End of an Era

Well, after nearly a year and a half of going to the Rice House, part of the Rice Diet Program, for my meals, medical check-in, and some classes, I'll be finishing up there this coming Monday. I'm both excited and a little nervous about venturing out on my own in healthier eating. I have yet to cook a real meal in my current apartment, which George and I moved into in June 2007. I've been collecting some cookbooks and recipes, even a couple of rice cookers (both given as gifts). I've learned so much on the Rice Diet, so I'll miss a lot about the facility, mostly the staff, and some people I met there. I'm looking forward to getting some flexibility back into my schedule, though! I've been going in every morning for breakfast before work, taking my lunch with me (very handy!), and going back for dinner before I could go home for the evening.

I've lost over 100 lbs. on the Rice Diet, but I'm not at goal weight yet. I'm thinking about joining Weight Watchers to stay accountable and get ideas from meetings.

Busy Week

I have four meetings scheduled for this week, but thank goodness one was rescheduled! Whew! Hectic week, especially on the heels of having two weeks off.

I had a surprisingly delightful visit yesterday with someone that I didn't care for previously. It was amazing to witness the transformation, to learn more about her, to find out a little of her impressions of me. It made my day, really.

Another nice thing that happened was that the person who led last night's meeting I attended had some fresh veggies out as part of the snacks. Meeting snacks are usually salty and sweet things that I can't do on the Rice Diet, so I really appreciated her efforts.

Merry Christmas 2007!

This has been a different Christmas, but a relaxing one, for sure. I stayed in town to stay on the Rice Diet Program, and since George had the day off too, we've been able to spend some time together! I worked out at the gym this morning (ran 3.61 miles in 40 minutes), was the only one there. Then George and I went to the Rice House for Christmas lunch. I opened some nice presents from my family in between! (A couple of favorites are a Garmin Forerunner 205 and a picture of Duke Gardens!) It was great to talk to them by phone this afternoon. (Mom and Dad are visiting my sister and her family in California.)

This evening George and I had dinner with his brother, parents, and grandparents, in Cary, and that was a treat. Eventhough they don't celebrate Christmas (they're Jewish), it was great to be with my surrogate family for the evening.

I didn't get a Christmas tree up this year, and I wish I had! I think I've missed having Christmas traditions this year. I have a year to think about what I'd like to do about that. Since George and I share an apartment now, I'll have to consult him before layering the apartment in red and green, but I'm sure I can come up with something!

Latest Progress Pictures from the Rice Diet

Back in September, they took another "progress picture" of me at the Rice Diet Program. It's encouraging to see the progress, really, as I don't really see it in the mirror on a daily basis.

August 2006

February 2007

September 2007

Busy Day

Today, I'll split my time between the Rice Diet Program, where they're having a reunion weekend, and ERUUF, which is having a fund-raising auction tonight. I'm excited about being asked to be on a panel this afternoon at the RD reunion. I'm going to take long the pair of jeans I was wearing my first day at the Rice Diet. I'm not sure I'll show them, don't want to come across as showing off, but I think it's pretty cool. The pants just drop to the floor now.

Meanwhile, my heart's still heavy from hearing the news yesterday about B.M.'s husband passing away Thursday night. So sad.

Ankles in the Afternoon

Had a humorous conversation at breakfast at the Rice House this morning. We were talking about the effects of salt in the diet, and how the low-sodium aspect of our Rice Diet has helped us. A. exclaimed that she had ankles in the afternoon now! Of course, we all new what she meant. Between the sodium and diabetes, my ankles used to be swollen in no time, and now they're normal looking. Everyone at the table laughingly thought that "Ankles in the Afternoon" sounded like a snappy book title.

House cleaning

It's amazing what getting ready for a trip reveals to me about my apartment! George and I are heading to Atlanta this weekend for the Bar Mitzvah of one of his cousins. Last night I got my suitcase out and started going through my closets and drawers, planning what to wear and seeing what I need to take to the cleaners or wash myself, that sort of thing. I really need to clean out my closets! And my drawers! Wow! There's so much I can give or throw away now! I hope my place will be transformed in the next couple of weeks.

I'm getting myself psyched up for the trip, food-wise. I'll be taking my Rice Diet food with me. And I need to remember that at all the social functions, food does not equal fun!

Weekend update

George and I had a busy weekend at church, going to the annual fundraiser auction on Saturday night (which was a lot of fun!), then going to the Sunday morning service followed by a congregational meeting. I got my lunch to go from the Rice House, and George and I ate together in between the service and the meeting. I chose puffed wheat instead of my usual rice concoction, and found it to be pretty tasty, especially mixed with the fruit. (I had manadarin orange slices and tropical fruit salad, also from the Rice House.)

Afterward, we went to check out another apartment complex. We were a little worn out from the previous week and weekend activities, so we weren't particularly impressed with this particular apartment. Part of it for me was that it hadn't been cleaned, so there was still mildew in the bathroom, stuff on the carpet, and a general dinginess in the kitchen. Perhaps we'll give it another try later on.

Party Weekend (while dieting)

George and I have been invited to 3 parties this weekend, one on each of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This is a little unusual for us, but it makes for a fun and interesting weekend. Last night we went to a gathering of ERUUF folks. Tonight a friend of ours is hosting a games party, and tomorrow she's invited a group over to watch the Super Bowl.

It's fun to visit with old friends and acquaintances and meet new people, but partying has taken a new turn for me since I started the Rice Diet. It gotten me to try to think less about the food and more about the people. Last night was the first party I can think of where I didn't have a thing to eat! Everything looked and smelled wonderful, but when George and I left the party, I was glad I didn't have anything. I would've regretted eating afterward, though I would've have enjoyed it at the moment. I think I did more talking than I would have otherwise, though it was interesting not being able to talk about the food last night. One guest did ask if I was going to eat anything, and I just said, "No, I'm fine!" She shrugged and left it at that.

I feel a stronger resolve for tonight and tomorrow, after surviving last night's party. Plus, I'm sooo close to my next big weight loss goal!

New Year's Resolutions

I'm working on my list on New Year's Resolutions, and the big one this year (aside from continuing on the Rice Diet) will be to improve my finances. This is a big stepping stone to other goals in my life, like moving to a better apartment and eventually owning a home, being able to travel more, and being prepared for a wonderful retirement!

To help me along, I've picked up thhe book, Start Late, Finish Rich, by David Bach, again. I started it a year ago, and got just a few pages into it. With everything going on this year, I'm probably not in much better financial shape than I was a year ago, because I haven't given it much attention. I've been coasting along, by and large, just taking care of basics and not thinking much about the future, financially. I did increase my automatic contribution to my retirement account earlier in 2006, but otherwise I just let it sit. Am I investing wisely for retirement? How much do I want to save for my first home? What's my credit score? Lots of things to decide. I'll start my balancing my checkbook today and work on a gameplan!

Christmas

Talked with Mom last night, and we decided it would probably be best if I stayed here for Christmas, since it would be such a long drive for such a short visit. I'm still on the Rice Diet, so I'll have Christmas dinner at the Rice House. I'm glad to be staying the course on my diet, but a little sad about not seeing Mom and Dad for Christmas. I will spend more time with George, who has agreed to join me for the Rice House Christmas dinner and church festivities.

Weightloss Milestone

At check-in this morning, I lost 2.1 pounds and a total of 50.2 pounds since I started the Rice Diet! Woohoo! The past couple of weeks on the scales have been a little strange, so I'm glad to have made some good progress at last.

Cravings-Hotdogs

Recently, I saw a TV show about a hotdog restaurant (shaped like a hotdog!) in rural Colorado that has quite a reputation in the area. I think the show was on the Travel Channel, but may have been on the Food Network channel. Anyway, hotdogs are one thing I miss, being on the Rice Diet. They're meat, for starters, and the Rice Diet is a vegan diet. And then there's the sodium issue; hotdogs have lots of sodium!

The show got me thinking about some favorite hotdog places in my past. The first one that comes to mind is the Varsity in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, known for their orange drinks as well as the hotdogs! My favorites were the chili cheese dog and a frosted orange. I also remember all the TV screens, and being impressed that the employees could remember (sometimes complicated) customer orders to shout to their co-workers assembling the dogs.

The other favorite hot dog joint is a place called Yum Yum's, in the College Hill district of Greensboro, NC, near the UNC-G campus. Pretty unassuming on the outside, the hotdogs inside are good and inexpensive, and their ice cream is also yummy! (My favorite flavor was lemon custard.) I enjoyed grabbing a bite there while on campus.

Getting more social

George and I decided to try to organize a games night/afternoon this weekend at my place, so here's great motivation to get my place in order. I'm also thinking about what kind of food to serve, being on the Rice Diet! At least this way I have some control over the food and can make sure there's something I can eat. I'll do a veggie tray for sure, maybe cook some (veggie) chili. Sweets, dunno. (Maybe fruit?) Chips, dunno. Drinks--sodas, alcohol? Maybe some wine. I want to keep it low key and not about the food, but I want to be a good hostess as well!

At any rate, I'm looking forward to having some people over and being a host/hostess along with George! I think it'll be fun!

Weekend Plans

Tomorrow, Mom and I plan to go shopping. Tomorrow evening, George and I plan to go to the Duke-NC Central basketball game. Should be fun!

The Rice Diet is still going well. This week marks the beginning of my 4th month on the Program! I'm still exercising for an hour every morning before breakfast and work, and feeling so much better between the diet and the exercise! I'm relieved to be off of both insulin and blood pressure medicine.

The Mountains

George and I had a fun time in the mountains this past weekend! We stayed in Hendersonville, and explored part of the state west of Asheville, down to Cherokee. We drove around Cherokee a little, stopped at a delightful park for lunch (at the recommendation of a man at the Visitors Center), and visited the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. It's a pretty touristy town, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless. Out of curiosity, we also drove into downtown Sylva, a quaint little town. George and I also enjoyed gem mining at Broad River Gem Mining, both on the way down and on the way back.

I miss that we didn't go on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but there just wasn't enough time. Perhaps next trip!

Although we'd planned to be away Friday to Sunday, Friday was a wash-out, rainy day, so we changed our reservations to Saturday-Monday. That worked out fine.

I took my Rice Diet meals with me, and boy, did I get tired out eating out of styrofoam! I'm glad I did it, though. I lost 2.5 lbs while I was gone! George took some healthy food from home as well, and I appreciated his company and support in eating. One night, we did go out to eat at China Palace in Asheville. I got steamed rice and vegetables, and the dish was yummy. It was nice to be served on china, to boot!

We saw some pretty scenery, and I took a number of pictures! I'll post them soon.

George and I make good travel partners, and I'm glad of that!

Going on vacation

Eventhough it's Thursday, today is my Friday at work! George and I are leaving for our long weekend vacation together after breakfast in the morning. We'd planned to go to the Outer Banks, but we're going to the NC mountains instead. We made reservations last night at our favorite hotel in Hendersonville, NC, and we're really looking forward to getting away together.

It'll be my first trip since starting the Rice Diet. I'm planning to take Rice Diet meals for the whole weekend. That'll make the food issue easy for me, but not so easy for George. We'll figure something out.

Preparing to Cook

Eventhough I'm still going to the Rice House for my Rice Diet meals, I find myself collecting recipes for things I'll be able to prepare and eat once I'm done at the Rice House. It's been an interesting search, and I'm looking forward to becoming a better cook. I've found quite a few cookbooks on Amazon.com that I'd love, but I'll have to choose! Perhaps I'll head to Barnes and Noble or Borders and actually take a look.

Meanwhile, I've started collecting yummy-looking recipes from various websites, and cutting/pasting them onto a couple of online cookbook websites, MyCookbook, and more recently, DesktopCookbook. Since I signed up for MyCookbook several years ago, they've added a limit to the number of recipes you can add, and now call that a free basic membership. To add more, I'd have to pay. I was glad to find DesktopCookbook, and am taking advantage of their resources now.

Still hanging in there

So far, being insulin-free is going well! My blood sugars have ranged from 89 to 101, falling pretty close to normal. As I continue to lose weight, those numbers should improve. I'm amazed at how the Rice Diet and exercise have trasnformed my diabetes! And I'm thrilled to be free of injections for now. I'm glad to know I can self-inject when needed, but I really appreciate being able to take a break from it. I won't be taking my health for granted any time soon!

The official results from Saturday's Autism Ribbon Run were posted, and my gun time was 50:42, though my chip time was 50:09. I put myself near the back of the pack, as I know I'd get off to a slower start than most. The chip time started when I actually crossed the starting line., where the gun time started when the race started. My pace per mile was 16 minutes, 19 seconds.

The race was a pretty fun experience, and I'll likely run it again. The weather was great, and I liked the finish line, which was a decline for the last bit. There was a sign that read, 1/4 MILE TO GO. When I saw that, I noticed I could see the finish line ahead, and I was able to finish in a trot. :-) Timmy the Termidor Bug, about 6 feet of fur, was there at the finish line to give me a high five. LOL

I did miss hearing split times at the mile markers, especially since I didn't wear a watch. (Next time, I'll try to remember to wear one.)

My time in this 5K was 6 minutes faster than my last 5K back in April. Yay! Now I want to look for another 5K to work toward.

Thursday, I'm joining George's family at a favorite restaurant in Cary, NC, Bistro 64, formerly the Cosmopolitan. When I received the news from George about the family gathering, I was concerned that I might not be able to go because of my Rice Diet. I found the chef's address on the website, and emailed him yesterday about my dilemma. We've exchanged a couple of emails now, and he's been very accomodating! He's going to whip up some salmon, steamed vegetables and plain potatoes. I'm looking forward to seeing George's family and enjoying a meal out with them.

Plateau

I've hit a plateau with the weight loss, three days at the same weight! Rats! I talked with the doctor at the Rice Diet about it, and he said not the worry about it. My blood sugars are looking good, so I need to keep doing what I'm doing. He said it's probably not about the weight, but water retention, wearing heavier clothes, something like that. It's really frustrating, but I'm going to hang in there.

In other news, the Duke football team is playing against the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa tomorrow. I'm not even sure if Dad and Mom are going.

It's a rainy day here in Durham. Would love to be curled up on the couch next to George, with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate right now!