The New Chapter: Whole or Hole? That is the Question!

Six days ago, last Tuesday, I had the appointment to remove the remaining stitches from my head. Unfortunatly, the seam didn't completely hold... I had about 2 mm split open as soon as the stitches were pulled. In the picture below, you can see the scab representing that opening. The 'dimples' also visible in the picture are from the fact that my skin that is covering the insert filling the hole in my skull is extremely thin.

Today, I went back to visit the plastic surgeon, Dr. Alperovich, to see where I can go next. Basically, I was given two options... (I was given these options at the previous visit, but more detail was provided at this appointment):

1) I could go back to having the hole in my skull - thus, requiring a helmet.

OR

2) Have a relatively major step to 'fix' my skull by taking muscle from a different area of my body (likely, from my back - the latissimus dorsi, specifically), replacing the 'plastic' part of my skull with a new one to avoid further infection, and covering my head with the scavanged muscle from my back - sans skin.

This is rather upsetting to only have those 2 choices - neither choice being all that wonderful.

At this point, I'm pretty sure that I'm going with the hole in my head option over the muscle-head option! (After making that statement, I'm even more convinced that that is the way to go...)

I think that the major downside to this part of my journey has resulted in a weight gain that I'm not thrilled with and the relative lack of exercise due to the limitations placed on me by the stitches. I basically wanted to positively effect the recovery of the implant/stitches by strictly following the instructions that I was given. It didn't work...

I was in the best shape of my life - with some difficulties that I had to deal with - when I had the hole in my skull. I had already taken on the keto diet to starve the tumor in my brain and was continuing with that aspect. I was at 15-ish% body fat and at the right-ish weight for my 6'2" height due to the exercise that I was doing. My overall mobility was cosiderably more limited than it was even one year prior, but I dealt with it through other means. (As I finish with this post, I've come to a conclusion...)

My plan is to go forward with keto, exercise, and a hole in my head!

Chemotherapy - Round 2, Day 21

Today, I finished with the "P" of the PCV chemotherapy. So far, there really has been no issues with the possible nausea from the medication! I still haven't bothered/needed to take the prescribed Zofran to fight the nausea.
Next Tuesday, day 29 of the PCV cycle, I'm heading to the hospital for the intravenous "V" and have also scheduled an MRI to take a closer look to see if there is any progression of the tumor - positive or negative.

I really need to comment on how blown away I am at the simplicity of chemotherapy for a tumor in my brain! Knowing what I did about chemotherapy - not previously having experienced it, personally - I didn't expect it to be so simple. The only downside - that I have experienced - is the time that I have to spend at the hospital during the cycle. The actual IV only takes about 15 minutes. The visits for the IV take about 2-3 hours! Of course, they have to get the vitals - temp (98.4!), blood pressure (124/82!), weight (164.6!), etc. - and draw some blood to test those levels. While the lab checks the blood, I wait...and wait...and wait. Also during that time, my doctor comes in to do a quick check-up. Considering that the IV visit is only twice during the 29-day cycle, I really can't complain.

Other than the chemo, my focus today was to get some exercise! My goal was to do several sets of the 'kettlebell swing' among other things. Can I just say that I love that particular exercise?!?
I wanted to go for another walk after my weight training, but it is just a bit too cold. I mean, it IS January, after all!

With all things considered, it has been a great day!

Good Times, Bad Times...

Thank you, Led Zeppelin  - "Good Times, Bad Times, you know I've had my share..."

That's been my share for the last couple of months - good and bad times. As I mentioned in the last post, here, I didn't start with the chemotherapy due to the spiked creatinine levels and potential kidney issues. Well... shortly after that, I ended up back in the hospital for a third surgery! The stitched seam from the second surgery had *popped* open and exposed my brain to the air. As a result of the surgery, I ended up back on vancomycin. This time, they only scheduled 1,250 mg twice a day instead of 1,500 mg three times a day. I didn't have the same negative reaction - Red Man Syndrome - this time!
Due to the possible source of the creatinine spike - muscle soreness - I didn't do ANY exercise during the recovery time... 6+ WEEKS of NO exercise! As usual with vancomycin, my appetite disappeared. This time, I tried to eat every day, but my intake was still only about 1,000-1,500 calories each day. On June 1st, I weighed in at 210 lbs., 24% body fat - fairly normal for me. As of today - Nov. 13th - I weighed in at 160 lbs. and 13.6% body fat! At one point, I was down to 156 lbs. - at 6'2" tall, that's not a terribly healthy weight!

...good times, bad times.

...excuse me for a minute - I need to answer the phone...

Well, while I'm sitting here and typing this post, I got that phone call... Apparently, I should expect a delivery for one of the three components for the PCV chemotherapy - specifically, the "C" - tomorrow morning. I haven't gotten any information regarding the second component - the "P" - as to when I should be receiving that but it will come from a different pharmacy than the "C." As far as the "V" is expected, that is actually an IV that I will have to spend at least an hour at the hospital for.
Once I start the cycle, I will take "C" on day 1. Then, nothing until day 8. On day 8, I start the day with the "P" on an empty stomach and, later, head to the hospital to get the IV of "V" that will take about an hour. I, then, stay on "P" everyday from day 8 through day 21. The last part of the cycle is a second IV of "V" on day 29 BUT, I then need a blood test every week until I restart the cycle. Oh, and an MRI.

...good times, bad times.

More on the "good times" side than the "bad times"...
Given that the doxycycline *apparently* didn't have much impact on the creatinine, I'm back to exercising!

Getting Back Into It - to a 'T'

Alright, the title of this post is a little too focused on the topic, but... 

I've been trying to do more exercise in order to recover from the events over the last 6 months. Five to six days per week, I've mostly done exercises that only rely on bodyweight - sit-ups, push-ups, planks, etc. - but, I also have a 20 lb. bar that I use for things like bench press, bent-over row, clean and press, and more. 

In addition to the exercise, I also spend time online trying to earn 'bucks,' points, cash, and bitcoins. One of the sites that I have been using is InboxDollars. Over the years, they have changed how you can earn dollars. Today, I was watching video clips on the site to earn some cash. I saw one video that showed the 'Bent-Over T' exercise. Given that you don't need equipment to do this exercise, I had to try it! I couldn't download the video I saw there... so, I recorded my own (it's not a spectacular video because I had to use my phone):

In my 'test' for the exercise, I did a superset: 20 reps of the bent-over row (not shown in the video) with the 20 lb. bar and followed immediately by 15 reps of the bent-over T. It felt amazing!

Change of Plans...

The original plans for today were for me to start on the PCV chemotherapy for the first cycle. However, those plans changed because of a blood test that I did from the week before. I was told that my results may indicate problems with my kidneys. Therefore, I need to do further testing. I have an appointment coming up on Thursday.

Here's the thing... the doctor that called me re: my blood test told my that the test indicated that my creatinine was high and that indicated that my kidneys may have been affected by the various meds that I had been using. The immediate result of the phone call was that I should stop taking the doxycycline that he had prescribed to me. The upcoming appointment was the only, other result that was generated.

Except for my research...

When I got to view the results, this is what I saw:

Component	Your Value	Standard Range

BUN	30 mg/dL	8 - 18 mg/dL
Creatinine	1.90 mg/dL	0.50 - 1.20 mg/dL
Calcium	10.3 mg/dL	8.8 - 10.2 mg/dL
BUN/Creatinine Ratio	15.8	10.0 - 20.0

The line that mattered most to me was the BUN/Creatinine Ratio. Yes, the BUN and creatinine were higher that the norm, but the ratio fell right in the middle of the standard range. So, I looked into what the ratio meant. This is what I found:

BUN stands for blood urea nitrogen. Creatinine is a natural product of muscle breakdown that occurs at a low level in the body. Both BUN and creatinine are filtered by the kidney and excreted in urine. For this reason, BUN and creatinine are used together to measure kidney function.

The problem that I have with the doctor's decision is the fact that the creatinine results were not compared to the BUN and it seems that he didn't take the ratio into his judgement. Also, the 'muscle breakdown' is also a common result from exercise! Maybe, just maybe, the exercises that I have been doing for the last several weeks had an effect of the creatinine results?!?

At things stand, we'll see what the appointment on Thursday shows...

What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been

Wow, it has been over a year since my last post. Why? Well, a LOT has been going on and it just hasn't been a priority of mine to write anything. I can't say that this will change, but something has been percolating in my brain for the last few weeks and I just want to pour it out...

To kick it off, I need to give you that song... Of course, if you are even slightly familiar with "The Dead," you know that the title of this post came from The Grateful Dead - "Truckin'"

I have been a member of a website/app called Fitocracy for more than a year, now. The site is sort of the facebook of fitness. Basically, members post the workouts that they did for the day and share that information with their 'friends' on the site. Largely, friends encourage each other to improve their health and wellness. When I joined, I was very active. After a couple of months, things tapered off and I wasn't able to exercise as much as I had been. As well, I simply stopped visiting the site.

Recently, I have a renewed interest (and time) to improving my physical well-being. I started going for walks and doing some basic exercises. I also started using Fitocracy again.

Today, one of my fito-friends posted a question:
"Rest days question. - Currently my main aim is to lose weight, i.e. to burn as many calories as possible. Therefore I eliminated some rest days. Do you think this is ok?"

It made me think... What is considered rest and at what point would you be exercising too much?
...Time for me to share my history...
- When I was in high school (and jr. high), I had a paper route. I walked or rode my bike to deliver the paper for about 10 miles per day, 7 days per week.
- My school was too small to have a football team but playing football was one of my goals and dreams. So, I joined the track team to help me get into shape to play football in college. I was never much of a runner, but my goal was to be the next John Riggins (Washington Redskins, #44, running back). So, I figured that I could run the 100 yd. dash and throw the shot put on the track team. During track season, I went to practice 5 times per week unless we had a meet. This was added to my paper route.
- I joined a gym that was in the next town. It was about 12 miles away. I tried to get to the gym 2 or 3 times per week during the off-season - trying to stay in shape for track and - eventually - football.
- I was also a bicycle fanatic. I had a 12-speed bike (mountain bikes didn't exist back then...) that I would ride on the Rail Trail - I trail that used to be a railroad track - fairly frequently.

I was pretty active in high school. Even with all of this, I still maintained my 6'2", 220-230 lbs. physique. I just couldn't drop the excess fat. Granted, I didn't eat a spectacular diet...

When I went to college, guess what? I joined the football team! I went to campus three weeks prior to the semester for football 'doubles' - this is when you spend the morning training on the field, afternoon training on the field, and evening training on the field (shouldn't it have been called 'triples?'). In addition, you would hit the weight room to exercise. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner was always a buffet where we would eat enormous amounts of food! In those three weeks, I achieved the best level of fitness that I have EVER had - muscles grew, fat burned, and aerobic fitness improved!

Why am I sharing this? Well, the posted question made me think... At what point is it considered 'overtraining?'

My recent return to Fitocracy has me motivated to exercise. I am currently trying to walk every day for at least 30 minutes per day. Additionally, I am doing some body-weight exercises 3-4 days per week - sometimes more. Some days, my exercise is more intense than others but I will never be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger (for more reasons than one).

Personally, I think that each one of us has to 'test' our bodies to determine what we can handle and not be overtraining. Like anything else, as we work on something - whether it be weightlifting, walking, running, or other skills like writing, painting, playing an instrument - our skill and capabilities improve. If I was doing the level of exercise that I am currently doing, say, 5 or 6 years ago - I would definitely be overtraining! Now, I am more capable of handling the efforts I am putting in and I am not worried about it.

Either way, I intend to keep on truckin'...

A-Z Challenge - 'W'

Today's topic for the A-Z challenge is 'walking.' Since the onset of my symptoms, something as simple as walking has often been a struggle for me - though considerably less of an issue now than even one year ago.

I was admitted to the hospital in September of 2006 when I attempted to walk a short distance from the courthouse in Middletown to Russell Library - a grand total of 0.2 miles, though with a slight incline. I experienced an extreme shortness of breath and barely made it. Prior to that, walking in a straight line without some sort of support was an issue.
In the hospital, I was immediately put on a corticosteroid similar to prednisone and issued a pair of red socks - the steroid was used to reduce swelling and the socks indicated that I was not allowed to walk without assistance (they were afraid that I would fall and hurt myself).
The prednisone-like steroid caused me to gain a lot of weight over the almost 5 months that I was taking it. While steroid helped me in one aspect, it hurt me in other aspects. After coming off of it, I had odd issues - super-sensitive teeth, no appetite at all (just the smell of food made me sick) - in addition to the problems that go along with obesity.

Prior to October 2008 (you may recall from previous posts that this is when I started taking VIDACELL), my walking was limited to flat surfaces with hand rails for support and then only for short periods. Grocery shopping with a shopping cart to lean on was a decent option. After October 2008, walking became a regular part of my journey to wellness.

Walking for fitness and walking for mobility are two different entities yet very similar. The first is something that we all should do more often yet it seems like a chore for many of us. The second is something that we easily take for granted.

Great Balls of Fire

For this step on my journey to wellness, I actually revisited something from several years ago and added a new piece of exercise equipment to my regimen.

It used to be called the Power-bee (or something similar). It is now called the DynaFlex Pro and has been somewhat remodeled. I owned one several years ago and had largely forgotten about it until I saw the DynaFlex Pro on the shelves of our (relatively) local Eastern Mountain Sports store. Given that I had a little extra cash thanks to a check I had gotten for my birthday, I bought myself a new one. So, what the heck is it?

The DynaFlex Pro is a wrist and hand exerciser. It is essentially a ball encased in an outer shell that works like a gyroscope. By spinning the inner ball and holding on to the shell. Getting the ball rolling can be tricky, at first. Once it is spinning, you keep it spinning by making small movements with your hand and wrist. The spinning ball generates considerable torque. The combination of maintaining your grip on the shell, the torque generated by the spinning ball, and the small hand and wrist movements really gives the muscles in your forearms quite the workout! As far as this being a step along my journey to wellness...well, forearm exercises are not huge calorie burners. They certainly are going to help me get back into shape all by themselves. For me, though, it is great to feel the burn in my muscles - even from a relatively small muscle group - as it helps me get motivated to do more exercise. Sitting in a chair and watching TV or surfing the internet isn't terribly motivating and I can easily end up wasting a lot of time this way. By picking up the DynaFlex Pro and giving it a spin for a couple of minutes, I get that wonderful feeling in my arms and get motivated to get out of the chair and do some more exercises that will have a greater impact on my overall wellness.

The DynaFlex Pro is not terribly quiet when in use, so using it while watching TV or while sitting at your desk at work might not make others around you very happy. Also, it does require a bit of concentration to maintain your grip and to keep it spinning, so using it while driving is not advised.

The song reference for today - well, the 'ball' itself isn't on fire (though, it does tend to get a little warm while in use) but it does give your forearms a good burn. I couldn't resist paying homage to Jerry Lee Lewis with Great Balls of Fire as the title for this post, though technically while the ball is spinning, there is also a Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On.


A-Z Challenge

For a change of pace, I have accepted the A-Z Challenge for the month of April. The idea behind the challenge is to post a new article every day during the month of April except for Sundays that have a topic that begins with the corresponding letter of the day - starting on April 1st with the letter A and working your way to the letter Z (30 days in April minus the 4 Sundays = 26 days). The post could be a written article or simply a picture of something that begins with the letter of the day.  For this challenge, I am not sure that I will be able to continue the trend of linking the article to a song title. In fact, these posts are simply going to be titled with the letter of the day. As well, I plan to make these A-Z posts in addition to any posts that are specifically about my journey to wellness. While my current plan is to write articles about things that have an impact on my journey for this challenge, they just may not be quite the same as the rest of this blog.

Master Cleanse Reprise - 'Not' Wasted Time

Today marks the second day of this round of the Master Cleanse. It is going to be a bit of a struggle - not because I am having a hard time sticking to the fast, but because we have a busy day scheduled. Though it is better to consume the lemonade within ten minutes of squeezing the lemons, I have prepared four servings worth of lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper - no water added yet - to take with me to our various appointments. I will add the mix to a bottle of water when I am ready to drink it. I am not worried about hunger. When I am keeping myself busy, I don't usually feel hunger pangs. As planned, I skipped my daily serving of VIDACELL and will continue to do so for the duration of the cleanse.
I checked my tongue this morning - already turning white. This indicates that there are toxins present that need to be purged. Even though I am careful with what I eat and have already done the cleanse twice before, I am still exposed to toxins. Really, this just provides rationalization that doing the cleanse periodically is the right thing to do and I am not wasting my time - hence today's song tie-in, Eagles' Wasted Time.

Yesterday, as a quasi-birthday present to myself, I bought myself a new pair of sneakers. The last pair I had (well, still have until the new ones are fully broken in) was not a very nice pair of sneakers. I had gotten them for about $15 and they were worth every penny...you definitely get what you pay for. Part of my problem is that my feet are what are affected most by my disorder (I still don't believe MS is the answer, but...). Buying cheap shoes is not really a great idea. Honestly, cheap shoes tend to be a bad idea for everyone considering how much we ask of our feet on a daily basis.
Up until recently, I was really interested in getting a pair of Vibram's FiveFingers shoes. The FiveFingers shoes mimic being barefoot but protect your feet from rocks, broken glass, and other foreign objects. As you might expect, the FiveFingers shoes have separate pockets for each toe - just like a glove for the feet. I was a bit concerned that this would be more aggravating to the pins and needles sensation that my feet are constantly feeling. I found a local store that sells them so I was able to try them on. There are several styles of the FiveFingers to choose from. The pair that I wanted - one that would have been suitable for daily, normal wear - just gave me issues in trying to put them on. Getting all of my toes into the right pockets was just not possible. My toes - and probably yours - are just so used to being crammed into ill-fitting shoes (any shoe is ill-fitting when you realize that our feet are not designed to wear them). I spent about 15 minutes just trying to make them fit. Not one to give up on a good idea too easily, I tried on a different pair of the FiveFingers and had no problem getting them on. The second pair, however, was not at all suited for cold weather as the one thing that made them easy to get on was that they didn't fully enclose my feet. They were more like a sandal or slipper. Sure, they would protect the soles of my feet, but not the tops. As well, due to their unique design, wearing socks with the FiveFingers is out of the question. Mind you, I don't mind not wearing socks - I actually prefer it - but sometimes you just need that extra warmth.
Though I decided to pass on the FiveFingers, I am still considering them for warmer weather.
The other style of shoes that I wanted to check out is made by Skechers. These are the Shape-Ups. Shape-Ups have a different style sole that provide a workout for your legs just by walking in them. Yeah, I know...walking is already a great exercise and I try to do it as often as possible. My rational behind getting the Shape-Ups is that I can maximize the benefit that I get when I am able to walk - even if it is around the grocery store. Well, I haven't been able to find any local store that stocks the Shape-Ups. As with the FiveFingers, I could order them online. My problem with doing so is that I really want to try them on to get the feel of them before buying. It would be one thing if I were looking for a pair to replace the ones that I already had, but buying a new style of shoe over the internet just doesn't suit me.
What I came home with yesterday is made by (or for) Dr. Scholl's. They are from their Personal Trainer line. Similar to Shape-Ups, the soles are different than the average shoe and are designed to more fully engage the leg muscles while walking. I found a pair that I actually liked (I am not too picky about the appearance of my shoes, but some are just plain ugly) and tried them on. While the box was simply labeled as size 12, the shoes in the box turned out to be 12W. My feet aren't particularly wide, but these fit really well. Had I seen 12W on the box, I wouldn't even have tried them on. Hopefully these shoes will continue to be comfortable as I wear them for longer periods of time. My last pair would actually start to hurt if I wore them even for reasonable periods of time.

Take It To The Limit

One thing about recovery, whether it be from an accident, surgery, or disease, is that you need to constantly - but within reason - push the limits of your abilities.  Really, you have two paths that you can choose to follow.  On one side, you have the path of least resistance.  Following this path means that you accept your limitations and essentially give up the fight.  On the other side, you have the path to recovery.  This path is much more tiring to follow.  It entails physical activity - using your body in a way that will take it to the limit of your endurance (and, of course, the title of this post refers to the song from the Eagles, Take It To The Limit).

This week has been a relatively busy one, but today I pretty much ran into a brick wall.  Let me recap a bit...

• Last Wednesday, I took Ginger for a fairly substantial walk.  I already talked about that in my last post, so I won't repeat myself here except to mention it as the beginning of this recent flurry of activity.
• Thursday morning marked the first of ten weekly sessions at the YMCA for myself and the girls.  We have a group of homeschooling families that have secured one hour of pool time at the Y.  I didn't swim last week but I went with the girls to let them have some fun in the pool.  I will be swimming with them tomorrow, though!
• On Friday, we hopped in the car and drove to New Jersey - just over the NY border.  We stayed the night in a hotel so we could be up and out to a Renaissance fair on Saturday.  After we arrived at our hotel, we unpacked, unwound, and hopped back into the car to head to the Palisades Center Mall.  This mall is huge at four stories tall.  Normally, we would visit the food court for a meal, but this year we packed food, so this was merely a shopping/walking visit.  We spent about 2 hours walking the mall until finally heading back to the hotel.
• Saturday was spent at the NY Renaissance Faire.  This meant a lot more walking for me.  I fortunately had the insight to buy a pair of gel insoles for my boots!  I have a really nice pair of Minnetonka moccasin boots that I wear as part of my ren faire garb.  The only down side is that, even though these have a harder sole than your average moccasin, I still feel every little rock that I step on.  For my feet with the constant pins and needles I feel, it can be unbearable.  The insoles made all the difference!
• Sunday really was a day of rest!  I was beat!  Even with the insoles, my feet were protesting any sort of real activity.  We did, however, go grocery shopping.  So I still got some walking in.
• Monday found us with Ginger at the dog park in the neighboring town to let her get some quality, outdoor, off-leash time.  The park is set back in the woods.  It isn't much of a walk to get to, but it still takes a little effort.  There were several dogs and their people at the park and Ginger had a blast!  As well, we took a trip to Lyman's Orchards to pick some more apples.  We came home with about 10 pounds of apples - gala, empire, and Cortland.  We were just going to buy some apples at the grocery store, but would have only gotten about 10 apples for $11.00!  We go through at least 12 apples per week, so that wasn't working for us.  At Lyman's we saved $0.59 per pound off of the grocery store price and we got to pick them ourselves.  On top of that, the individual apples are smaller so portion control is a lot better.
• Tuesday was another relatively uneventful day.  Phew!

Today, the girls are all off at the homeschool co-op, so I once again have the day to myself.  I didn't sleep well last night, so the morning found me dozing off quite a bit after they left.  Around noon, I decided that it was time to do something!
We have a small garden out back that has been rather unfruitful this year.  The soil is just awful - mostly a rocky clay - but we have had varying degrees of success.  Tomato plants usually do quite well but even they struggled this year.  I was able to harvest my two whole peppers, though, so that's at least something.
My goal for today was to prepare a small, raised bed for next year's planting.  I had made three frames a couple of years ago for the same purpose, but we didn't implement it well and decided not to use them this year.  As a result, I have been using one of the frames to contain my compost pile - which is doing quite nicely.  I read up on using raised beds for vegetable gardens, and I really wanted to give it another shot.  So...out I went with shovel and cultivator in hand to prepare a raised bed.
I started loosening up the soil and clearing it of weeds and rocks.  Somehow, no matter how well you clear out the rocks, they always seem to work their way back in to the garden!  After clearing a sufficient space for the frame - about 2' by 3' - I started to dig down about 6 inches, moving the soil into a pile.  I continued to encounter some really big rocks!  After placing the frame around my newly dug hole, I needed to level do a little more excavation so that the hole was as big as the frame.  I then lined the bottom of the hole with a weed barrier.  Raised bed farming is not supposed to require a weed barrier due to the fact that the plants are placed in such a way as to limit weed growth.  I figured that it couldn't hurt, though.  We had purchased a weed barrier made from recycled materials and is even eco-friendly.  Next came the refilling of the hole.  Along with the frames, I had also built a sifting frame.  This is simply a frame of 2x4's with a screen attached to sift smaller rocks out of the soil.  Setting the frame in the hole, I scooped a couple of shovels of dirt into it and sifted the soil right into the hole.  This meant a lot of bending and lifting for me and it is where I reached my limit of physical activity.  After about 8 or 10 rounds of shoveling and sifting, I was about done.  I began feeling a bit dizzy and nauseous after each round - each 'round' consisting of: shoveling dirt into the frame, bending to lift the frame but keeping it close to the ground, shaking the frame to sift the soil, and finally standing and dumping the rocks out.  I continued to sift more soil until the weed barrier was completely covered but not even close to filling the hole back up.  It didn't matter, though...I had nothing left.  One more round of sifting probably would have done me in.

I plan to revisit my currently-sunken raised bed within the next couple of days.  I really want to get the dirt that I removed from the hole sifted and returned to it soon.  I also need to establish a second compost pile so I can let the current one finish decomposing so that I can add the compost to the planting bed.  If I keep adding to it, it will never be ready for use.  I will eventually add more soil and compost to fill the hole and the frame thus creating the 'raised' bed.  This will result in depth of about 12 inches of sifted soil/compost for the plants to grow in.  Hopefully that will give them adequate space for the roots and will result in a much better harvest than we had this year.

Egg fast redux

Today began a second cycle of my egg fast.  One beneficial aspect of this plan is the fact that it is a plan.  I really like the fact that I know exactly what I will be eating while I am following the program and that all of the food I am eating is on the recommended list for The Maker's Diet.  I am hoping that the ease of following this plan will help me to develop the habit of planning meals ahead of time - at least, more than a day or so in advance.

I started the day with daily serving of VIDACELL.  For breakfast, I ate two cage free eggs scrambled and seasoned with a little sea salt and black pepper along with 1 slice of Ezekiel 4:9 bread and a glass of water.  For supplements I took one capsule of Primal Defense Ultra prior to taking my VIDACELL and one capsule of Omega-Zyme Ultra with breakfast.

Following breakfast, I started in on a new book, The Shack by Wm. Paul Young.  I purchased the book the other day in anticipation of finishing The Gathering Storm.  I read about four chapters prior to dozing off.  While dozing off while reading could be taken as a not-so-good review of the book, this is not the case.  I like the book so far.  I just tend to doze off a lot.

Upon waking from my nap, I decided to get in some exercise using my Wii Fit Plus.  I posted about 1 hour and 15 minutes of activity.  This is getting easier and easier for me to handle.  Not too many months ago, I would have been struggling to make it even 30 minutes.  After my exercise, I decided to do the Wii Fit Plus body test.  The test consists of being weighed while being monitored for balance and posture.  The systems senses whether you lean to the left or right or are well balanced.  It also tracks how much you move - little shifts in your position - while being weighed.  After that, you are presented with your BMI (body mass index) and your weight along with your center of gravity.  You are then able to choose whether to continue with the test or not.  Continuing will present you with two random tests designed to measure different aspects ranging from balance to memory.  Upon completion of these two test you will be presented with your Wii Fit Age - the better that your score on the tests combined with other factors will dictate what you Wii Fit Age is.
I don't put a lot of stock in the Wii Fit Age as I have gotten results as low as 24 and as high as 52.  Today, my Wii Fit Age came in at 36.
With today's weigh in, I have lost 33 pounds since January 1st and 10 pounds towards my Pound for Pound Challenge pledge (I made the 50 pound pledge on February 1st).  While I am not really focusing on my weight loss, this is at least one quantifiable measurement and the fact is that I really do need to lose some weight.

Lunchtime followed the exercise and consisted of an omelet (two cage fee eggs, onions, one slice of Swiss cheese) and an apple.  Again, one capsule of Primal Defense Ultra prior to lunch and one capsule of Omega-Zyme Ultra with lunch.

For dinner, I had a yogurt smoothie.  I used about 8 oz. of my homemade yogurt, 1/2 cup of frozen organic raspberries, 1 Tbsp. raw honey, 1 Tbsp. flax seeds, 6 oz. of raw whole milk, and 2 oz. of whey (from my cheese making).