Day 1 on Transition-- 183.2!

A pleasant surprise this morning!   I knew when I went to bed last night (I weigh myself then, too) that my weight would be down...But given the stubbornness of the scale in the past four days, and the fact that I ate more than 2 times the calories yesterday, I wasn't expecting to be down  1. 6 pounds! 

I even had an Atkins bar right before bed, which pushed my total calories for the day up by 170 calories. (still well below my usual count though)  Go figure. Dave always says it takes 2 days to see on the scale what you eat, but I've never found that to be true.  Is this the hypothalamus kicking in with a new set point?

Who knows. Again, the vagaries of weight-loss. I'm not ready to set a new set point yet.

Rereading Atkins, the important thing here is to keep your carbs low enough to keep the body burning fat rather than available sugar. This is the famed ketosis (not to be confused with ketoacidosis, which is a dangerous condition requiring medical attention)  Ketosis simply means using a natural body process to access stored fat for energy, something our primitive ancestors did naturally --before hot dog rolls and Twinkies arrived to give us so much instant accessible fuel.

I woke up feeling steady and refreshed from my 7 hours of sleep. Just knowing that I can eat fulfilling food eases my anxiety level.

I'm still rubbing my BEADS -- can't see why I shouldn't-- they help with appetite suppression, though on Atkins Induction and On Going Weight loss phases, your appetite should be suppressed simply by the lack of carbs spiking your insulin. The rules of this game are: count carbs and stay with in 20 grams for Induction-- 25 for on going weight loss -- you can add a few carbs a week if you continue to lose weight --Atkins suggests you lose very slowly on PreMaintenance-- so that you become fully adjusted to what your carb tolerance is before you put back the foods like corn, beans, potatoes etc that will be part of your complete, healthy diet for life.

But in the meantime, there are yummy Atkins chocolate snacks, Atkins bread recipes, ice cream made with heavy cream and the like. And it's really not a free for all with the protein and fats -- though it may feel like it to a former low fat dieter. The recipes in Atkins books are controlled --For instance, my dinner last night, satisfying as it was after two weeks of fat and protein sparing meals, was just 365 calories.

My plan is to keep the same mindset as the BEAD diet required-- planning, organization, accountability and focus --to keep losing weight. At 183.2, I'm 20 pounds from my goal weight-- though size will be more important that pounds. On this diet, I feel I can work out harder and maybe build some muscle at the gym. I need to look into those actual requirements --

So glad the weight did not go up this morning  ---

PS-- someone stole my Solar Wrist Watch at the pool. Yuck. Second time that has happened to me in my life. I also lost my GRUVE -- a little device that I clip to my belt that reminds me to move when my metabolism goes to sleep (If you sit for more than 45 minutes, that's what happens)  that's $400 worth of losses in a weeks time.Is that they psychic equivalent of 18 pounds of fat? LOL.

The Saga Continues-- in a new direction

Dinner yesterday  was spaghetti squash again..and I fixed Dave sausage and mashed potatoes. I was mentally getting ready for another milk day-- my weight had pretty much been the same-- and I had started taking psillium husks--- for obvious reasons.

I went shopping-- a not too frequent pastime of mine ---at Boscovs. Tried on a size 14 dress and it was too small. Got a ways to go!  Bought towels and rugs for the bathroom and a giant globe fountain spray for Zoe. And some purses that were on sale that would make nicL gifts.

Came home and watched TV and Before I knew it, it was 11 oclock -past the witching hour for my diet.  I went to bed, and lay there. My legs were shooting pain from physical therapy. By about 1 PM my stomach was growling  fiercly and I was feeling the blood sugar drain from my brain -- my last meal had been 8 hours earlier.  I started worrying about what my milk day would be like on zero sleep. I decided to get up and have a cup of tea with honey, the legal rememdy for LBS, hoping that would put me to sleep. I was surprised how woosy I felt. No luck with sleep. By 3 I had worked myself up into a panic--it's not smart to think when your blood sugar is really low- nothing good ever comes of it. I didn't know what to do but lying there didn't seem like an option. Feeling like I was breaking THE LAW, I got up and had a glass of milk and a xanax, a last resort to fall asleep for at least two hours and to put a stop to my pounding heart and racing thoughts. I think I mananged to get one hour before 5 AM, when I get up.

I'd already decided somewhere in that stretch of a long night that this was not the way I wanted to spend my summer. WIth each day, my appetite for the narrow variety of veggies I eat became a little more dulled. I can only eat so much spaghetti squash and butter nut squash fries. The milk days were pretty grueling, still. And making 2 different meals for dinner wasn't much fun either. Dave was expressing interest in Atkins and remembering that I had lost 7 pounds doing that diet before this one, I made up my mind that that was more realistic for me. And with 2 weeks of the accudiet under my belt, literally, I felt ever so prepared to take that on and with due dilligence. It would seem like feasting compared to famine.

I wrote a note to my BEAD counselor right away, asking for help to transition and she sent me the protocol.
Today I ate about 900 calories, as opposed to about 400 for a milk day ---naturally I felt much better. It was all healthy, lo-carb food and even though I had zero sleep, I cleaned the house and went for a swim.

For dinner- I had an Atkins recipe -- low carb toriilla filled with spinach, mushroom, egg and 2 ounces of ham strips. Little bit of oil and red wine vinegar for dressing. My God, did it taste good!  Didn't mind the sugarfree orange jello much after a meal like that. Ordered 2 new Atkins books online and am hoping and I can keep the pounds at bay that I just lost, and keep subtracting-- though albeit at a slower pace.

I honor all those who try the BEAD diet and win. It's a heck of a challenge. My 2 week- 10 pound weight loss was certainly a success as far as it went, and I learned  plenty about myself and about food, shopping and being organized and committed. I still feel committed, just to a slower pace with more leeway, variety and control over options. The important thing will be not to get discouraged if a few pounds creep back on but hopefully, the BEADS have done some resetting of my set point and my labors in the kitchen and my detox from sugar and white flour willl stand me in good stead in the coming weeks.

Sunday -- down a pound- 184.8

After a milk day's hunger pangs, you really feel like the scale OWES you one.

Well, it came through. Down exactly a pound this morning.  Phew!

Technically I should be having another milk day but due to some tickets to a garden party/tour booked before I even knew this diet existed, I decided to skip to a veggie day with the possiblity that the two meals being served might offer me something to eat and I could feel like a participant. A friend purchased the tickets ($30 each) and I felt like it would be kind of rude to pass up everything being offered and just sip on my milkshake in a thermos.

I spent the morning making up two salads, spaghetti squash, my fruit stash and some crystal light lemonade just in case I found out there was nothing edible for me -- which was a good thing, because there wasn't.

My one new item was cabbage/carrots slaw with fresh pineapple. I also scraped the seeds out of the spaghetti squash and roasted them -- a new dispensation says we can eat them as long as we have them on the same day as the squash --and weigh them. That seemed too exotic a treat to pass up.

The day turned very hot and cool water was offered at every  stop, but no bathrooms. We bailed before the last property and didn't go back for the post tour reception and prize drawing, being fairly disappointed to find out that, rather than homey backyard gardens, we were touring McMansions with massive garden stone-scaping...and outdoor kitchens, etc. Not the kind of tour you can get excited about on a limited budget.

I didn't actually eat my lunch salad until 3 PM...having staved off hunger with some cherries. Maybe all the walking down those long, exclusive driveways in 89 degree weather will have helped burn off another pound for tomorrow. Somehow, I'm not expecting it.....so I'd be happily surprised, even with a few ounces.

I'm still hanging in there ...and feeling pretty good-- but I may need to set my cell phone to ring every odd hour, when I'm out because I kept forgetting to rub the beads...

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER

I almost lost it around 5 PM today....meaning I almost broke the code of NO CHEATING.

Having my grandaugther all day, though delightful, meant less time and space to care for myself. I didn't take the time to make a thick shake with xanthum powder. My "dinner' was a 1/2 cup of hot chocolate (zero calorie syrup) and 1/2  cup of yoghurt mixed with orange jello.  Neither was particularly satisfying, so when I put a platter of crispy fis sticks and a chopped up hot dog out for my grandaughter, I could almost taste every bite she took. 

WHen she was done there were about 5 pieces of hot dog left on the plate and they smelled great and I REALLY wanted to pop them in my mouth-- so I quickly dumped them into the dog's dish. She likes hotdogs even more than I do.  I could feel myself give a slight inner gasp as she gulped them down.

I don't know what's up with this milk thing-- it just doesn't seem like enough. I don't have hunger pangs like this on veggies days. Everytime I open my fridge. all those leftover fruits and veggies are calling out to me..and I open it a lot since I am feeing others and also getting cold water regularly.

My tongue feels swollen from too many artificial sweeteners. And the milk leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

I'm going to bed early--and looking forward to my 1/2 and egg in the morning.

I spent time this morning in a farmer's market, picking up fresh meat and poultry from my husband. You can imagine the surroundings -- all food in your face, all the time. I had my grandaughter with me and fed her samples of cheese cubes and crackers. Got her a ride on a mechanical horse and then we got out of there. I felt good about not really eyeballing anything in particular. But the strawberries did look mighty tempting.

Saturday Morning...Milk Day --No weight Loss

Okay, two days with no drop in weight.  BUT, I tried on a pair of pink shorts that I couldn't get close to buttoning 3 days ago and they cinched up nicely. They are my smallest pair of 16's...I think they might be a regular 16 as opposed to a "misses" 16 and the waist band is very unforgiving. They look great!

I don't think I have any size 14's around, so I may have to buy or borrow a pair to continue motivating myself. The scale is not always reliable in that way.

Went for a walk around my park and stopped at all the life fit machines to do the easy exercises. My ankle is loosening up but it still starts to hurt and swell a bit after 1/3 of a mile.

I was going to skip my 1/3 egg and tea this morning but since I'm picking up my granddaughter at 10 and keeping her till 7 pm...I'll need the stamina. We may go swimming but at the very least, I'll be up and down the basement stairs many times, picking her up, and following her around the jungle gym across the street.

Gotta go get the lactaid tablets before I pick her up.
Am going to try the orange jello in the milkshake suggestions today.

I feel good .....da na da na da na... I knew that I would,,,,.da.na.da na da na---get it? James Brown

The weirdest dinner yet

I have to admit...the thought of dinner tonight did not entice me.

I set about making something a little different and doing some prep so that I wasn't scrambling with two menus at once. I  cooked up some cauliflower and broccoli in homemade veggie broth and whirred it  in my blender into a soup. I also cut up the remaining butternut squash with my krinkle cutter, for wise fries. But that all seemed too familiar to my taste buds and I wanted something else

I had some barrel-fermented sauerkraut (no vinegar is allowed on the diet) but eating that plain, by itself seemed too sour. So I cut up some apple, covered it with kraut and poured some Walden Farms maple syrup over it, the closest I figured I could get to brown sugar. Put it in an oven safe bowl and stuck it in the oven with my Wise Fries.  It was great! The perfect combination of sour and sweet --with enough tang to be really satisfying and different.

For dessert I had prepared pineapple and mandarin orange in my magice bullet, added a little truvia because the pineapple wasn't very ripe, and made 3 popsicles. Since I put apple into my meal, I just had one. Delicious!  While watching the 2 hour Amelia movie, my treat was a sugarless butterscotch which tasted as good as  Dove chocolate to my reformed palate.

I drank tons of water today, and a Zevia Root beer with WF Chocolate sauce added. I didn't miss a single massage of the beads, and I did some video exercise. My ankles are still pretty sore, but I practiced standing on one foot a lot to strengthen them.

Curious as to what tomorrow's scale will bring. Two days at the same weight would would not seem good, but if that's what happens, I 'll talk to my counselor.  Kind of looking forward to a milk day. I think its set up that way. Just when you think you can't eat another veggie meal, you don't have to.

Weigh In - 185.8

 The scale didn't budget this morning-- I wasn't too surprised. The pound plus of veggies haven't moved "through" yet. I also know I didn't drink quite as much-- no diet sodas and not quite as much water. Just a little iced tea. That's something to be sure to be more vigilant about.  I wasn't as active either, so not as thirsty. The  90 degree heat is keeping me inside. Time to go back to that Dirty Dancing DVD and maybe out for a swim. And I need to get a board for tap practice.

 I tried last summer's bathing suit on today and I now won't feel embarressed to wear it in public. (though truth be told, I don't embarress that easily, except perhaps at 10-year reunions. Besides at certain age, you realize, people have stopped noticing you!  Especially when you fall into the past-middle-aged frumpy category!

Reward Time, Veggies in the garden, and my last walking book

At first, it didn't occur to me to reward myself for completing my first 9 days on the program- and graduating to the second set of beads.
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Losing 8.8 pounds in 9 days is a pretty significant reward, right? Still, when I stopped at my local garden center to pick up some composting accelerator, it occured to me that buying myself a present for a week of hard work, some anxiety and a lot of organization, planning and stamina was not a bad idea.

I stood in front of 2 salespeople feeling like a live blip from a Lewis Black bit.

"I'm looking for a hanging basket with a pink flower, you know, it droops down and its pink and it has these white thingys hanging down from it. And then I think there's a dark purple thing hanging from that.  Butterflies love it. Did I say butterflies? No , I meant hummingbirds, they come and feed at it. It's really pretty. Pink..and something white hanging out of the bloom?"  How articulate.

They were looking at me with blank stares and then one them said, "@#)#(S" --and I sighed, "Yes, that's exactly what I meant. Only I can't think of it again!! Geez.

I found one in the greenhouse. It didn't have any blooms on it, which is why I couldn't find it, but at closer inspection it was loaded with buds, so I bought it - I think it was half price - about $10 but they didn't give me an itemized reciept, so I'm not sure. I also bought netting for my blackberries, which are ripening fast and tempting the birds, composting acclerator for my new composter that seems to making muck rather than dirt (probably need to balance grass clippings with all these veggie and fruit waste) and a tomato "cage."

That was pretty funny. I never bought one before. They were sitting on the porch...a cone shape with long metal tines sticking up in the air. They looked like something that could poke my granddaughter's eye out...I tried to pick something else less threatening but it came with a pot. My tomato plant is about 18 inches tall already and has a nice little tomato on it. So I took the threatening bugger in to pay for it and said, "What are these things sticking up like this for? they look dangerous?"  And a guy standing by the register said, "You stick those in the ground"

LOL! Ooops. Talking about feeling dumb. The cone gets inverted. I had to finesse my plant into it. but I mananged to do that without breaking off any limbs.  I only grow one plant, stuck in my flower bed, for fun, for my husband. I usually get  pretty many tomatoes-- of course they all come at once and I make him BLT's every day for a couple of weeks. I don't eat fresh tomato!

I also grow strawberries in four pots, mostly for my granddaughter to pick, and I put in a 3 green bean plants this year (she;ll be 3 in July)  thinking she might actually eat a vegetable if she could pick it herself. It took me till the age of 13, working at a farm stand, to find out that green beans are actually delicious. My mother served a lot of canned stuff (the 50's--the new age of TV dinners and yucky, processed food) and I still think canned green beans are disgusting. The green beans were looking pretty sickly until I realized I better start watering them every morning. (Breaking my ankle made paying attention to my garden difficult for several weeks) Two of the 3 are perking up nicely and have about 6 beans on them. Zoe didn't notice them yet. They're not red.

I've had bigger gardens in the past, but they need to be far away from the house (where the good topsoil is)  and it is too hard to water them. Plus, by early August I've usually lost interest, am too hot to keep weeding them let the zuchini grow giant sized --my sons thought they were great weapons, clobbering each other with them. There are two very industrious organic farmers with stands and money boxes within a mile from my house, really cheap produce, so I let them toil away and I reap the benefit.

Quick Veggie Feasts

Hey, I'm getting good at this:

Keeping the fridge full of fruits and veggies without letting everything rot!
Making a meal for two people -- one that is vegan and one that is not!

Roasted cauliflower, wise fries, avocado
Fish for my husband and his baked potaaaahto
Fruit in cup with peaches and grapes
Pineapple, melon and ......hmmmmm. can't rhyme it..

But there is something about the meal that leaves my palate aching still. I wonder if you ever get over that? Is that detox talking? Or a legitmate need for something else, like protein or fat. I figure it's still the attraction for former foods that the palate is gunning for, and coming up short.

I got a fasting blood test done today -- the woman only had to stick me once - HALLELUJAH.
My veins are very hard to see, despite drinking lots of water, lifting weights etc. I've been stuck as many as 8 times in the arms and hands by people trying to draw my blood. But some people really know how to do it. This woman did. And she talked about turtles while she did it...we shared St. John V.I snorkeling stories.

Humming along today. My counselor suggested I get lactose intolerance capsules to use with my raw milk because it seems that may be part of my problem.  I may not be able to access the protein in the milk---so that's something I'll pick up tomorrow at the health food store.

Sunday I am going on an almost all day garden tour that starts with a reception and ends with one-- covering both my meal times. It was supposed to be a milk day-- but someone bought me these tickets and to refuse to eat anything there would seem quite a let down I think. There should be veggie sushi and crudite and fruit, so my counselor didn't like it, but she told me to just do two veggie days (skipping the milk day) and then back to two milk days. In the first two weeks, she says, they prefer you don't mess around like this. But by then, I've been on the program for 12 days, and very successfully so I'm not too concerned about it. I don't plan to eat any of the other tempting treats, nor will I drink the champagne based fruit punch...my friend can use my ticket. Hopefully she'll still be able to drive!

Photo is of pineapples growing at the Dole Plantation in Hawaii -- couldn't seem to get it rotated!

Sobering Thought of the DAY/WEEK

I have lost 8.8 pounds in 9 days. If you're following this blog - feel free to congratulate me!!! LOL.

On the average diet plan -the kind that we promoted in the magazine I wrote for for 17 years, that would have taken me at least 9 weeks. It would be the end of August and I would be a week or two from an annual event that I am run, and I would have been 10 pounds lighter-- if I'd managed to stick with it.

Instead, hopefully I will be leading that event 30 pounds lighter and be somewhere in the scheme of the transition diet- eating more normally by that time. That is a very motivating picture in my mind.

Awesome thought. :-) 

Posture and Pot Belly -- psoas power

So...Another pair of pants conquered. These were unbuttonable two days ago. Now they button pretty easily. Though clearly I'm not falling out of them-- but they're still a great reference point- better than tape measures which never tell the whole story.

I bought these last summer when I had dropped a few pounds that were teetering me into the size 18 range.  I wore them at my granddaughter's 2nd birthday party with a pinked checked (did we call that gingham?) shirt- all by Liz Claiborne. When I saw the photos later, I put them away, because my belly was so evident. I was about 2 pounds heavier at the time, but part of the problem is postural. 

We often look in the mirror with our abs pulled in, our best posture. But in real life, we look like the the 3rd picture --abs relaxed --- and are shocked when we/re caught in a photo that that is the way we really look. As you can see, I'm  hyperlordotic (I think I made that word up) My pelvis tips forward, protruding the belly and putting pressure on the low back--perhaps part of the reason I suffered disk injury there, long before I got heavy. I've taught people how to walk tall, through a process called "Dynamic Walking" developed by Suki Munsell, PhD. It takes a lot of concentration and though you can focus and walk tall for extended amounts of time, it wasn't enough to make standing tall second nature. That requires far more abdominal work, plus body balance, stretching out the deep psoas muscle that attaches from spine to hip bones and keeping the hamstrings stretched out. That's something I could clearly put more time into!LOL.  Just losing the flab will help - at one time I was so thin that I showed little belly when standing this way. But theoretically, having a stronger core and and  being properly stretched out in other areas could make that tilt disappear so that it is natural to stand straighter without having to 'effort it.  You know that look when you see it, particularly in very fit guys who have balanced muscle development. ..when they're standing around, their torso's look impossible straight. Some gym rats though, get unbalanced their posture is way out of whack.

Traditional  Yogi's, by the way, don't go for the flat belly so much. They like the abdomen soft and supply enough for deep belly breathing....  But those in the US that come from a fitness or dance discipline, like Rodney Ye, are as taunt as a drum.

One exercise that is particular good for working on posture is to go onto all fours, with a flat back (holding the belly firmly) and extending one arm and the opposite leg. This is not easy to do while you are keeping those abs firm! The tendency is to drop the belly down. Try it!  That's what I'm going to do right now...

Looking forward to a delectable veggie day-- I've got butternut squash, blueberries, raspberries, avocado, spinach, cucumber, cauliflower and broccoli, zucchini, romaine, peaches and portobellos  waiting patiently in the fridge.

Maintenance, The Power Of Raw Milk -- Check in: 185.8

My friend, who's been on maintenance for 8 months after losing about 40 pounds in 2 --says this about her eating habits now:

"I am mindful of what I eat, but have anything I want. Many times I'll ask a friend, "Is it worth it?" I also find that normally a taste of something is enough. Many times I do prefer healthy food over junk. Old habits are easy to have come back!  I need the 2 milk days to keep control - many people don't, but I do".

This person did Weight Watchers for many years, in fact she was a leader for a while,  so I know that she has a keen awareness of food, its impact and on the need to be fairly conscious about eating on a daily basis. I know that her question "Is it worth it?" means -- "does that tempting food taste as good as it looks?"
How often have you succumbed to eating a piece of yummy looking something or other, only to find that it didn't live up to its eye appeal, and said, "boy, why did I waste 100  (or 400) calories on that?

I'm not expecting to go back to former eating habits. I'm expecting that it will be easier to make better choices due to being on this regimen.

Why do I expect that?
1. I'm learning a powerful lesson about how few calories I can eat and still feel good.
2. I'm experimenting with far more fruit and veggie dishes --a repetoire of healthy foods.
3. I know that I can do 2 milk days (partial fasting) In the midst of more normal calorie days --if I can do it now while under a constant low calorie regimen.
4. I know my taste buds are adjusting to cleaner food --meaning that highly processed foods are going to taste too sweet or too salty or too fake. Though I normally eat pretty much whole, organic foods, there are definite exceptions! Much of it fast food-- like my fav- Taco Bell.

At this point, I'm thinking of keeping my evening meal vegetarian -- though not necessarily vegan. A bit of cheese or butter would be welcome!  As I have been doing this past 9 days, I can easily cut the meat out the meal and be satisfied with more veggies and fruit. I can see that having the protein at noon is far more helpful as a sustainer than having it in the early evening, when my day slows down.
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I am driving to a dairy about 20 minutes from my home to buy raw milk for this diet.

If you've never read anything about why some people want to make raw milk legal around the country, here's fascinating except from the Weston Price organization's Campaing for Raw milk pages: (Note" Italics are mine to emphasize points)

RAW MILK: It's White Blood

Real Milk Cures Many Diseases


by J. R. Crewe, MD

The following is an edited version of an article by Dr. J. R. Crewe, of the Mayo Foundation, forerunner of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, published in Certified Milk Magazine, January 1929. We are grateful to Dr. Ron Schmid, ND of Middlebury, CT for unearthing this fascinating piece. The "Milk Cure" was the subject of at least two books by other authors, written subsequently to Dr. Crewe's work. The milk used was, in all cases, the only kind of milk available in those days—raw milk from pasture-fed cows, rich in butterfat. The treatment is a combination of detoxifying fast and nutrient-dense feeding. Note that Crewe quotes William Osler, author of a standard medical textbook of the day. Thus, this protocol was an orthodox, accepted therapy in the early 1900s. Today the Mayo Clinic provides surgery and drug treatments, but nothing as efficacious and elegant as the Milk Cure.

"For fifteen years the writer has employed the certified milk treatment in various diseases and during the past ten he had a small sanitarium devoted principally to this treatment. The results obtained in various types of disease have been so uniformly excellent that one's conception of disease and its alleviation is necessarily changed. The method itself is so simple that it does not greatly interest most doctors and the main stimulus for its use is from the patients themselves.


To cure disease we should seek to improve elimination, to make better blood and more blood, to build up the body resistance. The method used tends to accomplish these things. Blood conditions rapidly improve and the general condition and resistance is built up and recovery follows.

In several instances, Osler (Principles and Practices of Medicine, by William Osler, MD eighth edition) speaks of milk as being nothing more than white blood. Milk resembles blood closely and is a useful agent for improving and making new and better blood. Blood is the chief agent of metabolism. Milk is recognized in medical literature almost exclusively as a useful food and is admitted to be a complete food.

The therapy is simple. The patients are put at rest in bed and are given at half hour intervals small quantities of milk, totalling from five to ten quarts of milk a day. Most patients are started on three or four quarts of milk a day and this is usually increased by a pint a day. Diaphoresis [copious perspiration] is stimulated by hot baths and hot packs and heat in other forms. A daily enema is given.

The treatment is used in many chronic conditions but chiefly in tuberculosis, diseases of the nervous system, cardiovascular and renal conditions, hypertension, and in patients who are underweight, run-down, etc. Striking results are seen in diseases of the heart and kidneys and high blood pressure. In cases in which there is marked edema, the results obtained are surprisingly marked. This is especially striking because so-called dropsy has never been treated with large quantities of fluid. With all medication withdrawn, one case lost twenty-six pounds in six days, huge edema disappearing from the abdomen and legs, with great relief to the patient. No cathartics or diuretics were given. This property of milk in edema has been noted in both cardiac and renal cases.

Patients with cardiac disease respond splendidly without medication. In patients who have been taking digitalis and other stimulants, the drugs are withdrawn. High blood pressure patients respond splendidly and the results in most instances are quite lasting. The treatment has been used successfully in obesity without other alimentation. One patient reduced from 325 pounds to 284 in two weeks, on four quarts of milk a day, while her blood pressure was reduced from 220 to 170. Some extremely satisfying results have been obtained in a few cases of diabetics.

When sick people are limited to a diet containing an excess of vitamins and all the elements necessary to growth and maintenance, which are available in milk, they recover rapidly without the use of drugs and without bringing to bear all the complicated weapons of modern medicine.

There's more on this fascinating subject at http://www.realmilk.com/milkcure.html

BTW, after reading this after so many years, I'm more motivated to leave any goop out of my milk products.

The Weston A Price organization, where this excerpt resides, is based on the work of Weston Price DDS, a dentist who traveled the world  in the 40's (I think) to research the teeth, health and eating habits of cultures who had yet to be contaminated by modern eating habits. He found that those cultures who ate their traditional diets, without things like processed sugars and flours, were without tooth decay, had broader faces, larger jaws, beautiful teeth and smiles and stronger, healtheir bodies. His research is quite fascinating and provides many photographs. I attended a talk and slide  several years ago by Sally Fallon, the pres of WAP and author of the cookbook: Nourishning Traditions.  Price felt there was an ingredient in butterfat, an X factor, that had healing qualities that are not present after pasteurization. Pasteurized milk also destroys enzymes and CLA --conjugated linoleic acid --which is known to support muscle growth, which in turn, supports weight control.

Cheats and Taste Buds

People who are on this diet say "NO BLT's" which means "No bites, licks or tastes."  And on the listserv it is against the rules to mention any food that you cheated with, the feeling being that you're just setting up other dieters by triggering cravings for something. I did taste chili I was making for my husband, but it was only a lick to see if my sauce changes were Okay. Since I don't like the chili he likes, this didn't feel like much of a risk! LOL

  But this morning, he asked for an extra sandwich, PBJ, to tide him over at dinner time when he goes straight from work to golf league. THAT was the hardest thing I've made for him-- peanut butter was my main staple through out my childhood. The smell is extremely appealing and my gut jumped when I first opened the jar and that peanut buttery  scent wafted straight into my nose. I had a flash that if that jar stayed open for another minute, I might lose it. I closed it pronto after spreading and put it out of sight.   I did not taste it. I wiped the knife on the second piece of bread, lest I be tempted to lick THAT. I tell myself it would have tasted way too sweet. I prefer natural peanut butter, my husband likes Skippy.

Other than the tiniest taste of chili sauce,I  have not tasted, licked or bitten into anything other that the foods recommended on the diet. However, yesterday - I did "cheat" by drinking more milk than allotted. I'm guessing I had about 3 cups of milk/yogurt, rather than the allotted 2  1/2 cups. Since some of it was homemade ice milk, I wasn't quite sure, but I also decided I didn't need to be fanatic about it - I'd be losing so much. Could that actually make a difference? Possibly.

Today my weight was down only 4 ounces. When I originally weighed myself, I thought I was down another pound but something made me go back and double check. My scale is situated in front of a towel bar and if I so much as lay a finger on the towel bar, it can alter the reading. I had seen 186.6-- a pound loss. But when I rechecked (after eating my 1/2 egg)  I was only 187.2. 

Could  4 ounces of milk And half an egg)  really make a difference???

The weight loss game is a cagey one. There are so many factors, known and unknown involved. I noticed that yesterday I was forgetting to massage my acupressure beads....probably skipped 2 of the times. I didn't drink quite as many cups of water, and the mantra is, the more water you drink the more you lose.
It may have been the affect of having salt on my french fries the night before. Or some kind of internal adjustment I have no knowledge of. At any rate, it's another milk day today -- and it is said that you lose more after your 2 milk days --(and Dr. Schwartz, who runs the program our of West Orange, NJ,  suggests you only weigh in every other day anyway.) We'll see if I dump more in one day, tomorrow.

Tomorrow is my last day on this set of herbal acupressure beads. I have to say, they seem to work. I have very little trouble with appetite. And now that my blood sugar is controlled, don't have many qualms, except perhaps about boredom with the diet, to keeping with the plan.

I'm also not really disappointed with not losing a whole pound overnight. I expected that the rate of loss would slow down and I'm okay with that --7 pounds in 7 days is nothing to sniff at!

My thoughts are going to "transition" lately-- now that I have the diet plan more or less mastered, I'm starting to wonder what transition really means and how it is accomplished. My friend says she eats "anything she wants" -- so I sent her  message asking if that is code for "And due to this diet, I don't want what I used to eat."  or if she truly doesn't think too much about what she eats, and has pizza, french fries o ice cream when the spirit moves her. I"m waiting for her reply.

In the meantime, I'm starting to feel like I can think about something else other than the diet and what I'm going to eat -- a good sign and step in the right direction.

Last night I went to an adult tap class at my Alma Mater. Even though today is the day I have a return visit to my orthopedist, and I'm still supposed to be wearing an air cast on my ankle, I felt I was healed enough and that tap would provide just the right kind of challenge for both may ankles, which are tight and somewhat weakened from the break and sprain suffered 6 weeks ago.

The teacher was great- dynamic and clear. There were only two of us and we seemed equally able, so we did a lot of steps, along with stretching. I was fine until she added a spin -- and suddenly found a spot in my ankle that was seemingly not ready for that move. I stopped doing it when I felt the pain, but I also couldn't completely pivot my self around in one motion. I felt a kind of burning tear -- and iced when I got home. This morning it's fine. I think I was basically breaking up some adhesions-- Other than some brief burning pain when I got up, the ankle seems as good as it's been. Phew!

I've got a date with a woman from Canada who does tap competitions and works with teens who do tap, to meet in in the spring at one of my tours, having collaborated long distance, to perform an easy routine together. This is my first step towards that goal. Fun!

Taste buds are definitely changing. I used to balk at eating plain yogurt, but I have found that the Walden Farms O calorie foods have become a turn off. Yesterday I ate my Stonyfield Plain yogurt completely plain, and savored the lack of sweetness and the tart tang - no small change. Since I did want to bulk up my milk with ice, rather than add a store bought syrup with Splenda, I added vanilla and orange extract and two bags of stevia. The result was mild but satisfying.  What, no chocolate???  That's right. I am surprised, to say the least.

I measured today...2 inches off my "waist". (I really don't have a waist, never had - I've got a boyish build--  but I try to find the narrowest place between my breasts and my navel and put the tape there!

Tomorrw night I change my BEADS.

EUREKA!!!! Hypoglycemia solved and I try WISE FRIES! YUM!

Sooooooo. I finally emailed my counselor and asked for the hypoglycemia protocol.  I took a glucose tolerance test in my 20's that suggested I was hypoglycemic...but over the years I felt like it went away-- like it was a temporary thing. But apparently it's activated by this diet. Not surprising, I suppose. Hypoglycemia was one of those conditions that was very popular to  confer on people in the 70's, but many doctors did not take it seriously. During test, I thought, "Who wouldn't react to having thick, orange, sugar gulped down in one dose and then sit around for 5 hours having blood tests. My sugar went up to 180 and then plunged. I was considered pre-diabetic at 25.  I started eating more protein and more whole grains, which seemed to help my panic attacks a little. But there were far more urgent issues in my personal life at the time, that needed to be addressed. And once they were, it didn't seem to matter too much what I ate.

Sooooo the protocol for the next couple of weeks? And I cut and paste (quote)

To address low blood sugar you will add the following to your program to allow your body to adjust to the change in diet:

Week 1:

• In the morning, have ½ a hard boiled egg

• Every 4 hours, have a spoonful of honey in a cup of hot tea or hot water

Week 2:

• In the morning, have ½ a hard boiled egg

• Every 6 hours, have a spoonful of honey in a cup of hot tea or hot water


Week 3:

• In the morning only on milk days, have ½ a hard boiled egg

• Every 8 hours, have a spoonful of honey in a cup of hot tea or hot water

Week 4:

• Eliminate use of the hard boiled egg

• As needed, have a spoonful of honey in a cup of hot tea or hot water

EUREKA!  I feel like a sailor who's been pulled at the last minute from a sinking ship. Based on what I have done over the last 5 days, this small amount of protein and glucose is like a complete fix - a morning buffet that I know will help me stay on track.

I went right to the kitchen, boiled 6 eggs, cooled them down, peeled one, cut it in half LENGTH WISE  (I'm no dummy) and ate it....with a little salt. Hmmmmmmmmm. I'd already had the tea and honey soI skipped that.

Then I went out and trimmed all the bushes around my house in the 85 degree heat. (Drinking smart water to make sure my electrolytes stayed normal.)    Later, a walk with my daughter in law, by the river, with Puppy. 

I feel saved.

It's noon- time for my first real meal of the day -- raw veggies and fruit (including that delicious "good fat" fruit, avocado.) I feel fine and I have been working outside for about 2 hours.

Combing the fruit in the salad makes salad dressing superfluous.  I tried to make several types of dresings suggested on the Listserv but they all included artificial sweeteners, which are really starting to both me as my palate becomes ultra senstive to sweetness. The peach was CAREFULLY picked. You have to sniff them to find a tasty, sweet peach. I picked two yesterday and they were spot on!  If you're not picky, you end up with something that tastes about as enticing as sawdust.

I ended the day with WISE FRIES-- from the Hungry Girl website.  These were GREAT!!!!! See how enthusiastic I am about a new food that actually tastes really familiar and satisfying?  I chopped up a butternut squash - I have to admit, my first time EVER!  Just using the top half, I got out my Pampered Chef crinkle cutter, so they would really be French Fry looking (though I am not a FF fanatic, the thought of anything potato-like was appealing.)  Preheat the oven to 45, spread the squash on a non-stick pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 40 minutes. They do blacken a bit at the edges -- I actually cooked them for about 30 minutes on convection --but the black part did not taste bad at all. It wasn't even noticable to me. I dipped the fries in my leftover spaghetti sauce  and ate them with a pile of brocoli and cauliflower sprinkled with Old Bay Seasoning. Blueberries, Rasberries and 1/2 a peach for dessert.
Very full, but still that sensation of the tongue wanting more, rather than the belly-- the belly was bloated up like a balloon!  There wasn't any fat in the meal, so I'm guessing that's what the tongue was searching for...
I'll definitely make an other batch of these on Thursday!

Struggling in the morning

It's Monday so I'm up at 5 am and weighed in -- lost another pound. 188.6. Only somehow this morning that didn't make me feel particularly good. I woke up with a dry mouth and feeling depressed at the prospect of a morning without food to boost my mood or blood sugar. Now, that's  normally not the way I wake up.  I am not a coffee drinker- I don't rely on caffeine to get my motor running. I love to get up with the sun and am normally energetic and get my best work done in the morning. By 3, I am normally tired and ready for a short nap.

So, I took a teaspoon of raw honey in tea and that did make me feel less shaky. After my husband left for work, I tried on a bunch of shorts and 3/4 length pants and jeans from last summer, when I'd dropped a few pounds for a while. They are all buttonable now.  That' helped some. But there is also something scarey about dropping weight so fast- for me it's an old association.

In the past -- I have had several instances where I lost weight very rapidly. It happened once in my early 20's, when I went through a divorce at 29 and again when I went through another big transition at 40. When slightly stressed, I tend to eat comfort foods. But when over stressed, I can't eat. It's been 18 years since something like that has happened to me -- but the association of losing pounds fast with the mental condition of depression is licking at my heels. I've got a dent in my neuronal pathways somewhere that says --Losing Weight Fast? Watch out!

This would also occur to my father, who suffered from  depression. I can remember my Mom telling me that whenever she saw my father drop weight, she knew he was going  (or had already) gone into a depression. These undercurrents in our psyche can be powerful blocks to change, but I believe if we're conscious of them, we can work with them.

I spoke to my sister about this on Sunday - saying that a part of me wondered if losing weight quickly could actually trigger a depression, biochemically or psychologically. The  body and mind are so connected --

Well, I think it's time to go outside and work in the garden. Being in sunshine and working with my plants has seemed to boost my mood everytime. I'll check in later to review how I feel about this process with food under my belt! LOL.  For now, I'm a bit glum.

One More Pound -- 189.2

I had a full house yesterday on my second "milk" day. I found that being around people was harder, I felt like I was suffering from low blood sugar and that made me feel emotionally vulnerable. Having made my husband's bacon, egg and toast breakfast with no qualms, when he asked me to cook him some hot dogs while he was in the shower --I lost it.  We had a back and forth exchange not worthy of us. I went and started the dogs on the grill and when he came out, we apologized to each other and he took over the grilling. He said I was "doing a great job" with the diet and he wanted to support me. Good!

A couple of times during the day, I felt almost drunk -- as though I was staggering slightly, in addition to feeling fuzzy headed. This is a sign of low blood sugar. I stuck to the diet and every time I had a little milk or yogurt I felt better. When I had a cup of milk in a diet root beer shake and a 1/4 cup of yogurt, I felt much better and survived the rest of the night with my kids, their wives, my sister and my granddaughter just fine. My son, who loves to cook and bake, brought over a delicious looking cherry pie. LOL!  I did not even allow myself to look at it. :-) nor did I let myself feel deprived. I thought about the shorts I had on, that I could not button until yesterday. And that my weight had dropped to 189.2 -- another pound - 5 in 4 days now.

Today when I woke up at 5 I decided to stay in bed and read. One of the books I have lying open, face down on my bed (I told my husband I need a book holder like the one Thomas Jefferson made, that holds several books, open at once on a twirling caddy)  is Sidney Poitier's letters to his great great granddaughter. Did you know that Sidney was born 2 months premature (and not in a hospital) and his father brought a shoebox home for his burial the first day? 24 hours later his Mom got up and sought out a fortune teller who predicted she need not worry about this child (her 9th) that he would survive and would travel the world, and meet kings and queens. She came home and told her husband to get the shoebox out of the house. Everything she said about Sidney came true.

Anyway, it made the time between getting out of bed and having a meal a couple of hours shorter. I still felt shaky, so I had that tsp of honey in my passion fruit tea and went off to usher at church, thinking about the fact that when I got home, I could have a cupful of cherries and a big salad. That was a glorious thought.
And I did.

For dinner I ate the second half of the spaghetti squash with tomato sauce  and an apple dipped in truvia and cinnamon, which tasted divine. Then off to the grocery store to restock the fridge with more veggies, avocado and fruit for tomorrow, plus my husband's meat for the week. Going to the grocery store on a full stomach is ALWAYS a good idea.  Picking up some chocolate ice cream for my husband was a little tough. I could taste it.

I trolled the fruit and veggie aisles for something different and decided on baby spinach, blueberries and raspberries for a salad tomorrow. And went to the salad bar for some cut up broccoli and cauliflower which I'm going to make into a soup. That sounds good til you realize I can't use any milk or cream in it. But I"ve got the veggie stock ready and I'll give it a try.

Spent the afternoon at the Car Museum, looking at fantastic muscle cars and playing songs from the 50's on a juke box. Never thought about food once while I was there. Veggie days seem much easier than milk days! I felt so distracted I forgot to massage the acupressure beads at 3. One of the rules is that you MUST do the massage and 3 pm and 7 pm -- no explanation. I ended up remembering at 4:30 and quick did a massage and several more throughout the night, whenever I thought of it, hoping that would make up for whatever mysterious qualities 3 and 7 have!

Cellular Memory and Starvation?

I found it really interesting how enjoyable it was to make my husband's bacon, egg and toast breakfast this morning. He eats cheerios on the weekdays but on weekends, it is our habit to eat together and I usually make eggs or whole grain french toast.

I didn't taste any of the food or even want to lick the butter off my fingers. It just seemed comforting to smell the food cooking. I even found myself purposefully taking big sniffs. It seems to make the road I'm temporarily on much less bleak and long.

We carry our ancestors in our genes to one degree or another. They live within our tissues. People who receive heart transplants sometimes even seem to inherit the memories of the donor!

.I wonder if  by cutting calories so drastically, I activate some gene expression that "remembers" a period of real starvation. Smelling the food, I feel contented, reminding my body that I am cutting my calories by choice, that food is plentiful and readily available should I change my mind. I'm not actually in a prison, concentration camp or languishing during a plague or famine. I'm living amidst plenty of plenty -- so much that so that it was easy as apple pie to get fat. 

SATURDAY MORNING - MILK DAY 2

I've spoken with my counselor and she assures me this is NOT a starvation diet. The reason is, because of the acupressure beads manipulating the hypothalamus gland, the body does not slow it's metabolism, nor eat up your muscle or organ tissue for breakfast. People retain their muscles mass, which is why so many look toned as they lose, rather than really saggy and baggy. Though I'm sure those that are losing in the range of 60-100 pounds or more do have pockets of droopy skin to deal with.  She told me many doctors have done this diet just to see how it works, after their patients come in minus the weight they've carried for years. And all the numbers get better -- triglycerides, cholesterol, even hypothyroid people improve. That's the only medication I take (thyroid)  --don't believe statin drugs are safe, nor do I trust the pharmaceutical supported research that says it "works." Did you know that lots  of research shows that women with higher cholesterol levels live the longest? Dont' believe me --read The Cholesterol Myth, or go to www.westonaprice.org and check out their cholesterol writings. My Dad had very low cholesterol which is associated with depression and cancer, both of which he suffered with. He died of bladder cancer at age 69.

Got up this Saturday at 5 and wasn't feeling quite as good as yesterday-- did a yoga and chi gong tape, with LEE HOLDEN (he's great!) some gardening and it was still 6 hours till LUNCH.  (A glass of milk in some shape or form.)  Today the hunger pangs are evident despite massaging the acupressure beads diligently. Though they do come and go and maybe I haven't been drinking quite enough water? I've read on the List Serve that people lose the most after milk days.. I can see why.

I did  lose another pound......and a few ounces.  190.4 this morning.
When I look in the mirror, I can really see it in my face and my stomach.
That's what keeps people doing this particular diet -- the rewards are there and they are highly motivating.

My granddaughter and my sister are coming today and both will spend the night. Got to get ready!
kinda wish this was a veggie/fruit day so I could eat more normally in the afternoon. On well, I think lunch will be a mocha shake...with lots of ice in the milk and coffee and  WF choc syrup..and hour and a half till Lunch time.

BTW, if you're interested in researching the diet plan, go to www.accudiet.com or www.beaddiet.com
Don't believe what you read on review websites. I found a couple and they turned out to be highly inaccurate as to what this diet program entails.

Cinderella better get her ass home before 10 PM!

I was feeling so good last night, after my bowl of garlic,onion, milk soup and dessert of  yoghurt favored with raspberry WF jam, that I decided I could do a "night on the town." A middle-aged male band that I know was playing at a bar about 30 minutes away. My husband wasn't game so I took a girlfriend over. The band was a lot better than their sound system, but we were definitely invading somebody's personal "Cheers." -- this was a biker and tatto bar and the smoke was as thick as I been in in YEARS. Good thing hubby did not come, at my bidding, because he can't stand smoke. I can tolerate it, having been a smoker in the past. But it was irritating to know my clothes were soaking it up and that I'd walk in the door at home smelling like I'd been cuddling up with Marlboro Man.

Any way, After an hour I had a diet coke and then we decided to call it quits. The band started at 9 - the usual around here. (How I love the sanity of English Pubs that play music starting at 7 and you can go home by 9. In fact on weekdays, they offten CLOSE then, so nobody has trouble getting up in the morning for work, or has a hangover!)

Anyway, by 10:30 on the ride home, I started to feel lousy -- my stomach was talking back to me and I felt queasy and had a slight headache, maybe it was the smoke?  -and it occured to me that I could have read myself to sleep by now, had I been home, and missed this particular nauseating feeling.

MEMO TO SELF: Cinderella of the Last Diet-- get thee to your Pumpkin Chariot and get your butt home before the clock chimes 10 next time!

EMERGENCY! Life is a box of (Fattening) chocolates, you never know what yur gonna get

You might assume that I did a drive by at a Josh Early's and got sucked out of my car window by the smells of chocolate turtles or cherry cordials. But that's not the case. I was happily out pruning my bushes again, and making veggie stock on my stove when I got a phone call from my eldest son. Seems he's just about  severed his finger and he was at the emergency ward --and wanted some support. So I turned off the stock, locked the doors and poured one cup of whole milk in a thermos and took off -- he's a half hour away and I figured I better be prepared.

Now, he's okay - though brooding over the loss -- he can't play ball for two weeks. The doc put 12 stitches in his finger and glued his nail back on. He has a fracture but he didn't sever any muscles or tendons. ( he's not a kid, he's over 30.) So I took him to his car and told him I needed to get home to try out my ice-cream. He noticed that I was thinner!  But only for second-- he was deep into his own problems of the moment.

Sooooo. The cool thing is that yesterday I was wondering if I could handle having my granddaughter over while on this diet. She's still a terrible 2 and requires a lot of attention. Plus, just last night I was brooding that I could take the food stuff, but I could not handle not feeling good - and that I wanted to feel as good as I did before I started this damn diet (mood) - as good as I felt driving to Boston and back my myself last weekend, singing away with my Across the Universe CD. And you know what? There I was, post emergency room, riding along in my car, singing away. I"d had 1 cup of milk in the last 18 hours and I wasn't a bit hungry. I felt great.

In fact, while gardening, I felt so good that I started fooling around, not just with weeding and pruning, but with the more creative aspects of my garden - the little things I place around for more ambiance. I hadn't felt like doing  that for two years -- that's a real sign of feeling very, very good, of feeling expansive and on automatic "humnnnn." Cool.

The hard part was going inside and gettingthe  ice milk out-- which was hard as a rock. I had to microwave it to get a spoon into it and it was grainy and really didn't taste that good. While trying to work with it, I became a bit anxious and shaky as my mind flew to such questions as "Is this all I get to eat today?" or "What do I crunch on?"  or "2 1/2 cups? That's it? What will I do at dinner?" etc. etc.  My mind was making me shake, not my body. My body was having a fine time gardening and driving and going to the emergency ward. It's the mind-body-food connection that's tripping me up.

But I think I can deal with it. I took a sip of plain, fresh milk. Hey this is raw milk with lots of fat and enzymes and I don't want to waste the value of that with a microwave or even a 0 calorie chocolate, I realized.  I went back out to garden, I strained my stock and took the veggies to the compost heap. And I made chili for my husband's dinner. Not a bad day. And I hear you lose even more weight after Milk days...

I found a recipe for garlic soup on the web-- just milk, garlic, onion, xantham gum and a spice or two. That will be dinner, with some decaf and milk, perhaps. and a popsicle made from zevia rootbeer. I can handle that.

I'm getting in the groove and I can already feel my knees thanking me.

I've Got Milk!

First things first. I dropped another pound. Second, I woke up feeling fine, without any shakiness or weird feelings and (maybe because I took an aleve for muscle pain after working in the yard for 2 hours yesterday) I didn't have to get up in the middle of the night to pee -not once!  (Unless I got up and a can't remember! LOL)  Third, I went to my stash of summer shorts that were relegated to the "can't button these" pile and put a pair on. They buttoned easily and I'm sitting here with them on, without feeling like the waistband is going to give me reflux!  How cool is that? Way cool, way cool.

Last night I made spaghetti squash with tomato sauce (homemade, no oil) for dinner. I felt normal satiation for the first time in 2 days. Maybe it was the familiarity of the sauce. My taste buds were really happy, even without the Romano.

I ate less than the 1  and 1/2 pounds of veggies allowed for the day. It's true, you just can't force yourself to eat more raw veggies when you feel full. I added half an avocado (now that I know I've got plenty of ounces to spare) to my lunchtime salad and that tasted great-- the creamy texture felt like a thick dressing. And I made a smaller bowl, so there was nothing left over for Puppy! LOL--okay, I tossed her a few pieces of romaine.

Puppy seems to be aware that I am doing something different. I wonder if my body is eeking out stinky detoxing smells that only a dog can pick up.  The night before last, she actually went into my husbands bedroom and got up on his bed to sleep. This is UNHEARD of. (I snore, we sleep separately, end of story.)  If dogs can alert you to an epileptic attack or can smell cancer --they must be able to smell toxic fat coming through your pores!

Last night I almost lost it. We went to an IRON PIGS game and I took my can of Zevia for comfort. But it seemed that everyone around me was out to sabotage my diet. French fries, funnel cake, hot dogs, port barbecue, popcorn - you name it, someone was eating it within 15 feet of me. Can you imagine the smells?
But the other thing I noticed? Living in funnel cake country, I've become somewhat immune to how overweight MANY people are, including myself.  Last night it was blatantly obvious. Studies have been done that show that body weight is highly related to the people who surround you --in other words, you are influenced by how others look and eat - and you tend to become the same. My husband got a soda, a pack of red licorice and a large pretzel -- surprising because we actually don't usually eat  at games. I asked him what was up and he said, "Two hamburgers (what he had for dinner) is not a very filling dinner." I responded with a touch of delirium--" A half  a pound of burger, two rolls, a piece of cheese and ketchup are not filling???? Then he said, "I guess I'm eating for you!"  LOL! I hope this diet plan isn't dangerous to his health! If  I lose 30, he'll gain 30?!!But I also promised myself I would do my very best not to make one more comment on his eating habits while I adjust mine. It's a very bad idea to get in that kind of a critical mode. You do what you do. If others want to follow, fine. If not, they aren't ready. Period.

Today is the start of the 2 day milk protocol. 20 ounces of milk between 12 and 6 PM. You can add Zero calorie syrups and make shakes and ice cream. I've got Walden Farms chocolate and maple syrups all lined up and I made the ice cream from raw whole milk two days ago. I also bought Walden Farms marshmallow fluff, peanut butter and raspberry jam. HA! 20 ounces of milk (2 1/2 cups) does not seem like anything close to a pound and a half of veggies and 2 fruits, so I guess I was getting nervous when I bought those things. My counselor assures me that once the acupressure beads kick in fully, I may not even want that much...hmmm. That's an interesting thought.

I plan to do more yard work on this beautiful, sunny day. Being outside and working in my garden feels highly therapeutic. I'm engaged, moving, not sweating too much, (Which would mean losing water and possibly disturbing my electrolyte balance) enjoying the sights, smells and sounds and I'm still near a bathroom and a pitcher of water. Yesterday I consumed the 11 -12 glasses of water; the recommended one half your body weight in ounces. My bladder is wondering if I'm trying to put out a fire. 

The Listserve support group I have access to as part of this plan has been helpful- but it also contains pitfalls for beginners, I think. There are people who have been very successful who cheer you on and have a wealth of recipe tips. And there are people who haven't done so well, who are basically whining and crying about it. Reading their posts can be unnerving, so I decided I would avoid them. There are stages of change: Precontemplation, Contemplation, Action and Maintenance. The whining people are still in Contemplation phase, trying to do the diet. They're not committed. Been there. Its a very frustration phase. I feel committed. That's why I could go to someones house and watch them eat dinner and be perfectly happy with a glass of ice water and the conversation. Blessed Be.

And a chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallow sundae at noon.

Alive and kicking

I woke up at 4 AM - not that unusual, but I felt kind of crappy - sort of an inner shakiness. I decided not to stay in bed and stew about it so I got up, had 2 cups of cold water and put in the Dirty Dancing DVD workout that just came in the mail. I made some passion fruit tea, with a tsp of raw honey (you're allowed to have that if you feel lightheaded -- or before you exercise, and I did a 30 minute warm up routine where they teach you a bunch of dance steps. The concentration did the trick (and maybe the tea) and I felt much better. I"m nursing a broken ankle back to health, so I was very careful.

At 5 my husband gets up and I make his lunch. Today it's BLT, so I'm smelling bacon and cutting up watermelon, putting pretzels in a baggy and cherries in a cup. Believe it or not, this is okay with me. I do this every week day and I'm used to not eating or picking at the food too much -- okay the fruit, usually.. To be honest, its nice to smell the food-- I love smells - they are very satisfying.  Last night I watched two people eat a great smelling, garlicky shrimp and chicken dish while I drank ice water. They kept asking me if I wanted a a little bit (knowing I was dieting)  but I said no and I was fine. Conversation was enough. And the food smelled great- like a perfume. You don't eat perfume, right?

It's now almost 8 AM, I have had 4 glasses of cold water and a cup of hot tea and I've got 4 more hours till I can eat my veggies and fruit. Maybe I should go back to bed!!

No, this is always a productive part of my day and I've often gotten busy and forgotten to eat till lunch time --- well -not OFTEN, but it happens and I'm not aware of suffering. Of course, right now I'm detoxing so that's a little different, but I think I will go take the dog for a leisurely walk around the park and pull some weeds. Then get to work. (I'm a writer)

I was surprised to see that I dropped 2 pounds. 192.6.
 Now that's my Set point weight. I go over that and under that very occasionally and my weight comes back to 192 -- for the last 17 years, about. Actually for the last year or so its been stuck more like 194. Recently I broke my ankle and had some oral surgery that caused a lot of residual pain -- I couldn't move much and I stuffed a lot of sugary comfort foods down my throat. I gained about 8 pounds. That is now gone (I did Atkins for 10 days before starting this protocol.) This is where the rubber hits the road. Going below 192 has always been hard, 10 years ago,  I lost 10 pounds and got down to 182 for my HS reunion --through very vigorous exercise, heavy weight lifting and a the "Body For Life" diet plan. But I hurt my back doing the heavy weights and after the reunion my resolve fell apart.  Other than that, I can't remember losing more than a pound or two no matter what I've done -- counted calories, exercised every day, followed the Peanut Butter Diet or the Coconut Diet -- you get the picture. Here I am. The Last Diet.

My phone counselor told me that a lot of people she works with enter into The Biggest Loser challenges at their workplace. She says if they do this diet correctly, they always win. I like that idea -- and they don't even do coffee enemas or fracture their shin bones working out, like folks on the show. Lots of people on the biggest loser gain the weight back. They just can't keep up that kind of grueling exercise when they get home.

My Dog Ate My Salad

I know, it sounds too ridiculous to be true. After carefully measuring and weighing out 12 ounces of salad stuff, I found I could only eat about half and realized I could stop eating and have the rest later. I left the room for minute --salad bowl open--and as usual got distracted. When I came back I saw zucchini and portobello mushrooms on on the floor, the rejects from my cock-a-poo's mad cache and dash!  She ate the grated carrot, the romaine lettuce and the cauliflower.  So......now I don't know exactly how much I ate. There are 2.3 ounces left. LOL!!!  (Or should I be crying? I'm a little lightheaded right now)  I guess I can fake it for the rest of the day...but it certainly threw me a curve ball. Live. And Learn.

The good news is that while searching beneath the potholders and towels for the Popsicle maker (Made Zevia Ginger Beer Popsicles anticipating the 93 degree weather on Saturday) I found all kinds of great kitchen gadgets I'd relegated to that netherworld of seldom used stuff. I didn't know that my Pampered Chef cheese grater could shred carrots! Yippee. I was looking for something better than my mandolin, which shreds my knuckles.

I also found a P.C. ripple cutter, a knife sharpener and the rest of the Popsicle sticks. I hung a heart shaped cookie cuter  on a refrigerator magnet next to the sign that says, "Nothing Tastes as Good as Thin Feels." -- we'll see about that.

I spent time neatly arranging some of my stash in a seldom used Pampered Chef crudites "thingy" --I know I often forget about veggies and fruits in the vegetable bins until they've shriveled up or gotten slimy. But not now! I also took the raw milk and yogurt and made two batches of ice milk/yogurt with my Oprah induced purchase of a bright red Ice Cream maker that I bought, used about 3 times and then stuffed in the back of a cupboard. I still works as well as it did-- stuff sticks to the inside and it's very hard to get out, but I made an effort, waiting till that part melted and put up two ice milks in the fridge for milk days-- chocolate and maple. (Walden farms 0 calorie syrups)

I have a belated birthday date tonight-- my friend wanted to know what she could make me for dinner! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  I told her not to worry about it -- a diet coke would be fine. If I was hungry, I'd bring something....

OK--gotta pee....AGAIN.