Captain's Log, Stardate 08.28.2010 So remember yesterday I said I’d increase my carbs a little and see how I felt? Well, I gave in to a craving and had too much quinoa (which isn’t that bad, if I’m going to overdo, it might as well be quinoa, which is pretty good for you). I overshot my new carb range by about 50 grams. Well then today, I have NO carb cravings. ZERO. Zilch. Nada. It’s like it magically disappeared. This makes me very happy for numerous reasons. One, I’m not contemplating stealing Captain Caffeine’s breakfast muffin. Two, maybe my carb cravings the past few days really were because my body needed more carbs because of my running. Three, in listening to my body rather than distrusting it (since it’s never been entirely trustworthy before) it doesn’t look like I harmed myself or my nutrient program. And today, I ate within my calorie and my carb range! Hooray! The things that make me happy these days ... Captain Caffeine is happier since I’m not moaning an...

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.27.2010 I’ve been worried about eating enough carbs with the amount of running I do, so I went searching and read in Runner’s World magazine that for every hour of running, you should eat 50-100g of carbs. This is counting all your carbs, including non-starchy veggies. I was a little shocked because their sample meal plan had something like 400g of carbs for the day! After talking it over with Captain Caffeine, I’m going to increase my carbs a little more. While on one hand, I want to keep my carbs low to combat my insulin resistance, on the other hand, I’ve been craving starchy carbs much more in the past couple days. It’s like my body is crying out for it. Problem is, I don’t really trust my body anymore—not after the whole insulin resistance thing, where I was craving carbs then, too, but it was spiking my insulin. But the Captain pointed out that I’ve been two weeks on a low carb diet, and the cravings went away. Now, they’re back—but he reaso...

Silent Protector by Barbara Phinney His life as a U.S. marshal was something Pastor Ian McNeal had left behind…until he's asked to care for little Charlie Troop. The boy witnessed a terrible crime and hasn't spoken since—except to his Auntie Liz, the one adult he trusts. Ian just wants to find the truth, something only Charlie can reveal. But Charlie isn't talking, and Liz is determined to protect Charlie against anyone who'd hurt, frighten or pressure him—including Ian. Yet with a killer dead set on making sure Charlie never speaks again, a protector like Ian is just what Liz and Charlie need.. Excerpt of chapter one: Someone was trying to run her off the road! Liz Tate gripped the rental car's steering wheel tightly, her heart pounding in her ears as she struggled to keep the car straight. And not careening off the edge of the newly built causeway and into the deep water to her right. Please, Lord, help me! The SUV beside her, some dark blue thi...

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.25.2010 Before, I mentioned that the supplements had made me feel not very hungry . That blessing/curse lasted about 2 weeks, because I’m regaining my appetite. It was kind of nice not being hungry, but at the same time, I was worried and stressed that I wasn’t eating enough, especially with the number of miles I was running. I think I prefer being hungry, even though I now have to pay more attention to how much I eat. Before, I had to force myself to eat much of the time, which wasn’t a pleasant feeling. On the flip side, now that I’ve regained my appetite, the cravings for food have come back. Yesterday, I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich so badly I almost took out Captain Caffeine in order to eat his (I think I could take him, especially if I am rabid with carb deprivation). Today, I wanted pancakes. And I still dream about chocolate chip cookies. Captain Caffeine said yesterday, “How is blogging about this low carb thing making you less crank...

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.24.2010 I have never been this long gluten free before. It wasn’t hard for the first week, but the past couple or days have been terrible. All you people who have to live gluten free, I hail you as heroes. Or suffering in a gastronomic dungeon. Take your pick. I miss wheat noodles and pasta most of all. Come on, I’m Asian. What is Asian food without noodles? Chow mein (ever had Hong Kong style crispy noodles? No? You are deprived), hand-pulled noodles in black bean sauce, soba, and my all-time favorite, RAMEN. We ate at Chinese food the other day and while I was appeased with chow fun (rice noodles), I was also a little sad as Captain Caffeine happily downed his Hong Kong style crispy noodles. And I haven’t had pasta in TWO WEEKS. We love whole wheat noodles and my favorite dinner is a healthy stir fry of chicken with vegetables and garlic, a little marsala wine, a little lemon, a few nuts like cashews or pistachios, and voila! yumminess on a p...

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.23.2010 We started composting our vegetable scraps a loooooong time ago and it has finally become actual compost as opposed to “unidentifiable dirty objects in the compost bin.” And today we finally used our very own compost! I wanted to plant chamomile seeds, so I picked a sunny section of the yard and Captain Caffeine laid down the compost. Here's Captain Caffeine laying down the compost for me. We found lots of non compost stuff in the compost. I think this is a fruit sticker. You can see a piece of plastic that somehow got into the compost, too. The compost formed large chunks that kind of look like horse turds, no? You can see the fragments of old credit cards from our shredder. I dumped the shredded paper into the compost without realizing Captain Caffeine had shredded a card. And we couldn't garden without Snickers, Defender of the Backyard. Here she is, thinking she has seen a squirrel. I say "thinking" because oft...

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.21.2010 Well, I’ve been monitoring how I’m feeling, and I’m tired. I think I need to eat more. (Hooray!) I’ve been feeling exhausted at night and first thing in the morning, although I’m feeling okay during the rest of the day. My body also feels the need to sleep more than usual, which is not a good sign for me. I usually listen to my body’s sleep needs as a good indicator of health. I’m running a total of about 20 miles a week now, and the program mentions that if you’re “very active,” then you should increase your carb count. I wasn’t entirely positive what they consider “very active,” since I’m not a professional athlete or anything like that, but after dragging a little yesterday and this morning, I’m going to increase my carb count by a little bit, like maybe 5-10 grams per meal, and see how I feel. This will probably help with my calorie count, too. So whether it’s my carbs or my calories, this increase in carb grams should help my flaggi...