Clothing OPTional--90% More Salacious!

[scribess]

Sleep: 5:55 (All the more irritating since we had an early night. Evil thin walls that enable me to hear my brother's snoring at 3 am. )

Measurement updates: Waist was down to 29 3/8 inches this morning, which is 1/8 less than my pre-trip measurement! Hips down a full inch to 39 in. Abdomen down by 1/4 inch as well. I'm not using these as "official" measurements, but it is nice to see that I think I have truly been maintaining some sort of deficit.

Stats for Thursday, July 2
Cals burned: 2394
Cals consumed: 2390 (90.1p/263.1c/108.4f; 15%/44%/40%)
Deficit: 4

Foods consumed of limited nutritional benefit: 2 2-in bars of some sort of yummy pecan tart my aunt made. It had a shortbread base but essentially a pecan pie filling on top.

And I suppose I should perhaps also list the French toast, though it was made with Ezekiel bread and therefore higher protein and lower sugar than most breads. I stuck with the fruit toppings (the blueberry), though one was a combo of natural maple syrup and blueberries.

Oh, then there was the delicious artisan bread my aunt made. The starter had to stay refrigerated for 2 full weeks, then she had to heat her oven to 500 degrees and put a steam bath thingummy in the bottom to give it a really good crust. It's the type of bread I'd like to make if I had the mad skillz and the oven that went up to 500 degrees.

Activity

• 50 min walk/jog intervals
• 70 min DDR

In other news, my skin's really taken a turn for the worse. Puffy upper and lower eyelids and a widespread rash that covers both cheeks and my chin. We're speculating that I may be allergic to something in my aunt's laundry detergent or to her pillow, since this seems to happen to me each time I come here.

Or maybe God is telling me I should cut the apron ties to family.* In any case, I can feel myself starting to become very grumpy, so I'm trying to remember it's not anyone's fault and maintain a pleasant persona. But it sucks that sweat makes my entire face sting, which makes me not want to move, but then I think about how I'll burn hardly any calories when I'm eating French toast and tasty pecan bar things, which means I'd kill my deficit and gain back some of the weight/fat I lost during the previous three weeks.

Yup, definitely starting to reach the point where I'm ready to head home.

*Kidding, people.

[NYC_Native]

Oh lordy, I can sense your restlessness here. I'd be a puddle of misery too, if my skin was breaking out in scratchy blotches. But great job on the waist measurement reduction. That's always a positive sign.

[poppypixie]

Yes, congrats on the decreased measurements (I'm giving my Myotape it's first official outing over the weekend!).

Sounds like you could be having a reaction to detergent. Perhaps take your own pillow case and towels next time. My sister once had a full body rash due to detergent. Not nice.

How long before you go home? You do indeed sound restless!

Mmm, now I want tasty pecan bar things...

[Etana]

And I suppose I should perhaps also list the French toast, though it was made with Ezekiel bread and therefore higher protein and lower sugar than most breads.

what a great idea to use ezekiel bread for french toast. Maybe I can try it with a LOT of eggs and 1 slice of bread... I can freeze the ezekiel bread so it doesn't go bad..

hmmm, that is when I go back to eating 1375 calories some day... hopefully for my next OPT 12-week program in August... I'm not doing 1100-1200 cal for much longer

[scribess]

Originally Posted by NYC_Native

Oh lordy, I can sense your restlessness here. I'd be a puddle of misery too, if my skin was breaking out in scratchy blotches. But great job on the waist measurement reduction. That's always a positive sign.

Yup, it was nice to see a reduction somewhere. Brightened me up a little bit.

Originally Posted by poppypixie

Yes, congrats on the decreased measurements (I'm giving my Myotape it's first official outing over the weekend!).

Sounds like you could be having a reaction to detergent. Perhaps take your own pillow case and towels next time. My sister once had a full body rash due to detergent. Not nice.

How long before you go home? You do indeed sound restless!

Mmm, now I want tasty pecan bar things...

We considered the detergent, too. My aunt uses Borax and said that might be causing it. I checked her regular laundry detergent. It's all-natural and is supposed to be hypoallergenic. But yeah, I've been thinking next time I'll have to remember to bring my own pillow, at least.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that we're leaving on Monday, so home on Tuesday afternoon. Very glad I'm taking Wednesday off of work as well.

Originally Posted by Etana

what a great idea to use ezekiel bread for french toast. Maybe I can try it with a LOT of eggs and 1 slice of bread... I can freeze the ezekiel bread so it doesn't go bad..

hmmm, that is when I go back to eating 1375 calories some day... hopefully for my next OPT 12-week program in August... I'm not doing 1100-1200 cal for much longer

Oh, I always freeze my Ezekiel bread! When I'm on my own I use it at a snail's pace. I have a toaster oven so it's simple to just toast/heat it up when I'm ready to use a slice. Honestly using Ezekiel bread in French toast doesn't taste as good as white bread, but I don't mind it much, and it's healthier to use. So it's on the list of things I'm willing to substitute.

[realcdn]

Originally Posted by scribess

It's all-natural and is supposed to be hypoallergenic.

Decades ago the worse reaction I've ever had was to hypoallergenic skin care products/make-up used at a home party. It might be non-reacting to a majority of people, but definitely wasn't for me. I've found that occasionally with soaps, to the point where I've found a liquid one that works well and I stick with it.

[scribess]

Originally Posted by realcdn

Decades ago the worse reaction I've ever had was to hypoallergenic skin care products/make-up used at a home party. It might be non-reacting to a majority of people, but definitely wasn't for me. I've found that occasionally with soaps, to the point where I've found a liquid one that works well and I stick with it.

I'll keep that in mind. I had eczema as a child, so I think I'm just always going to be a little more sensitive to things than a lot of people. My aunt's laundry detergent still has "natural fragrance" in it, which does seem like a red flag for me. I do best with the "free and clear" detergents with no added dyes or fragrances, natural or otherwise.

My skin has moved onto the tight, crusty stage (sorry if anyone is eating while reading this; my face doesn't look gross so much as painful if that helps) which means it's healing, but it's also at the more unpleasant, hermit-inducing point. Alas.

[scribess]

Sleep: Around 6:30, I think. Took off my GWF for the night as I'm developing a rash where I wear it. AGAIN. I am reminded why, after graduating from college, I decided I had no desire to live ever again in Texas.

Stats for Friday, July 3
Cals burned: 2221
Cals consumed: 2080 (96.6p/205.5c/102.3f; 19%/39/43)
Deficit: 141

Edit: Realized I forgot to include my foods of little nutritional benefit.
Approx. 2 square inches pecan tart thingy.
Approx. 11 cubic inches coffee cake.

Activity

• Whole-body workout with resistance cord and DVD. Yes, it took me three days of use to realize the DVD included the option of combining its three workouts.
• 70 min DDR

Well, everyone, if I were in a better mood I'd probably do a Texas-inspired Deficit Theatre, but unfortunately my current antisocial feelings are extending to even online. In my better moments I'm able to laugh at other people's jokes, but I'm still having issues coming up with my own. Sorry.

[stingo]

No Deficit Theatre? The show must go on!

[Naive]

No deficit theatre?!!! I hope the rest of your visit goes well. I've never been to Texas...don't really want to b/c of the heat. LOL.....

[LisaS]

oh no!



Feel better soon!

[NYC_Native]

Don't blame you for not wanting to do a special edition of Deficit Theater, considering the skin issues. Though it would be kinda funny seeing a sock puppet wearing an oversized cowboy hat and spurs, LOL.

Well, have you at least had some tasty TX BBQ while there? That was one of the few bright spots during my temporary residence in the Lone Star State last year.

[scribess]

Originally Posted by stingo

No Deficit Theatre? The show must go on!

Trust me, if it did it would be a lot of complaining interspersed with some part of my brain reminding me that neither I nor anyone I know personally has cancer or a life-threatening disease, so life could be much worse. Not particularly riveting or amusing.

Originally Posted by Naive

No deficit theatre?!!! I hope the rest of your visit goes well. I've never been to Texas...don't really want to b/c of the heat. LOL.....

I don't blame you. A friend of mine is moving to Abilene, where we both attended college. My brother was asking (facetiously) if I wanted to move there to support her. My reply: "Our summer trips to Texas are what remind me I don't want to live here."

Originally Posted by LisaS

oh no!



Feel better soon!

Thanks.

Originally Posted by NYC_Native

Don't blame you for not wanting to do a special edition of Deficit Theater, considering the skin issues. Though it would be kinda funny seeing a sock puppet wearing an oversized cowboy hat and spurs, LOL.

Well, have you at least had some tasty TX BBQ while there? That was one of the few bright spots during my temporary residence in the Lone Star State last year.

Nope, no BBQ, not even for the Fourth (my aunt made nachos). Since the aunt my grandmother lives with is widowed and my nacho- and yummy pecan tart thing-making aunt is divorced, there's not much grilling, even. A couple of years ago when we visited my cousin and cousin-in-law made BBQ brisket, but I don't think that's happening this time out.

[scribess]

Sleep: 7:09 (was actually thinking I might be close to 8:00 since I was "in bed" for almost 9 hours and felt I slept for the majority of it. Just have to admit that unless sick, 7:00 is about the most I can get)

Measurement update: Jeans felt tight when I put them on this morning, so I took measurements again. Waist is about back to what it was before we left for vacation; a little less by 1/8", I think (again, these are unofficial measurements so I'm not tracking incredibly closely). Hips, though, are still at 39, which is what they were at a few days ago or whenever I measured. Assuming my hormones are doing what they're supposed to, this is my ovulation time, so I'm attributing the increases to that.

Stats for Saturday, July 4
Cals burned: 2046
Cals consumed: 1967 (97.7p/151.6c/109.5f; 20%/39%/43%)
Deficit: 79

Foods consumed of dubious nutritional benefit

• Pecan tart thingy (2" square and still yummy three days after baking)
• Sweet rolls (2 2" diameter)

Foods consumed of less-dubious nutritional benefit but that are still questionable

• Nachos (though they were made with organic blue corn, which I'm pretending is a little better, and the cheese was on the light side)

Activity: 75 min DDR

Would've been my morning for the walk/jog, but when I woke up I couldn't force myself to subject my face to the humidity and subsequent stinging sweat. The advantage of DDR, aside from the fact that it's indoors and less sweat-inducing, is that 30 seconds after finishing I'm on the way to the bathroom to wash my face.

[Celestialmom]

Sorry about the skin woes, and the moodiness.

BEWARE THE SOCK PUPPET!!!!





We had nachos on the 4th too! What's with that? Of course, I worked until late and had like 20 minutes to make dinner.

[poppypixie]

Sock puppets like to make sure they eat enough protein too!



Hope you feel better soon.

[Willie]

I was under the impression that no one every WANTED to live in Texas?!?

I understand your woes, and am hoping you have a safe return home tomorrow. I was in my own personal hell last week (see my log for a marathon post about it), and was overjoyed to return to my own bat-sh*t crazy life, as opposed to having to deal with others' for the week. I realized a long time ago that while I am far from normal, I thoroughly enjoy my crazy.

[Juleske]

sorry about the skin stuff indeed. Having just gone off the pill (not conceiving, thanks) and having lived on carbs for the past 10 days, I can painfully sympathise!

[missjane]

Be careful with your GWF. My "rash" soon turned into an infection, for which I had to take antibiotics.

[Deserve]

Originally Posted by Willie

I was under the impression that no one every WANTED to live in Texas?!?

Wrong answer. Most of us Texans can't figure out why you like your own little bitty states and haven't tried to storm our borders. I've alwasy chalked it up to clever marketing on our part.

[scribess]

Originally Posted by Celestialmom

We had nachos on the 4th too! What's with that? Of course, I worked until late and had like 20 minutes to make dinner.

Yes, my brother did comment on the "patriotism" of eating nachos on the 4th.

Originally Posted by poppypixie

Sock puppets like to make sure they eat enough protein too!



Hope you feel better soon.

Aw, thanks! I should print out that pic and put it on my fridge.

Originally Posted by Willie

I was under the impression that no one every WANTED to live in Texas?!?

I understand your woes, and am hoping you have a safe return home tomorrow. I was in my own personal hell last week (see my log for a marathon post about it), and was overjoyed to return to my own bat-sh*t crazy life, as opposed to having to deal with others' for the week. I realized a long time ago that while I am far from normal, I thoroughly enjoy my crazy.

I still have a lot of log-catching-up to do. I'll have to walk to the health food store in a bit (car's getting its 60,000 mile maintenance) but since I have the day off and it's a no-training week, I'll have plenty of time to catch up and read about your own hell. Makes my own more tolerable.

I have a close friend who still lives in Texas and off and on I've thought that if I were to relocate I could consider moving out there, but. The heat and humidity would make me absolutely miserable. As well as the lack of mountains. And lack of snow in winter (though to my shame as a native Coloradan I've never been skiing. It's still on my to-do list, but sux now that I'd have to pay for it myself). And lack of Aspens.

Originally Posted by Juleske

sorry about the skin stuff indeed. Having just gone off the pill (not conceiving, thanks) and having lived on carbs for the past 10 days, I can painfully sympathise!

Thanks for the sympathy! My face is now mostly past the leather-tight-and-dessicated feeling, having moved on to facial dandruff. Ugh. But at least it's not so painful, though flaky. *sigh*

Originally Posted by missjane

Be careful with your GWF. My "rash" soon turned into an infection, for which I had to take antibiotics.

I remember your warning from the GWF thread! For that reason, I left my GWF off entirely Monday and Tuesday since I was only sitting in a car all day anyway. I'm wearing it again today though my rash isn't entirely clear, but I'm keeping an eye on things to make sure I don't overdo it.

Originally Posted by Deserve

Wrong answer. Most of us Texans can't figure out why you like your own little bitty states and haven't tried to storm our borders. I've alwasy chalked it up to clever marketing on our part.

Um, since the purpose of marketing means that the marketed thing is supposed to appeal to the target audience, doesn't that mean your marketing sucks? You're very welcome to your heat and humidity and lack of mountains. I'll stick with Colorado, TYVM.

[scribess]

Okay, I'm lazy so I'm just going to skip my updates for Monday and Tuesday (you can check my Fitday if you really want to know food intake) and jump straight to my

Vacation Post Mortem: June 27-July 7
GWF cals burned: 22759*
Cals consumed: 22315
Deficit: 444
Expected fat loss: 0.12 lbs

Weight: 147.2------------------------------>149 +1.8

Neck: 11.75-------------------------------->11.75 +0
R bicep: 10.5------------------------------->10.375 -0.125
Bust: 36.25--------------------------------->36.5 +0.25
Ribcage: 31.25------------------------------>31.5 +0.25
Waist: 29.5--------------------------------->29.75 +0.25
Abdomen: 36.25----------------------------->36.625 +0.375
Hips: 40------------------------------------>40 +0
R thigh: 21.5-------------------------------->22 +0.5
R calf: 13.625------------------------------->14 +0.325
Total inches gained: 1.825

Thoughts
Well, I did crappier on the deficit than I wanted, though my ultimate goal was not to gain fat. Before I stepped on the scale this morning, I told myself to expect at least 2 additional pounds from my last weigh-in due to increased food and carb intake. So 1.8 was right about what I thought I'd get, and I imagine the 1.825 inches gained are from water retention. I suspect the .125 loss on the bicep is decreased swole. My arms were looking nice and defined for a bit, alas. I'll just watch to see if I drop the scale weight quickly, like I expect to.

Regardless, I'm at a lower weight and lower inches than when I first started OPT, so I wouldn't say the vacation was a total backslide. I was also much more aware of what I was eating in relation to what I'd "earned" than I normally am during vacations, so I think it was a good learning experience. My caloric numbers overall came out pretty good in terms of what I'll need when I'm truly at maintenance.

In the meantime, I'm now in OPT Week 4, rest week. It technically started on Monday, and while I by no means followed the prescribed calories or macros for Monday or yesterday, I'm just going to continue on as if I had without any attempts to make up for it. It was vacation; I'm not going to tear myself up over it, but nor do I see any point in "throwing away" the rest of the week to do a true OPT Week 4 beginning next Monday.

Deficit of 40% will likely suck for the first couple of days since I got my body used to more calories. Then again, I'll be eating more protein than I did on vacation, so I'm hoping that'll help with satiation. (Macros are 50%p/30%f/20%c.)

So, onward and upward (or downward, in the case of inches and the scale).


*Cals for Mon, July 6, and Tues, July 7 estimated; did not wear GWF

[Willie]

Originally Posted by Deserve

Wrong answer. Most of us Texans can't figure out why you like your own little bitty states and haven't tried to storm our borders. I've alwasy chalked it up to clever marketing on our part.

LOL. We have regular infestations of Californians, so I do envy your space

[Celestialmom]

Awww, my evil sock puppet pic disappeared...boo.

Well, for some reason if you really want to see it, you can right click it and select "show picture." Maybe it's just me.

[scribess]

Originally Posted by Celestialmom

Awww, my evil sock puppet pic disappeared...boo.

Well, for some reason if you really want to see it, you can right click it and select "show picture." Maybe it's just me.

No, it's not just you. I don't even see what I'm supposed to right click--there's no little doohickey implying there's a picture.

[scribess]

Okay, lemme just say that it sucks to come back to work and have forgotten your password. Then to forget your reset password. Then to have your reset password, once you've remembered it but got locked out the system for too many incorrect attempts, not work even after the IT guy unlocks you. I am not turning off my work computer again for the rest of the day.

Sleep: 6:50ish? Again didn't wear GWF at night, but felt pretty rested, and fell asleep again quickly after my 3:30 bathroom trip.

Weigh in: 147.2 Water weight dropped off quickly!

Stats for Wednesday, July 9
Cals burned: 2245
Cals consumed: 1354 (162.6p/72.3c/44.6f; 49%/21%/30%)
Deficit: 891

Activity (still in rest week)

• 1 hr roundtrip walking home from dropping off car for maintenance work and then picking it up again
• 20 min roundtrip walking to and from health food store

Returning to a deficit wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, probably because I'm getting nearly double the grams of protein that I did while on vacation. Worst part was this morning after my hot shower; felt a bit lightheaded and had to sit down. Fine after I ate breakfast.

[Deserve]

Originally Posted by scribess

Um, since the purpose of marketing means that the marketed thing is supposed to appeal to the target audience, doesn't that mean your marketing sucks? You're very welcome to your heat and humidity and lack of mountains. I'll stick with Colorado, TYVM.

Ha! That shows how much you know. We have mountains around El Paso, any place outside the southern part of the state doesn't have the humidity and the beaches around Padre are amazing plus some pretty cool lakes around Austin. Give me the heat. There's more to do for longer periods of time. Sports year round is reason enough but being a guy I have to mention girls in bikini's are way better than ones in ski jackets. I won't even start on cost of living.

[scribess]

You didn't reply to my analysis of the marketing, however.

But for me personally, proneness to splitting headaches when outside in 95 degree heat, regardless of the humidity factor, is a huge detriment. As well as the less-than-300 days of sunshine out of the year. Had that problem in Chicago. Blech.

But if these are the "mountains" you mean



sorry, but those are foothills.

These are mountains:


Trivia since I became curious:
Highest mountain in CO: Mt. Elbert, 14433
Highest "mountain" in TX: Guadalupe Peak, 8749

[Willie]

Yep. From my street, I can see the Olympics to the west and the Cascades to the east (pretty cool, actually, to see them clearly through the windshield and the rearview mirror at the same time), plus, on a clear day (of which there ARE many in Seattle, tyvm) Mt. Rainier. Those are mountains. They have snow.

[scribess]

Originally Posted by Willie

Yep. From my street, I can see the Olympics to the west and the Cascades to the east (pretty cool, actually, to see them clearly through the windshield and the rearview mirror at the same time), plus, on a clear day (of which there ARE many in Seattle, tyvm) Mt. Rainier. Those are mountains. They have snow.

I agree; those are mountains. Glad you got my back, Kate.

But I have to amend my earlier post--"foothills" was the incorrect term, as it implies there are taller hills or actual mountains behind them. Those Franklin things are just plain ol' hills.

But this debate does remind me of my alma mater in Abilene, TX. It has a building called "Chapel on the Hill." I always thought the "on the hill" was meant to refer to the Bible verse about "a city on a hill cannot be hidden," until some Texan informed me that our campus was actually on the highest spot in Abilene, and that, indeed, crossing from one side of the campus to another did have you walking up a "hill."

"What hill?" said I. "A more appropriate name would be 'Chapel on the Slight Rise in the Ground.'"

But of course that's not so grand-sounding as "Chapel on the Hill."