LC Day 60! NICE!!!

Today's dinner plans changed this morning...and I'm kinda happy. I’ll miss the company of my friend, but while I was supposed to go out for dinner tonight...I really just think I want a burger at home. Breakfast was eggs and bacon, lunch will be leftover taco salad. Snacks are celery with cream cheese and a pinch of almonds. My weight this morning...271.6. I'm almost scared to write it in case it's not there tomorrow....but wow! I get on a plane to Vegas next thursday so will have to weigh a day early. I'm nervous about holding it together while traveling, partying, and intentionally straying from plan, etc...but no matter what, I know this is the right place for me.

So I slept HORRIBLE last night. A friend was over visiting till late into the evening so I couldn't take my Ambien and trust that I would be up on time for work. So instead I took Requip (another drug useful for restless leg syndrome, but when I take it too often it causes memory loss) and just had an awful night sleep. It causes EXTREMELY vivid dreams...last night I dreamt I had a fever of 104 and was running around my office naked until I passed out from the fever and they had to call an ambulance. I don't believe I was actually deeply sleeping because I remember thinking that this fever could mean I have swine flu, so I spent the whole night partially stressed about being ill and not actually "resting" . It was a very strange sensation...like being trapped between reality and a dream world. LOL...I'm so happy to be awake and healthy today.

Potassium seems low today...bad ankle cramping yesterday and far worse today. Not sure why...dangit! I am so tired of increasing my potassium. There's got to be a limit of how much one should supplement that stuff! UGH...it's so ridiculous. I wish I could quit these stupid water pills. I recall that I was once on a "potassium sparing" water pill that they took me off of when I was trying to get pregnant...maybe I should go back to that. I'll call the cardiologist and see what he thinks.

LC Day 59

I ate my "lasagna" with my friend last night...pealing out the noodles as planned. He did think I was strange...in a "girlie" way...gave one of those "I'll never understand girls" comments. LOL...this from a 6'2" slender guy that I'm sure has never a day in his life had to worry about his weight. He never ONCE commented on my weight loss...so when I jokingly fished for a compliment, I got "you always looked good to me"...hmph...but I look better now, right? Dammit! A girl needs some freakin feedback! LMAO...we had a pleasant evening of conversation. Some of my old "feelings" for him reared their ugly heads for a few minutes...but I quickly reminded myself about his status as "relationship runner" and they went away. Whenever I spend an evening like that with him though, I remember how easy he is to fall for.

So last night wasn't grand carb-wise....I had a couple of fat-furnace stopping alcoholic beverages while we chatted, but my scale is back down to 272.8 this morning...so I'm ok with what I did. I didn't partake in the noodles of the lasagna and ate very little of what I did eat...couldn't tell ya the carb counts, but I feel I ended the day within my limits. I chowed on some celery and cream cheese just before he came over so that I wouldn't be starving the rest of the night.

Today I'm eating eggs and sausage for breakfast, I hope I'm going out for lunch (someone at work is having a birthday) because I didn't pack a lunch, and dinner will be taco salad at home. I have bacon and celery to snack on through the day. Looks like I need to get some extra veggies in somewhere.

I was just researching my dining options in Vegas for my trip next week and had to laugh. I found one restaurant I will Definitely be going to...and one I will be avoiding. There is a "Burger Bar" and a "Noodle Shop" at/near my hotel....any guesses? LOL

LC Day 58

I went to Physical therapy yesterday and he worked me out pretty good. I got on the treadmill for him, and he had me concentrate on a different part of my gate than I have been at the gym. He is less concerned about my foot swing (which is what I tend to focus on) and more concerned that I swing my hips symmetrically...so that's my new focus. Actually, after 5 minutes of doing that, some of my hip pain STARTED to resolve. And then he killed me with other exercises and my hip hurt the rest of the day. LOL...but it was great work and I broke a sweat. He has this shuttle similar to a "total gym" but with resistance bands instead of angles that he has me "jump" on in a laying position...that is such a powerful exercise....totally gets my heart rate up and allows me to "jump", which I can't do in the real world standing upright. I wish I had one of these shuttles to do this more often because it works EVERYTHING from the oblique’s down...really great exercise. Today I have ACTUAL muscle soreness...which doesn't happen very often.

The spinning bike is a go! ;) Now I've got to find a class to join to give it a shot. When I did it on my own, I actually had trouble getting OFF the bike cuz I couldn't get my feet out of the stirrups (amazing what you use your hamstrings for)...but in a class I will have no shame in asking for help. I've often joked that this spinal cord injury was brought upon me to teach me two lessons...one was patience (I'm still working on that one) and the other is learning to ask for help. I think I have that one nailed.

My weight was slightly up today...could be because of the muscle soreness...could be my usual Monday water gain from not having my feel elevated all day like the weekend. It's not bad...only 273.2. I'm not concerned.

I'm a little peeved at myself about what I've brought to work to eat today. I accidently grabbed a wrong container of un-opened cream cheese that will go bad in 10 days...and I have an open, barely used container in the fridge at home. GRRRRRRRRRR....I might have to find an alternative for my celery sticks because I don't want to be forced to eat both containers quickly. Dangit! LOL. Breakfast was a sausage egg quiche thing...lunch will be the end of that chicken enchillada stew-type whatever stuff...and dinner

...well...Dinner is with Russell tonight, and it will be interesting. I bought his FAVORITE frozen lasagna before starting this plan. I would typically "partake" in it with him...but now I can't. I'm making it tonight (mainly to get it out of my freezer)...and sincerely hoping he doesn't notice when I scrape all the stuff off the noodles. LMAO...this will be interesting. Russell hasn't seen me since starting...we'll see if he comments on the changes. If I had time, I'd make my own dish...but tonight is just gonna be crammed timeframe. We'll see what happens.

LC Day 57

This weekend was only ok-ish. Friday was no problem (you'll see why below)...Saturday and Sunday I was very low with my food intake and even lower with my veggies. I'm not even sure I could name a veggie I ate on Sunday. Shame on me! What's worse was that Saturday night, I ordered chicken wings with no breading to-go from Outback...got home and found they had "thoughtfully" put in a loaf of their honey wheat bread and some butter...and I couldn't help myself and had like 1/4 of it. Good news is I didn't go insane over my carb limit for the day since I'd barely eaten as it was...bad news is I knowingly ate wheat AND sugar. The wings were fabulous, by the way. Anyway, it's over...I didn't suffer any carb cravings, and my scale said 272.8 this morning, which is a lovely site to see. I'm still burning ketones, but the strip is lighter than usual for me.

Friday I made myself 4 of those cauliflower pizza crusts, froze three and then put together a friday night pizza for myself. I was enjoying my pizza tremendously when 3/4 of the way through it I suddenly got this feeling like I was gonna vomit...sudden queasiness with that little lump in the back of your throat. I had to stop eating and lay down for an hour. This feeling lessened, but did not go away the whole rest of the night...it was the strangest thing! I have NO idea what that was about. I was so scared that I would actually puke and then as a result never be able to eat cauliflower again...this would be tragic! I probably eat it 5 times a week right now! I didn't eat plain M&M's for 20 years because of an incident when I was 8...not the same, but you get my drift.

I went to the gym on Saturday...did 10 minutes on a recumbent, 10 on a treadmill (low hr though) and the big news is I tried getting on a spinning bike and succeeded to pump out like 5 minutes on that thing! The leg motion for that is MUCH easier for me than the recumbent, but the bike seat sucks pretty bad. I'll talk to my PT today to see if this motion is going to have a negative impact on my hip. I think MAYBE I can try some spinning classes given this new find. That would be fun. I'd use the class for motivation even though I wouldn't be able to do the same thing as everyone else, per se.

I stayed up quite late Saturday night and consequently slept till 1pm Sunday!!! 1pm!!! My body must have needed it but it sure made for a short day!

Food plans for today...egg-sausage quiche for breakfast, lunch is this green enchilada chicken thing I made for dinner last night, snack is celery and cream cheese and dinner is currently planned to be chicken and broccoli alfredo...but I'm really getting to a point where I don't need to eat much anymore so making dinner is sometimes a struggle.

Medical Self-Righteousness

This new doctor can Suck it!

Ok...yes...that’s a little harsh.

I saw a new doctor yesterday and left there feeling belittled. I don’t need that crap from a medical professional. Apparently I have a “list” of issues she referred to, essentially trying to make me look like some kind of hypochondriac. Let’s look at that list and see how bad it really is, shall we?

1. Morbid obesity tops the list. Guess what...that’s been on my file since I was 12...shocker...take a look at me! I'm working on it...and by the way, check my BP and blood panel...I'm doing ok for a fat chick.
2. Aortic Coarctation, repaired May 2002...yeah...that’s a birth defect. I didn’t exactly trump that up for sympathy votes. It had to be fixed or I was gonna die.
3. Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury May 2002....I suffered from the SCI during the surgery to fix my heart. Wasn’t in my master plan lady...sorta wish it never happened.
4. Edema in legs...muscles in my legs don’t work like the average person, so fluid tends to pool in my ankles...welcome to SCI. Maybe you should learn a little something about it...there are complicating factors, ya know?
5. Hip pain...7 years after learning to walk again, I walk in an unnatural way and consistently throw my hip out of alignment...or maybe you didn’t notice I’m disabled.
6. Frequent falls causing bruising and hip pain...you try living without adductors and hamstrings. Falling in the splits on slippery surfaces is painful and embarrassing. Sometimes the pain requires medication. Since I only get 4 scrips for 12 vicodin a year, I highly doubt there is a dependency issue.
7. Restless leg syndrome...started in the hospital after the SCI...Coincidence?
8. Depression in November 2002...yeah...in March my mom died after a horrific battle with cancer, in April I was diagnosed with a fatal heart defect, which I promptly had repaired in May only to become paralyzed from the waist down as a result, lived in a hospital for 2 months with a staff that treated me like a burden (some, not all) and then with my dad having people take care of me and having no freedom, only to finally move home in September with my "devoted" boyfriend of 4 years, who left me the next day for a woman he met on the internet in another country. You MIGHT have a little depression too after dealing with all of that between February and September. Bite me.
9. Abnormal cardiac rhythms...sorry for coomplaining when my heart stopped...my bad.
10. Miscarriage August 2008...seriously, would have preferred to not miscarry. Thanks for bringing it up. I supposed that’s my fault now?
11. Strep throat April and December 2008
12. Flu February 2008

The only thing on that list that I think she can even REMOTELY...and it is REMOTE...call out as an issue is the freakin flu, which I had ONE time, and only went to the doctor after 5 days of coughing and exhaustion just to see if they had anything they could give me to calm the cough as tussin wasn’t doing squat. WTH? You know , if you nix number 3, you pretty much wouldn’t have 4 through 8....don’t fucking belittle me, I didn’t ask for the SCI and I’m dealing with it pretty damn well, all things considered. With ALL of that, I take 3 daily perscriptions...a water pill for the edema, a supplement for the potassium loss caused by the water pill, and Ambien for the RLS. I'm not exactly a pill popper.

I won’t be seeing this doctor again...ever.

LC Day 54

Today is my weigh in day, and I am down to 273.4! I was hoping the low would stick around to be official today, and it did! I am just thrilled! I think I'm discovering I'm one of those wait and whoosh type people that have been talked about. It seems 2 weeks out of the month I probably should just not weigh myself and save the mental games. It wasn't like this the first time around....but I didn't have a spinal cord injury hindering my exercise program like I do now. I was also 12 years younger. Hmph. Aging. Whose bright idea was that?

I feel fantastic...I feel sexy...I feel smaller...I feel like going out dancing and walking on the waterfront. The funny thing is I've only lost 18 pounds...and on my big body, it's barely noticeable to others, but I notice it. Just think how much more I'll think of myself in another 20 pounds...I'll be totally stuck up! hahahahaha

I had one of those annoying arguments with a friend last night about how "a diet so restrictive can't possibly be healthy"...restrictive? Because I can't have nachos and a pint of Ben and Jerry's every night? UGH! I said "I have eggs or celery and cream cheese for breakfast, chicken Caesar salad for lunch and Chicken and broccoli with cream sauce for dinner. I eat more vegetables when on Atkins than when off....how is that unhealthy. I've essentially only cut out pasta, bread and sugar...how is that unhealthy? And by the way, I’ve lost 20lbs...wanna compare lipid profiles?"

I hate this argument. *eye roll*

LC Day 53

I finally get to weigh in tomorrow morning...can't wait to make an official recording for a loss this week, which I'm really hoping for! I've been very good I think...but this WOE makes that pretty dang easy. The hardest thing is eating enough!

I went to the gym last night, I did 6 minutes on a treadmill with no increased HR and a horrendous gate pattern. UGH...I could have gone longer but my gate kept getting worse and worse. Somehow I've backslid on my walking ability. So then I tried the pool for the first time. Swimming with no hamstrings and adductors is an interesting experience. I really hadn't been in a pool since I first started learning to walk again back in 2002, it seems not much has changed. Did you know you can't flutter kick without hamstrings and adductors? And...you can't frog-leg without adductors...so wth? My legs just float off to the sides and do their own thing. It's a good thing I'm buoyant. I can't walk fast enough to get my heart rate up in the pool, either. So...I found a couple of ridiculous looking "swimming" techniques that I'll use that did manage to get my heart rate into the 125+ area, so I'll do more of that. I'll give another test run Friday or Saturday to see what else I can come up with. It was fun, but disappointing in the "serious workout" department. I was hoping this was going to be the answer to my exercise dilemma. Maybe it still is...we'll see over time. It was nice to get in there and do some stretches and practice some moves I can't do on land...so from a therapy stand point, I'll keep at it.

Last night I had my favorite "mockaroni and cheese with hot dogs" for dinner instead of the cheese burger. Today has me traveling up to Seattle and back after a dental cleaning...I'm not exactly sure what to do about lunch because I'll be on the move. Breaky was bacon and eggs.

LC Day 52

Yesterday I was all excited about that "new low" for me...until today. I'm scared to put this one in print cuz I don't want to jinx it!! 273.4! OHHHHH....I hope it keeps going down for friday!

We had beautiful weather yesterday...so warm my AC kicked on. And today...it's pouring rain. Gotta love the pacific northwest!!! I just got drenched walking from my car to my office...good thing I didn't spend any time on my hair!

Today would have been my mom and dad's 31st wedding anniversary. I miss you mommy! It's easy to remember their anniversary cuz it's on earth day....get a reminder every year that it's coming.

I'm headed down to the company cafeteria to try to grab some scrambled eggs for brekky (I'm actually craving them...which is rare anymore...I'm usually sick of eggs!), then it's chicken Caesar salad for lunch and I don't know what for dinner but I'm guessing cheeseburger and some broccoli simply because I'm running out of options. Time to go to the store!

Vegas is 15 days away! VEGAS BABY! WOOOOOO!!!!

LC Day 51

My scale greeted me with a new low weight this morning. 274.8 WOHOO! It's only 1 pound down from my old low, and who knows if it will stick for my official weigh in, but I was sure happy to see it! I needed that boost!

I attempted a workout at my new gym last night. I walked on a treadmill for 5 minutes...this won't burn any calories because of how slow I have to go, but the machine is right in front of a mirror, so I can really work on my gate...which sucked pretty bad last night. My right leg does NOT want to work right at all. It's nice to have the opportunity to work on it again. I then tried a recumbent bike, since that's what my PT wants me to use now...UGH...what a PIA! Their bikes, first of all, don't have stirrups on them...which I need to keep my foot on the pedal. And then...because of my particular muscle deficiencies, I'm constantly having to adjust my feet so that my ankles stop hitting the inside of the pedal on the rotation. SO OBNOXIOUS. I miss my elliptical I think I got MAYBE 3 minutes on the bike. I really, really hate it. I'll keep working on it though. Sometime this week I plan on seeing what I can make happen in the pool. I think the big win for me here was that I got off my booty and drove to the dang gym...that's a good thing!

Food plan for today...very similar to yesterday. Celery and cream cheese for breakfast, leftover broccoli slaw thing for lunch, bacon for snack....dinner might be taco salad. I'm still eating the occasional pinch of almonds throughout the day. I've learned to take my love affair with them down to a "friends with benefits" relationship. LOL

Not sure if I'll make it back to the gym today due to my after work schedule...we'll see.

LC Day 50

I'm feeling 85% better from my over-weekend cold. Man...was that annoying. We finally had some gorgeous weather on a weekend and I was stuck in bed.

My scale is back down at 275.8 this morning...but right now I can only attribute that to the fact that I have zero water retention after laying in bed all weekend. My gams look GREAT though...so I wore a dress to work today.

Being sick really makes you struggle with comfort food cravings. I tell ya...friday night as I was driving home from work sick as a dog, I was plotting a horrific binge in my head...I had it all figured out. If I would have stopped at the grocery store, it woulda been all over for me. But instead...I drove home. I'm not gonna lie and say I made it through with flying colors...I did end up eating something off plan, but it's not NEAR as bad as what I could have done. I ended up eating 2 hard taco shells. Coulda been worse. I believe I ate approximately 50g of carbs in those two shells. That's as bad as it got though, through the whole weekend. I didn't run out and buy the donuts I actually wanted.

Last night I made a recipe I found on another low carb message board for "crack slaw"....I mean, it was all right...but I wouldn't call it addictive by any means. I have the leftovers from that here with me for lunch today. Breakfast was celery and cream cheese. I have bacon with me for mid-day snacks. Dinner tonight...well last night I was at the grocery store picking up cabbage and green onions for my crack slaw and spotted tonight’s dinner in the meat case. It's a chicken breast with 3 asparagus spears and cheddar cheese stuffed inside. I guess I just have to bake it for 30 minutes. Can't get more Atkins friendly than that...so that's tonight’s dinner.

Recipe I used Crack Slaw:
2 portions lean ground beef (about 1/2 lb)
1 TBSP toasted sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, sliced
1 C broccoli slaw
1 C napa cabbage, shredded
1 TBSP lite soy sauce
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

1. Brown the ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Remove the beef from the skillet, drain and set aside.

3. Heat sesame oil in the skillet over med-high heat. Add garlic and green onions; stir-fry for 2 min. Add the broccoli slaw and cabbage; stir-fry for 2 min. Add rice and soy sauce, stir-fry for 2 min.

4. Return the cooked ground beef to skillet with vegetable mixture and season with red pepper flakes, to taste. Stir until ingredients are well combined and heated through, about 2 minutes.

5. Divide into two portions.

Next time I might try this one though:

About 2 tablespoons sesame oil
Brown 1/2 onion until soft
add a few cloves of garlic
soy sauce (I used tamari)
about 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 packets splenda
crushed red pepper flakes
sesame seeds

toss in 1 package of angel hair slaw mix until it cooks down a little and is coated, then add the ground beef back in until all heated through.

LC Day 47

On my official weigh in day, I'm at the same 276.8 that I was last week. I was hoping that pound would be gone, but at least it's friends that piled on throughout this week didn't stick around for official weigh in day. There was a noticeable increase in bathroom trips yesterday afternoon...I seriously had to pee every 1/2 hour...apparently I was carrying some excess fluids. It's hard to get work done at the office when you have to run to the potty pretty much as soon as you get back from just going. LOL

I have YET another chest cold...my body is just run down from this infection I've been fighting. I'm going to see a specialist next week...this is getting ridiculous. I look forward to someday soon...feeling HEALTHY!

LC Day 46

Been a rough week for me. I'm eating clean, but it's tough right now as the scale is still moving in the wrong direction...and then yesterday I had my FIRST all day round of carb cravings since I started on March 2nd! When the scale is not moving the right way, it makes the cravings REALLY hard to resist. But I squeaked through it. I think the Percocet I'm on induced the cravings...

I can't workout right now both because of my hip pain and now because of an infection...I have no idea when I'll be able to workout again and I'm frustrated. I've been on antibiotics since last friday and the need for pain killers is starting to lessen...so maybe I can workout this weekend, but I feel a chest cold coming on . Part of me knows that’s why the scale isn't cooperating, but when you know you’re in ketosis all the time, you want to see some action on the scale. Tomorrow is my weigh in day...if it's anything like today, I'll be up THREE pounds since my low.

I'm drinking my water like a good girl...eating well (but some days maybe not quite enough)...but I'm really struggling today with the wanting to give in...even though nothing I think I want to dive into is really worth it. Frankly, no food sounds good right now, low carb or not...so eating right isn't appetizing, but when I try to think of something to throw in the towel with, that doesn't sound good either.

I'm such a bummer...I'm trying to snap out of it. I think the infection I'm dealing with has really brought me down this week.

LC Day 43

No Easter cheats for me. I can say...however...that Friday night I had a shot of Tequila...and boy howdy! That made me want to nosh on carbs big time! If I had a bag of Doritos in the house, they woulda been gone. Good thing I don't have handy treats at home! Seriously.

Back to the work grind today...My food plan today is 2 pieces of bacon for breakfast, celery and cream cheese for snacks, spaghetti squash and meat sauce for lunch, parmesan "fried" chicken tenders for dinner (maybe with a mock honey/mustard dressing) with some veggie side...maybe a salad since I gotta use up some romaine. Yep...that's the plan. Oh...and a piece of sugar free crustless cheesecake. I've been eating one serving periodically throughout the day instead of all at once.

TOM finally started today. Scale is the same as it was friday. I hope to see some downward momentum by the end of this week.

LC Day 42 Happy Easter!

No issues for me staying away from candy today since I don't have kids...the issue for me is the scale continuing to move in the wrong direction. I'm still partly blaming my TOM even though it is now 2 days late. However...2 days late for me actually means a cycle that is normalizing due to Atkins...my cycle is only 25 days long normally....but when on Atkins, it lengthens out...which is important when your trying to get PG (I learned a LOT about this stuff when I was trying). I'm on day 27 today. I'm convinced I got pregnant in July due to my brief time on Atkins. Anyone fighting fertility issues...I'm telling you, this can definitely help!

I made something new and pretty delicious today....I made Squash Browns out of spaghetti squash. Not bad at all. I need to learn how to cook them so as not to burn them, but I have this same problem with potatos, so it's me...not the recipe.

Squash Browns

3 cups spaghetti squash
1 small onion - finely chopped
1 egg - beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
2 tablespoons butter
Vegetable oil

Prepare spaghetti squash as desired. Scoop out 3 cups of strands. Let cool.
Mix the beaten egg, chopped onion, and salt, pepper and add to the squash strands coating well.
Heat oil and butter in frying pan until bubbling.
Place 1/2 cup mixture into hot oil. Flatten into a patty with spatula.
Turn over when the edges are golden brown.
When both sides are golden brown, remove with a slotted spatula and blot on paper towels.
Serve hot with sour cream.

LC Day 40

I'm officially up a pound for the week...but that's better than the 4 lbs I was up a few days ago. I hope it comes off and takes some friends with it next week. Unlike when I'm on WW, I'm not tempted to go out and order a pizza and drink a bunch of foofy drinks out of annoyance.

I visited a local "All Star Fitness Center" last night...not expecting to join just for cost reasons. The place is pretty dang nice! It's got a pool that is accessible for me and my disability, and the recumbent bikes (which is what my PT wants me to use now instead of elliptical) all have TV's on them so you can sit there and do your boring routine while watching Grey's Anatomy AND....the best part is that because of who I work for there is no initiation fee and the monthly fee is only $35. When I was with the YMCA it was $50! I'm thinking this might be a good deal for me...if I will get off of my booty and actually GO...which is the hard part :\

Bad news at work today announced company wide...and then my boss sent out an email to my organization that basically said "brace yourselves"...I might have a LOT of spare time to use that gym here soon

LC Day 39

Well here I am...one day away from my weigh in day and the scale is still up almost 3 pounds. My ankles are looking more human again though...it's very possible that this is now due to my TOM...cuz I looked at my calendar last night and it's actually due today or tomorrow. Shocking...I could have SWORN I just had it. I will be very grateful if all this has really only been because of that.

And now for the really annoying news. I saw my PT yesterday about my hip pain. I knew the cause of it was posterior pelvic torsion because I've gone through this before and have a handy exercise to fix it on my own. The problem has been that the exercise stopped fixing it. Well...PT says that while my improvement from 4 minutes to 25 minutes on the elliptical is amazing given my neurological issues, I'm doing too much and fatiguing my muscles to the point that they can't "hold the fix" and that's why I'm in constant pain now. He said i have to use the elliptical no more than 2 times a week for 15 minutes at a time for now (or 5 minutes daily). He says I need to slowly build it up to the point that it doesn't affect my hips. I know he's right because I haven't used it in 4 days now due to the heart monitor and my hip is feeling MUCH better. GAH! Now I need a new exercise. He highly recommended a recumbent bike...which I no longer have at home and don't have the space for...so I think it's time to start looking at gyms again. DANGIT! Grrrrr!!!! I'm wayyyyy tooo lazy for a gym.

So irritated...I finally get into a good groove and my damaged body rebels against me. I was sooooo proud of that improvement from 4 minutes to 25...and so was my PT, but he said as usual I'm trying to do too much. He said that it's typical of me, he is always having to hold me back. I just miss the days of being able bodied...and keep hoping that if I push harder, I'll be "normal" again. I've been doing this since day one of the injury...it's not working...you'd think I'd stop.

One MIGHT call me stubborn.

LC Day 38

The scale is still headed in the wrong direction. As of this morning I'm really close to being back at 280! I took my regular dose of water pills yesterday AND wore my ugly old compression stockings and my ankles are still puffy.

Seriously...I hate my body sometimes.

I scheduled a physical therapy appointment for today because of my horrendous hip pain I've been experiencing after exercise. However...I haven't exercised since Sunday because of the heart monitor/no shower thing and now...no flippin hip pain! NATURALLY! Oh...and this morning was the last morning of the heart monitor and no creepy episode...so I probably wore it for nothing.

I'm THIS close to going home and crawling into bed! I'd give anything to spend the day elevating my legs.

LC Day 37

My scale is obnoxious right now , but I'm still eating well and still rocking the ketones. I went ahead and went back to my normal water pill dose today since they upped my potassium yesterday. I'm up 3lbs on the scale....but maybe after today's regular water pill dose those will be gone. My ankles look bad but not horrendous...but I can surely see the 3lbs.

I'm wearing that heart monitor and NATURALLY did not have an episode this morning for it to record. One more morning to catch it. In the mean time, I can't shower....and because I can't shower I don't feel much like working out. My hips are killing me from workouts anyway...I'm gonna go to my physical therapist and have him evaluate my use of the elliptical to see if there is something I'm doing to make it hurt so bad in the days that follow. Because of my spinal cord injury, it's not a fluid movement...the pain is really annoying. I can't remember if he has an elliptical in the office for me to use so he can see what I'm doing wrong though. Oh...how I long for the days of house calls! What I wouldn't give for someone to build a customized exercise program tailored to my physical limitations and available home equipment.

LC Day 36

I didn't get around to posting yesterday...kept pretty busy. I got up, did a workout, drove an hour out to spend the day with a friend, then drove home and went to see Fast and Furious with another friend...and then straight to bed. It was a great day.

I'm up a few pounds on the scale. I started taking 1/2 my water pill dosage because of electrolyte problems last week and it's showing. I'm not going to sweat it...but friday's weigh in might not be pretty. I'm going to the cardiologist today to get hooked up for a 48 hour heart monitor. There's some scary stuff going on. I'm having these episodes in the AM after waking that I can't explain. Now watch...it probably won't happen while I have the monitor on. It did happen this morning...but it's the first time since last monday.

LC Day 34

I have a whole list of things to do today, but haven't gotten in gear to do any of them yet. One of my to do items is to go to a local meat market I've always wanted to check out...I guess they sell a bunch of local produce and specialty cheeses, too...and from the ad I saw, the prices are better than grocery stores. Gonna check it out...don't need to pick up much though.

I think I'm gonna try zucchini for the first time in my life this weekend. I want to try the zucchini hash browns I've seen some recipes for. I'm a pretty picky eater, so we will see how this goes.

No luck catching a mouse last night. I looked all over my room for "droppings" and didn't find a thing. I'm starting to think it was an ambien hallucination. I let the cat's sleep in my room with me all night...they totally hogged the bed. They are still in here now as I type this...I'm sure they are thinking they live in the lap of luxury as they lay all curled up on my fluffy white down comforter.

I'm having severe electrolyte issues...I'm gonna try tapering down my water pill to see if it helps but I suspect I will see significant weight gains if I do this. I had a blood test yesterday but they didn't call me with the results so now I have to wait till monday. I had horrible cramps all night last night. Sometimes I can't bend my fingers because of the cramping...most of the times it's my ankles which wakes me while I'm sleeping. It's horribly obnoxious and sometimes painful. During non-Atkins times, a Gatorade would resolve this...but I can't drink that now. I looked at pedialite as an alternative, but the second ingredient was dextrose. Not sure what to do now. I guess I'll just wait.

A mouse in the house?

I think I have a MOUSE in my bedroom! I woke up at 4 this morning to a strange sound right by my bed. I have two cats and a dog...dog was in his kennel for the night, and the cats aren't allowed in my bedroom. I laid there and listened...it clearly sounded like rustling on the bookshelf about 3 feet away from me. I rolled to the other side of the bed and grabbed the flashlight but I didn't see anything. I went back to sleep...kinda looked around a little when I got up but didn't see anything that would indicate I had a mouse. I don't know though, the sound was soooooo clear!

I guess when I get home tonight I will do some serious searching...especially on that bookcase to see if anything looks messed with. My biggest fear is FINDING something and not being able to run away from it cuz I'm disabled! LOL...I move SLOWWWW!

It's also been suggested that I let the cats into the bedroom....which I will BE SURE they are in there with me when I start looking for things...but GEEZE...I soooooo don't want to deal with a mouse! LMAO The cats aren't allowed in because I don't want cat hair on my bedding, and one of my cats is jealous of the dog and vents his anger by peeing on things...like beds...so he isn't allowed

LC Day 32

I worked out when I got home from work last night...so naturally I'm up a bit this morning. If only I would work out every DAY then this stupid fluctuation thing would stop...but at least I know it's for the greater good.

I did not workout this AM...but am hoping to do it again tonight while my butter basted chicken is cooking for dinner. Mmmm...can't wait.

LC Day 31

My booty is shrinking!!!!

It's noticable...and I'm happy.

I also had a bit of a "whoosh" on the scale this morning...I suspect it's because I haven't worked out in a couple days...but it sure was fun to see 275.4 on the scale!

Struggled a bit with my "lack" of hunger yesterday. I don't feel like I'm getting enough calories or carbs cuz I'm never hungry anymore...I have GOT to figure out how to deal with this as I think it's contributing to my fatigue. Life is hard when you have to figure out how to eat MORE. LOL