Day 8 - Losing Weight, Feeling Great

"The quality of an individual is reflected in the standard they set for themselves." ~Ray Kroc

It's been a few days since I made a log entry.  Due to the fact that nobody reads these except for me, I don't feel much like posting them every day like I have done in the past.  If I get any feedback to the contrary, I'll be happy to make it a more regular habit.

I have completed Week 1 and I have lost about 10 pounds already.  That's pretty significant for 7 days.  I'm sure most of it was water weight and toxic goo that has been building in my system for some time.  It's typical for me to lost 10-15 pounds in the first couple weeks and then taper off a bit as the days progress.  But that's a good start so far and I am pleased with my accomplishment. 

In addition to the first wave of weight loss, my habit of snoring has completely stopped (according to Debbie).  I find this to be quite an eye opener on many levels (no pun intended).  There are all sorts of sleep studies, medical apparatuses and dental appliances that are geared toward curing people of their snoring habit.  Well, what if (and I'm just throwing this out there as a hypothesis), what if people who snore are just too damn fat!  Just sayin'.  I've done this diet many times now and a common trend has been going from a status of over weight and snoring regularly to a state of less weight and no snoring.  You tell me if you think there's a link.

Another health related thing to report is the headache that I had on Day 3.  I'm happy to say that although that headache lasted all day long, it never really blew up and got horrible like I have experienced in the past.  I woke up the next morning and I felt fine.  And since then I have not had the reoccurrence of any other headaches.  I will certainly report more on this subject because it's another one of those things that seems to improve after losing weight and eating right.  In the past I had thought too much sugar (in the form of honey candy that I made last year) had triggered a bad headache.  I have been very careful so far this year to eat only a tiny bit of honey or syrup on a daily basis in order to prevent a sugar induced headache.  So far, so good.

Well, what if (and I'm just throwing this out there as a hypothesis), what if people who get headaches are just too damn fat!  Just sayin'.  I've done this diet many times now and a common trend has been going from a status of over weight and regular headaches to a state of less weight and no headaches.  You tell me if you think there's a link.  Ha! (I know there's a link)

I will post some photos of some of my meals when I have a chance in the upcoming days.  It has mostly been clams (prepared in a variety of ways), striped bass (same), asparagus, Swiss chard, rice, water, salt and an occasional touch of honey and/or maple syrup to add sweetness when needed.

I was very lucky to have caught those striped bass when I did.  I have been relying on that for most meal and for protein.  It is slowly running out and at this point it is probably only going to be good for another day or two in the refrigerator.  I have a bowl full of clams that I continue to tap into but little by little these resources are dwindling.  It's going to be time to reacquire some more sustenance soon.

Although clamming season is over, I noticed some spurts of water on the beach near my house the other day and I went over at low tide to check it out.  I found an area where there are steamers present.  I gathered a few (even though I was not supposed to) so that I could see how good they tasted.  The steamer clams have a much sweeter taste than the cherrystones and are not as chewy.  I enjoyed them but I don't think I'll be able to get many from this area because of the legalities of the matter.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day and will certainly be a culinary challenge.  I'll probably cook up some bass and rice and hopefully some asparagus.  Then I'll watch everyone eating delicious food and dessert all around me.  Should be interesting.

Last Wednesday I went to the beach with my bucket and took home some sea water.  I boiled it down to make a cup of sea salt.  This should be more than I need for the next 40 days.  I reserved some concentrated salt water to be used as part of a brining liquid so that I can make some fish jerky in the near future.  I am starting to crave that again.  Hopefully the weather will provide me some opportunities to get out and fish again.  Today is foggy, cold and drizzly - not gonna happen.  Tomorrow looks good so perhaps I will get some time in the middle of the day to look for bluefish or stripers in the river again.  Fluke season starts on May 22nd and once that gets started I should be set for fish until the end.  I have started putting my killie traps out so that I will have an ample supply of fresh bait for the fluke.  Last year my traps were stolen several time so I moved them to a new location this year. 

I am hopeful that the crabs start to show early this year as well.  It shouldn't be too long before they start to emerge from the mud where they hibernate all winter.

I did a little research into my potential Week 5 reward recently.  I've been wanting to make a suckling pig for many years now and I found a local butcher who can order one for me.  I need to give him about a weeks notice so sometime around Week 4 I'll try to remember to do that.  Remembering shouldn't be too difficult because I will be thinking of it often.  Ha!

On the 'survival skill' front, I have learned a new method of making a fire using chemicals.  A powder known as potassium permanganate and a liquid called glycerin apparently do not like each other at all!  I made up (or started to make) what I am calling a personal survival kit.  In the kit I will include survival items that are small and easily portable.  I'm thinking fish hooks and line and some fire starting items that will work when the conditions are poor for making a friction fire.  I can have two separate containers - one with the powder and one with the liquid - and use small amount of each as needed.  It's really amazing how just a few drops of liquid glycerin reacts with the potassium permanganate.  Using what I already know about making a tinder bundle and small kindling in order to build a larger, sustainable fire, it was easy to make a fire using these chemicals.  It would probably be a good idea to actually learn how the reaction takes place.  I'll report more on that later.  A quick internet search should be all that is needed.

I went to the market to get my Week 1 reward items of butter and spices.  I have been yearning for some flavoring for my fish and rice and this will give me a HUGE mental boost going into Week 2.  That's about all I have for now - Oh, one more thing.  I got an update on my drone accident. . .

I flew my drone (DJI Phantom 2) last week and on one flight it lost it's GPS signal and crashed into the river.  Well, as fortune would have it, I found the drone and mailed it to the company that holds the protection plan.  They declared it 'totaled beyond repair' and sent me the money to buy a new one.  Interestingly, the new model (DJI Phantom 3) just recently came out and supposedly has many improvements over its older counterpart.  In addition, the price is just about the same so I will be able to get the new drone without much additional cost.  I am looking forward to that and hope to show some cool drone footage in the near future.

On to Week 2.