300+ Support Group-May Flowers-The month of Of MAY

[alabama sunshine]

Hi Tulips and Melissa welcome to the group.

[Zer]

5am Thurs morn and I'm 500cals toward achieving my BMR:2423cals - also am 40g protein toward my daily goal of 150g protein to fuel my cells as they do all the work that 409# of cells do in a body full of toxins and waste. Phaugh!

Today's added goal is to work this iBook on battery to deplete a new battery so it does not go belly up from lack of use. I tend to waste batteries by not using them, and when the power goes off in SoCal (as happens quite a bit), I'm dead. Had that happen the other day. Both my computer and my DVD player went off almost as soon as the lights and clocks shut off. Not a lot of reserve to play with. So I clearly do not 'get' how to manage devices that have batteries and that are hooked up to wall power. Apparently one has to unhook the wall power and deplete a battery now and then, else the battery forgets how to hold power. Is that how it works? So from now on, my first use of this iBook is to be off battery power. Yesterday, the battery ran for nearly 2hrs before I got a screen msg that the computer was about to shut down. Plugged it back into wall power and saw the battery begin to recharge - and so it goes, my tech education.

Guess I now need to buy a new battery for the DVD player that I run 24/7 off wall power with the battery hooked up to charge it. What? Unhook battery? There's a short connector that looks as if it connects battery to DVD player, as well as a longer connector that runs to an adaptor for wall power.

Gadzooks! Sure would be nice to have batteries that would run during a power outage. Finally got a couple of flashlights that work by shaking them. Their battery involves a weight that moves back and forth as I shake the flashlight. So I'll never be holding a flashlight with a dead battery, I hope.

Even that, probably, I should shake up and use periodically, to prepare for the eventual emergency. In California, quakes are never far from our mind. The bldg that I live in does not have emergency lights that glow in a power failure. When it gets dark inside here, it's like being inside a goat. DARK!

Well, that's all the jabber for a predawn Thurs morn.

I'm off to start my FitDay account for Thurs.

Funny how my emphasis on food is shifting from STAY AWAY FROM CARBS to FIND ENOUGH CALORIES TO FILL MY B.M.R.(2423cals) in mini-meals, every few hours, all day long. I'm retraining my metabolism, after years of eating too few calories to sustain life. Yeah, until lately I've been working toward a 1500cal total - and sometimes falling so far short of that, in a mistaken idea that I'd lose weight if I just made my body work on a short-calorie menu.

Here's to whipping my metabolism into shape and to adjusting my BMR as I drop into THREEdom (hope springs eternal) and work my way through 9mos to find TWOterVille by Feb.2009.

Yeah, still dreaming of that new pic for my driver's license photo in Feb.2009 - and to lying about my weight if I can get away with claiming to weigh 250# for official purposes. My bodyweight is all so low on me (below counter level) that the clerk at the driver's license bureau might take my word for it that I am just 250#, as my face and shoulders are not as fleshy as my hips! Hey, it's worth a try, huh?

Sound silly? Yeah, who'd think that someone in mid60s would be so vain as to lie about weight, just to get a lower number on a driver's license...sigh!

[tulips]

Good morning all! Thanks to all that gave such a warm welcome back. For now, I am following something I found off an overeater's site called, "Plan A". It's a bit restrictive, but I feel that is what I need right now. I do find myself fitting the description of a "compulsive overeater". However, all of the meetings are located outside my area. It sure looks like it's a pretty comprehensive program and I'm not sure of committing to all of that???? (perhaps I am fooling myself)
I have a very painful left knee and I'm too heavy to have any operation.(the fear is that they could not close off the blood vessels because of that fat.) I am left using a cane and I really HATE that at 52yrs old! I am desperate to lose this weight once and for all.
I am going to a public seminar on WLS next week. I really hate to consider that possibility but I need to get pain free! (the knee keeps me up most of the night)

Just when you're thinking..."wow..she is all doom and gloom this morning"..lol I do love to LAUGH a lot...and I always try to be very upbeat.
I'm off to eat some breakfast and will return later.

[Zer]

Originally Posted by tulips

...I am left using a cane and I really HATE that at 52yrs old!

I too use a cane to get from bed to bath and back again. Mostly in bed 24/7 since Aug.2006 when I caught something tender in my hip and got a groin pain that keeps me awake all night long. Napping around the clock in half-hour spurts, then waking to adjust position to ease groin pain.

Miserable way to spend a life at 64. Almost 2yrs of that to date. So getting my weight down to a size that allows palpation of my groin to find out what's what inside this blobby body is getting to be more of a priority. Walking is getting more and more difficult. Rising from a chair is more problematical. Sitting down without falling into a chair and hurting that hip? Can't slow my sitting movement. I tend to fall the last few inches. OUCH! So it goes.

Just want to say that I know your pain. I feel your pain. I too hope to get rid of my cane. For now, however, this cane enables me to move, to get to and from the loo - almost always in time - and to run errands. Run? ha ha

I move slowly and with great pain. Great difficulty with balance, as my feet do not balance well. I have a residual neuropathy in my feet from a dumb WLSurgery in the mid1970s that was reversed to save my life. I was a fat and healthy 400# when I insisted on trying WLSurgery at the hands of an inept surgeon at 30 or so. Now I am 64 and weigh 409# and am losing my weight in a LC/Atkins plan that will make me a healthier person than I've been for all my past years.

I'm so glad to have found this fellowship and support network at LCFriends.

[debkeversole]

tulips and Zer for healing




"What is Life?"
(Extract/variation from Hindu Scriptures)


Life is Love. Enjoy it.
Life is Beauty. Praise it.
Life is Spirit. Realize it.
Life is Song. Sing it.
Life is a Mystery. Unfold it.
Life is a Challenge. Meet it.
Life is a Goal. Achieve it.
Life is an Adventure. Dare it.
Life is a Sorrow. Overcome it.
Life is a Tragedy. Face it.
Life is a Game. Play it.
Life is a Duty. Perform it.
Life is an Opportunity. Take it.
Life is a Struggle. Fight it.
Life is a Journey. Complete it.
Life is a Puzzle. Solve it.
Life is a Promise. Fulfil it.

[debkeversole]

girls i found the solution to weighing!









hope this LIFTS your spirits!

[tulips]

Thanks, deb


I will keep you in my prayers, Zer.....just when I thought things were bad...someone is worse off. ((((((((((( Zer ))))))))))))))))))))

Just wait until we are able to kick the cane(s) to the curb and celebrate!

[tulips]

awwwwwwww, deb.....that is hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks!

[alaskanlaughter]

deb i LOVE those graphics LOLOL how many balloons will it take to get my weight to goal on the scale?

havent had much to laugh about lately...hubby having problems with his brother who is staying here, watching kids so our friend can have a restful pregnancy without risks...trying to sort out daycare because ours just closed for the toddler she was SUCH a good daycare lady too....toddler is home sick today and i dont feel so good either, older son is exhausted from his class trip....

good to see some laughs

[pescacat]

Welcome to the new folks! Best wishes on your journey to better health!

Deb-thanks for the smiles-how are you? The kitties? Your hubby?

Alaskan-hope things get better and you all feel better soon *hug*

Zer-hope you feel better soon! **hug*

**big hello** to everyone out there. Hope things are going well for everyone.

I got asked out by three different guys recently... didn't go out with any of them but it was nice to be asked.

No good news on the job situation. It is so scary and stressful. I have never had such a difficult time finding work before. I have even been applying at fast food places and walmart and target and stuff! Not to mention, I went to the gas station this morning and it took 57 dollars to fill the tank!!! I was physically nauseated at knowing I spent that much money on gasoline! I can recall when $20 filled the tank and you got change back!!! I am also trying not to drive so much-just don't have the money to go all over. Is anyone changing their vacation plans this summer due to gas costs and increased food costs? I am slightly panicked over the fact that the money I received when I separated and came to the US is almost all gone and I had thought it would last for about 10 months (in case it took that long to job hunt and get on my feet) and I would have some to buy a computer and even an older used car but it is almost all gone and I don't have the computer OR a car of my own and it has only been about 3 months-not even half the time.

Anyone have any money saving ideas or tips they can pass on?

Well, enough ranting and griping (and panicking)... I wanted to share some positives:
1-I noticed I weigh less than what is listed on my driver's license
2-I have some little birds (I think they are doves) that sit outside my door in the evening-they look so sweet and precious.
3-Someone offered to teach me how to grill with a gas grill and also how to fire a weapon-and offered to take me to the firing range so I could see what firing a weapon is like (woman living alone needs to be able to defend herself...etc.)
4-The clothes Cris sent me fit really well and I love them and wear them often**thanks again**
5-The cats love the litter box Deb sent and the toys. I enjoyed reading the curves book! **thanks again**
6-The weather is really nice and the area outside my apartment is lovely-nice trees and shrubs and a little stream.
7-I have a pile of clothes to go through tonight to give to goodwill this weekend because many of them are too big now and I fit into them comfortably last summer so I feel good about the weight I shed.
8-There is a real gap between me and the table when I sit in a booth.
9-We don't automatically get asked if we want to sit at a table when my parents have taken me out to a restaurant with them-so maybe I don't look THAT big to the hostess/seating people anymore that they automatically assume I wouldn't fit in a booth.
10-I'm wearing an 18/20 top (from walmart) and can squeeze into size 22/24 dresses.
11-Those jeans I was so thrilled to get into earlier this year are so big now that I couldn't have a seamstress take them in because I'd lose one of the front pockets so much material would have to be taken in so I'll be putting those into the goodwill box with a BIG smile.
12-My parents tell me they are proud of my exercise and eating plan efforts and they are very supportive of me.
13-I have wonderful friends and family who are wonderfully supportive-I am so grateful to everyone on here.
14-Many people have showered me with extraordinary gestures of kindess and generosity-I have been speechless and moved to tears of happy gratitude many times.
15-God is by my side every step of the way every day and I feel His presence and Trust him to have a plan for my life. Sometimes I don't see the plan or don't understand why things are happening as they are but I never doubt that there is some lesson or reason that I will eventually see and understand.

Hope everyone has a great day!

--Laura

[debkeversole]

Laura! i am glad to see you posting! sorry about the job front...have you looked at monster or sometimes craigslist????

notice my changed avatar...my DS18 and my FDIL couldn't resist showing them off again!

whoohoo having to chase the guys off with a stick!KUTGW!



more healing wishes for my friends!


and lucky wishes are sent to you Laura on the job front....seriously put your name on the local sub lists for all the schools..bad time right now(summer coming) but it's way better than no income and can get your foot in the door

[kmg]

Laura,

I'm coming out of my "lurker" mode to wish you the best of luck in your job search and to offer a few suggestions. I am facing the prospect of a layoff in the near future and share your fears about being able to pay the bills. As mentioned in an earlier thread, monster is a good site. I highly recommend "careerbuilder" as well. If you enter only the job location on the first page (no keyword, or type of job), it will pull up all of the jobs in your area. Some are scams, but there are a number of job listed for employers who never advertise in local newspapers. You also may want to check out your state's unemployment office, even if you don't qualify for benefits. The office will usually have a jobs board. You also may want to check to see whether the college from which you obtained your degree offers any career services for alumni.

It's obvious from your posts that you are a caring and intelligent woman--I'm sure that the right job is just around the corner. Kim

[alaskanlaughter]

the unemployment office up here is wonderful even if you dont qualify for benefits they helped my husband put together a killer resume and he landed an awesome job....its been a nerve-wracking ride with my hubby over the years because , for various reasons, has never held a job for longer than a year....

one job was seasonal summer, one job closed when the company closed, one job lost their contracts to work here, etc.....so its not always his fault but it still happens LOL and for me being the primary financial wiz at home, its hard to trust him and trust a higher power that everything will fall in line as its meant to be

and no matter how it works out, its a short span of time in eternity and before u know it, you'll be back here with a brand new life to start over and learn from

i also applaud you for NOT taking up the invites to go out with the guys its really hard not to rebound into something else after a relationship is over

[Pcola Girl]

Hi everyone, just wanted to see whats going on with you all. Not much with me, jsut the same most days with this old arthritis I have. The knees hurt all the time and its hard to walk much so i sit alot these days and do alot of reading, and watching TV or doing some of my crafts.

Nice to see everyone doing so good. I wish I was able to get out and work because I get so bored staying home alone while my hubby is out working.
I love being with people thats all. If it wasn't for my computer here I would be bored to death.

Hope everyone eating is going ok to, mine is so far and I am even down a few pounds to. My problem has to be with sticking to it for the long run, I do good for awhile and then blow it and hate myself for doing so. I know I needto stick to the plan in order to lose but it has been so hard on me.

Better go, see you all later....

[dantesmom]

Laura your post is so inspiring! (hugs). on th job front..have you tried any temp agencies in your area? Often companies will hire in through these. Best of luck to you my friend!

[kmg]

That's great advice about the importance of a killer resume. There are different types of resumes, including job-based and skills-based. Laura, with your background, you may want to develop a skills-based resume to highlight your strengths and get interviews for jobs that are not the same type that you have had in the past. For example, with your teaching experience, you could list excellent communication skills, public speaking, ability to present complex materials in an understandable manner, etc. (These are great attributes for a corporate trainer position, for example.) In addition, the fact that you picked up stakes and moved to Italy shows that you can quickly master new skills and have a zest for adventure.

[dixichic]

Hi Zer, Deb, everyone,
I have been lurking for a few days now. But I am on plan. I did make the mistake of adding flax meal to my oopsie rolls and immediately regretted that. It made me sick to my stomach almost at once. I am almost over it now, chunked that flax in the garbage!
But I am still staying to 20ish carbs per day. Doing the plan as the man wrote it!
I will weigh in tomorrow but as bloated as I feel from the flax, I suspect I will have a gain or no loss at all. We'll see though.

Zer, I know that I have read about excersize programs for disabled folks. Have you checked into anything like that? I am going to research it myself a bit since I can not walk for much distance due to my bum knee and ankle. I will let you know what I find out.

Also wishing eveyone to find less of yourself on your next weigh in. ....

toodles.....

[Zer]

I am definitely in need of some leg-muscle therapy. My leg muscles, thigh muscles do not lift or lower me. I struggle, but am not managing well.

Originally Posted by dixichic

Zer, I know that I have read about excersize programs for disabled folks. Have you checked into anything like that? I am going to research it myself a bit since I can not walk for much distance due to my bum knee and ankle. I will let you know what I find out.

Exercise program? Not sure what I can manage. Legs do not lift or lower me. Takes me a lot of upper-body work to stand up from a seat by pushing against something with my right arm. I could not rise from a straight chair today, after struggling to push up from chair next to me. No go. Several tries and no luck. So embarrassing to see people not-watching me, as I struggle to rise. Worse than embarrassing to find my chair sliding out from under me as I fall back on it, shaking, unable to leverage myself high enough to 'catch' and lock knees.

What remedy? I've got to carry a booster cushion to the dining room so that I am sitting higher, closer to my knee height. Cane in one hand, cushion in t'other, bag of stuff on my wrist. No wonder I delay going to the dining room. I now carry back to my room the food that I plan on eating for the rest of the day, so I am not faced with sitting in fear that I shall not be able to rise from the table. Not sure just what height the DR chairs are, but it's a challenge. So is the toilet, even with a 4" booster that I carry in with me to use. At least my struggle to rise is a private struggle, in the private stall. Not so in a dining room with others at the same table as I rock and try to rise by psyching myself and shoving/lifting myself on a chairback next to me. Agh!

I've just ordered a folding camp stool, 19" high, 22" wide, rated for 600#, that MIGHT serve as a useful portable seat. We'll see. It weighs 17#, which is a lot to carry around, but it might help me. It's also usable in the shower, with a nylon fabric seat. We'll see. Meanwhile, I'll try to remember to take a booster cushion to the DR with me, so I can get up with less of a struggle.

Last time I took the car out, I noticed that rising from the car was harder for me, even using my arms to pull myself up by hanging on the open door. Agh!

I sure hope these leg muscles recover some strength. Leg exercises? Not at all sure what movements might help. Guess I'd better start doing something fast to build up as much strength as can be built. But how? I'm not sure.

It's my core muscles, the deep down muscles, that do not respond. Aghhh!

[alaskanlaughter]

zer - just curious, why dont the core muscles respond? i had issues similar with muscles in my back not responding after i ruptured a disc into my spinal cord last summer...it took a LONGGGG time to get those muscles to listen to me and im still working on it...were your muscles also damaged?

the following are physical therapy exercises given to me to restore movement in my bad left hip...which was connected to the spinal damage...

1) stand by leaning on something, doesnt matter what, i use the breakfast bar/counter at home, move your left leg (which is my bad one) out in front of you...a little, a lot, doesnt matter, doesnt have to be straight...then move it right across your other leg, then out left to the side, back and forth as much as you can handle it...thats it...i was doing 100 reps, doesnt matter how much, doesnt matter how far you can even swing it...it builds up the muscles on the outside area of the hip and now i can cross my legs after a year of not being able to, due to pain

2) same concept, sitting...push left leg into right leg, then angle it out to the left, same muscles strengthened, i never lifted my left leg off the floor, just worked the upper leg muscles

3) sitting, with feet on floor, push leg up with toes, lower, repeat however much you want, it helped me strengthen my calf, which i had lost nerves in for a long time, i still dont have all the nerve connections back yet

i also have PT exercises for my back if you're interested any little bit helps

[Zer]

I speculate that some of my disconnect goes back to mid1970s with a bad WLSurgery that resulted in peripheral neuropathy and in my having to learn to walk. Physical therapist strapped a canvas belt to me and held on in back to catch me if I stumbled. She was taller than I and could probably slow my fall, but I think she could not do much more than that as I then weighed 200# after a few months in which I lost 200# and suffered nutritional damage to nerves.

Some of the communication from brain to muscles was lost back then.

I have made do, using torso muscles to move myself, which I recall being warned NOT TO DO. But it worked for me, so I did it anyway. I may be just now coming to grips with a problem using torso muscles to do the work of leg muscles, thigh muscles. My recent groin pain dates from what I pulled or tore in Aug.2006 - or maybe long before that, as I do recall having groin pain periodically over the decades after I lost weight from 400# and regained that weight. Maybe I had injuries that healed. This one is not healing.

As I recall, I often had to help haul my left leg into the car. Sometimes had difficulty using left leg on a clutch pedal, as that involves holding a leg aloft to work a clutch pedal. That goes back to 1970s. Maybe it's all coming home to roost now that I am aging and losing other abilities and am less able to compensate as I've done for all these years. Sigh.

Now that I drive an automatic, since 1989, I lost even that small workout for my left leg that I got from using a clutch.

So I'll start doing the exercises you suggest.
Thank you. Appreciate the help.

[alaskanlaughter]

i too lost a lot of communication with my back muscles when the disc ruptured and pinched off everything...i was putting all my weight on my right side for 6 months or more because my left hip was so tender, and i didnt want it to heal that way...a chiropractor leveled my hips and adjusted the disc to slip back into place, other option would have been surgery...i couldnt stand up straight for almost a year and couldnt lift my kids either my husband wanted to get me a cane but i refused because i didnt want my muscles or whatever to heal that way...its still a battle though, every time i stand up or walk i'm consciously watching how i stand and move my hips etc....the one concession i made was a handicapped parking sign so that i wouldnt have to walk to far in the winter (not that i could make it that far anyhow LOL) and didnt want to fall on teh ice...that would have meant instant surgery

if i get any more PT exercises to do i will share them with you...my dr also gave me a exercise ball to sit on, as that strengthens core muscles...but my back muscles are still too weak to hold myself up sitting straight on it...let me know how those work for you

[alaskanlaughter]

and speaking of smiling through pain no one would ever know that my avatar pic over there was like that...it was taken last october when i was still having the chiro whack at my hips every other day...those treatments would leave me in tears and shaking, like my body was in shock, and then i'd pick myself up and go back to work LOL

the day that pic was taken i had just that afternoon finally gone to the dr for what was diagnosed as severe asthma, bronchitis AND pneumonia ....and then i went back to work with my meds and inhalers (yes plural) and then took my kids to the big halloween bash at the mall, which was where a friend took the pic