New and would like a buddy

[HoneyBera]

I finally got in to Curves today! I LIKE IT! I did all the machines (and bouncy boards) two times. AND when she weighed me in, I'd lost another 3lbs. from the doctor's office!! 256!!

HB

[MI CHICK]

Such a beuatiful day here today!!! 73 & sunny. Just really raises ones spirits!

Boy with all the praises to Curves I'm almost tempted to join....congrats on the wgt loss HB!! Glad that you too were pleased w/Curves.

D just kept your lips sealed cause you still have about 36 hours till your official Sat weigh in You ate carefully all week in all your special events plus you were so busy I'm sure you burned some good calories, so I'm sure the #'s are correct. Aren't you just so glad you stood up to that pizza

Yeah casual makes the work day easier YH. Besides w/ that catty group you work with who wants to dress nice to have their envy tear you down!!

T you must eat a good dinner w/dh for your birthday. For the other birthday meals remember to get that very tasty & rich lc high protein meal that Atkins allows you. Then you can get a dessert, eat one bite, claim to be too full & then take it home to dh or trash can. When I did good at this before I allowed myself all the extras that Atkins gave us so that I was not feeling cheated at all by passing up the warm breads & desserts---and it really did do the trick! Enjoy your birthday is the main thing!!!

I confess I like a hot dog black off the grill every great once in a while--in a bun smothered w/ketchup & relish & mustard. Yum! But it must be off the grill & have that black crust Dh loves coney's so we have to go every once in a while & let him get 2 smothered in everything plus the chili of course.

Today's eating has went well too. Am hungry again but hate to eat at 9pm. Weighed this morning & was 235. So let's see how many days I bounce all around this #....
Bkft=bacon & eggs coffee w/cream
L=tky pastrami & 2% cheese slices celery sticks pickles
D=Itl ck pickles
S=trying to go to bed w/o one

[Teresa3]

Well, congratulations, HB, on going to Curves and your further weight loss! You've been doing great! Keep hanging in there!

Thanks, D, for the early b'day wish. I wish I could discipline myself to just take a few bites of a dessert and leave the rest, but it doesn't seem to be happening that way. I really do appreciate the suggestions you all give me, though, I hope it will sink in one of these days! I have been reading up on the neurontin, and finding out it does cause increased appetite. It's just been crazy for me, worse than prednisone by a mile! I just can't control it either. I'm almost thinking of stopping the med and living with the pain and not sleeping as a result! D, I know you have struggled with meds causing weight gain, too. How did you ever get it under control? I just feel awful!

D, the tea just sounds so lovely, and how wonderful of you to be so active in bringing this event to fruition, and doing the introductions. I guess I am living vicariously again--would love to be involved in something like that. I'll enjoy hearing more after the event! D, I love hot dogs and sauerkraut--YUM! Glad the weight is falling off for you this week, but I understand your caution--maybe you'd like to have a little wiggle room for the Founder's Day dinner and your tea, eh? Glad your dh is feeling somewhat better, too. Hope you both have a nice time at the dinner.

I wonder what New Orleans will be like after the flooding? It will be interesting to hear his report.

YH, what a shame you can't dress up for work! (or not?) But there's an opportunity to wear some really cute jackets over your t-shirts for the indoor chill! Jackets are my favorite thing to buy, have a closet full of various kinds. They help distract from a big derriere, and cover a big gut! Yea! I bet you could wear some cute little skirts, too! I love clothes; maybe I should go shopping and that might inspire me to try harder to overcome my recent binging. Did you go to Curves this week or do callanetics? I went to the gym today but it seemed very hard and I didn't do my whole workout.

C, how was your day? Hope you had a good one!

I ate on plan for breakfast, blew it at lunch, ate on plan for dinner--dh roasted a chicken, and we had eggplant, asparagus, and cauliflower. I will try again tomorrow to do a whole day without going off. TTYL, T.

[Teresa3]

I see I posted before seeing yours, C. Glad it's getting to be warm and lovely there, and you had a nice day. Congrats on the 235! You're inching down there! I think it will become easier for us to lose as the weather gets warmer and we have longer, lighter days. I hope. You are right about the b'day dinner, C. I have to get back to eating more protein, then maybe I won't cheat so much! I'm with you on the hot dogs--love a good ole charred one with all the fixins; I think it's a midwest kind of thing! Take care, and have a great day tomorrow! T.

[yellowhair11]

I forgot about those nice charred hotdogs on the grill - now I could eat one of those
It turned out all 3 of us saw a dr.on Thurs. S3 was a script appearance ( costs me alot - no insurance s3 ), BF had physical, and my yearly appearance. BF has more lab work - high liver count - has high choles. and wants to try choles. thru diet first so that may help me with the cooking. I got yelled at for not taking meds - I have the tests to schedule now - mammo, bones, chest xr, stress test w dye, blood work, gyn-pap, to see where im at. They said I need to see a knee guy for the knee scope to start -thought I should not blow off or may be looking at knee replacement. They now have intravenous treatment for osteo so will see had bad bones are after tests and then look into that. I left with scripts for chantix ( not dated - smoking ), xanax- got yelled at as they said I need to be on proper anxiety/depression/ panic meds as xanax is just the helper, new happy pill script for cymbalta, back pain med as needed, samples of 6 sleeping agents - take a diff one for 6 nights and pick one that I feel works. More scripts to follow after test results. They want me to go to hospital for tests but that will cost me more - my records all at hospital and big concern was the mammo for that big deal I had when they thought I had cancer. So this will be a project for this year as my ins. will be worse in 2009. Not sure which will be weight gainer meds - ughh. I got so sick and tired of the pills and took half assed so starting this all over. I said no to see ortho guy for back as back surgery is something I will not consider at this point. So anyway gals, thats the start of this fiasco. They were very happy to see my weight loss and hopefully that has helped my upcoming tests . I only saw the nurse practioner but thats ok - sometimes i feel they are more thorough. She could see I am totally fatigued. The scale at dr. was the same as mine at home - a pound higher but my weight is always is higher in the afternoon. I had to kill some time before the appt. so went to Curves before. Ok - enough about this but wanted to post while still fresh in my head.

I understand what your say T about the Neur. drug - as you can see im not good with doing what the dr. orders as I am a skeptic with all the pharmceutical ploys. Yes, I could dress up for work but why - then I would get questions like where are you going - I work in a very hostile environment with the witch always spreading rumours because she is obsssessed with me. I may as well be comfy as I am there just puttin in my time like C says. If you are walking C, doing gazelle, and swim class, active job, I dont know if you need to join Curves but it is convenient and fast - in and out. They should have a free trial - do the trial if they have then decide. I like it and was leery at first. The strength training would be good for you at Curves. I am hoping it helps my bones. We need the strength training and the cardio.

Well D, we want a full report on your activities ! I hope you got to wear your outfits and glad dh is better with teeth.

Thurs.
am - cantelope and plum
lunch - kashi puffed cereal w blackberries, little ff milk, 1 baby bel, raw carrots
dinner - meatloaf ( deli one - mainly just meat-no extra stuff) - peas
snack - fruiti, cheese nip pac, lc ice cream sandwich

[Denise78]

Good morning ladies!

I had such a fun evening! There ended up being 6 of us that went. I drove and it wasn't quite as far as we thought. A little over 2 hours (we thought 3) so we got there a little early. Laughter the entire way & back. We were all in such giddy moods and it really made for such a fun evening.

Yes, I wore my capris outfit and new jewelry and boy, for a fat old lady, I must admit, I looked rather nice.

Dinner -- with the scale moving so much this week, I was determined to stay on plan. I drank water all night, although those cocktails did look good. But I figured being the designated driver helped me there. Sm salad (lettuce only) was served first and I did ask if they had low-cal dressing but no such luck so I took it with Ranch. Dinner was 3 sl brisket, a sm bowl of Mexican corn with cream in it, and a lg baked potato. Bowls of sour cream & butter on the table. I took a deep breath and cut my brisket into sm pieces and engaged in conversation and guess what? I didn't even touch the corn and I didn't even unwrap the potato from its foil!!!! Dessert was passed around and I asked the waitress to skip me. Figured that would be better than having this bowl of homemade vanilla ice cream topped with sliced bananas and crushed nuts staring me in the face! I didn't get home till after midnight so no night-time snacking either.

Yesterday's menu:

B-coffee
L-1 sl roast beef, 1.5 sl provolone, flatbread
S-string cheese, 10 cashews
D-salad, brisket

Dh's tooth is bothering him again. He thinks it's a dry socket. Dr gave him stronger antibiotics and painkillers yesterday but he's going to call dentist as soon as it opens & hopefully head up there again since he travels on Monday.

T, I totally understand about the added hunger induced by meds. But that doesn't mean you have to satisfy those urges with pie. I agree with C, fill up on protein. I think you would like the string cheese & maybe you need a little healthy snack in between your meals so that you don't overdo it when you sit down to eat. Just a suggestion. That's what I did yesterday. Had the cheese & nuts to hold me over so when I sat down to dinner, I was not starving. Pls take a good long look at my picture. THIS IS YOUR BODY WHEN YOU DON'T CONTROL YOURSELF. But seriously, don't wait as long as I did. I ended up cutting out the weight-gaining meds altogether & ended up here with you guys. I swear YOU all are my biggest motivation. But look how much I have to lose now. I wish I had become more serious when I weighed as little as you do so pls, get it under control now before you end up like me. I hope I don't bug you with my suggestions....I just don't want to see you get defeated and give up. You can do it, I know you can!!! Great idea on the clothes shopping...that is a BIG motivation for me too.

YH, I think you will do okay with the new meds even if they are weight-gainers. You have your eating so under control & are being so successful in your weight loss, you will know what to do if you see those numbers going higher on the scale. Hopefully that won't happen but at least you can run over to Curves or jump in your pool and get it under control quickly. I was on novantrone thru iv for my MS. Was very strange to sit there and have the drip in me with cancer pts all around me. (Cancer med but they found it works for MS patients too.) It worked great but I had to stop because it lowered my white blood cell count dangerously. I hope you find a sleeping pill that works. I am glad you went to dr & hopefully you will get everything straightened out. And yes, now it will be easier to cook if bf has to watch what he eats too.

I cannot grill hotdogs. I would eat the whole pkg!! I love them too much when they are all charred like C said. Funny, but I looked at your menu C and for the life of me, could not figure out what Italian chicken pickles were. Till I realized it was 2 separate things, chicken & pickles. I was getting excited, thinking you came up with some kind of new recipe! I think you are doing awesome & I'm really proud of you. (Can I say that without sounding condescending?? -- you know what I mean -- I'm just so happy you're back in the zone!).

Oh the scale is loving me this week. I am doing a happy dance. I told dh, pls, pls, pls don't let me blow it today. If we go to dentist, that means out to eat and I HAVE to stick with a salad & protein and not go for that Chinese!!! Not only have I passed that 30#'s but that 300 number is getting closer & closer.

You all have a great day and I will be making my report first thing in the morning!! D

[MI CHICK]

Oh D---I want your view!!! There is NOTHING behind you!!! Dh says we should come out & fill it w/a couple of strip malls & a resturant or 2

Ok now on to you---you look beautiful!!! Love your hair in the blonde! Your new outfit is great & you are too critical of yourself (as we all are I suppose)! Bet dh would have been whistling if he didn't have dry socket Poor baby that is such a painful thing to have!!!

Well your determination to not eat was absolutely great! That is the way I felt the day I was in my car in the driveway... when you get on a roll like that nothing can deter you. Am anxious to hear your #'s in the morning....so hope that it registers the way you are hoping!! Getting to that 299 should drive you like a crazy woman

I went to bed hungry again last nite so was really hoping to see that 234 this a.m. BUT it was still 235. Ya know I'm just like every body else---I want this gone yesterday!
LOL we are silly!!! Be right on track for a week & want to drop at least a quarter of our wgt....

I thought like you YH that I needed to have everything checked out while I have insurance. And being 53 I really do need to know if there are any problems lurking ahead. As for the med's---you know they are not going to help you if you don't take 'em as prescribed. Taking 'em here & there means you might just as well not take them at all. I am pretty suspicus of all the med's that the drug companies push today, but I do realize that med's today really can help a lot of conditions & it would be stupid to act like we have no help like our grandparents. There is a point to living in the modern day world. Can you see this is a big lecture I had to give myself to get me in the door for this whole gambit of tests??!!!! Don't care about living to be 90 just want to feel good while I am alive. Nurse pract/physcian asst--love 'em! They take so much time with you & really answer your questions. Used 1 several years in a row--had to use a doc the last 2yrs & was very dissatisfied!! This new doc is so great---oh please let me have the same insurance for a few years in a row!!!

Thank you D for being honest enough to open yourself up & say hey don't mess around like me & wait until you have an almost impossible amount to loose. That was brave & caring of you to say that I, like you, live for the support from you gal's!! Course I haven't told anyone else what I'm up too for them to be supportive...
but their support comes w/judgement where yours doesn't seem to.

It was sunny & 78 today!! That's good incentive cause I was way too warm in my long sleeve top & don't know that any of my short sleeve ones fit....need to find the bag in the basement & bring it up to see.

Tomorrow dh wants to go roaming again, which is fun but usually means eating out. But I do the cheese & nuts in the car for a snack. Sun. I am suppose to get together w/2girlfriends that I haven't seen in a couple months & that always means eating out....time to hang tough like D said!!

[yellowhair11]

Well I just had to post right away when I saw D's new picture - you are a lovely gal - so glad you got the bangs - you look younger - your really gonna be a hottie when you get those pounds off ! DH better mind his p's and q's. And I appreciate the speech about not letting us get to the weight you did - that was really thoughtful !! And thanks C - you know I only made that appt. at the dr. because you did - I figured you wanted to go about just as much as me ! Well, more later but just had to post when I saw D's pic.

[Denise78]

I will tell ds2 you liked my new pic, gals. I made him take a million before he went to school this morning and this was the only one I halfway liked. He finally told me, this is the LAST picture. And he snapped the camera, tossed it to me and ran to his car for dear life.

We don't have much for trees around here. I tried to get another angle with the horse pasture across the street, which shows the wide open space, but the pictures that had the beautiful view were really terrible of me LOL so you got the trees instead.

What a fiasco today turned out to be! Our dentist was traveling in Atlanta so dh couldn't get into see him. Fridays are bad out here -- no other dentist working, they all take it off. Receptionist felt bad for dh and met us at the office today on her day off. Poor gal was just coming in from gardening but we told her we didn't care what she looked like. She packed dh's socket with a special paste to at least get him thru the next few days till it heals and then recommended chewing on a tea bag, something in it works wonders for dry sockets/tooth pain. We were so grateful that we slipped her $20. She argued but we insisted. Gave her some gas money since she lived in another town plus we interrupted her day off.

We did end up going out for Chinese but I think I will be ok. I ate chicken, beef and first time ever in a Chinese restaurant -- salad!! Dh was stumped when he saw that. I'm sure he was thinking -- what the heck has gotten into her that she's eating lettuce at a Chinese buffet???!!! But I didn't want to ruin this week's hard work so lettuce it was!

Wow 78, C, that sounds wonderful. It's in the high 60's here today and I love it!

Well ladies, I have a lot of groceries to unload so I better get to it. Hope everyone is having a great day!! D

[Teresa3]

Yea, D, for posting the pic of you all dressed up for your evening out--you look absolutely adorable--LOVE the chocolate brown outfit, and yes, it does look gorgeous with the blond hair, and yes, love the bangs, too! I hope your dh is not a jealous guy! Glad you had so much fun at your dinner, and congrats for only eating the meat and salad, and double congrats for skipping the dessert! and triple congrats for getting past the 30 lb. mark! You are really getting this thing down pat!

I really appreciate your pep talk, D, it helps me try harder. I did better today, and tried your suggestion for string cheese and cashews--what a tasty combo that is! Going to be one of my favorite snacks, I think. You did great at the Chinese buffet, too. Sorry to hear your dh had to go back to the dentist; hope the treatment worked for him. How long is he going to be gone?

YH, good for you to get yourself all checked out--you are being very brave! Is the chantrix to help you stop smoking? What happened with your back and your knee that they are in such bad shape? I wish my doc would let me try all the sleeping meds! I practically have to beg to get the occasional low dose Rx for Ambien. The neurontin makes me sleepy, tho, so have been sleeping better on it, but it makes me tired sometimes during the day. I think I read that Cymbalta is another med that can be used for neuropathy. I hope it doesn't work like neurontin in terms of appetite increase! Well, you'll know soon enough! I might ask my neurologist about it on Monday when I see him again. I just have a humungous appetite!

Your work situation just sounds like no fun at all--no wonder you don't want to dress up for the weird one; who knows what that might start! Glad you made it to Curves. Sorry you've been so fatigued--hope you get a good night's sleep tonight!

C, sounds like you are going to have another fun weekend, and are determined to stay in control of your eating. 78 ! Warmer than here! What are you and your friends going to do on Sunday? Have a great time!

Hope you all have a wonderful Saturday! T.

[yellowhair11]

Glad your on to the string cheese T - I tried one brand but did not like but now im hooked on the laughing cow babybel light - I use to eat more cheese but the scale was not moving as much then. I have had disc problems with back for years - off and on pain. The knee is new, it slips often on me, this had been more frequent since I started exercising and I think the dr.'s office overblew it but I will check it out at some point. The dr.'s office is not tight with prescriptions but I had to go to quite few before I found this place - I have a high tolerence to pain stuff so stronger stuff that is on controlled substance list is needed. I research stuff alot and they basically give me whatever I ask for but they know im not some kid abusing the stuff. I read a big article in AARP how alot of people are suffering unneccessarily because dr's not prescribing needed meds, I had the low dose ambein - did nothing - but now I have bags of samples of stronger stuff to try. The chantrix is the latest smoking thing but I told her not to date the script.Let me know what the neuro says about the cymbalta.

Going to bed hungry C - that hit my funny bone but it sounds like you have made big improvements in your eating as of late - it will pay off. I hope you have a fun day off roaming today and you and D finally having some good weather.

Poor dh and the tooth - never heard of the tea bag trick but thats good to know and boy the receptionist coming in to try and help. He may have to see a dentist in New Orleans if he is leaving soon. Thats funny about all the picture taking - I would do the same thing. I know you will be busy with the Tea today - enjoy yourself - we are anxiously awaiting your weekly report on the weight. You have been really good this week.

I will dissappear today again - if I get the motivation I can go gets my labs done at a far place thats open on Sat. to save missing time from work just for labs. This new health plan stinks - the lab is an hr. away - before they did my labs at the dr. office. I made a couple calls to the diagnostic center to inquire about other tests but that was a nightmare - tests not all done at same location - I may just go to the hospital and get them all done and pay more.

Fri
am- orange and grapefruit-drink potion
lunch - salad w 3 sl t. breast and babybel
dinner - scrambled eggs and english muffin ( made italian sausage for guys )
snack - fruiti, rice cake, ice cream sandwich

I find I am having the healthy choice low cal. ice cream sand. often now ( 100 cals) unsure about this new addiction.

[yellowhair11]

My weight loss for the week is 2 pounds.

[Denise78]

YH, congrats on the 2 lb loss! Wow, 145, you are withering away!!

I don't know what I did differently this week. Well, I guess I used my sauna belt everyday and those papaya tabs YH recommended, plus went to Curves twice and got a good workout in. I've been eating smaller portions and trying not to snack too much. So maybe a combination of it all.

Anyway.......I lost 9 lbs this week. My total weight loss so far is 36 lbs. I told dh that I feel like running around to shake off that last lb to get under 300 but I guess I cannot be that greedy.

Yesterday's menu:

B-coffee
L-Chinese -- chicken, beef, salad
D-1 sl roast beef, flatbread
S-3 sm pcs sugar-free candy

Ds1 called last night to ask if we wanted to meet him for lunch today in Alliance. We were just there yesterday! But I hate to say no to him. You know when your almost 21 yr old son invites his mother to lunch, he must be REALLY bored! I think all his room mates are going home for the wkd but ds1 has some assignments he needs to get done so he doesn't want to come home for the entire wkd and the gas $$ is pretty pricey to come all the way home for only one day, so this is a good compromise. Dh said he'd come with me but ds2 said he'll stay home. Ds2 has a school sock hop tonight. So funny to hear the kids call the dances that, like it's a golden oldies thing. Well, sadly, I guess it is.

Dh is feeling a little better but still in pain. He goes to New Orleans on Monday and should be back on Friday, so he'll have to wait till the following week to see an actual dentist. Unless like you said YH, he has to see one in New Orleans. But I know dh, he'd rather suffer than do that. The only reason we even saw the receptionist yesterday was because I insisted. She did tell him that his smoking is making it worse. The sucking in of the cigarette. Told him to stay away from straws too. I think it's safe to say he'll cut out the straws but highly unlikely the smokes!

My Spring Tea is tomorrow afternoon. Dh is helping me bake later since we're killing part of the day today meeting up with ds1.

Okay guess it's time to change those stats! Have a great day ladies!! Thank you all for your support -- I know I have such a long way to go but you are truly such a big help in the journey to get there and I do appreciate all the kind words & encouragement you give. You gals are awesome!! D

[yellowhair11]

One pound away from the the two's D Thats a superb fat flush for the week ! You need to buy the psyllium husk powder when your done with the pills - works better. I bet that one pound is really aggravating you

[yellowhair11]

I managed to vanish for a long time today - the lab escapade took 4 hours- it was horrible - no place to sit - third world country - but I did it. Filled the script for Cymbalta too. There was a lady there about 90 - I fet so sorry for her and yelled at someone to give her a seat. I then went to the gym and did 30 min. on the treadmill, 4 machines, and 20 min. worth of Callanetics - sauna, steam, and then the whirlpool was ice cold again. BF is in rare form because he is mad that skinny gal has been here for 3 days now - he left for work for a couple hrs. so I managed to be out of here till he gets home tonite. I went to the fruit - vegetable market too. I hope you gals are enjoying your Saturday I took a slimfast and an apple with me for my travels today - the slimfast was hot by the time I got out of the lab but I drank it anyway

[Denise78]

Glad you got all your labs in YH. It took 4 hours to draw blood?? Geez, you're a better person than me -- I would have given up before then!

Great exercising today, but sorry the whirlpool was cold again. What is up with that??!!!

Are s3 & girlfriend there all day & night or are they working & just there to sleep? Doesn't your bf work nights anyway? Probably a good thing you went traveling today if he is cranky.

We had a nice day with ds1. Took him shopping and got him & ds2 some shorts & shirts. Dh & I had bought ourselves clothes yesterday, so today was the boys' turn. We went out to the Mexican restaurant for lunch. I wasn't planning to eat out 2 days in a row but I had my grilled chicken salad so I behaved.

I have so much to do but traveling yesterday & today really wore me out. Dh was nice and boiled up all the eggs so I can make the deviled eggs tomorrow and that way I won't have to worry about refrigerating plates overnight. He will make the ham salad for me too. But I need to make those darn "flower" cookies and I'm making them from scratch in different colored sugar dough, so that will take some time. I just haven't gotten motivated yet! Dh is taking a nap so maybe I will get moving after supper, which I did not plan for so I have no idea what we are having.

Hope you're all having a great wkd! D

[MI CHICK]

Congrat's D!! That is a wonderful week!!! You see I will not over use on the exclamation marks like I did for YH.... you worked really hard & held good control of yourself & this is your reward!! I am so happy for that I don't know what to say.

2lbs is a good week YH!! Sound like you did a good job working off your frustrations! That's what we need to do instead of eating our way thru them! I kind of agree w/ bf about ds girlfriend staying too. Keeping your son while he tries to get himself together is one thing but having the gf pretty much staying there too would irratate me. Besides it's the leverage you have to help get him moved out on his own. No permament overnite friends. We had that rule w/our ds on the couple times he was back home between jobs & apartments. Oh-- it was over nite guy friends too not just girls.

They told my dh about the tea bag when he had dry socket a number of years ok. When I had my mouth surgery last April I was told about the smoking & straws. Am so grateful that I was no longer smoking by then!

YH a gal in my Euchre club used the Cymbalta to quit. She used it last year. Took it for the 6mo's that was allowed & has been off it for about 3mo's now & is still not smoking. She put on about 30-35lbs & is already working on taking that off---said she has not one single summer thing that fits her & is refusing to buy new suits for work.
But she had smoked forever, a pack a day & didn't think she would ever be able to quit. So I hope it works for you too!

We had a fantastic day. Went to a new place about 60 miles from here. Sunny with a good breeze. Slathered on my sun block & away we went. Got a good walk out of it but it was a slow walk--meaning no raising of the heart rate so probably no fat burned. Dh took a lot of pics so he's on his 'puter playing around with them. Digital cameras are great.

My friend just called to confirm that I can still go to this Italian resturant tomorrow. She got a gift card for Christmas & is taking 2 of us to dinner. I'm already thinking what on earth can I have that isn't just a salad?? I've eaten way over on portion sizes a couple times already this week to save my behind--& it worked but it meant my calories were over so just that 1lb gone this week. I tell you I am just so sick of food.... wish you could just walk away like you do with smoking & never touch any of the stupid stuff again!!

Teresa!! Know it's tomorrow but I wanted to send my wish tonight so you'd see it with your late nite post. Enjoy your special dinner & drive w/dh!!!

Well ladies I am off to shower away all the sunblock & dust. Enjoy your Sunday!!

[Teresa3]

Thanks, C, for the b'day wish! I am looking forward to going to this old mansion that has been remodeled--the reviews say it is beautiful.

I sure know what you mean, C, about getting sick of eating! Never thought I could say that, but, like you, I sometimes wish I could just not have to ever eat again--aren't there better things to do? I hope you have fun with your friends tomorrow evening, though. There's a lot of stuff you can have at an Italian place--minestrone soup w/o eating the pasta, caesar salad, chicken cacciatore, steak, fish, pork. They usually fix good vegetables, too. I sometimes ask for prawns w/o the pasta and have been accommodated. I'm sure you'll find something delicious that is on your plan.

Glad you had such a nice day out and about! Even tho you didn't walk fast, I'm sure it burned calories--sometimes the slow walking turns out to be the best calorie burner. You may see 234 tomorrow am!

YH, We are all agog at your toughness waiting 4 hours for a blood draw! But the good part is that you went to the gym and had an incredible workout! That place is unbelievable with their cold "hot" pool! What could possible be their excuse this long! Good thing you have Curves to go to! Sorry to hear you have slipped discs--is there any cure for that? You know, after your weight loss, you might be more sensitive to the pain meds--maybe take it easy at first to see. Congrats on another 2 lbs. off! You are amazing!

D, So tomorrow is the big day! How sweet of your dh to help out with the baking and cooking--you are so lucky! Glad you had a nice day shopping, etc. with ds1--how old is he, and isn't he the one that's away at college? How often do you get to see him?

Major congratulations on an amazing 9 lb. loss this week, D!
Frequent small meals always seems to be a great way to lose weight if you can manage it. I hope to try something more along those lines next week--I've just been eating too much at meals! And I still get hungry, so it would seem smaller, more frequent meals would be the way to go. Have a swell time tomorrow! TTYL, T.

[Denise78]

Oh I love Italian food so I am very envious, C!!! That's going to be a tough one but if you have good willpower, you can eat 1/2 your meal and take the other 1/2 home in a doggie bag for dh's lunch the next day. Try to go for chicken or seafood. Pasta will probably be your downfall so if you eat soup or salad first and order a veggie too, perhaps you can get away with eating only a sm portion of the pasta. Teresa had very good ideas too. But whatever you do, just get right back on track the next day with your diet & exercise. I think that's where most people lose control and gain weight...not the occasional slip-up...but the feeling that "oh well, I already messed up once so I may as well continue overeating." I haven't been to a good Italian restaurant since I moved here, other than Olive Garden, so you be sure to tell me what everyone had!

Actually T, I've heard that 5-6 smaller meals are much better for Diabetics than 3 large ones, so you may have something there. I'm assuming it has something to do with maintaining more level blood sugars eating frequently during the day but not quite as heavy all at once. You should try it, or at least have a substantial snack between your meals so that you aren't sitting down to the table with such a big appetite.

Ds1 will be 21 next month. His college is 2 hours from us so we met him today in Alliance, which is halfway for each of us. He usually comes home when his laundry piles up and he doesn't feel like hitting a laundromat. Nothing like dirty laundry to show your mom how much you love her. He is very family-oriented (both my boys are) so he usually comes home at least once a month. He gets out of school next week, and we're just waiting to hear if he will be working locally with the telephone company and living here or if his job will take him an hour away, which means he would live out of a hotel during the week (that the company would pay for) and come home on wkds only. My ds2 is 16 & a sophomore in high school and will work on the same ranch he's worked on for many yrs from May to July this summer. He lives in their bunkhouse Mon thru Sat and comes home Sat nights and goes back Sun nights. The job includes 3 meals a day so he can't go wrong there. Both boys have held jobs since they were 12-13 yrs old, which I am very thankful for.

I will wait till tomorrow to send b'day wishes since you already heard from C tonight.

YH, did you get some good movies to watch this wkd?

I just finished baking over 60 cookies. I used my Pampered Chef cookie spritz with the flower shape and split the sugar dough in half. I colored 1/2 pink and 1/2 yellow, and then put the colored dough together in the cookie press so that the "flowers" came out two-toned, pink/yellow. Very pretty. We are serving rainbow sherbert for dessert and will stick a flower on top of each dish of sherbert. Ds2 had to help me since I don't have the strength to stir the food coloring into stiff cookie dough. He said he would help me dye eggs tomorrow too. Whew. Don't know what I'd do without my men to help!

Dh finally woke up from his very long nap and is now making the ham salad. We decided that tomorrow we will spread it on soft tortilla shells, roll them up, and then cut them into "pinwheels." I think those will go over well since we are serving all finger foods at the Tea. I will peel the eggs tomorrow, dye the whites in pinks and yellows, and then make my deviled eggs to match the cookies. Lots of work but I think the final result will be very Spring-like and pretty.

No one here felt like cooking tonight so we all just found our own supper. Sometimes nights like those are nice to have.

Today's menu:

B-coffee
L-salad with grilled chicken, salsa, no dressing
S-2 string cheese, 25 pistachios, pork rinds
D-3 sl roast beef, flatbread, pickles

Good night ladies! D

P.S. Sounds like a wonderful day, C. I bet you walked off some calories, no matter what your pace was! Have fun at your b'day dinner tomorrow, T!!

[yellowhair11]

T - I hope you have a special day - how old are you ? The mansion place sounds very cool - want a full report. Maybe eating the smaller frequent meals would help you out - there are so many diets like that and it makes sense - it would not be for me as I can barely figure out 3 meals and cook for others - maybe you could try it on the days you don't go out to eat but I know you eat out alot. Of course you could run to a restaurant 6 x's a day My Cymbalta also says that it is used to treat nerve pain-peripheal neuropathy in people with diabetes - one side effect says loss of appetite

Yep, the blood labs were awful - there was a line outside the bldg. like you were at Disney waiting for a popular ride - no shade -its the only location thats open on a Sat. so I guess thats why-the gal who took my blood says its always like that. I was so nuts by the time I got out of there so its a good thing my car decided to go to the gym thinking the whirlpool would be great which of course it was broke.

Your walk trip sounds real nice C - that is great dh likes to do that stuff. Your gf ex smoker sounds like me - pack plus a day forever - did you mean she took Chantix ? They gave me Cymbalta for depression and the chantix for the smoking. The last Italian rest. I went to I had a fish dish with a little angel hair but I forgot to ask to replace the pasta with veggies. What is a Euchre Club ? I have been waiting to catch s3 alone for the speech but has not happened yet - he has not worked in 2 wks. and needs to get a real job or back in school - skinny gal went to work last nite - of all things a bartender - just what alcoholic s3 needs - says she gets an avg. of 160.00 per shift in tips - sounds like good money to me - so where's her apartment and when can s3 move in, something's fishy.

You sound like you have such nice boys D - that is so nice they like to hang out with you, my s2 is like that and s1 is getting better as of late. s3 is a nightmare with the alcohol and drugs. He got "saved" once and was a completely diff. person for 1.5 yrs but that phase did not last. I asked him several times to go to that church - I would join-do anything if it helped him but no bites when I bring that up. The cookies sound like they are out of a magazine ! I know the Tea will just be lovely and I hope you can wear your other outfit.

I did not eat much Sat. - maybe I should get labs more often - I did 4 loads of laundry last nite too.

Am and Lunch - Hot can of slimfast and apple
Dinner - 1 shrimp cake and peas
Snacks - Fruiti and small bowl of FF popcorn

[rican3]

Hey gals!!

T! I finally found you again! I know I dropped off the face of the earth for quite some time but I have a good reason. Our house burned to the ground right after the first of the year and it has taken us this long to get settled into a new one again. I was so happy to see you guys still here and with some new folks too! You guys seem to be doing so well. I read a few pages back to get caught up and saw it was T's birthday and had to post! Of course with the fire and all, the weight loss thing seemed to go to the dogs. I could barley cope with a new job and then that. One can only be so strong I have to admit I am not fully prepared yet but decided after D's pep talk I needed to check in and start again. I am going to get some of the low carb stuff at the store so I can get serious again. I don't even have a scale yet but I know I probably have gained at least 1/2 of the 20 I took off. I had a Dr. appt 2 weeks ago and was at 263 again . You all were so much like family I have really missed you. I am sorrry I haven't kept up. Too much too deal with. We came out ok in the end though. Thank God we had insurance! We now have a nicer home and more room! So all in all we are doing better than most at this point.

I just wanted to jump in to say Hi and let you know I am alive and well. I will start looking for new menu's and get my act together very soon. I guess I will have to start making those rev. rolls again! C I am glad your still here too and for you other ladies that I didn't know before, you sound like a hoot! I will get caught up some more as we go on.

Kathleen

[Denise78]

T!! Hope today is a very special day for you. We can't wait to hear about dinner at the mansion!

Maybe we should all go on Cymbalta -- I like that side affect of loss of appetite -- pass around the bottle pls!

It is so windy today but I'm going to wear my other capris outfit anyway. This one is teal blue. No over-blouse like I wore for the brown tho. But this is not as fancy a day as the Founder's Day dinner so I should be okay. I have to stand up in front of about 60 ppl and as president, make speeches. I hate that. I'm good in front of a sm group but not very good with public speaking in front of a lg crowd.

Ds2 had a good time at the dance last night. I barely was awake when he walked in the door at 11:30 pm, even tho he had called 10 min earlier to say he was on his way home. I was really beat yesterday.

Have your other sons tried talking to s3, YH? Or is he not ready to listen to them? I know how hard it is on us mothers. We only want the best for our kids and we hate to see them struggle so much. You've really tried hard with s3. Maybe this will be the yr that he gets his act together.

Dh is already peeling eggs at 7 am. I need my coffee first before I can do anything productive. I will be happy when today is over. Next sorority event is our trash pickup on Friday. Ds2 told me he signed me up to make a dessert for his Bible Study cookout next week and a main entree & salad for his FFA Banquet the week after. It never ends.

Well T & C, you both are going out to dinner, so have a great time and try to stay on plan. YH, what are your plans for today? Hope it's more relaxing than your 4-hour lab day yesterday!!

Have a great day ladies! D

[Denise78]

Back Kathleen! I remember you. You always had such great recipes to share! Glad you're back.

So sorry to hear about your house burning down. How awful. I hope no one was hurt in the fire. What a devastating thing to go thru.

No matter that you gained...totally understandable given the circumstances. But you're back now and that's what matters, so jump in & bring those recipes with you.

[Teresa3]

Hi, Gals--

Welcome Back, Kathleen!! It's so good to hear from you again! But so sad to hear about your house fire. I am so glad you are all OK and that things worked out well for you in the end. Is your new home in the same area? Are any of your kids still living with you? I can imagine what trauma this must have caused you, and that you would have gained back some weight. It's great to have you back with us, and I bet you'll get that extra weight off in no time!

Thanks, everyone, for all your birthday wishes! I did have a very nice evening. We went to an old mansion in downtown Los Gatos, which was painted yellow and white and brown, in the old gingerbread Victorian style; but inside had been remodeled to be very modern with black leather chairs, white table clothes, very modern glass light fixtures and modern vases of fresh flowers, and jazz for background. Food was also modern CA cuisine, using fresh seasonal vegetables and seafood, etc. I had a spicy prawn appetizer in chili sauce with slivered almonds, while dh had hamachi with cucumbers and watercress. Then I had rack of lamb with butternut squash puree, fresh peas, and crimini mushrooms. Dh had a seafood stew in tomato broth with couscous. For dessert I had a small chocolate pot de creme with banana won tons and he had poached rhubarb on shortbread w/ice cream. It was all delicious and I did like the modern atmosphere. Then we walked a few blocks downtown and looked in the shop windows. It's a cute town of wealth, and it's got fancy shops, and is touristy; so that was kinda fun.

But tomorrow I start back on Atkins! I've got to get back to the 20 carb limit to see if I can staunch this appetite binge I've been on! I'm hoping if I eat real low carb for awhile and keep my glucose readings real low, maybe this neuropathy will diminish and I can get off the very appetite-stimulating neurontin! YH, I looked up Cymbalta because I thought it is sometimes prescribed for neuropathy, and it is, BUT...it has some major side effects for some people. It can cause loss of appetite because it can cause nausea and diarrhea! And people say it is very hard to get off of, so be careful, YH--I hope you don't have any bad side effects with it!

D, those ladies at the tea are so lucky to have had you fixing food for them! The flower cookies and colorful eggs and pinwheel tortillas you made must have looked fabulous! And I'm sure were delicious, too. Wish I could have been there! I bet you looked very pretty in your teal outfit. And I bet you are one exhausted gal this evening! How did your speech go? I'd be sooo nervous! Hope you had a mahvelous time, dahling! and now you've got more cooking to do for more events? You are amazing!

C, we all want to know how your dinner with gf's went at the Italian restaurant. I bet you had warmer weather there today than we had in CA--it was a high of 60 today and windy--brrr! Hope you gals had a very fun time!
Take care, all! T.

[yellowhair11]

Welcome Kathleen, sorry about your house, how did that happen ?

Your birthday sounded nice T - I know what you mean about watching the tourists and today is the day you get back on track. You know I took a cymbalta Sunday and I was nauseous and had gas all day and did not enjoy what i ate, have not had gas since dieting - dont know if i should continue to take for it to get into my system or not. ? Had incredible urge for real coke-pepsi.

How did you make out at the Italian place C ? I hope you had a good dinner.

Let us know how the Tea went D and your speech I am sure the event was a hit.

I got BF to actually come out to the pool with me so we hung out there for a couple hours - I treaded water while he talked so that was fine. Then we watched a marathon of the dangerous jobs crab fishermen. I felt wierd all day from the Cymbalta and still do and debating whether to take one this am.

Sun
am- protein drink
lunch - red pepper, fruiti, few pretzels
dinner - beef stew
snacks - fruiti, goldfish, ice cream sandwich

[Denise78]

YH, maybe you need a smaller dosage of the Cymbalta. I looked up the side affects & they don't seem too extreme. It said the nausea usually leaves within a week or two. Didn't see anything severe anyway. But maybe the dosage prescribed is just too strong for you. Keep in mind, when you start these kinds of meds, you cannot just stop. Most times, you need to wean yourself off because stopping suddenly can cause greater, more severe side affects so I'd make up my mind now whether you will continue or not, before you've actually put a lot of this med into your system.

T, sounds like you had a wonderful b'day. The food sounds extraordinary! Glad you're determined to get back to low carbs again. Have you checked out FitDay.com yet? It does show you how many carbs each food item has & that helps me a lot.

Still waiting to hear how that Italian dinner went, C.

My Spring Tea....it went better than imagined. It was 76, so perfect weather for my capris outfit. Our decorations were awesome. The gals had placed china teapots and cups & saucers on lace doilies with fresh flower arrangements on the tables. Absolutely beautiful. Our meal was delicious and I got many compliments on my colored pink & yellow deviled eggs which I topped some with a tiny shrimp, ham salad pinwheels, & pink/yellow "flower" cookies that we stuck in a cup of rainbow sherbert. We also had a huge veggie/relish tray, cheese, olive & cracker tray, and several different kinds of vegetable pizza cut up into sm squares. Just a bunch of finger foods. I was careful to stick to a little veggies, eggs & cheese.

My speech went okay. I am not a great public speaker so I had notes, but I didn't mess up & I didn't get too red. We honored our First Lady. She had absolutely no idea so it was a great surprise. After dinner & dessert, my sorority gave out another award. We call it Girl of the Year. It's someone in sorority who has given above & beyond of herself for the year. It's a secret ballot and only last year's Girl of the Year knows who the winner is & she presents the new Girl of the Year with a long-stemmed yellow rose arrangement in a vase, a special necklace pendant and a gift, which this year was a beautiful crystal & glass candle holder centerpiece with tea lights, very elegant looking. Anyway, she made a little speech and much to my surprise, I was chosen as Girl of the Year. I had to make an impromptu speech & it was a heartfelt one because the honor really meant a lot to me.

For entertainment, I had lined up my sorority sister's 2 sm daughters. They were dressed in their finest Easter frilly dresses, so pretty with their long blonde hair in ribbons. They both performed to music. Her 6 yr old did a tap dance and her 4 yr old did a ballet routine. Oh it was absolutely precious and a nice way to end the afternoon.

This week my sorority has trash pickup on Wednesday and then on Friday we are power-washing the outside mural on the courthouse wall, but those are 2 easy service projects so shouldn't be too much on me. I told the gals that I may not be able to scrub the wall -- don't really have the strength in my arms -- but they said to come anyway & do what I can.

How nice that your bf joined you in the pool, YH. I would love that!

Dh left at 3 am this morning to go to New Orleans. So ds2 & I are on our own this week. Should be easier cooking since ds2 is really a meat & potatoes kind of guy, nothing fancy at all. In fact, tonight he asked for pasta w/tuna fish in it. I will probably have my tuna fish in a salad. Nice & easy.

Well I better get moving here since my friend & I are headed to Curves today.

Have a great day ladies! D

[Denise78]

Almost forgot....

Yesterday's menu:

B-flatbread, ham salad, coffee
L-1/2 deviled egg, 1 carrot stick, 1 sm pc broccoli, 3 pepperjack cheese cubes, 1 gr olive
D-steak, salad, 1 deviled egg
S-string cheese, pork rinds

[MI CHICK]

So sorry to hear about your house & all the hassles with all of it Kathleen! But glad to hear no one was hurt!! If you only put 10lbs back on you did well! I would have put the 20 back plus 10 more...LOL!! If you're not quite ready to jump on the diet wagon at least come & post with the general details of your life--just coming & keeping contact will help get you in the mode I think. Or at least keep you from gaining back anymore. As you can see T & I are still struggling.... but I keep tell myself I am 15lbs less than when I started & that keeps me from throwing my hands into the air & saying screw it & quitting! D lecture a few days ago helped me too cause I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could weigh 350 in a hot second!! I love cooking & eating too much....

Your dinner & drive sounded very nice T! Seems like all of your dinner was fine aside from the dessert. Today is not your birthday so back to reality, remember lc is a tasty life style & eat accordingly--just leave those desserts off your list LOL!!!

Wow 2 hours of pool time--that should really help w/this weeks wgt loss YH!! That's how my friend & I did it when she was at a place w/a pool. Bf needed to get outside & relax too--hope it helped him! We're stuck in doors so many months of the year I'm always jealous that you guys can relax outside so much of the time!

So D we're all waiting for your report on the tea. I'm sure you did fine w/your speech. The cookies sounded too cute to eat LOL! I'm sure you did fine w/ your eating as you are a lady on a mission at this point!!! I'm sure you will get a couple lbs below that 299 this week

The dinner went pretty good. We've been friends for 24yrs...hard to believe....anyway things had been so crazy for all of us for different reasons over the past 6mo that we hadn't seen each other. That is a crime! So of course we did as much blabbing as we did eating! Meal was great! Could have done better & could have done worse. Got the lasagna & it turned out I didn't care for the style it was done in so I brought most of it home for dh's lunch. It came w/ broccoli which I ate. Had a slice of the warm hot bread. OMG was it great! The killer was the dessert--it was to die for!! That is what we should do--only have dessert 8 times a year but have it be decadent when we do have it!! Dh & I had all the slow walking on Sat and then we did a brisker 3mile walk on Sun after church. Boy did I feel pooped after that. Am really going to hit the exercise this week. I can see w/D & YH that it is the turning point for losing--like I didn't know that
my goal at this point is too get below the 230 mark.

Ok it's 10:30 & I need to get a move on. How fun to have a late slow start to ones day

Oh I see you posted too D. Of course you got the award--I'm not even a member & I knew you were going above & beyond! Congrat's!! Glad the tea went well. Enjoy your slower week w/dh gone!

[MI CHICK]

Well I did a half hour on my Gazelle. Then yard work which involved digging out 3 old shrubs, bagging 'em & dragging 'em to the curb for pickup tomorrow. Tonight I have water areobics. Wasn't hungry this morning so I didn't eat until dinner & I had roast beef & ice tea. Have celery w/lf cream cheese to snack after water class.

[Teresa3]

Wow, C, you are really hitting the exercise hard these last couple of days! That's amazing--I hope you don't get too sore from the yard work! what about your hands? I suppose I'm worrying here about you, but I just hope that if your hands are feeling better that you're not going to overdo it! Anyhow, congrats on all the exercise, and you are going to get down below 230 before you know it!

How wonderful to have gf's that you've known for that long and stay in contact with! You must have had a really great time, and good for you for not eating all of that lasagna! Bet your dh enjoyed it!

D, I'm so glad you got the Girl of the Year award! You really deserve it; you do so much for your community! Congratulations! Your gifts sound lovely, too. And you did so great on your eating through all these events! i bet you will get into the 2's this week! Hope you get a little rest this week, and that you don't miss your dh too awfully much.

YH, sorry you're not feeling so great on the Cymbalta. Is there a doctor you can talk to about the side effects? They may go away after a while, but maybe you should ask somebody. I did talk to my neurologist about it today, and he did tell me that about 20% of his patients have nausea with it and go off of it; but he said it does work pretty well and his patients who tolerate it well like it. It may be a possibility for me in the future if the neurontin doesn't go well. But I have a weak stomach, so I doubt I could handle it. Hope you feel better soon! It was sweet of your bf to hang out with you at the pool--you probably should not be going swimming alone on this new med.

I did real good today! Yea! Stayed to 20 carbs, and I was less hungry!

B - 2 egg yolks, lox, cr ch, spinach
L - salad, 1 shrimp and 1 chicken enchilada, no tortillas, lc choc
S - lunch meat, few almonds
D - leftover lamb chops, green beans, cauliflower, little yellow squash, few raspberries and cr ch
S - string cheese, few almonds

How are you doing, Kathleen! Take care, everybody! T.