Nancy: Even if your ticker doesn't tell the full story, it looks like you're doing great. I know what you mean about not knowing what to do with your "leftover" stuff when going low-carb. Does your workplace have a place where you could bring it in and set it out for others to enjoy? Family? Neighbors? If not, it might be destined for the compost heap, I'm afraid. Unfortunately it's not as mnem was suggesting - sweet fruits like that, for most people, either pre-maintenance or maintenance foods. Berries are allowed much earlier, though. Congrats on day 1 keto... the first few days are the worst, but it will get better from there.

mnem: Ugh! I wouldn't drive 2.5 hours after a concert, either! So I don't blame you for looking for a hotel. 9:30 is about an hour away for us, and even that drive was pretty rough after a concert.

Looking into insurance for therapeutic massage is a great idea - I will definitely run with that next week.

Yeah, we oscillate between having the discs and not having the discs with Netflix. Right now, we have a ton of streaming stuff that we want to watch, so the discs were being wasted. (We had one sit at the house for almost 5 months! No joke!) So I sent it back and canceled the discs - I'll put them back on when we start running out of things to watch, but for now there's still so much!

dgramie: I love the feeling of getting on the scale at the Dr. and being far enough lower that they say something! Good job on the Blood pressure, too! Hopefully the antibiotics are helpful for you.


---

For me today, I was 304.4, which is just a tiny bit under what I was yesterday. I'll take it! I've lost 7 lbs in 7 days, so I know pretty soon my body is going to need to take a break and catch up. I sort of hope I drop under 300 first, as that would be really encouraging.

My back felt a little better, yesterday. I'm not sure if it was psychosomatic or really feeling better. I'm keeping an eye on it. I'm scheduled for a second and third injection, if needed.

This evening I'll be having guests over, so I stocked up on nuts, cheese and veggies, and other low-carb snacks for myself. My real challenge on the weekends though is water. I am great about water at work - it's in my routine. But it is so difficult to get into the swing of it on the weekends when I'm out and about so much. I perpetually have an upswing in weight on Monday/Tuesday that falls off by the end of the week, so it's obviously my weekends that are the problem. I'll keep working on it.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

dgramie - isn't it a great feeling when your doctor notices you weight loss? I will never forget my doctor's reaction the first time I went in after losing 50 pounds. It was awesome. I hope the antibiotic works and you are feeling better and have the energy you need to take care of all the wedding expectations!

Nancy - hah, sorry if I was wrong about your potential fruit-eating future. Yeah, I could not live with a low-carb diet for sure. I mean, I'm also a vegetarian, but apples are basically my go-to snack, especially when traveling! An apple and a string-cheese.

Tel - glad your back is feeling better, even if it is psychosomatic, it is still BETTER. I also often see my weight jump after the weekends, but I tend to be a BIT looser with my diet on weekends, and am willing to have a beer or a glass of wine with friends, or even dessert, so I am okay with that.

--

I really want to get out and PLANT this weekend. The rule is that we can pretty much expect no more frost / freeze after mother's day, around here? Except! Our forecast for Sunday/Monday is lows in the upper 20s in the mountains and low-to-mid 30s in the river valleys. Also it is supposed to storm today and rain tomorrow.

I just double-checked the weather forecast for my immediate zip code and it looks like we are slated to stay above freezing, but barely. Man, though, we can still get frost at those temperatures. So maybe I'll wait on vegetables and just focus on things that would be protected from frost close to the house?

Good morning everyone. It's a gorgeous day here and hope you're having some sunshine of your own -- even if it's in spirit only.

Nancy -- how's it going with Atkins? I was very successful on Atkins except for my cholesterol going bananas. However, that may have been due to having bacon every morning (and other high fat foods that I rationalized were on the plan). Counting carbs is definitely one of the things that makes a huge difference for so many people.

Tel -- It sounds like you're slowly getting back to normal. Just the thought of a spinal injection scares me. Hope you're able to tell the difference with the back pain soon.

Dgramie -- Congrats on a great doctor's visit. Weight loss and great numbers -- hope you got lots of kudos for that.

Mnem -- Sounds like the planting is going to have to wait.......unless you'd like to come for a visit and help me plant. That's my big activity for tomorrow.

Have adjusted with no trouble to the bi-pap for which I'm thankful -- evidently some people just never make the transition. Yesterday was spent getting the plants for all the flower boxes and pots, today I'm going into town to pick up the two enormous bags of rubber mulch, and then power wash the deck and put up the screens on the porch. Tomorrow is planting day. Slowly but surely, I'm whipping this place into shape.

Have a great weekend and for those of you who are mothers, have a wonderful special day.

I think I feel a bit better today. My throat is not as sore. Hoping to eat real food today, my calories came from icecream yesterday.
My scales now show me losing 30lbs since I restarted losing this year. woohoo
My goal is to be below 200 before the end of the year. I turn 50 in jan and want it off before then!!!

I think I am out the other side of a few days of feeling a bit low. I am guessing this was from the diet switch to ketogenic. I felt much better today, thank goodness. It is an odd adjustment to eating way more fat (the key to a ketogenic diet is a high percentage of your calories from fat), but my body really seems to like eating this way. I feel so much more stable. Even with the bit of fruit I was eating I would get slightly sleepy afterwards. The scale seems to like it two since I finally dropped into the 250’s. It is probably mostly a water flush from glycogen storage, but I’ll take it!

I have been a fan of Quest bars for awhile, but today I tried the cookie dough one and OMG – it was so great. It has one gram of sugar alcohols, which is really low, so hopefully it won’t be a problem because it was so amazing.

At the end of my walk Friday as I was getting back to my car a park ranger pulled up. I was expecting him to tell me that it was time to leave since the park was closing, but instead he congratulated me for doing an awesome job out there walking. It was really nice!

Unfortunately this morning Zumba was cancelled because the teacher didn’t show, but I took the opportunity to get out walking again and was able to maintain a 20 minute mile. I want to improve that and am working on my stride. I still have to watch my knees so I don’t know how much more I can improve before doing something with them, but I was really pleased with my progress. In chatting with someone at the gym I got a recommendation for a good sports medicine person so I will give him a call and hopefully get some knee help shortly.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Good morning! Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Nancy -- glad that you're adjusting to the change in eating. It's amazing what changing can do to both our weight loss and to how our body reacts to it. Great compliment from the ranger on the walking -- those are the kinds of things that stay with us for awhile.

Dgramie -- Glad the sore throat is getting better and congrats on hitting that 30 pounds weight loss. Hitting your goal would be a great birthday present.

I'm off to the doctor in a little while to get my Coumadin checked and hopefully this means I can get the cardioversion scheduled and be done (ok, I know I won't be done) with this a fib episode. I worked on a lot of stuff around the house and yard this weekend, and realized that it's the most I've been able to do in years. Probably a combination of losing weight and getting some of these previously unknown medical issues addressed.

Have a great week everyone.......although I'm sure I'll be posting again before the end of the week!

betsy - planting did have to wait. I went to the greenhouse on Saturday to buy hanging baskets for mother's day and was just wandering around SHIVERING. It was so cold. I did buy a few things to put in pots that I could bring inside, and got those potted. Man, I love, love, love, love all the colors at the greenhouse.

My roses are in bloom, now. And my peonies will be blooming soon, too. Did you get your planting done? Fingers cross that your INR/PT times are good and you can get the cardioversion done.

dgramie - that is just amazing. Congrats on such a great loss! hopefully you will continue to feel better, especially since you have so much going on right now.

Nancy - I have never tried Quest bars. Sometimes I buy Fiber One bars, but most of the actual protein bars have more calories than I want from a ... bar. How many calories do Quest bars have? I think since I'm not a low-carb'er the calories outweigh the rest in those bars for me. But Cookie Dough sounds tasty.

And hah, that was awesome of the park ranger. :) Congrats on improving your walking time!

--

I had a good weekend, though I totally messed up timewise on Sunday and missed the first third of the musical we were taking my mom to see. It was a local production of Evita. Otherwise my weekend was uneventful. I did some writing and some hanging out and stayed up tooo late both Friday and Saturday night. That wouldn't be a problem if I could sleep in past 9 a.m., but I wake up. Ah, well.

Here's to a great week!

Hi everyone! I've been on vacation, so I'm playing catch up. We had a great trip around Alberta and finished up in Saskatoon. I got to see a lot of my dad's family, visited the cemetery where my grandparents are buried, and just generally have a good time with my boyfriend.

I'm up on the scale, but I also have TOM symptoms, so I think I probably maintained pretty well.

so it's been a few days since i was on here. well i did some research and decided low carb is the best choice for me. i'm not following any specific plan. just cutting out most carbs. day 2 and i'm already down 4 lbs!! i'm thinking that's pretty much just water weight though since all im really drinking is water and i have a full bladder like ever hour and a half. gosh. i did talk to my dr. bc i have been having gallbladder problems. having a HIDA scan on the 24th to test the function since they dont see any stones. i have read that losing weight can cause gallstones so no matter what they find i am getting my gallbladder removed since i have had four attacks that sent me to the er. anywho. 4lbs already!! so awesome!! hope all of you are doing well!!

that girl- I lived on green beans when I was having gallbladder issues. I also did a lot of boiled chicken. I lost weight and was relieved to have that thing out. Good luck! My mom didnt have any stones but a low functioning gallbladder. keep us posted and 4lbs is great!!!

Jane- glad you had a great time!

mnem- we had a cold snap again over the weekend. I plan to plant a few things tomorrow I guess. Im hoping a friend comes and tills me up a spot but if not I will just dig it myself.

nancy- I havent eaten many bars. I use to do the zone bars years ago. I do enjoy a slimfast most days for lunch. I really love the new high protien low carb one. I am just to busy at lunch caring for kids to sit down and eat something.
betsy- I hate that hubby has to get coumdin levels checked so often. No one understands how exhausting it can be. His level stays pretty steady except for a few times a yr. He is getting all of his teeth pulled in a month or so and will have to go off it for a few days. I dread it. good luck

Scales are down another lb. woohoo
I work today and wed and then off for wedding prep

I'm in a funk over this stupid wedding and the dress. I had my second fitting yesterday, have to go back for a third. The lining had to be let out, it has to be taken in at my boobs and let out in the back. Meanwhile, one other girl needs hers taken in a little and that's it. To top it off my mother in law took pictures of us last night and I look awful. I look heavy and pale and large. Stupid pity party, I know. Just feels like I've busted my butt and have zero to show for it.

Hi everyone. I don't really know where to introduce myself, so I thought that I would do it here. I hope that is okay. I have been lurking for awhile, but have been too shy to peep up. In any case, my name is Brittany. I started my journey at 337 lbs. I am now down to 301. I am doing the Weight Watchers online program.

I love how supportive you all are and I look forward to chatting with you all.

If this post makes even less sense than normal, blame it on getting up at 3:30 to take my brother-in-law to the airport. I asked him why he always schedules such awful early morning flights (the airport is 1 1/2 hours away + the required 2 hours for security and check in). He said he doesn't want to inconvenience his brother with getting in too late. I must have thrown him a look because he reminded me that his brother isn't a good driver when he can see where he's going! LOL

Mnem -- Chuckled over missing the first third of the musical -- hope you still enjoyed and I know just being with your mom was a treat. Sounds like your planting is going to have to wait. I got everything in, but now's it's turned chilly so the plants will just sit there for a couple of weeks.

Jane -- It sounds like you had a great trip. I read a post about your food selections on another thread -- sounds like you did a great job plus I loved the use of the word bacchanalia -- What a great word and it paints such a vivid picture.

dgramie -- Hi. See note at beginning about not running on all cylinders today.

Thatgirl -- That's one of the great things about watching carbs -- there's definitely a big woosh at the beginning to really get you motivated.

Only big news for me is that the cardioversion has finally been scheduled and I can hopefully move into the world of post a fib. I have to admit that I already feel so much better (ok, except for today where my mind is definitely foggy) with losing the weight and getting the sleep apnea addressed. Feels so good to be able to do things for longer than 15 minutes at a stretch.

Guess I'd better get to the gym. Have a wonderful day all!

Noturningback -- welcome and GREAT START!

Hey everyone!
(To anyone in the Atkin's 5 lb loss challenge thread, you've read this already.)

It's been a very busy weekend/early week for me, so this is just a quick driveby update to the threads I usually post in. I hope to come back in a bit and see how you've all been doing. I'm sure you're all kicking butt, though!

I held pretty steady this weekend. I worked very hard to manage that, because I usually have a gain of 3+ lbs by Sunday that takes until Tuesday to shake. This week, I fluctuated by much less, so my efforts toward keeping my water intake up really helped.

Saturday night at a birthday party, I indulged a little. And "a little" was a small glass of someone's home-brewed beer, and three or four strawberries. I felt good coming out of that experience and stayed good on Sunday.

Last night, we went out with friends to a place that does cheap burgers on Tuesday night. My husband used it as an excuse to go off plan, but I prevailed. Avoiding the bun, chips, and fries was not my big success... my big success was not letting my husband's deviation from plan dictate my adherence. And I was especially able to hold fast on Tuesday because I know this upcoming Saturday is going to slow me down... there is a beer festival and we will be attending with close friends. I enjoy beer greatly, and I will be tasting everything that looks interesting.

Anyway, work is busy so I have to get this posted and then run again. Take care, and I hope to be back to check up on you all tomorrow.

Telorida great job on sticking to plan!


TMI alert: TOM is looming, and I'm beginning to really hate this side effect of weight loss. The pms symptoms are horrendous. Lack of sleep, vivid dreams, weepiness, sluggishness, sore "girls".... the list goes on. I didn't miss this at all.

Hello! I just had my surgery today and it was a huge success. They were able to remove my gallbladder laparoscopically and there were no complications. I just had it done around noon and I'm already at home, taking it easy and sticking to clear liquids for now.

Thanks again for everyone's reassurances!!

Jane - Glad you had a good vacation, but sorry you are struggling with TOM symptoms. I have found that my symptoms (which were fairly troublesome earlier) have sort of abated over the past few months, but I never really had significant PMS and I know you said that you have had that in the past.

I totally understand the pity party, by the way. I would not want to be in a wedding right now. But I think the pic you have in your profile right now (you are your nephew) is adorable and you look amazing.

thatweirdgirl - congrats on the loss! I don't think that gallbladder stones are caused by weight loss, so much as weight loss can exacerbated the symptoms or something.

dgramie - have you gotten anything planted? I would think that with all the wedding stuff your plate would be full! Now of course it is HOT here and I had to turn on the a/c for a bit last night when it got up to 80 degrees in the house.

Brittany - welcome! congrats on your wonderful loss thus far.

betsy - yes, it was lovely, thank you! I'm glad that you have your cardioversion scheduled. I bet it is a load off your mind, and how exciting to be feeling better. I know the feeling. This morning I increased my treadmill pace to 3.8 mph for at least 10 minutes of it. When I started using it last year, I was going 2 mph to 'warm up' and max 2.5 mph was my 'fast pace'. I cannot believe the fitness gains I have made. It is incredible.

Tel - welcome back. WOW, uh. We are strange twins. I'm a big fan of beer and trying different microbrews and everything like that. The beer festival sounds like such great fun. You reminded me to see when the Athens, Ohio beer festival is. I missed it last year.

Have fun!

MapleLeaf - so glad to hear from you and so pleased that everything went so well. Take it easy and remember that you are still recovering for longer than you'll realize given how easy the surgery was. Take care of yourself!

Good morning everyone. It sounds like everyone is continuing to multi-task as I count the eating healthy approach as a full time job for right now!

Jane -- sorry you are having such horrible TOM problems -- especially since the severity seems to be linked to weight loss. Don't know if your doctor can recommend anything. I had one friend who would up her soy intake and swore by it, but it didn't do anything for me. Might be worth a try. Hope that you're able to focus on the wedding -- that sounds like a lot more fun.

Mapleleaf -- glad the surgery went well for you. Laproscopic is a wonderful invention -- glad you're taking care of yourself as it does take time for the healing to occur.

Mnem -- did you get any planting done this week? This time of year can be so hit or miss. We're having sun today so I'll be out working on the weeding and spreading the mulch.

Tel -- sounds like you've come up with a good approach to staying on plan and still enjoying life.

I'm dog sitting my brother-in-law's dog and she is great company (black lab). It's also a great exercise form -- not from taking her on a walk, but from getting up and down 20 times a day to let her out into the yard (it's fenced in). I'm on a hill, and she loves being able to stand on one of the terraces and look down. Then she wants to come in. Then she wants to go out. Like I said, new exercise routine!

Have a great day.

Betsey Dog sitting is great exercise! My best friend has a Siberian Husky that I sit whenever they can't take her somewhere, and she loves to run around. We had a blast last summer going for walks and fishing with her.

I'm feeling a little better. I'm trying to deal with my symptoms as holistically as possible; recognizing that the emotional symptoms were purely hormonal also helped. It actually showed up today, and I did have to break down and take something for the pain. I don't do soy well, so I won't try that, but I made sure to keep my calcium and magnesium levels up.

I'm also looking at the stall I'm still kind of in (and that stopped me pretty much dead from February on), as an adjustment period. I think maybe my body just needed to regroup and cope with things such as having a regular cycle.

Mnem That picture is actually from September, so I would have been about 20 pounds from my heaviest. I'm looking forward to this year's batch of pictures!

Jane- I know you are unhappy with the dress andn stuff but just look at how far you came. You will be beautiful!!
nmen- I have 4 tomato plants out and thats it. Im hoping to get some more stuff out this next week.

I was off work yesterday and sat around in my robe and sock feet to drink my coffee and start my house cleaning. I decided to get the baby stuff out of the livingroom for the weekend since i didnt have to babysit and not sure who will be dropping by.
I was carrying some stuff to the basement and my foot slipped and i went down 7 steps. I am bruised and super sore but ok. I have a nasty scratched up arm that will show in my dress but oh well.
Scales are still at 231 but for a second I saw 230 today. woohoo!!
We decorated yesterday and ended up having to iron all the chair covers. It took 3 of us almost 5 hours to do them all. wonder how many calories are burnt ironing?? lol
Today is a bit of light housework and then mani and pedis with my daughters, rehersal is tonight and tomorrow is the wedding. I am excited and everything is just beautiful!!!!!!!

I am trying to stay OP today and will relax tomorrow and enjoy the day. Back at it on sunday!!
hello to everyone!!

Dgramie -- Oh my goodness -- what a scare that fall must have been for you. I'm glad you're "ok" -- are you feeling sore at all. Have a wonderful time at the wedding and enjoy those manis/pedis with your girls.

Jane -- Good insight on the fact that our bodies do need some time to recover from such major changes. Just going back to regular periods is a big adjustment. I can empathize with the stall -- or at least the major slow down. I'm getting near the decade point, but it will have taken me almost two months to lose these 10 pounds.

Mnem -- Any planting progress?

We're having one of those nice, gentle rains here today that would be perfect if I'd gotten my act together and had the garden planted already! I was going to pull the dead weeds and spread the mulch today, but in spite of the forecast saying there was only a 30% chance of rain for today, this looks like it could be an all dayer. Guess I am running out of excuses to clean the house.

Have a great day!

Hi all - hope everyone is doing well.

Having a bit of a blah morning. I gave myself the day off exercise yesterday and now I am wishing I hadn't. It is one of those things I would hear other people say and not really get, but being active makes me feel better. It still kind of weirds out the chubby bookworm part of me. :)

I can also tell I haven't been drinking enough water and am feeling a bit bleh from that. Time to go remedy that.Well, after just a bit more coffee. ;)

There was a question about Quest bars. The cookie dough ones for example have 170 calories, 21g protein, 17g fiber and only 3g active carbs.They are rather chewy, which some people might not like, but I like the fact that they don't melt, so they are great to throw in your pocket for a long walk. They are also a bit pricey and hard to find. I can get them locally at GNC and have ordered some on Amazon since they are cheaper there.

Enjoy the wedding! Hope you're not too sore,dgramie!

I am a bit more sore this morning than I was yesterday. Im sure a hot soaker will help that. I ate way to much yesterday and it was so good. I will eat again today but will jump right back on plan tomorrow.

Hi everyone! I hope everyone is doing well. I did low impact aerobics this morning to Debra Mazda's Shapely Girl video. I'm not sure if anyone else does them but I find her very motivational. And what I like is not only are her workouts pretty simple, they make you sweat! And the girls on the video are plus size girls. If I can see them do the moves it motivates me and say I can do it too!

Good morning everyone. It's a chilly, rainy day here in the NW so that means I won't have an excuse to not get the cleaning done today. RATS!

Nancy -- Loved your admitting that you feel better when moving and that it surprises the bookworm part of you. I know exactly what you mean -- it's been somewhat of a shocker to admit that I was wrong all those years and actually enjoy the benefits of exercising. Don't enjoy the exercising, but do like feeling better.

Dgramie -- So sorry that you're sorer and hope that you will pamper yourself with a good hot soak. Enjoy the wedding.

Patti -- I know what you mean about enjoying videos where there are plus size people in them -- somehow that lends authenticity for me. I still use my old Richard Simmons one that is on tape -- yes, I still have a working VCR in the house! :)

Jane -- are you still doing the yoga? I am going to look into the Biggest Loser Yoga DVD as I need to do something to stretch these muscles.

My big accomplishment for this past week is to get back to 30 minutes of cardio (and I plan on getting to 60 eventually). This week will bring the cardioversion -- I refer to it as getting zapped -- so hopefully the a fib will get back in rhythm and life can be about something other than going to the doctor. Have a great day all.

Hey everyone! Today is day 7 of eating low carb. I have cheated but progress is progress. I've lost 10 lbs as of weighing when i got up this morning!!! It's definitly helping me stay motivated to see the scale going down just about every day. I think next week I will either start 30 Day Shred, or start C25K. Idk which but I do know I need to start some kind of exercise soon. Anywho, I hope you are all doing well!!

thatweirdgirl congrats on your progress!

Betsey I am, but I've missed two classes. Back at it Thursday!

Scale is still moving, I finally got to adjust my ticker. After months stalled its nice to log some progress in may!

Wedding was beautiful! I think everything was near perfect! I am so thankful its over and all cleaned up.
Food has not been OP for 3 days but will be back on track today. Oh and Tom was nice and stayed away til the wedding was over. He showed up right after the wedding. I am so thankful he didnt show up before the wedding.

I am back to babysitting today and I am ready for routine again.

Oh you should see the ugly bruise left on my upper thigh from my fall. Its black and huge!!

Lets make this week OP!!

Good morning, and Happy Monday (lol)!

As is usual for me on Mondays, the scale spiked back up from my low at the end of last week. (Which was incredibly close to dipping below 300 for the first time in I-don't-know-how-many years. 300.8 on Saturday morning, but back up to 304.8 today. Yay, bloating... TOM will be starting mid-week and I'm already feeling the impact.

Of course I can't blame that spike entirely on hormones... I drank a good amount of beer on Saturday. My favorite was a cask conditioned Oatmeal stout... Mmm, yummy! I had no problem getting back on plan after our Saturday outing, though. I remember when that would have been a problem... when one outing would be an excuse to be off plan all weekend because I had "already messed it up". No more of that silliness... maybe my relationship with food is becoming more healthy? I hope so!

Anyway, Sunday was very busy - did the grocery shopping, got all my breakfast & lunch cooked up for the week, cleaned the house, planted my tomato and pepper plants, and tended the rest of the vegetable garden. It was a VERY productive day!



Mnem, that's so funny that you're another craft beer lover. It's looking more and more like were were separated at birth, haha! You would have been in heaven this past Saturday. They were all craft beers from small breweries in the state of Maryland. We got 10 tasting tokens, but half the time I went up, my tokens weren't collected. So I tried closer to 15 brews. A few were not worth anything past that first sip, so into the creek they went... But some were quite yummy!

dgramie, I'm glad the wedding was so lovely. It sounds like it was also pretty stressful, so I'm glad you got through it. I'm sending willpower your way today so you can get back on plan, inspite of TOM. (Isn't it nice it waited, though?)

RadioJane, I'm glad the scale is moving along for you. Months-long stalls really exhaust the willpower, so good on you for sticking with it! Your progress so far is simply amazing. As for your earlier post about the dress and feeling crappy about how you looked... I suspect your MIL is simply not experienced in flattering photo angles.

thatweirdgirl, congrats on 7 days of low carb! I'm glad the scale is cooperating with you so well, but let me caution you now - Please take your starting measurements with a tape measure soon if you haven't already. The first few weeks the weight flys off, but after that it does stall for a bit as your body adapts to your new way of eating. The first weight shed is water weight, because you need more water to process carbs... so when you're not eating them, the body lets go of some of that water. (And subsequently, when you do cheat, that's why you bloat.) But I go through periods of time where the scale doesn't budge, but if I measure, I see that inches are falling off. So while I know the early losses are so motivational, please don't live & die by that scale. Use it as just one of the tools in your toolbox.

Betsy, you have been through so much... I really hope your "getting zapped" helps you get back in rhythm. You're doing amazing under what must be a ton of stress.

Patti, I have never heard of that video but I will have to check it out. I don't usually like workout videos, mostly because the models on the videos have to move less than half of what I do. It can be a bummer, but sounds like that video wouldn't be such a problem!

Nancy, I'm sorry to hear that you feel so blah. Missing out on water does that to me, too. I'm not quite to the point where I miss workouts - that's my major goal over the next month is getting them worked into my schedule much better than they are. You are not the first person I've heard talk about the Quest bars. I really should check them out, somtime... but they look so expensive than I'm afraid I would like them a little too much and go broke!


Ok, everyone have a great day!

Why is it that you want to eat when exhausted??? I will stay the course!

Jane - if that picture is 20 pounds from your heaviest I will require an update soon. Still, it's absolutely adorable and whoever took it is a pretty great photographer. I think that you are having the right instincts and I'm really glad that you are coping with your stall so well AND keeping to it. Also: weddings and vacations and whatnot are 'space' when you shouldn't worry about weight loss as much. The whole thing is a marathon, not a sprint!

dgramie - oh, that fall sounds SO SCARY, I am glad you are okay. And glad that the wedding went well and you had such a lovely time. I hope you are looking forward to seeing the pictures where you look great. :)

Also: hah, I ALSO DO THAT, I have no idea why.

betsy - haha. this weekend I got a TON of planting done. I basically planted most of my veggies, including tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, some broccoli, and cucumbers, various herbs. I planted all my pots excepting one (which might get a veggie, not sure) and planted annuals everyplace I would normally plant them that is not taken up with pansies. The pansies still look gorgeous so I'm going to leave them in the ground until the heat gets them (it is supposed to be 95 here tomorrow so that might been sooner than I think), but otherwise, other than a few more veggies, I got all my planting done. I have some weeding I really want to get done tonight and tomorrow (well, maybe not tomorrow since 95 degrees...), but I'm happy with it all!

I have some pictures of the yard here:

http://elizavieta.tumblr.com/

these are after mowing the grass and after planting a few pots but not all. You have to scroll down, though.

Nancy - I know what you mean. I really like exercising. I feel so good and fit and it is SO WEIRD to me. I STILL put it off, like there's a disconnect between how I feel during/after and how I think about it. Weird. Thanks for the info about Quest bars, though! I appreciate it!

Patti - I have never heard of her, but that sounds like a great video. I will check her out. Thanks for the tip!

thatweirdgirl - that is amazing, congrats on your success! You must be feeling great.


Tel - I'm sure you'll see the bloat disappear soon enough. How exciting to be under 300. Heh, I remember that day well. Glad you had a great time tasting the beer, too. It sounds like an awful lot of fun. And yeah: myself and most of the family are into craft beers. When my parents and aunt and uncle were traveling, my dad sent a bunch of family (his brother and sister, me and my brother) an e-mail about the trip. My uncle replied: enough about the tulips (they were in the Netherlands), what about the beer!

Geez, where is this month going already?! Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Dgramie -- It sounds like you had an action packed weekend, created a lot of new memories, and are ready to get back to a normal routine. Hope the bruise isn't too sore. How come when we get those "trophies" that would get some actual sympathy, they're in a place where it's hard to show someone!

Tel -- Sounds like you had a great weekend. I love beer and would have enjoyed that as an outing as well. The weight gain will go away once you have your TOM whoosh. How wonderful to be so close to being under 300.

Mnem -- Sounds like you worked and worked on your yard. I enjoyed the pictures and while it takes a lot of work, it sure does make for pretty surroundings.

Jane -- Congrats on the scale moving again. There's something so empowering about being able to update the weight data on here. You really have been an inspiration about sticking to it with a really LONG plateau!

Just got back from the doctor for my last warfarin reading before the procedure tomorrow. I have to have readings between 2.5 and 3.0 for three weeks before they'll do the cardioversion. Evidently the INR they do in the doctor's office is always higher than doing an actual blood test. This morning's was 2.4. But a call to the cardiologist said to go ahead as I've had readings above 2.5 since early May. All I need is to be above 2.0 for the reading with the actual blood test and I can get the conversion done and hopefully be back in rhythm.

Meanwhile, it's only misting and chilly out so I'm going to tackle the dead weeds and spread the mulch. Running out of spring! Have a great day.

dgramie so glad the wedding went well! Hope your bruise heals

Telorida true. I do hope the professional pictures turn out well

Mnem I will post some of me all glammed up for the wedding. I do love that photo though. Probably my favorite ever.

Thanks everyone for being so supportive. Keeping at it through a stall is a major NSV for me

Today... Blaaaaahhhhh. up almost 6 lbs from the weekend. I know why, and it's certainly not because I overate by 21,000 calories, so I will just hang in there until next week when this water weight whooshes back off.

Mnem, "Enough about the tulips, what about the beer?" That is hilarious! Also, your garden looks SO lovely and colorful. I haven't gotten in to planting ornamental things, this year. I need to make a plan for it and execute on that plan next year.

betsy, I hope everything goes well with your procedure. You're in my thoughts.

Jane, I know what you mean about hanging on through a stall being an accomplishment in and of itself. Great job!


My shoulder is killing me, today, so I'm going to try to limit my PC usage as much as I can. Kind of hard when my job is at a PC, though...
Anyway, everyone have a great day!

betsy - I'm so glad that you got reasonable news at the doctor's and hopefully you will be able to get your cardioversion done soon. It'll be interesting to see of the cardioversion also improves how you feel! I know you said you've not had many symptoms, but sometimes we don't notice them until they are gone!

RadioJane - I will so look forward to the glammed up pictures. I cannot think about the last time I got really glammed up, alas. So I will live vicariously through you!

Tel - heh, I know the feeling. It will go, it just needs a bit of time. And thank you! I really, really love gardening and most of those plantings are areas I dug out of the lawn. My yard was basically 100% grass except for a weed-covered veggie patch in the back, and has taken shape over the years. At this point there's nowhere new for me to put in new beds, really, so I just garden in the space I have. And watch the stuff I've planted grow. But I genuinely love doing it, and I think if it just isn't your thing, it would be a bit of a chore! I will say, though, that knockout roses are really great for color and impact. Also hydrangeas, man. I ADORE them. Mine will be in bloom soon.

Hope your should starts feeling better!

It is so hot here. I did a wee bit of work outside last night but got caught up chatting with friends otherwise. Hope everyone has a great day!

Just popping in to say hello. I have been kind of wrapped up in boy drama (long story, but basically had a long distance thing brewing that got quashed due to another someone local), but luckily it hasn’t derailed me. Eating and exercise have been good and the scale is cooperating. Three more down and only two to go to get back to that magical 100.

I have an interview tomorrow morning, so tonight I need to do a bit of clothes shopping. Ugh. Hopefully I can find something because I tried on my old interview skirt and was totally swimming in it (which is a good thing). :) Time to go get some resume and reference letters printed for tomorrow.

Hope everyone is doing well!

I am struggling but staying OP. I will be so glad when tom packs his bags and leaves. I really hate him!!

Yeah, I'm not a fan of TOM either. He finally left a few days ago.

I'm practicing walking in my wedding shoes today. I don't like them at all.

Hi all,

So I lost another 2 lbs this week and have so far lost 4 inches from my waist, 2 from my hips and 2 from my bust. This is so very exciting because it is the first time in my life that I have been succesful in any weight loss attempt. I also managed to exercise (hula hooping) every day for the past week including making it through my 60 minute hula hoop class on Monday. I normally feel like I want to die during that class, but I actually felt great this week.

In any case, I have things to say to y'all!

Telorida: I am in MD too. I live on the Baltimore/Carroll County line.

dgramie: I am so glad that the wedding went well. I am getting married on December 14.

mnemosyne: I want to be like you. I still am not to the place where I actually like to exercise.

NotTheCheat: Good luck on your interview!

I hope that you are all having a great week!