Day 76 - Another fast day (mostly)

Well, I go down to the scale this morning, but it is way off so I didn't get an accurate weight.  I had an idea it was off when I found it last night because it showed my weight about 20 pounds higher than I would have expected, even fully clothed in the evening.  This morning I was wearing lightweight clothing, and it was morning, and it was still about 20 pounds higher than I would have expected:

You'd think with it being a beam scale that it would be accurate, but I've done some reading and apparently those can be quite inaccurate if they are not maintained and calibrated regularly.  I tried putting two fifty pound dumbells on the scale and it read 103 pounds, so that's 3% error:

That error adds up to about 8 pounds at my weight.  That is if the error doesn't increase with higher weight, which is quite possible.  If you subtract the eight pounds, then that's right about where I should be, so I am not concerned at this point.

You might ask how I can be sure that it's not my own scale that's inaccurate.  Well, I am quite sure my home scale is accurate, as I've had a lot of experience with it and it has always matched the doctor scale and at least two other scales that I've compared it to.

So I'll have to wait until Friday morning to find out for sure where I stand.  The proof will be in the pudding then.  If I am actually upwards of 270 pounds I will be quite shocked.

Today I had another all day fast.  It is getting much easier to do.  I did have some Crio Bru in the evening, and with that I had a piece of chocolate that someone gave me:

The chocolate was good, it was like a truffle with nuts in it.  While it was tasty, I don't feel like it really did that much for me.  I mean, I wouldn't say I regret eating it, but it just wasn't necessary and I didn't really want it so bad, I mostly just ate it because it was there.  So next time I'll know to pass when I'm going to eat just because the food is there.

I still feel really great.  I have a ton of energy, despite not getting much sleep.  It is just amazing how much better I feel when I fast regularly.

One thing I haven't done much of at all in the last few weeks is exercise.  I haven't gotten my walks in since I've been traveling, and I haven't really done anything else either since I've been pretty busy.  One of the things I want to do in the near future is start doing more regular exercise in addition to just walking.  I am having good success right now with just diet, but I know as I get smaller exercise will become more important

Day 75 - Feeling great

No weight again today.  I did find a scale in the gym here, but it was in the evening and I was wearing business clothes, so I need to go back in the morning with lighter clothes on to get an accurate weight.  I'll go down tomorrow morning and see where I am.

So after two full days of fasting I ate dinner tonight.  The conference I am at had a "fancy" dinner that I attended.  It was a lot of food, and I couldn't eat all of it.  I ate a little more than half of the main course, and about half of the salad, and I did eat the soup and dessert.

I felt really full at the end.  I probably should have eaten even less, but I still have an aversion to "wasting" food.  If it's in front of me on my plate, I feel like I have to eat it.  I wanted to eat dessert, and I was getting full early on in the main course, but I just couldn't bring myself to leave more than half the food.  I realize that eating more than I need is still wasting the food, so it's really not that much difference, but psychologically it feels much different, having grown up with my grandma who lived through the depression and wouldn't ever thrown a piece of food away.  Something I need to get over.

Anyway, I feel really good tonight.  I have a lot of energy and just feel really satisfied.  I feel accomplished having achieved my goal of a two day fast.  Now here's to another fast until Friday evening.  I know fasting is good for my body, and I love the way it makes me feel.  It is hard at first, but after a while I get used to it, and my relationship with food changes.  I eat to fuel my body, not for pleasure, and it feels very wholesome and positive.

Day 74 - Another fast day, feeling awesome!

No weight again today, still don't have a scale, and I didn't get a chance this morning to go look for one.  I had a wicked headache last night and didn't get much sleep.  I usually get bad headaches when I am dehydrated, but this time I had drank plenty of water, so drinking didn't help.  After a long while I finally found some Excedrin PM and took that and finally got to sleep, but I slept up until right when I needed to get ready for my conference.  Maybe tomorrow morning I'll get up early enough to go find a scale.

I had another fast day today, and it was MUCH easier than yesterday.  Part of that is because I am now at the conference, so there isn't as much bad food around, but I think it has more to do with the fact that I got everything out of my system yesterday.  Yesterday was really tough because I ate such a huge amount on Saturday, including several diet sodas.  I know they are not good for me, and if I drink a bunch of them they especially make my head feel funny, but they are not bad in moderation.  I think those sodas as well as all of the food definitely contributed to last night's headache.

Today at the conference there was some good food that I had to avoid.  At lunch time I went to a meeting where they had sandwich boxes, and they had a chipotle avocado chicken sandwich that came with a really tasty looking salad and a brownie.  But I had control and did not eat.  I did have some lime sparkling water, which tasted really good actually:

It's funny how things taste so good during/after a fast.  After lunch was over they had caffeine free diet Pepsi, so I had one of those too:

Other than that, I had a nice cup of Crio Bru in my hotel room in the evening:

So it feels really good to be in control again.  It's crazy how food can be so good in the moment, but it always makes me feel worse after I overeat.  And when I choose to exercise self control, I feel so much better.  Better even than the food can make me feel.  But in the moment it can be hard to see that.  I am learning to choose what I really want over what I want NOW.  It is a hard lesson, but it is also self-reinforcing, as long as I keep at it.

Tomorrow there is a big social dinner with the conference, so I will probably go ahead and eat that, and then fast again until I get back to my family's house Friday or Saturday.  Then we'll see how my weight is and if I need to keep fasting or go back to plain OMAD or OMEOD (one meal every other day).

Day 73 - Huge gain, full day fast

My weight was WAY up today:

I guess that's not surprising after all the food I ate yesterday.  It's still super disappointing.  I know most of it is water weight from the quantity of food, but I was already over the goal line a bit, and this just takes me further over it than I've been so far in this journey.  It seems like each time I get close to getting under it, something happens and I go up again.  But I am trending right along with my goal, so I am still confident that I will achieve my goal.

Today I did really good, I didn't eat anything all day.  Just water, nothing else.  It seems like that works best when I try to fast all day.  The days I try to drink diet soda or anything else, I end up having a harder time.  But today I was successful.  I am feeling pretty wonky just from eating so much tomorrow and then nothing today, and I just took a long Uber and am feeling a little car sick from that too I think.  But that's what happens when I do as bad as I did yesterday.  There's always a price to pay.

So I'm in a hotel again for the week.  I'm hoping I am able to find a scale in the morning so I can keep track of my weight loss.  If not, then I'll just have to do the best I can and see where I am on Saturday morning when I get back to where my scale is.

It was super hard not eating today.  The family had all kinds of treats again, cheese fries, corn dogs, taquitos, honey buns, all kinds of stuff.  But I stood strong, and I am super happy I was able to do it.  

Day 72 - Huge fail!

Well, I was up again today, as would be expected after eating a bunch yesterday:

Today was a huge fail.  I started out pretty good, until lunch time.  There were ribs, so I ate some of those, and my plan was to just have a couple ribs and make lunch my one meal, but that's not how it worked out.  I did end up eating a dinner of baked beans, potato salad, and a hot dog:

I also ate a bunch of treats, mostly rice krispy treats and red vines, and a honey bun.  They are some of my favorites and I hadn't had any of them in a long time, not to excuse eating so much, I could have chosen not to, but I lost control and ate way too much. 

But as I've said here before, it is only a failure if we fail to get back up.  So tomorrow I'll get back up and do better, and I'll resolve to not let my desires for food overshadow my commitment to my goal.  I am determined to succeed, and I've come too far to give up now.  So no matter what, despite this setback, I will keep moving forward.

Day 71 - Finally made it (traveling)

Well, today was another good weigh in day:

Today was another day of traveling.  We drove for 10 hours and finally made it to our final destination for our trip.  We stopped for dinner and I ate a Subway sandwich and some chips, and then when we got to our destination I ate some sweets and treats that they had there.  I've said before I don't like the name "cheat day", but that's pretty much what today was.

I think it's OK to occasionally have a day where you just don't worry so much about what you are eating, and that for me was today.  I'm sure I'll see it on the scale tomorrow, but that short term bump up is usually mostly water.  Remember, you'd have to eat 3500 Calories over your goal to make a 1 pound difference in actual fat, so don't get discouraged when you see a big bump in one day, just do better in the future and keep moving forward!

Day 70 - Feeling great!

I did get to weigh in this morning, and I was down again, almost down to the goal line!

I'm pretty surprised after eating all of the chips I had yesterday, I thought I'd be up from all of the salt.  I guess the full day fast yesterday really helped.

Since it's been another week, I measured my waist, and I was another half inch down on that:

I fasted again most of the day, and then I ate some nuts and a banana in the evening:

So I'm feeling really good.  I know I can achieve my goal, I am almost there!  Only 20 days left, and I'm moving right down with the goal line.  I took more progress pictures, too:

I'll have to get home before I can make another before/after photo to see the comparison.  

Day 69 - Traveling/vacation, driving through the night, fasting

No weight this morning, since I am traveling and did not have access to a scale.  I did bring my scale this time, but we drove through the night and into the morning and afternoon, so I never had an opportunity to use it yet.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get my weekly weigh in.

I did find that I was able to be more alert due to the fact that I was fasting.  Usually when going on a trip I'll get candy at the gas station, and eat that to "keep myself awake", but I usually just end up crashing from all of the sugar.  This time I just had water, no food at all, and I stayed quite alert through the night and into the morning.  So, at least for me, just eating to stay awake is a myth.

One caveat to that, however, and I think I mentioned this before, but sour things really help jolt me awake if I am feeling drowsy.  So I bought some super sour patch kids and Takis chips at one of our first gas stops, and this time they just stayed in the bag.  I did not feel a need to use either one, so that's a big win.

So we are staying with friends tonight.  We did hot dogs over the fire with chips and fruit.  I did eat more than the one plate, but I'm hoping since I had a full day fast the day before my weight won't suffer too much:

I do find that I crave real food more, like chicken, rice, potatoes, that kind of thing, as opposed to chips and things.  But when that's what's for dinner, I do still have trouble with portion control once I start eating that kind of food.  We had all kinds of chips, and that is one of my major weaknesses.

So we'll see, if I am up tomorrow then I'll take corrective action to work toward meeting my goal.  Next week I'll be at a conference by myself, so I will have a lot of discretion and should be able to be really clean for that week.

Day 68 - Another all-day fast

Well, my weight fluctuated up a bit again today:

I'm sure it's due to the cookies I ate yesterday!

Today I did another all-day fast.  I was pretty busy at work, so didn't get too hungry then.  After work I took a nap because we are starting a road trip tonight, just getting ready to leave.  I feel pretty good, hopefully I won't have a problem making it through the night and won't feel a need to eat anything.

One night driving tip that has really worked for me is, if I am feeling tired, to eat something sour.  So that usually is something like sour candy or, even better is those Chile Limon rolled up chips, either Takis or Doritos.  Man they jolt you awake, at least they do for me.  So if I end up really tired I might end up eating a few of those, but it doesn't take very many.

Anyway, I feel really good, even my highest fluctuations now are well over 30 pounds below where I started, and my trend is going right down with my goal line.  I am going to have to pay the price at some point to get back down to the line, probably in the form of a few days fasting next week while I'm at my conference.  For now, the goal is to not overeat while we are visiting friends and family between now and then.  :)

Day 67

Weight was down again today, right along my goal:

I did OMAD again, it is getting quite easy to go all day without eating.  We had some homemade "hamburger helper" for dinner and a nice salad with salsa and sour cream instead of dressing:

The real struggle now is not eating too much after dinner.  Today we made cookies for the family, and I did eat a few.  Later I was going to eat another one, but I decided to not eat another one and I drank some Crio Bru instead.  I felt really satisfied with the Crio Bru, and I felt really good that I didn't give in to another cookie.

Day 66 - Finally recovering

Well, my weight was down pretty significantly, so that's great!:

Today I felt much better as far as my sickness, but not 100% yet.  I was pretty tired most of the day and still feeling sick.  I decided to go ahead and eat dinner so I can help my body recuperate.  We had spaghetti bake with peas and corn:

It was pretty good.  I also had a protein drink and some animal crackers.  I probably ate more than I should have, but again I was not feeling well so hoping to recover.  I'll fast another day when I am feeling better.

Day 65 - Feeling much better, getting back on track (again).

Well, weight was up a bit more today:

I'm about six pounds over my goal, which I have been there before.  I know I can get back down, just need to put in the work.

I am feeling a lot better, so that is really great.  I'm not 100% yet, but getting close.  I think by tomorrow I'll be feeling much better.

Today I went to a model rocket launch with my kids.  It was a lot of fun.  On the way home we always get pizza from a local gas station, and it's really good.  It's also 520 Calories per slice, so I got a slice for each kid, and I decided to eat when I got home.  So I got home and had some leftover chicken and rice:

I also had some yogurt and a protein shake.  Probably about the same calories total as the pizza, but I feel much better and fuller eating what I did.  Also, if I had eaten the pizza, I probably would still have eaten once I got home, and probably less healthy things, so it's a win either way.

I think that I will be feeling much better tomorrow, and will finally feel healthy enough to fast a full day again.  So that's the plan for tomorrow.

Day 64 - Still sick, feeling a little better

Well, my weight was up a bit today:

I think the gain was mostly rehydrating after the amusement park, and the fact that I ate more than I should have yesterday.

I did really good fasting, until dinner, where we had some nice chili:

I wanted to fast all day, but I decided to eat and then after I ate dinner I ate some banana muffins and more chili, and a couple other things.  Too much.  Once again, I need to learn to have will power even when I am sick, in pain, or otherwise in "crisis" mode.

Day 63 - Pushing through sickness

Well, the weight today was down from yesterday, so that's good:

I think it was probably mostly because I was carrying less water after the hot day at the amusement park.

I was feeling pretty sick today, mostly cold symptoms and exhaustion from yesterday.  I did have to go to work most of the day, because I had a couple of meetings I couldn't miss.  So I was super tired when I got home.  We had taco salad bowls for dinner:

I did eat because I was trying to recover, and I really needed the energy/nutrition.  Also, it's really hard to have the will power to fast when you are super exhausted and sick at the same time.

Day 62 - Fun day at the amusement park, and fasting works!

Fasting works!  My weight was down today, still over the red line, but definitely headed in the right direction after a full day fast yesterday:

Today we had a long, fun day at the amusement park.  We were there from when the park opened until it closed, 12 hours, and I was on my feet for nearly all of that time, and walking most of it.  On top of that there was a heat advisory, so it was super hot.  We made sure to drink a lot of water throughout the day.

I was going to see if I could fast again today, but I started to get really nauseous and drained at lunch time, so I had a few bites of Panda Express, which we were having for lunch in the park.  That was a real pick up, and I felt much better, so I think I was just not having enough fuel in my system for the long day.  Later in the evening I was feeling bad again, so I ate a few nachos that my son was having, and that really helped again.

I was drinking a ton of water all day, so I think maybe my salt balance was getting off or something as well.  Anyway, then we had Wendy's for dinner on the way home, and I had a cheeseburger, fries, and a frosty.  I figured that I could fast another day to make up for a smaller weight loss today, and that I needed the calories so I didn't have problems tonight and tomorrow.

Well, when I got home I weight myself just out of curiosity, and this evening I am one pound lighter than I was this morning, while I'm usually 4-5 pounds heaver in the evening than in the morning, so yeah I'd say I needed to eat what I did. That loss is despite having drank a very large amount of water today.

So it's been a long, exhausting day.  I had a nice cool shower when I got home, and ready for a good night's rest tonight.  I think I should have a nice loss again tomorrow despite eating a decent amount of food today, just due to all of the exercise walking everywhere.

Day 61 - All-day fast

My weight is still creeping up:

I am about 6 pounds above my goal right now, so that's really not acceptable.  I am determined to meet my goal, and I am quite disappointed in myself for letting myself go this long.  I'm not going to make any excuses.  I have just let myself go and chosen food over my longer term goal, and today I am getting myself back on track.

I did do a full day fast today.  I did only water for the full day, and let me tell you, it was quite difficult.  More difficult than I can remember the earlier times being.  Of course, a cube neighbor brought in donuts today, so those were right next to me the whole day at work.  That wasn't too bad, though.  I have found that I crave real food more than sweets lately, I think that is a result of the ketosis I am likely in most of the time.  Anyway, it was also my daughter's birthday party with her friends, so I picked up Papa John's pizza for that.  That was much more tempting, and it was pretty difficult to sit there while they all ate, being quite hungry.  But I have decided I am getting back on track today, no more excuses.  

I know if I go one more day then I am getting to a point where it will be very difficult to come back down to my goal.  It will be difficult now, but not as hard as it would be if I keep going like I have been.  

I did try fasting the last few days and did not make it.  I think the biggest problem, and perhaps the reason I didn't stick with it, is that I allowed myself zero calorie beverages throughout the day, and that just makes it harder for a full day fast.  I love my zero calorie beverages on a normal OMAD day, but when not eating dinner, it's best, at least for me, to just skip it and only have water.  That way I am not tasting anything that might give me the feeling that I should be eating.

So that's that, I did it!  I finally got my will power back, and won over my immediate wants.  Am I hungry?  You bet!  I'm super hungry, but I know this for the better.  Despite the hunger, I feel good, and have a good sense of accomplishment and plenty of energy.

Tomorrow we're going to an amusement park, so that involves a lot of walking.  That's good, I'll get a lot of exercise.  I think I will fast at least one more day, probably two.  Based on how fast I lost weight last time I fasted, it will take a couple more days to get back below my goal line, and I plan to fast until I'm there.  Then I'll need to be cautious and add food back in slowly so I don't just jump right back up like I have in the past.  So maybe just some Kefir and soup/juice for a day or two to let everything settle in and get back going.  

Day 60 - Need to get back on track.

Well, my weight is ever so slowly creeping up:

I was planning to fast all day today, but I did eat some dinner.  I started out eating a salad with salsa instead of dressing:

It was only about 50 Calories, so that was easy to justify.  Well, then the regular meal my family was eating just looked too good, so I had some of that:

Then I had a piece of leftover birthday cake with the rest of the family.  Luckily the cake is gone now, so at least that one temptation is gone.

I know I need to get myself back in order.  I'm going to try again tomorrow to fast all day.  I know that if I am going to be successful fasting all day, that I need to stick to just water.  Even eating something small like a salad, which wouldn't be bad in and of itself, will kick me off the wagon for the day, but if I stick to just water I am usually good.

Day 59 - Went a little nuts today...

The weight basically held steady today, which after last night is about to be expected, since I did eat  a little more than usual, but not overly so:

Today was a little bit nuts.  It is my kid's birthday, so we let her pick what we'd have for dinner.  She picked mountain man breakfast (sausage, potatoes, eggs, and cheese baked together) with biscuits and gravy.  Man was it good.  I definitely ate too much of that.

We also made her an Oreo ice cream cake, which was basically a pan of brownies with Oreo ice cream on top, topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and more Oreos.  That was super delicious, too.  I had a piece then shared another one with my wife.

So long story short, I ate a whole bunch today.  I pretty much just let myself go.  I also had a bowl of Trix cereal and a couple other things.  We usually don't have sugared cereal in the house, but it's tradition that when a kid has a birthday they get to pick a box of sugared cereal.  I did eat all of that after dinner, so the silver lining is that I did at least fast until dinner time.  That's the one thing I've kept really consistent on.

We'll see what the consequence is to the scale tomorrow.  Either way, I think it's OK to have a day like today every now and then.  And I am still committed to my goal, and I still have every confidence that I will accomplish it.  The key is to not get discouraged by a single bad day, or even a couple of bad days, or even a whole slew of bad days.  All we can do is keep moving forward, never give up!!  And if I have to fast a few more days to get back down, then that's what I'll do.  Despite today, I've never felt more in control of myself than I do right now, and it feels awesome!

Day 58 - 30 pounds down!!!!!!

I can't believe it, 30 pounds down!!!

It feels so good to have come this far!

Today I was at a training that had a group lunch, but I really wanted to stick to OMAD so I didn't eat.  It actually wasn't too bad in this setting, since it was pretty informal and they were training us during lunch.  I've found that in certain settings, people will not even notice or say anything if I just sit down with some water or a diet soda and don't eat anything.

For dinner I had some chili and that was delicious.  After dinner I did go off a bit.  We went to a little orchestra/choir concert in the evening, and they had refreshments after, and I did pretty good then, it was actually quite delicious:

After that we picked up some things to make my daughter's birthday cake tomorrow, and that included a pack of Oreos, so I did eat a few of those.  I just felt so good being 30 pounds down that I just let go a bit I guess.  I feel like it's OK to do that every once in a while, to keep my sanity.  :)  Although, I generally think it's a bad idea to celebrate weight loss with food, I wouldn't say that's what was happening here, more just relaxing a bit.

Day 57 - Driving back home.

No weight today since I was out of town.

I had a long day working then I drove back home.  We did have a working lunch.  I had a buffalo chicken wrap with a side of pasta salad.  It was pretty good.  The place had lots of burgers and fried food, but I was really craving something lighter, and something soft because of my tooth.  It is actually getting better, so that's good!

I managed to drive all the way home without eating dinner.  I just had a diet soda when I got gas.  I did eat a salad and a couple things when I got home.  I still feel really good, especially after fasting all day yesterday.  Maybe I should do the OMEOD (One Meal Every Other Day) plan.  We'll see how things are going after today, but that is an option to accelerate my weight loss if needed.

Day 56 - Eight weeks in, 5 inches lost!! Another fast day

Well, the weight held steady again, not surprising since I did eat some salty food last night:

Today I did a much better job fasting.  It was a long day at work then I had a long drive to another city where I need to be tomorrow, so I kept busy and wasn't tempted too much.  I feel pretty good having fasted, and the sense of accomplishment outweighs any discomfort from hunger.

I probably won't be able to weigh myself tomorrow since I'm staying in a hotel.  Also, tomorrow I know I'll be eating lunch because I have an all day site visit that will include a group lunch.  We are going to a small restaurant, which unfortunately means there is no calorie information available.  I am going to try to get something healthy, but I know it can be hit or miss, sometimes what looks healthy can have a lot of calories due to oils and things.  I may end up eating dinner as well, but I won't if I don't have to.  Either way, I'm glad I was able to fast today to help make up for whatever I eat tomorrow, and I'm prepared to fast again Saturday/Sunday if needed.

Another week is in the books!  I took some more progress photos, and measured my waist.  I'm at 52.5 inches, so I've lost over 5 inches!!  I'm super excited about that.  And even though I'm a bit above my goal, I lost weight since last week, and I'm trending just above the goal, so I know I can get back down under the line.

I know I can accomplish my goal!

I looked up some info on not fitting on roller coasters due to body size.  What I found makes me think I won't have a problem next week when we go to the amusement park.  From what I read, most people who had problems were up near 300 lbs or more, and I found one source that said a park set a limit of 52" to ride some of its smaller coasters.  So I can see why I would have trouble at my highest weight, but I think I'll be fine now.  By next week I should be right under 52 inches.  We'll see how it goes.  I have had to take the "walk of shame" after not fitting in a coaster before, so I hope I don't have to do that again, but if I do, then I'll accept it, and that's just all the more motivation to keep moving forward!

Day 55 - Fasting pays off.

Finally lost some weight after a full day fast yesterday:

Today I fasted most of the day but did eat about 600 Calories in the evening. I was planning to fast all day again, but once again I gave in in the evening.

I went to the dentist again today about my tooth and they adjusted it again, but it is still super sore and hurts bad. I need to learn to keep my will power even when I'm uncomfortable or in pain.

Day 54 - Fasting to break the "plateau"

Today my weight was pretty much holding steady again, just a slight loss:

I'm about 4 and a half pounds over my goal, so I need to bring it down.  I did fast today, didn't even eat dinner (spaghetti) with the dinner.  I did have a few cups of Crio Bru to tide me over, and about six fresh cherries, so not a total fast, but less that 100 Calories for the day.  Hopefully that will start to bring it down.  I'll probably do something similar tomorrow and perhaps keep it up until I get down under the red line.

The Crio Bru really helps to tide me over when I'm fasting.  Especially during dinner when the family was eating.  Today I tried putting some Stevia in the Crio Bru to give it a little sweetness, and that was good.  It's nice to have a variety of ways to drink it.  The other day I put a bit of milk in it but that didn't do much as far as the taste, but the Stevia was nice.

So I'm sticking with it, working on getting back down under the line.  I know I can do it, and I'm excited to continue toward my goal.  I've been on a "plateau" for a while, but I am not discouraged.  I know I'll lose as I do the right things, even if I have some ups and downs.

Next week we are going to the local amusement park.  I'm not sure if I've lost enough weight to fit on the rides or not.  We'll see when we get there I guess.  I know when I was 290+lbs there was no way I'd fit, I've had times when I've not been able to ride, and that's obviously pretty embarrassing.  I'm pretty sure when I was down around 260 I was able to fit. So now I'm right around 270, at least I think next week that's right about where I'll be, maybe a little less, so we'll just have to see.  I know my daughter is excited to ride some roller coasters with me, so I'm sure hoping it's enough.  If not, then we'll have to go again when I've lost more.

Day 53

Weight holding steady today again:

I fasted most of the day to get back on track.  During dinner I had some Crio Bru and a yogurt, then later I had a few bites here and there.  Not as much as a dinner would have been, but more than I had planned.

I still would like to do a longer-term fast, just didn't have the will power tonight.  Tooth is still hurting really bad, which is super distracting and eats at me.  I have an appointment tomorrow, so hopefully it will feel better after that and I can have a clearer head.

I'm going to try again tomorrow to fast all day.  I still feel really good about where I am and the path I am on.  I feel really good, other than my tooth.  I think my back is getting better, too.  I'm still feeling it, but not nearly as bad as before, and when I go for a walk it feels much better.  It just starts to hurt if I sit too long and when I get up in the morning.

I'm about four pounds above my goal, which is still within my fluctuations as far as water weight, so I'm not too concerned at this point, as long as I get things under control relatively quickly we'll be OK.

Day 52

Weight is holding pretty much steady today, need to get back to losing:

Today we had chicken fried steak for dinner.  My tooth was still hurting, but I was able to eat it, and it was really good:

I did also eat seconds and then some blueberries and a couple cookies after dinner, so not a great day once again.  Although I am still succeeding in fasting until dinner, which is the major goal.  I need to do a better job of not eating after my meal.  Once again, I find that after I eat I have a lot more trouble not eating more.  Especially today since I was still in quite a bit of pain with my tooth.  I know when I am in a lot of pain then it is much harder to have will power.  You might think the tooth pain would make me not want to work, but that's not how it worked today.  My tooth just hurts on the one side, so if I eat on the other side it doesn't make the tooth hurt worse.

I am going to do another extended fast to get back down.  The last one felt really good, and I think it might have been better to go even longer.  I know it's not great to do the yo-yo thing where I eat a ton and gain and then fast and lose really fast so my weight jumps up and down, so I'm not looking to make this a regular thing, but I feel like I need another fast right now, and next week should be a good week for it since I am planning to work late most days to get some overtime.

I'm not giving up, I'm going to keep moving forward!!

Day 51 - Keeping busy, headed in the right direction again.

Well, my weight is headed back in the right direction, thankfully!

Today I went for a two-mile walk early and that got my body moving and was really good.  My back is still hurting since I played soccer the other day.  I keep waiting for it to get better, but so far it's not.  And the longer I stay in bed at night, the worse it is in the morning, and the longer I sit during the day the worse it gets.  If I move around then it gets much better.

My teeth also started hurting again really bad last night.  Enough to keep me up for much of the night.  I finally found my mouth guard and put that in and that helped a bit.  I have these two molars that have had work done, and I keep going to get them adjusted, but every time they eventually start hitting badly again and cause a lot of pain.  I guess I'll go back again Monday and get them adjusted.

Anyway, besides the walking I also built a couple of benches for the kitchen table, and that was a bit of a workout.  I got them mainly complete, just need to be sanded and painted/stained.  Our kitchen chairs are old and keep breaking, so the benches will be nice because we can fit more people around the table if we need to as well.

For dinner tonight the family had hamburgers.  They looked really delicious, but there was really no way I could eat one with my teeth the way they are, so I had some tomato soup, one of my go-to's:

I also had some watermelon and a cookie.  Later I was feeling I needed a bit more so I had some blueberries and a protein shake.  Overall I'm still way under my calories, so should have another good weight-in day tomorrow.