Hey girls! I've been in a funk and have been away from the computer, so I'm catching up now. I've missed you all!
Tippers, welcome to the gang. So happy to have you join us. Thanks for reading my blog and your kind words of encouragement. I'm glad to hear we have so much in common. I'm going to PM you about the writing. I miss my expat adventures, the drama and the trauma, so having someone with which to commiserate is good. (Ladies, believe me when I tell you that having a full-time household staff overseas, while wonderful in so many ways, brings it's own set of challenges and trials along with it! Oh the stories I could tell...) What led you to the expatriate life?
I was on prednisone for a few years to deal with sinus infections that I kept getting while we lived in humid locations (it turns out I have a bad mold allergy) and I gained a lot of weight during that time. And no one told me either about how to manage the weight gain issues. I gained nearly 70 lb during that time.
Barb, let us know what happened with the CPAP. I've been on one for nearly 12 years, but I haven't gone back to have anything adjusted since I got mine. I'm sadly overdue and I need to get it to the sleep center ASAP. I just wanted to break past 300 lb before I go see my doctor again, but I think I need to get in before that.
The last two weeks on Medifast have been okay. It's gotten easier to stay on track with it, but I've also been experiencing a strange thing. At first my energy levels were good, but then they suddenly plummeted. Also, over the last couple of months I've noticed that my body (muscles and joints) have felt achier and achier. The last two days have been really bad, and I'm now seriously lethargic.
I know I'm not dehydrated because I've been drinking a lot of water. My weight loss has been really slow, even at 1200 cal/day. So I think I need to go in to the doctor to have my thyroid checked, as well as other endocrine systems to see what's up. Because I'm just miserable and feel quite useless. And when I think about it, I've felt like this off and on for months, but I thought it was just stress from the divorce drama and moving back to the US. More recently I'm not so stressed but I feel awful now, so it's got to be something. I'll let you know how it goes.
Day 2 didnt go as well as day 1. I did great till dinner and then my daughter called and we chatted while I ate..felt like I hadnt eaten at all.So I went back for just a bit more...BAD MOVE!! I ended up over 2000 calories and to top it off I didnt drink enough water.Scales are the same as yesterday.
For those who remember my brother who had WLS in dec.He is back in the hospital. His wife called me last night and told me something was wrong with him. He is slurring his words, stumbling around, and cant seem to remember anything. I talked with him a few min and he sounded like he was very drunk. They took him to a hospital that does WLS and they admitted him for malnutriction(sp). He isnt absorbing B1 or B12 or thiamine. They say it can be permnament if not treated fast. Guess time will tell!
THis reminds me why its so important to get the weight off without surgery. He looks amazing but his body has suffered though so much!! I know surgery works great for many but he has really had it rough.
today is a new day and I will do better
hugs to all and drink your water!!!(me 2)
Tippers -- Thanks for joining the exercise thread!!
Sorry to hear about the struggles. I know where you ladies are coming from!!
I continue to do well. Despite a couple of lapses in the last couple of weeks, I have managed to get back on plan. Course, it would be nice for the scale to cooperate!! On my official weigh-ins I'm stuck at 200, but at other times it has dipped below. I know if I stay on plan that eventually it will move, but even after all these years I get impatient.
Today... yes, I think I have a plan for the day. Not for exercise, but at least I got in an extra 40 min last night when hubby and I went for a walk. But my food is planned, and I'm not behind on the exercise.
I'm desperately trying to take some vacation from work before the fall semester starts but not having much luck! Today, however, I'm walking away from the email and all the various crises and having a me day. In about an hour, I'll head off to a friend's (nice hour-long drive into the mountains) to pilfer her garden. This afternoon I'll stew up a big pot of ratatouille. I'm thinking this will be a cooking afternoon--I do much better on my food intake if I cook in advance and freeze, then as I'm running out the door I can grab my little freezer container of whatever. Two South Beach favs are stuffed cabbage (which I think I'll do with ground turkey, onion, etc.) and a cabbage/lean beef stew-like concoction with caramelized vidalia onions.
Today will also be a great day to get another long swim in. We've had such a cold, wet summer that the lake temp is still chilly (usually by August it's like bath water), so I know I'm looking at only a few more weeks of lake swimming before I have to go back to the gym. I don't mind swimming laps in the pool (I treated myself to a SwiMP3 last year--it's a waterproof MP3 player that clips to my goggles), but the pool is a half hour drive each way and just something else to try to squeeze into the schedule. Plus I love the lake swim--with loons hooting in the background or a soft mist rising over the water or a glow of pink and violet sunset--it's like swimming through a Monet.
I hope everyone has a wonderful day full of successes!
Georgia, I'll write another time about the ex-pat life, but I agree--I MISS the drama, the trauma, the outrageousness of it. It really suited me--the only times in my life when I've been thin were when I was living overseas. I would step off the airplane and fat would just start to dissolve off my body, like Euro-air suited my metabolism so much better, LOL. Nothing in particular took me on my travels except, since childhood, a desire to see the whole world and meet everyone in it!
Ok...Reason #1,545,645 to lose weight....my sleep apnea appears to have improved greatly! I don't know the exact results because I have to wait for the doctor to review my sleep study last night and I won't know that for about a week, but... Last night was supposed to be a split night study. Meaning the first 1/2 of the night I would sleep without the CPAP machine and then the 2nd 1/2 of the night I would use the machine and the tech would adjust the pressure settings to see what I needed. WELL....she never put me on the machine!!! She said I did still have some apnea events, but not enough to merit putting me on the machine. SO....now I wait for the doc to let me know if I still need my CPAP or if she wants to lower the pressure setting. I'm so excited to know that my weight loss is yet improving another part of my life! I am pretty wiped out and didn't get a good night's sleep, but that's because I had wired taped all over me, was in a not so comfortable bed with a pillow I didn't like (take your own if you ever do this), and I was either too hot or too cold all night. I still feel great!!!!
I also fasted for bloodwork this morning. I see my endocrinologist next week. I have my thyroid checked every 6 months and he also does all the other b/w. Can't wait to see those results and compare them to last year!!
Then I was starved so I came home and whipped up a batch of protien pancakes with blueberries and some center cut bacon. Delish!!!!
I thought I'd pop in here for a little morning inspiration and then dig into work! This afternoon I meet with my trainer and then I'm taking the boys to the pool. Oh..somewhere in there Verizon might be here. Our house phone has been a mess for weeks and they tried to fix it once, but no luck. They left me a message that they'd be here SOMETIME today. No time window...just sometime and an adult needed to be here. Um...Ok...Maybe!
Geo - YES! Go to your Doc and have your thyroid and whatnot checked out. You shouldn't be feeling like you are. I'm sure you've already analyzed it all, but are you getting all the nutrients you need with the MF? All your fruits, veggies, protein, etc? I have to wonder if 1,200 is WAY too low for your body. And...after 12 years...YES! Go back to your sleep doc as well! You know I say this all with love!
Tippers - Sounds like a wonderful plan you have today! Want to share the recipes of the meals you mentioned? They sound yummo!
Geo & Tippers - I could likely google it and I probably will, but I'm sure you'll explain it much better. What does an "Ex-Pat" life mean? Sorry if I sound like a dork asking.
Heather - Sounds like you are doing great!!! I'm with you on the impatient part...as well as a couple lapses recently. Keep it up! That scale will move! I have been getting in my daily exercise...I'm just WAY behind on posting my minutes. I'll catch up..sometime.
DG - I'm so sorry to hear about your brother's difficulties. I hope they are able to correct the issue...quickly! Yesterday is over. Yep...you went high on calories. Well...it's over and done with...today is a new day and you are going to make smart and healthy choices!!!!
Terri, Christina, Ruth, Carol, Lilion, Anyone else I missed...HELLO!
BarbPA – I was tickled to see you actually still putting me on your “hello” list. It’s been SO long since I posted like I should.
I’ve remained in the same boat I was in when I posted previously…too preoccupied with my job and my upcoming trip (still 8 months away for Heaven’s sake!) to think about anything else. Although I did have a major insight this past weekend. Basically, I realized that my husband and I both never finish anything. Oh, we are full of ideas and we start lots of projects…but we never finish them. We had our kitchen and dining room tiled months ago – we still don’t have all the baseboard down. We just moved the rest of the furniture back in this weekend! (Part of the melt-down that led to the insight.) I have numerous weaving and sewing projects I started and never finished. We make plans to get our finances in better order, but never follow through. My back yard still has gravel and landscape timbers taking up a big patch, although the playground was outgrown and sold ages ago. My bathroom, that we put the shower in last year (or was it the year before that?) still doesn’t have the glass doors on, although they were purchased at the same time as the shower and are sitting in my sewing room. Our family room drop ceiling was taken partially down FIVE YEARS AGO, so we could replace some trim. We did an awful job on the trim and need to replace it again, but we never did and the ceiling is still in pieces!
And of course…I’m still fat. In fact, at this point not only did I not finish my weight loss and get to my goal – but I’ve regained 40 lbs. And it was because I quit...not because I couldn't do it...I just DIDN'T do it! I keep saying I won’t let more creep on…but I don’t DO anything about it! Like my plans to paint my house, that I made years ago and picked the colors for – I SAY I’m going to do it, I PLAN to do it, and then I DON’T do it! I believe this to be an actual character defect in myself and I need to work on correcting it. I just really don’t know how to go about it! How does a person who never finishes what she starts, complete a change in herself? Question for the day I guess…
Ah well, enough insight, back to more pleasant topics. My garden hasn't been too great this year. I did get some zucchini and onions. My peppers are FINALLY starting to ripen. And from 5 tomato plants, (2 in buckets and 3 volunteer) I've gotten a total of 2 ripe tomatoes! The darn deer keep coming right up on my patio and eating them before they ripen! I know it's deer, because they graze off the tops of my potatoes too and they are in a bin 3+ feet tall! No rabbits getting up there! I'm about to make Bambi stew! What a pity I live in the middle of town!
I have to go everyone. It took me ages to write this up and I have office work that really needs done!!! So I'm off. Hopefully I'll be back soon!
Expat is short for expatriate, which is someone who leaves their native country to live/work somewhere else.
In North America (both US and Canada), we're so accustomed for people from other countries moving here we just call them all immigrants, and they're usually here permanently. (And nearly all of us are of immigrant stock.)
In the modern sense, expats are different in that we've gone to other countries for a variety of reasons, but we haven't actually gone with a permanent intent (unless you're a middle-aged white male in mid-life crisis looking to escape your responsibilities...but perhaps that's a whole other topic). We retain our citizenship in our nations of origin (and keep paying federal taxes, keep voting, etc.) but live in the other country for a longer period of time.
People make that choice for a variety of reasons...an opportunity for travel, to serve a greater purpose, for the money...it's a unique lifestyle with it's own challenges and rewards.
And now you probably know more than you ever wanted to know about the word expat!
Tipper, I'm glad to hear the European air suited your metabolism. Asia did NOTHING for mine!
Somewhere I found the resolve to make good choices - it got misplaced the past week while on vacation. The special niece's wedding is 45 days from today and I need to keep this focus to hit my goal - not to mention being healthier. This is my third day of great food and exercise.
The grilled veggies have been tasting so good - Deb - have you tried grilling your eggplant?
Tippers - swimming is one of my favorite activities. I love building up my stamina and being able to do more each time.
Barb - I've been keeping up with your blog - thanks for sharing. You are such an inspiration.
Lilion - get your tail back here - we miss you! It has been a strange summer for vegs here in Missouri hasn't it.
FOCUS is my mantra - tonight while working with my trainer, as she was pushing me way past my abilities, I closed my eyes and pushed further than ever before. Visualization really helps me.
I'm heading out early this morning for a long trip up north and back to collect milfoil samples (an aquatic invasive plant). Will pack my cooler with cherries, a little cheese, celery and whatnot. I think it was Barb who wrote in her blog recently about the whole "planning" aspect of healthy eating. That's always been a downfall for me. I don't plan, I get stuck without any healthy food, rather than eat junk I just do without, and the next thing I know I've gone the entire day without eating a thing (I know--it's hard to imagine a 433 pound woman who doesn't eat all day--but that's the truth). My husband has the same bad habit (for example, yesterday when we finally sat down to dinner at 7 p.m., he confessed that the only thing he'd eaten all day was a soda and a candy bar). The outcome, of course, is that we both turn into hoovers at dinner and eat god knows how many portions and calories.
I'll have to re-read later and take notes so I can post with comments to everyone and ask/answer questions. Right now my brain is still too fuzzy and the coffee hasn't finished brewing.
Oh--sleep apnea! How many of us have/have had it? Barb, I'm so excited that you may get to lose the CPAP. What freedom! I started using one about 18 months ago, switched to a full-face mask in June of this year, and while I love that I am actually getting sleep again, I hate the mask that's always digging into my cheeks and the headgear that's always sliding up and folding my earlobes up. I CANNOT WAIT to lose enough weight to get rid of it!
Well gang, have a fabulous day! Keep going!
Tippers
Tippers -- That's a great change to make! One of the first changes I made was bringing my lunch and snacks to work, rather than eating from the vending machine!
Day 3 was GREAT!! Didnt get enough exercise but got all my water drank and calories were low but had lots of veggies. I woke up this morning and scales are moving downward again. It will take another week or so to get to my lowest again...maybe longer. I like waking up and feeling in control. I guess for me dieting and eating right is an all or nothing game.Its either Im doing really great or IM not!
Carol_ yes I did eggplant on the grill and its yummy the texture reminds me of a raw mushroom.I LOVE IT!! Good thing seeing how the plants are loaded.
heather_ I promise to log my exercise minutes..I have them wrote down.
tipper - I know im in trouble if I dont plan ahead. Way to go on planning your food out and taking it with you.
Lilion- Gardens in KY have been bad this year also.My mom swears there are just years like that.I sure didnt get my fill of squash this year. My cucumbers have a few blooms on them so maybe I will get a few more.My peppers are loaded and I cant wait to make stuffed bell peppers next week.
Barb_ I read your blog and then went to loris from your and it reminded me of how I was eating and how i stopped eating the good stuff and started eating crud. Well Im back to my small plate and it will only have veggies and meat on it.Im filling it full of good veggies and a small peice of baked meat.Thanks for sharing your blog and it sure has gotten me back on the right track.I know I have to exercise to lose. You look AMAZING by the way!
Geo- are you feeling any better? Hope your energy is better.
Debi, I'm so glad you're enjoying that feeling of victory again. You're already back on track. I'm sending you good vibes today...can you feel them?
I'm feeling a little, tiny bit better today, but not good enough to go to the job interview. I had to cancel, which was very, very disappointing. But the woman I spoke with wanted me to keep in touch. I might still be able to join in after I get my most recent health issue figured out and resolved.
I've been reading The Thyroid Diet this morning. I made myself go to Starbucks and I got a non-fat cappuccino, sat in the corner, read a few chapters and took some notes. Now I'm going to do an inventory of vitamins and supplements that I have in the house and look closer at the Medifast products. Eating food does have a thermic effect (we burn about 10% of our calories just digesting our food), so switching to the Medifast has dropped my metabolic rate. Not exercising for the last four weeks has as well (activity burns about 25% of caloric intake). And stress really does a number on hormone levels and that cortisol that has settled all that fat around my waist. There's a lot I need to do to turn my health around beyond just getting a thyroid pill.
Somehow I managed to have enough energy to walk to the health food store and a local cooking shop downtown this morning. It was good to be out, get some things done, move my body around. I almost forgot I was feeling so achy.
Tippers, don't you just love those CPAP strap marks? Mine are so attractive, every morning. I almost think the diagonal stripes that have indented across my cheekbones are slimming...they totally take the focus away from the size of my backside!
Yes georgia I can feel the Vibes....thanks.
Lunch was amazing, eggplant(new addiction) tomatoes(last one till more ripen) and a cucumber, and a few slices of chicken lunch meat. It filled me up and looked so pretty on my plate!! I am using a smaller plate again and loading it up over 3/4 with veggies.
dinner will be a baked porkchop and aspargus....how can we so quickly forget how much we love veggie??
Hello all!
Looooong day today with 6 hours of driving time up north and back. The good part of the day was that after being taken around the lake in a boat, I got to spend a good half hour (could have been more--I lost track of the time, really) swimming and snorkeling and diving down to look at aquatic plants. Between my joint problems and my weight, I had a terrible time getting back up on the dock (just could not manage the ladder), so I finally gave up trying to be dignified and just stumbled toward a slightly shallower part and ROLLED onto the dock where my bathing suit caught on a nail head and my left boob popped out. I suppose that's one good aspect of having Adult Still's--almost nothing embarrasses or humiliates me any more. LOL! (I couldn't find the boob popping out smiley.)
Barb, you asked for some recipes? Ratatouille--put a tiny bit of olive oil in a big pot. Slice up a couple of vidalia onions. Saute in olive oil until soft. Toss as much cubed zucchini, summer squash, and cubed/peeled eggplant as you can fit into the pot. Add, depending on the pot, either one of two cans of stewed tomatoes (I sort of crush the tomatoes with my fingers as I toss them in so they'll break up better when cooking.) Add some oregano, basil, garlic powder (season like you would a spaghetti sauce--fresh herbs if you have them). Cover and let this simmer for a couple of hours. It's done when all the veggies are soft and the whole house smells good. Once cooked, I usually divide up into freezer containers and sprinkle a little bit of reduced fat mozzarella on top, or, if eating some on same day, ladle some into a casserole dish, sprinkle with cheese, and bake at 350 until cheese is brown and bubbly. Very good dish! You can serve w/pasta, but it's just as good without. The trick, for me, is to cut up your veggies big so you don't wind up with a "soup."
Hello to everyone else. Congrats on all your good exercise and super training and sticking with your program. Georgia, I made fleece covers for my cheek straps--really cuts down on marks! Just cut a couple of squares of felt, fold inside out, run a seam, turn right side out so you have a tube, slide onto strap. Similar to what they sell at bedtimewrap.com.
Well I'm off to jump in the lake for a quick dip before attacking a few chores. The last few days have been crazy busy! Tomorrow is a day of rest--supposed to be 90 degrees here. We're finally getting our 3 days of summer just in time for fall.
Tippers in Maine
I don't know the exact results because I have to wait for the doctor to review my sleep study last night and I won't know that for about a week, but... Last night was supposed to be a split night study. Meaning the first 1/2 of the night I would sleep without the CPAP machine and then the 2nd 1/2 of the night I would use the machine and the tech would adjust the pressure settings to see what I needed. WELL....she never put me on the machine!!! She said I did still have some apnea events, but not enough to merit putting me on the machine. SO....now I wait for the doc to let me know if I still need my CPAP or if she wants to lower the pressure setting. I'm so excited to know that my weight loss is yet improving another part of my life! I am pretty wiped out and didn't get a good night's sleep, but that's because I had wired taped all over me, was in a not so comfortable bed with a pillow I didn't like (take your own if you ever do this), and I was either too hot or too cold all night. I still feel great!!!! 
It’s been SO long since I posted like I should. 
In fact, at this point not only did I not finish my weight loss and get to my goal – but I’ve regained 40 lbs. And it was because I quit...not because I couldn't do it...I just DIDN'T do it! I keep saying I won’t let more creep on…but I don’t DO anything about it! Like my plans to paint my house, that I made years ago and picked the colors for – I SAY I’m going to do it, I PLAN to do it, and then I DON’T do it! I believe this to be an actual character defect in myself and I need to work on correcting it. I just really don’t know how to go about it! How does a person who never finishes what she starts, complete a change in herself? Question for the day I guess… 
I know it's deer, because they graze off the tops of my potatoes too and they are in a bin 3+ feet tall! No rabbits getting up there! I'm about to make Bambi stew! 
What a pity I live in the middle of town! 
(I couldn't find the boob popping out smiley.)