Woohoo! No rain today, but should get some tomorrow or the next day from whatever storm is moving up the East Coast. We also have something coming in from the West!

I did get steps in today. We went to the beach today, the first time since we moved here - pitiful! It was beautiful. We just sat and watched the waves roll in for about an hour. I didn't have to walk through much loose sand (which is the hardest for me to get through) so that was really nice. There was this little Boston Terrier who was running into the waves, doing a jumping twist and running back out - soooo cute! The beach was pretty empty it being the off-season, but it was plenty warm and sunny. I have 1,414 steps so far today. Can't say my eating's been good though!

Salad for lunch and dinner today. And I've been doing 20 minutes of exercises at night for the last week or so. Still holding at 8 lbs lost.

Salad and pulled pork for lunch. An apple for snack on the way home in the car. Salad with chicken for dinner.

Did my exercises at home tonight. (And have been doing them for the past week or so.)

72 oz of water today. And this great, gf (coconut flour), low sugar pumpkin mug cake for dessert. (Only 2 minutes in the microwave!) I made it last night with 1 teaspoon maple syrup for my sweetener. I used 1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup tonight and maybe a TBL of chopped walnuts added in and sprinkled on top... and it was better. I think it could use a dollop of whipped cream for not many calories or sugar. It's quick and easy and is a really good option for breakfast or dessert. (If you're interested, you can click on it, and it'll take you to the recipe )

Wow, that's a great menu, Cindy!

I can't believe we've gotten chilly and I'm wearing my long sleeves and pants now! Still trying to function with this pain. I see my NP at the end of the month and will see if there is anything more she can do. Today is one of those super sleepy days - ugh!

It's amazing the different muscles used for different terrain! Your feet get a manicure too!

Y'all are doing so well!

That's a sure sign it's fall - needing socks! We warmed up a bit so I'm in a long sleeve t-shirt rather than a sweat-shirt. We'll be up to 70 this afternoon.

I talked to my arthritis PA and let him know about the pain and he prescribed something different, the first med for an autoimmune disease - possibly RA or something else. He had told me at the start that there was a small chance that I could have an autoimmune disorder, and yesterday he said that it's possible because of the number I had on my test as well as the symptoms I'm having, that just below the test numbers an autoimmune disease is lurking and causing this pain. It will take anywhere from six to eight weeks for the med to build up in my system, so it isn't going to help immediately. Just gotta tough it our a little longer - with Jesus it's not too hard! He gives me peace at just the right times. I can't imagine life without Him.

I tried an apple mug cake recipe (made with almond flour - picture below) this morning. Not nearly as good as the pumpkin, so I'm still on the hunt for a good recipe. I ate that for breakfast, along with a new-to-me yogurt (siggi's) I'm trying. It only has 5g of added sugar and boy, can you tell. It was good if I think of it only as protein (12g for a 4.4 oz. cup) but pretty flavorless. I tried the lemon because that's my favorite Noosa yogurt flavor. But that's in the past for me as that has 21g of added sugar. That's definitely a no no.

Yes - there are quite a few. I need to narrow it down to those that use a gf flour of any kind (coconut, almond, or a gf flour blend) with an egg (I want the protein) and low sugar (real, not Stevia - my go-to is 1 teaspoon maple syrup), so I'm a little picky I guess.

I'm at 42 oz. of water so far today. I was thinking about going for a walk, but it's only 48 degrees and the sun isn't out. That's a little too chilly for me. I mean - I guess I could bundle up, but I think I'd rather work out inside. I need to find my 10 lb. weights. I'm ready to move up from the 5's

So… lemon yogurt, apple muffin/cake in a mug and coffee for breakfast; a cup of broccoli cheese soup with a small apple and peanut butter for lunch; and I'm pretty sure dinner will be a salad with romaine, red leaf lettuce, microgreens, cucumber, avocado, feta and chicken.

I have lost one pound, although I think it's more from less swelling now that the temps have cooled down. I tried to do a little bit of leg exercises yesterday and it killed my left knee. I might try doing some shallow squats to strengthen my thigh muscles - I usually do those when I am brushing my teeth, that way I keep brushing until I get all of my squats in! No cheating!

So proud of y'all for how well you are doing.

My weight was up by 1.5 lbs. I have a feeling I know what has caused the jump (not a diet problem). I did have my treats this weekend, but in moderation and small amounts and ate well in between, so I don't think that's it. I am going to try and do some house walking today and see how my back does with that. I'm not quite as painful today, so I'm going to give it a go.

I don't like rain and gloom! It looks like our rain has passed for now, but the sky is still cloudy. Why do people say we have cloudy skies? Isn't there just one sky (that we see)? I know that there are three heavens - our atmosphere, where the sun, moon and stars dwell and then God's heaven! But there is only one sky over our heads! Just had that thought. I almost wrote, but the skies are still cloudy, then realized there is just "the sky".

I'm holding at 234.5 - boo. I hate seeing those numbers but have to remind myself that there isn't much I can do to change it. My body is still forming scars around the fat and I can't get rid of that. I would have to eat less than 1000 cals a day to lose any weight at all. I eat 1200-1500 now. Usually the 1500 over the weekend. I looked up a good diet for lipedema and it was suggested that a Ketogenic or Mediterranean diet are the best ones. No to the Mediterranean - too many veggies. I do need to add some veggies to my diet though and I will choose the ones that they suggested. I can do a smoothie where I can get spinach and berries in, as well as my yogurt and granola. I can do broccoli with cheese melted on top, but other than that, I like the veggies that have a sugar content - boo! More meat! Yay! I'll see what I can do with that. My breakfast is a super food muffin - good. And one of my meals is the yogurt, apple, and granola - that's good too. It's my dinners that have too much processed foods in them. Oh, and my super thin pretzel sticks have lots of salt on them, not good. I may go back to sweet potato fries. I also have Chomps sticks for a snack. Time to cut out the afternoon snack too. Breakfast at 7-8; lunch at 11-12; dinner at 3-3:30, snack at 5:30, then I'm done. We'll see how that works.