If it ain't broke

Trying to stay positive here … I gained two pounds this week. I don't want the number on the scale to rule my life, my mood, my day or my week. Ups and downs are to be expected. But I didn't expect a two-pound gain.

I didn't do everything right this past week. I did a lot right, but not everything. Nor will I ever do everything right! Last week's experience is something I can learn from. Moving on!

One of the cool things about eDiets is they have a wide variety of eating plans from which to choose. I've been using the Glycemic Impact Plan for three months, with moderate success. Which is way more success than I've had doing anything else on my own for the last couple years.

So yesterday I was noodling around the website checking out some of the other plans. I switched to one called Hypoglycemia/Low Sugar. I went back this morning to record my lack of progress and to print out this week's menus and recipes, and glanced through some of the meals [you can make substitutions for each meal or snack, which I rarely do, but the option is there].

Well. From what I've read about low glycemic index foods, I should steer clear of things like bananas, raisins and white potatoes – all of which are part of the Hypo/Low Sugar menus. [Does anyone else think of Mike Myers as the hyper-hypo on SNL when you hear or read the word 'hypoglycemia'?] It ended up being more trouble than it was worth to make substitutions for all the meals I would have had to, so I switched back to Glycemic Impact.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

And it ain't. I made some poor food choices a couple days last week and it's caught up with me. I still consumed an average of 1204 calories per day and worked out an average of an hour each day. Other weeks where I've had similar performance have yielded losses. So next week will be better, for two reasons:

• Body weight fluctuates, day to day and week to week.
• I'm not letting this get the best of me.

Is this the same person who was writing about how depressed and unmotivated she was only a few days ago? What have you done with the real Debbi?

I added some short-term goals to the sidebar. It will be difficult, at best, to reach the first mini weight-loss goal of 22 pounds by May 1, after this week. But I think I'll leave it there.

You'll notice the goals for the first full week of April are less than those for the other weeks. I'll be traveling, and I'm not going to stop in the middle of a long road trip the day I leave to take a 90-minute walk around a rest area. They all recommend setting 'realistic, achievable goals,' so that's what I did.

Knitting progress: The FLAK body is well underway. Instead of 100 hours to go, it's down to about 98. [That's supposed to be funny.] I started out using an Inox grey needle, but switched to a Susan Bates Quicksilver. If I had an Addi Turbo in the right size, I'd be using that. Switching to the slicker needle surface has made pushing all those stitches around a little easier, and that should make a difference in knitting comfort and speed. The great basketball games this weekend really helped improve my speed. George Mason's going to the Big Dance – were they on your brackets?

I also did a little swatch of the stitch pattern for this sweater:
I'm using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in a color called Prosperous Plum. [Who names yarn colors, anyway?] I have a commercially made sweater using a variation of this stitch pattern, and I really like it. I'm glad to find a pattern using it, although I plan to make some modifications. The pattern is for a sleeveless turtleneck. Since I don't wear business attire, I don't need a turtleneck that I can put a jacket over, which is the only good reason for putting a turtleneck on a shell. In my opinion. I'm going to add long sleeves and make a deep V neckline. I know I'll have to wear this over a camisole or T-shirt. Or else you'll see the pudge through the holes in the stitch pattern.

Believe me, you don't want to see the pudge.