Hi everyone, quick check in while I'm soaking in the tub...

Sorry I haven't posted a pic of the dress yet! I still haven't wandered into my dreadful closet yet...

Well didn't have a loss this week...I gained .6 lbs...it isn't much an I'm sure its from the lack of working out so I'm not going to be too hard on myself. I'm just going to have to push harder when I'm finally able to get back in the gym. My pain isn't as bad as it was and the swelling is going down but I still plan to go to the doctor on Tuesday to make sure it isn't anything really serious and hopefully can get some medicine to knock whatever this thing is out once and for all...

DH and I went to a party on Saturday...it was ok but I'm sure everyone thought it was odd because I hung out with all the guys the whole time. I don't do well with the hens cackling away...I like girl talk but besides the kids I was the youngest person there so it was a little hard for me to get into much conversation with anyone...DH and the guys jammed out in one of our friend's rooms so I just stood there and watched them play for most of the night...This get together made me really realize how anti-social I really am. My friend Wendy who was one of the hosts of the party said she can't imagine me to be unapproachable but I really feel like I am sometimes...ah well at least she was nice lol...I also got quite a few compliments from friends who haven't seen me in a good while telling me how great I look...That was a definite boost in my confidence and made me want to strive even harder to lose this weight...

Today DH and I had to go to his sister's baby shower...It was pretty much all family there but it was ok...neither one of is care for our families that much but it was tolerable.

Next week is the wedding and we went to Goodwill to try to find a nice shirt for DH...but couldn't find one that wasn't really worn and one that fit. His neck has gotten thicker even though he's lost weight, it's weird. I may just have to buy a new one at walmart.

Tomorrow I have to attend a work dinner...I'm not looking forward to it but I already looked at the menu of the place online and they have a nice looking steak salad that I think I'm going to get...I wonder if I could just get a side of oil and vinegar as the dressing? I don't know which dressing to choose that wouldn't absolutely defeat the purpose of eating a salad...maybe I'll just eat it without dressing completely...any suggestions?

Anyway...I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend...I'll talk with you soon!

Ubee - I was right along w/ you on eating badly this wk-end! Luckily I pulled myself back together by today, lol. No gain, whew!!!

Sam - Did you decide on the shoes yet?

FionaW - Hope you are feeling much better today! I like seeing yr collages!

Back from the weekend. The missus and I got in a nice bike ride on Sat, and a nice walk on Sun. Sounds like everyone was busy, busy, busy.

I've got some Archer Farms(Target) Autumn Blend brewing. Mmmm.

Have a great day!

Dean

Good Morning! I love Mondays!
Dean sounds like a nice weekend. Do the doggies go with you?
Shinesgirl glad you are back in the saddle. I was able to stop myself. Weekends are difficult but I am learning how to deal with them.
Sam your steak salad sounds so good that I am going to make a steak fajita salad for supper tonight. I am so with you on feeling anti social. With me it comes and goes and of course depends on the situation. Thank goodness tomorrow is Tuesday and you can go to the doctor!
Fi I have decided to take another lesson from you and I hope it sticks. I know you keep your menu simple and that is what works for me. I will make the exception on weekends but during the week I don't need to be a spoiled princess. I am one of those who decides to have eggs for breakfast well I may as well add some cheese, bacon, onions, peppers, mushrooms... Before I know it my plate weighs 5 pounds. I am a card carrying member of the empty plate club so you know how it ends.
Have a peaceful day!

Doggies didn't go with us... Still awfully hot here, and its a bit too much for tiny pups... Still working towards a basket, if it doesn't terrify them too much.

They get walks around the neighborhood, and we've fenced the yard for them to frolic in, so they DO get their exercise, too.

Dean

Ubee ~ Yes I did, I have since then done my laundry again and I folded and put those clothes away too.

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I woke up at 3 A.M. this morning but I went back to sleep at 6:00 A.M. until 9:30 A.M. and now its 10 AM and I'm gonna stay up for the rest of the day. So far today I havent done anything I ate breakfast when I woke up at 3 A.M. and now I'm eating a early lunch at almost 11 A.M. I'm gonna try do my 2 mile walk at noon and then if I'm able to do my noon walk I'll do it again at 7 pm tonight. I havent been working out for a week now cause the bottom of my right heel is cracked opened so its really hurts to walk on so I've been doing the least amount of walking I can. I cant wait until it heals and after it heels I'm gonna do whatever I have to so they dont crack open again. Mom and I are also going to walmart for our weekly shopping trip. We dont have much to get so I wont be walking that much which is good until my heel heals.

Good morning everyone. Just a quick fly through again -- I do so miss my morning chats with you all, but there's several more weeks to go on the care giving so it will be mid-October before I'm back to "normal" -- or what passes for normal for me.

Sounds like everyone is busy and working at staying on plan. Since I have to fix 3 meals a day, I'm not losing -- not gaining, but not losing either. Somehow, I sit down and eat it even if it's a healthy meal. When Bill isn't here, I usually just eat 2 meals a day and maybe have a snack.

Off to the post office and the grocery store and then the dreaded cleaning! Have a great day.

Terra, I used to have a terrible problem with cracked heels and I have found 2 really good solutions. Hemp Cream is one and the other is Norwegian Formula Intensive Moisturiser. I used to put it on before bed and wear socks for an hour or 2 (then my feet got too hot!) works a treat!
Good luck!

Ohmygod, mountain walker, you're back! (Sorry, I used to call you by name, but I've forgotten it...) We talked a lot about missing you and were worried about you! Please fill us in, when you feel comfortable with doing so, on what's happened in the past few months.

I'm doing very well, just a touch now and then of -1 level of depression, but on the whole, I'm back to normal. I guess those days of depression were just something I needed to go through, my brain's rather painful way of enforcing a rest period.

I've been busy reading, writing letters, putting ideas together for my studio at the farm, and dreaming of the pictures I want to make—big, complex pictures, with paint as well as collage. I always have to fantasize, visualize things before I pick up a single piece of paper, and I enjoy that drifting state when my eyes are closed. I especially enjoy it when a kitten or two is sleeping next to me.

The only bummer these days is that our house is basically quarantined for at least a month, because of the ringworm. I can't see Grace; we can't have Margaret and Gavin over; we can't introduce the kittens to anyone. Not until they've been on oral medications for a month, plus have had a few antifungal baths, plus have had, at the end of that month, a negative culture for the fungus. And so far it's only been a little over a week, so we have a long time to wait.

Mountain walker ~ Thanks for the tips about cracked feet.

Good Morning!
Donna! What have you been up to? We've missed you. I hope you will be stopping by more often.
Fi sorry about the quarantine. Your new project sounds very interesting. I can't wait to see it.
Betsy I miss you too! I get so attached to everyone on here. Glad you are not gaining. Remember that is a victory for persons with our history.
Terra way to go on folding AND putting away! Do you go barefoot often? I find that is hard on my feet and makes them dry.
Dean who takes care of your babies when you are out of town? We had a special kitty and I hated to leave him alone. The one we have now I could leave for a week and as long as he had food and water he could care less. Not like I would do that but you get the drift.
Well I gave in to the evil sugar yesterday. Still not nearly as bad as back in the day. I am slowly but surely going to win this battle.
Have a peaceful day.

Well, so much for being back to normal. Later last night I crashed quite dramatically, into -4 level of pain. That's bad enough it makes me cry out, and the poor kittens were disturbed. I got Bob to keep them with him while I was waiting—it takes forever!—for the Geodon to hit and for me to get some relief. And then the Geodon wore off, about two in the morning, and I woke up suddenly into -5 level of pain! It was so awful, it was unreal. The only thing that gave me a little bit of relief was Bob rubbing my feet. Once again the Geodon took a good 45 minutes to have any effect.

And I have no idea what happened to trigger it, if anything. I did have an exasperating trip to the post office in the afternoon, with long slow trains holding me up both directions, plus a broken water main on the main drag at the exact point where I turn on a tiny side street to get to the P.O., tying up traffic in all directions. What usually takes ten minutes to accomplish took an hour and a half. But I didn't really think it was stressing me out, because I was listening to great rock-n-roll on satellite radio.

These days I'm as fragile as tissue paper, so who can say...

Ubee ~ Yes I'm bare foot when I'm in the house so I start wearing socks while in the house and see if that helps, Thanks for the tip.

Mountain walker ~ Is your name Donna? Ubee called someone Donna and the only person that doesnt sound familiar is the person named Donna so I was just wondering.

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I woke up at 6:30 this morning and had breakfast, Mom made everyone biscuits and sausage gravy with a side of scramble eggs but I didnt eat my eggs I was full by the time I ate the biscuit and gravy. We went to dillions after breakfast and I bought a book a stamp and a bus pass and mom bought me more soda cause she's so nice like that (cherry coke zero and cherry diet rite) Although I'm gonna cut myself down to one cherry coke zero in the morning and one diet rite in the even instead of 2 cherry coke zero's in the morning and 2 diet rites in the evening. Anyway so we came back home and dropped the soda off and then we went to Scott's doctor's appt. and then we went to Dollar General and Walmart to find a fitted sheet for my bed, We found one at Walmart and while we were at walmart Mom also bought brake fuid and oil for her car so its ready for when her and I go pick up my aunt next Tuesday. Now its almost 1 pm and we are home until 3 pm, At least Scott and I are, Mom has to go to a doctor's appointment at 1 pm and then at 3 Mom,Scott and I and maybe my younger brother, his girlfriend and their baby are gonna go to Denny's for dinner and then we'll come home for the rest of the day. My heel feels better today so I'm gonna try to do a at least 1 mile walk tonight and then after the week is over hopefully I'll be able to do 2 miles again.

Good Afternoon!
Terra yes Mountain Walker is Donna. She was on here months ago and I became quite fond of her. May I suggest putting lotion on your feet before you put your socks on. Will you be going on line and checking out the menu, calories, carbs... before you go to Denny's?
Fi I am sorry you are in such pain. I do not have depression anything like yours but I do know that your trip to the Post Office would send me into a tizzy.
I always say I gain 10 pounds with one cookie. On Saturday I ate one cookie and have been eating sugar ever since. Now I am starting to crave carbs. That my friends is how I gain 10 pounds with one cookie.

Ubee— In my own experience, I have proven time and time again that one dose of sugar always makes me crave more. Bob brought back some peaches from a tree at the farm, and I found that even one small bowl of peaches and cream made me crave sugar. Fruit sugars don't have so dramatic an effect as sucrose treats like cookies, though. I've found that a sucrose-free diet is just so much less stress, because I hate the cravings.

Yes here I am back again!
I have had mental health challenges and trouble with my chest ...yet again!
My eating has been WAY out of control at times and at others I have been eating much less and enjoying the food more!
You would think that after a zillion years of doing this I could figure out exactly what gives...but ...no...!
Then several things happened.
My daughter announced that she will be getting married next year on July 11th and I didn't want to look like Mother-of-The-Bride Tellytubby.
I started with a new Psychiatrist and am now seeing an absolutely fantastic Therapist who is very much holistic in her approach and links physical and mental health together (hooray!) and is helping me figure out where my attitude toward food comes from.
I have signed up to do an 8 mile walk for Dementia on my birthday the 5th Oct and have been training for it for a few weeks. 8 miles is a long way for a puffed out old flubba wubba like me but it is mercifully flat and I am taking my gorgeous spaniel cross for company!
I am so glad to be back and will read the recent posts in more detail to catch myself up.
Fiona I hope your pain is under control today.
Hugs
Donna

Racing through quickly, with some "autumn" blend coffee... I've got to head out for an On-the-job visit with one of my people this morning...

Our doggies stay at a "doggie day care/kennel" when we're travelling. It just happens that the owner used to go to our church, and takes goood care of the pups. She's also a good bit cheaper than the really expensive one we used to use.

Have a great day!

Dean

Ubee ~ Thanks for answering my question. Yes I sure did do my research about my meal at Denny's before I went

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I woke up at 3:30 A.M. and its 6:59 am right now, I need to start watching for my bus at 7:30 am cause the bus is coming between 7:40 am and 8:10 am. I'm gonna be at school from probably 8 am to 4 or 4:30 am maybe even 5 pm so I hope its not too hot outside cause my school closes at 4:30 pm so if I'm not picked up before 4:30 pm I'll have to wait for the bus outside but hopefully I'll get picked up at 4:30 pm or earlier then that. I got out of the shower so now I'm ready for school. I'm gonna be pretty busy until my meeting at 1 pm today. I have to make sure the agenda for the meeting today is done and there are copies of it that are printed out for the members. Although there isnt a good turn out for the 1st meeting of the month, I'm not sure why but for the 2nd meeting we have a better turn out. I dont know if the monthly birthday cake has anything to do with it LOL. I didnt get my 1 mile walk in yesterday but I will tonight, I was too tired yesterday cause I only got 6 hours of sleep. Last night I got a good amount of sleep so I wont feel like I need to go to bed early tonight like I did last night. I'm hoping to get more people to join my fitness group so I can get that up and going, Even though I have my music to listen to when I work out here at home, It's gonna be nice to work out with friends at school.

Good Morning!
Terra what kind of exercises will your fitness group be doing?
Dean glad you found a good place for your doggies while traveling. Do they give you the cold shoulder when you return like my cat does to me?
Donna it is so nice to have you back! I lost my chunk of weight for my daughters wedding but now I am just kind of stuck here. It will come off because I am committed to getting healthy. 8 miles is a long way for most people at any weight. Good for you! Please feel free to share anything you wish from your therapist. I'm still trying to figure it out too.
Fi in case you don't know it you are my sugar free mentor. I know I can not even take that first bite but some days that does not stop me. Your being sugar free helps to give me strength and not feel so alone. Thank you! My sugar "problem" makes me feel so weak and dysfunctional. I am back on track and in a better mental state today.
Thanks for being here everyone!

Dean and I may pass in our quick pass throughs. First, I am reading all the posts most days -- just not enough time to actually respond even though I miss you all terribly.

With that said, I'm going to be even more of a stranger for the next few days. Bill mentioned to me on Saturday that he was just so tired and was having a little trouble catching his breath. He's 74 -- I didn't worry a whole lot as he said he felt better on Sunday. Yesterday at PT, he mentioned to the therapist that he was having trouble catching his breath, that he had pressure under his sternum when he was doing his walking, and he just couldn't shake the tired feeling. Well, the therapist call the doctor's office, and they had him come in immediately. 20 minutes later they had him loaded in the ambulance and headed into town to the hospital. Five hours later and multiple tests, they told us that he has blood clots in both lungs and in one leg.

So, he's in ICU for today while they administer heparin and then they'll keep him in there for another 2-4 days. The doctor kept asking why he wasn't telling them about the pain -- seemed to think that Jack was holding back. I finally told the doctor that Jack has the highest pain threshold of anyone I've ever known and that he probably wasn't in pain.

Anyway, I'll be heading into the hospital soon and doubt that I'll have a lot of time to check in over the next few days. In the meantime, everyone please take care of yourselves!

Best of luck.

I was in the hospital from tuesday through sunday when I had the clots, but that was primarily because they couldn't get my oxygen level where they wanted it to be.

Glad he "fessed up" about the pain.

Dean

I need genuine support!,
sometimes, i belive that if i get that friend then i will make that PUSH!
I CANNOT DO IT ON MY OWN!!1
I CANNOT!

i am tired of this.ITS SOOOOOO.....DEPRESSING
i will try this challenge and this will be the 6th site and forum i have tried so i will see if i disable my account again

Betsy- I hope that everything went okay at the hospital.
vwdeano- Who makes your Autumn blend? Right now my go to blend is Moka Java from World Market.
Fightbrave- Welcome to the group. I am a returning member (regained the weight I lost last year) and I LOVE it here. Everyone is very supportive. I look forward to getting to know you. You can do it :)
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Tuesday I had a sharp stabbing pain in my foot and had to go to the urgent care. I have plantar faciitis and have to take 6 days of meds and no walking. I feel a bit defeated because I have been so proud about my walks. I am not losing much weight but the walk each morning gives me something to focus on. The good news I have stayed under my calorie goal (although I ate a chocolate donut last night).

thanks natasha
i need a friend that WILL PUSH ME HARD!......tell me dont give up!.........i jus need to pass that "barrier" and START LOVING ME AGAIN!!

Hi fightbbrave, I know the feeling, I think many of us do, this is a very supportive bunch of people here, so you're in good company. What plan are you following at the moment? I am doing calorie counting on My Fitness Pal (it's a free health/fitness site), if you are there or plan to join please add me Candidcamster (anyone else is welcome to add me too).
A new friend and I from 3fc are doing a little challenge and my goal was to exercise for 15 minutes a day, and I've been falling short. I am hoping when it cools down here I will be more apt to exercise. In the meantime I've been using calorie counting to lose weight.

Hey Everyone,

WOW! I didn't even realize that I haven't posted since Sunday...I guess with my recent pain and infection I haven't been up to doing much other than getting in the bath at night and soaking with some epsom salt....

The dinner with a company rep went very well on Monday. I ended up getting a sirloin steak with mushrooms and onions and a side salad. I only ate half of the steak and made a salad with it on Tuesday...I'm proud of myself of that because before I could have easily eaten a 9 oz steak with no problem but I was very full.

I went to the doctor on Tuesday and I do in fact have some sort of infection. The doctor said that it is probably from wearing tight clothing while exercising and it not being breathable enough and me having very very sensitive skin since nothing else has changed with soaps etc. I've been having to apply a topical cream to help get rid of the infection and it is helping...As much as I want to go to the gym DH said I really shouldn't until I am fully healed, so I'm going to listen to him. The doctor said I could go but I'd have to be super careful and I just don't want to chance making it worse again...The really bad pain has gone away and I don't want to feel that EVER again lol...

I've caught up with everything here on the forum but won't really do personals but welcome back to Mountain (Donna) and welcome new people on here! Hope you'll stay awhile!!

Someone had asked if I had decided on shoes to go with the dress I bought for the wedding I'm going to on Sunday and I have :)...Except I'm keeping it all a secret from you guys until Sunday, maybe even Monday depending on when I can post. I thought it would be super cool for you guys to see a photo of the dress and shoes the day of the wedding with me all done up...I'm not a huge fan of going to parties and weddings where there are people I don't know too well but I'm excited to be going to this one because I haven't had to get dressed up for something like this in a long while, before I've lost any of my weight this year so it is really exciting for me. I'm hoping to get one of my hair dresser friends to style my hair for me so I can look super cute lol...Yes I'm going all out!!!

This week with eating has been good. I did splurge and had a pumpkin pie donut that a co-worker bought me for breakfast on Tuesday but other than that I've been good and I feel good. Even though I probably will have gone on a 2 week hiatus from the gym when it's all said and done, I feel pretty good that I may actually still have a loss this week....Here's hoping.

Betsy, I sure hope that BIL gets well soon!! I'm sorry to hear of his condition worsening, but glad that he said something before it got wayyy out of hand. He's lucky to have someone like you there by his side...Take good care of him and we'll be here when you get back...stay strong dear...I know you will <3

Well everyone it's after 10 here in Myrtle Beach and I better head to bed, I just wanted to check in with everyone since it kind of slipped my mind this week...I hope everyone else is staying OP!

I'm another person that didn't post for a few days...We're moving & my days are filled w/ either packing stuff or schlepping stuff to the new place. It takes me 50 mins to drive there & then I unpack & drive home again - it leaves me exhausted! The heat isn't helping either!!! When I get home, I just want to do absolutely nothing, lol!!!

fightbbrave - I hope you really like it here! I know just how you feel, & it *is* depressing, so everyone understands how hard it can be.

Betsey - What a shock about yr b-in-l, I'm so glad he finally mentioned the pain so now it can be dealt with! I wish him a swift recovery!

Ubee & FionaW - Thanx for highlighting to me how addictive sugar is - you've reminded me that I shld just avoid it completely, since I can't resist it once I give in to a craving! (aka cake)
p.s. Ubee, I still think you shld get yourself a pretty new plate to reflect that you are becoming a whole new "you".

Ubee ~ It's my Start! Walking at home dvd with Leslie Sansone, I'll be taking it to and from school when my women's fitness group starts.

Fightbrave & Candidcamster ~ Welcome to the thread



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I woke up at 3:30 this morning and now its almost 5 am, I need to start watching for my bus at 7:45 am this morning and I'll be getting picking back up between 3:50 pm and 4:20 pm. So far today I've got ready for school and thats it, Clyde is still sleeping so I havent let him out yet. I did get his food ready for him to eat, His water is fresh though. Today I have cooking class and peer support group. In cooking class we are making Fried Rice with egg rolls on the side with sweet and sour sauce for dipping.

Back for another early morning, LOL.

The autumn blend that I've been brewing recently is just cheapo archer farms from target... Can't complain, although I usually grind my own, this is pretty good stuff. Just tripped over it on sale and figured I'd give it a try.

The weekend is getting closer!

Take care,

Dean

Candidcamster
thanks

I am STARTING TODAY eating veg and cutting out all sugar. thats my goal at the moment.i will visit fitnes pal and see what its all about most likely i have join that site already.......but will visit again...THANKS!

Thanks for all the good wishes. He's coming home today! They got him on Xarelto and were willing to let him out since his oxygen levels are good, he's able to walk, and he has someone to take care of him (that's moi!). Now my challenge will be to make sure that he's really doing ok because he's ready to move back to his house -- which is just across the street -- but we'll see how it goes.

Great Stuff!

I'm getting stronger day by day, but let him know it takes a while to get over the clots. I just do as much as I feel OK doing, and I'm told I'll just keep getting a bit stronger and stronger as time goes by.

Dean

Today i decided to the NO JUICE challenge for me ONLY water....i nver get a chance to prepare lunch so little difficult...but so far NO JUICE

Gosh, there's so much going on, I don't know if I can keep up! Donna back with us (yay!) and engaging effectively on her mental illness journey, plus having a big event that's far enough away to get excited about losing weight for! Betsy's Bill in the ICU with blood clots, but thank God, now he's out. Natasha has plantar fasciitis: ugh, I've had that. After I recovered from it, I discovered that it makes a big difference if I walk on trails instead of concrete or hard floors in a mall. Do you have any places with nature trails, or any kind of trails at all? Stay off the sidewalks and the streets: they have no spring to them, the way the ground does.

And Terra's sufferin' from a cracked heel: poor baby! I've had that, too. Are you putting antibiotic ointment in the crack? The advice you've gotten about lotions is good, but I find that the big thing is to pare down your calluses on a regular basis. I bought a long thing shaped sort of like a spoon with a rasping surface you use to scrape away those overgrown calluses, one thin layer at a time. I've also heard about a similar product called Pedi-Egg.

Plus Ubee sayin' I'm her "sugar-free mentor": that's a big responsibility, but I'll try to do my bit, like by reminding you that I didn't do it all at once: first I picked my three most tempting sugary foods and gave those up, while allowing myself sugar elsewhere. It was only after a couple of months of sticking to that, plus making myself sick eating pie, that I took the big plunge to no sugar at all. It's pretty easy to do if you stay away from processed or pre-packaged foods. But no sugar doesn't mean no sweets: I definitely get my sweets fix with the help of a liquid stevia product called SweetDrops. It tastes a lot better than powdered stevia, and than any other powdered sugar substitute, in my experience. And the fact that it's dispensed with an eye dropper allows you to figure out just exactly how much is right for you. Too much stevia tastes nasty! I could never have given up sugar and aspartame if I didn't have liquid stevia twice a day: in my coffee in the morning (w/ cream & vanilla, too—yum!) and in my muesli at night.

All these new people I haven't greeted: welcome on board fightbbrave, Candidcamster, and Natasha!

Please don't cut and run on us, fightbbrave: hang in here, post every day, and tell us a little bit more about yourself when you feel like it's OK to do so. And don't try to give up all the foods you love, all at the same time. Slow and steady wins the race, when it comes to making longterm changes that you can maintain for the rest of your life.

That's all I feel like saying. I'm still in bad shape with this depressive episode. But the one good thing about depression is, it does come to an end, sooner or later.

Betsy I am so glad that Bill is OK it's incredible how unwell you can be all of a sudden with such an event. I agree that it is his good fortune to have such a lovely lady caring for him.
Fiona do you find Stevia affects your gut at all? I have real problems with artificial sweeteners....is Stevia the same?
Fightbrave.....stick with us lovely....it is Incredibly hard...sometimes I crave something really unhealthy so bad it is like is a physical pain!.
Will post more later ...my beautiful daughter has just arrived home for a final week before University!
Have a great day.

Fiona ~ Thanks for the tips on how to deal with cracked heels. I'm glad someone else can relate to my cracked heel issue. Yes I've been putting antibiotic ointment in the crack. I bought a Pedi-Egg when they first came out, They are great, I love it.

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I woke up at 7:00 A.M. this morning. It's almost 8:00 A.M. now, I'm about to have breakfast, I've done my morning duties for today. At 11 a.m. I'm going to school for DA4A's first movie day. I will be there until 3:30 today. The bus is coming back to get me between 3:30 pm and 4:00 pm. Before I leave the house this morning I'm gonna do the dishes so my mom doesnt have to when she gets off of work today. Right now it's almost 9 am and I'm currently eating breakfast while watching HOT In Cleveland.

Donna— I don't find that SweetDrops liquid stevia has any effect whatsoever on my gut. It helps, I think, that the eye dropper allows you to titrate your "dose" to a fine degree. I hope you can find that product in Wales: if not, I suppose there's always the Net... What kind of effect do artificial sweeteners have on your gut?

Today I'm going to a Medical Qigong (chee-gong) practitioner recommended by my psychiatrist. I hope he can teach me some techniques for getting the depression pain to leave my body, when I have it. This morning I'm a little hyper, but otherwise in a painfree (level 0) state.

Back again!
Crikey it is hard to increase my mileage around here!
I have been walking daily to improve my fitness for the walk in just over three weeks time but as we live in the hills, a steep incline is always involved! Today my chest is really rattly so I wanted to avoid hills and tried to find a couple of miles on the flat but it was impossible! If my chest is bad and I start to cough, I can't stop for ages, even inhalers/water etc don't help. I just have to slow to a crawl and wait for it to stop. The walk I am doing is ALL on the flat thank heavens or I wouldn't even try to do it, but it is a good 45 minute drive away so I can't use it as a practice area.......any suggestions? My chest is permanently rattly...I sound like a very heavy smoker, even though I have never smoked!! It is likely that I have a condition called bronchiectasis.
Food wise I am back where I found success last time with eat less/do more/ cut out the red meat/eat less carbs.
I am so glad I cam back to 3FC's as I found it incredibly supportive last time I was successful, I just slunk away when it all went pear shaped and THAT was my mistake!
Thanks for just being there guys!

Thanks for the reply Fiona. All artificial sweeteners give me almost instant abdo pain and subsequent diarrhoea.......very unpleasant! I don't have sugar in tea or coffee and just a tiny sprinkle of it on my morning porridge but I would love to be able to cook with something better than sugar!
Thanks for the tip, I will hunt it out!

Hi Everyone!
I was a busy bee or shall I say squirrel the last two days. Winter is coming and I am gathering my nuts. I've been busy canning and freezing and have my weekend all filled up but I will try to post daily.
Donna have you tried the "Walk Away The Pounds" ? I think it is on you tube and I think you do it while standing in place.
Fi I'm going to have to look up Qigong. I hope you find relief. I am lucky that stevia tastes OK to me. I find the longer I do this the easier it is to get back in the saddle and the faster I get on plan. Do you still have your chocolate bars once in a while?
Welcome fightbrave! How is the no sugar going?
Dean have a good weekend. Will look for you Monday morning.
Betsy you are one heck of a nurse for him to be ready to go home. Looking forward to the day when we get your daily chatter.
Terra my mom and I used to make egg rolls together. Did you make shrimp, pork, veggie...?
Shinesgirl I will keep my eyes open for just the right plate. Is your move one you are happy about?
Sam I am so waiting for that picture!!! Are you feeling better?
Hi Candidcamster! You are so right, 3FC is a very supportive place. Wish it would have been around decades ago!
Natasha how is your foot? Fi is the queen of leg lifts, maybe you could do something like that while you recover.
Have a peaceful day!