Empyrean Engine

A plateau is far better than weight gain on eating days! Woo! I am celebrating this as a victory and a further sign that my body is back on track and losing weight again! I feel like I'm really puffy, but I'm not that puffy. I have been much puffier. This does clearly show that there was something that kicked me completely out of ketosis, though. I still have no idea what it was. That's fine. I can deal with the setback. I have full confidence that things have turned around for me now, and I will be seeing the downward trend on my graphs again. It already looks like it is going generally downward even with this plateau from yesterday to today. Starting weight:  401 lbs Current weight:  355.6 lbs Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  325 lbs Sometimes I struggle with what to write about in this blog. I should be documenting how I feel and what my experiences are, but I also want to give my thoughts on the various topics I am concerned about and that affe...

A slight bump up today in my weight, but I ain't mad about it. It's essentially only a few ounces. What's a few ounces among friends? I ate today. As of 8:00 AM this morning, my 120-hour fast was over. I am actually pleasantly surprised that I did not gain more, especially with what has been happening to me the past couple of weeks. This leads me further down the path of thinking the corned beef -- or perhaps drinking the broth in which it was cooked -- knocked me out of ketosis. I wish I had a meter to check blood ketones. That would help me out a lot. Starting weight:  415 lbs Current weight:  355.6  lbs  ⇧   Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  325 lbs I did not adhere to the olives and pickles only diet. That was a bit ridiculous. But I was very strict about carb-counting and restriction. It worked out well for me, apparently. I gained only a few ounces, but I'm sure those will be gone soon through elimination. So what did I eat? ...

I weigh less today than yesterday! This is the third day in a row that I have been able to lose weight instead of gain it. I'm so happy! Sure. It's not much, but it's something, and it's in the right direction. I'll take it! I am getting back on track to meet my goal. That's all that is important here. Starting weight:  401 lbs Current weight:  355.4  lbs   ⇩ Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  325 lbs The next thing I'd like to see is my weight back down to 349 lbs. Then I would like to drop below that number. That would be amazing! I can't wait to be in the 340s, then the 330s, then the 320s, 310s, 300s... and, dare I dream it, under 300 lbs? I know this is attainable. I know it is. I want to see myself at 299 lbs or less. What is a better word than amazing? That's what it would be. It would be a feeling for which there is no appropriate word. I can't wait to get there. Time. Time is what it will take. I hate time. The effort ...

I am happier today. My weight is down to 356 lbs. It's not 349 lbs, but it's better progress than I have been seeing for this past couple of weeks since the corned beef incident. This is what I'm calling it now. "The Corned Beef Incident." The only thing that I can fathom is that there were some kind of hidden sugars or carbs in the corned beef that I had no clue were there. I got kicked out of ketosis. And I am now working my way back to where I was. Starting weight:  401 lbs Current weight:  356  lbs   ⇩ Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  325 lbs There had to be some kind of carbohydrates for my body to have retained so much water and then gained weight. I should stop talking about this now, but it's so present in my mind. I'm upset about it. I don't want to be, but it's very upsetting and stressful.  I noticed once that I was tossed out of ketosis by taking in too many artificial sweeteners. I blew up from the water retentio...

I weight less today than I did yesterday, and that, my friend, is progress! It's not much, but it's some. I'll take what I can get. I need to see 349 lbs show up on my scale again. That number was so encouraging. I'm wondering if there was somehow some hidden carbohydrates in the corned beef of which I was previously unaware. Did they use sugar to make it? I don't know. I didn't see that on the label, but there wasn't much on the label showing what was in the recipe, either. So I really can't say for certain was in it. Starting weight:  401 lbs Current weight:  357.4  lbs   ⇩ Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  325 lbs This is really the only thing I can come up with. Also, I discussed the possibility of only eating pickles and olives with my husband, and he's on board. He basically told me I can do whatever I want. He won't say "boo" about it. I know that he cares about me and he worries about me, but I am fairly confiden...

And I am back down again. Phew! This is a roller coaster, for sure! Look at that graph at the bottom of this post. Wouldn't that make for an exciting ride at an amusement park? I think it would. At the moment, my weight has gone back up by 6.6 lbs at the end of the last 30-day period, and I'm nearly 15 days into this month. It's half over! At this point, I have no hope of getting 10 lbs down this month. I'm sad about that. I'm hoping I end the month with a net loss, though. At this point, it is a net gain. Starting weight:  401 lbs Current weight:  357.8  lbs   ⇩ Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  325 lbs 1.6 lbs down over yesterday. I'll take what I can get. I am hoping it drops lower tomorrow, but I know where hope gets me. Nowhere. At an expected average loss of about a half-a-pound per day, i was hoping to be around 335 lbs by the end of this month. I was supposed to be around 344 lbs today, but here we are. I'm 13 lbs above that number. ...

My weight is up again! What is this?! Okay. My outrage is over. But, OMG! Work tonight was amazingly hard! We had an issue that caused the call and chat queues to blow up with people trying to contact us, but we had literally three people with the ability to handle the volume. I worked straight through a 10-hour shift without any breaks. I didn't even get to drink my tea! Starting weight:  415 lbs Current weight:  359.4  lbs  ⇧   Long-term Goal:  145 lbs Short-term Goal:  325 lbs My weight was already up before I came to work, and that had me stressed enough. After work, my shoulders were no longer shoulders; they were the manifestation of stress and tension. I lived to tell the tale, though. But I am just holding out hope that my rise in cortisol (which I'm sure I could not avoid) didn't cause me to gain 10 lbs over night! This will not break me. Even if I gain a bunch from this, I am determined to continue this lifestyle. I have lost so much...