It's been a good run, LiveJournal. This was my first major social media and blog site starting back in 2002. I met new folks here, stayed in touch with friends here, and even did a bunch of fan fiction writing and role playing here. When I joined Twitter and Facebook, I abandoned LJ for a while, finding that I wasn't really needing a blog, and more ( Read more... )

To celebrate my partner's birthday, we went to the Alamo Drafthouse for dinner and a movie. Before we went, I looked over the menu, and I admit that everything compatible with my January plan was much less desirable than what I would typically order. It came down to two things: loaded fries or a salad in which I would have to ask for certain things ( Read more... )

In my 20s, I was diagnosed as having a chronic form of depression in which my serotonin levels were easily knocked off balance, sinking me into an emotional place  that impacted everything in my life without any hope to get out of it. That's likely the reason I went from having a healthy, normal weight up until age 25 to being considered obese by ( Read more... )

I started the core/hip exercise reward today. I have only eaten half of the .53 oz piece as I write this, and I wanted to reflect on the experience on this first day.

First, I was actually hesitant to do the exercises even knowing there was a chocolate reward. I suppose I am enough removed from the consistent intake of sweets that a sugary reward ( Read more... )

Today, I weighed 223 lbs, which is down 1 lb from last week. Also, I'm not having the energy slumps and overwhelming need for sleep that I was feeling a week ago. My ankle swelling is almost gone, and my thirst levels seem normal. Even my skin has cleared up quite a bit.

Because of these things, I feel that abstaining from added sugar, sweeteners, ( Read more... )

I cooked a roast sirloin yesterday and had it with mushrooms and Brussels sprouts. It was very good. I still have more of the sirloin left for today.

In contrast, I had potato chips. Now these chips are just potato, cottonseed oil, and salt, so there is nothing there that violates my January eating plan. They are, though, pure carbohydrate without ( Read more... )

This morning I weighed 224 lbs, which means I have managed to drop 6 pounds worth of (most likely) water from my system since last Wednesday. What does that mean? Well, a gallon of water weighs 8.34 lbs. A gallon. Of water. I've dropped 3 quarts worth of water and will soon reach a gallon.

Now, imagine you had to strap a gallon of water to you and ( Read more... )

Technically, I didn't really start my January eating plan until today. I received some tasty gifts on New Years Eve that I didn't want to eat at that moment, so I chose to enjoy them yesterday.

Quick review of the January plan:

• No added sweeteners, natural or artificial (keep the "need for sweet" at bay)
• No cereal grains (wheat, maize/corn, ( Read more... )

I haven't written since before the Christmas gatherings. Those went well: though our family had mostly high-carb foods to consume, I found myself taking just tiny bits of some things and avoiding some other things altogether.

Most of the truffles I made ended up with family, and I had a grand total of 10 over four days. None remain here at my home ( Read more... )

Until yesterday, I didn't have much to report that wasn't just rehashing my last post. At this moment, though, I felt compelled to preserve some thoughts about the last 24 hours. I have broken it into some scenarios that happened throughout the day, followed by two key reflections.

Scenario 1: Remember that plan I had to have no more than 5 of each ( Read more... )