Day 5 of Phase 1.  I will not mention weight until the 14 days are over and I start on Phase 2.  Phase 2 is another word for the rest of my life eating plan.

Day 4 (yesterday) I was successful in keeping my eating on track.  So exhilarating!  I believe my talking about DASH diet on Facebook is helping me.  For one, I want to keep up with so many friends who are losing weight and getting healthier.  For another, I don't want to disappoint others who are giving me kudos for losing weight.  And finally, I don't want to disappoint myself after having come this far.

To most, losing 66 pounds is a great accomplishment.  Marie Osmond lost only 50, but she has earned bragging rights and tells about her success many times a day in her ad for Nutrisystem.  I was on Nutrisystem for a number of months and know it is a marvelous diet.  Of course, I stopped using it and regained weight and added even more for good measure!  What I am concentrating on now is choosing foods that are readily available and using them as they were meant to be used.  The Word of Wisdom, a revelation given to Joseph Smith in the 1800s, advises us how to eat.  The main advice about food is moderation.  

I remember when I was 30.  That was in 1976.  I had my stomach "stapled" by a surgeon who did many of those procedures.  I had that surgeon operate again a few years later because the suture line had come undone.  After the second surgery, I could tell the suture line failed again, so I didn't go see him again.  In 1997 or so, I had my third bariatric surgery, only this time by Dr Dan Baker in the Minneapolis area.  I lost after that, but then started re-gaining.  Again, I gained even more.  I think I was around 275-295 for a long time after that.  Then Nutrisystem and a few other seminars/plans.  Years later, I somehow got up to 354, even though I could tell my third surgery suture line held up.  It is indeed possible to graze one's way to morbid obesity even after successful surgery.  Gastric bypass only gives you a year or less to lose weight while you take on better habits.  The surgeon's offices are full of scrapbook pages of those who have lost all their excess weight after surgery.  They do not show any pictures of those of us who regained their weight.  I hope they now advise people that it is possible to get obese again.  I know they have support groups, unlike when I had surgery.

I will never forget one of the security guards at Mercy Hospital.  She was very tall and fairly young.  Only she was morbidly obese.  She walked around strong and proud. But she avoided eye contact.  Well, she had the surgery and got almost down to being normal weight.  Then she regained every pound she had lost.  I was not one of her acquaintances, so I didn't ever have the occasion to talk with her about anything, much less her surgery.  But I was as sadder for than for myself.

Feeling a bit down today.  Weather is so cold.  Bob is fretting because he can't think of what we should have for dinner.  I told him we should steam our fresh cauliflower and have some meat and a lettuce salad.  We have plenty of food here.  I guess nothing is inspiring him today.

I really should take a new picture of myself for Facebook.  I can easily take a "selfie" with the iPhone.  I might even be able to post it without help from Phil or Ryan!!

I had better get something to drink.  I'm so dry!  I have to keep reminding myself to drink water when I feel hungry.  I have too often mistaken thirst for hunger and eaten instead of having a drink of water.  I could then also have my light yogurt, which I love to enjoy slowly while I watch TV.   Last night I finished off a stalk of celery, but I have another I can clean and bag for today.  I'd like to buy the celery hearts rather than whole stalks because the outside stalks are most often not as good a flavor as the others.  When I get a whole stalk, I feel honor bound to eat all of the stalks.  Oh well.

I haven't used this blogsite since last November, when I weighed in at 294.  My last weight was 288, just before Christmas, I believe.  So you can see I hardly lost much weight before the holidays.  Then during the holidays I have to admit I fluctuated a bit, but essentially stayed the same weight.

I last weighed last Friday, the day before I started Phase 1 of the DASH diet.  That was 289, but it was during the day, after eating and drinking diet soda and water.  So in order to stop myself from panicking too much, I am calling it 288 and saying I managed to keep my initial weigh loss over the past couple of months, or "over the holidays."

My highest recorded weight was 354.  I finally found that I could admit that after getting below the 300 mark!   It got up that high after our move to Watertown when Bob retired.  We moved here September 30, 2012.  Perhaps I had been that high or higher before we moved.  I remember I would plan my steps through the house to "conserve my energy."  I couldn't make it from room to room, from the bedroom to the bathroom, from the living room to the kitchen, without needing to sit down to catch my breath.  I got winded going from the parking lot into the clinic and needed to sit down to catch my breath before going to the check-in desk.  Then it hurt to stand and wait my turn because of my back.  I had to sit in the extra wide chairs in the waiting room.  At the stores I got breathless walking even short distances and was constantly looking for places to sit down to rest and catch my breath.

When I went to the bathroom, I had to use the wrong end of my toothbrush--with a cloth or flushable wipe wrapped around it--as an extension to clean myself after a bowel movement.  I couldn't reach that far back with only my arm and hand.  This is one thing I have mentioned to almost no one until today.  It is not a very pretty item to mention, but I guess I'm feeling kind of confessional.

And while telling about my weight, I should mention this one kind of uplifting note.  Use Lamisil--which is recommended for jock itch and athlete's foot--in the fat folds.  I like the spray liquid best.  I know someone who uses a generic creme with the same drug/ingredients, and she says it works fine for her.  She uses it every day after she takes her shower.  It takes care of the yeast that grows in fat folds.  I only use it when I think I'm getting a yeast infection again.  But when I'm off sugar, I rarely grow any.  Yeast feeds on sugar.  I wish I knew a way to spread the word on this.  I saw a young teen girl on a talk or health show, talking about how she wanted obesity surgery.  She talked about how much "infection" she got in her fat folds and how it itched and stunk.  (Her mother, like mine, was trim.)  I wished I could have jumped into the TV to tell her about Lamisil!

So I'm on day 3 of Phase 1 DASH diet.  I woke up with a big headache Saturday, the first day.  It must have been because I had no sugar of any kind Friday before I started day 1.  I was pretty wiped out that first day, but I kept on program and the headache finally calmed down by the end of the day.  I was looking forward to church on Sunday, partly because it would get me away from home and my eating plan for several hours.  But church was canceled because of the icy roads and snow.  So I didn't do much but watch TV and read.

Today I got dressed, even with my bra on!  I slept through The Price is Right and Jeopardy and started with breakfast about noon.  No headache, not much appetite now at 3pm.  I ate breakfast and a snack.  Now I have to eat lunch and another snack before dinner!  The DASH eating plan says not to skip any meals, so I'm spreading them out and will catch up by this evening.  After completing this entry and posting on Facebook, Il write to a couple of friends and do some sewing.  Not going out of the house until Wednesday because of the cold.  We have plenty of the right foods stocked.

Yesterday I finally admitted I do NOT like plain Jell-O.  I decided I would not use it, even though DASH says I should.  It is one item I can have as many servings of as I can eat.  Today, however, I'm thinking I should go ahead and eat it.  The author of my book on the DASH diet says it kills your hunger for sweets and fruits (fruits are not on Phase 1), so since we have a number of cups of it in the frig, I'm eating it as suggested in the Phase 1 menu.  If nothing else, it does kind of turn off my ability to enjoy food.  I suppose I will learn to love it after a while.  When I get to Phase 2, I think I'll put some fruit in with the Jell-O.

Sunday I did eat some refried beans.  I microwaved about 6 ounces with some shredded cheese.  That was not expressly on the menu, but it was something allowed during this phase.  It really filled me up and seemed to comfort me.  The book says to have more of, say, a protein food if you are feeling weak.  So I used that advice as justification.

On DASH, we can have diet gelatin and non-starch vegetables in unlimited quantities.  I have my peanuts in the form of organic peanut butter, which I spread on celery.  I LOVE that.  I also love my lunch meat and cheese roll-ups in place of sandwiches.  (It's a sandwich without the bread.)  Wednesday when we go out, I'll get lots of Romaine lettuce so I can roll up the meat and cheese in it.

I'm going to go now and fix my lunch and have a whole can of string beans, which we got for 29 cents a can of sale.  Oh, and I want to mention my discovery of Walmart's Great Value brand light yogurt Banana Creme Pie flavor.  It contains fructose and artificial sweeteners, but I love banana flavor!  And only one cup (6 oz) of yogurt is allowed per day during Phase 1.

So happy eating to anyone reading this blog.  I will journal about my eating plan here.  And I encourage all of us to pray for the strength to do what it takes to make ourselves healthier.  I thank the Lord for the strength he gives me to carry on eating right and for His forgiveness of so many years that I did not take care of my body.

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.