[Wannabehealthy]

Gayle, I don't think mamograms are painful. I think those who say they are have never had any real pain. I never had one where they took the pictures of each breast and they were done. They always needed a different position, or a magnification. One time they saw something and told me I had to come back in 6 months. That was a scary 6 months because I kept worrying about what it was, and was it growing. Went back in 6 months and they said there was no change. So then, they wanted me to go to a surgeon and have a biopsy. If they were going to send me for a biopsy anyway, why did they make me wait 6 months? Probably insurance wanted it that way. So when I went to the surgeon he said " 6 months, no change, why did they send you to me?" My thoughts, exactly. But I told him that after all this worry I wanted the biopsy so I could be sure. So he did the biopsy and it was a fibroid. A big deal and all that worry for nothing.

Mary, I have found that I have lost interest in a lot of foods that I used to like. I think if I lived alone I would lose a lot of weight, because so many times I'm eating because DH wants to eat. If I never have red meat or pork again it would be ok with me. I could just eat poultry and fish. I would eat a lot of veggies and never even buy sweets or starchy foods. Out of sight, out of mind. I remember a woman at work who would take a couple bites of her sandwich at lunch and she was done. Threw it away. She would just sit and talk to us the rest of the lunch period. I always ate all of whatever I brought. Many times I wasn't actually hungry at lunch time, but I felt that I had to eat because it was going to be at least 4-5 hours until dinner. I think the fact that I worked like that for 47 years got me into the habit of eating when I wasn't hungry. I had to go to lunch at a time predetermined by the company. I couldn't just eat when I got hungry.
Hmmm, I wonder who else I can blame this on? LOL

[glynne]

Good afternoon GG's,

Headache is letting up ~ so, maybe I can post a little more now. Staying upright helps ~ makes me think it is sinus related sometimes. Laying down just prolongs it. My theory is that if I am upright and it is the sinuses ~ things will drain out ~ where if I am laying down ~ the stuff I think is in my head just sits there. Sometimes a hot steamy shower helps and excedrin. I've done both ~ it is a little better, but not gone.

Maybe helping my son pack will take my mind off of it and it will be gone.

Gonna be busy the next few days, so it might be a few days before I get a chance. Helping my son with the packing today. Don't know if he will need me again tomorrow for more. Don't know what else the weekend holds. Monday is that surgery. Dr says outpatient, unless when they get in there they need to do more than the original plan, then it could be an overnight stay.

Carol Sue ~ I got to wondering if the women who say mammograms are painful are the ones with small breasts ~ I just wondered if that would hurt worse. I had a mammogram once where they thought they saw something ~ they had me have an ultrasound of the breast. I was kind of worried as my mom had had breast cancer. Everything ended up being alright though ~ thank goodness. I feel the same as you about the foods. DH brings stuff in the house, that I wish he wouldn't. He has a right to get stuff he enjoys, but it sure makes it hard, as my will power when it comes to certain things is not very good. I asked him to hide the stuff, but I accidentally one day when I was looking for a magazine holder thing, found his stash. Plus he gets stuff for Maddie. I do better with that stuff, if I don't have it in the house, but if I get a craving for it, I get a single serving size of the thing. That works better for me, but makes DH growl about it ~ he is all about bargains and spending wisely, and to him it does not make sense to buy one ice cream bar when a ½ gallon of it is much less expensive. That would make more sense if I could leave the stuff alone, but I can't.

Mary ~ no way are you lazy. You are tired. Having your family around might have been enjoyable for you, but I think it tired you out. Having to watch the little ones. The stress of your picky eaters. Just the stress of having a house full of people and your routine all changed around. So glad you have found a nice doctor.

Love2 ~ your yard sounds so pretty with all the different little garden areas. The things you have growing in your yard sound beautiful.

Ok, guess I'd better get out of my jammies ~ so I will be ready when my son arrives.

Hope you all are having a good day.

[maryea]

Sitting down to rest a bit before lunch. Went to gym...didn't walk my full 10 min I don't think...for some reason my timer reset, so I instead biked 4 min longer, followed by hand bike 6 min and other weight machines 10 min. I tried the eliptical for the first time today, with dh standing by. He had me do 2 min. Didn't want to get sore as I have enough pain. It has eased a lot though. Anyway I am trying to decide whether I want to buy one or just get a stationary bike. Sometimes biking hurts my knee and hip but I think I probably would enjoy it otherwise more. So just trying to figure it all out. For the discount prices my son can now get through his company we could afford both but space is a problem even for one.

Last night we went out to eat...I tried to choose wisely...got grilled salmon and broccoli, ate only one bread stick. Calories were slightly above what I'd like but not bad for eating at a restaurant. Maybe I'm learning, now if I could just control my snacking..

Glynne - Sure does sound like your headache is sinus. Have you tried sinus medication? My dh is the same way, he doesn't understand why one serving when out or to bring home is better for me than a multi-servings container at home tempting me. I think people who do not struggle with discipline with food just do not understand. I am pretty disciplined with most things...and I guess I don't always understand why some people are not in those areas.

Glynne and Carol Sue - On mammograms, sometimes they hurt me. I am very sensitive in that area, always have been, but having them checked manually is worse for me. Even having a small child bump against me hard can really hurt me. I don't even like to check myself. So I prefer the mammogram even though they sometimes flatten me out so much that it is very uncomfortable and sometimes pinches badly. At least it is over quickly. Some times it's easier than others.

Carol Sue - My tastes have changed some...like although I usually prefer beef to chicken some times it does taste just too meaty (lol) or fat to me (the latter in a restaurant mostly as they use so much oil and creamy toppings sometimes). A lot of restaurant entrees are too fat tasting to me...I fill up quickly then a short time later I'm hungry again. I often say I don't like chicken because it tastes too much like chicken too....LOL, I know that's silly but I guess what it is it tastes too meaty. If it's cooked and seasoned in such a way that I don't notice that so much I do like it but it's difficult to explain. ETA: Now that I think about it, I'm not sure this is really a change..I think I've always been this way but now I'm exspressing it and trying to stay away from these foods more . I don't like overly sweet desserts anymore although some things I love I'm sure others would feel are just as sweet.

I doubt I'd lose weight any better without my dh once my first response to his loss is past...I'd eat less meat but otherwise I'd probably eat about the same and might even eat more! I know I would probably not cook as much and mostly graze all day. Mostly my motivation to lose weight comes from wanting to look better for my dh and for my health. I wish I were more like you esp about sweets. I know what you mean about how it is when you work but I kinda feel that way even now...even if I'm not hungry I fix meals for dh and usually it feels like I should sit down and eat too...however that is changing a bit...recently I have said, I'll eat later and walked away. He often eats in front of the TV if it's just the two of us anyway. I think I learned this (not eating after fixing a meal) from our son who sometimes is not hungry and he'll just say he'll eat later. Guess I never realized I had that option. More likely I thought it wouldn't taste as good later.

My dh's 80th birthday is coming up and my dd and I are planning his party. It will be at our house, just the kids and us and she is bringing the cake. Either or he or I will make Chicken Adobo and pansit (Filipino favorites and he's better with the pansit), but otherwise I am not sure what I will prepare. I might buy some tamales he likes. Just hope I can get my house clean by then. He has already gotten one gift...a surf rod and he may get a kayak. Those will be from me but he will pick them out. 80 is a big birthday...I wish I could take us back about 10 years, but that's the way it goes..

[Wannabehealthy]

Mary, the reason I think I would eat much less if DH was not around is because for years I ate breakfast and lunch but no dinner. I did that when I lived alone, and even after we were married, up until the kids left. I would make dinner for them, then I would go read the paper while they ate. After they were gone, DH didn't want to eat alone and wanted me to eat with him. Plus we went out to eat a lot more and he would never let me just order a cup of soup or a salad. He wanted me to order a meal. So, I was adding around 700 or 800 calories every day that I wasn't eating before. If I was alone, I would probably go back to eating breakfast and lunch and no dinner.

I am usually in bed by 9 or 10 oclock but we were out late and now I am too keyed up to go to sleep and it's 1AM. In the evening I usually read for a while and that relaxes me. So I won't get a good nights sleep and will be tired tomorrow. I am not a night owl.

I wanted to add a little story of what stupid thing I did. DH went into the kitchen to throw something in the garbage. He said to me "Don't you want this?" I couldn't see what he was referring to so I went into the kitchen to look, and he was holding my glucose meter. It was in the garbage. I had just checked my glucose 15 minutes before that, and I guess when I threw the tissue in the garbage I threw my meter in with it. I don't understand why I'm getting so absent-minded. If DH hadn't found it, I would have been looking everywhere for my meter and would have had to go out and buy a new one, never knowing what happened to it.

Now SS day is coming up on Wednesday and it will be time to pay my monthly bills again. I will have to be very careful to be sure I sent the right checks to the right people.

[maryea]

It is such a beautiful morning!! Tomorrow it's suppose to reach 80 degrees!
To make it even better my weight was down...last night I thought it would be up (I can usually tell by my bedtime weight), and I was up yesterday due to my eating out so it was really a nice suprise to have it down to 168. I'm not sure exactly what I weighed in July before I started that med that made me gain but I know it was between 160-168 so I'd guess I am about down to where I was this morning. Hope I can continue down. I am alone this morning as dh had to help someone build a fence and our son is gong to the zoo. Great day for it...I'd loved to go except for my hurting hip...I'd probably have to ride the bus around it now. I finally got back to doing my PT exercises...while the gang was here I kinda got away from that. My new doctor gave me another stretch to do for my heel too. I haven't started that but plan to today.

I've been a bit more energetic...yesterday I finished weekly cleaning our bedroom plus both bathrooms plus all my daily cleaning. I also did a little de-cluttering throughout the house. Found a stinky sippy cup under the living room sofa.

Carol Sue - I can't imagine missing a meal entirely! I wish I could. I prefer to snack rather than have a real meal but still I'd have to eat. I am esp hungry in the evenings so dinner is important to me. Sometimes I snack too much in the afternoon though and do not really need to eat when dinner is ready...but the smells usually draw me in and I do eat. Then from dinner on is when I really want to eat...I'm doing better about eating lower cal/lower carb snacks mostly but I still eat too much.

I hope you all are having better weather now. Enjoy the weekend!

[maryea]

I learned some things here:
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/...and-money.html

[ladyinweighting]

I need to come back here & focus on healthy eating and exercise.

My goal for healthy eating this week is to have 1 veggie salad every day & at least 2 fruit servings.

My goal for exercise this week is to get to the gym at least 5 times.

Lynn

[maryea]

Lynn, glad to have you back!! I'm sure you can achieve your goal because I know you can be very disciplined. I think we all tend to take breaks and I've had a BIG break...trying to get back to the way I need to eat.

Carol Sue - I think you have an exercise machine? I have a chance to get one or more machines at very discounted prices through my son. I've heard the eliptical is best for arthritic hips/knees. I'd prefer a stationary bike but occasionally I do notice it in the my knee a bit. I have only tried an eliptical at the gym once for about two min. I feel like I'm up so high but otherwise for two min I was ok. What do you think? Love2Garden, do you have an exercise machine too...if so, I would like to hear what you think too...or anyone else that's out there and has or uses one. I may never have this chance to get one at this price again.

[Wannabehealthy]

Lynn, so good to see you here! It's spring, and I think that's when we all come out of winter hibernation determined to get back to healthy eating and exercise. Your goals for eating and exercising both sound good! Those of us still posting here have agreed that at our age, exercise is important not just for weight loss, but to keep us limber in our old age. If you don't use it, you lose it, so they say.

Mary, I don't freeze a lot of stuff because to DH, that would be leftovers, and DH won't eat leftovers, but I did see some things in that article that I do. I freeze my low calorie/high fiber bread because I don't eat it very often. I don't eat grapes but I know people who freeze them because they are great, especially on a hot day. Just pop a frozen grape into your mouth! I freeze tablespoons of tomato paste from a can, although now I see you can buy it in a tube and just measure out what you need. When I make chili I only use a 1/2 can of beans and freeze the other half for the next time. I also freeze penne pasta when I cook a whole box and only use part of it. I just throw it frozen into boiling water and it's ready in a couple minutes. I buy jars of roasted red peppers and freeze them in snack-size bags to have to add to recipes. Sometimes, I keep a freezer bag in the freezer and add any leftover veggies I have and then use that bag of veggies when I make vegetable soup. Most of the time I just eat any leftover veggies I have at dinner time. I know some people who will freeze the carcass of a rotisserie chicken, or any leftover bones from a chicken they cooked at home, then one day get out all those bones to make broth. For me, I just buy a can of chicken broth. LOL I freeze cookie dough. DH likes oatmeal cookies but a whole recipe makes too many. I freeze the dough in ice cube trays. When frozen, I pop them out and put them in freezer bags so I can make a dozen at a time for him. Most of the time when I make a meatloaf for us I give the leftovers to my step-daughter. They either eat it for their dinner, or her husband takes meat loaf sandwiches for his lunch. One time when I couldn't get in touch with her, I sliced it down and froze the slices. The next time they came over I gave them to her. They are not like DH....they LOVE leftovers. My neighbor cuts up the tomatoes from his garden and freezes them, but I can mine in jars. So even though I said I don't freeze a lot, I ended up with a pretty long list! LOL

I have a treadmill and an elliptical. I use both. When I went to cardiac rehab the exercise physiologist told me that for all around exercise, the elliptical is better for you. I suggest getting what you will use. You go to a gym where this equipment is available, so you should be able to decide which would work out the best for you. When I bought my first elliptical I bought a cheap Pro Form. I rarely used it, because the foot pedals were narrow and it was difficult to keep my feet from sliding off them. I sold it, and went shopping for a good one. I went to Dicks, where they had them all lined up so you could try them out. I got on the cheapest one and worked my way up. When I got to the one I bought, a Sole E25, it had nice big foot pads with an edge on them to keep your foot from sliding off. It also had a very smooth operation, not jerky like my cheap one. Another couple who was standing there watching me bought that one too, just going by my opinion of how nice it was. One thing you have to look for is the stride length. If the stride length isn't right for you, it will be uncomfortable. Mine just happens to be good for me, but some of them have an adjustable stride length.

As for as bikes go, I have had 2 and didn't like them. The seats were uncomfortable, and leaning forward to reach the handlebars hurt my back. At that time I hadn't started having knee problems. I recently bought a used recumbent bike at Goodwill and I like it. I was reading a diet blog where the woman said that she had knee problems and riding a recumbent bike had strengthened her knee to the point that she no longer has pain and her knee works much better. I notice an improvement, but haven't been using it long enough yet to judge for myself.

Because of my one bad knee, I wear an Ace Elastic Brace on my knee when I exercise. It really makes a difference. If I forget to put it on, I get pain for a day or two.

We have a game room in the basement where my kids used to entertain their friends. We never used it once they moved out, so I am lucky that I have that room for my exercise equipment. I have them set up in front of a TV so I can watch my soaps while I exercise. If I didn't watch TV while I exercised I don't think I would exercise as much. I try to make it a rule that I have to be exercising or I can't watch my soaps. I'm going to watch them anyway, so why sit in a recliner? There are times when I'm cooking or doing something else while they're on, and I just listen from the kitchen.

This has turned out to be a very long post, but I hope it's information you can use.

[maryea]

Church this morning with a wonderful teaching by our foundational pastor. Then we went to Wendy's for lunch and I got my usual baked potato and small chili. They have a baked potato with chili but I prefer to get a plain potato and a small chili which I add to the potato as I want it. I'm getting a little tired of it but it still was pretty good. We went for fast food as Dh had to help someone again today. Our older son is here doing some tasks and I'm online watching/listening to uplifting things..movies and music. Its a good day. The temperature was 72 when we were driving home, probably higher now. It was supposed to get to 78 or 80 depending on who you talk to. I am not sure if it will get that high but it is certainly a beautiful day.

Sounds like you actually freeze quite a lot, Carol Sue. I don't freeze much other than meat and frozen products which I buy, but I do freeze a few other things like cheese and occasionally leftovers. There's more but I can't remember them all right now.

Someone on FB mentioned a sit-down elliptical...I said I never saw one but now I remember a machine at the gym that is probably it. I just never thought of it being an eliptical. I think I'll try it too. The elliptical machine tried at the gym was like yours I think, Carol Sue, as it has nice size foot pedals. I felt strange being that high but that's because it's new to me. I think I can get used to it. I'll use it again (there are several at my gym) and slowly increase my time...it seemed like the 2 min went very fast so must not have been too difficult to me. I guess it just seems like more work than a stationary bike where I just sit and pedal and read. The stationary bikes I use I can sit upright not lean over to reach the handle bars. Can I read on the elliptical? Seems like mental work right now to me....keeping my feet on the pedals, my hands on the hand bars and reading...LOL Guess it's just a matter of practice. If I can't read I'll watch TV. That's probably when I'll use any machine the most...when watching TV anyway. Good idea about not watching TV unless you are exercising.

Made a great smoothie this am using, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup water, the Kura vanilla base, 7 fresh strawberries, 1/2 cup blueberries, and 1 T flaxmeal. Since the blueberries were frozen I did not use ice. It made a large filling breakfast. I did not get hungry while in church. My weight was up 2# this morning but I am now considering Wed as my weigh-in day so I tried not to let that bother me.

I have had the abd pain only a couple times briefly since I saw the doctor and I have not had the full feeling at all. So don't know what is going on with my liver, but am thinking it might be just an infection or something that is temporary. I do not feel very concerned about it.

Guess I'd better get outside for a while...too nice a day to stay inside all the time. Hope you are all having a good weekend.

[glynne]

Well, tomorrow is my surgery day. We leave at 7:30 am ~ hopefully allowing time for any traffic slow downs. I am to be there at 9:30 am to get checked in and prepped ~ surgery is supposed to be at about 11:30 am. The doctor said it would take about an hour. They will do a lab test after they remove the troublesome parathyroid (while I am still in the OR) and if the level is good, they will know they got the right one and I should be able to go home the same day. If the lab level isn't how it should be, they may have to take more and then it will be an overnight stay. I'm hoping for the home the same day one.

Mary ~ there was a thing at the place (through my work place at the time ~ the hospital) where I did some PT for the sciatic pain. It sort of sounds like what you said someone described as a sit down eliptical. It was called a Nustep. I loved it. I actually found a used one for sale in the local classifieds, but it was too pricey. When I searched around, one of the branches at the "Y" had one, but it was not a branch close to me. I noticed in pictures my husband took at the senior citizens place where his uncle lives, that they had a Nustep in their exercise room.

I liked it because I could sit down, watch TV while I did it and it didn't hurt my back. And I seemed to be able to do it for quite a while. They used it a lot for people who were doing rehab for total knee replacements and things like that.

It looked like this:

[maryea]

I will look into it. As long as it doesn't hurt my hip I can do the stand up one though. That does look like what I saw in the gym. Not sure what all kinds I can get at a discount, but know my son said treadmill, eliptical and stationary bike.

Well I sent the kids their invite to dh's party on Sat. It will be small potluck...at least that's the idea. I'm making chicken (and pork?) adobo, dh will make the pancit because he does it better, my dil may bring tamales (or I will), not yet sure about our older son. I'm thinking of maybe making a jello whip cream or cool whip salad....I've never made one but know that dh could eat that and I think he'd like it. My oldest dd is bringing the cake. So it should be pretty simple but I'm still catching up on my housework so will do as I usually do and do a little each day.

[ladyinweighting]

Hi Mary, Gayle, & Carol Sue,

Thank you for the "welcome home."

Yesterday I did not meet my goal. I had the fruit, but not the veggies. Went to a play with my friend & didn't feel well enough to go to restaurant after. Came home & had berries & cool whip for dinner.

Hopefully, today will be better. However, on my way to a funeral & not sure about where/when I will be eating meals. I will bring a protein bar in case I need it.

Lynn

[Wannabehealthy]

I am hoping that Gayle gets to come home today, too, and that all goes well with the surgery.

We had a really beautiful day on Saturday. It went up to 82, and might have gone higher but that's the temp that I noticed. There was a nice breeze. Yesterday it rained in the afternoon and evening and cooled things down, so it's going to be much cooler the rest of the week, in the 50s. It's really too early for us to have 80s temps.

Mary, it sounds like you will be having a nice party for your DHs birthday. How many children do you have, and how many grandchildren?

I never saw that Nustep, but it does look like it would be good. I think when you have knee issues the idea is to get your knee moving, but in such a way to strengthen the muscles rather than hurt it.

When I got my elliptical I could only do a couple minutes. I don't go fast on it and I don't go fast on the treadmill. I guess it would be better if I went faster, but I think if I'm moving I'm doing better than if I am sitting. I now can go up to 30 minutes on it.

Mary, I was thinking about when I told you that I used to skip dinner. I was working at the time and I always ate a good breakfast and lunch. When I lived alone, it was too much bother to cook a meal for just myself, and with the big lunch I ate I wasn't really hungry at dinner time. It was just what I was used to. Now I am back in the habit of eating dinner, and I eat it whether I am hungry or not. I try not to eat breakfast until I actually feel hungry so sometimes now I eat either breakfast or lunch, but not both. If I only ate when I am hungry I would be much thinner. I guess I'm trying to get back to that. I eat healthy foods, not many sweets, but lots of vegetables, but I eat way more than my body needs to burn. Sometimes I can just think about food and I think I'm hungry, when actually, it's just desire to taste that particular food. Like yesterday. DH made a hot dog for himself for lunch. When he saw me looking at it he asked if I wanted one, and he would have fixed one for me. But I told him to break off a little piece of his. I ate that one bite and it satisfied my desire to taste it, but if he had made one for me I would have easily eaten the whole thing. It's the same when he makes a grilled cheese sandwich. He makes them really good with 2 kinds of cheese and fried in butter. I could easily eat one, but he cuts off a little corner of it for me and I can get the taste of it. I am trying to find ways to cut back on the quantity of food that I eat without actually skipping a meal. I think regular meals are more important now with my diabetes.

I wonder how Lynn is doing with her healthy goals.

[doitforme]

Prayers all went well with Gayle's surgery! I have been very busy... Working and caring for mom. So haven't had time to post.. But your all in my thought and prayers. Check back in tom. Hopefully... Have a blessed day!!! Raining here😦