294!  That's what I posted for my weight on October 28 on Facebook.  Now, 13 days later, I hope that is what I will weigh--or hopefully less--Tuesday when we return to Watertown and to our bathroom scale.   I've been fooling around too long.  Time to get back on the DASH track!!!

It's Sunday evening.  Almost bed time.  I haven't weighed myself for a few days because Bob and I have been in Minnesota.  We came for several reasons: Ginger and Gerald gave themselves a baby shower Saturday/yesterday in honor of Alexa Rachel Tiah, who will be born by c-section 2 days before Thanksgiving; Bob blessed Dan and Jenny's baby, Nora Faith Anderson, in the Elk River Ward today; Nolan received his Eagle Scout Award at a Court of Honor held this evening at the Elk River Ward.  I weighed 294 last week.  I've eaten a lot of calories this trip, I think.  I've been eating sugar things, like syrup on a waffle, cake, a cookie, an Icee.  And I've been eating some wheat products, like pasta and that waffle.   Oh, and a few of Bob's deep fried clam strips.  But then, I've been more active than if I were at home in Watertown.  I FEEL I shed a pound or two.  So I'm thinking that maybe the calories were not so many since I wasn't eating really frequently.

At any rate, I'm anxious to weigh myself Tuesday morning after the lasix pill has done its job and before I take a shower.  (That means I'll be at my lowest weight since I'll be free of water retention and free of any clothing!)

I'm using the blog to keep my thoughts and progress as I lose weight.  I'll keep clearer notes about relationships in my journal.

About time I wrote here!  I haven't been writing, but I have been keeping true to my eating plan for the most part.  I took a couple of detours, but then DASH allows up to 5 servings per week of out-of-plan food items.  I've had a couple of cookies and a bar with caramel for a bakery on the way to MN the other day.  I also had a SUBWAY sandwich made with their new bread, which is garlic bread.  I also had a 20-oz sugar Coke on the trip here.

BUT before I left, I did weigh on Tuesday and finally saw the plateau ended.  Down to 303.  I don't know any other person who could feel as good about weighing that much.  I LIVE for the day I will be in the 290s, which I sincerely hope will be next week.  But I know I need more than hope!  I need action, which I am doing.

Yesterday the kids and I went to an apple orchard in Delano and I was able to walk comfortably, albeit slowly, around the farm.  It is more than an orchard; it is a farm with animals penned for children to visit and feed.  There are some baby animals to hold, a giant pumpkin maze, a corn bin, and lots of other things to keep you engaged in playing or (in my case) watching what is going on.  I bought some honey crisp apples and caramels, one for each of us.  So I felt I got in a bit of exercise.  Then last night Abby and I went to JoAnn to buy her Halloween costume pattern and fabrics.

Got plans sewing today.  We went to the orchard yesterday because the forecast was for rain today.  However, the sun is shining brightly!  It was overcast yesterday and rained after we left the orchard/farm.  It was awful driving last night as it was raining the whole trip to JoAnn.  Gotta go sew with the kids.  Gonna put Abby or Nolan (who enjoys doing "grunt work") to work pressing the fabrics for the costume.  Gonna get Janie and/or Abby (Nolan too?) sewing on an apron for Andrea's birthday.

I can't write down my present weight because my body seems confused.  Last Saturday I was in the car for 8 hours, traveling with friends from the branch to attend the Winter Quarters Temple.   My feet and ankles held a LOT of water in my system.  I had taken all of my lasix, but something about being in the car with my feet down riding always makes my ankles and lower legs swell.

Last Sunday, we had potluck after church.  We had lots of our bean casserole left over, so I ate some of that Sunday and Monday.  It had sugar in it, and I was feeling head achey.

Then I was sewing on a quilt for Dan and Jenny's baby, due October 21.  I sat long hours at the sewing machine and the ironing board.  My feet and ankles stayed swollen all week.

Today I finally weighed, and YIKES!!!  Even after  my morning lasix, and urinating a good amount, my feet and ankles were still swollen, though less than before the lasix, and my weight was up to 308.  Naked!  (I took a shower.  I never take my clothes off, weigh, and then put the clothes back on.)

The kicker is that I have eaten very little all week.  Less than I should have.  And I could tell as I showered, that my body was smaller.  So I figure, I'm retaining more fluid now and that it is probably because of the lack of getting my feet up this past week.

My feet and ankles hurt a lot.  I also itch, which I think is nervousness over my weight.  Oh, and I took an extra lasix tab on Thursday.  My internist in Anoka said I could take a second lasix in one day if I thought I needed it.  I thought the additional lasix might take the swelling away.  But no.

I'm thinking I might go to the FP doc here in Watertown next week if the pain and swelling don't subside over the weekend.  I plan to do things with my feet up, which means not working on the second quilt.  In the future, I'll have to limit my sewing time so I don't get to the point of painful swelling.

Growing old is not pretty!

Didn't take my lasix until just now, 6 PM.  Kastels were still here this morning, and I wanted to leave all possibilities open, like going shopping or going out to eat.  Then after they left, I did some embroidery with the TV on and fell asleep.  After waking, I plain old forgot to take lasix.  Until now.

So I stepped on the scale and it told me 305.  So that means I didn't gain anything because it included some water weight, which is at least 2 lbs.  I was 304 a few days ago, so I at least stayed the same and at best lost another 1.  I am eating leftovers from Guadalajara and drinking Cherry Limeade.  Bob went out on some errands.  I'll be cutting fabric for the baby quilts while watching TV.  Bob can trade TVs with me.  I plan to also do a few 9-patch squares.  I only have  8 more of the 34 embroidered squares left to finish.  It will cost me about $45 to have Dakota Quilt Shop topstitch each baby quilt.  Becky and I went there and decided they are THE place in Watertown to have quilts finished.

Tomorrow morning we are going on a branch temple trip to the Winter Quarters Temple in Omaha.  Stan Lamb will ride with us.  We'll eat at a buffet afterward, so that will be easy to pick legal foods.  I still expect to weigh 299 by next Wednesday, September 25.

304!!  I'm sure this is the lowest I will weigh today.  Hooray!  Only 5 til I get to my goal for September 25.   9 days away.  I can hardly wait to see the first numeral of my weight be a 2!

Gotta go eat and then help Bob with the dinner for the missionaries.  That will be 5:00.  It's almost 2:00, so we only have 3 hours to get it done.  Meatloaf and potatoes in the oven.  Green beans from a can.  Jell-O brand instant cheesecake from a package.  Bob adds cream cheese.  Then we put canned pie filling on top of the individual pieces.  I'm the meatloaf expert!  I also am the potato baker.

305!  Wearing underwear.  Lasix taken 2 hours ago.  I expect the weight to go down more.  But I just HAD to record this right away.  Every 5 is a goal marker.  Only 6 more to lose in 9 days.  I can do this!
I'll probably make another entry today since I will probably record a lower rate after a few more trips to the bathroom.  Yes, I seem to be getting a bit obsessive.

It's 7 am on a Sunday.  I've been eating fairly decently and have not gained.  I have been the same weight for a long time.  Just now I weighed 308.  After a couple of hours I will weigh less because I took my lasix about 6 am and have urinated once so far.  I suppose that later I will go down to 305 without clothes.  I'll take a shower before going to church.

I'm starting to sound like this character from Law and Order, a young model (?) who weighed everything she ate and everything she excreted.  I think she even saved some of the waste products in plastic bags.  But she kept exact track of all of that in a notebook with dates and times.  Except she was very, very thin.  In fact, painfully skinny by anyone's standards.  While I don't weigh what I excrete, I do sometimes weigh myself after each trip to the bathroom after having taken my lasix.

Bob and I can see we are having difficulty living on our fixed income of his annuity and my Social Security.  I applied to the local hospital for "clerking" at the cardiology clinic.  That is where I see Dr Jones.  They are looking for full time, but I only want part time.  So maybe there will be other openings in the future.  One of the admitting clerks I talked with when I was registering for my monthly blood test said they are always looking for help.  I should also look into teaching freshman English at the local junior and technical colleges in town.  The main problem there is that my English experience is 20 years old!  And it would be more work for less money, probably.

A HUGE problem with Bob and me working is that we would not be free to return to visit family in Minnesota much.  But then, it really is more important that we be able to afford to live.  We could do okay on what we have coming in, though.  We have to decide.  That is something we have been putting off or avoiding even talking with one another.

So he wanted pizza yesterday.  We got a Papa Murphy chicken with white sauce.  I ate 2 pieces for dinner.  It is allowed on my eating DASH, but it is on the list of things to have once a week.  I had eaten some from that list earlier in the week.  So I was not true to DASH.  I shouldn't keep calling it DASH, but can't think of a better term right now.

"Legal?"  No.  I don't want to make myself a criminal!

I'll think about it another time.  Gotta go to the bathroom.  Again.  I seem to spend most of my mornings going back and forth to the bathroom!

311 today.  I am paying for our anniversary dinner at Lunker's with 3 re-gained pounds of flesh!!!  Why oh why does it take a day to gain 3 pounds, but then about a week to lose it?

I guess I could lie here.  Or I could not mention weight again until I get down to 307.  Or I could simply not write until the weight is down.  After all, I don't do daily posts here.

A week or so ago, I set a goal to weigh 299 by Wednesday, September 25.  I will not change that.  I've done that many, many times in the past.  (I've changed goal weights, that is.)   So, that is 18 days.  12 pounds in 18 days.  Hmmmmm. . . ..  I can do it.  I will eat mostly vegetables and drink only water; diet soda seems to help retain fluids, PLUS, I think it stimulates the appetite.

Monday Bob and I are going to the rec center to use free passes and to decide if that is where we want to buy a membership.  I would like to join there because several women in the branch have memberships.  Sheila and Nancy are two.  The 3 of us are dieting and supporting each other.  So we could do water aerobics together or just use the equipment.  I think I will try to walk in the mall today.  I know I will be sorely tempted to buy some Cherry Blossom Body Lotion at the Bath and Body store. I'm almost out, and I love the scent.  But then I think I should use up the lotions I have that don't smell as good first!  When I die, my kids will probably find multiple bottles of partially used lotion.  I really must sort more.

Gotta do my daily embroidery.  I scheduled myself to do 2 embroidery blocks per day for the first baby quilt, the one for Dan and Jenny's girl that is due Oct 21 by C-section.  I'll be done with the embroidery next Wednesday.  After I finish their quilt, I'll start Ginger and Gerald's quilt for their baby coming Dec 3 (?), also by C-section.  If I don't get anything but the embroidery done today, I will consider this day a success.  I would like to also made suckers for Mary and for Bob and our friends here in Watertown.

308!!!  Today is our wedding anniversary.  #44 already!  I've got a hair appt this afternoon and need to have my blood drawn to check my INR because I'm on Warfarin.   Then I plan to get some more Sugar-free Cherry Limeade at the local Super Walmart.  That is the BEST sugar-free pop I've ever tasted.  I drank a lot of Diet Sunkist Lemonade yesterday, and I think that is what made me itch all over in the evening.

So I'm thinking I should drop below 300 within the next 2 weeks!!  I can hardly wait!  I need to lose about 25 inches from my waist; that keeps me humble.  We still haven't joined the rec center yet.  But I can't have a discussion about it with Bob today.  For one, it is our anniversary.  And two: Miranda and Amelia are here doing laundry.  With such a small house, one can hear everything said within its walls.

I'm curious to know what Bob thinks of my menu pages.  Blanks for us to fill in for meals and snacks.

310.2  Hooray!  Glad the plateau has passed.  But I know more plateaus lie ahead.

I can hardly wait to lose enough--I'm hoping by tomorrow--so the second digit is a zero in my weight.  And then I will be thrilled beyond belief to finally get below 300 so the FIRST digit will be a two!!!

It must be a rare occasion to find anyone who looks forward to such a high weight as a goal in lowering their weight.  And then to be so joyful in the anticipation.

I found myself wanting to apologize to Andrea and Madelyn for seeming not to enjoy what they made for meals!!!  It points out how I learned (probably from childhood) to eat a lot to make others happy, to not insult their cooking.  I'm not blaming my parents, but it has been a habit.  While I might not have apologized directly, I do remember saying to both that I enjoyed the food, but that I was watching my portion size.  What I ate was enough, but I realized that often I have eaten beyond satisfaction to please a host.  I even kind of apologized to a waitress at Famous Dave's for not finishing my soup!  "It's delicious, but I didn't have enough room in my stomach to finish it."

Can you believe?  Apologizing to a complete stranger--one who I will probably never see again, and if we did meet up again, we'd not remember that restaurant visit--for not eating my soup.  AND for not taking the rest of it home!  At least taking leftovers home, it says "I like the food, and I'm not going to insult you and the cooks and the management."

But it doesn't always go like that.  Often I have left food and made no comment.  Well, none to the employees.  I have apologized to Bob for wasting food at restaurants when I leave it uneaten and do not take the leftovers home.

It must have been frustrating to my mother when it came to feeding us kids.  She was born in 1910 and married in 1933, during The Great Depression.  Her family was poor, as were most back when she was a child.  Between her background and the rough financial times when she and Dad started their family, it was great that they were able to care for and feed their family.  We were taught to always "clean our plates."    After all, there were plenty of less fortunate children all over the world who didn't ever have enough to eat.  Membership in the clean plate club was how we showed our appreciation.  But then, two of us girls had weight problems growing up, thus the frustration for Mom.

Someday I might mention other factors I believe added to my seeming determination to remain obese.  But I wonder if that is really even necessary in journaling today's plans and efforts to eat right, exercise, and lose weight.

Going forth with prayer in living today!

We are in MN, staying with Ryan's family.  Today Bob and Larry Kastel went to the state fair for a few hours.  Becky and I stayed at their house and I used her light table to trace patterns onto fabric for the 2 baby quilts.  After that, we went to Panera for lunch.  Then to a favorite quilt shop in Anoka.  I bought fabric and a pattern for a handbag and some fabric for the baby quilt backs.  The feeling I get in such quilt stores is exactly what I felt as a child when I went into the neighborhood store/candy to buy candy.  DROOL!!!!  It's a magic world.

After dinner, we played dominoes the rest of the evening.  What a great time!!!

Becky and I both had gastric bypass.  Becky got all of her excess weight off and then gained maybe 30 lbs. back, but she fits normal sizes.  As noted earlier, I foraged my way back up to and beyond my pre-surgery weight.  That happens to lots of GB patients, but they are not the ones the surgeons boast about.  You don't see pictures of us in the literature in the bariatric surgeons office.  Anyway, Becky is one of my closest friends.  And her husband us one of Bob's closest friends.

I didn't have breakfast because I got up only with time enough to get dressed and comb my hair before we left to get to Kastel's house.  Lunch was soup and pasta salad and a whole grain roll.  Water to drink.  Dinner was tacos at Becky's.  Crystal Light to drink.  I didn't eat much today, which was probably not the best.  I should have planned it.  But it is a holiday weekend, and we were very busy.  So when in doubt, I left it out.  (Food, that is.)

Will be glad to weigh next Wed morning.  Hope I drop a couple of pounds!

I am getting so impatient.  Supposedly we get more patient as we age.  I think we just move slower and mistake that for patience.

August 12 was 17 days ago.  Weighed 318 that day.   This morning I recorded 316, but that was with the water retention the lasix hadn't yet cleared.   I could probably minus a pound or two and say today's wt is 314.5.  But over 2 weeks, I've lost only 3.5 lbs!!!   That is sooooooo pitiful!


We will return to Watertown next Tuesday.  I will weigh late Wednesday morning after the lasix effect is over.  That will be my lowest weight of the day.  (I have been recording my weight from that time of day here in the blog.)  I can guarantee my lowest weight by taking these measures after taking lasix:
     1)  not drinking anything until after urination has stopped
     2)  not eating anything until after urination has stopped
     3)  weighing naked (!)

I routinely do 1 and 2.  I routinely weigh wearing underwear and a light gown.  I need to stop obsessing about how to see my lowest weight.  My greatest fear is that I will step on the scale and 3 or 4 pounds will have jumped back on!  I would like to weigh under 300 ASAP!!!  Today Bob and I weigh about the same.  He is over 6 feet and looks just awful.  That means at 5'4" I must look like Jabba the Hutt.  I avoid full length mirrors and look into any mirror only briefly.  I get sick when I see pictures of myself.  That is not who I am inside.  I think my weight is what makes me have trouble sleeping Saturday nights: my church friends will see me. I dread putting on a dress and trying to make my hair interesting enough to distract from my piles of flab.  I am trapped inside.

Tomorrow will be a better day, as Scarlet O'Hara says.

I know God loves me.  I don't deserve it.  

Turns out that I lied.  I did not weigh myself after the lasix pill was done doing its magic.  We spent the morning getting ready to leave for MN, which included Bob frying up some Little Smokies and making me eat half of them.  (Humor/sarcasm; I am responsible for what I eat, not Bob.)  I LOVE sausages, and he browned them just the way I love.  It is actually "blacking" them as I grew up with a mother who cooked the living daylights out of meat to kill the "trichinosis" that was undoubtedly in every speck of it back in the 1940s and 50s when she was raising her brood.  So YUMMY on this morning's sausage.

I must admit I DID weigh myself shortly after taking the lasix.  (Maybe after my first urination.)  And I weighed 316, wearing my housecoat.  Bummer.  But still NOT 348!

Amen!

Yesterday I was disappointed that I was plateauing.  Then today I ate a sandwich with 2 slices of bread.  After a grease fire in the oven, we took our dinner guests (the LDS missionaries from our branch) out to eat at the luxurious Burger King! I had a Whopper Junior, small fries, and diet soda.  Next week, we plan to fix the same menu and be very careful when putting the chicken into the oven.  Then we can feed the missionaries our potatoes in the oven along with Martha Logan chicken, which is cooked first in a frying pan and then baked in the oven.  The fresh broccoli we hadn't started to steam when the fire occurred we will take with us to MN this weekend.

Anyway, back to the plateau. . . .   Eating about 3/4 lb of grapes for breakfast helped me "feed" my impatience over the plateau.  The bread I ate today, while not really an awful wandering off my plans in following the DASH diet, made me feel kind of guilty.  But I was brave and stepped on the scale this afternoon, and was amazed to see I had dropped a pound since yesterday morning!!!  I wonder if I would have lost more if I had not eaten so much.

So I will weigh tomorrow morning before we depart for our drive to MN.  I will weigh again when we return next Tuesday.  Today's afternoon weight was 312.4.  Will it be higher in the morning?  I hope not.

Can hardly wait to get back from the holiday weekend and open a rec center membership!  Looking forward to building up my lung power and endurance by starting on a stationary bike!

Hope to learn about doing pictures from my son Ryan this weekend.  Bringing the laptop with when we visit.

313 again.  It would be nice to lose a pound a day, but it's rare.  You hear on TV ads how so-and-so lost 100 lbs in 90 days.  And you see how so-and-so lost lbs and lbs of belly fat after using certain pills or a certain belly band while exercising.  But my real life is less remarkable.  Yes, I feel a bit down that I haven't lost faster.  But my goal of being in the 290s by September 25 lifts me up.  Short term goals keep us on track best.  If I make 145 my only goal, 168 lbs is what I need to shed!!!  And seeing that I STILL need to take off more than half of my body weight is pretty deflating!!

But on the other hand, when I get to 145, I will have lost 203 lbs from the highest weight I can admit to.   My highest on the scale was 348, but that was after I had had the flu for a couple of days, so was most likely dehydrated.  That was the reason I felt safe to weigh that day last spring.  It was probably the least I could weigh at that time.

So 35 lost.  But then, I have lost that amount several times in the past few years.  But then I would put it back.  My bariatric surgeon told me when I went in for an annual check that if I hadn't had the surgery I'd probably weigh 500 lbs!  I told myself that is what he needed to tell himself.

Lots of things going on today.  Miranda says she will be over.  I have to type up the program for the Primary sacrament service presentation.  I have to make several batches of suckers.  I should embroider at least one quilt square center.  I have 34 to do for the 2 baby quilts for babies due Oct 28 and Dec 3.

I'm tired just thinking of what is coming up today!

Well, I didn't post my weight Monday, August 26.  The reason is that I ate a bunch of grapes for breakfast and thought that much food would change my weight enough to make it inaccurate in comparison to earlier weight-ins.

I can hardly wait until I get below 300.  I'm getting excited!  I expect I am the only person who ever got excited about that weight goal!

The first of September is nearly here, which means we get to join the rec center soon.  I can hardly wait to exercise.  I'll start on a stationary bike to build up some lung power and then go on from there.  I will see about hiring someone to set me up on a scheduled plan after that.

I have an appt with my cardiologist September 10.  It will show a good weight loss!  Not GREAT, like I had hoped.  But it took me longer than it should have to get off sugared soft drinks.

Yesterday after church, Bob and I were invited to Mark and Nancy Lueck's house.  They fed us, Stan and Sheila Lamb, and the missionaries, Elder Aschcroft and Elder Hala'ufia.  We had some crispy fried flour tortillas topped with refried beans, vegetables, sour cream, and a choice of salsas.  Nancy had made creme broulet for the first time and used a blow torch to make the sugar into a crackling top, right there at the kitchen counter.  So I ate everything I was offered, except for the sugared KoolAid.  I was very moderate and was satisfied.  But the dessert creme broulet came in custard cups and I ate it all.  Later in the evening, I finished off the potato salad that was left over from Friday when we fed the missionaries dinner here.  Bad decision!  But I'm forgiving myself and carrying on from here.

This morning my blood sugar was 144.  My weight was 316 a half hour ago, but I know that will come down after the lasix pill, which I took this morning, has finished doing its daily job.  I'll post today's weight in a couple of hours.

Today I'm planning to make lollipops so I can send some to Mary in Utah and have some for Bob and for taking with for kids and grandkids when we go to MN Thursday.  I am not tempted by the suckers.  I do enjoy smelling them as I mix and pour them.  I also plan to cut more fabric for the baby quilts.  There is something very calming and therapeutic about that.  Strange, eh?

Today I weighed in at 313!  I pray for the strength and resolve to keep eating wisely.  I'll write more later if I make time to do so.  Had a great day at church and are going to eat with friends this afternoon. I think I'm okay to eat reasonably.  But I go there with a prayer in my heart.

I've been weighing myself often, sometimes even 5 or 6 times a day.  I've also been taking my lasix every day.  Today I weigh 314.

I do need to add exercise, but am still waiting for Bob, who decided that we needed to wait until September 1 because of income.  We've been paying on the AC, so ran out of available money in August.  We don't want to dip into savings, saving it for true emergencies or major, needed purchases.  If he doesn't want to start our rec center membership September 1, I'm going to go over and sign us up from my checking account.  I get SSA money deposited on the fourth Wednesday of the month.

It looks like every year or two I renew broken vows of the past about controlling my diet, exercise, and weight.  Kind of pitiful!  So let's see how long this one lasts.  I pray it lasts the rest of my life.

Today I pronounce myself 316.  I weigh a little less with only my underwear, plus/minus 2.  This is the weight from my accurate scale, 3 hours after taking my lasix.   316 is 2 lbs less than I weighed before lasix.  It is 2 lbs more than what I weigh with only underwear.

So this is all boring, and I hope I'm the only one reading it!

Janie showed me the TV show American Ninja Warrior.  I LOVE it.  It is young men and some women who have trained to run a course of physical strength, balance, endurance, etc.  It is exhilarating to see them go through so much and either fall short or complete the course.  It shows me that our bodies can be made very strong.  And so it is kind of a reminder to me that I can build myself up, though not as far because of my age.  I wouldn't ever have tried to be as strong as those training for the show in the first place, but I tell myself I can improve my strength and health.

In the past--the now-far past--I exercised to tapes and DVDs and did improve.  I also was at a health club and got strong and better lung capacity from that exercising.  What I miss now is physical exercise.

Today I can hardly walk from the parking lot into the store without huffing and puffing.  I am always aware of the location of the next place I can sit down and catch my breath.  With my excess weight, it is like I am pulling around a 150 pound dead person on a stretcher tied to my shoulders!  A visual I remember seeing on TV is someone pulling an old porcelain bath tub of 200 pounds to show what it is like to be obese.

I'm going to stop talking now.  I can't stop thinking about my past efforts.  I need to go pray again.  They say the best predictor of future actions is past actions.  I'm not going to predict.  I'm going to ask help and learn.

Today I weigh 317, a few hours after taking the lasix and urinating a lot.  I recorded 318.6 before the pill.  Then I drank and ate some before that final weight.

I would write more, but Jeopardy is on and then I have to do laundry and get ready for RS meeting tonight on journaling and family history.

I haven't use our blog for more than 2 years!!!  I'm not going to notify anyone that I am blogging again. In stead, I am using this to log my dietary and exercise goings-on.  So this is really a blog just to myself.  I doubt I will include pictures because I don't know how.

I will call today, DAY 1.

Bob had me write him a list of what to buy at the grocery store.  He shopped early in the day, and since I was still urinating every 20 minutes or so because of the lasix pill I take every morning, he went alone.  But he did a good job getting what I wrote.  (Note:  Some days I do not take lasix.  Some days I take it in the evening because I am usually home and awake that time of day.  I should take it once a day, but I am not always a compliant patient.)  This morning I had my last ounces of sugared soda pop.

I decided to use the DASH diet and bought the book on Kindle last week.  Now, I have read about and attended classes about how to eat properly.  Like most Americans, I truly know what I ought to eat!  I have lost 30 pounds and regained it back and forth for years.  Anyway, I pray to be successful NOW because I am declining in strength and endurance as I age.  And I want to live to enjoy Bob during our retirement and to be around to watch the grandchildren grow.  And to be of used to the Lord here in Watertown SD.

I am brave enough today to write down my weight.  I weighed in earlier today at 318.  The highest I have ever known I weighed was 348.  I might have weighed more.  348 was spring of this year, 2013.  I started a new medication, which really cut my appetite and made me feel nauseous for a number of weeks.  That started my recent weight loss.  I had gotten down to 312, and obviously got my appetite back and put back 6 lbs or so.

Because of the lasix, I can lose 4-6 lbs in a few hours immediately after taking the pill and urinating.  I don't usually urinate much in the evening when I take the pill in the morning.

End of my true confession for the day.  If anyone reads this, let me know.  I'm curious.  But my assumption is that after these years NOT writing, no one will.