New and would like a buddy

[Lolly1220]

Good Morning All-
D- so very very sorry about Hannah.
Everyone else it will take me a while to get up to speed with who everyone is and what's happening--You do seem to have a fun caring group--
thanks for the advise--I'll cut out the pork rhinds and watch the calorie intake--Not sure what amount of calories is right?? Will have to figure that out. Am going to stick with this and wait for the big drop----hahaha
?? what do ds, dh ect stand for?? darling son/husband??
Everyone have a great day!

[Denise78]

Lolly, your menu looks good to me. But maybe this link will help. I saw it on one of the other boards. You plug in your weight and it calculates how many calories you should be eating each day. Remember though, as you lose weight, this number will go down so you should check it often. I do like to keep my calories even lower than what it says for my weight, but that is just me. I try to keep my calorie intake under 1200 and my carbs at 20-30. It's a little tough sometimes but I find I lose faster that way.

Click here: Resting Metabolic Rate Calculator

Also, try going to FitDay.com and sign up for their free diet journal. If you have the time, it's a good way to keep track of all your calories, carbs, fats, etc. You plug in everything you eat and it calculates it for you. If it doesn't have something on the list, you can customize your own foods. It does help to keep you from going overboard and it keeps you from guessing if you don't know how many calories/carbs a certain item is.

Pork rinds aren't too bad if you limit the amount you are eating and maybe don't have them every single day because of the sodium and fat content. But they are a good 0 carb snack if you are watching your carbs and can eat just a few at a time. I like to use them in place of bread crumbs if I am making meatballs or meatloaf so they do come in handy. The only other thing I would recommend is more veggies, especially drk green ones. They tend to help move things along, if you get my drift.

We do tend to abbreviate things a lot here. I think we got comfortable with our little group and forget that others may not know what we are talking about. Ds = dear son, dh = dear husband, bf = boyfriend. I have two sons so I use ds1 for my oldest and ds2 for my youngest when I am referring to them. Most times we don't even spell out each other's names and the only time that may be confusing is that Mi Chick's real name is Corissann so we call her "C."

Anyway, I ended up making a walnut coffee bundt cake w/cream cheese icing this morning. Dh, ds1 and ds2 said it was delicious. It was NOT low-carb so I didn't have any.

Dh and I had our coffee on the deck this morning, watching the birdies build their nests. Beautiful day to be outdoors, which is where I am heading now. Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine!! D

[Denise78]

P.S. YH, that's a good idea about the stone. Did you just find a rock in your yard or did you buy a special one? And then just paint on it? I don't think I've ever seen what you are talking about but I sure would like to do that for Hannah.

[yellowhair11]

I just found a large flattish stone and painted it real colorful with name , dates, and little things she loved. BTW-I loved the bunny story - poor dh with the garden I like the chimes idea too.

C - Congrats on the one pound ! Now be a good girl !

Your menu looked good L - I drink 2 pots of coffee a day ! 1/2 decaf and 1/2 reg. but I am on a modified WW. I know thats why I did not go with Atkins because I am a coffee fiend. S1 is oldest son, S2-middle and S3 is youngest. AH is just that

Making a beef stew roasty for tonite - figured everyone could use a home cooked meal. BF is awaiting my presence in the bedroom for dvd / tv marathon.

[Teresa3]

Happy Father's Day, All--

Dh and I did our usual Sunday at the Greek restaurant, but it was more festive that usual because it was totally full of happy family groups for Father's Day and UC graduation parties. And our dd1 called from San Diego, and dh's oldest son also called, so dh felt pretty happy. I got my usual Greek salad and moussaka. For dinner I was really craving pizza, but I remembered that you improvised when this happened to you, D, and I just took some chicken and green beans and melted mozzarella cheese over them, then poured a little ketchup over the top! It was OK. I'm sure a lot less calories than pizza, although pretty boring!

C, I bet you had a great day--the cinnamon rolls sound incredible; that's something I really wish I could have, but I guess it would only be once in 5 years! How did your cake turn out? And hey--big congrats on the scale going down another lb.! That is so cool!

Y, glad to hear your ds is sticking with the detox! You'd think your bf would be happy about this, go figure! Congrats on not gaining any weight on your trip! Yay! Those size smaller capris and tops will be fitting soon! I'm still using my jeans as my guage--I am going to try to not weigh again until I can wear a size 10. I guess the old scale will be rusted away and covered in cobwebs the next time I get on it. I actually was able to squeeze into a pair of 12's this morning, which is strange because they were not as tight as the 14's I've been trying to get into. I think I might try wearing those this week, so tight they will keep me from eating too much!

D, OMG! A walnut coffee bundt cake with cream cheese frosting! I am drooling! How could you make that and not eat any! Too amazing!
How frustrating the rabbits are eating all your nice vegetables and flowers! When we lived in the desert everyone had a big problem with the rabbits. People put plastic gallon jugs on their lawns to try to keep them away. I think it was an old wives' tale, I don't think it probably really worked! The chimes sound like a nice idea if they don't keep you awake!

You asked what I ate at the seafood restaurant--it was delicious--I had salmon and halibut sauteed with mushrooms and asparagus in a sherry cream sauce. Very rich, but low carb.

D, we used a round river rock for one of our pets as a marker in our flower bed. It fits right in with the landscaping, looks very nice, and no one would ever know it's a marker. It was for one of the grandkids pets so when they visit the little one always goes over and looks at it and talks about her pet that is buried there. I think she feels happy that her pet is resting among the plants and has a nice stone marker.

SC, are you still hard at work on your former house? How's the diet going?

Miss A, Lolly, Elaine--hope you all are having success lowcarbing!

Til tomorrow, T.

[miss.amaryllis]

Hello!

A very quick word from me - will write more later - thank you for clarifying the abbreviations, Denise!

To me, (I love whodunnits) DS is Detective Sergeant, DH is the Department of Health and Social Security!



and until later!

[yellowhair11]

BF is not happy with this type of detox, says he should have just gone cold turkey and that he is milking me again and now I am his supplier plus paying for it. BF was pretty nasty to me this weekend, just snapped at me or talked about S3 real bad. I was ok with food but I must confess I have that 1 bag of chips in my room that I did not toss - guess I should throw em out today as they are a big weakness of mine. Why did I go out of my way to buy these Fri. nite ? Ughhh.

AM & Lunch - watermelon
Dinner - snacks - beef stew, bowl of cape cod chips, few animal crackers, fruiti, glass of milk

Clothing sizes are so wierd, depends on the label, wonder who makes a true size. They probably did 30 yrs. ago.

Betty Crocker is bringing in some giant strawberry thing today and must think im not on a diet anymore, ughh. Ill deal with it when it happens. Oh yeah, the witch is all of a sudden trying to be all nice to me, I had better watch it.

Cinnamon buns - are we talking about the large rolls with the frosting that just melt in your mouth ? I have not had one of those in ages, T is right-every 5 yrs.

Must I throw the chips out ? Whaaaaa !

[miss.amaryllis]

That's better - The Ruler of All The Universe has been despatched out to work. He has a job at a local National Trust historic house, Knightshayes; but this morning one would have thought he was being sent off down a Siberian salt mine.

Teresa, what a lovely time you had at the Greek restaurant for Fathers' Day! I love your picture with such a dear little dog.

Yellow Hair - it's lovely to have a memorial stone in the flower bed. I would have done this for the garden graves of the two cats we left in the house from which we moved six months ago, but couldn't find a suitable stone! Tosca (silver spotted shorthair/Russian Blue crossbreed) had a wooden memorial painted with her name, and Jasper (Persian) had a china plaque I made at a craft class. I'm sure it did the children good to have somewhere reminding them of their cats (moi aussi, sniff, sniff). Goodness, the pet funerals we've had - hamsters laid to rest with full honours in light-bulb boxes, etc.

I have been absolutely resolute with my low carbohydrate régime! I'm so cross that the two pounds I lost have gone right back on again -

However, today I have put on a pair of navy linen cropped trousers and they are loose! I have even threaded round the matching fabric belt (which I'd taken off) to hoick them up a bit and avoid the dreaded builders' bum effect.

And more good news. (I'd like to warn the sensitive to stop reading now). A month ago, I had a repair operation on my undercarriage as the effects of a forceps delivery and two episiotomies by scissor-happy midwives were catching up on me, heading south, etc.

The surgery seemed to go OK, then the wound broke down, leaving me with a cavity that refused to heal. All the latest dressing products seemed to have very little effect, and the GP actually wrote to my consultant querying a back-to-hospital trip to have the repair repaired. I felt pretty fed up....

However, in the week that I have been doing high protein and low carbohydrate, I have started to heal up. The district nurse can hardly believe it! Every day it looks a bit better! Such a relief - maybe soon I can go swimming again, feel fitter and get my energy back! And then I can hunt for a job in this new county, Devon. Local speciality, clotted cream!

"Bangers and mash" is sausages with mashed potato. Available in ironic gourmet versions in the very smartest/organic restaurants, as well as in countless ready meal interpretations and in greasy spoon caffs!

I do so agree with you, Yellow Hair about clothing sizes! I tend to shop at Marks & Spencer because I know that their clothes size 12 will fit (or have done until recently!) but I'd like to be a bit more adventurous. The thing with M & S is that they have a good range of trouser and skirt lengths. I'm 5'3" and don't like to have to shorten things.

Right! I've rabbited on long enough and send lots of love to all!

[Denise78]

YH, pls go throw out the chips. Make a ceremony of it, do a little happy dance around the trash bin, drool over your new clothes, but throw out the chips!!! You don't need them and I bet if you truly think hard enough about it, you don't want them either. I think bf needs to let you be about s3 for the time being. You don't need the added stress. I understand his concerns but I think it's just adding more to an already bad situation. It's your money, your son, and in all reality, your call.

T, sounds like you had such a nice day. Good for the kids to call dh. I bet that made him feel good.

Stepson never called my dh for Father's Day. Oh what a rotten kid. We know he was in town, only 9 miles away, because we passed by him on the road on Saturday. He stays with his friends on the wkds and gets drunk with them. But geez, he could have called his dad even if he didn't want to stop over. He has a cellphone and even if he didn't, he was right here so it was a local call. Yep, only hear from him when he needs a favor. I felt so bad for my dh as I'm sure everytime the phone rang, he was hoping it was his son.

C, I see you just signed on here so you know we'll be posting at the same time again!! Hope you had a nice day with your family yesterday.

Clothes sizes...there was another thread about this in this forum. I guess the sizes today are actually BIGGER (sorry gals) than the sizes of yesterday. So a size 10 today is probably more like a 14 when we were in high school or college. That sux. But it sure does feel good to say you're in a 10 so guess it works in the long run!!

Bit of a "poor me" day. It's hard being so far from my family and not having seen them in several yrs. Called my dad yesterday for Father's Day. Actually called a couple of times. But he was too busy talking to my sister to answer my call and she's going thru a DIVORCE , which I understand why he might not want to cut the call short with her. But then I get the short call cuz he's tired of talking. So I call my mother, only to be told that she's on the phone with my sister and she'll talk to me quickly but then she has to go call my sister back. Geez. They see each other all the time, can talk whenever they want, I'm 1800 miles away for crying out loud. Anyway...I found out from my father that my brother, whom I have not spoken to in over a yr, refuses to meet with ds2 in July. Ds2 will be in Washington, D.C. on an FFA field trip for a week and he wanted to see his uncle and cousins. My brother works in D.C., lives right outside of it, but won't see my son because apparently he hates me too much. Nice. Take it out on the kids. I haven't told ds2 yet, hate to hurt his feelings that much. I told him that my brother was traveling and won't be home that week. So I email my sister about it and she answers me this morning, "what can I say except...I'm sorry." ??? I have listened to her go on and on about my brother at other times so it irks me to no end to know that although she's looking for everyone else to give her sympathy, she has none to give in exchange. Oh well. It's times like these that I appreciate my dh and sons all the more.

Friend called last night. She wants to go to Curves today. I am so not in the mood but I guess I should. It's been a couple of weeks and I need to get back on track with the exercising. It's a rainy day today so maybe a day at Curves will lift my spirits.

We grilled steaks for Father's Day and mine is sitting heavy in my stomach. Was really too big and I shouldn't have eaten it all.

Yesterday's menu: (lc = low-carb, WW = Weight Watchers for you newbies)

B-egg substitute, 2 sl WW cheese, coffee
L-2 burger patties, lc pita, lettuce
D-steak, cauliflower, grilled jalapeno peppers
S-lc cracker w/cream cheese

Our ice machine quit making ice last night. Ugh. I don't even own an ice tray and the nearest store for one is an hour away!! I hope this doesn't mean we're refrigerator shopping but it probably does.

Ok now I just got a heartfelt email from my sister telling me she's sorry, that she's been so consumed with her own problems, she forgot that other ppl have 'em too. Makes me feel a little better that she at least acknowledges my feelings.

Well you ladies have a great day and I'll catch ya later. D

[harley g-ma]

Good morning everyone!I'm in a good mood this morning as I start my lc diet today.I pigged out yesterday of course.Milk shake at lunch,chicken and dumplings at Cracker Barrel for dinner and chocolate double stuffed Oreos last night! My husband didn't understand my reason for eating all the things I'll miss but He's never had a weight problem.Any way I'm ready now to get this weight off now so with your encouragement
I hope to do just that. Thanks for explaining all the abbreviations,I want to share in all the ups and downs.My biggest worry right now is dd2 is facing brain surgery! I would be thankful for any prayers you can offer.I'm not sure exactly when she's going to have it as she is still researching Dr's.She has what you call Chiari Malformation where her brain
is growing down in her skull and pressing on her spinal cord.It's totaling messing up her whole body! I better go for my walk now before it gets too hot!

[MI CHICK]

Good morning all!! Have the odd day where I am home w/o a long list of must do's....that doesn't happen very often. So I will make a couple of must needed calls--hate phone calls & always procrastinate....& do a couple loads laundry. Will do my 3mile wop dvd too I think. Geez I have to have some sort of a plan or I'm just sit here all day

Yup-sausage & potatoes--just knew what I would love bangers & mash if I could just figure out what it was LOL!! Dh's job sounds interesting. But my job is interesting too & some days I just hate to go. And Miss A a looser fitting pair of pants is much better than #'s on the scale; especially when you actually had to add back the belt I've had 3 clients over the past couple years that had wounds that would not heal after surgeries & they had to go to special wound care Dr's to get 'em to start to clear up. So you need to be so careful--glad the diet seems to be helping. Are you possibly diabetic?? Is clotted cream like our sour cream I wonder?? What kind of a job will you be looking for & have you just moved to Devon? I'm such a nosey gal aren't I....we've told all in here & I think that's how we've ended up so supportive of each other.

Women's clothing sizes are all over the place--very frustrating at times! When I was complaining about it to dh a few months back he made the truthful observation that no woman wants to hear---if we were willing to buy things by measurements like men our sizes would be more consistent.....& I immediately understood he was right---don't want to buy a 44/44/64 dress I want to buy an even # whether it's a 12,14,16 LOL!!

Well D I think you have to get another dog if you're going to save dh's garden. I never even thought about how Hannah would be such a determent.

Our day didn't end up as planned--actually the whole weekend didn't go the way it was originally planned. But we all had a good time. My folks were still out of power & still sick so decided not to come. So it made the meal easier as I didn't do any of the extra things. So we did church, came home & ate, & then ds & I went to the store to do his grocery shopping for the month. Came home & loaded up the car w/all his now clean laundry & headed out. When we were unloading things at his apt ds yelled at his dad over something stupid he'd said. Then ds came
back into apt crying & apologizing that he'd talked so nasty to him. So that was ok but it did put a damper on the rest of the day I must admit.

My cousin has stage 4 cancer & has been given a year. Her ds brought her back to Ohio last week for treatment & her sister & I are going down soon to visit her. That's one of my phone calls today, to set things up. Am happy that she is at least on my side of the country. Her son just moved there a few months ago so I'm not sure where in OH he is but it will be no more than a several hour drive.

The cake came out very well. Had my one piece, & since I am not a big cake person am not really tempted to get into it again. Did send a big bowl of the potato salad home w/ds as that is a temptation to me.

Green beans T LOL no wonder it didn't feel like pizza. You needed pizza toppings like mushrooms or 2 pieces of (tky) pepperoni. I just laughed too hard at green beans on your pizza. Glad to hear you had a good father's day.

Lolly I think D is right on with the 1200/20-30. It's easy to end up w/too many calories in the richness of lc eating. But even in ww's too many 100calorie packs will do you in, just ask Y!

Well I guess I have rattled on long enough--will be posting at the same time as D again if I don't get this posted.

[MI CHICK]

Oh no D don't tell me 30yrs ago I would have been wearing a 22 instead of an 18
That's as bad as buying by our actual measurements

[Denise78]

LOL C, how do you think I feel? I was so happy to get into 2x's again!!

Harley G-ma, sorry to hear about your daughter. I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers. Is this something she was born with or happened recently? Glad to hear you are starting your new way of eating! From the sounds of your yummy-filled wkd, you sure do need to start today!

T, about your "pizza." I hate green beans. But I'm glad it worked for you! Sometimes all we need is a little taste of what we crave and not an entire binge. Funny thing.....ds1 was raiding the refrig last night and I saw him putting a plate in the microwave and asked what he was doing. "I'm having my crustless pizza like you, Mom." He was! He put some sauce and mozzarella on a plate and was melting it up just like I do to cure those pizza cravings. Was too funny to see a 21 yr old guy doing that! Of course I think he evened it out with the choc chip cookies I saw him digging into later!

C, dh is devastated. The bunnies attacked again last night. OH I don't know what we are going to do. He 's his garden and it's his hobby all summer long. He's been talking about starting it up all winter and now it's destroyed. The shotgun is by the front door but I think those bunnies are in hiding this morning!!

Okay, I really should get going here if I'm meeting my friend in an hour.

Bye for now! D

[yellowhair11]

Miss A - ya better watch that wound closely - I can't imagine the diet has anything to do with it healing. Maybe the Ruler of the Universe can work a few extra hours this week.Where do you go swimming ?

Harley G - I am very sorry to hear about you daughter - how old is she ? Keep us updated and she is in our prayers. I would have pigged out over the weekend too if I was starting Monday. We dont have Cracker Barrel's in South Florida but when I travel I look for them.

Thanks for clarifying T's pizza for me C, I just quite could not figure it out early this am but then again I like green beans ! I am sorry to hear about your cousin. Too bad about the dinner too !!! And hurrah on your pound loss !!!!

Families are great, huh ? Now why don't you and your brother speak ? I did not speak to one of mine for years and years, but now I talk to all my brothers. I just ate S and figured we are all getting older, blah, blah.You are absolutely correct on the sizes D - when I was tossing some stuff that was really old I knew something was up. Oh Geez, we are all alot bigger !!!! More incentive !!! We have to be smaller than a goal size now. I think my mom was an 8 back then but it would be like a sz 2 now for sure, she was teeny. Glad you are getting to Curves, I gotta get in there - it seems so long - I actually had a voice message on my phone as to where was I from them - what a shock that was.

Im in big trouble all - dont let D beat me up to bad - Betty Crocker at work brought in this strawberry/raspberry shortcake with heavy whipping cream and I could not resist, a favorite, I thought I died and went to heaven - I had the whole piece. Ill have to pay this week for this crime. I have not had dessert in so long - now my stomach is hurting a bit - I put a double dose of husk in my potion - I hope I can flush this.

[harley g-ma]

Hi it's me again.I just got back from my walk,the down hills are nice but the up hills are killers.I felt like I was in slow motion.I know it's good for my health and my weight loss
though.

D,I feel for for your dh and his garden.It's alot of work.My dh WOULD be out there with
the shotgun! Keep up the good work,you've already come a long way!

C,Sorry to here about your cousin,I hope she doesn't have to suffer much longer and I hope your parents are feeling better.Both of mine are gone and I sure do miss them,especially my Mom.She was always there for me and I try to do the same for my
girls.

YH,you and D don't have to worry about me dropping off the lcf web site.I need some friends to help me stick to my diet.I'm enjoying getting to know everyone.Most of my friends and family are in Ga. and Fl.so I'm pretty lonely here in Il. I'm retired and I'm thinking of doing some volunteer work,maybe in a nursing home if they have one around here. I hope you are feeling better,it sounds like you had a rough time.

Miss A it is so nice to converse with someone from another country! I had a friend in South Dakota that I worked with from England and I just loved to hear her talk.Between my southern accent and her British one,we were a pair! my daughter has been to England several times and she is still in love with Princess Di.She has alot of her memorabilia.Have you ever been to the USA?

T,Thanks for the encouragement.I'm going to do my best to get this weight off.I know having all of you to vent to will help.

Lolly,it looks like we're the new kids on the block.I think we have found a good support group!

I guess I'll go clean up some.After all it will burn some calories!

[harley g-ma]

YH, I remember when I was working and people would bring in food,it was so hard to
resist.(most of the time I didn't) I know you're under alot of stress right now and that doesn't help.Just put it behind you and move on.I was wondering if your BF has any kids of his own? My dh doesn't and he thinks I do too much for my kids.Don't get me wrong,he has been wonderful over the years and put up with alot from my girls but he will never understand what it is to be a Mom! Hang in there,I'm thinking of you>

[Denise78]

Okay, all this talk about strawberry/raspberry shortcakes and oreo cookies and potato chips has got to stop!!!! I just ate a freakin' salad for lunch and darnit, you ppl are KILLING me here!! Knock it off all of you and get back to your healthy eating!!!

Had a real good workout at Curves. I got my rate up to 22, really jiggled a lot of fat! Met one of the owners and she was thrilled to hear of my weight loss so far. Oh and the best part --- I tied my own shoes. Now, between my MS and weighing over 330 lbs when I first started back in February, it's been impossible for me to do that without killing myself, usually dh or my friend has had to help me. Today I quite easily leaned over without thinking and tied my sneakers, stood up and then thought, Hey!!

I think we are extremely supportive of each other in this group, Harley G-ma (and others), so if you're looking for some help along the way, you've come to the right place. I don't know what I'd do without these gals!!

Ya hear that C?? Someone else thinks housework burns calories.

My brother and I don't speak because he is an arrogant jackass. Well there's more to it but I guess after hundreds of hours consoling him on the phone during his divorce, he got mad at me when I offered a bit of advice (he asked my opinion but just didn't like my answer) and he called me some nasty names so I told him that I won't be disrespected like that and hung up on him. He emailed me and demanded an apology and said he was willing to forgive me if I said I was sorry for hanging up, something he couldn't believe I dared do to him. LOL. Never would apologize for the names he called me -- he thought I deserved that. So I told him he wasn't getting an apology unless he was giving one and he said no, so we both just stopped talking to each other a little over a yr ago. But you know how I am about my kids -- so he's off my list for good now.

Well my groceries are melting away because you know I had to jump on and check out this board before I did anything else. Geesh. I cannot believe how hooked I am!!!

Hope everyone is having a Happy Monday!! D

[harley g-ma]

D, I know what you mean about getting hooked.I must get a LIFE! But I figure as long as I'm typing I'm not eating! Congrats on tying your shoes,it sounds like a milestone for you.We take such simple things for granted and don't stop to think about how hard it is
for some people.I am very fortunate to be healthy.I don't take it for granted.I have alot of friends that can't get around like I do.I would give anything to trade places with my
daughter and take her illness away from her.Its suppose to be hereditary but I don't know anyone else in the family that has ever had anything like this.I'll check in later.

[Denise78]

I went outside and saw Peter Rabbit nibbling on an eggplant. I quickly grabbed the hose to spray him just as dh drove up. He ran and got his shotgun and boo-hoo, no more bunny. Dh picked up the carcass and laid it in his garden so that the rabbit's friends will see what happens when you eat his plants!

[slendercate]

Hi, y'all,

Welcome to all the new folks!

Our computer had issues, so finally I back on track. I have missed you all!


We had a great Father's Day, my in laws were here and best yet, our only son phoned from his new home in Colorado! Hubby was excited and his grandparents were happy, too, to hear from him.

D, thinking of you and yours and dear Hannah.

C, sorry to read about your cousin.
Oh, as to my job. I am a speciality nurse, board certified in Wound, Ostomy, Continence, one of three at a VA hopsital.

Yh, hope you have recoperated from your cruise.

Well, got to go. Hubby is neading the computer, (we only have one) for his work. Now that we are up again, will check in again daily.

Hugs to all,

Slendercate