Weight Is Holding.....

between 123 and 124 and has for some time now.  I was down to 122 a week ago; but today I was 123.5.  I am not eating wheat.  I do have some sugar though; pretty hard to stay off it completely.  I eat some wheat-free graham crackers sometimes, a piece of chocolate and I have had some ice cream or frozen banana with a little chocolate sauce on it and I have some wheat-free cereal that has some sugar in it.  
I have stepped up the exercise- this week I walked and swam in the pool 6 days for 40 minutes each time.  I have the gals running a few laps now and boy is that fun.  Norma is always at the lead and no one can catch up to her; which bugs her friend Paulie a great deal.  Boy can those two talk about each other behind their backs. Hmm Hmmm.  I even have Paulie going under water a few times with her super-duper professional goggles.  I enjoy going swimming even more now that I finally know everyone and we move fast while we talk.  Walking against the current is new for me and I am finally able to do it without as much strain as before.  I have gone down 2 sizes now.  Happy about that except my clothes are kind of big.  I feel better and think this is probably a good weight for me.
I really believe that at any age, exercise AND food portions is very important, but especially the older you get.

It Carries It.....

I've been craving a grande peppermint mocha coffee for over a week.  I stopped at Starbucks in Plymouth today and there on the menu....."Skinny Peppermint Mocha."  After asking what it was: They said it was sugar-free peppermint mocha, with skim mild, no whip.  I asked for it in de-caf pronto.  I think I might add the whip next time.  They said every year they carry one of their holiday drinks in the sugar-free.  How nice of them to carry the peppermint mocha for me this year. I've had my fix, but I'm sure I will need more. 

Found It!!!

For all my craving yesterday, the only sweet thing I ate was a piece of chocolate.  But I found some peppermint sugar-free flavoring; Tan Lady at the Rec. Center told me about http://www.davincigourmet.com/ .  Tan Lady knows EVERYTHING!!!!  There is just no way else to describe her.  She has lost 50 lbs or so on WW on-line and waling for an hour or more in the pool five days a week for years I think HA HA.  She and Norma know EVERYBODY!!!!
I started using weights; they are hollow and you can fill them with water to make them heavier.  I didn't do that, but there is quite a resistance using them underwater.  It keeps me from getting bored; something new added to the routine.  It is SO hard to get up and go in the morning when it is dark and cold, but so worth it afterward :)

Cravings

So much for all my talking about no wheat, sugar blah, blah, blah.  I am home from church; yep I have this cough, a low-grade fever and I am just not 100%.  I really don't like to miss church because then I think "what blessing am I missing out on?"  Yep, every time I go, I come home with many blessings.
So, you know what I am craving for lunch?  A bear claw from Panera and a peppermint coffee whatever it's called from Starbucks.  Oh man, that would put me over the edge because that is only what I want for lunch.  Lunch has always been my hardest meal; I never know what to eat.  Generally I do like a soup (tomato) and salad (Harvest Turkey with pear) at Panera.  Hmm...that will be kind of hard to stop there on the way home from church since I am home.  Wonder if I can make myself up a sugar-free lo-fat version of the peppermint coffee.  I'll let you know or.....you can let me know.  

Wheat

I have been eating wheat every day for the last 3 day. Last night Donaldo the chef made a yummy pizza; it was my third wheat meal of the day.  I just wanted to see what happened....and I woke up with a mega headache today....so back off the wheat.  I just need a good bread and I can't find one I like.  They are all heavy and nasty.  So I will be looking for a recipe and try one after the other if I have to in order to find a good one without wheat. If you can help me in my quest-got a little cookbook for you-hey a prize what a great idea.   

Never Say Never

Okay, so I said I was not writing on here again...but I have a few diet related things to say. 
First of all, I have been on a wheat-free diet most of the last 3 weeks.  I have felt a lot better, the headaches aren't as bad and my stomach doesn't hurt as often.  But Wednesday night after my nasty MRI (drinking 3 bottles of contrast, getting an IV, injected with dye, and pushing a high amount of glucose) I had a burger on a bun at the hospital.  They told me to eat because when my sugar dropped it would be too low since I am hypoglycemic. I must say, I was quite sick all night after that. 
 Then yesterday I had to have dressing, or stuffing however you say it. Honestly I couldn't eat it all or my dinner; I think my stomach has shrunk.  Like in "Honey, I shrunk my stomach." Does that really happen?
After swimming today, I weighed myself (every Friday) and I am way down; lower than I have ever been.  Kind of don't get it, because I have felt better.  However, today I have a headache, and a stomachache and I am really thinking WHEAT here!!  OR....SUGAR.  Yep I had some last night.....a little piece of crustless pumpkin pie and icecream. 
Last weekend when I was at Kristopher's I had some wheat and sugar-did not feel so good afterward. 
Have I convinced myself that wheat and sugar aren't good for me?  Yes I have! 
I am still swimming 4-5 days a week and talking to the "girls" while I walk.  So now my total weight loss is 22 pounds.  I get a little worried sometimes when it goes down; but I am wondering if it is the exercise.  What think you? 

Last Post

This is the last post on this blog.  I  managed to be sugar-free for months.  I managed to be disciplined about exercise.  But because of illness, I am not sure my weight loss is accurate.  I basically lost about 20 pounds and went down a size or two, but how much of this is from diet and exercise, I am not sure. I do think the exercise helps slim different parts of your body.  I still eat mostly sugar-free.  I do have some occasionally, but nothing rich and sweet.  I started wheat-free almost 2 weeks ago which wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  I have not had much of a headache in five days but whether it is because of the wheat-free diet I do not know.  What I can say is that there is wheat AND sugar in many things; all, so it will taste good.  There is also salt in MANY things especially restaurant food.  And, although, I am eating healthy, none of it has helped the problem in my tummy.
 My next step here is to ask for an MRI because it can visualize tissue problems that a cat scan can't pick up.  I have left a message for my GI doctor's nurse to call me.  That's the way with U of M.  It's not too effective I have learned, but I will be persistent.  It seems like if I eat healthy, I should feel healthy right?  Uh hum!  I am thankful for minimal headaches again and good cholesterol and sugar numbers.  The rest....it seems up to God's timing and diagnoses; something simple and fixable would be nice.  I will stay on the wheat-free diet for 2 more weeks and always watch the sugar since 4 of my siblings and my dad have diabetes.  Sugar really isn't good for you.  I will still swim/walk 4-6 days a week; it is good for stress and energy.  It was fun doing the blog; I love the title, but writing two blogs is hard.  So thanks for reading and your comments.