Living Maintenance - Maintainers Chat: April 28 - May 4

I know I sound like everyone's grandmother, but how did it get to be the end of April already?? :faint:

Barbara and Glory have a great discussion about how to handle food when you're away from home at the end of last week's thread that you won't want to miss. Breakfast buffets are my absolute downfall -- I lose my mind when I see trays of cheese danishes. :dizzy: It's always such a challenge to eat right away from home, especially when you have no control over what's being served. We're all cheering for you, Glory!!

I had a wonderful weekend with my new ELECTRIC staple gun and the attic insulation. Electric makes all the difference in the world. Thank you, Thomas Edison! And Home Depot! :D (I bet Lily has her own electric staple gun! :lol: )

Off to the gym in a few minutes. It's turned cold and rainy here. Bleech!

Good morning :wave: Have fun with that staple gun, Meg. Ah, I remember the bliss of getting an electric one after the pain of bruised palms when making cornices and headboards!

Off to an ON TRACK DAY! and no high heels.... I blame a lot of recent lapses on painful feet :rofl:

Mel

Meg: Staple gun does sound fun. Sounds like a productive weekend to me.

Mel: I hear ya on the high heels, I just don't wear them anymore b/c of knee problems.

This morning started off good with my yummy multigrain cereal and cup of hot unsweetened tea. Will work out after classes today. I'm excited, I start my new strength training regime I planned out all by myself. (I change it up every two weeks)

Hi gang!

I'm no Lily mind you, and have never tackled insulation, but I have been known to do some creative decorating around the house and am therefore a proud owner of my very own electric staple gun.

I'm in a great mood. Not sure why. It's pouring rain out with no let up in sight, I've got a TON to do and my pants are snug. Could it be that Passover is OVER and I've got Splenda back? And Danon FF/SF Yogurt back and FIBER ONE cereal? And string beans? Well yes, it could be!! And as unhappy as I am about the pants being snug, I'm happy to be participating in our "7 Day No Excuses" challenge thing-y and getting the heck back to where I belong.

Have a great day ya'll. :wave:

Hi all,

I played with an old-fashioned staple gun yesterday to fix the blown-out screen on the front porch. Cleaned the whole porch (picked up numerous bottle caps, cigarette butts, trash, cans, cups from other people's parties, grr) and swept the gross outdoor carpet, worked in the garden, vacuumed the house, did all my laundry... I give it 2 days before my roommates trash it again. sigh.

Saturday I waited almost 2 hours in line to get my compost bin - the discount program was sponsored by the city. I had no idea it would be so crowded! I didn't get a dress for the wedding and clothes shopping was really frustrating. I gave up and went to the organic co-op and the "real" grocery store instead. I like shopping for food (all healthy!) much better. I made a delicious recipe of stuffed peppers last night. Tasty and healthy!

April plan NANS is going well, still, but my resolve to eat 96% clean for the rest of my food is slipping. I overate yesterday afternoon, and Friday night, even though I was doing my best to keep busy with all my chores. I need to tighten up and re-discover my inspiration. Since April is almost over and I've lost a few pounds, my pants are looser, but I'm not at goal, I need to figure out what my plan is to keep moving the scale down. NANS worked fairly well... maybe I'll give myself 2 drinks and 1 dessert on the weekends only, or something like that. Or 1 dessert or 2 drinks? Hmmm...

Robin, glad you've got your favorite foods back!

Hi Meg, Mel, Amanda, everyone! I hope everyone has a great Monday!

Ooh, a staple gun sounds good. I spent last week pulling up carpet, tack board and working on new sub-floor. Have I mentioned I HATE home improvement. After a week of being too busy and tired I needed to come back on line. I just joined the no excuses thread so here's to a better and saner week.

Meg - I am wondering how it got to be the end of April already too!

Megan - ugh, your roommates sound so messy! When we lived in a first-floor apartment we went out one day and filled up an entire plastic grocery bag with cigarette butts from the people who lived above us. :barf:

No staple gun stories here . . . A college friend of mine came down from Chicago for a couple days this weekend, which was a lot of fun! We went downtown and walked around the war memorials, and went through the museums that we didn't even know existed underneath the memorials! According to wikipedia, Indianapolis has the second highest number of monuments within city limits, after Washington DC.

While having my friend over was great, eating was not as great. Friday night we went to a friend's house to play some board games, and got talked into eating ice cream. Saturday I did great most of the day, but we went out to dinner after my friend arrived at a Russian restaurant, and I had boiled dumplings which were coated in a sour cream-based sauce Then we ate instant pistachio pudding DH had bought at the grocery (that's what I get for letting him go unsupervised!). Sunday I did fine for breakfast, had a pretty healthy lunch at Au Bon Pain, then got talked into buying fudge. Dinner was fine, we cooked at home, but then we bought ice cream and I had a reasonably large bowl of it (though I am proud to say I did not go back for seconds).

I don't think I did too much damage - my weight is only up about 1.5lbs and I'm sure most (if not all) of it is water weight. My skirt-o-meter says my weight is just fine, and I've been getting a decent amount of exercise taking the dog for a walk every day. My doctor finally referred me to a knee specialist who I am supposed to see next week, so hopefully my knees will get fixed and I'll be able to jog again. The dog would make a great jogging partner! Plus elbow therapy was added to my wrist therapy order so I guess we'll see what happens at my appointment tomorrow. I think I screwed my wrists up again this weekend by driving too much and having to hold the dog's leash a lot. :( They feel a bit better today though.

I'm headed to Philadelphia Thursday night! I'll try to make good (or at least better) choices while I'm there. I'll probably disappear Thursday afternoon and reappear Monday morning. :)

Hey! Busy here... much to do this week... I'm trying to get caught up enough that I can drive over the West Palm Beach the weekend after next to spend some time with my spiritual teachers. Goodness knows I can use the boost...

I had a great weekend of bush trimming, made easier by the electric pruner that I bought. It kinda counts as a staple gun. Wait until I tell you about the pressure washer... (sorry, Meg ;))

Have a good one!

Jay

I'm back from my convention. Here's a short recap:

Food was good. Breakfasts were the obligatory array of breads (I succumbed only once to a small croissant) with fruit, yogurt, and hard boiled eggs. Most mornings I had the fruit and an egg with my coffee. Once I had a yogurt--but skipped the granola on top. Lunches were salads--the first was a cobb and the second was baby greens with lots of vegetables and chicken. I ate the cobb with no dressing and the other with a vinegarette. Dinner one night was a very, very light pasta and salad. It was more of an appetizer size. The other night was a salad bar and a Mexican bar--I had a big salad and a little taco. The third night we went out and I chose a vegetable platter. All in all, I thought I made good choices. Too bad my scale says otherwise. I'm joining you all in the No Excuses week!

Surgery tomorrow. I really don't know what this will do to my morning runs. The doctor said running is fine, but how on earth will I get up at 4:30, pull on my full leg compression stocking, go running, come home, take off the stocking, shower and put it back on? I'm thinking this may be the beginning of an excuse! However, I HAVE to walk an hour a day, so perhaps the hour of walk will do me better than the half hour run three times a week.

I don't know, an electric staple gun sounds dangerous to me. :eek: I'm such a klutz that power tools are always a little scary. I'd surely end up stapling my thumb or worse!

I decided I didn't put up enough asparagus pickles last week, so I made some more this weekend and also pickled some cauliflower just to see how it would come out. The cauliflower was way easier to shove into the jars than the asparagus, that's for sure. And I'm done with the pickling now, at least until bean season.

My weight is up a little this weekend, but I think it is just water. My trainer made up some new hamstring exercise on Friday and also had me lifting heavier than normal, so I was sore all weekend. And I had a glass and a half of wine on Saturday night (I would have had more, but that's all that was left in the bottle). My calories (other than the wine) came in low over the weekend, so I don't think I've gained.

Megan: What is NANS? Bummer that you had to wait so long to get your compost bin. And messy roommates are the worst. In my first apartment out of college, both my roommate and I were total slobs. Dishes would sit in the sink for days, maybe even weeks. It didn't help that the apartment was a dump, so it started out dirty and we just made it worse. But it cured me of my bad habits. As soon as I got my own place, I was so tired of the filth that I became super clean. For a while there, I would actually do the dishes before I would eat dinner (except for the plate and utensils I was eating off, of course).

Robin: I didn't realize you had to give up splenda during passover. You poor thing! :hug: No wonder you've been having so much trouble lately.

joyofsix: I am so with you on home improvement. Also gardening--hate that too!

paperclippy: It doesn't sound like you could possibly have done much damage; you did a lot better than I would have done in that situation.

Barbara, NANS is my April "No Alcohol No Sweets" plan - pretty self-explanatory - for the month of April, I haven't drank any alcohol or eaten any sweets. I'm trying to jump-start my weight loss by being super strict with myself (I don't do moderation well).

Hi all, I'm back OP after a big slip this wknd. TOM is looming in the horizon so between that and the slip I'm dreading the scale on Thurs, which is my day of the week to weigh myself. ~gulp~

I'm the proud owner of an electric staple gun, thanks to my DH's suggestion on the importance of owning one. It's still neatly wrapped in the pckg it came in...lol. We bought our house lat Aug and it's an older home so there is a lot of projects we want to work on, but the stapple gun hasn't been used. DH does have a collection of drills he uses all the time, he has a thing for tools and him being a plumber, well he has an excuse to keep buying them. I want gardening tools, that's my big project b/c I'd love a beautiful yard, right now is not so beatiful, it's actually pretty sad looking. :(

Barbara: I've always wanted to try pickling, is it difficult? What is your favorite pickled veggie?

Megan: I give you a lot of credit for giving up alcohol and sweets. I rarely drink, but I do love my sweet treats, but April is almost done! :)

Rockinrobin: Why do you have to give up Splenda during passover? Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is Passover? I've heard about it but don't really know what it is. :o

alinnell: Good luck with your surgery tomorrow

All this info about pickling makes my mouth water! I don't have the time to do any real pickling, but I do make "fresh" pickles. Basically it's water, vinegar, salt, sugar and dill--boil until sugar and salt dissolves and then pour over sliced cucumbers (I use English cukes). Chill and store in the fridge--they keep for a week or two. These are the only pickles my DS will eat.

Allison-- I wish you much luck and quick recovery with your surgery tomorrow.

Speaking of messy roommates, my older dd (off to college in the fall) is a total slob. We keep trying to tell her that if she is so messy in college that her roommates will request a switch! I sure hope she can get it together. She has always been a slob....

My dh is out of town for the week. I have planned most of our meals already and I will have no excuses to eat on plan and to exercise. Since I wrote it down, it has to happen, right?!?!?!

You all were very busy little beavers over the weekend! I did some housecleaning but no major renovating!

Megan-- I could do the no alcohol, but I think I would die before I could do no sweets for a month! I work sweets into my daily points.

No excuses, no excuses, no excuses...does it count that I got almost no sleep last night due to dh having to get up at 2:30 and leaving at 3:30? No-- no excuses!!

This was a nice, laid back weekend for me for a change. I really needed it as work has been quite stressful since I got back from vacation, and I don't see it changing any time soon. I have trouble keeping myself from staying late or working at home, and in reality that only adds to the stress.

After our nasty surprise snow storm on Friday which lasted late into the night ended we had a foot of snow!! Heavy, wet stuff which bent lots of our trees over, and brought down some electrical wires. We were without power until noonish on Sat. Since we have a well, that meant we had no water either. Luckily I have a gas stove so we could cook and we had some bottled water. Wet ones had to suffice for washing! :lol:

Since I could do anything that required power, I started cleaning out off home office - yikes! I got rid of a lot of stuff, and have a lot more organized to get filed - once I make room in the file cabinet..... Once we had power, I did a bunch of cooking for the week, and all the laundry. But it was restful - spent a fair amount of time reading, watching movies and knitting. Oh, and sleeping. I find that all of excuses are made worse when I don't have enough sleep!!

Best of luck to you tomorrow, Allison! :hug: I don't think you'll have a problem with the compression stockings -- I have to wear the pantyhose version every day and they don't slow me down. In fact, I learned how to wrestle them on and off one-handed when I had my shoulder surgery (that, and putting on eyeliner with my left hand, were my greatest accomplishments :lol: ). So you'll do just fine. It sounds like varicose vein surgery has come a long way in the few years since I had it done. :)

I'm not Jewish and I hope Robin doesn't mind but Passover (Pesach) is a Jewish celebration (lasts a week?) of freedom from slavery from the Egyptians. You remember the bible story where Moses is all "let my people GO" and the plagues and all the first born sons are going to get killed? The Jews were forewarned and put lamb's blood on their doors, and the angel "passed over" them and spared their children - voila, Passover! So, it's a big deal holiday (to my knowledge) with special food and stories, maybe as big food-wise as Christmas?

I didn't think Robin couldn't eat Splenda because of the holiday (altough I think they skip leavened bread during Passover - I've seen all the matzah stuff at the grocery store), she didn't eat Splenda the way I wouldn't eat Splenda over Christmas (ie it's a big time holiday and I want the real stuff!). Hopefully, Robin will correct me if I got anything wrong :)

Megan: I'm with michele and friendlykat; I could give up alcohol but I'd struggle with giving up sweets. I was thinking of trying the SugarBusters diet, which requires you to give up all added sugar but I'm glad I decided not to do it. Congratulations to you for giving up both; you must feel great about it! :carrot:

friendlykat4u: I posted a long treatise on pickling (http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2165937&postcount=30) in last week's thread; it's a little too long to repost here so I'm just linking to it (look everyone! I learned something new--how to link to a single post instead of an entire thread!) Pickling is a lot easier than I thought; the only hard part is shoving all the veggies into the jars (you have to really pack them in and with veggies like asparagus or beans, you want to be a little artistic). I never met a pickled veggie I didn't like and I'd have a hard time picking a favorite. I definitely like flavors and veggies that are out of the norm--like asparagus and okra. I once picked up a jar of wasabi pickled beans at Whole Foods that rocked.

alinnell: Good luck with the surgery! How long do you have to wear the compression stocking for? I'm surprised that running doesn't count as walking; I would think that if you ran, you wouldn't need to walk for a full hour. Seems like either one would get the circulation going in your legs (which I assume is the purpose of the walking).

michele: I don't know if you can't count on college curing your DD's slobby ways. I seem to remember that all of my roommates (and I) were pretty slobby in college. I think it is a rare teenager that isn't; it seems like tidiness is a skill you acquire with age.

WaterRat: And here I was complaining about it dropping back down to the mid 60's this week. I guess I should count my blessings. And we are kindred souls when it comes to reading. Not only is Animal Dreams one of my top three favorite books of all time but I'm also a big Winnie the Pooh fan, and I see you quote Winnie the Pooh in your signature.

Meg: Putting on compression pantyhose with one hand--that is a skill! ;) I'd be pretty hard-pressed to get into any pantyhose with just one hand.

From Wikipedia:

Passover is a Jewish holy day and festival commemorating the Exodus from Egypt and the liberation of the Israelites from slavery. It is also known as Festival of the Unleavened Bread

Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew calendar, in accordance with the Hebrew Bible.[2] The Exodus of the Jews from Egypt took place in the spring and so Passover is celebrated in the spring for seven or eight days.

In the story of Moses, God set ten plagues upon the Egyptians to convince Pharaoh to release the Israelites. The tenth plague was the killing of the firstborn sons. However, the Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a spring lamb, and upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord passed over these homes, hence the term "passover" When Pharaoh then freed the Israelites, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise. In commemoration, for the duration of Passover, no leavened bread is eaten, for which reason it is also called "The Festival of the Unleavened Bread" . Instead, matzah is eaten, and is the primary symbol of the holiday.



Not only do we not eat bread, but we eat nothing that contains any grains (rye, barley, oats, wheat or spelt) or kitniyos. What is Kitniyos? Kitniyos is popularly defined as legumes. Some examples are rice, corn, peas, mustard seed, and the whole bean family (i.e. kidney, lima, garbanzo, etc.)(hence, the reason I was without string beans). We also don't eat anything that isn't certified Kosher for Passover by a rabbinical authority. So it really goes much, MUCH further then just doing without bread.

Splenda has not been certified Kosher for Passover and therefore can not be eaten during the 8 day holiday. It contains some sort of "kitniyos' (as described above) in fact, so I was told. Because I actually emailed the company to find out why the heck it wasn't certified for Passover usage.

There's lots and lots of stuff that we don't eat on Passover. Not only that, our dishes & utensils, pots and pans all have to be changed, our ovens & fridges need to be thoroughly cleaned. All breadstuff must be removed from the house. We cover our counters and sinks. It goes on and on.

At the "seder" that we have the first 2 nights, we tell the story of Passover, which can be found in the Haggadah.

Allison, I wish you the best with your surgery. I need to get that done myself one of these days.

Hi to everyone else.

Robin: While we're on the subject of passover foods, what is matzo? I've seen it in the stores and have a couple of recipes that call for matzo or matzo meal. But what is it exactly? I guess it's not made from beans, corn, or grains. How does it compare nutritionally to, say, whole wheat flour?

It all sounds very hard--both the food restrictions, but, even more so, all the cleaning. My oven and fridge are also in desperate need of a cleaning; maybe a religious holiday that forced me to clean them once a year would be a good thing. :lol: My oven is particularly disgusting--it's self cleaning but the door doesn't close properly so we can't run it in cleaning mode (and oven cleaner isn't supposed to be used on self-cleaning ovens). It hasn't been cleaned in the entire 7.5 years we've lived in this house (and who knows how long the previous owners went without cleaning it). I can't believe I actually cook in it and I try never to touch the sides of it.

Robin,
Do you eat kosher on a regular basis?
I am reform Jewish and do not eat Kosher. I have to say that I knew that unleavened breads were off limits for Passover, but I didn't know about the rest-- cleaning of the kitchen, etc.
Thank you for enlightening me!

Barbara, the cleaning part is difficult. But I gotta tell you, if I weren't forced to clean my house so thoroughly, I'm not sure that I would. I say it time and time again, thank goodness that this holiday occurs or else my house might never get a thorough cleaning. ;) Thankfully I have a self cleaning oven so that makes it much easier. And my stovetop is one of the sealed varities so it's not so bad. We move all the furniture around and vaccum underneath, the beds too. All the linens are washed. Chairs and tables scrubbed. Blinds, curtains washed. Chandelier, you name it.

Matzo is made from flour & water. Since we were in a big ole rush to get out of Egypt, there wasn't time for the "bread" to rise and Matzo is what we were left with. It has to be cooked within 18 minutes to be certified "matzo" and kosher. It's cracker like and very good if you ask me.

Matzo meal is crushed matzo and it's used to make the famous "matzo balls", which are quite yummy. It can also be used as a breading and as a thickener.

Here's a link:
http://www.geocities.com/athens/oracle/6389/matzo.html

Michele, my home is kosher. There are many, many people who do not keep a kosher home all year round, but do so just for the holiday of Passover.

When I was growing up we celebrated nothing except for Thanksgiving. Which I loved and still do. It always bothered me terribly that we didn't celebrate more holidays. Thanksgiving was great and I wanted more of it!

I hated the fact that we had so little and was quite resentful of the fact that all around me, people seemed to have such nice things to celebrate and a reason to get all gussied up for and spend time together with friends and family. And we had - nothing.

So I made sure when I had a family of my own, that my kids had something to look forward to and knew of some traditions. We love celebrating the holidays, all of them, and each one is very special in there own way with their own set of rules and customs. I used to ask my mom about them and she would say they weren't important. They are now very important to me and my family and I couldn't imagine life without them.

Oh, I should mention there is one holiday which I don't enjoy very much. That would be Yom Kippur. Our day of atonement. We don't eat. So you could all probably understand how I wouldn't like it much. ;)

Robin,
Thanks for sharing the info about your home and Passover. :)

WaterRat and Michele, lack of sleep is no excuse. Trust me. If I strayed off plan everytime I was up all night and had no sleep the next day either, I would be getting no where fast. I offer sympathy for sleep deprivation, but that's it! :drill:

Good luck with your surgery, Allison!

Tuesday is my weigh-in morning and today the scale said 142.5! Woohoo! I'm getting so much closer to my maintenance weight than I've been in so long. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself but I'm so excited I'm finally getting results. This is just more motivation to stick with our "no excuses" week and not blow anything! :carrot: Also, pants-o meter is telling me I'm doing well. I've been able to fit into some pants that I haven't been able to wear in a while. Not all my pants, but some of them, which is progress.

I was feeling crummy yesterday and I didn't want to work out, but I ended up feeling so much better (as always!) after I did. Thank you endorphins.

Robin, thanks for sharing the information on Passover. It sounds like you have instilled some wonderful traditions with your family. I used to know about Passover, but had forgotten in recent years... now I'm better informed again. I can imagine you writing to all these food companies (Splenda, the green bean farmers, etc.) trying to get your favorite diet staples certified Kosher. :p I do enjoy Matzo ball soup that my good (Jewish) friend made in college.

Allison, I'm sure everything will go fine with your procedure. I hope there is minimal discomfort.

Barbara, Michele, friendlykat, yup, the alcohol was easy, but the sweets were really tough. I can work a few treats into my "maintenance mode" eating plan, but I've been struggling for so many months to lose these few pounds I had to find another place to shed a few calories and just eat really cleanly. Plus both my BF and roommate said they didn't think I could give up chocolate for a whole month, so that made me really determined to prove them wrong! (Stubborn much? ;))

Thanks everyone for the well wishes! I'll check in this afternoon to let you know how it went.

Barbara~running does count toward walking--but I just can't see fitting it in. Imagine this: get up at 4:30, pry on the compression stocking (which I'll have to wear daily for 10 days) go running, pry off the compression stocking, shower, pry on the compression stocking. If it happens that Meg is correct and it isn't so hard to get on, I'll run as usual (although I did take this morning off), otherwise I'll do a 1/2 hour walk in the morning and another 1/2 hour walk in the evening.

My eating plan is going well so far this week (however I missed inputting my afternoon snack from yesterday and I'm sure that puts me over my calorie allotment). I hope the prednisone I have to take won't mess with my appetite (although it is a side effect).

It's interesting to read about people's different Passover traditions. I come from an interfaith family (dad is Jewish, mom is Lutheran), and while we celebrated the Jewish holidays, we were very far from being strict. We always had a Seder and matzoh, but we never actually kept the 8 days eating rules. DH grew up eating mostly kosher at home (two sets of dishes, but only one oven), but they became lax in later years and never kept Kosher when eating away from home. Now that we live in Indy we celebrate the holidays with his family. Last year we made an attempt to do it halfway -- we didn't clean out anything, but we did try to avoid off-limits foods for the duration of Passover (though we didn't make sure they were all marked kosher for passover). I think the only thing we cheated on was salad dressing with high fructose corn syrup in it. This year our local grocery was sold out of matzoh so we didn't follow the rules at all (beyond having a Seder). Obviously we are pretty bad Jews. :P

Good luck with your surgery Allison!

I'm back. I would have been back sooner, but...

My Husband Forgot ME!!!!

Did I say that loud enough? He dropped me off at about 9:40 and headed to a meeting. He was supposed to pick me up at 11:00, but they were running a little behind, so I texted him and said to come at 11:30. Well, I was done by 11:10 so I called him...got his voice mail...left a message. I figured he'd listen to his voice mail. Well, he finally did (and finally saw the text message, too). He called at 11:30 to say he FORGOT. Imagine me sitting in the doctors office...waiting...and then his call and I say "You forgot me?" The receptionists were all like "he's in so much trouble." He finally got me at 11:55. All he said was he was sorry. I said very little. Stewing...Letting him KNOW how mad I am.

Anyway, it went well. I'm still numb. Weird how when they did the laser it gave me a bad taste in my mouth--something akin to licking cigarette ashes. Ick. Then there was a bit of an antiseptic taste. It's kind of killed my appetite, but I'm getting a headache so it's time for Tylenol and a little snack to kill the taste.

:hug: Allison! Rest and take it easy for the rest of the day. DH owes you big time and should be waiting on you hand and foot to make up for forgetting you. :yikes: I can't believe how much easier your procedure was than mine -- I had general anesthesia and everything! Let us know how you do with the boa constrictors, a/k/a support stockings. :lol:

Oh, Allison, I'm :tantrum: on your behalf. :) My DH used to be awful about that, and when we worked close enough to commute together, it was dreadful! Glad the surgery went well though.

My Husband Forgot ME!!!!


Ooooooooooooooooh he is in TROUBLE!!! Milk it for all it's worth, girl! :devil:

Megan,
I love peppers and hear lots of people talk about stuffed peppers. How do you do that and with what? Is there a recipe here to share? I'd love to learn!

Allison,
I agree- your husband is in big trouble. Hopefully he is waiting on you hand and foot!
My husband has done a few things like that over the years and I haven't been too sweet about it. Oh well-- he's great 99% of the time!

Hi everyone, I've been busy fishing the last few days. I caught some really great fished and cooked them for dinner tonite. (not too weight friendly). But, I did get some unplanned exercise last night. We were fishing after dark and got our boat stuck. DH flooded the motor trying to get us out of the mess. So, we had to paddle 8 miles back to our starting point. My arms and shoulders are very sore today. It didn't help that the current was flowing against us. It took us about 3 hrs. of paddling. It sure made me think that DH should have took the time to hook up the new trolling motor that we bought last month! DUH. (BTW< DH said the motor flooded, I think we ran out of gas and he didn't want to admit it cause I told him we needed more gas to start with and he didn't listen).

I still haven't heard from my son. Today was depressing for me cause I am missing him so much.

I'm leaving at 3PM tomorrow to take Lacy to OK City for her Dr. appts. and testing all day on Thurs. She has to check in at 7:30 AM, so we're getting a motel room instead of getting up at 3AM to drive to the city.

Shelbey's sty came to a pimple-like head today and busted. It drained some pus and actually looks better than it has been looking. We had planned on taking her back to the Dr. again on Friday, but hopefully we won't have to.

DH left back to work today. I was a little sad to see him leave (which is unusual, LOL).

I still haven't got my garden started, but we did get most of our baseboards on.

Meg, I don't have my own electric staple gun. LOL, maybe I do need one though.

Allison, your DH definitely owes you Big Time.

Hi maintainers,

Still no formal exercise here, but my home improvements are coing along. Yesterday I finished p[utting in the 2nd floor, and before that I had totally painted the room.

I am feeling a bit down tough, because I had an enormous row with my son. He is staying with a friend and wanted to take his computer there as well for the stay. I flatly refused, and he & friend have been behaving badly all day yesterday, saying that if I ruined their holiday they were going to ruin my day and DDs day. So I sent them up to my son's room, untill the father of his friend came to get them. I am definitely notm Ok with this, and shocked at their behaviour.

Today is the queens birthday and there adre festivities all over the country. DD had 2 friends for a sleepover, and they are now gome to the festivities in the next village. I'll bike over there as well in the next hour or so. The exercise will do me good and maybe get me out of this down mood.

I hate rows, and I very much resent it that my son said that mothers were supposed to love their sons an that I always sided with his sister. I am shocked by this cmputer dependancy, and thinking of restriciting computer time for him. DS will be back on friday from his stay with his friend,and saturday he leaves with his father for a holiday. I am actually glad that he is gone now for a couple of days, because I may have been to lenient with him up untill now.

Lily, I hope everithing went Ok with your Lacy's Dr appointment.

Allison - I agree, in trouble big time.

Hi to all the other maintainers,

Rabbit

Oh Allison, Hubby IS in big trouble isn't he. But other then that sounds like everything went well, thank G-d.

It does kind of remind me of when I was about to give birth to my 3rd child. My DH was roaming the halls and I was ready to go from the labor room to the delivery room, finally fully dilated and all ready to push that baby OUT- and he was NO WHERE TO BE FOUND. So they made me wait - and wait - and wait, til he finally decided to show up. Yeah, I still remind him about that from time to time.

Lily, sounds like you had another adventure on your hands. I'm sure you'll be hearing from Shane very soon now. I hope all goes well with Lacy at the Drs. :hug:

Rabbit, enjoy those fesitivities!

Hello to the rest of the gang. :smug:

Good morning all,

Yesterday I had a great running workout and food mostly on plan. I was hungry, so I had a nighttime snack of an apple and 1 Tbsp. almond butter, that turned into 3 Tbsp. almond butter and a few dried apricots. Oops. 1900 cal total made it ok, just not a "losing" day. But I did stay away from homemade cookies, ice cream, m&m's, and brownies with ice cream and chocolate syrup, so I'm telling myself I still came out ahead. ;)

Rabbit, sorry about your argument with your son! It sounds very tough. I agree that his behavior is really unacceptable. Maybe some sort of computer suspension (minus schoolwork) is in order? I hope you're able to enjoy the rest of your vacation.

Lily, LOL, that is SO funny if your husband ran out of gas and won't admit it! (Obviously not funny that you had to row so far!) I've been in BF's boat and we've run out of gas, but luckily a friend drove by and we got a tow. I know a lot of people with boats, and there are two groups: those who admit when they run out of gas, and those who don't. I find it it really amusing when boats with twin engines have both of them "mysteriously" shut down at the exact same second! Who are they trying to kid?

Allison, how are your legs today? How is the compression sock working out?

goal, I used a recipe called "Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers" from Ellie Krieger on the Food Network. You can easily get it off of their website. If I make them again I will add more oregano, salt, and pepper, maybe a few extra seasonings.

Speaking of boats, I have to go make sure mine is ready for my trip today. I know that I have an extra gas can on the boat already!

Morning all

Barbara: Thank you for that link, I'm want to try to pickle some veggies,and I definitely want to try fruit preserves, I told DH I want to go blueberry & strawberry picking this year, I've never done that. And when summer rolls around, there are a lot of farmer's markets around the area, I would love to take advantage of that and start pickling. :T

Robin: Thank you so much for enlightening me. I've alway been interested other traditions people have. I grew up catholic, so I'm not really familiar with jewish traditions. I think it's wonderful that you dedicate time to those traditions with you family.

Allison: I second what Megan said about your husband, milk it for all it's worth! :D Hope you're having a speedy recovery.

Lily: Here's a big :hug: for you. I'm sure Shane will call you as soon as he gets a chance. I know when my brother was there, sometimes it was very difficult for them to get to a phone or a computer. They're in a flurry of activity and I'm sure he just hasn't gotten a chance. If Shelbey's sty bursted then you probably don't need to go back to the Dr. I had a bad one some years ago and after that happened it went away.

Megan: Those peppers sound good, I like watching Ellie's show, but I've never made anything of hers. And I'm with you on the chocolate challenge, if anyone comes up to me and say "you won't be able to...", I'd be all over that. Stubborn??? Nah... just determined! :D

Hope everyone else is doing well, have a great day everyone! :)

Hi guys! :wave: Just popping in for a minute.

I screwed up my eating yesterday. I had a crappy day at work, and was really looking forward to a nice powerwalk with the dog, but the dog misbehaved almost the entire walk (a big surprise, he is usually great on the leash)! I ended up feeling crappy all night and eating ice cream despite my rule to not eat sweets on weekdays. Yesterday was my first day over 2000 cals this month.

Then despite the fact that I haven't gone over 2000 cals up until yesterday, I have not lost a single ounce this month. I don't really understand what's going on. My clothes fit fine, I'm not doing much strengthening so it's not like I'm building muscle. Eating habits haven't changed. Why do my clothes fit okay when I am 7lbs above goal? Was my old scale just that wrong? I knew it was 3lbs off but 7??

Allisonoooh! I'd milk that for all it's worth.
Rabbit :hug:I think I've had the same argument with my ds. He ended up with very limited gaming time until he shows me he's seen the error of his ways, LOL
Lily I hope all goes well for Lacy and they can figure out what is wrong.
Jessica My dog took the door off his kennel yesterday.:dizzy: Argh!

Yesterday I totally cleaned the kitchen-inside and out of appliances, washed the walls and baseboards, etc. Whew! Today I'm working on the bathrooms. Gee, only 7 more rooms to go.

Good morning all!

Back to work today with a healthy snack and lunch packed.

DH didn't bring flowers. He did apologize several times, though. It's hard to stay mad at someone for long, though. I did let him know that it will be very hard for him to live down--kind of along the lines of the one time he tried to kill me. Did I ever tell y'all that story? It usually garners a few laughs.

Jessica~dont' feel bad. I had ice cream last night, too. Hopefully your dog will be better behaved tonight. And I know how you feel about the weight. I've been trying and trying and nothing seems to work. In fact, rather than losing, I'm going up and up. It's quite disconcerting.

Lily~good luck with Lacy and the doctors.

Robin~I don't think I would have waited for my DH to return--time to get that kid out!!!

Well, work beckons. Have a great day!

The scale came in at 115.5 this morning! :goodscale That is such a relief after the last few days of 117. 118 is my redline and being so close to it was concerning, to say the least. :eek: I suspected the extra pounds were just water and I'm so relieved to find that I was right! I had promised myself I would give it until the end of the week before I panicked, but it's nice that I didn't have to wait that long.

Also, can I just say how much I love eating at a maintenance level! It is so much more food! This week I'm up to 1600--that's right, count 'em--1600 calories! I'm wondering how high I'll be able to go.

alinnell: I can't believe your DH forgot you! That's bad!!! I'm glad to hear the procedure seemed to go well.

Hi everyone,
I'm waiting for Lacy to get home from school so we can leave to OK City. I dread the long drive.
Rabbit, sorry to hear of the tiff with your son. I hate it when I'm feuding with my kids. I always end up feeling worse than they do. yeah, mine think life is totally unfair if computer time is restricted.

I did find out that Monday night Shane tried to call collect and our phone had so much static that Shelbey couldn't even hear him. I had the phone company out today and it is fixed now. (something was wrong in the phone box at the end of our block). I hope he tries to call again soon.

I think what got me so depressed was knowing he tried to call and we didn't get to talk to him. Plus the fact that a co-worker of DH's called yesterday and wants to buy Shane's jeep. I'm having a hard time selling it (although Shane did ask me to sell it and put the money in his savings acct. for him). I don't know, it's just hard and I find myself tearful quite often.

Megan, LOL about the "running out of gas". yeah, we have 2 tanks on our boat. I specifically asked him to put more gas in when we stopped for minnows and he said "we've got PLENTY". To top it all off when we finally got the boat loaded, DH's Jeep showed the fuel light was on and it needed gas. I don't know why I'm the only one in this house that believes in keeping my tank pretty darn full.

robin, that is definitely something a DH would never be able to live down. I still remind my DH every yr. now that 6 yrs. ago he forgot my birthday.

Allison, you've gotta share how your DH tried to kill you. Mine almost accidentally set our house on fire while I was sleeping. He started a fire in the fireplace and didn't put the screen over it and left on-duty to work. I work up to the smell of the rug burning in my living room and a burning log laying on it. Actually Molly started barking like crazy and probably is what saved me.

Jessica, I have the same thing happen to me sometimes. Stick to my maintenance cal's and still gain. Then suddenly the weight will disappear. It is frustrating though. Also even 10 lbs. over goal and my clothes will still fit and I don't wear baggy clothes. It's a mystery.

Someone mentioned their dog. DH was upset cause Lucy chewed up another of his hats while we were gone fishing. She also ate another pair of Shelbey's flip-flops. I keep telling Shelbey to put her shoes up. Lucy thinks flip-flops are doggy treats, LOL.

What is it with men and gas? I swear, every time we get into my SO's car, the low fuel light is on. He's never actually run out of gas, but it seems like he's always pushing the boundaries of how far the car can run on fumes. It drives me :crazy: but I try to just keep my mouth shut about it. I rarely even let the low fuel light come on in my car and when it does I drive straight to the nearest gas station.

Hmmm, it is something, that's for sure. My DH almost always shifts his truck (manual transmission) into neutral and "coasts" downhill - like he's actually saving any gas??? :shrug:

Ok, y'all, here's the story of how my DH tried to kill me.

A few years back, DH had an early mid-life crisis (or so I call it that) and he and a bunch of friends decided to buy race cars. Vintage race cars. Specifically 1965-1966 Mustangs. Nice cars! Anyway, they would race them from time to time on actual race tracks (Laguna Seca, Sears Point--now called Infineon Raceway, etc.). Then they got more expensive cars (a Lotus, a corvette and DH got an actual stock car like Nascar). This all led to us needing motor homes so that the families could go along and be comfortable. Later most of them decided it was just too darn costly to keep the race cars and they stopped racing and some of the cars have been sold.

Meanwhile we kept the motor home and we use it for travel--a favorite spot is in Newport Beach. Anyway, we found that driving the motor home is one thing, then getting it set up for a week at the beach and suddenly you need to go to the store for something you forgot. Sure bikes are fine, but DH decided to buy a Jeep to pull behind the motor home.

And not just any Jeep will do for DH. He bought a used one in great condition and proceeded to change it to a tricked out 4-wheel off road machine (he used to off road with his parents). I think he spent $12,000 for the Jeep and has sunk another $20,000 into upgrades! Men and their toys.

So that's the background. Here's the actual story.

DH takes me, DD and DS for a day of off roading with two of his friends. DS rides with one of the friends and DD and I are in the Jeep with DH. We've been out for hours and are currently on a very high mesa in the southern California desert (in a place called Truck Haven). After walking around and admiring the views and watching other folks trying to make it up onto this huge mesa, we decide to drive down and head on home. DH's friend asks James to take the lead.

James proceeds to drive off the edge of the mesa.

I ask him, "wouldn't it be a good idea to stop and walk over to make sure there is a road off of the mesa rather than a sheer drop off?"

He says, "there are tire tracks leading off the edge--there has to be a road."

He doesn't stop.

We drive off the edge of the mesa.

It is a sheer drop.

Okay, okay, so it was only about 3 or 4 feet, but it was certainly a fall! And then there was a hairpin turn left followed by another 3 to 4 foot drop before the trail continued off the mesa. We managed to get down the mountain and sat at the bottom as his friend proceeds to drive off with my DS in the passenger seat (I've never seen him hold on so tight!) The other friend took it a little too fast and almost went end over end, but managed to right it, but ended up snapping something in the drive train and he had to limp back to the main road at a snail's pace.

So there you have it. The day my DH tried to kill me. And now he's gone and forgotten me at my surgical visit. I think he's trying to tell me something.

Oh, I forgot to add. Once we were all down from the mesa, DH's friend informs him that often other off-roaders will drive to the edge of a mesa and then slowly back up again to make it look like there is a trail...

Wow! That is some story Allison!
Do you still have the jeep or the Nascar car?
I'm glad my dh hasn't gone through a mid life crisis (yet)-- he is 46 so I guess it still could be coming.....

I have a question for those of you who exercise daily.
I have only been exercising daily for approx 6 weeks but I am planning it into each day and starting to crave it. I get anxious if I don't think I can fit it in. I am an all or nothing kind of gal...... I worry that if I don't exercise for one day, it will turn into two, etc......

So.....I don't see how I can fit it in this Friday. I have to work (I could never get it together to exercise before work with kids, dogs, dh out of town) and then we have a school event after. I will get done around 7:30 or 8:00 pm. I then have to pick dh up from the train station from his trip. I *might* be able to fit it in between our school event and picking up dh, but I'm wondering if I'm being too anal. Would it really kill me to miss a day? Dh thinks I'm getting obsessed about the exercise. I have my weigh in on Saturday morning but since I'm basically maintaining, it shouldn't matter too much, should it? What would you do?
Thanks!!

Michele, it would probably be beneficial for you to take a rest day. Most experts recommend a rest day every week. It sounds like you're going to have an awfully busy day anyway, so I say take it off from exercise and you'll be rested and refreshed for Saturday's workout. :)

Allison, your story is hysterical! I was laughing out loud when I read it. :rofl: My DH's midlife crisis is autocrossing ... DS does it too, and they own six cars between the two of them. I feel your pain, I really do. But it's better than running off with a 21-year old blonde aerobics instructor as a midlife crisis, I always remind myself (we know someone who did exactly that! :eek:)

Michele, it definitely won't kill you to miss a day. I exercise every day as well, but if I have a day where I just can't fit it in (or I am too sick or injured to exercise), I take that day off. I do hate to miss a day, so if I can fit in exercise before work and that's the only time I can fit it in, I will be at the gym when the doors open at 5:00 AM, but sometimes even getting to the gym at 5:00 AM isn't early enough. I also sometimes will do an abbreviated workout on days where I am really busy--say just a half an hour of cardio.

Wow, alinnell, that's quite an adventure! I would think that dropping 3 or 4 feet in a jeep would be painful, in addition to scary! Hmmm, does adrenaline burn calories?

Good new for all you coffee drinkers! :coffee: Apparently drinking coffee (I think it has to be caffeinated) boosts your metabolism. It's also supposed to improve your workouts. I saw in on a news show at my gym, while I was warming up prior to my training session. They had a bunch of tips on boosting your metabolism (http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=view_from_the_bay/health_fitness&id=6111539) and drinking caffeinated coffee was one. Too bad I drink decaf. :dz:

Hi maintainers,

Thanks for the kind words everyone! DS is still away, staying with his friend, and I am still pretty shaken by the row. I'm pretty teary eyed.

However, I spoke with soemfriends & with my sister...the verdict is that a0 this is normal puberty behaviour and b) since th friend grew up with his parents explaining their every decision, probabely DS has gotten it from him that if they think I am unreasonable, I am somehow bound to do their bidding.

Unfortunately for them, I do not think I have to go along with that, and I think he will see a bit less of friend in the coming time, and less computer time untill I see serious improvements behaviour and school grades.

Furthermore I am not feeling well due to the home improvements stuff. everytime I throw something out it reminds me of the past and I cannot handle that right now. I have to go on, but I sure hate the time it takes to get over this divorce/depression/burn-out.

Reading all your stories has made me feel better.

Lily - I hope the dr appointment went well, and that Shane will contact you soon.

Alinnell - that sure sounds scary!

Michelle - I would take the rest day from exercise. You sound pretty busy and you would not want to risk overtraining and injury or loosing some of that enthousiasm.

Meg - I second that about the 2nd youth. XH has quit his job, bought a seaworthy catamaran, ans is up for the life of adventure now he has solved his problem of a wife that did not want to go and 2 kids still in school. needless to say that my DS has been difficult since he heard this. My reaction to hearing this was that I was glad XH was doing this, because it conclusively proved IMO that he was the one pulling out, but DS might have felt that this was cool instead of irresponsible and lleaving his kids again.

I'm up for another coffee and some more home improvement.

have a great day all,
rabbit

Happy first day of May! Does this mean no more snow?

:hug: Rabbit! You're such a good mom! I'm so sorry you have to be mucking around in the past and digging up bad memories. Have another cup of coffee and stay strong!

Barbara, you made my day with your coffee news! I'm toasting you right now. :coffee:

Jessica, could you be retaining water? If all your clothes are fitting, it doesn't sound like seven pounds of fat. Or maybe it really is your scale? Hey, at least your clothes fit and that's a good thing. :D

I unexpectedly had an ingrown toenail removed yesterday so am soaking my foot instead of going to the gym as usual. I thought I'd show up at the doctor's and he'd say: oh it's blah blah and we need to do blah blah and then I'd go schedule it. Nope, he got this blood-crazed look in his eyes and grabbed his rusty pliers and went at it (OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit :lol:) So it's slowing down my "no excuses" week -- or perhaps this is a good lesson in avoiding excuses? I'm going to rewrap my toe when I'm done soaking, work out at home, and stay 100% on track.

DS finished the semester last night and is moving into his own apartment tomorrow. He's been living at home since his car accident two years ago, but it's time for the baby bird to leave the nest. Fortunately, the apartment is en route to my gym and only ten minutes away, so it won't be hard to provide backup. I asked DH what he wants to do when we're on our own again ... ;)

Bean soup on the menu for today! :T

Happy May 1 everyone!

Ok, it's official, I made it an entire month without alcohol or sweets! Thank goodness I made it the first time, because if I had messed up and had to do it again just to prove I could do it, well, that would stink (having to go even longer without chocolate). Honestly, sitting here at work the brownies by the coffeemaker, the cake in the fridge down the hall, and peanut M&M's on my co-workers desk still aren't that tempting. I'm still going to go by the "only when it's really special, and fits into your caloric plan" kinda rule. I will probably have a glass of good wine in the next night or two, though.

That means I lost 6 lbs. in April - wow! that's a lot for me! - definitely lost most of the "flub" around my middle, and the pants-o-meter is very happy with me. I'm going to go through my pants this weekend and see how close I am to my skinny pants. I'm almost down to the red line, just need to stay on track. I think "Plan NANS" served its intended purpose.

Meg, those doctors love to cut on you any chance they get! Lol. I'm sending you wishes for a speedy recovery.

Rabbit, you ARE DEFINITELY a GREAT mom. I hope that someday when your son is older he might at least have a bit more clarity on situation, but, I think you're doing a great job and just need to stick to your guns like you're doing. :hug:

Michele, like Meg said, I've often heard it's beneficial to rest a day a week from exercise. I try to incorporate 1-2 rest days into my workout routine each week. I know it can be hard, but I'm trying to treat my body right. It sounds like you'll burn a few calories anyway, running around all day.

Allison, your story is hilarious!

Lily, I hope Lacy's dr's visit goes well.

Pooh, I have to go scrub down the boat... have a great day all!

Megan, congrats on meeting your April goals!!!

Meg, I laughed and cringed at the thought of the blood-crazed doc and rusty pliers. Eeeeks!!

Where are our pregnant ladies?

Have a good one!

Rabbit,
I don't know how old your ds is, but I am right there with you with my two teenage daughters (17 and 13). The computer time and usage is a sticky subject, with me thinking they use it too much of course. You need to do what you feel is right and stick with it. I hear almost daily how much more strict we are than all of their friends and how unfair it is, and I don't care. I know we are doing the right thing and hopefully they will thank us someday!

That Midwife ... always on the lookout for moms-to-be! I'll bet you have a built-in pregnant woman detector. :lol:

Megan, huge congratulations on a successful month! :cp: :bravo: You're an inspiration to all the rest of us! And it sounds like it paid off in a big way -- the skinny pants are probably just a teensie bit snug now. Another month and you'll be there. :carrot: Much to my surprise, I think I'm like you now and would choose a glass of wine over a dessert as a treat. Who would have thunk it?

I'm back from the my annual gyn appointment with two interesting factoids. First, my blood pressure is now down to 92/64. My doctor asked what I had been doing for exercise, and when I told her about HIIT, she's says that's what did it. Those high-intensity intervals are great for cardio health! Second, I measured 5'3", not my usual 5'4". I asked her why I'm getting shorter (I don't have osteopenia or osteoporosis) and she said we lose 2.5" inches in height as we age, and it has nothing to do with bone density. Hmm, interesting! Of course this means that technically I should weigh less, so bummer. :mad: But I'm wondering if I may get taller after my knees are replaced? (my one leg is bowed from arthritis) And then I could weigh more? :carrot:

Meg - Yeeeoouch on the toe! I had an ingrown toenail removed once - sadist took a whole strip of nail off the big toe...it was excruciating, but the good news is never had a recurrent ingrown since.

Megan - Congratulations on the 6lbs and sugar/alcohol free month. I am impressed. I'm not sure I could go that long without either one.

I was all gung ho for the 'no excuses' week - but I seem to always come up with some excuse.
It has been not a bad week - I have been on my elliptical everyday since I brought it in the house. Unfortunately yesterday - my recuperating leg said I was over doing it - so I may have to pare back a tad.

Happy May 1st everybody - spring is bound to show up soon.

Susan

Meg, ouch! Ah, the last one leaving the nest. Speaking from experience, it's definitely all good. :D So I had the same height issue at my drs. visit about a month ago. And I had the same thought about weighing less. My dr. laughed, but, hey, I was serious--and really grumpy after that visit.

Megan, congratulations on meeting your NANS goal!

Susan, your description made me cringe more than Meg's--owee, owee, owee!

So I got back from the 16 day road trip with my sister only to have to pack up my whole kitchen in one day (my DH is out of town) in preparation for remodeling. Two months without a kitchen. Has anyone gone through this? Any tips? I put the microwave, George Foreman grill and refrigerator in my dining room, and turned my bookshelves into a pantry, and my hall bathroom into the dish washing station. So far, so good, but it's only me and I can survive on cottage cheese, baby carrots and fruit.

I weighed this morning, expecting the worst, and discovered I am under 160 for the first time since the holidays. So I lost about four or five pounds on my RV trip. First time ever that I've lost on vacation. Now I've got to keep the downward trend going.

Happy May 1st! All my flowers are blooming, and if you look past two weeks worth of weeds, my yard looks lovely.

Megan - :woohoo: :cheer: :congrat: Awesome job with the NANS! I am totally impressed! If I wasn't going on a trip to Philly this weekend I would almost try to do the same thing for May. On the other hand, knowing myself, I don't think I could go a whole month without sweets. Alcohol would be no problem. I think when I get back it may be time for a no excuses week of my own. Maybe even two weeks!

Meg - Congrats on the BP! Yeah, I am thinking either it's the scale or my body composition has changed somehow, or maybe I am just forgetting how roomy my clothes used to be! I never have more than 3-4 lbs of water weight, and right now I'm 137 when the water weight is gone, and 139 or so when I'm retaining water. I was looking back over my logs and my weight looks pretty ridiculous. I was 133 (on the current scale) when we got married at the beginning of October. I was 136 at the end of October, after our honeymoon (no surprise there). I spent November trying to lose and ended up at 138 (beginning of my suspicion of the thyroid problem). I was 139 by mid-December and 143 at the beginning of January (after holidays at my parents' house and two weeks of thyroid treatment). I came down to 140 at the end of January, 139 at the end of February, 137/138 at the end of March, and I haven't lost since then. I did have my Synthroid dosage adjusted down so maybe it was easier to lose in Jan/Feb because the dosage was too high.

Starting next week, my "no sweets on weekdays" rule needs to be more strongly enforced. I might need to expand it from just sweets to things like popcorn and chocolate-flavored yogurt too (it's yogurt, it's healthy! but it's still sweet).

Allison - :eek: Driving off a cliff! Geez.

Lily - I hope the doctor's appointment for Lacy went okay!

Rabbit - :hug: I am guessing it is just the usual teenage stage where anything mom or dad does has to be something terrible. Another thing to look out for if he's using the computer many hours a day is repetitive stress injuries! (I didn't have my computer time limited when I was a teenager, and that plus violin and piano landed me in occupational therapy when I was 16.)

Speaking of occupational therapy, mine is going really well! He's started treating my elbows (as of today) and I already feel better. The only bad news is that he thinks the pain I sometimes have in my thumb is arthritis. I'm too young to have arthritis! It's also possible that I have a cyst in my elbow. There's always something, right?

You mean this jeep?http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z104/alinnell/CIMG0057.jpg
Yes, we still have it. DH drives it to work on the weekends, DD wants to learn how to drive it (I think it is important to know how to drive a manual transmission) and it will probably be DS's car when he gets his license in 3 years. Meanwhile, we do still tow it behind the motor home--it is handy in that sense.

Just a quick note to say Hi and I'm thinking about you guys and I'll eventually catch up and read all your posts!! :wave:

After hearing your descriptions, Meg and Susan, I really really hope I never have an ingrown toenail!

Since I started this whole diet and exercise thing, I've actually grown an inch! :carrot: I know, it's hard to believe, but I've looked back at the reports from my annual physicals for the past three years and I'm now one inch taller! And, my first thought on seeing this was that now I can weigh more! :D The only explanation I can think of is that all the core exercises I've been doing have improved my posture and I'm standing up straighter now.

Megan: Congrats on the six lbs! :broc: :goodscale That's awesome; I'd definitely be thrilled if I managed to lose six lbs in a month. It's making me think that maybe I should try giving up sweets (except, wait, I'm not supposed to losing weight anymore, I'm supposed to be maintaining). BTW--that stuffed pepper recipe sounds awesome; I think I might try it next week.

Sheila53: I've never been without my kitchen so I don't have any tips for you, but I can commiserate. My kitchen desperately needs a remodel and the fact that I'd have to live without it for an extended period is definitely something that is preventing me from taking it on. Maybe if we bought a gas grill and did it over the summer...

I am so cracking up at knowing that Sheila, Barbara, and I all immediately think of how much we can weigh when the doctor measures our heights. Like I've always said: I'm short for my weight. If I was 7' 8" or so, I would have been just fine! :rofl:

Good day all.

I've never had an ingrown toenail - and I'd like to keep it that way thankyouverymuch. Ouch is right! Wishing you a speedy recovery Meg.

Meg, NICE BP!!! As far as the height goes, gosh, at barely 5 feet tall, I can't really afford to lose any inches, or even 1/4 inches. And just where does that height go????? Knowing me, probably right to my calves.

Sheila, great weigh in. On vacation no less? FABULOUS!!!!

Megan, I'm so happy for you and your stupendous month!!! Peanut M&M's? Who needs em? You've proved that sticking with something, making a commitment is soooo worth it.

Jessica, glad you're getting some elbow relief. I hope the thumb turns out to be just a temporary thing & NOT arthritis.

Hi LisaMarie & everyone else.

Meg - I have had an ingrown toenail, and had it removed, so you have all my sympathies!! :)

Had to take a "field trip" this morning to visit all of the city's neighborhood parks, now that the snow is gone, so we can post pictures on our website, and also to see if all the equipment survived the winter. Found only one thing that needed immediate repair. Our grounds crew doesn't start til mid-May when things dry up and green up, so I'll be out there again with my trusty camera. But I got back here just after 11, and while my cottage cheese and berries are in a bowl, I've only managed one spoonful between people phoning and coming by. Grrrr, I'm starving, and now it's after noon. Think I'll just go eat my chili and keep the snack for afternoon. Good thing I got a latte to take with me on the photo trip. :lol:

I've managed to stay the same height. I really work on my posture, as I watched my grandmother, mother and MIL develop "humps" and shrink as they aged. At 63 I'm still standing straight! However, if I could grow a couple inches I'd be thrilled :rofl:

Okay, enough. I need to heat chili.

Good morning everyone! :)

It's dark, cold and rainy today, but I'm so happy it's Fri and payday, and I'm leaving work early! :carrot: LOL

Speaking of shrinking, my aunt (mos's sister) is visiting from Guatemala, she flew in last night. I swear she's shrinking big time, she's in her mid 60's and granted she's never been tall, but when I saw her last night she looks so tiny! I don't think she's even 5 feet. And of course me being 5'8" she looks even smaller to me.

And it's funny about checking out height to see if we can weigh more, I was always saying I was 5'10" and was kind of bummed out when I found out I'm only 5'8" LOL. And to think that when I was in high school I desperately wanted to shrink b/c I was one of the tallest girls in school and didn't like it one bit. :shrug:

Megan: CONGRATULATIONS!!!! You did a great job with your NANS in April. I'm thinking I may try it myself.

Meg: Ouch your toe!! I have to confess, I'm always picking at my toes :o b/c I don't like getting ingrown nails, sometimes I make myself bleed and my DH is all over me saying I shouldn't be doing that. Guess if I make myself bleed isn't as bad as some else making me bleed?! :dizzy:

Lily: How did the dr's appointment go?

Sheila: Wow, managing to lose weight even on vacation, great job! :)

Robin: Come here, I'll help you with that ingrown toenail... LOL :crazy:

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!! :D

Hope everyone has a great day.

My parents are certainly shrinking. Mom was 5'9" and Dad was 5'11" and both are now closer to 5'5". Dad has really bad kyphosis (sp?) and spine compression. Mom is just small.

I had a good day yesterday...pretty much on plan, half pound down. I'll try to be good today, but DH and I go out for Friday lunch and then we're all going out to dinner after DD gets her award for outstanding musician from the D.A.R.

Hi everyone,

Allison, maybe you and I need to check and see how much life insurance our DH's carry on us. LOL. I loved the story though.

Meg, sorry about your ingrown toenail. I had 4 of them removed (under anesthesia) when Lacy was a baby. I had to crawl to get around my house for a few days. Much more painful than I expected.

We survived our trip to OK City for Lacy's appt's. I have to take her back next Wednesday morning for an EGD. They are concerned that she keeps getting food stuck in her throat. Then she has to see her pediatric cardiologist because the vascular ring that was fixed before (from her right subclavian) seems to have grown back and is causing a restriction around her esophagus and trachea again. They do think that the hiatal hernia and vascular ring surgeries will both need to be repeated. Last night she got a chip stuck in her throat on our way home and it was very scary. For now, it's soft foods only for her until all this is fixed. (Until she finally got the chip up, I was looking for the nearest ER as she was seriously choking.)

No news from Shane, but I did have Lacy send him a text message that the house phone is fixed and to call collect whenever he gets a chance. Plus we put the same message on Myspace in the case that he gets to use someone's computer and hopefully might see it.

My No Excuses week didn't go so well with being out of town , so I'm starting again today. Laura came by this morning and wanted me to go to IHOP for breakfast but I declined. I feel swollen and fat today, so I'm back OP!

Lol, about the height/weight thing. I checked my height at Lacy's Dr.'s yesterday. It showed me to be 5' 7 1/2 inches, so I think I'm taller now without all the extra poundage. My MIL was 5'6 and is now 5' 3 though.

Another week rushed by! Already we're in May, but it certainly doesn't seem like spring in northern Minnesota. Today, though, the sun is shining. However, the wind continues to blow which makes it not as nice. I'm still holding out hope that the weather will turn soon, so I can enjoy more and longer walks outside. I am a sun worshipper for sure.
Food wise, it's been a good week. I've given up my caramel lozenges and haven't had any trouble with it. I do have one package at home that is probably going to have to go into the garbage. Knowing they are here makes them extra tempting. It's not that I haven't thought about buying them, but when I go to buy them, I remind myself of my promise (no excuses) and step away from the bags of SF candy :) When I pass them up, I feel so much more in control of another aspect of my eating. That's cool!
I continue to log what I'm eating and my exercise. I must admit that I am starting to resent the constant, vigilant watch of my eating habits a bit though. I mean, I want to eat what I'd love to have to eat (pizza, chocolate, cookies, chips) rather than having to stop myself ALL the time. How do you get over this feeling of being deprived? What do you tell yourself? I'm sure I could just go ahead and have something. The problem is I want to have EVERYTHING!!!! Ugh! I continue to believe that losing all this weight is great, though, and I have such cute clothes that I don't want to not fit into them. The real pressure, though, comes from truly knowing that everyone (ok everyone that knows I've lost weight at the fitness center and at my work location) is watching me. In 5 weeks, I will have kept 84+ lbs off for six months. That's an accomplishment for me and one I want to continue. Somehow I've got to convince myself that this--charting and exercising-- is a forever lifestyle and get over resenting it!
Sure would appreciate some advice, all!

Hmmm, southcentral Alaska is having exactly the same weather goal! We live near a large river, with lots of sand bars/banks (well, actually it's glacial soil, not sand) and the air is full of the stuff. Nasty.

I feel good having had 5 days completely on plan, and shopped for groceries with keeping on in this vein. We're having company for dinner tomorrow, and I'm making Barbara's tamale pie. Of course I'm also making a lemon poppyseed cake :drool: but I will have only a tiny piece, and what DH and company don't eat will go to work on Monday.

Tonight we're off to a concert, so I need to go fix a quick dinner - leftovers! :lol:

OK, here's something that doesn't ever happen at the gym. In the middle of my swim this morning, I could swear that I smelled BBQ. It was the strangest thing. When I finished my set, I looked around and wouldn't you know it, they were having some sort of pancake breakfast next door to the pool. So I wasn't out of my mind; I really was smelling BBQ (I guess it was the breakfast sausages) :lol:. I never eat before I exercise in the AM, so it was a little distracting :drool:. But even with the smell of sausages wafting gently over the pool, it was a beautiful morning for a swim. :sunny: And they did have a band, so I got to finish my swim to bluegrass.

WaterRat: I hope the tamale pie is a hit!

Goal: Hmmm, I'm trying to think about why I don't feel deprived all the time and having trouble putting my finger on it. I think partly it's that I've just been doing this so long (counting the year of losing weight, I've been at it for three years), that I've just gotten used to it. It's sort of like when I quit smoking; the first two weeks were killer. Then it got a little easier but I still missed smoking for a long time--that phase must have lasted a year or so. Now, with close to fifteen years as an ex-smoker, I rarely even think about it. It's the same way with my diet; I don't really think that much about the foods I used to eat.

Also, I do sometimes allow myself to eat food that doesn't fit in my calorie plan. I go out to dinner with friends at least once a month, I have business functions where I'm off plan, sometimes I have treats (the occasional high calorie doesn't mean I gain all the weight back), and then there are vacations and business trips. And I really enjoy the food that I do eat. I look forward to every meal and snack and really try to make sure that I'm only eating foods that I enjoy. In fact, I think food tastes better to me now than it did when I just ate without thinking about it. When I look back over the foods I ate today, I really liked everything that I ate. Yet I came in well under my allotted calories for the day.

Exercise is also key, because it suppresses my appetite. Exercising every day really helps me stay on plan with my eating.

Finally, for me, the way I feel about myself is enough of a reward in and of itself. It makes up for anything I've given up. It helps sometimes to remind myself that I don't have to do this. I don't have to be thin; there's no law. I can quit any time I want. But when it comes right down to it, I don't want to quit. I don't ever want to weigh what I used to weigh or be that out of shape again. And I don't want it bad enough to be okay with weighing, measuring, counting, logging, and exercising for the rest for my life if that's what it takes (well, actually not the rest of my life--just until I'm 80, then all bets are off).

Oh, and, congratulations on losing 84 lbs and maintaining for six months! That's a great accomplishment! :broc:

Hi maintainers,

Wow, all of you are sticking well to the plans...I am on my 2nd weeks of "no plan". I was so tired and getting depressed that I took 2 weeks off everything, and went on to do some home improvements projects. Last week I have been busy with projects, and i will continue this week. Unfortunately the first week was not all that fun with the row I had with DS, but he is gone for the week with XH, and we'll see how things are when he returns.

In the meantime it is sunny weather for a change, my house is getting to be less of a mess and DD and I are njoying a bit of peace and quiet, and i am still doing chores around the house.

I am getting relaxed at last.

Have a great weekend all,
Rabbit

I'm happy to say that I made it back to the gym today. After only 10 min's on the treadmill, I started coughing badly. I rested and then did my leg workout and swam for 30 min's. Not a full blown workout, but better than I've done in quite some time. I hope to be able to go again tomorrow.

Still not a single puff, so that is going well. That's not saying I haven't wanted one, just that I haven't had one.

All things considered, it sounds like you had a great workout!

Way to go! Keep up the good work and stay strong!