Phase 3 – Day 9

Weight: 174.5

Wow!!  I was hoping for some good results from my small amount of exercise, but I certainly wasn't expecting a dramatic 1.5 pound drop!  I am doing the happy dance this morning!  This puts me back in the 2 pound range, not over it, as I have been for the past week, and I want to continue this trend.

I started clearing out my closet a month ago and hadn't finished the job, so yesterday I finished sorting through my pants, making a pile of clothes to be donated and others to be mailed to family members.  I found it interesting that I didn't want to let go of certain pants; I realized it was partly due to a fear that I would need that larger size again.  I decided that I could keep two pairs of "backup" pants that don't look too baggy on me right now and I will get rid of the rest.  An  organizational course I took a few years ago recommended that if you you can obtain information or items elsewhere, there is no need to keep them yourself.  Therefore, if I do need a larger size in the future, I will get them at that time, and for now enjoy the freedom of not having them in my closet.

After that, I went to the thrift store.  I was looking for a blender and figured I would also check out the pants to see if I can add some variety to the ones I decided to keep.  I'm trying to figure out what size I am, and it's a very weird feeling to look in the section 2 sizes smaller than what I was wearing a month ago.  I can't seem to believe that this is actually the size that will fit me; I chose two pairs of pants that were only one size smaller than my previous size and they were huge on me.  I was able to try on several pairs, including shorts.  None of them fit me properly so I didn't buy anything but it was amazing to me that I now have such a wide selection to choose from.

I’ve reported that I’ve been scouring cookbooks lately.  One of my discoveries is a low-carb chocolate cheesecake recipe, which uses an almond meal crust rather than a graham cracker crust.  Almond meal is simply ground up almonds, and the health food store charges an outrageous sum for a small package.  I get the large bag of almonds from Costco already, and making my own is much cheaper.

My husband uses the blender for grinding coffee, though, and I wanted a different blender for less aromatic food products, thus the visit to our local thrift store.  I lucked out and found a heavier duty model of the same blender he uses for grinding coffee.  Of course, now he wants my new blender!  I had started grinding the almonds a day or so before so I used the new blender to finish the job and make the crust.

If I do say so myself, it was pretty good.  I will definitely make it again and it was fairly easy to do.  It came from my favorite low-carb recipe book 500 Low-Carb Recipes by Dana Carpender.  If you're interested in the low-carb lifestyle she is one of the leading outspoken advocates and you can follow her blog at HoldTheToast.com