JULY FATBLASTER CHALLENGE

[CarolynF]

Hi everyone..

Looks like we are on a roll to blast off some fat this month!!! Let's do it!!

[Kapri]

I am not doing brilliantly at the moment. The college reunion, my last couple of days at work (super stressful) and a leaving do later today have taken me out of my fitday/lowcarb focus. I will be re-joining the challenge on Thursday or Friday. I have felt the need for more comforting food but will need to get back to a structured approach when I am not in a 9-5 routine. I will be back!

[Buffy45]

Morning gang,

Whew, busy days the past few days. DD's 2 & 3 and DGS's 1 & 9 came out Sunday night and we ordered chinese, then dGS 9 stayed with me until late yesterday afternoon. then, I had to go run errands. and, he hogs the computer, LOL.

My weight yesterday was 210.8 and today just over 211 so I will say 211 for the end of June. Down from 224 the end of May so good progress with the help of my Byetta. Wow, next to the rest of you I am a whale. I have got to lose more or eventually you all will kick me off this island!!!!

Leaving tomorrow for Iowa to go to DH's 50th class reunion. We will be home Sun. night if our plans all go accordingly. I will get to see my brother and cousin while there and also have a sister that I hope to see. She is so different, when I called to see if she would be available on either Fri. or Sat. afternoons, she said she just didn't know right now, she would have grandkids in town so just didn't know what their plans would be or if they would be needing her. She never puts herself first and definitely not me, guess I got my feelings hurt a little that she just wouldn't make it a priority to allow time for me. And, she may, but I am to call her back Thurs. to see if they don't need her, then she said that maybe she could ride over to my brother's house with me for lunch. Oh well, she has always been this way and she is 70 so she isn't changing now.
Have a great week everyone and if I don't check in tomorrow I will "see" you all next week. Keep up the good work, sounds like everyone's weight was holding well or down a tad.

[CindyCRNA]

Boy, Buffy, that's 1/2 a pound a day! That's great. I'm starting 124, down from 128 June 1st so thank goodness! Had labs drawn last Tuesday so I will check to see if they are in.

Carolyn, I will let you know about the cream. I bet it arrives next Monday or Tuesday as i just ordered it last night. I ordered 4 unsweetened and 1 sweetened. I also ordered some Lavish bread. I've never tried it but it comes with rave reviews.

DC 14 ran up to visiting cat and wacked him in the rear and then she swished away. He just looked at her but I'm sure she felt like she got her point across. "My house"!

[CindyCRNA]

Got my labs back: Thyroid is low, no surprise so I just left a message for my hormone doc that he can call in a script or do I need to follow up with another doc. This is very common when you start on hormones, a surge of hormones depresses thyroid. I'm lucky I lost 4 pounds last month!

[CarolynF]

Hi..

Buffy..that is so terrific about your weight loss..Hurray for you!!! Thank God for Byetta, too. Well, I hope you have a nice "cooler" 4th..I know your sister would enjoy seeing you and the kids should let her go. She must be a little meeker than her baby sister, right??

Kapri: Those special events can get you off track, but we know you will right back with us by the weekend.. Of course, we have the 4th of July on Saturday..

Cindy: Your DC needed to tell the visiting cat who is "boss"..Good for her!! I'm sure she feels alot better. 4 lbs...very good..I didn't know that a surge of hormones would depress your thyroid. I'm hoping your doctor will give you Armour/Westhroid..Did he test your Free T3/T4?

Sandy: What's up in KCity? I'm sure you are having a big family todo this weekend..

Brett is coming home for the weekend..Big paper is due tomorrow, so hopefully, he can drive home on Friday.

[CindyCRNA]

No, just TSH, T4, T3 uptake and free thyroxine. What is Amour?

[CarolynF]

Cindy..Armour and Westhroid are natural thyroid meds from pigs. They contain T3 and T4 and T1 and T2. I had been on Synthroid for years..slowing gaining weight..Then I just started with Westhroid a few months ago and have started to stabilize a bit.

Take a peek at the Thyroid site here on LCF's..It's very informative.

[sjl330]

Well, as usual, I got lost again when we got a new thread, lol. I'm afraid I'm a lot like Gretl, I need bread crumbs to find my way anywhere, lol. But now I'm home again.

Buffy, I have a friend like that. Can't make plans until she sees if her kids need her to babysit! I don't get it. I gave up my freedom for my own kids when I was raising them and unless it's an emergency, if I have plans I tell them I just can't watch them that day or evening or whatever. But my BFF gets her sense of worth by doing for others all the time and like you said, once they get to a certain age, there's no changing them. I hope you do get to see her though.
And a big congrats on your June loss!! And don't you worry about us kicking you or anybody off our island. That ain't gonna happen!!

Cindy, congrats to you too!! And Dr. M prescribed me Armour a few years back so I know he does use it, especially if asked.

Kapri, don't beat yourself up. Just jump back on track asap and you won't do too much damage.

Carolyn, yes, we have a big BBQ planned at DS's house. But they're calling for rain that day so we're all keeping our fingers crossed. And tomorrow we wanted to do a pool day but rain coming then too. Maybe. Grrrr.
Enjoy your weekend with Brett. Does your town have a big celebration that day? Ours used too. I don't know if they are this year. I know we're not having any fireworks. They said they couldn't afford them!

[CarolynF]

Hi and Good afternoon FatBlasters..

I'm holding my own at 153..(crossing fingers, etc.) It did rain a bit here and the temp went down.

Zilla's news: Calvin (her ds) is going to Ft. Riley today on the bus for his assignment. Ft. Riley (for those non-KS peeps) is about 10 miles from where Brett goes to school.
They might go out in August to see Calvin, so I could coordinate to see Brett and have a meet-up..Keep you KS peeps posted..

Sandy: Gretl has GPS on her cell now..Did you see the ad? So cute.

Did my exercise and took my friend to Sav-A-Lot. I think their soda only is sweetened with Splenda.. I know their Bubba Diet Root Beer is. Plus, I got some SF Chocolate Syrup. I also have the Hershey's kind. The Hershey's has 4 grams of Sorbitol (bad gas) as opposed to the SAL brand which has only 2 grams. I will do a taste test later.

Let's pray for sunshine tomorrow gals.

Our town of 10,000 spends $10,000 on fireworks. They were $3,000 short. They rely on collections. So some little kids were downtown with coffee cans collecting money.
One lady wrote in the paper that they should not have fireworks and spend the money on the Food Bank..

[sjl330]

And for sunshine on Sat. too!!
I wonder if that lady would've voted that way when she was 10?? I think it's important to keep our patriotism alive and that's one visible way we can. I hate firecrackers, bottle rockets, etc. and have all my life, but I realize it's important to the kids. And even their dads, the real kids, lol. So I just grit my teeth and grin and bear it. And I do enjoy the big city displays at dark.

I'm holding steady too. 144.5 again this a.m. Just in time to start the 3 day holiday, lol.

Tell Zilla we all miss her over here.

[CarolynF]

I know what you mean..It is the way we celebrate our Independence... I love them.
Brett loves to set off his own..We live outside the city, so it is a bit quieter here..

Holding steady is good, Sandy..Hey, my goal is to be 153 by Monday..

[CarolynF]

Hey, good morning..

I was a flat 153.0 this morning..holding on..I'm going to be good this weekend..We have no big plans..Brett will have some friends over to shoot off fireworks, I'm sure.

Filling up my little pool..Gosh I think I need a cover for that thing cuz there is a tree that drops things into it..not good.

Happy 3rd.

[CindyCRNA]

Bought a grill at Lowes. One side is gas and one side is charcoal and there is a side burner. I am very excited. Gas is quick and easy. Charcoal tastes better but is more labor intensive. I figure with a 1/4 of a cow, I need a grill!

I am on day 3 of Metformin, 1000mg a day to control hunger and cravings and for me, it works. It does not necessarily work for everyone but I thought I would give it a try. I defiantly don't obsess now. I get hungry but I don't feel the blood sugar swings, even with LC, I had blood sugar swings, just not as bad. Non-diabetics can use it, it is just off label use. It levels you out on moderate carb as if you were on VLC. Thats what i feel like. I'm on VLC but not as hungry with few cravings. Hope it continues to work. VLC didn't work for me because there was too small of a volume of food. I only have about 1500 calories a day to play with. With 60-65% of that fat, there's not a lot to play with. I'm glad I have a doc that lets me do what I want!!

Oh, I just got the book, "The End of Overeating" by David Kessler. Looks interesting. It is about profit driven food companies and food additives that make foods impossible to stop eating. I am interested in reading it. A good reason to eat clean.

[CarolynF]

Hi..

Oh, Cindy that is so interesting that you are on Met. Now, did you ever take your blood sugar levels? I would imagine it takes care of those extra carbs that sometimes our
bodies can't process anyway. Let us know how you do.

I think you'll like the book..Very interesting..The end part tells how to control our cravings, etc. I'll have to re-read that..

Brett is home..His buddies are coming over for fireworks tonight. Brett lost 7 pounds since his birthday 6/19. I took him LC shopping at Dillons and he actually stayed on plan. Plus, he didn't "run" much because of the heat and his paper that was due.
It's all about the food..for the most part.

Got some ribs at Sav-A-Lot..they were very good..$1.49 a pound..

[CindyCRNA]

I work Sunday and will take my blood sugar levels all day long to see what they are. One thing that Kessler mentions in his book was his patients on Phen-Phen lost all cravings because the Phen-Phen took away the "reward" feeling that overeating gave people. No reward, so you lost the desire. Met, to me, does that. You get no carb high, just a very flat blood sugar. You actually wait until you are hungry to eat.

[CarolynF]

Yeah..that "reward" thing was very interesting. I think the skinny peeps who don't have to worry about weight (10 percent of the pop), don't have that reward thing going on..
Lucky them..Anxious to hear about your blood sugar results.

We just watched the Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest..That does take your appetite away...Joey won again..68 dogs, I think.

[TuscanGirl]

Morning!

We got home yesterday, but after all that sitting, I couldn't imagine sitting at the computer!

DD is moved in - adorable room! (I'll post apartment pics tomorrow!) - and one roomie is there. The other one should arrive today.

Syracuse is a lovely town. And easy to get around in!

We had dinner with friends from 16 years ago that live there and they've promised to "adopt" DD.

The neighborhood is a little scary, but she's a big girl now and it'll be fine.

I had teary moments. It's so different when they're not right there . . . . but my coping mechanism is to pretend she's at camp for six weeks. I'll just mark it off the calendar like they do in prison movies!


Even DH said "I can't believe we left her there!" When I said we could go back and get her, he said that it was where SHE wanted to be and we had to respect that. I hate "mature" people!

Sigh.

My biggest fear is that she's going to find a job and settle on the east coast - a very real possibility. But no need to worry about it now!

I've planned a project for the 6 weeks she'll be gone and lots of lunches with friends. I hope it helps the time pass more easily!
And of course, there's lots of cleaning to do! I'm really behind!

DS20 was a hero while we were gone: Fairview Pool lifeguards become lifesavers

I gained a pound while we were away, so not bad. I hope I can hold on to the weight loss!

I missed you all.

Fill me in!

[TuscanGirl]

I heard the article didn't appear . . . so

Herald & Review (Decatur, IL)

July 3, 2009
Section: News
Page: A3




Fairview Pool lifeguards become lifesavers, receive board’s praise
Woman, 31, apparently had suffered seizure


HUEY FREEMAN

H&R Staff Writer DECATUR - Fairview Pool lifeguards were honored at the Decatur Park District meeting Wednesday, after they saved the life of a 31-year-old woman who was found floating face down the previous week. District Director Bill Clevenger said he was so proud of the young lifeguards.


"You don’t know how they’re going to react," Clevenger said. "When they react so exceptionally, it is a really great feeling. It is comforting to know you have such exceptional young people."

The pool was jammed with children and families, on one of the hottest days of the year, when the lifeguards heard the blast of a whistle, signaling that someone needed immediate help.

As some lifeguards ran toward the center of the pool, they heard a second whistle blast, signifying that someone was unconscious.

Cody Acree, 19, saw the woman, lying face down in front of his chair. He asked nearby swimmers to tap on her. When she did not immediately respond, Acree jumped into the water, flipping the unconscious woman onto her back.

"Cody looked to see if she was breathing. She was not breathing," recalled lifeguard Alyssa Vieth, 22, of the incident that took place about 1:30 p.m. June 25.

With hearts racing, the corps of lifeguards swung into action.

Vieth raced through the crowd to retrieve the backboard, plunging into the pool to place the victim on it and pull her out. She checked for a pulse but found none.

Acree and Vieth performed CPR together, with Acree compressing her chest as Vieth shot two quick breaths into her mouth. When Chip Thompson, 20, arrived with an oxygen tank, Vieth switched to oxygen, counting loudly between compressions.

After about five compression/ oxygen combinations, the victim opened her eyes.

"I looked down, and she was blinking and looking around," Vieth said. "So we put her in the rescue position, on her side (so her airway would remain unobstructed)."

Recreation supervisor Jamie Davis said she believed the compressions cleared the woman’s airway. It is believed that the woman had suffered a seizure. She was transported to a hospital by ambulance and later released.

Davis said her lifeguards train intensively before the season, emphasizing scanning every part of the pool, with weekly refresher sessions.

Thompson and Vieth, who were serving as managers June 25, credited all the lifeguards for performing in an outstanding fashion.

"Every guard did exactly what they were supposed to do," Thompson said, adding that some cleared the pool, while others controlled the crowd.

"Cody was awesome, because he saw her," Vieth said. "We’d much rather you look stupid going in for someone that’s not drowning than be wrong."

Other lifeguards commended for their actions during the incident were Brittany Childress, Alicia Elam, Kayla Henneberry, Blain Powell, Aspen Sprague and Evan Thompson.

hfreeman@herald-review.com 421-6985

Copyright, 2009, Herald & Review, Decatur, IL

[CarolynF]

Hi everyone...and welcome back, Mary Kay..

Glad your dd is settled in and you are feeling a tiny bit better about this whole
new amazing adventure that she is taking.. Glad you have "friends" to adopt her for a meal, etc.

I tried to get your son's news up, but my puter wouldn't do it..Can you give us the "lowdown"??? I'm sure you are very proud of him.

Only one pound is great..for a vacation.

Fireworks were very nice. It was a 20 minute show, which was plenty long.
Ds will be going back to Manhattan this afternoon. His clean laundry is leaving with him. Goodness, he has alot of tee-shirts.

Cindy is working today..Buffy should be on her way home..How's everyone else???

I'm bouncing between 153-4..Hoping to get to 152 by the end of the month..

[TuscanGirl]

Hi Carolyn.
I reprinted it - see above!

My goal is still 120 . . . . babysteps for all of us!

[CarolynF]

Wow..MKay..You must be so proud of Chip. I know of 2 ladies (who were my peers) who had seizures in water. One in a river..no lifeguards and one in the bathtub (no one there, either). They both died. So, this lady was so very lucky that everything worked out perfectly. You don't expect adults to be in trouble in a pool, do you? Yipee...for Chip and his gang.

I was bad at the Mexican restaurant. But, I stopped and saved the rest for another day.

[TuscanGirl]

Carolyn - I am! They all did a great job!

Mexican is the devil!

[Buffy45]

DropShots.com


Not sure if this link will work correctly or not, but it is of my 1 year old DGS who just took survival swimming lessons. This is the day they put them in fully clothed and they were to learn to flip over and float if they fell into a pool. He did great.

[Buffy45]

Morning gals!
Ahhh, I had a good time on our trip back to the midwest but have been gone so much this year that I could not wait to get home. We got home about 10:30 last night.
Sounds like you all had a busy 4th of July but did well on keeping eating under control.
Cindy, keep us informed about how the metformin works for you, are you taking it for insulin resistance or do you have diabetes and I forgot, missed that? I think it could help many many people with insulin resistance and keep them from getting diabetes. Hope you don't have the tummy distress that I did, most people don't have it as bad as I did. The name brand of it that I am on now is doing much better for me. Of course I am only up to 1000 mg a day and supposed to gradually work up to 2000. I will do that very slowly. I am getting good control now with 1000 and the byetta and may be able to stay at 1000.

MK, wow, you must be so proud of both your son and of course your daughter for taking this big step to move away from home. There is always the danger of kids settling elsewhere but we can't control that. My oldest went to college in NE and still lives there. Sometimes they can go to a local school but meet their future spouse who is from elsewhere and end up moving anyway.

DH's class reunion was nice, he loved it. I know enough of them now to enjoy it. I had lots of fun with my cousin and she and I went to see my DB and SIL on Friday, we went out to lunch and spent the afternoon visiting. He is 8 years older than I and has an amazing memory of the past so is so interesting to talk to.

Did not see DS. She still could not commit to anything by Thurs., she hadn't talked to her kids yet so I told her that if she wanted to come have lunch with me on Sat. to call me. She called Sat. morning to tell me that she was going to have to fix lunch for the 15 yo grandson and his friend. Carolyn, you hit the nail on the head, she is much meeker than her younger sister, LOL. My DD's asked me if I thought she was upset about anything and I said no, that is just her way. She is just kind of indifferent towards us siblings, unlike the other 3 of us who make a real effort to stay connected. But, there isn't anything wrong, that is just the way she is. As my DD#2 told me, "Mom, she's just not that into you", LOL.

Ths small town we visited had great fireworks the night of the 4th and some friends/classmates of DH live right on the lake where they set them off, so we sat on their back deck and had front row seats to the show, they were great and I love fireworks. It is a shame they are so expensive.

But, one of my best friends here went to her sister's in the country the 4th and they set off fireworks themselves that night and one firecracker didn't go off correctly, it came flying at my friend, went under her chair, made a small burn on her leg but a small part of it actually went into her ear and exploded. It did not shatter her eardrum but burnt several places in her ear and he has to go see an ENT Dr. this week. The Dr. at the emergency clinic said there was paper and gunpowder in her ear. So, I guess she was lucky it wasn't worse.

Hi Sandy, Kapri, Zilla!

[sjl330]

Cool video Buffy. I'm sure he'll grow up loving the water and it's never too early to start teaching them how to swim/survive just in case. I peeked at the ski video too. That was totally amazing!! Did he end up loving that too? How was he attached to his daddy? My DH tried something similar to that when our DS was about 4 but it didn't work out very well. DS was standing on the skis with his daddy and the water coming up off the wake was hitting DS right in the face and DH couldn't see that part. I was waving my hands and screaming at them and he finally got the idea. All was well and no damage was done. DS always loved the water, before and after that fiasco, lol.

I'm so glad you had a good trip. Too bad about your sister, but if you know she's just "that way" I guess it's easier to take. Too bad about your friend's fireworks accident. That's what is so scary about them. A friend of a friend of mine was killed at Lake of the Ozarks a few years back from a large firework gone awry. It flew the wrong way and actually went right into her head. It was very tragic.

I'm up a few pounds today from all my "celebrating" but I'm jumping back on track today to try to shed it quickly. I really slept in today so I'm already starting out behind. Oh well, I don't really have much to do anyway but I'd like to have gotten my workout in earlier.

[CindyCRNA]

Buffy, I don't have either. I am taking it to curb cravings and hunger and it seems to do the trick. I checked my blood sugar all day yesterday (I worked) and it was 80's and 90's all day so it isn't negatively impacting my BS.

We reattached a thumb and an index finger on 2 separate people yesterday. Both fireworks injuries.

MK, that is fabulous about your son!

DC's did not care for the 4th. They kept wondering why people are shooting at us.

[sjl330]

My family must be the only one with dogs who love fireworks. All 3 dogs were outside the whole time watching the kids shoot off their stuff and none of them were fazed one bit. When a really loud one would go off the Lab would look for the duck, lol, thinking it was a shotgun blast. Even my old Cocker I used to have loved to chase bottle rockets. I always had to keep him on a leash so he couldn't if we had him outside with us. My DD's dog however lives under the bed for about 3 days during 4th of July. And she hates thunderstorms too. My dog doesn't mind those either.

Cindy, that's just awful about those accidents. Were they children or adults? Yikes that's so scary!!

I'm taking a break. I did my workout, one load of laundry and started in on the house. I still need to vacuum and sweep and then I'm done for today. I need to run a few errands but they might have to wait until tomorrow.

[TuscanGirl]

Buffy - the video is so cool!!

Sandy - you always manage to keep your weight in check. I'm sure you'll be back down again in no time!

Cindy - that's just scary!!!

Ooooh - DD22 was GIVEN an IPod Touch by Syracuse University!
All the kids got one!

[sjl330]

I sure hope so MK, I'm not doing so well today. I failed to plan and you know what that means.....