17 POUNDS
GONE FOREVER

HALF WAY MARK..

It's been a long time coming, but here it is.. I'm half way to my 30# weight loss.. I got on the scales again this morning and had to get off and on 3 times to make sure my eyes weren't fooling me.. I lost another pound, and that makes 15 # gone forever!! WOOHOO!!!
Of course my goal was for my birthday THIS year, but perhaps by next year I'll be rid of the excess baggage and feeling a lot better.

4 POUNDS

I picked up a 4 # bag of sugar today to see how much weight I've lost in the past 2 weeks.. I'm not doing anything special, but just watching what I eat daily.

That's a total of 14#.. inching right along here. It's actually better to inch along than to lose a big chunk all at once. One tends to put the pounds back on quickly with a fast weight-loss.

It must be a good day.. 10# lost and moving right along slowly, which for folks like me is good. It's been too long trying to follow the diet, so I sort of put it on a back burner.
So much happening, I have only a guess why the loss..
It's the Strattera. I think it's upping my metabolism. I suppose if that's what it takes... well, who am I to complain?
Onward !!

A SLOW DOWN

Having coffee now.. had breakfast.

Cereal- oatmeal with strawberries..
3/4 c Mandarin oranges
2 slices toast

Meds: 2 Tylenol XS, Dyazide, Vitamin, CoQ10 100mg, Prilosec 30mg, Metanx, ASA 81mg, Strattera 40mg
The Strattera makes me nauseated.. my intake has been poor the past few days, but I'm keeping up with vitamins and I am eating some- just not a lot.
Smells of foods drive me up the wall too.. someone ordered wings last night at work.. thought I would lose my cookies right then and there.. I was getting panicky about it till someone closed the conference room door and I settled. Wendy tells me this should be short lived with the medication.. and when it's done, all will return to normal again. She's right.. actually the nausea wasn't bad yesterday, only when the wings arrived.

Lunch:

Supper:

Snack:

Exercise: Just at work I'm afraid.. Too much ice out there..

THINGS ARE CHANGING

Well, things are changing.. I'm taking a new med that is causing me to not be able to follow my diet; in fact, I am not eating much of anything from the nausea. Hopefully it will be short lived.. I need the nutrients. It has been 2 days of nearly nothing at mealtime.. not good.
I got all the way to supper yesterday when the nausea hit hard and I couldn't even sit at the table with food. No loss of my 'cookies' but the urge is so great the more I am around the food. So I am drinking more water for now.
I'll be stepping on the scales in the morning.. we'll see how it's affected my weight..
Meds: 2 Tylenols late tonite- 10pm
Strattera 40 mg , Prevacid 30 mg x 2 today for the nausea, Metanx, Dyazide, ASA 81mg,
I held the fish oil caps today.. will try them again tomorrow.
Vytorin 10/20 at bedtime

Breakfast: 1 egg yolk, 3 whites
2 biscuits with a smidge of butter on each
2 Coffee

Lunch : Munchies.. I picked at a couple pieces and then tossed the rest.. too nauseated
Raspberry tea- 1/2 cup

Supper: Garlic parmesan chicken and pasta- about a cup.. didn't do real well.. ate about 11pm when the nausea had subsided a bit.

Snack.. a couple plain tortilla chips and a handful of oriental rice crackers..
Water- some

So the diet isn't going real well here..

Exercise: well, I was on my feet a lot today. and napped about 3 hours after I got home.. mostly because I just felt so sick and exhausted from it all.

Looking to a better day tomorrow.. (that'll be later today.. it's already Friday.)

AROUND THE PERIMETER

Well, the reports weren't particularly good at the doctor.. but most of it was okay.
Cholesterol is through the roof again and triglycerides hot on it's tail.
Have to change medication dosages, add some meds and then keep on doing what I am doing with the diet and some exercise..
I love this walking. Yesterday 3 times around the perimeter and even with rain, once around the perimeter today.
I'm moving.. walking.. and watching what goes in my mouth..
More tomorrow hopefully..

GLAD MONDAY IS PAST

SHOULDA SKIPPED THE OLIVES

I was trying to figure out what the offending food was that caused my ankles to swell and stay swollen this morning. It is not hard to figure, as most everything I ate yesterday was of the low sodium variety. But.. I did have a huge salad last night before going to bed, and that salad had 4-5 very large green olives in it. I assume that is the culprit. I'll be much more careful from now on.
No change in weight. Considering my ankles, that is very encouraging.

Meds: 2 Tylenol XS, dyazide, Prilosec, Vitamin, ASA, Metanx

Breakfast:
1 egg w/3 whites scrambled with mushrooms
1 pre measured hash brown pattie
2 cups coffee
1/2 c canned peaches
A couple of mouthfuls of water.. I'll take a bottle to church with me for the long drive down.

Lunch:
Grilled chicken breast-plain
Potato wedges
Tossed salad w/ranch- to dip
Onion petals and Zucchini fries- we shared
Coffee
Supper:
Pork roast
mashed potatoes no gravy
tossed salad- hold the olives
green beans

Snack:
Ice cream-chocolate

The Count:
Bread: 3/10
Fruit: 1/3
Protein: 6/7 I am going to go over on this one- not a problem..all lean meats

HERE WE GO AGAIN

I really have to get moving on the weight loss.. I'm feeling so bogged by my excess baggage.
Yesterday I did very well.
Bkfst:
2 scrambled eggs
2 small waffles/butter only
banana
Lunch:
Supper: 6" hoagie with meat/cheese
apple
Snack:
2c cereal/pretzel mix

My back has been bothering me a lot lately, so I am trying to keep on the move as much as possible.. I take time at supper to walk to the garage at work and back again. By the time I do that, my back is aching and I'm thankful to be able to stop. Walking will be a priority. I may try today.
I finally got on the scales- I've been ignoring them daily because my ankles aren't too bad and I was assuming that I'm not retaining as much fluid as I had been before.. bad idea not to weigh daily- gotta do this. Anyway, there is no change in weight for which I am thankful- but wish it was going down.
I'm finishing my brunch coffee and then will start on water.


As for today:
Meds: Prilosec,ASA,Vitamin,Metanx,2 Tylenol (11:30am),Dyazide
Breakfast:
3 scrambled eggs (2 yolks,3 whites)
2 bread w/butter
3/4c mandarin oranges
3 c coffee/Coffeemate creamer

Lunch: 1 small apple
Supper:
3 oz chicken- baked
3/4c carrots
2/3 c mashed potatoes
2 Croissants
Snacks:
1 small apple
I have saved my huge salad for a snack tonite.
I was just too full to try any more food.
Let's see- I have had 5/7 proteins and need 2 more .. hmm...I'll have to look for cheese I suppose.
I've also had 8/10 bread exchanges... hmmm... I'll need 2 more of those too.
The veggies will be in my salad.. lettuce (2 cups), cherry tomatoes (12), cucumber (about 3" sliced), mushrooms ( about 4 large), and the dressing will be a dollop or 2 of Italian.
I've had no milk exchanges today- perhaps yogurt? Whoa.. there is too much food to eat and not enough time to consume it all.. that is always my problem. You'd wonder why I'm so overweight?

SAME OLD THING...

I haven't journalled for a couple of days.. not much to report.

WEIGHT: I have stayed the same for the last couple days.. ankles a little swollen..hmmmmm
MEDS: No changes..Tylenols, Prevacid, Folgard, Plavix, Dyazide x2...oh, and Robitussin too..
FLUID INTAKE: It's nearly 8pm.. I've actually had 3 cups of coffee today and am working on #2 bottle of water
LOW SODIUM INTAKE grapes, banana, barley soup, peanut butter sandwich, handful of Oriental snack crackers.
THE PLAN:I really need to move my consumption of water up another notch. I'm so lazy about drinking it.

STATUS QUO

Not much to add today..
WEIGHT: -0 no change today.. holding my own

MEDS: 2 Tylenol 500mg, Plavix, Prevacid,ASA, Folgard,Dyazide

FLUIDS:
Just woke up and having coffee-nice to wake up to hot coffee

LOW SODIUM FOOD INTAKE
Woke up at 4am and decided to have a banana.. strange

THE PLAN: keep on , continue.. watch the salt!

I LOSE AGAIN..

Whatever I am doing, it must be right. Today when I woke up, I was surprised again to have my ankles even more reduced. There is just little swelling there now. If I keep this up, I may see ankles by tomorrow.
I was also pleasantly surprised to find another loss when I stepped on the scales. I will have to keep watching the scales daily because of the edema in my legs, but it makes me happy to see that physically they are looking more like human legs.

WEIGHT: -2 #

MEDS:
2 Tylenol 500 mg, Prevacid, Aspirin, Folgard, Dyazide 9am/5pm
Tonite I'll start the Vytorin again- it's a statin drug- I went off of it because the muscles in my arms hurt..they still hurt, so I can safely assume it's not the Vytorin.

FLUIDS:
Enjoying my first coffee at the moment
#1 water is on my desk in front of me
#2 bottle is half empty

LOW NA FOOD INTAKE:
Banana with meds
Tilapia- 2 servings, Green beans buttered and Mrs Dash for seasoning
Supper: Lemon pepper chicken, veg/pasta medley, ice cream for dessert..
Snack.. a bunch of grapes

THE PLAN:
I think the best plan is to try to keep the diet / fluids where they are. It seems to be working fine. I'll be very careful with Sodium intake today.

I DIDN'T EXPECT IT TODAY

Adjusting fluids and intake has it's bonus. I was more concerned about fluid weight loss.. and this morning got a surprise in addition ...

LOSS- 4 #........ brings me to a total of 10#
MEDS- Tylenol 2 500 mg, Plavix, Aspirin, Folgard,Prevacid,Dyazide- 10 am/5pm
FLUID INTAKE
2 coffee at the moment
1 water......poor poor poor !!!
LO NA FOODS
banana
tilapia-2 servings
green beans- 2 servings
grilled chicken salad with lots of tomato, carrots for supper tonite
taking a banana, mandarin oranges and peach yogurt too

Note to self.. didn't eat the oranges.. but had a couple pieces of chocolate and a handful of crackers at work tonite.. Accckkkk!
Hope I do okay in the morning


THE PLAN
Keep the present plan in action.. lo na foods, drinks, and increase the water slowly.. at least 2 bottles a day.. aim for 3 by next week.

YES AND NO

Not so bad today.. edema in legs is on the mend. There is some swelling there, but again, a bit better than yesterday. I'll get to see my ankles again one day I'm sure.
WEIGHT:-/+ 0 No change.. holding the 5# fluid loss well.
MEDS: 10:30am 1 Tylenol 500mg, ASA, Folgard,Prevacid, Dyazide
FLUIDS:
3 cups coffee this morning to get me warmed up
starting #1 water
LOW SODIUM FOOD INTAKE:
1/2 banana with meds
Tilapia, green beans,and grapes
2 slices potato bread toast w/ butter- the real stuff
Supper tonite is packed..
grilled chicken salad with lots of tomatoes w/ lo Na dsg

adding 2 extra bottles of water tonite.. we'll see.

THE PLAN:
The plan of the day is water.. lots of it. And while I make Wendell some chicken barley soup, I'll also be braising some chicken for my salad today..I did get veggies and fruits. That will be supper tonite.

THAT'S MORE LIKE IT

It's morning. The first thing I noted was that my ankles are substantially reduced from yesterday. Not normal by any means, but getting there. Through the night I got up and drank almost the rest of bottle of water #2 from yesterday. I hopped on the scales to see how much fluid was eliminated..

• Loss: -5 pounds

• 8am Meds: Dyazide, Folgard, ASA, Prevacid,

• 9am tylenol-2 500mg tabs

• Fluid intake:

coffee, fat free creamer
water - finished yesterday's 2nd bottle
#2 bottle on my desk

• Low sodium food intake:

banana-2
mandarin oranges
fruit juice
tossed salad /squirt of Italian dsg
tomatoes chopped
green beans with a little butter
almost 1/3 of a bear claw breakfast roll- didn't like it...too sweet for me. A waste of calories and too much sugar and sodium to spend on even a half.
Skipping making chicken for the day.. will try tomorrow. I can always buy the chicken at the cafeteria.. broiled and perfect for me.- perhaps on a pita half.

Gainfully employed today and will be stopping for some veggies.. carrots, tomatoes, celery and bananas too.
We go through a lot of bananas with Wendell using them for his GI problems..
Also will get a few Gala apples and possibly some grapes depending on the price.
Note to self.. perhaps cheese too- we seem to be out.

WHA'D'JEET?

That's Pittsburghese for "What did you eat?".. I need some humor in my life about now.
I've been concentrating on low to no sodium foods today.. and to water.. fluids as intake.
Strangely enough, I need the extra intake to flush out the extra sodium I'm holding and extra fluid on my legs.

Okay.. here's what I've had so far:

• 1 banana
• 2 servings mandarin oranges
• 2 servings fresh strawberries
• 4 cups coffee.. I know, I know.. bad for me...
• 2 grilled cheese sandwiches with a little butter and 2 slices of cheese on both. It was about more than I could eat.
• a few tastes of chocolate pudding to ease my chocolate craving.

I'm still working on my 1st water of the day too.. I'm not a good water drinker. Perhaps tomorrow I'll push a little harder.
I'm concentrating on fruits..especially the fresh ones.. that are full of potassium. This should help rid the sodium from my system too. We shall see in the morning... I've been spending a lot of time going in and out of the BR.
Med wise: one dyazide at 8am and one at 4pm.. tylenol, folgard, aspirin,and plavix, prevacid.
Tomorrow will be gainfully employed. I'll go for chicken salad.. my own. lots of lettuce and veggies and grilled chicken strips on top. Dressing: hmmmmmmm probably a spritzer with Italian dressing.
I think veggies will rule tomorrow.. but I will have some fruit also..just not like today.
We need tomatoes.. I could eat a good many of them.. and they are good for me too.. low sodium. I can spritz them with dressing..also low sodium.
Chicken will be grilled using olive oil and Mrs Dash seasoning.
SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN!
And of course, I'll be weighing in every morning from now till I see the doctor in a month or so.
I have not given up the thought of calling him and having a BNP run .. that's a blood test specific for Congestive Heart Failure. We shall see how I do for a few days first.

whoa............

This is a nightmare.. my ankles are solid.. swollen.. I'm getting concerned. The weight gain was 6# since the last time I got on the scales ... I think Monday when I was still at my 8# loss.
I'm cutting back the sodium starting today.. for sure. No wonder I feel so sore all over.
This is not a game anymore.. gotta get those pounds off for my health.
I took my dyazide today..will repeat it at 4pm.
So far I've had 2 cups coffee
and a 2 serving banana
and 2 serving mandarin oranges
Now I'm heading out for a bottle of water..
I'm determined to get my real ankles back. One day I may take a picture of them just to remind myself that they are small and not bad looking except when I am retaining fluids. AAACCKKK!!!!
The goal for the day:

• get in at least 2 bottles of water
• keep the sodium under 200 mg
• move a little more today..