Thermogenex: another thing to try

A friend recently started trying Dex+, and also mentioned adding exercise. Next thing I know, I'm telling her cold showers are probably better. That sounded kind of crazy, even to me. My husband had been telling me about this crazy self-experimentation guy has been loosing weight by taking cold showers. A crazy guy that worked for NASA, seems to have a spread-sheet and data collecting fetish, and worked on ECLSS for Space Station. Then I thought, wait, do I know him? Why have I been ignoring that guy? Just because I like hot showers? Ummm, yes, I think that's it.

Now I've been reading his Hypothermics blog, trying to catch up. It makes a lot of sense to me. Wouldn't sacrificing steamy showers be worth loosing weight a lot faster? Today the answer is yes, it's certainly worth a try! So, I've downloaded the spread sheet. I've taken measurements, and recorded all my starting data. And, I took my first Thermogenex contrast shower. Not so terribly bad... if the payoff is high, it just might be worth it. It should complement Dex+ nicely. It's free, and if it works, I'll give him a donation. And maybe once the weight is gone, I can have my hot showers back...

Trust but verify. We'll see how it goes.

Controlling Fructose: Yep, I got it! Dex+

Took me a while to notice there was a second "Bitter Truth" video: 

Fat Chance: Fructose 2.0

I watched it to see if I'd missed anything, or gotten anything wrong. There is new info, and it tracks with what I've been experiencing (happy!). TL;DR: Here's my take on it:

European-Style Hot Chocolate Dex+

I'm so pleased! My daughter went to Hamacon last night, and got hot chocolate. Now, here's the awesome part: she said it tasted so weak and sickly sweet that she had to give it away! She also couldn't drink the Dr Pepper! My scheme is working; my children don't like fructose-laden foods any more. Of course this also means that her friends think our "sweets" aren't sweet enough... I may need to add extra sweeteners when they visit.

In her honor, I wanted to make some real hot chocolate. I've had Jacques Torres' hot chocolate on Valantine's before (hugs to my DH); it's delicious, rich and thick. If I could Dex+ that, wow! But he doesn't share his recipe; hmmm.

Tasty Salad with Basil Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette

This is one of my son's favorite things. In fact, he claimed the over-filled bowl in the photo here, because it was the largest. :)  I've been making vinaigrette and tossing it into salad before serving ever since I saw it done on America's Test Kitchen, although I skip the shallots and mustard. Then my sister-in-law gave us a bottle of basil olive oil, and a bottle of fig balsamic vinegar; that added a new lovely dimension I would not have thought of! Now that we've run out, I add those flavors back in myself.

Lessons Learned: Dex+

Look at my beautiful weight chart!

My weight chart, starting from the beginning of Dex+; each line is a pound.

Last August, I discovered "The bitter truth" about fructose. That day, I started my mission to control fructose.  I also started telling my kids all about what I had learned. They clearly found my enthusiasm humorous, but they also appreciate my quirks and determination. And they like my cooking; if reducing fructose means more tasty food experiments, where's the down side?