Weight this morning was 198.8, down 1.2 pounds from yesterday for a total of 8.6 pounds lost. I'll take it!

My arm hurt so bad last night in bed I had to get up and hunt down our Traumeel, which is an arnica-based analgesic and anti inflammatory. Good stuff, and it helped me finally get to sleep. You don't realize all the things that put crazy pressure on your forearms until you can't do them anymore. Most of my normal typing, sleeping, and sitting positions are out. Stupid icy driveway... And if that isn't bad enough, we got more heavy, wet snow on top of it last night. It just makes things even more slick. Fortunately the six-hours-too-late new salt did wonders on the ice below it, so I'm hoping that makes up for the decreased traction that comes with that type of wet snow (think wd-40 on an ice rink).

I'm having a phenomenon I've heard about but never really experienced - food thoughts! I'm craving the nutrients I want more of (fat and protein) and imagining the food I'll be eating in a few weeks. It's kind of sad and hilarious at the same time. I still refuse to cheat and have made very tasty stuff on this diet, but it is SO restrictive that my mind keeps thinking of 'better times'. Fortunately I know these thoughts are temporary and they don't affect my food choices right now, but when I catch myself thinking longingly about oxtails melting fat into beef broth and crispy duck skin the drool starts ;). I'm so thrilled that is the sort of stuff I need to maintain on!

No hunger besides the aforementioned dream munchies, no headaches or ill feelings. I definitely am short on energy and I notice it most when lifting stuff (my arms feel fatigued under loads they didn't used to). I'm also freezing pretty much all the time, which given the definition of a calorie (unit of energy used to heat one ml of water 1 degree centigrade, if I'm not mistaken) and the lack of them in my diet right now, makes sense. I don't feel emaciated or look bad, quite the contrary, but there are little biological signs that I am burning huge amounts of energy stores which is EXACTLY what I want.

I'm grateful I have yet to see one symptom - hair loss! When I lost weight in my first chunk my ponytail thinned quite a bit. This type of diet can be hard on the adrenals and any significant calorie deficit can cause biological stress and result in sheds. I'm pretty serious about the condition of my hip-length hair, so I'm glad it's holding up well.