Lori, hello! Wonderful to hear from you. My allergies have gotten worse every year for the past 10 years or so. They're just starting to kick in again, even though it's still below freezing most days. There's some sort of tree pollen in the air, apparently. Hang in there.
I really feel for you, Lin. I agree -- when we feel like we have no control over a situation, we can get very depressed and start seeing everything in a negative light.
You do have control over one area, however -- how you react to your circumstances and challenges. I can say from long experience that life is MUCH easier when you can manage a positive outlook. And boy, do I know how hard that can sometimes be. Remind me of this if I get laid off!
But doing admin temp work definitely doesn't need to mean writing off web work except as a hobby. When I moved to Michigan, I signed up with a temp agency to do secretarial work. (This was with a BA and 12 years professional experience in a variety of fields. Ask me how my attitude was!) I also told them I had certain skills, among them writing.
Lo and behold, they found me a tech writing temp job. (Not right away; I did the secretarial thing for about 6 months first.) Apparently they got a call from a small electric machine repair company who needed someone to write software documentation for them. I'd never written software documentation in my life, but I figured it couldn't be too hard. The pay was maybe $10 an hour, like my other temp jobs.
I did that job for about 9 more months. I wrote a bunch of manuals. It was that experience that got me into a consulting company doing tech writing full time, which eventually led to web work, which eventually led to what I'm doing now.
What I'm saying is this -- your temp jobs could take some interesting turns, especially if you let your employers know you can help them out in web-related areas. (And for a lot cheaper than a web design firm would.) Tell the temp agency that you know HTML and Javascript and whatever else you can think of. List the classes you've taken. Tell them you'd prefer web work, but would accept admin work. (Or a combination thereof, which is probably most likely at first.) I'll bet you it won't be too long before you'll get your break, and eventually you'll start building up the experience you need.
Anyway, a very big congratulations on sticking with your program. I've had a terrible time staying OP the past few days due to the hormonal monster. Yesterday I finally ran out of banked points and am now in the red. And I'm bloated city! GACK!! I've got to break out of this cycle, because it really sets me back for the whole month when I overeat like this, even just for a few days. I also haven't exercised this week due to early mornings and late nights.
But this evening is a new evening, and tomorrow is another day.
Lauren,
What sound advice to Lin. I know she can do it too and I know it sounds hackneyed, but when a door closes, a window opens and things do go on.
Take care, have a good weekend everyone. I'm struggling with program, but I'll be in control soon. A lot of my stressors are easing up.
Judy
Dear Turtles,
Glad to have a place to go in this site and 3fatchicks. Tough days and nights, but I am OP today. It's so strange because when I joined this group I had been OP and just not losing. Then I went off program for a bit and now I am back on. All happened very quickly.
Today I'm celebrating St. Patty's Day in a WW way and plan to get through it. I think I'll borrow a few points from tomorrow if I need them. I'll feel in control.
Had some stressing stuff going on this week, so now it's time to recoup and do the right thing for myself.
Good luck to you all with all that's going on in your lives right now. It sounds tough to handle, but I know you can do it.
Take care,
Judy
I'm still struggling, too, Judy, though I suspect that'll turn around now -- TOM FINALLY arrived. I hope to see the carb cravings subside now. I do this every month -- stay OP for days, weeks on end, until the week and a half or so before my period, and then I undo all the good I've done. It's so tough for me to get weight off in the first place, it's discouraging to do this to myself. But during that week, I feel practically driven -- it's like my body is saying "eat! eat! eat!"
So today is yet another day. I think one solution for me would be to just take the time out to cook interesting vegetables in interesting ways and eat a ton of those during that Week From **** every month. Maybe even pre-cook them and freeze them or something, so I don't even have to wait to eat them. Hmmm. I'm open to good veggie recipes if anyone has them. Anything but broccoli; I love the stuff, but it makes me very sick.
Work is getting weirder. A couple of people have requested me to take a job in a different department in the company. It would be a step backwards in that I'd be doing marketing and technical writing again, and that's not what I want to do. But there are no projects coming in for the work that I DO want to do, so my boss thinks I should take a look at it. It's hard giving up a dream here, and that's what this feels like. (Hey, Lin, I'll bet you can relate on that level ...)
Maybe if I look at it instead as just a bump in the road and then keep pursuing my dream in other ways, like keeping my skills up to date and constantly being on the lookout for another job in this same field ...
Well, hang in there everyone. Hope you're having a relaxing weekend.
It's really great to come back and read so many supportive posts. Thank you all.
Lauren--Try making my veggie soup using vegetable stock (If your stores don't have any canned veggie stock, let me know and I'll post a recipe.). Make the following changes--omit the evaporated skim milk, since I know you've omitted dairy for Lent. Put in a can of drained and well-rinsed beans and 4 oz. dry orzo or tiny star pasta or 1 cup cooked brown rice. When you puree it, don't puree all of it. The beans and pasta or rice make it very thick and creamy. I use a 6 cup can of stock and 2 packages of frozen vegetables. Anyway, it makes a really filling, quick meal or a great snack to take the edge off your hunger when you're tired and waiting for dinner to cook. It's 3 points for a cup of soup and only 1 1/2 points if you eat a 1/2 cup as a snack. It saved us last night after a very long, tiring day.
I've heard a lot of tales about how admin work can turn into something better. I'm doing all that I can to promote my web skills. I did put it on my resume and I pointed it out to the recruiter. I am also going to call the four other Adecco offices in Sunnyvale, Mt. View, and Palo Alto. I can let them know I'm seriously looking for work and have a much broader base of places to choose from. I was very glad to hear that the different offices work together to help people find work.
I have a bit of advice for you, too. If you cannot get work in your company doing what you want to do, take the other job. That can buy you time while you look for work in your chosen field. It's a lot better than being laid off and there is still a chance that this is temporary. If jobs in what you do pick up again, you'll be right there to step back into place. Meantime, I think that your idea to keep your skills up to date and keep looking for work in your preferred field is a good plan.
Judy, congratulations on your one year anniversary. And it's good to hear that you're getting through your tough times without going crazy. That's a real success.
Have we all been drinking from some well contaminated by aliens from outer space? It seems as if all of us have been facing stressors right now. It's great to have buddies who know what it's like to face stress and be working on losing weight at the same time.
I had an on/off day yesterday. I made some good choices and some not so good, but I don't think I did any serious damage. I did the best I could under difficult circumstances. That's really my goal, because I know that sometimes life happens.
My interview and job tests went well. I thought it was funny that I scored well in the beginning Excel and the advanced Excel, but forget the intermediate stuff. Well, I've never used the mathematical formulas in Excel. Most of what I've done is to use it as a mini data base because people don't know how to use Access. I scored very well in Power Point, which is really funny because I used it for a graphics tool, not to create presentations. They're a little slow right now, though, so it may be a while before I get anything. That's the other reason I'm calling their other offices.
I've decided that as long as I don't stay depressed for too many days in a row, I have to let myself feel what's really going on. When I don't, I eat. I did that on Thursday. I just made some not great choices, one of which was definitely PMS related. But, once I picked up that journal and wrote about it and let myself have a good cry, I was OK. And I stopped eating. I'm constantly learning about what I need to do.
Checking in on Monday, now that the forum is working. I think the problem was with AOL. We're now in a small service area and our service isn't that good. But my kids are linked to all their buddies, so we're sticking with it for now.
This past weekend was a mixture of doing well, followed by PMS munchies. I noticed a pattern recently that may help me to deal with this issue a little better. First, now that I've been getting enough calcium, PMS seems to strike later in my cycle, so I only seem to be dealing with it for about a week, instead of for 2 - 2 1/2 weeks. Second, getting in the water and some extra exercise really does seem to make a difference. Third, I find that my usual habit of eating 5-6 mini meals seems to go away and I slip back into eating three large meals, then I get hungry and crave stuff between those three meals. Fourth, I seem to slip on getting all of the milk, fruits, and veggies during that time, focusing on carbs and protein. The closer to TOM I get, the fewer fruits and veggies I eat.
So, I see what I need to do. I need to continue to walk more and drink an extra WW mug of water during this time. I need to make sure that I plan and eat my meals in mini meals. I need to make sure that before I eat extra stuff, I have my 2 milks and at least 2 fruits and 3 vegetable servings. To take care of the need for more food, I plan to add 2-6 points for complex carbs. Somehow, a couple of extra servings of complex carbs seems to take away the craving for chocolate candy and potato chips, which is what I'm craving this month.
The hard part, though, isn't planning what to do. It's following through when Mrs. Hyde takes over. She doesn't care whether I reach my goals. She just cares about feeling better. I know there has to be a way to accomplish both goals--feeling OK through this time each month and reaching toward my goals. I have to be consistent about following my plan for a few months and see if it helps.
BTW--I read a small blurb in a magazine recently about calcium supplements. Appearntly some of them contain small amounts of lead. The article recommended looking for "virtually lead free" on the label. Manufacturers are working on lead free supplements. It's worth checking out, anyway. I sure would hate to try to do something good for my body, only to do something bad, along with it. I know there are safe recommended levels, but I though lead builds up in the body? I can't remember for sure. Anyone know anything about this?
That's how I'm doing. I'm staying off the scale until after TOM, though. It gets too discouraging to weight my bloated self and wonder how much of the gain, if any, is fat. I'd rather wait and get an accurate reading without all the excess water.
Way to go, Lin, for analyzing what changes you see during TOM and for figuring out how to fix them. When you wanted to keep Mrs. Hyde away, you reminded me of a book I read called THe Beast Within (something like that, I'll find it and give correct info) that talks specifically about how a part of us does not want to lose weight and is in conflict with the part of us that wants to get this weight off! I'll find it with author in case anyone wants to read it. It's good.
I got on the treadmill last night and I'm back OP. I hesitate to say that, but I feel I should to keep myself on track. Treadmill was slow, but I felt it was major just to be there and walking.
Good luck everyone and take care.
Judy
Lin, I love the "Mrs. Hyde" comparison. That's exactly how she looks in my world, too!
About the calcium -- I've heard about the lead, too; it's impossible to avoid in calcium right now. It's also very low levels, and no one has yet reacted to the lead in calcium pills, so I'm not concerned. We ingest lead in all sorts of ways; a small amount of it doesn't appear to hurt us. If I run across any studies to reference, I'll post them.
Judy, way to go in getting back on the treadmill. I'm with you; last Saturday and again today I did my aerobics tapes. Today I did Richard Simmons. I can't stand the man normally, but his exercise tapes really make me smile. I love the people in them, and the music is a lot of fun. A huge change from doing the FIRM tapes, which are very effective but also very robotic.
TOM is winding down for me now, and I'm pretty sure my weight will be up a bit. That's very disheartening, because this is one of the only two weeks out of the month that I actually lose any substantial weight. I did the same thing to myself last month. Mrs. Hyde is NOT my friend, and I've got to find a way to tell her to go **** herself. (Ahem.) Lin, I like your ideas, but as you say -- how do we do those things when Mrs. Hyde takes over?? I'm really going to work on this one.
Anyway, I'm back OP and feeling the hormones settling down.
Happy spring, everyone! We have crocuses and robins!
Sometimes, ladies, it can seem really discouraging because life seems to be against us. First, PMS keeps us going up and down and up and down. Then we get rid of PMS by going through menopause, but that slows weight loss to a total crawl. As much as I want to be at a proper weight, if that was my only goal I'd never do this. So, I keep going to try to just be as healthy as I can.
I walked for a long time yesterday. I'm over in points, but it's not the frantic munchies right now. I've been eating my planned meals and making sure to get in the calcium. I've been eating larger portions, but not overstuffing. I'm feeling more in control than I did over the weekend. So, we'll see how it goes. My clothes do not fit as if I've been gaining more than the usual water retention. It seems as if keeping my blood sugar fairly level is one key to reining in Mrs. Hyde. At least for this month. What makes it more difficult to deal with is that every month is a little bit different from the month before.
Other than that, things are going just fine for me right now. I'm at home because the temp business is slow. It may be the tight economy. Life in California is a real roller coaster ride these days. Jobs are uncertain. Housing is a mess. PG&E turns off the power for two-four hours periodically in various areas throughout the state, with no advance warning. It's always in the residential areas. And it's extra annoying because when you read the history of this, it becomes clear that we're paying the price for their mismanagement. I often wish I could move out of the state. There are other places I'd like to live, but so far, Paul hasn't found work in any of them that pays enough to cover the cost of living there. Basically, the wages are a higher percentage lower than the cost of living. If I didn't have a family to worry about, I'd just go.
We got some good news yesterday. Chris went and talked to his counselor about what he has to do to make up the credits and graduate on time. His counselor is working on getting the work he finished at Prospect to count toward his graduation credits and to make sure he has all of the classes he needs. If Chris passes his classes he will not have to go to summer school and will only have to take five classes next year. He will be able to take advanced Drama, which is really important to him. I don't know whether he will be able to add an art class in that sixth slot or not. But he's feeling a lot better about this than he was.
David is planning to move to southern California. His ex-girlfriend and her fiance are moving and I think they need help paying the rent on their new place. So, he's planning to move down there in June. Apparently there's a lot of jobs in the area. The only thing is, he'll have to learn to drive, acquire an automobile, and figure out how to pay for it. He's planning to continue to pursue photography, but I wonder if he might get back into music if he's in So. Ca.
So, at least some things are getting better. Happy turtlin'!
Lauren, I was taking a tour of Dotti's site and noticed your post on the thread about the Meyers-Briggs personality test and dieting. Just had to say that we really must be long-lost twins, as we've so long maintained. You're the introverted one and I'm the extrovert. Other than that, we have the same personality type--an INFP and an ENFP!
Thought it was humorous.
Lin, you've lost so much weight that you're an inspiration. Warmest congratulations to you. I hope you won't find me impertinent if I ask why, in post #2 of this thread, you say you couldn't find a single thing in the grocery store that would allow you to stay on program. You see, I'm constantly coming up with reasons why I just "can't" stay within my points range, and I'm slowly learning to deal with the fact that it's ALWAYS possible to stay on program if I really want to.
Believe me when I say I've come up with every rationalization under the sun to avoid staying within my points range. Here are a few suggestions that might help with your budget:
--A 40-cent package of 1-point-each corn tortillas and a 50-cent can of fat-free refried beans. Got salsa, peppers and/or onions? So much the better.
--A $1 bag of rice and $2 worth of veggies to go on it. Pam or otherwise oil-spray the pan, and use any herbs you got, girl.
--A $1.79 (on sale) Lean Cuisine (in my area, one of the three most expensive in the country, these are normally priced at about $2.50-$2.75).
--A 50-cent apple and a $1 bag of salt-free or low-salt pretzels.
--A 75-cent carton of lowfat yogurt and a 50-cent sliced cucumber (with fat-free vinaigrette, if you have it, or plain vinegar if you don't).
--$1-1.50 worth of deli or Carl Buddig Lean Slices turkey ($1-1.25) on crackers or bread you may have around. This is about 2 oz. of turkey--very filling.
--A can of water-packed light tuna--75 cents or so--mixed with a little mustard and/or light (not full-fat) mayo you may have. I like it with minced pickle and onion on either lowfat crackers or bell pepper halves.
--3 cups of air-popped corn. You can buy an air popper for $12-15, and it's well worth it, because you can get a pound of unpopped corn for less than $1, and it makes myriad servings. Try lightly spraying the popped corn with Pam or an aerosol oil container, and sprinkling cajun spice, garlic powder or lemon pepper on it.
...and so on and so on. I'm sure you know all this, but it always helps me to be reminded of the ways through false obstacles I'm creating for myself.
I certainly commiserate on the high price of fruits and veggies, but the nice thing about them, I'm finally discovering, is that when we eat the proper amounts they don't cost a fortune! And there's ALWAYS a way to stay on program, whatever excuses we may make for ourselves. I've gotten through innumerable bad days by improvising, and it feels so damn good to go to bed knowing you did everything you could to move yourself forward!
Hi Shake your hips and Lin and Lauren,
Still struggling. Sorry--I'd love to be upbeat. I've had a couple of good days and a few small slips. Today I am totally disorganized. Overslept. Now I'll redeem the day by getting OUT of my building where I work even though it's rainy and treat myself to a low point lunch and read my paper. It's always good for me to write down a plan and then do it.
Hope your jobs are secure and you handle the stress of these possible upsets well. Take it easy, keep searching for low cost foods, and know I'm thinking about you all.
Judy
Welcome STH! It's great to have a new person posting.
I don't think your're impertinent. You made some good points. I love your suggestions and do use some of them, mainly when I'm eating alone. Except for the bean burritos, my family won't eat any of it. I also do not use frozen prepared dinners much. I prefer to cook fresh food. I'm a gourmet cook who now cooks healthy gourmet. (Which is not the oxymoron that it sounds like.)
My complaint really isn't about not being able to find affordable food. It's about having to move when I didn't want to, and ending up in a place where I can't find many of the ingredients I like to cook with. It's about paying more for food that's not as high in quality as I used to buy. I love fish, for example. The fresh fish I bought in San Jose cost about the same amount that frozen fish (or worse, previously frozen, thawed fish) does here. The closest place to get fresh fish is 45 minutes away in Monterey and it costs more than the fish at my store in San Jose. It's more about my struggle to accept the changes this move has brought to my life, including the limited supply of ingredients many people might consider exotic, but I consider normal. I haven't found a balsamic vinegar I'd spend the money on here, for example. I'm going to have to buy a lot of products online, but when you add the shipping, it can end up costing more than in a retail store, even if the original cost of the item is less.
However, I want to clarify something because I didn't mean to imply that I was looking for reasons to go off program or having a motivational issue with staying OP. Except for dealing with Mrs. Hyde every month, I'm not. Your statement about fresh fruits and veggies not costing much if we eat them in the right amounts is a good point--if I were eating alone. But I have three adult males to feed. My 16 year old eats more than the other two combined, which is normal for a sixteen year old boy. It's my need to feed their appetites that causes the grocery budget to be so hard to manage. For example, I roasted two 5 pound chickens, expecting to get two dinners out of them. (Three if I took the meat and made a casserole or similar dish). Both were eaten before dinnertime the next day. I make 2 pounds of spaghetti, cook it with meatballs and sauce, and I might get two dinners from that amount of food. They aren't overeating, either. They need that much food because they're skinny and active. So, because I need so much food for dinners, it can make it difficult to stretch the budget around fresh fruit and vegetables, plus keeping food around for breakfast, lunches, snacks, and the occasional meals they cook if they hate what's for dinner. It's a case of what one loves the other hates, so sometimes I cook what one loves and the other fends for himself and vice versa.
Anyway, that's what was behind the rant. You kind of came into the middle of all of this stuff.
Judy, you seem pretty upbeat, with your plan for how to manage despite the inauspicious beginning of your day. It's great and I hope your day goes well.
Mrs. Hyde really took over last night, but I still consider this a successful month. I wrote down everything and in looking over it, I've found that she only took over here and there, not every day, every meal for a week straight. She'll be gone by Saturday. I'm OP so far today, but mornings aren't usually when things get crazy. I'm doing what I need to do to take care of myself. That's the best I can do.
I've been reading some interesting stuff about calcium lately. Not only does it help a lot of people with PMS, it also helps to decrease fat storage. Basically, when your diet is low in calcium, the hormones that maintain your metabolism and blood circulation stop your body from breaking down fat. Calcium also helps reduce the risk of colon cancer and hypertension. So, while too much can endanger our health, we all probably ought to make sure to get in the 1200 mg that's recommended each day. I also read that the body can absorb no more than 500 mg at a time, so it needs to be spread out over the day. (The study quoted was conducted at the University of Tennessee.)
Well, I need to start my bread. We're almost out so I need to bake some today and some tomorrow. I learned that with the cement slab floor I cannot do two batches in one day. Then, since I'm not working, I'm taking today and tomorrow off. It's Motrin time. I get klutzy and incompetent so I'm going to indulge myself by playing a new computer game. Chris bought an expansion pack for one of his games. I never finished the original, so I'm starting anew and looking forward to seeing what they changed.
Hey, Hips, welcome! Nice to see you here. Great suggestions there. Thanks. And thanks, too, for the reminder that we can do this if we truly put our minds to it, no matter what the obstacles. You're right; and that hit me in the face in a big way today.
This morning I weighed in, and I've lost nothing. That's not good, because this is usually the one week of the month that I *do* lose something. I'm still exactly where I was at the beginning of March, and it's getting very old. So I got very ticked off and disgusted and decided to blow off my morning workout.
Then I thought for a while and said "You know, if I'm going to be a fat person for the rest of my life, at least I can be a *fit, active* fat person!" And I went and did the workout anyway. I ended up quite late for work, but work is a joke at the moment so that's not a problem.
So I feel good about how I coped with my attitude problem this morning. And the workout felt good, too, once I got into it.
Judy, why do you think you're really struggling right now?
Lin, good for you taking some time off. Why does the cement slab floor affect your breadmaking?
Oh, I meant to add -- Lin, that's very interesting news about calcium. Where did you find it? Sources would be great. I've started taking calcium again, though I take it all in the evening. I should try taking one pill mid-day and one at night. (Mornings I devote to my multi-vitamin with iron, and I don't want the calcium to block absorption of the iron.) I'd love it if the calcium could make the difference. Have you been taking yours all along? I stopped for a while.
