Penpal match? Just turned 50, want to lose 75!

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Ladies:

Yah, Teresa, you aren't the first person to say to expect a gain after exercising. I'm going to start a new plan and hopefully follow it to the letter. Its Protein Power which is still low carb but with a few tweeks. I have a buddy on these boards who is doing it and dropping like gangbusters. She tweeked and tweeked until she found this plan and it seems to be working beautifully for her, so my book is due to arrive soon. I also ordered a calorie, carb, protein, fat counter. I need the hard copy so I can do calculations away from a computer. I'm excited to get started, although in my older version of the book, it is pretty stringent. I hope I can do it.

Sue: my grandparents and parents lived in Illinois duirng the depression. No dust bowl to speak of, but still the struggles. My mom and DH's mom still save everything. I find all kinds of moldy food in the fridge they just refused to throw away. When we were kids every once in a while our meals would be refrigerator cleanout day and all we would get was whatever was left over in the fridge. Or my mom would make soup out of whatever she could find. Eeeew, some of that stuff must have been ladened with who knows what.

Carolyn: My dad served in WWII. He was a gunner/navigator and flew missions over Germany. We have a few old pics of him and his war buddies. My brother is named after one of them. In those days they were required to fly 50 missions and then they would be discharged. He couldn't get out fast enough. He was always the first to volunteer just so he could get done.

Until later.

[Suji]

Hi there and Happy Friday!
Still cold and windy with rain in the air--either threatening or intermittant. THis afternoon it is supposed to be steady. Manwhile, no earth work has been going on--3 days now.

I've got to cut out my templates and prep paper and foam for Monday activities--spiders and bats. Went looking for the cheapest pumpkins I could find ($1.50 each for smaller size ones) but the place wasn't open then.

I finished the Dust Bowl Book: "The Worst Hard Time" yesterday and finished the second book about the Depression/New Deal too. THe second book was only around 100 pages, so it was a fast read. I am looking for sociological accounts of life during hard times. Unfortunately, these were the only books of such that I could find at our library immediately.

My Dad was serving in the marines as a drill sergeant during the Korean War. I remember a cool jacket he had with an embroidered silk dragon on the back and an old grenade. Not sure what else he had but those caught my attention as a young'un.

Looks like we may have the first frost by Monday in which case I will need to make sure I get up to the farmstead this weekend despite the weather. We are going to pull all the pepper and tomato plants out of the ground and harvest the fruit from those plants. Did I tell you that the neighbors delivered the mountain of horse manure to our yard for me to use? A lot of people think I'm funny/odd for wanting manure all the time but I really am into the concept of soil building for the future. Every year it gets a little better especially since I practice crop rotation yearly and cover cropping whenever I can.

Well, the Vibe was trashed. :-( We need to put in a whole new engine. *Apparently*, the toyota engines in particular years and models were noted for producing excess oil sludge and caused major problems. There was a class action suit a few years back too, but the warranty wouldn't cover such and it was easy to point accusatory fingers at owners for not changing the oil often enough (even if they did). I found this out on line--the dealership (Pontiac) wasn't going to bring it up at all and right away made it a case of owner car misuse. Typical and usual practice according to my reading. Yarghhh and nothing we can do.

Leslie, I'll be interested in how your new plan works for you! I am sticking with Atkins--just need to break myself of the coffee for best results. It's my ONE lifelong food addiction.

Hello to Kayan and Pam, Jaz (haven't seen you post in a while) and Teresa.

Sue in rainy Maryland

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Sue and everyone else:

Its supposed to be fabulous weather this weekend. Time to rake more leaves and yes, mow the grass one more time. I'm trying to keep it down before winter sets in and I can't mow anymore. We had the hugest moon last night and today. So beautiful.

DS turns 16 tomorrow. My mom is so funny. She's 83. She sent him a happy 13th birthday card. Oh well, she meant good things. At least it came with money! DS laughed and laughed.

In Oregon kids need to take another written test b/4 they take their driver's test. I had it set up for tomorrow a.m. but DS said he didn't want to take it on his birthday because if he failed he would be too depressed. So, next weekend maybe. He's going to be gone all day at a band performance, but we will do the party thing that evening. Both DD's are coming home. Yay! We are carving pumpkins tonight. DS talked me into getting some. He said cummon mom, its a mother son bonding thing. I know he won't be around much longer, so I decided to take him up on it. Once he starts driving I will never see him again.

Sue: I'm so sorry about your car. We have had pontiac woes before. I had a 1986 station wagon we bought brand new. That thing was in the shop more times than I can count and drained us of every penny. We put up with it for 10 years and when things started breaking down that we had fixed once already, we got rid of it. Then I got my explorer that I still drive. Now, silly us, we got DS a pontiac firebird. Guess what, we went to start it the other day and it wouldn't start. Sheesh. Our mistake. So DH is going to work on it this weekend a bit. We already put a fortune into it to get it running safely. Now we have to iron out the kinks.

I lost the lb I put on on Tuesday finally. I haven't started the new plan yet. I'm waiting for my books to arrive. I will have to stay at 30 or below carbs a day. Hope I can do it. According to the calculations in the old book, I really only have about 20 lbs to lose to be at a "healthy" weight. That sounds so close.

Have a great day all.

[Teresa3]

Greetings, All--

My sympathy to you, Sue and Leslie, with the vehicle troubles; that is so frustrating!

We did hear from our dd in San Diego this morning, and she reports that the air is much clearer, thank goodness! She's back to work, too, so we are feeling relieved. Wish they could get some of that rain you're having in the East, Sue!

I'm amazed with all you are able to accomplish every day, Sue--you're an inspiration! Maybe that caffeine consumption is your secret pal! I wish I had your energy; I'm such a slug. Since my two dd's and grandd's moved away, I've been sinking into too much TV watching and feeling doldrummyish. I need a hobby, definitely. I did decorate the house a little for Fall. My therapist convinced me that was a "creative act," so that made me feel heartened. But now what to do..... I know, I need to lose weight! That's a challenge! Too much of one!

Trying to eat clean today, hope I can make it til bedtime! Hope you all are beating the temptations. Congrats on the lb. loss, Leslie! T.

[Suji]

Hi T.-

You know its funny about "slugdom". The first time I went on Atkins was the year that we moved from VA to MD and I was in grad school. I don't recall exactly how much I lost but I *think* I got down to 165 from maybe 200? Not sure what the starting weight was. Anyway, we moved and all went well until Thanksgiving day. Not sure what it was but for 2 days I was on my feet constantly preparing since for the first time my DH's family was going to be converging on us. I'd never hosted before and it was a big deal-- plus a new domicile etc. After that day my feet started killing me. I literally could not walk and my calf muscles were screaming as if I'd torn them or something. It was so painful that I went through a span of months where all I did was sit or lie down. That is the period where I began to put on a ton of weight all the way up to the 223 that I post on my stats. As a result, I try to do less sitting (other than when I am on the computer) and make a point of moving around and doing things, making plans, etc. However, I am not so nearly active as those Superwomen who are real achievers. I just do "stuff". :-)

It does bother my Mom and some of my friends who react uncomfortably to my "get stuff done mode". THey tend to feel a sense of guilt (self imposed) unless I totally copy them and veg out. It's hard for me to do that for long (unless there's a bottle of wine and a lot of laughing going on!!) :-)

I have been watching my ducks today and they are in a ducky heaven with all this rain--going all over the yard, looking in through our sliding glass doors. sleeping in the rain with their heads tucked under their wings. I wish my camera had batteries cuz I am missing some great shots today!!!

Sue

[Pam in TX]

Happy Saturday morning,

Our weather also has turned cooler....... but the days still warm up to the upper 70's.... Very nice....

Am heading up to spend the weekend with my sister again..... She is going to get a pass today, so we will spend the day running around I'm sure..... She and my parents had a meeting with the doctors, therapists, and case manager this past week..... It was pretty rough from what I have understood, so far... Haven't had a chance to talk to my sis about it too much.... Guess my parents finally realized that she may never walk.... I know they had been told that it may or may not change, but I don't think they really realized what they were hearing.... Sister is determined to walk again.... and that determination could be a huge factor in what happens....

I hope to be able to get back to posting more regularly again soon..... This has been an extremely difficult time.... My weeks consist of going to work and spending the weekends up there.... Not getting much else done..... including losing weight....

Sue: sorry to hear about the car struggles..... I hate dealing with those issues....

Leslie: you just keep rocking right along.... WTG.... will be waiting to hear about the new plan....

Theresa: glad to hear that your family is safe.... Our misister at church moved here about a year ago from San Diego.... Their whole neighborhood is in the fire area.... The houses across the street from their former home all burned to the ground.....

Kayan and Jaz: How are things in your worlds?

Later girls.....

[Teresa3]

Evenin, Everyone--

It seems that many of us have been downed by foot pain, Sue. I am sorry that happened to you. I also put on weight when I got plantar fasciitis years ago, and my foot pain has never resolved. And now I have to deal with neuromas as well. But I can get about--just not as much as I'd like. I hope your feet aren't giving you any more trouble!

I have the cutest image of your duckies splashing about and quacking! It would be so much fun to see them. Hope you get a picture of those charmers! Is it still raining?

Pam, I am sorry to hear your sister may not walk--determination can be a miraculous force. This has been such a hard time for you! I hope she is truly on the mend now and that you all have passed thru the worst of this, and are entering a period of recovery.

Hi to Leslie, Carolyn, Kayan, and Raz--hope you are having a nice weekend. T.

[Suji]

Rats-I accidentally deleted my post!

Hi T- and Pam,

Pam, I do have a developing neuroma, actually, but since 4 weeks ago starting on Atkins, it seems to have reduced in size! Maybe there are fatty portions in the nerve swelling that can dissolve on this diet or losing weight is a factor. It no longer feels like I am walking on a ping pong ball when I get up in the morning.

Pam, we're having the engine rebuilt since we don't want to take on a new larger financial burden with a new car (engine replacement and labor involved with be bad enough!).

Got 10 pumpkins for $1 each. Nice lady at the local farm market gave me a deal since its working with the elementary school. I just have a little bit more to do to prepare for tomorrow.

Yesterday, I harvested broom corn, all the rest of the squash and pumpkins, all my barrell gourds (wheeee!) and we pulled up two large beds of peppers, 2 of eggplant and 4 of tomatoes to harvest the remaining ri-pe and green fruit and to clear the beds out. Still have plenty more to clear and harvest. The peas and lettuce are looking great but I was too tired to get some. We loaded everything on a trailer and put it into the pool building for now--nicely organized in boxes and stuff. M. is going to can peppers and make chutneys and relishes from the green tomatoes.

I'm about to have coffee and get dressed to go to my Sis's place. THere will be roofing going on meaning the sheathing, then the felting, then the shingles! Big job!

Talk to you later!

Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Ladies:

Had a busy weekend. DS's birthday, lots of people over, etc. It was fun though.

Teresa: I'm glad your DD is safe. The reports that we are getting and the footage we have seen has shown an extremely tragic event. My nieces were safe, albeit smoked out, but got to remain at home.

Pam: I'm so sorry about your sister not being able to walk, but like you said, the will power and drive can be miraculous at times and prove the doctors wrong. Let's hope so and your sister does walk again. I sympathize with the long weekends and busy weeks. It is tough. I've done that but not to the extreme you have been experiencing and it does take its tole. Hang in there. You are so good to spend so much time with your sister.

Sue: Looks like you are doing great. Your harvest sounds wonderful. We carved pumpkins on Friday night. Haven't done that for a few years. It was really fun sitting on the front porch, bundled up because it was cold, drinking hot tea, good conversation with DS and DD2 while carving. We have lit candles in them both nights.

DD1 was told while she was here that her car was leaking oil, so DH took a look at it and it was bone dry. Scared us all that we would have to put a new engine in. Apparently they caught it just in time. DH changed out what little oil was left and filled it up. It turns out when she had the oil changed a couple of weeks ago, the quicky lube place didn't put the filter on tight. Man that could have been expensive.

DS is taking his written test for driving this coming weekend. Then we schedule his behind the wheel test. I can't wait. I hope he passes.

No losses to report. I'm trying the PP plan. Today is my first day. I'm supposed to eat 34 grams per meal and 10 carbs per meal. I don't know if I ate quite enough protein this morning (I accidently left my sausage in the microwaive) and I didnt have any carbs except the few in my eggs, so I can eat an apple on the way home from work when I'm really hungry. The cool thing is you can have cottage cheese and fruit. In fact it encourages having a little bit of fruit with at least two meals like a half an apple, an orange, a peach or a half a cup of berries. I mostly have to concentrate on getting enough protein and keeping those dang carbs low. It even suggest a half a slice of whole grain bread.

Have a great day everyone.

[Pcola Girl]

Just checking in to see how everyone is doing. Sorry to have been away for so long.
Been going to my doc and getting some ostovisc injections in my old knees, get the second one tomorrow and the last one next week. Sure hope they will help some so I can walk better without so much pain over the upcoming Holidays. I hate sitting around when everyone else is up enjoying themselves.

[Suji]

Hi there,
I didn't post yesterday! Sorry about that... It feels hard to wake up this morning. My DH wanted to watch Boston Legal (last season) in the late pm, so I was up later than I ought to have been.

Yesterday was fun but we only got to do 2/3 activities. THe kids struggled with making pipe cleaner spiders which I thought was going to be easy. Kids that raced ahead had problems with articulating the legs as they had already bent them every which-way. However, the decoupage pumpkins went AOK once they were showed how to get things to stick down with Mod Podge. I'm going to try decoupaging some things (Not pumpkins!) now. I guess thinking up things for the kids to do is inspiring me to do some stuff with craft items.

Half the roof at my Sis' place got covered with sheathing on Sunday. It took a while for the guys to nail in supporting structures--didn't get done earlier in the week on account of all the rain we got. Hopefully the rest of the sheathing will be up by this weekend and perhaps the felt so that all that needs to be done will be shingles.

I had a breakthrough yesterday! I found that (bless their hearts), worker bees had put research on line at the state archives so that I don't have to travel to Harrisburg, PA! I found the copy of the original survey of the farm land property-1737! I also found information that probably relates to the original house owners relationships to neighbors and all kinds of other information. I have a thick sheaf of papers printed off in support of all my findings. :-) A little more to add to the house history...

I haven't weighed in yet. I was astounded yesterday morning to note that I was not in ketosis. I haven't gone off plan at all and have been keeping extra low carbs. Coffee/cream is my vice, but as mentioned I'm going to be lowering my intake to 1 cup per day after this bag is empty (one more pot looks like).

Hello Mary. My Dad was getting injections in his knee--now he's going for the knee replacement. If only they could come up with a fix for what ails my mother. SO frustrating to see zero progress!

I have one pumpkin left to do something with, Leslie. Bwa hahahaha!~ What ever shall I *do* with it???

Are the rest of you working your Keesters off or what? Haven't seen many posts from Carolyn or Kayan. Hi Pam! Hi Teresa! Raz--dunno if she's still around.

Later,
Sue

[Dreamcometru]

Hi Ladies:

Mary: Good to hear from you. I hope the injections do the trick for you.

Sue: Aww the spiders sound so cute. I remember decoupage. It was really popular when I was in grade school. We would do it with pictures from the fronts of Christmas cards. The plaques made great gifts.

Hope your sis gets the rest of her roof on before winter sets in. We are experiencing dry weather again, but absolutely gorgeous. I'm glad because I sure have a lot of raking to do this weekend. My driveway is full. We catch the east wind and all the neighbor's leaves blow up into our yard.

I completed my first day on the Protein Power Plan and didn't waiver. It's not much different from Atkins. I had to really cut back on what I've been eating carb wise though. And today my scale put me back down to 186.4. I hope I can get back to the 183 that I was a couple of weeks ago. It's hard keeping the carbs down to 30 and under, but I was so mad at the gain, I decided to jump back in and give this a try. I sure hope it works.

Have a great day everyone.

[kayan]

Morning all or I guess it is actually afternoon

Sorry to have been MIA. DMIL fell and fractured the back of her pelvis 3 weeks ago. I have had the "duty' on my days off.

DBIL is not going to Boston, no new drugs availalble, They are going to try to radiate some of the areas that have not been radiated before. I will take him tomorrow for his first treatment. The family is all helping out with transport so that his wife can make it through work for a couple of weeks then she will be eligable to take off time till the new year.

I have stayed away from the ice cream ans actually lost a few pounds, my jeans are loser. I have been eating this"english muffin" that has satisfied my taste buds and is real filling.

I mix 1 egg, 1 scoop whey protein powder, 2 tbsp each of almond flour & flaxseed meal,
1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, a few drops of fiberfit for sweetness, 1 tbsp oil and 3 tbsp water. I mix well in a plastic sandwich dish and nuke for 1 min 45 sec then slice in half and toast. I eat it with almond butter or peanut butter and sugar free honey. not bad.

Sorry to hear about everyones troubles and hope that everyone is on the mend

sorry to rush but have to get back down to Dil

Kayan

[Pcola Girl]

I just got in from my doctors awhile ago and had my second injection in my knees. Right nw they are sore from the shots so I think I will go get off them for awhile and rest. I get my next and my last injection in them next Tuesday. I just hope they last as long as they say they do.
All else is well with me, my hubby took me to eat after we got out the doctors and I had breakfast, had scramble eggs and bacon. So far I am sticking to my low carb well.
How are you all doing with yours?

[Suji]

So far today:
1 hard boiled egg
2 cups of coffee 2/ cream
Several slices of hard salami
tuna salad w/ salad
Later: pork loin and vegs of some kind
Better drink water--been researching too long and forgot!

[kayan]

Morning all

Now don't faint!!!! I am actually posting 2 days in a row. I have several hours to my self this am, then I take DBIL for radiation.

Almost caved to ice cream last night. but had a large dish of fage yogurt with raspberries instead. I figured overdoing it with that was better than starting the ice cream monster up again. I have noticed when I am over tired I have the cravings and generally give in to them to make me feel better. ( or at least I tell my self that).

today I have had 4 pieces bacon and 2 eggs with coffee (only fiberfit in it)

probaally wont eat lunch as have to pick up DBIL at 11:45 and don't know when I will return. may have 1/2 english muffin on return. Plan to have pork tenderloin for supper with a salad.

Fall is definitely in the air up here.

Hope everyone is well and staying on track

my quiet time is over must go and get ready I have to leave in 1/2 hour

Kayan

[Suji]

Happy Halloween!
Ok Kayan, I'm officially fainting! I hope that all the accidents, illnesses and such let up for you soon!

Talked to the earth mover guys. They are hooking our water into the new system tomorrow and he expects that the new street and our driveway will be underway within about 2 weeks. They are currently working behind our house in the abandoned grass covered alley to dig a swale for water control. One nice thing coming is that all electrical wires will go underground, so we won't have to look through wires at the view.

I am doing odds and ends around the house. Got to clean out one of the refrigerators since I have some moldy veggies I never did anything with. Typical and wasteful. :-(
Did you catch the morning news about the links between weight, salt, red meat/processed meats and cancer? Weight control is number one, especially for those carrying primarily waist and above. They were saying that per DAY total meat consumption should be no more than the dimensions of a regular pack of cards. I suppose I could do that once carb consumption isn't such an issue like it is during induction.

Carolyn--yoo hoo! Pam--howzitgoin'? Hi Leslie and Teresa!

Sue--must drink water.........

[Dreamcometru]

Happy Halloween ladies:

Sue: I'm joining you on the floor fainting. Hey Kayan. It's great to hear from you.

Kayan: I'm sorry things didn't work out in Boston and now your MIL. My goodness, you have your hands full. It seems we all have our care duties once in a while. I wish them both well. Good job on the ice cream and losses. Sounds like you are doing great.

Sue: Yah, I know about getting rid of food we didn't use. I know I throw away lots of stuff. Who knows how much its costing me. That's great about the power lines. We live in a flag lot and its required that the lines be underground. We are not allowed to have any overhead at all. But the streets are lined with them. It's so weird to see these beautiful trees with big chunks cut out of them to accommodate the lines.

I'm down another lb today. I'm really hoping its what I'm doing and not some fluke, because I feel like I'm where I was last November. Induction flu has set in. I was hoping I would never have to eat that way again, but if that's what it takes, I'm in. I'm having trouble getting all the protein in that's required on the plan. Sheesh its a lot and I'm not hungry enough to eat it all. I've stayed at around 27 carbs Mon and Tues. That's the hard part. I'm having to give up the things I had been eating, nuts, larger servings of berries, a whole small apple on the way home from work, SF pudding made LC style, etc. But if I continue to see losses, I'm sticking with it for a while before I up my carbs again. It's only been two days of clean eating. Let's see what two weeks can do.

Have a great Halloween everyone. Oh, I bought these tiny containers of playdough to give out instead of candy. That way there's no temptation. It's great weather so I expect to see a few kiddos out tonight.

[Pcola Girl]

Happy Halloween

Where did the ghost go on Halloween night?
Anywhere he could boo-gie

Hope everyone has a fun Halloween and watch out for all that candy.

[Pam in TX]

Morning all,

Has been a very hectic week at the office.... and DH was out of town (he got home last night)....

We had quite a few trick-or-treaters, but still have lots of candy left over... so it will all go to the office today to get out of the house....

Weather has been just great lately.... cool in the mornings and warm in the afternoons...

Am heading up to visit with my sister after work today and will stay through the weekend.... On Saturday the plan is that she can go home for the day to see how things go.... My parents have had to go through a training this week on how to help her.... They were almost offended at having to do it, so I volunteered to do it to try and set an example.... Will do that tomorrow.... My mom, especially, is really struggling right now with the reality of all of this.... She is OCD and this is really wrecking havic with her schedule and how things get done.... Am trying to not go off on her right now.....

Time to get ready..... Enjoy the rest of the week and weekend.... Will check back in next weekend....

[kayan]

Morning all


Drum roll Please!!!!!!!!! It's 3 days in a row posting

There was a mix up with times for my DBIL radiation Tx today and DSIL won't make it home in time to pick him up and back out for Tx, So she called me last night and asked if I could do it again today. So no Yoga this am, I have missed 3 weeks in a row and will also miss the next 2. We are suppose to fly down to see DD! next Thursday and come home on Wed.

They say things happen in 3's and they sure do.

Last Thursday a retired co-worker of DH and whose son still works with DH was killed in a car accident, Monday> a lady from town who DH has known all his life, good friends of his parents and who has a son that DH went to school with & works with died suddenly. Her visiting hours are tonight. and last night. DH sister and her DH got word that his brother in Alabama died of a heart attack. He was 49.

Pam: Hope things go good with your sister's visit. I know it can be draining to be the strong one everyone leans on. You are sooooooooooooooooo good.

Mary: I only bought 2 small packages of candy bars. We never have many and last night we didn't get any. Will give them away. I am not even tempted by them. but if they were ice cream,, they wouldn't of even made it into my house from the store

Hi to Sue, Carolyn, Leslie Hope all is going well

Today so far Bacon and eggs aand coffee
not sure the rest of day Supper tonight must be quick have to go to visiting hours

Kayan