Hi Steph,

Ankles, lower leg, hands, and in my weight on the clinic scale. So I guess all over. The ankles bother me, kankles are so unattractive! Was always told it was caused by high bp, now they are changing their story. But for the past 6 weeks, since the EAS shakes, the ankle swelling has not gone down at all.

Metal persuasion says it all! Lol.

Well I sure hope they figure that out right away for you. It's really good to hear your bloodwork is okay.

DH and I looove metal music. We go out to see bands quite often and it's been really tough not being able to have a beer at those concerts!

I totally understand, I really wanted a beer at the Pub today. Combo of TOM and stress had a drink calling my name.

I am so happy for you that your wallet was turned in! Yeah!

Wine4me- how was your birthday getaway?

Good Morning Everyone,

Steph- sounds like you had fun at the concert. I love going to see live music (I'm more into indie bands), and need to plan more trips to see shows. I live in a small town that doesn't have many music venues, so I pretty much have to go to the SF Bay Area to see concerts.

Slipfree- I hope the water medicine is helping. Are you feeling any relief? Excellent willpower with not getting a beer or French onion soup (yum)! It's difficult to resist that stuff at a restaurant, but TOM would make it even harder.

I am feeling good about the scale today. It said 196.6. My weigh in last Tuesday was 199. I'm hoping for a nice WI this week to get me firmly entrenched in Onderland.

One of my good friends from Ohio is coming to visit in May, so that gives me more motivation to stay on track, so that I can have a couple of planned off plan days with her.

Hello all. Had My WI. Lost .5 lbs. I will take it. Last week I cheated on my bday and valentines. Happy with this. Need to get back on track.

Had some blood work done and my A1c is 5.8. That is almost normal. Last test it was 6.3. New prob my liver enzymes are high. Asked my coach and said it is temp from diet. Anyone else have this prob?

So I have been trying new recipes using egg whites for binder. Coach said that should count as some protein. Is she right? I feel she is not

Hi Kooky,

Glad your scale is moving! So much fun when people from out of town come to visit. Plus, great motivation. My current motivation is I want to be at goal by June 20th for our trip to Maine. Actually, the trip to Maine is the carrot getting me through this no good winter.

Another cold one here, but sunny. Waiting for my new tv to be delivered, was postponed from Sat. because of snow. Kind of messing up my day off, because I do not want it sitting outside.

Not a lot of change in the ankles, but the dr. did say this medicine works slowly and that "we" are not in a rush.

Luccilove,

Can you translate the blood work? What is A1c? Have not heard of liver issues but you may want to post the question to daily chat. Isn't it frustrating improve one thing health wise and another one pops up? Guess it is better than them all being bad

Have been told that 2 egg whites are free.

Kooky - nice job with the scale! Seeing those numbers go down is the best motivation.

Slip - my mom has horrible swelling problems and has been diagnosed with salicylate acid allergy. It has to do with lacking an enzyme to break it down. Apparently salicylate acid occurs naturally in most fruit/vegetables. She has been doing some research and found that drinking water with baking soda will flush it out. She did that all day yesterday and lost 4 lbs of fluid by this morning. Not saying this could be your problem but it's definitely interesting and she is so happy today.

Lucci - adding some egg whites here and there won't hurt your progress at all.

Steph, really interesting. Just looked up some info. on it. We are certainly eating those vegetables!


Okay, sick of talking about IP!

So... What are your favorite things to do? Hobbies?

I like to travel, decorate, redo furniture, shop, garden, and entertain. I enjoy watching birds outside. Spring and summer are my favorite times of year, so I can be outside in the yard or on the deck. I love magazines, books and fires in the fireplace.

I agree- let's take a break from IP talk!

My hobbies: reading books (mostly contemporary fiction)- just started the book, Game of Thrones, magazines (People, US Weekly, O). I'm a beauty product addict- love my Birchbox subscription and trying new beauty & hair products. I like shopping, mostly online, but I think losing weight will make it more enjoyable to go into the stores and try things on. I love nature and the outdoors- going to the beach, walking the coastal trail here, hiking, and glamping (camping with nice amenities). I love massages and acupuncture for relaxation. I love wine tasting, but that hobby is obviously on hold during P1. I've got a nice collection of wine (for being 32 yrs old) aging and waiting for me. I like music (mostly indie bands, but also classic musicians like Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground, etc).

I'm also interested in yoga and meditation, but haven't practiced it much in the past few years. I'm going to look into yoga classes near where I live. Also, as a reward for hitting my goal, I'm booking myself a retreat with a workshop in August at the Tassajara Zen Center in Big Sur, CA. It's a Buddhist monastery in the mountains that opens to the public spring-early fall. They offer a retreats and workshops and most of all a beautiful, quiet place to relax. There are also baths and hot springs. I'm waiting to hear back from them if my reservation has been accepted for early August.

Hey Kooky, hope you get to attend the retreat.

Dr. scheduled the echocardiogram for Wed. Have any of you had one? How long will it take? Going to have to miss school , wish I could have scheduled it myself.

More snow here tomorrow. It is a PD day, I will be driving in the snow. Ugh.

I got a call back today from the Zen Center and they have openings for the retreat I wanted in August and that someone will call me to schedule my lodging and officially do the reservations. Yay! I've wanted to do one of these for so long, but it's never seemed like the right time or they were booked. Here is a link to their website in case anyone is wondering about this place. I can't wait to go! http://www.sfzc.org/tassajara/

I have never had that test done. I'll be thinking of you and hoping for the best. I bet your doctor is just being very precautious in having you do this test.

I hope you get some relief from the snow. Hopefully all of the water will make your garden very lush and beautiful this summer.