenly Valley, the last time we skiied together.

I am thrilled but shocked that I lost .2 pounds yesterday. on keep trim eating. I was at the bottom of my 145 - 149.9 goal weight range yesterday, so now I am under goal. I am just keeping the weight off. I was sure I had  indulged too much and would gain .6 pounds or so, which I would have to lose today. Here is what I ate:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk
Half an apple with 1 tablespoon Jif Chunky Peanut Butter
1 Cup Cattle Drive Chili with Beans
Half a cup Mexican Blend Grated Cheese over the chili
Small bowl of Kirkland corn chips, to eat the chili dip with
1 Hostess Fruit Pie - Apple
Baked chicken, Brussels sprouts and broccoli

We walked the dogs half an hour in the drizzle and 44F cold yesterday before we took the car in to get diagnosed. It needs new shock absorbers.

147.2 Flour Cravings

I fought flour cravings all day yesterday. I was successful. I drank water or tea instead of eating cookies. I kept telling myself it would be worth it when I got on the scale in the morning and saw I had lost a pound. I ate the bare minimum, and only lost .2 pounds:

Small bowl of Special K, blueberries and vanilla soy milk
Leftover baked chicken, onion and carrots
Small hamburger patty, 1 tablespoon BBQ sauce, broccoli

I only walked about a mile, is probably why I didn't lose more weight. I did do a few minutes on the Lifestyler stair step exercise machine, but apparently I did not exercise enough yesterday. That should teach me a lesson: suffering through cravings will only be worth it if I exercise, too. Exercising usually at least distracts me from cravings, so I don't know why I didn't just do it.

I experimented yesterday with wearing my hair pulled up higher. I think I like it best in the low ponytail I've been wearing lately. I haven't felt like wearing it up tight since I lost the weight.

I want so badly to get down to 145 so I can shop with my TJ Maxx gift card for new spring clothes! Thank you again, Mom, for that -- so much! Here in Spokane, spring means lots and lots of rain. I might see if they have light weight waterproof pants that I can start wearing on my walks when it gets too warm to wear my snow pants. I already have waterproof boots for spring. Right now I am wearing my snow coat every day, but last summer we each bought a light weight rain coat at Niagara Falls. Those should be perfect for when it starts warming up.

147.8 Buff Arms and Stone Walls

Not sure how I feel about my belly button hanging out under this summer top, but there it is. I bought the top at the Good Will Store for 99 cents. These are the Classic Gap 1969 jeans I bought there for about $5. I am just modeling them here. It will be at least May before it is warm enough in Spokane to wear summer tops outside.

I love how my arms are shaping up!

I have been on the Total Gym for at least one set a day for a week now. My legs and lungs get plenty of exercise when we walk the dogs, but my arms need work. It feels really good when I work out of my arms all the acid that builds up while I sit at the computer most of the day. The Total Gym is great because it forces me to stretch during my workout. We got our Total Gym used a few years ago, off a classified advertisement in our local newspaper online.

Yesterday we walked the dogs down to an old plot of land where there are still stone walls. The plot is on the market, and so we explored into it a bit. We followed the old wagon wheel ruts to where the original stable is falling down. We looked in from outside and saw 1970s stereo speakers and other signs that someone had once lived inside. Sadly, the 1850s house is gone and a 1940s house stands there with windows boarded up. It was a fun adventure!

I shopped yesterday at Northwest Christian Thrift Store in Spokane. Wow! It is so big that I was not able to look at all the clothes they had in my size in the three hours I was there. I bought a slip, some pajamas, a pair of Calvin Klein khakis and two nice summer dresses suitable for church. I spent $21.04. I will have to go back there some time. They also have all the stuff Target and Walmart have: furniture, dishes, books, electronics, toys... all well organized. They have about three times as much clothing as all the other thrift stores in town.

Here is everything I ate yesterday and lost .2 pounds:

Two small bowls Special K, blueberries and vanilla soy milk
Raw carrot sticks and 2 tablespoons Parmesan spinach dip
Leftover half Qdoba steak quesadilla
(I did not eat the guacamole or sour cream this time, Mom. Nor the cookies.)

157.6 Cheese Is Mostly Fat!

While preparing my dinner last night, I looked at both the nutrition charts in the pictures above. A third of a cup of cheese and a salmon patty both have 80 calories of fat. The cheese has 110 total calories, which makes fat 72% of the cheese. The fish has 170 total calories, which makes fat 47% of the fish. Which one looks more satisfying? I picked the fish.

I just learned we excrete most of the calcium we eat! We poop and pee out our calcium. This is because our livers are acidic from all the processed food, hard cheese, fatty meat, and grains we eat. Our livers buffer this acid by releasing alkaline stores of calcium in our bones. We can stop the calcium being released from our bones by eating fewer acid-producing foods and more fruits and vegetables. All this is according to Loren Cordain, Pedro Bastos, Nell Stephenson, Chris LaLanne and Maelan Fontes in the "Calcium and Bones" section of their page about the paleo diet.

I do remember hearing that cola was making my bones release their calcium, but it was never explained in terms of acid vs base. The paleo diet people also have an acid vs base food chart on their website. Coffee is strongly base producing in the liver: -1.4 according to their chart. Coca-cola produces acid in the liver: 0.4 on their chart. It looks like Apollinaris mineral water is a good base-producing cola alternative: -1.8 on the chart. Parmesan cheese is the highest acid producer at 34.2. The most base producing thing on their chart is raisins: -21.0.

I don't see a need to change over to the Paleo Diet. Dr Tarnower's Scarsdale Medical Diet and lifelong keep trim eating program says the same thing as the paleo diet: eat mostly lean sources of protein, vegetables and fruits. In his book, the doctor says he doesn't believe in milk drinking for adults and that grains and cheese should be taken in strict moderation. I do appreciate the Paleo Diet acid vs base info on how to retain more calcium, though.

We walked the dogs two miles yesterday. I finished off my Valentine's treat of Shari's Berries. I lost .2 pounds. Here is all I ate yesterday:

Small bowl of Special K and soy milk
2 white chocolate dipped strawberries from Shari's Berries (I like the brown ones better.)
3 eggs fried in bacon grease with red peppers, onion and mushrooms
1 strip of bacon
Salmon patty and steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots

159.8 Keep Trim Day 9 of 13

Today I am wearing my 32 x 32 corduroys from one of the second hand clothing stores for the first time. They are just a little smaller than my size 10 corduroys. My tummy got flat enough that I can wear them fastened without too much discomfort.

They will of course be much more comfortable when I am at my goal weight of 145. I might even need a smaller size then. We shall see! Scott took this picture of me in my 32 x 32 corduroys just a few minutes ago.

I am maintaining my weight at exactly the 159.8 pounds I started this keep trim eating period on. Yes, I am thrilled to be in the 150s! Under 150 is my goal, though, which is why I set my sights on 145. I figure at 145 I will weigh in at under 150 even in the doctor's office.

We got a ride to the church up the icy hill yesterday from a friend who has front-wheel drive. I got to sing with the pastor again. He goes in for surgery this Wednesday, so we will be praying for him. They served homemade oatmeal cookies during fellowship hour and had extras they sent home with us. I ate 6 all together: three with cranberries in them and three with chocolate chips in them. Yummy!

We walked the dogs in the icy snowy park when we got home from church. We used our new pedometers. I walked 1.26 miles in the icy snow before I got a blister and came home.

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

Small bowl of Special K, blueberries and soy milk
Half a brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tart
Cup of blueberries
Cup of raw carrot sticks, 2 tablespoons parmesan spinach dip
6 oatmeal cookies: 3 with cranberries and 3 with chocolate chips
Half a stuffed salmon steak, six Brussels sprouts, half a cup of red bell pepper sauteed in Pam

163.8 Diet Day 8 of 13

I lost .2 pounds yesterday and now I weigh 163.8. This is a size 10 coat that I tried on yesterday. It wasn't flattering, so I didn't get it, but I was thrilled that it fit!

On the one hand, I can't emphasize enough the thrill I feel now when I see clothes in stores. It used to be that none of them would fit me, so I would just ignore them all. Now, all the size 12 clothes will for sure fit, as well as the size 10 tops. It is so fun to imagine myself in them as I pass them by on the racks!

On the other hand, in the mail I receive four catalogs aimed at women who wear sizes 12w to 24w. Nothing in them will fit me anymore! I can wear a 12 from the juniors department!

Yes, I am losing this weight for my health, but I am actually having fun while doing it! I did not expect that. I am doing my best to embrace this lifestyle change and have fun walking and trying on clothes instead of eating.

I suppose I am on another weight loss plateau. Scott and I walked the dogs 2 and 1/3 miles, around the park. I did not cheat at all yesterday, but I only lost .2 pounds. Here is what I ate:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup soy milk
Half a cup of ham fried without oil, 2 cups steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots
Salmon patty, 2 cups steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots

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

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

Size 14 Jeans from the Juniors Dept

I weigh 186.2 today, which means I lost .2 pounds on keep trim eating  yesterday. I did not walk my mile. Here is what I ate on my first keep trim day for this cycle, and am keeping the weight off:

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

Diet Ham Salad, Diet Coke

1/3 of a foot long meatball submarine sandwich from Subway: Italian herb bread, meatballs in marinara sauce, cheddar cheese, fresh tomato and black olives - 12 ounces Minute Maid Lite Lemonaid (5 calories per 8 ounces)

I did stop at Walmart on my way home from work to pick up some frozen pizzas and to try on these jeans. These jeans are from the juniors department. They are size 14. Not 14W, but regular size 14. My St Patrick's Day dress is size 12W, so it appears size 12W is the same as size 14 in the juniors department.

I didn't buy these jeans. They are too young for me: bell bottoms and loud metallic decorations. I was just so pleased that they fit me! Comfortably! So I am officially now a size 14.

My target weight is 145, and I think that will make me a comfortable size 10. My wedding dress was a size 10. I was 130 pounds and a size 8 when I met Scott, but I was also smoking cigarettes to control my appetite. That is something I will never do again.

Edited Months Later to Add:

I am at my goal weight of 145 now, and I am a comfortable size 8 WITHOUT smoking! I can also wear a size 9 from the juniors department, but I am 48 years old, so that is not usually a good idea! :)

191, Lost .2 Pounds

I weigh 191 today. I lost .2 pounds yesterday. I walked my mile and I did not cheat on my diet, so this is stubborn weight that has not come off in quite some time. It needs to be loosened up before it comes off, but it will come off. That is how I see it, anyway!

I have seen this phenomenon discussed lots of places. They call it a weight loss plateau. I myself experienced two plateaus already, during this diet. The first plateau lasted three days and then I finally started to lose weight again. The second plateau only lasted one day and the next day I had lost weight again. I didn't change my diet or my exercise either time.

My diet yesterday:

Special K, strawberries, soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

Raw carrot sticks dipped in Parmesan spinach dip, Diet Coke

meatballs and the remainder of my pineapple habanero sauce (1 tablespoon), steamed broccoli, caffeine-free diet soda