At 5:00 AM I stepped up on Mr. Scale and he said, “199.5 pounds.” Considering the fact that I was taking Advil, all day yesterday that is not too bad. I found out early in my journey that I can expect additional weight anytime that I use anti-inflammatory medication, like Advil. However, it was good to be using only Advil within recommended dosages, and no longer taking Vicodin.

Yesterday afternoon it became clear that the swelling in my jaw area was going down. This morning it is down even more. It still is not back to normal yet but it is improving, and that is a good thing.

Since I was not up to doing much else, we sat and watched old horror movies yesterday on DVD, mostly from the 1950s. (E.g. The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, The Amazing Transparent Man, The Blob) It was fun.

Here it is the very last day of September, and we are supposed to reach 85 degrees for our high temperature. That is unseasonably high. Normally we don’t get over 80 degrees after the 21 st of September. Even tomorrow the first of October, is predicted to reach 80. Since we already put our air conditioners away, this is not a good turn, but it will pass soon. It’s just one more thing to add to the wonderful week we’ve been having. :(

For eating yesterday, I had my standard breakfast (5.0 pt.). For lunch I had 1.5 cups of life cereal (4.0 pt.), a cup of skim milk (2.0 pt.) and a WW smoothie shake (2.0 pt.). For dinner I had 2 tomato sandwiches (1.5 pt.), a bowl of diced tomatoes (0.0 pt.), and a bowl of Cream of Wheat (2.0 pt.). That brought the points for my meals to 16.5. For snacks, I had 3 yogurts with my medication (6.0 pt.), one slice of dry bread (0.0 pt.), and a Mr. Cookie Face (3.0 pt.). That made 9.0 snack points, and brought my total points for the day to 25.5.

For water yesterday I drank 21 cups, or 168 ounces. (10.5 pounds of water!)

I didn’t even pace yesterday, and so did not get any exercise.

141 days OP, a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

239.5/197.5/200/BMI:24.7/WK-20/Maintenance Graph/Weight Loss Graph

I woke up at 3:40 AM, since nature called, and I weighed then, since I knew I would be up in a very short time, and I had to take my antibiotics with a bunch of water in the meantime. So, after waking him up at such an early hour, Mr. Scale said, “199.5 pounds.” I thought that was mighty nice of him. :)

Why is it that I am up early and soon to be on my way? The Dodge dealerships in town, have adopted hours of operation that are as truly convenient as the dentists have. If you should be so thoughtless as to have car trouble at sometime other than 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, or on a day other than Monday through Friday, you can bloody well wait until the normal working hours roll around again. That is why, instead of being able to take care of the “Service Engine Soon” indicator (a rather vague but undeniably ominous light to come popping up all at once) during one of the last two days, when I was available to donate as much time as required, I had to wait until this morning to drop the car off, and leave it with them, until they can find the time in their now busy schedule -- created by the two days of car problems backed up through the weekend -- to look at it. In the meantime I am to find my own way to work, (as well as finding a method by which to commute from location to location, which is often necessary) sans personal transportation. An altogether satisfactory arrangement, don’t you agree?

Not only that, but I have the privilege of leaving an hour early this morning, in order to accommodate all this convenience. Oh, “Do I have ride home?” you ask. What possible concern could that be to the busy, and efficient -- not to mention customer oriented -- people of Dodge?

If there is one profession that I have more ill feelings about than dentistry, it is auto repair shops. Most dentists are, I think, trying to do their best for you. They may be in over their heads, and unable to do what is required, but they give it the old college try. With service shops, I always get the feeling that if I make it out of the place with my shirt still on my back I have worked a miracle.

We will see if the Dodge place today will surprise me with efficient and effective service, or will merely reinforce my lack of respect for the businesses which provide the con-and-robbery racket, laughingly referred to as “service.” As hard as it is to find a great dentist (oh how I miss our dentist in Massachusetts!), a great auto mechanic is even harder to find.

I think that the only upside at this point, is that I should be due a bit of good luck along about now, and maybe it will come in the form of a happy surprise at the “service” shop. (I would probably have a better shot of cashing in, if I bought a lottery ticket. :( )

The swelling in my cheek and jaw area continues to dwindle, and hopefully it will go entirely away very soon. Of course the final outcome of the villainous tooth remains to be determined, but there is a very strong contingent in my mental debating hall, that is screaming for its removal, while calmer voices are pleading for mercy, and a root canal. (If you suggest that there is to be found a hint in the foregoing, of multiple individuals residing in my head, WE deny it strongly. :lol )

Seriously, I will be glad to reach the point where this tooth is no longer an issue at all, whatever ends up being done.

Well it’s October finally, my favorite month of the year. The insects will be going where insects go for the colder months, and the plants will keep their little atmospheric contributions to themselves. The sun damps down its rays to a civilized level, and the house takes on a warm homey feel that is not to be found in the hot summer months. Soon, leaves will be dropping everywhere, and will be pushed this way and that in the autumn breezes. Ah, paradise.

For eating yesterday, I had my standard breakfast (5.0 pt.). For lunch I had 3 tomato sandwiches (2.0 pt.), and for dinner I had some hash browns (1.0 pt) and a cheese omelet (1.0 pt.). That totaled 9.0 meal points. For snacks I had 4 yogurts during the day (8.0 pt.), 2 meringues (1.0 pt.), a Kashi bar (5.0 pt.), and a Mr. Cookie Face (3.0 pt.). That brought my snacks to 17.0 points, and my total points for the day to 26.0.

For water, I drank 15 cups, or 120 ounces.

Well I am off to face the highwaymen at Dodge, wish me luck.

142 days OP, a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

239.5/197.5/200/BMI:24.7/WK-20/Maintenance Graph/Weight Loss Graph

At 5:00 AM I stepped up on Mr. Scale and he said, “199.5 pounds.” Still hanging around in the 190s! :)

The antibiotics I have been taking have made my digestive track unhappy. My stomach feels uneasy, and there are other “features” that will make me happy to finish up with having to take them. The main feature is continuing to work well: The swelling in my cheek and gum is still growing smaller each day. In fact the swelling in my gum has really taken a drop since even last night, when it was very puffy and sore, but this morning almost feels normal. When I rub my hand along my jaw line, I can still feel a small knot under the skin but it is hardly noticeable. It is getting better.

When I dropped my car off at Dodge, yesterday, I could have gotten away with just waiting instead getting a ride. I was riding from Dodge to one of our customer’s sites with a coworker, when my cell phone went off and they said it was already done. But then I had to wait until lunchtime to get back to pick it up. It always feels good to get your car back when you have been left without one for a while, even a short while. The final charges were only $50 for a $6 part, and that is a pretty good deal for a fleecing operation. :)

Yesterday was the first day that I tried to eat more or less normally, since my tooth extravaganza last week. I had my turkey sandwiches for lunch and even worked on my vegetables driving home. As it turned out, I was able to finish my head of romaine lettuce, and one of my two pieces of cucumber. However, my gum, the portion which is located nearest to my currently most prominent tooth, was sore, and so I had to chew things very slowly. Also, I hit one of the most traffic-free drives home that I have had in quite some time. So, I was home much quicker than normal. Between those two “cosmic forces” at work, I was not able to start on my second cucumber, or to even get near my bag of broccoli. On a normal day, BTTT (before the tooth trouble), I would be finished with all of those things and wishing for more, with still another half hour to go before reaching home.

When I reached home, even though I had really worked hard at doing all my chewing of the crunchy, crisp vegetables on the left side of my mouth, the right, and tender side of my mouth, still was overtaxed. For dinner I asked Dotti for some soft food again, to give it a rest. Also, I ended up taking some Advil in the evening for my aching gums. (But that was the only Advil I took all day!)

Last evening, I went into my Standard Meals page and specifically called out the “Milk Products” and “Fruit” and “Vegetable” servings that I have every day with my Standard Breakfast and Standard Lunch, because a couple of people have been asking about that aspect of my journey. It would be very cumbersome, and repetitive, to write down the same thing every day for breakfast and lunch in my journal here (although I do write them down every day in my food journal). So, I have used the Standard Meals page to work around that. My breakfast is nearly always the same each day. My lunch varies very little during the workweek. So, anyone who is interested in what I am eating as far as servings of this or that kind of food, can find it by checking here and on the Standard Meals page.

For eating yesterday I had my Standard Breakfast (5.0 pt.) and Standard Lunch (7.0 pt.). For dinner I had instant potatoes (3.0 pt.), a yogurt (2.0 pt.) and a WW Smoothie Shake (3.0 pt.). That brought my meals to 20.0 points. For snacks I had a cup of decaf at work (1.0 pt.), and a Kashi bar in the evening (5.0 pt.). That was 6.0 snack points, and brought my total points for the day to 26.0.

143 days OP, a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

239.5/197.5/200/BMI:24.7/WK-20/Maintenance Graph/Weight Loss Graph

I slept in all the way to 6:00 AM, and when I stepped up on Mr. Scale, he apparently appreciated the extra sleep, because he said, “197.5 pounds.” Perhaps the fact that I didn’t take any Advil yesterday may have helped a bit too. :)

I spent the day in the office yesterday, and it was a pretty quiet day. (I even did a little posting on DWLZ message board during the afternoon.) For lunch I walked around Powell’s Books, a branch of a large local book store, which has new and used books on the shelves side by side. I just love book stores, even when I only browse for an hour like I did yesterday.

On the way home, I was able to get more of my vegetables down, because my gums were less sore and the drive was a bit longer.

The traffic here is funny. On Monday morning, going to work, the traffic is terrible. It takes the longest to get to work. Tuesday is slightly better, and by Friday it may cut 15 or 20 minutes off the morning commute because the traffic is so light. But it is not simply because people are taking the latter days of the week off, because at night, on the drive home the exact opposite is happening.

Monday, the drive home is very easy, with very light traffic, but by Friday night, it has progressively gotten worse and worse, and things are snarled and it takes much longer to get home. Go figure.

My digestive track is still not liking the antibiotics, but I am down to the last 24 hours of taking them. By this time tomorrow, I should have taken my last one of them. The swelling is nearly all gone, and even my gums feel very close to normal. The tooth is relatively pain-free, even when I bite down on it. It is a bit tender still but nothing like before. So, I am very glad they fixed me up with a very effective medication.

For eating yesterday I had Standard Breakfast (5.0 pt.) and Standard Lunch (6.0 pt. - minus the fruit). For dinner I had a WW Smoothie Shake (3.0 pt.), and a whole wheat pita bread and cheese sandwich (4.0 pt.), which totaled 7.0 points for dinner. The brought my meal points to 18.0. For snacks, I had a cup of decaf at work (1.0 pt.), 5 cough drops (1.5 pt.) and a Kashi bar (5.0 pt.). That made 7.5 snack points, and brought my points for the day to 25.5.

Off to face Wednesday!

For water, I drank 10 cups, or 80 ounces.

144 days OP, a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

239.5/197.5/200/BMI:24.7/WK-20/Maintenance Graph/Weight Loss Graph

At 5:30 AM, I stepped up on Mr. Scale and he said, “199.0 pounds.” Still under goal! I had a big dill pickle in my lunch yesterday, and I think it may have something to do with the extra water I am probably holding on to this morning.

The swelling in my cheek has gone down completely, and the swelling in my gum has nearly done so. My tooth is back to being slightly tender, like it was before I went to see the dentist last week.

At lunch I took a walk in the park once more but this time I had the pedometer going. The first mile I walked to certain landmarks in the park, and stopped for a moment, and wrote down the step count on the pedometer. For the walk back, I started off by resetting the pedometer to zero, and then walked the same path back. The overall step count on the one mile walking back, was within 7 steps of the sum of the stop and go mile, and it took 13 minutes and 57 seconds to walk. I am not sure how long it took to do the first mile but it took at least a couple of minutes extra to write down the steps along the way.

I am glad to finally get some numbers to go with my walking in the park. The distance that I had earlier estimated as being 2 miles turned out to be just over that. The distance that I was counting as 3 / 4 mile turned out to be pretty close to that. From now on when I walk in that park I can be pretty sure how far I have gone.

My drive home last night was the standard one hour long, but I was listening to an audio book all the way and it went by quickly.

For eating yesterday, I had my Standard Breakfast (5.0 pt.) and Standard Lunch (7.0 pt.). I even was able to finish off all of my vegetables on my drive home yesterday. For dinner I had 3 tomato sandwiches (3.5 pt.) and an orange WW Smoothie Shake (2.0 pt.). So, for meals I had 15.5 points. For snacks I had a cup of decaf at work (1.0 pt.), 3 cough drops (1.0 pt.), a Mr. Cookie Face (3.0 pt.) and another cup of decaf (1.0 pt.). I didn’t realize it until this very minute that I only had 21.5 points total yesterday. Not good. I will have to do better today.

For water yesterday, I had to get that in late. I finally ended up drinking 10 cups, for 80 ounces. I got there by chugging 24 ounces just before bed.

For exercise yesterday, I walked 2 miles. The second mile took 13 minutes and 57 seconds to walk. The first mile took a little longer and I did not time it because I was documenting distances as I went along.

145 days OP, a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

239.5/197.5/200/BMI:24.7/WK-20/Maintenance Graph/Weight Loss Graph

At 5:00 AM, I stepped up on Mr. Scale, and he said, “198.5 pounds.” I sure do like seeing those 190s every morning instead of the 200s.

I took a two mile walk yesterday, in 30:00:57 minutes. (That comes to 4.75 Aerobic points. For the day before yesterday, I estimate my total time for my 2 mile walk with the brief stops included to write the step counts down, to be 33 minutes, which is 4.27 Aerobic Points. Therefore my Aerobic point total for the week so far is 9.02 Aerobic points.) I could tell that I had walked fast the day before, because my legs felt tight and a bit sore when I started, and I could not hold the same pace that I had the day before for very long. I had to slow it down just a bit.

The day was just great for walking. It was just a touch warmer than I like, but not bad. But the wind was fabulous. It cut through the trees, turning the leaves and whipping the branches around. I was reminded of the high winds we used to get across the barren, unbroken land of the Mojave Desert, when I was a child, and young adult. I just love the wind.

When I had finished the walk, I sat down in my car and ate my lunch. I then got back up to walk into the building, and found that the upper forward part of my thighs definitely felt sore and tight. The soreness worked out fairly quickly as the afternoon wore on, but that time off for dealing with the tooth infection left my muscles a bit flabbier than they had been even last week, when I was still not all that far into my exercise regime. As I get older, I realize that I have to stay right on it, or I lose ground in a real hurry!

For eating yesterday, I had Standard Breakfast (5.0 pt.) and Standard Lunch (7.0 pt.). For dinner, I had 2 turkey hot dogs (2.0 pt.) and baked French fries (4.0 pt.), along with a WW Smoothie Shake (3.0 pt.). For meals I had 21.0 points. For snacks, I had a cup of decaf (1.0), 8 cough drops (2.5 pt.), a Kashi bar (5.0 pt.) and Dotti’s WW Smoothie shake (3.0 pt.). That came to a total of 11.5 snack points. When added up, that comes to 32.5 points, which is the very first time since I started my journey that I went over my upper point limit (31 in this case).

It was a clerical error which made it happen and I did not catch it until this morning. As a single event, it is no big deal, because I was way under in my points the day before yesterday. Averaging the two days together (or using banked points – which I normally do not do) I am still well in my point range for the two days.

The clerical error was introduced when I was eating my dinner, and had just finished my WW Smoothie shake, and Dotti had an upset stomach, and did not want her shake. So, I drank that one too, because “I had the points.” And I did have the points available. Unfortunately, I did not write down my own shake at the time in my journal, but did write hers down. As the evening progressed, and I was engrossed in finishing up the writing of my “Life at Sea” piece, I decided I needed to run my points up to the upper end after being so low yesterday, and I ate a 5-point Kashi bar and thought I had 29.5 points for the day, and so I was finished eating. Instead, I find this morning that it sent me over the top.

I am aggravated at the mistake of course, but all it is, is a call to pay attention in the future. It will have no impact on my weight maintenance program, because such things do average with the rest of what I am doing, and the rest is actually a bit low in points at the moment, and this will not bring my average points for the week anywhere near to being out of range. So, “no harm, no foul.” I will move on and hopefully remain alert for future journal entry opportunities.

146 days OP, a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

239.5/197.5/200/BMI:24.7/WK-20/Maintenance Graph/Weight Loss Graph

*** Weigh-in for WEEK 21 ***

Week Completed:	___21___
Weigh-In Weight:	198.5
Body Mass Index:	24.8
Week’s Average Points/Day:	26.9
Pounds +/- for this week:	+1.0
Pounds lost total:	41.0
Pounds to go to 10%:	0.0*
Pounds to go to goal:	0.0**
* Made 10% at 215.5 pounds on 7/14/01 ** Made Goal at 200.0 pounds on 9/22/01

___________________________

I got up around 7:00 AM, and stepped up on Mr. Scale. He said, “198.5 pounds.”

I am so glad that no one could see me weighing this morning. In the entire upstairs at my mother’s house, there are no exposed level and hard areas of floor space. So, what I found for Mr. Scale’s resting place, was a large wooden chest, with a flat top. The chest stands about two feet tall, and when I climbed up there, I had only a few inches of clearance from the ceiling, especially standing on Mr. Scale. So, there I was, in my zero ounce weigh-in outfit, tapping the scale to let it calibrate itself and then stepping up and peering down to see what the readout said. Anyone watching the process would have thought I was completely out of my mind.

This is an emotionally interesting event. Since I started my journey, it is the first time that I have weighed more on a Saturday than I had weighed on any previous Saturday. I went all through the weight loss part of my journey, clear into the maintenance phase with no gains, or even weeks of staying the same.

What I think happened this week, is really something that happened last week. Last week, I was going through a traumatic time. My tooth was killing me, infection was running wild in my cheek and I was taking pain and antibiotic medication like it was candy. My digestive track was way out of whack, and things were passing through me at an accelerated rate. Therefore, when I dropped 2.5 pounds last week, it was not fat that I lost, but water from the medication’s disruption of my system. This week, I am feeling much better and things have returned to normal. I certainly am not going to complain, because I am still a pound and a half below goal, and feeling well!

Yesterday was a long day. After doing a full day at work, Dotti and I hit the road heading down to visit my Mom and her husband Jim. The drive took about 4 hours, and not far from where Mom lives is a Casino that we have to drive past on the way. Well, being Dotti’s birthday, even as late as it was we stopped for about 45 minutes so she could play the slot machines.

We got in sometime after 10:00 PM, and I am usually in bed by that time. We visited for a while, but I was falling asleep during the conversation, and finally went to bed a little after 11:00 PM. I went to sleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, and I did not wake up even once during the night for a bathroom run.

For eating yesterday I had my standard breakfast and my standard lunch. For dinner, I had a 6-inch turkey breast sub (6.0 pt.). That brought my meals to 18.0 points. For snacks, I had a cup of decaf at work (1.0 pt.), 20 cough drops (6.0 pt.), 12 espresso beans -- helping me to stay awake for the drive (2.0 pt.), and a McDonalds ice cream cone (4.0 pt.). That came to 13 snack points, and brought my total for the day to 31.0 points. That was the first time that I recall having that many points, right at the top of my range, especially points eaten so late in the day, on the day before my weigh-in. I guess I have officially moved into the maintenance phase. :)

For water yesterday, I drank 11 cups, or 88 ounces.

I went out at lunch yesterday and picked up a few presents for Dotti’s birthday, and so I did not get a lunch time walk in.

I have not been that tired at the end of a day in a long long time. (In the middle of the night a few days ago, with my tooth jabbing hot daggers into my jaw, I was certainly that tired, but sleep was then out of the question.) But it was a very enjoyable day. I had 4 hours of uninterrupted time with Dot all to myself, and it was absolutely divine. Then I got to visit with Mom and Jim for the first time in many months. That was fun too. All and all it was definitely a day well spent.

Off to do the DWLZ walk with Dotti.

147 days OP, a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

239.5/198.5/200/BMI:24.8/WK-21/Maintenance Graph/Weight Loss Graph