New and would like a buddy

[Teresa3]

Evenin', Ladies--

Relaxing since dh and I got back from our anniversary dinner. We had a really nice time. Drove up the coast north to Half Moon Bay around 3 p.m. It was beautiful. Poppies and wild mustard and other wildflowers blooming on the hillsides, pretty surf and windsurfers at the beaches with their colorful sails ballooning in the breeze. Went to the Ritz Carlton and had a drink (I just had sparkling water) and admired the view. Too pricey there for dinner, but it is a gorgeous place to just sit in! Then went to the bistro for dinner. Very modern black and white decor, jazz playing, roaring fire. It was cool. I had a quail appetizer and dh had fried artichokes. Then I had lamb shank with fresh pea pods and fava beans, and dh had skatewing. I did have a small piece of choc cake for dessert, but I think it was the flourless kind. Anyway, special occasion. Food was good, not fabulous, but the whole experience was lovely--we had a romantic time, esp. driving back home down the coast after the sun set and the cypress trees were silhouetted against the evening sky. Dh had a little wine, and we were reminiscing about our 30 (actually 33 counting the time we lived together before marrying) years together. We do feel lucky about that--it makes up for all the health problems! It was a wonderful evening. Thanks for all your kind thoughts!

C, what a shame you didn't get to do anything for your 32nd! That was a sad time; you should do something now!

The water aerobics class sounds like fun! Hope you enjoy it. And congrats on getting rid of the m&m's and taking healthy food for lunch. Sounds like you have a nice new client.

D, that's an appalling story about your mammogram experience! That's just horrible! I can't believe they did that to you! I sure hope that never happens to you (or anybody) ever again! and YH, what happened to you was just horrendous. No wonder you aren't enthusiastic about going to the doc's! But thank goodness you actually did not have cancer! Congrats on going back to Curves. You must have lost a lot of inches by now!

D, I can't believe there was a day when you didn't want to cook! You must have been really tired--hope you're feeling better now. Your menu makes me want deviled eggs--love those!

What a journey you had to go through with your diabetes, depression, and MS. All those meds--how frustrating! You sure deserve a lot of praise and support to be on the right track now--it's been an incredible struggle for you, and you are on top of it now! You go, amazing lady! Take care, see ya tomorrow! T.

[yellowhair11]

Tues.
AM - pineapple and peach

Lunch - reg. oatmeal w strawberries, 1 hb egg, lettuce w v&o

Dinner - made polish sausage and yellow spanish rice for the boys, read the package on the spanish rice ( its really bad ) - never realized that one.

Me - apple and slimfast
4 bites of polish sausage ( about 1/2 of one small )

Snack - fruiti and too many pretzels

Is the laughing cow stuff by the cheeses, cold area, never heard of it but i sure miss my cheese, I may give it a try. I am always picking up something for s3 at the fast food joints but I always pass since plan, nasty stuff, I think Arby's has to be one of the worst. S3 has gained alot of weight since he moved in and slipped into his demonic lifestyle.

I am glad you got rid of those M&M's C, now I can relaxYour water class is right around the corner tooI have some books at the library I have to pick up on water exercises-need ideas. I have the new insurance too, but my dr. is on plan - never seen dr.(primary) except once in years-you only get to see nurse practitioner unless near death. I can self refer to specialists so thats what i do or end up in er.

BF is just at the start with the back/legs, he has a physical scheduled now, he does not want tests for back/legs as he is sure that will point in knife direction. He is flipping out about a colonoscopy which is nothing. No diagnosis yet for back-legs-he'll have to go for tests for that and don't think he will go at this point. So he is zoning out with the pills.

It sounds like you have your regular manicure/pedicure D - good for you. And yes, start treating yourself-you certainly deserve it. You did really well with the food yesterday I never tried the psyllium pills but glad they worked for you-I take a scoop of powder in my potion every day-very nasty by itself-I take it to flush the fat away as its on many diet plans and it can't hurt you. I used to get so bloated, bad pain like labor,took gasx, ect. but not since i started this. After 12 visits ill see if the computer at Curves tells me its measure time or you'll most likely have to ask, I believe im losing more inches than weight. Oh yeah, right next to Curves is a Pilates Studio-I popped in- what a bunch of interesting contraptions, machines stretching you, hanging upside down, etc. -I grabbed a price list - unreal - costs a fortune !!!!

I hope your dinner was a winner T !

[yellowhair11]

T - just saw your post - wow - what a romantic evening and lovely dinner and so happy you enjoyed it. I dont think I ever had quail, was it gamey tasting ? Oh yes, the mammo deal was bad-went under the knife for no reason as they could not get to sample tissue the easy way because they said it was too deep-wires stuck in me, etc. And the waiting. I just got done with that whole mess and a letter comes in the mail " Its time for your mammogram"

[yellowhair11]

T - just saw your post - wow - what a romantic evening and lovely dinner and so happy you enjoyed it. I dont think I ever had quail, was it gamey tasting ? Oh yes, the mammo deal was bad-went under the knife for no reason as they could not get to sample tissue the easy way because they said it was too deep-wires stuck in me, etc. And the waiting. I just got done with that whole mess and a letter comes in the mail " Its time for your mammogram"

[yellowhair11]

T - just saw your post - wow - what a romantic evening and lovely dinner and so happy you enjoyed it. I dont think I ever had quail, was it gamey tasting ? Oh yes, the mammo deal was bad-went under the knife for no reason as they could not get to sample tissue the easy way because they said it was too deep-wires stuck in me, etc. And the waiting. I just got done with that whole mess and a letter comes in the mail " Its time for your mammogram"

[Denise78]

Teresa -- your anniversary dinner and entire evening sounds wonderful. What a great way to celebrate such a special occasion. And you described it so beautifully, I felt like I was right along with you. (Wouldn't dh have loved that??!!). What is skatewing? Is that a fish of some kind? I've never had quail but my dh has and enjoyed it.

YH, the Laughing Cow is over by the packaged cheeses in the refrig. case. It is in a round container. I spent quite a few minutes there investigating the different cheeses and felt that was the "safest" for me since it has small individual pkgs inside the container, which hopefully will prevent me from overeating. It is a soft white swiss cheese, the kind you spread so you'd want something to have it on. Maybe your quaker cakes? Then I bet you would eat less of those, since you'd have to stop to spread the cheese on each cake. I would have preferred a harder brick cheese but I think I would just keep slicing and have a hard time with portion control. I also bought some string cheeses, as those are a good low-carb snack for me.

C, that water aerobics class sounds like so much fun, plus a great way to exercise. I know you've been looking forward to it and I can't wait to hear all about it. Did your friend join with you or will you be going alone?

I go every 3 weeks to get my nails done, about the only pampering I do for myself. Something I started when I lived in New Hampshire and just got into the habit of. Dh gives me the pedicures because honestly, between the MS and fat, I cannot get to my own feet to care for them well enough and with Diabetes, you have to be careful about that. So he gets all the callouses and rough edges off with files and lotions, and files and paints my toenails, even shaves my legs for me because I don't have good balance to do that myself. I did schedule a "real" pedicure for April because it's just about sandal weather here and while dh tries his best, he isn't the greatest nail polisher in the world and I want my toes to look good for those 2 sorority events I have coming up.

Muscle weighs more than fat so I bet you are building muscle now YH and slimming down your measurements. I can feel a slight depression in my tummy area. It's not quite so full and round. My pants are getting looser. So hopefully that is happening to me too. Yes, let me know when your card tells you to measure because you started pretty close to when I started and then I will know to do mine too.

Sounds like a terrible ordeal with your mammo. So they had to actually cut a pc of tissue out? They did a needle biopsy on me and lots of waiting only to find out, nothing was wrong. You think they'd put those kinds of tests to the front of the line...the waiting is terrible. Glad you were okay but it stinks that it's time again.

Mid-week and I am still stalling from the wkd. Hopefully the scale will start moving in a downward position soon. I am scared to have anymore ham so I think we'll be freezing a lot!!

Have a good day ladies! D

[MI CHICK]

Your evening sounds so nice T!! It is an interesting thing to survive so long in a marriage isn't it??!! In the first 22yrs we had more than our share of problems but all the divorced folks we knew weren't really any happier than us (especially me as a single mom) so we kept plugging along. The last 10yrs have been good--the last 5yrs dh has mellowed into this really nice man LOL!! We talk together about how folks don't ride the bad times & so don't reap the good that finally rises on the other side.

Stayed up late doing laundry & ended up nibbling...I just can't push myself & stay up cause I still am caving every time.... Am going to get right back to the lc basics for a few days to find my way again. Keep thinking about how quickly the weight came off when I stayed on track with the lc before. Really want to be somewhere by the end of May---and I'M the only reason it's not happening....

Deviled eggs sound good YH! Think I will make some this morning before I go to work. So quick to grab & filling too.
Laughing Cow is in the dairy section. Need to pick up some of those today too.

T told me about taking fiber capsules months ago & I've not had a problem since. They are regular size not huge so maybe after you finish the ph husks D you could try these.

Well ladies have to scoot as today is my long day w/2 clients. Have to get my lunch & dinner together & out to my cooler.

[MI CHICK]

I see you posted when I did D LOL!!
Laughing Cow has a red net bag with little wax rounds of hard cheese too. They are about the size of a 50cent piece. There
are about 3 types of cheese. So great to peel off the wax & slice
these little pieces. YH learned about them thru my friend that lost 60lbs thru WW's about 3yrs ago (& has kept it off!!) so I know that they figure in with the point system nicely

[Denise78]

Thanks for the cheese tip, C. I'll check at another store to see if they have them there. Hopefully the hard Laughing Cow cheese is low in calories and carbs too?? The individual servings would be perfect for me! Have a great day at work and don't leave your lunch anywhere!!

[Denise78]

Back from Curves. Boy, I don't know if I overdid it on Monday or if it's because dh woke me at 4 am (he went on a business trip early this morning) but I was wiped out today. I did get my rate to 23 and I did 3 rotations, but I felt like I was not gung-ho or really into it. I was SO tired afterwards and had to drag myself thru the last few machines. But at least I went and got it done, so I guess that is a good thing.

My friend and I stopped for salads on the way home but no errands today, which is just as well. I don't have the energy for it. I really hope this is just because I woke up too early and not because the fatigue is coming in for another round.

Anyway, hope you all are having a great day. Dh is gone till tomorrow night so I'm sure you'll hear from me lots while he is away....lucky you.

---- D

[yellowhair11]

Now you have me going on the laughing cow cheese, I will get some this week, I hope they have the harder cheese or else ill have to order some of D's bran crackers for the spread one.

I hope your just tired too D and not something else, I was like that Mon. at Curves - dragged myself in and out and did not get the pep that day. I found out BF did not go to work today so I stopped at the gym on the way home and did the treadmill for 35 minutes and sat in steam room 15 min. My face is really peeling now ( from my tca face peel I did last Thurs) and that steam room will speed it up. Then to the library to pick up dvd's for tonite, 2 of my water exercise books showed up. I put everything on hold from my computer and just do pick ups.

AM-cantelope and green grapes

Lunch- salad w 2 sl. turkey breast
drink potion

Dinner - scrambled eggs w 1 sl whole wheat-told s3 to get something and BF
wants eggs too. Not cooking meal tonite.

Snacks - I am out of the quaker cakes so poporn or pretzels and my fruiti.
It will be rough with BF and the movies. I wish my mind could get in
to " I want a pickle" mode.

[MI CHICK]

Laughing Cow Cheeses:
Babybel Gouda:
each round is 3/4oz & 80cal/0carbs/protein 5g/sat fat 4g
$3.89 for bag of 6 rounds

Soft Wedges Light Garlic & Herb:
3/4oz ea wedge & 35cal/1carb/protein 2.5g/sat fat 1g
$3.89 for container of 8 wedges

Soft Wedges Light Swiss:
3/4oz wedge & 35cal/1carb/protein 2.5g/sat fat 1g
$3.89 for container of 8 wedges

I use the soft spread in celery sticks a lot.
The rounds come in the Gouda, Swiss, & Cheddar.

[MI CHICK]

today's menu:
Bkft:coffee w/cream 2oz tky w/2oz lite cream cheese(made roll ups) orange
L:tuna salad
S:lc protein bar
D:ham salad baby dill pickles
S:1oz raw pecans

Day has basically been veggies & protein--which is what I had such success w/last time. And the orange. Had very little fruit before but this time I plan to do more of a SB style & have 1-2 fruits a day

D maybe you've just been doing too much exercise....hate to say that cause on the one hand I think it is helping you. Did the doc think you should take on so much?
Was 47 today & I was was passing all these folks out walking & jogging on my way home.
YH would you be willing to try one of the baked omelettes
or frittias?? They are very easy to prepare & more filling than scrambled eggs. If so let me know & I will post a couple recipes for you.
Well ate my salad while posting & now I need to go take care of the kitchen....dh is relaxing on the sofa watching tv of course.....these little things are the reason it's so hard to get a marriage to the 32yr point

[Denise78]

C, I could only find the original Swiss Laughing Cow cheese and that is 50 calories, 2.5 sat fat, so I will look next time at a different store for the light varieties. I didn't realize they had "light" ones.

I probably won't go back to Curves this week as my friend is going to a wedding out of town and can't go again till Monday. So I will take a break and see if that is what's causing my fatigue and aches/pain. Maybe I just need a couple days break in between workouts and not only 1 day. I seemed to do better when I went on Mon or Tues and then not again till Fri. This week I went Mon and Wed. My dr knows I am dieting and exercising but not really how much as I just ran in quick to talk to him one day about my insulin but have not made a real appt with him recently. I guess I should but I was wanting to lose a little more weight before I go.

Ds2 asked a girl to Prom today and she said yes. I think I am more excited than him. I love those kinds of things and am already planning her corsage and taking pictures, etc.

Today's menu:

B-rotisserie chicken in 1/2 low-carb pita, coffee
L-salad w/hard boiled egg & diced unbreaded chicken w/low-carb dressing (restaurant)
D-1 turkey burger in 1/2 low-carb pita, lettuce w/low-carb dressing, 1/4 cup cottage cheese
S-???

Hopefully I will get in that pickle mode later too. Dh is away on business and ds2 is at Bible Study so maybe I won't snack at all since I usually do pretty good when I am on my own.

Have a good time watching movies tonight YH and good luck with the snacking!!

[Denise78]

P.S. C, sounds like you did great eating today! I miss the fruit so much but it does raise my sugars, otherwise I'd be eating it everyday too. I love reading YH's menus and all the fresh fruit she gets to eat.

[Teresa3]

D, if I miss a couple of hours of sleep, I am totally wiped out the next day, so hopefully that's the main reason for your fatigue. Hope you feel better tomorrow. Wow, am I impressed with your dh giving you pedicures and shaving your legs, too! You are one lucky lady! I just hope he's good with the shaver! I'd hate to think what my legs would look like if I my dh shaved 'em! And, oh, so cute your ds asked a girl to the prom--won't that be fun for you! How old is he?

BTW, skatewing is a cartiliginous kind of fish--those triangular things. You don't see it that often on menus. It can be really good or not, depending on the skill of the cook! I don't care for it usually, but I do love quail, it's my favorite, along with duck. It's not gamey at all, very mild. I like to eat all the birds, I'm afraid, poor little things!

Congrats, YH on going 35 minutes on the treadmill! You must really be getting in good shape. What does the skin peel do for you? Does it reduce wrinkles? How long does it take for your skin to get back to normal? Glad you got a chance to relax in the sauna. Hope bf is OK.

C, looks like you are getting back to basics--sounds good. You're going to inspire me to get back to induction, which is what I desperately need to do! 47 sounds so cold to me--you Michiganers must be tough! Does this mean you're going to start walking soon? And I hear ya re the early years of the relationship--if you don't weather the storm, you never get the payoff! Glad you are happy now!

Well, I started some CLA/GLA today. It's supposed to burn the fat off your gut, reduce appetite, and give you energy, although some say their weight stalls on it, even tho they lose inches. Who cares about weight if they lose inches? Not me--I'd be ecstatic to lose inches. But I am going to try to restart induction TOMORROW--no more fooling around, I swear!
You gals have all been doing so great, I have to get back in here and be a better team member! Take care, T.

[yellowhair11]

Now my back is hurting and sitting here with the melt belt on back, I doubt it was the treadmill but I did go on one machine called the back extension and the pin fell out of the weight and as I was leaning back on 40 pounds it dropped to 0 and flew back - some guy came and fixed the weight and asked me if i was ok, that could be it. Or maybe these pains are just normal when you start exercising and you just have to push thru it, when your not a spring chicken anymore its hard- I don't know. So ill see how I feel after work and decide if ill go to the Curves. Everyday something hurts. I picked up some stuff called Move Free at Walgreens for joints-it has the Gluc. and Chon. you mentioned D, not cheap but they had buy 1 get one. BF will be starting physical therapy and is going to go on the family leave medical act so he don't get fired, he will not get paid either as he has no more sick time so I don't know when this will all start....he will want me here babying him all the time plus his reporting on s3, geez, I may run away to Ashby.

Skin peels-yes im targeting deeper wrinkles now with the tca since I never made it to the final pick in wrinkle study Some years ago I did the glycolics, moved on to the lactics, and now the tca's. You will like them and depends what you want to address. I get mine from makeup artists choice, quality and samples too, reasonable. I am really peeling with this tca - I think it will be over in 2 more days ( first time with the tca ) - forehead-fine lines gone-nose-large pores gone-of course these are not my problem areas. A glow look.

I remember taking the CLA and yes, its suppose to be for fat loss T, I don't know if it worked or not because at that time I did the diet pills too-I need an energy booster too-everything seems to catch up mid week then im shot on the weekends. Good to hear you are getting serious now T and starting the induction

Are you any better today D ? I hope so. Thats so sweet-the prom-I never went to prom. I was a loner in high school but I think that is my personality makeup. You are doing good with your food and exercise this week

You know C, I will try the baked omelette if its easy, I don't know what a frittia is. I see you are being good with your food Maybe I need new cookware-mine is so old and ugly and things stick in non stick-I wonder if that would inspire me-my eating is getting old but I need to keep that thought out of my mind. My downfall is the night snacks-I look forward to it all day !

Going to do some back exercises now before work-I cant bear the thought of going today. My snacks were pretzels, animal crackers, and a fruiti last nite.

You guys sound like you have nice husbands, I wish it could have worked out with ex but he was so mean-my hope is that he croaks before me so I can collect his social security, he's had the stress free life and never helped financially with the boys-still won't. He is healthy, relaxes, takes trips, goes to gym for 3 hrs. a day so I guess I have to hope for a brick falling from the sky

[Denise78]

YH, Sorry to hear you are in so much pain. Wow, you are lucky your back didn't go out when that pin dropped. Is it going to be hard having bf around 24/7? With you both normally working opposite shifts, that's sure to upset the routine you have going, especially if he likes to watch movies all night. I hope it doesn't affect your weight loss. I know I do so much better when I am home alone. Wkds are my biggest challenge when dh and ds2 are around.

I looked up that CLA, Teresa. Looks like it boosts the immune system too so that should be an added bonus for you. Is this something you found on your own or was it recommended by your dr? Let me know how it works -- might be something I could try. Glad to hear you are getting back on track. I know how hard it is to do, esp. with all the weight-gaining meds, but I know you can do it!

Corrisann, sounds like you are back on the straight and narrow too. Glad to hear you are going gung-ho on South Beach again. I really do think it's a great plan for you and me, because we seem to have similar cravings.

My scale is fluctuating back and forth so much this week, it's really frustrating me. I feel like all my hard work last week was over-run by some freakin' HAM and now I am obsessing over it and running to the scale every few minutes. I have got to get a grip. Someone slap me pls.

I didn't get a good night's sleep. I didn't go to bed till after 1 am and then dh forgot to re-set the alarm for me and his is so complicated and I couldn't figure it out. Should have had ds2 look at it before he went to bed. So I ended up using the time that was pre-set on it, 5:45 am, which was too early for me, esp. since ds2 didn't need to get up till 7 am. But...I was afraid he'd oversleep and his school is extremely strict about tardies. He set his own alarm but it was storming last night and I don't trust alarms in bad weather, even if they have the batteries to switch over to, so I got up early just to make sure he was up. Then dh ended up calling me at 6:30 to make sure I was up, which means I could have slept another 45 min if I had known he was going to do that. YH, where is that brick you were talking about??

I didn't do bad with snacking last night...a pickle, 1/2 low carb pita w/soy p'nut butter on it, a string cheese. But...maybe it was too low-carb because once again, my sugars were too low before bedtime so I ended up grabbing 2 sm pcs of candy to get them higher. Still trying to figure out my insulin needs now that I'm eating so low-carb. One good thing...I am using almost 1/2 the insulin this month versus last month. Wow. That is really good. Maybe if this keeps up, I will be able to cut out the insulin altogether.

I am staying home today and resting. I have a lot of work to do for sorority so I will concentrate on that. I think I have been on the go too much this past week and maybe if things settle down over the next couple of days, my scale will start moving downwards too.

Keep up the enthusiasm, ladies. It's infectious.

--- D

[Denise78]

Hey YH, how long were you married to ex-husband? If it was at least 10 yrs, you can still collect on his SS when you retire, even if the fool is still alive.

I hope you feel well enough to go to Curves today, but if not, maybe you should skip a day or you can always just do the machines that don't involve your back. I did not want to go at all yesterday, which meant that I needed to go. You're doing excellent with your exercise and eating plan. Keep up the great work -- you are inspiring me so much!

[Denise78]

The scale finally moved in the right direction. Yahoo!! Now maybe I can get on with my life. It's just so darn frustrating when I know I have been eating on plan and exercising but that stupid scale doesn't want to cooperate with me!!