Good Afternoon Everyone!

Well 213.5 on the scale today. I was pretty happy to see that. Since January that scale has stayed between 215 and 220 and not a single ounce less. Maybe the tweaks in my diet are finally working. I?ve tried low carb, low fat, and no sugar but this time I?m doing all of the above and most important, watching the calories. The first few days I had difficulty with energy. I didn?t want to do anything but nap. Yesterday and today I?ve felt more like myself and have been cleaning, running errands, and will get out for my run this evening.

If any of you have wondered about the Atkins shakes, they?re actually not bad. I bought a case of the pre-made shakes at Costco for $18.50 and have been drinking two a day as a meal replacement. They?re made with soy milk and if you?re not used to that, you might not care for them. I switched to soy about a month ago to give myself an extra protein boost in the mornings. For such a small can, it does fill me up and I am not hungry.

Here?s the nutritional break down:

Calories 170

Total Fat 9g

Saturated Fat 2g

Cholesterol 15mg

Sodium 170 mg

Potassium 680 mg

Total Carbohydrate 5g (1 net carb)

Fiber 4g

Sugar 1 g

Protein 20 g

I said I was going to keep a food journal and I have been. Here?s what I had yesterday:

1 latte 150

Atkins shake 170

1 egg white boiled 15

toast w/ cream cheese 210

Atkins Shake 170

1 tsp peanut butter 70

Chicken breast 140

¼ hamburger 100

Glass of merlot 75

Total: 1100

About the ¼ hamburger? My daughter is still a skinny little thing and I made her two hamburgers while I was grilling last night. I really wanted one, so I cut one of hers into quarters and had one quarter. Silly, but it satisfied my craving. Same with the teaspoon of peanut butter. I don?t think we should be banned from our favorite foods, but learn how to be satisfied with just one bite.

Ok, that?s it for now. It?s already 2:20 PM and I want to get this house cleaned up, wander down to the beach block party going on, go for my run, and be able to take a nap before going into work tonight. I have to work the all night shift and haven?t done that in a couple of years. Yuck. Oh, and Happy Mother?s Day to all you mums tomorrow.

Good Afternoon Everyone!

Not a whole lot to report today. I lost 3 lbs on the scale but I know it?s all water given the great need to rid of fluids when I woke up this morning. Unfortunately, I didn?t get to chase after any firemen this morning. My roommate headed home to Alaska for a few days and I had to drive him to the airport. That shouldn?t have taken away from my exercise since it was early in the morning, but it did delay me and the temperature just got too hot by mid morning to get out there.

I work from home during the week and at a radio station on the weekends. Being free-lance isn?t easy. I had someone hire me for some contract work over a month ago who has been dragging his feet badly. I?m eager to get started, but as long as he is on hold so are my finances and I. I could?ve been taking other jobs this whole time, but kept myself available for his company and finally got so broke and frustrated I called a temp agency yesterday to see if they have some immediate work for me. FINALLY, the guy called me today and had all of the necessary equipment and contracts to sign. I hate when I have to threaten to walk away in order to get someone to take action. Thank goodness I spilled the nice cold can of diet soda into my crotch AFTER I signed the contracts. I am relieved that I don?t have to go to the temp agency and work another office job. I take any job I do very seriously and make sure that I do it right. I have this idea that I don?t need to kiss anyone?s bum and play political games if I?m proficient in my work. That?s not how it works in the corporate world and as a result I never climb any ladders in those situations. At least when I work free-lance my skills and ideas are appreciated and needed.

Today I am keeping track of my food intake. I hope to do this every day; we?ll see if that happens.

Here we go so far:

Breakfast (mind you I rarely eat an actual meal in the mornings so breakfast is everything I eat between 5AM and noon)

2 lattes(sugar free) 300

1 egg (boiled) 150

1 Atkins Shake 170

Lunch

1 slice of cheese 70

1 Atkins Shake 170

Dinner

Grilled Chicken Breast 142

Peanut marinade 40

Green leaf salad With cucumber And radishes 80

Total Calories: 1122

Not too bad for a day. I could?ve skipped that second latte and wish I?d had energy and a cool enough climate to exercise in. Maybe I?ll hit the stair stepper during the ?Friends? finale.

Oh, and on a totally separate subject, last week my boss at the radio station told me that Diana DeGarmo on American Idol looks just like me. I hadn?t seen the show so I had no clue if that was a nice thing to say. Then I had two more friends tell me that since and one person in a grocery store today. I finally saw her last night and will take that as a compliment.. Considering she?s half my age!

Have a great night everyone!

Good Morning Everyone!

Well, I?m all showered and refreshed after my morning jaunt around the bay. The firemen run there too? That could be a motivation for my morning ritual. I always was a sucker for good-looking men in uniform.

Inmorning, you asked a few questions that I will answer for you. First, I don?t remember what my screen name was. My last post here was about three years ago and I?d only posted a few times at that.

I never had any eating disorders. I made a halfhearted attempt at having one as a teenager, but very quickly realized that vomiting and dizzy spells were not my thing. I had boys to chase after, I needed my strength.

To explain my weight at the time of the accident; yes I was underweight but there were several circumstances to it. For one thing, I was only 4?11? at the time, about 15lbs underweight according to my doctor. We lived in a very rural/mountain/farmland area when I was growing up and I had a very hyper active brother to keep up with. (Yes, 17 years later I?m still trying to keep up with the boys) There were always trees to climb, dirt piles to jump bikes on, snowballs to throw, animals to tend to and that 7-mile bike ride into town to see the latest movie, play the latest arcade game and buy the latest album. We also had a much better diet back then. Sugar was a once in a while thing. We only ate candy on Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc. Ice cream came straight from the dairy up the hill and was enjoyed after special dinners. There was the occasional birthday cake, Thanksgiving pie and other holiday desserts. I think the only regular dose of sweets was our Saturday morning cartoon cereal. Besides all of the activity, I had a very fast metabolism working for me as well. That, and my mother was a very bad cook. I couldn?t even slip the food to the dog under the table (he was underweight too).

As soon as my head and legs healed from that accident, I went right back into the same lifestyle I?d led before. Obviously, something had changed in that accident because the weight piled on rather than coming off or simply maintaining. I?ve had a few doctors that did admit there is a theory about head injuries being linked to excessive weight gain, but have yet to find any real research studies on the subject.

For now, I?m trying to replicate that lifestyle as much as possible in my current life. I jog/walk every morning for an hour or so and again in the afternoon. I?ve cut all sugar out of my diet and other processed foods. Lots of vegetables and lean cuts of meat. I?m not losing any weight, but I do feel much better for the effort.

A few weeks ago I was getting ready for work and totally forgot to eat breakfast (if I do have one big dietary no-no, it?s forgetting to eat and it does happen often) I dropped my daughter off at school and decided to get some coffee. Starbucks had a line around the block so I skipped that and went to another coffee place that was also busy. I couldn?t see the signs to see if they had any sugar free syrups and when I got to the cash register I wanted to order as quickly as possible and not offend the 10 people behind me. So I ordered my old favorite, a white chocolate mocha. I felt so terrible after drinking that. I couldn?t get the sweet aftertaste out of my mouth and CRASHED so hard by noon I had to really struggle to keep my eyes open for the rest of the day. I hadn?t noticed how much better I?d felt since getting sugar out of my diet until I slipped up that one time.

So regardless of whether or not I?m losing any weight, I have to say that at least I am able to enjoy life a bit more with a healthy lifestyle. I?m happy that I actually * can * jog 8 miles, ride a bike all afternoon, hike up a mountain and kayak. I don?t know very many skinny people who can do all of that. That being said, I?d still like for my body to reflect all of this activity. It makes my personal life very difficult. Most of the men who enjoy the activities that I do are hard bodies who want a hard-bodied woman to go with them. I?ve been called too fat and turned down by men who are heavier than I am. Everyone wants a Barbie doll. I actually do have a hard body and a lot of muscle, unfortunately it's hidden under a layer of fat. If I could afford a good tummy tuck I'd be set.

Well, I?ve turned this entry into a novel. Time for me to go now. Please keep looking out for information on Pituitary Gland/Thyroid disorders if you can. It is greatly appreciated.Hope you all have a fantastic day!

Hello everyone!

I've been here before, but forgot my login information and my email has changed since so I couldn't have it sent to me. I posted a few years back when I was having some success with losing weight. Unfortunately, I've gained most of it back and it's just not coming off this time.

I have a question; have any of you had any thyroid problems? I'll give some history on this. I was in a car accident as a teenager, with a head injury that is believed to have injured my pituitary gland. Despite having my jaw wired shut, being on a liquid diet and hard physical therapy, I went from 85 lbs to 180 within 9 months. The weight gain was so drastic my skin bled from the stretching. When all healing was done, I went back to my regular activity and was down to 140, which was still chubby.. (I was very underweight before) but not too bad. Then came my daughter, I had an extremely difficult pregnancy with her that ended with pre-eclampsia and again, the weight went up. I was 155 at the beginning of the pregnancy, 236lb the day I delivered and I only carried her for 7 1/2 months. It was at my 6-week post-natal check up that they discovered my thyroid was enlarged to 10 cm. They ran some blood work, said it wasn't hypothyroid and sent me on my way without any further testing. This was twelve years ago and I've had the same encounters with many doctors since.

Now before this sounds like a pity party for one who just gave up, let me further explain that I have had moderate successes in weight loss through extreme exercise. I learned a long time ago that my body doesn't burn fat like everyone else's and I have to put in twice the effort. Unfortunately, this time around it's not working at all. In January I had a change in my living situation and was unable to get out and exercise for a few weeks. I put on 20 lbs in that one month. Since February I have been back to my routine and then some. Reducing my caloric intake to 1000 daily, walking 4-8 miles a day, bicycling, etc. Not a single ounce is budging. My thyroid is enlarged again, to the point where it hurts when I sing and talk (which happens to be my job) and I'm exhausted all of the time.

So with my original question, has anyone else had any experiences with, or known someone in this situation? Doctors and dieticians do not listen. I think they refuse to believe that something could be physically wrong, rather than mentally. I welcome any stories and input.