[caldawg89]

Fi we are survivors! Pain sucks, regardless of the form it presents itself in. Instead of getting mad or sad, I use it to fuel me. It doesn't define me, or give me an excuse to eat unhealthily, I choose to see it as a test of my character. I truly hope you feel better soon. Being in physical pain is dreadful.

[Fiona W]

You're absolutely right, Calda: pain—and any other form of adversity—is a test of character. It's a test I feel chronically that I am failing. My feelings have run wild on me in the last year and a half: all the Qi Gong I'm doing does not keep them in check. I've been so enraged the past nearly five days, since my right knee went south on me, the particulars of those days are a blur to me. This is not good. I was raised to suppress emotion. I'm disgusted with myself.

I wish I knew how to use anger as fuel: I've heard numerous people speak of doing that. Instead, I find it paralyzing.

But today I see Mike (my Qi Gong teacher/healer). He's very good at what he does. I can count on leaving our session in a better frame of mind than when I arrive.

[betsy2013]

Sun's out. I'm out of excuses to procrastinate on yard work. Today I will be outside!

Cindy -- Yes, the second I lose a pound I view it as an excuse to celebrate! I need to find different rewards. Great news on the weight loss and I would think that your PCP would be thrilled. A pound a week is very reasonable as is your target calorie goal. Have fun with the planting.

Fi -- I was just thinking of all the happy couples on here -- you and Bob, Cindy, Calda, Sam. Really makes one wonder if in spite of our weight issues maybe it helps to make us very caring and loving people. I totally understand the anger about the knee. You've been through so much in the last year. You're finally beginning to show some signs of returning to some semblance of normalcy and then this happens. I can't get fueled by anger either but I can get fueled by remembering how much easier it was to walk when I was just 30 pounds lighter. I can't even imagine what it would feel like if I got another 130 pounds off.

Workinghard -- Let's both try to keep the wheels on the wagon! 5 pounds a month sounds like a great target. It's doable without being extreme. Good luck.

Calda --

Sam -- Sounds like you've got a mystery with the BP going up. You're smart to keep an eye on it and while I know you wouldn't want to, to get medication if it's needed. Glad you had a good visit with your granny and mom. I'm in envy that your cucumbers are doing so well -- I never have much luck with them out here but that doesn't stop me from trying every year.

Teena -- Yep, those are the things I made and they are wonderful to have on hand in the fridge for a quick breakfast. So many combinations.

OK. I am going to get stuff done in the yard today. Time to stop with the finding 20 other things to do. I'm going to make a pot of chili today -- just hungry for chili and I figure if I make it that I can cut way down on the sodium. Back onto the 5:2 plan with seriousness.

Time for the usuals. Hope everyone has a good day.

[Cindylh]

Hi everyone.

Workinghardatlosing, 5 lbs. a month sounds like a reasonable goal. That's about a pound or pound and a half a week which is what's usually recommended as safe and healthy weight loss. Good luck. Are you following a specific diet or counting calories or carbs? I understand what you mean about being defined by your weight. I've been overweight my entire life, except for a couple times I starved myself down to a healthier weight. That never lasted long though.

Sam, I hope you get a handle on the HBP. Maybe cutting some of the salt from your diet will help, but you're wise to keep an eye on it. I hope you were able to get some exercise in and aren't too sore from starting again.

Teena, I like the mini quiches too. I usually chop up some ham or Canadian bacon in mine rather than sausage. Hmm, now I want to go make some.

Fi, I don't use anger as fuel either. I tend to try to suppress it which doesn't work well either. I hope your session with Mike goes well today.

Betsy, chili sounds yummy. What time is dinner? I want to make it once more before the weather gets too warm here. I could eat it all year but DH won't eat certain things in the summer. Good luck getting the yard work done today.

Apparently I was worried for nothing about what my PCP would think of my weight loss. She was really happy with the 13 lbs. We went over the results of my blood work from my physical in February and it was all really good. My cholesterol is always slightly elevated but not enough to warrant medication. Everything else was within normal limits, and my BP was fine yesterday. I am on medication for it but even with the medication it's usually borderline or a little above. She wants to see me again in another 3 months to help me stay accountable.

Yesterday, we found out my BIL has bone marrow cancer. I think it's called Myeloma but I'm not sure of that. It's been a little frustrating that getting to this diagnosis has taken so long. He's still in the hospital. I think it's been close to two months now that he's been there. They are hoping to be able to treat him with chemo eventually but right now he's too weak to withstand the treatment. They are going to send him to rehab to regain some strength. Without treatment the prognosis isn't good, so hopefully he will regain enough strength to have the chemo. Meanwhile he still will have to receive units of blood.

Well off to start some chicken soup and make a salad. I hope you all have a good day.

[SamIAm86]

Fi Always here to make you feel better I rely on you guys so much it's the least I can do. Know the Foo Fighters song, it's a good one


Teena Glad the muffins turned out good! I'm quite a fan of them myself. Really easy to heat up in the morning and you can make a big batch to last the whole week. I haven't made them in awhile but they are great!

Betsy The only thing I can figure is the lack of exercise and possibly bacon and eggs aren't the best solution to breakfast every morning for me, even if the bacon is low sodium. I have always been huge about watching my salt intake so I know if need be I can cut it way down. I would rather be on medication than have a stroke so I definitely plan to see how things improve now that I'm exercising again and if I don't see much of a change with that and my eating habits then I will go to the doctor for sure. The cukes are doing very well, I'm really surprised. They're starting to get big leaves and little vines coming off of them now. It will be time to start attaching them to a trellis soon I think. As for my tomatoes, they're doing good I guess...They're growing up but I'm not seeing their stems get too thick. Maybe it's just too early for that, they've only been planted going on 2 weeks now. The herbs are doing wonderful too. Holy cow I can't even believe that my fennel is doing as well as it is. DH and I were sure that it would kick the bucket since our zone said it is better to do later in the season but we shall see I'm pretty excited even if everything doesn't turn out so well. Planning on getting some flowers in the coming weeks to spruce up the patio, hang my string lights and finally spray paint those dang chairs and side tables LOL.

Cindy Definitely will get a grip on the HBP. That's something I don't want to mess around with. If something happened to me, we would be in a world of trouble financially so I have to do what I can to stay healthy. Was able to some exercise in yesterday and today Feeling a bit sore but it feels good! I'm glad your appointment went well...That's something to celebrate in my book!

Well I'm posting late because my schedule was off to what I am used to doing normally. I forgot my rent money at home so when I got off work I had to go get it and go all the way back out to the store to get a money order. I never write checks to the people I pay my rent to because they will take over a month to cash it and I know if that money sits in my account it will get spent after that long, so I don't bother and just do the money order deal. Also got some things from the grocery, some fruit and food for the cats. I was hungry and wanted so badly to get some sort of quick snack at the grocery, but as you and I all know the only quick snack at the grocery is the candy at the check out line so I forced myself to deal with it and didn't buy any candy. DH had me stop by the corner store on my way home and get him a Little Debbie snack cake. Again, still hungry but forced myself to say no so I was really proud about that. By the time I got home DH was going to have dinner ready within 10 minutes. I don't normally like to eat dinner before I work out, it will make me feel sick. So I ate and sat around for a little while to let my food settle. I was tired and didn't want to work out, but I forced myself to anyway. I just finished up another Turbo Jam video. I'm sore but I feel good. It's good to feel like me again.

I may be on to something with the HBP. After I had exercised yesterday. I took a shower and ate dinner and watched TV with DH. When I checked my BP it was in normal range..I mean really good range. But this morning it was back up again. So maybe it is possible that the exercise really has helped with keeping my BP down to a normal range. Going to keep watching it and make any necessary changes to keep me healthy.

My little tiny is getting fixed tomorrow. I hate that I have waited as long as I have to get her spayed but at least it's finally getting done. I worry anytime my little babies have to go to the vet, or even worse have surgery. DH is going to drop her off after he takes me to work and we're going to pick her up together when I get out of work tomorrow. I hope it all goes alright.

It's almost 9:00 here and I'm usually in my PJs and waiting to go off to dreamland LOL...So ladies and gents I think that's my cue! Good night!

[caldawg89]

Fi, please keep us posted on how your Qi Gong meeting goes. It is hard but you cannot beat yourself up about your feelings, anyone who has experienced prolonged pain and immobility have their moments of doubt, sadness, despair and fear.. You can work through it, I know you can! I have had an awful day. Everything that could go wrong went wrong and the people I work with were just dreadful. Everyone was condescending and sniping at each other, its so exhausting. I have been working 7 days a week the past few weeks and I feel like it is catching up on me, but to my credit, I have not strayed off my plan and I have been really consistent with my gym. I just feel really unhappy at the moment, work is really bringing me down. I don't know how to fix it! I am so ready to win lotto and retire!

[betsy2013]

Slept late this morning as I was awake for a couple of hours during the night. It is such a luxury to be able to do that now that I'm retired -- and I have enough sense to know that I'm very, very lucky.

Cindy -- The chili was good. We're not to the point yet where the days are consistently warm, and I was just in the mood for chili. I had entered the recipe on MFP, so I even knew how many calories I was eating. Your chicken soup sounds good, too. So sorry about your BIL. I have a friend who went through that about 3 years ago. They did a treatment that involved completely killing her bone marrow and then being on a very restricted routine in terms of visitors AND FOOD!!!! There were certain foods that she couldn't eat -- including beef -- but she hasn't had a problem since then so it was worth the whole process. She, too, went through chemo and radiation too (I think). It's an ordeal. Not trying to depress you, but just providing a little background to know what to expect in terms of treatment options they may offer.

Sam -- Your day sounds exhausting, but so glad that you're seeing some improvement in the BP with the exercise. And congrats on passing up the candy bar and the Little Debbie cake. You sound so happy to be able to be back with exercising. Hope your kitty does well with the surgery.

Calda -- Some days it's just not worth the effort to get up out of bed. Big cudos to you for being so stressed at work, especially with the 7 days a week thing, and staying on plan. That takes a LOT of will power and motivation.

Have any of you heard of aversion therapy for eating? Fi, I'm sure you're familiar with it from your MD days. Anyway, I read about this new device that you wear like a watch called a Pavlok and basically when you eat something that isn't on plan, it gives you a shock. The shock can be in range from something like vibrating to painful. The theory is that when you're eating something that is off plan and you give yourself a shock with each bite, you'll eventually get to the point when you think about the food that you won't want it any more. So I started investigating these little machines, and of course they're on Amazon. So the bad news is that they're $200. Then I remembered that before all the electronics and apps, rubber bands were used for aversion therapy. So now I'm wearing a rubber band around my wrist. I changed it up a little and have started snapping the band whenever I go into one of my "what can I eat (binge) on now" moments. In other words, I'm trying to break my habit of even thinking about cheating. I'll use it if I do get to the cheat point, but I'm trying to avoid even getting there. I will say that snapping that rubber band does take your thoughts off of (fill in the blank for your trigger food here!) for long enough that I was able to avoid eating a pack of Ritz crackers -- with PB, of course -- last night.

Anyway, thought I'd pass it along. I know all the science behind dieting, know what I need to do, but am hoping that reverse Pavlov will help with the constant thinking about what I can eat.

And on that note, it's time for breakfast. It's scheduled so no band snapping. Have a great day.

[workinghardatlosing]

Hey ladies! I've come down with a cold. Best thing about children is they pass all their little germs right on. This cold has really knocked me on my behind. I'm exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open! Finally talked myself into getting on the scale for the first time. It wasn't as bad as I expected but don't get me wrong it's still really bad, but I was expecting worse.

Hope all of you are having a great day!

[Fiona W]

Thanks for asking about my Qi Gong session, Calda. I'm sorry to hear you had such a bummer day at work. People being petty... one of my least favorite things!

I didn't walk to the Mindfulness Center from our car, that's for sure. My right knee is still a mess. I'm fully back in the wheelchair, for the time being.

Mike taught me two things. The one that makes sense and is helpful is walking in half-steps—sort of a dance, similar to walking on a tightrope, where you test out your front foot (i.e., knee) while mostly balanced on the rear foot, then put your weight on it, then bring the rear foot up in line with the other, then repeat using the other foot to advance with. He showed me a video of a Qi Gong master demonstrating variations on the theme. With practice, I got pretty good at it when I was there with Mike, and it does allow me to walk with much less pain. But I haven't had the nerve, yet, to try doing it at home. Later today...

As for the part that makes no sense, he taught me some "points" (acupuncture points) near my ear to massage, which supposedly light up the "triple burner channel." Despite studying lots of pictures of the channels (aka meridians), I have no idea what that's all about, nor do I notice any effect when I do it. =sigh= But I have experience with learning other complex systems that take a really long time to "click" in one's mind—when all the baffling things you've been memorizing suddenly fit together in a meaningful whole. I'll keep plugging away at learning this weird energy network (qi = chi = energy; qi gong = "chee koong" = energy work) that the Chinese use as the basis for their medicine.

I just hope that learning it will have lots of tangible physical consequences. I'm an intensely curious person, and always will be, but I no longer have the ambition (the time!) to learn about everything in the Universe, just for the heck of it. I probably could've gone to the end of my life without learning Chinese medicine, and not counted it a big loss.

But chi is real: I've felt its effects both in Mike's presence and by myself. And I'm steadily improving at building it up and moving it around in my body. So I'll keep plugging away at this. As you say, Betsy, it's such a luxury to be retired!

workinghardatlosing— I have no contact with children, but I woke up with a cold, too—in my chest, where I always get them. Annoying at this time of year, isn't it? Take care of yourself, and feel better soon!

[SamIAm86]

Hi Everyone,

What a stressful day. Work wasn't terrible but some things I had to deal with I could have gone without. I was just on edge since Kita had her surgery today...Being a worried cat mama, of course I thought of the worst possible thing that could happen. DH picked me up and we went straight to get her. We were a little early (4:45), but they said to come back closer to 6:00, they hadn't done the cats who were getting surgery yet. We were supposed to get her between 5 & 6. So we drove over to the Goodwill that is by the vet's office and looked around. Didn't find any shoes, found a couple tops that I ended up putting back. DH said they were ridiculous lol...He's honestly one of the only ones I trust to ask for advice on fashion. He's never steered me wrong with what looks good on me, and what doesn't. At one point he wanted to design plus size clothing because he said there was nothing out there for plus sized women that weren't huge prints, or looked like tents and that all women deserve to feel beautiful. He never did of course, but the thought was very sweet. We picked Kita up and they said she was really good and didn't cry once, not until she saw us then started acting like a baby . I cried on the way home as she cried because I felt so bad, but I know she will be better off health wise, and it needed to be done. Just hated seeing her like that. We have her in the bathroom resting now in her carrier. The vet said we need to keep her in there for a few hours to let the drugs wear off so she doesn't hurt herself. Then just keep her in an area afterwards that she can be safe for the night. She's going to stay in our room with us, and the other two girls, Squeegee, and Sugar are going to be kicked out for the night. They aren't going to like that one bit, especially Squeeg. She's the middle "child" and sleeps with me every night. Either on my chest, or my side, or right beside me. She's stuck to me or DH like glue. They'll get over it though.

Taking a rest day from exercise today. I need it, I'm pretty sore from the past two days. DH is in the kitchen making dinner. I just watered our plants. I seriously can't believe how good they're doing and we haven't killed them yet LOL! My other two fur babies are out here with me as I sit on the floor in the living room typing this. The sun is going down and although today was a bit stressful, I feel good. I feel like I'm getting back to normal. Change stinks sometimes, and although I did enjoy getting to sit on my @$$ while my neck was healing (the pain sucked), I missed my routine of working out. I hope to see some progress this week from the weight I gained. I'm surprised it only ended up being about 5 pounds. My BP seemed to be pretty good this morning compared to how it's been lately. Haven't taken my PM reading yet.

Another thing I've been dealing with lately is the worry about my hair thinning. Having PCOS sucks enough already, but this just makes it even worse. I've had pretty fine hair my entire life, but lately I felt like my hair was getting thinner. Not like breaking off from too much coloring, just felt like there wasn't a lot there. When I color my hair I'm not using any ammonia or peroxide since I no longer have to bleach my hair first so for the most part my hair is pretty healthy. I thought maybe I was going crazy...DH said it didn't look like it was any thinner than normal, but when I visited my mom and grandma (who both have fine hair) my mom made the comment that my hair looked a lot thinner than it used to. So that was just my confirmation. Great, so what do I do now? I don't have money to have extentions put in, and I don't want to have to end up wearing a wig. It hasn't gotten to that point yet luckily. My mom suggested biotin. I've taken it before and never saw any results. So I did some research on anything that I could take (other than birth control) that can help these symptoms and is there really anything I can do to regain my hair's thickness. I did read that taking a really high dosage of biotin really helps. I need to take 7-9 mg a day, which ends up being about 10,000 mcg. I found a extra strength brand on Vitacost, and read reviews there and Amazon. Amazon had great reviews that even had photos that people took to show their progress with it. There were men and women on there. A lot of them had worse thinning than mine but they had pretty great results after a couple of months. I also heard of Saw Palmetto that is supposed to help with lowering your DHT, which in return will help with hair loss, but also helps keep any excess body hair at a minimum too since the DHT also causes that. So I ordered that too at a high dosage on Vitacost, since for some reason Amazon won't let you pay with Paypal anymore and I had money sitting there to be used. It just came in the mail tonight so I'm going to start taking it tomorrow and see what happens.

Betsy It's been hard not wanting to eat all the sweets lately. My boss decided to make a Sam's run this morning for TP and things we needed and came back with all kinds of food that I can't eat LOL...It was hard turning down the double chocolate muffin that is sitting in our kitchen. I'm fighting the urge though. I really would like to lose 20-30 pounds by the end of the year if it's possible. That would put me really close to my goal weight. I've heard of the Pavlov thing before with dogs, but never really thought about it in a sense with weight loss. I could see how it could be really helpful for some. let me know how it goes for you.

Fi Glad to hear that Mike helped you with some new walking techniques. Keep your chin up girl, you can do it!

Ok so I apparently am long winded today, so I'm going to end it here. Hope everyone has a good night. Check in tomorrow

[betsy2013]

Trash day here so I have to haul the recycling and trash bins to the end of the alley. Ugh! At least it's not raining. I ride on the lawn tractor and haul the bins behind me one at a time.

Fi -- Glad you had a good session with Mike and the half step approach sounds very reasonable and easy to adapt to -- ok, easy to adapt to after that first wrenching pain from moving before the pain avoidance mechanism clicks in. The ear massage....I'm with you on not understanding. Hope the cold gets better.

Workinghard -- Hope you take care of yourself and that the cold is a short lived one. Look on the positive side with the weigh in -- it was less than you thought it would be.

Sam -- Glad your kitty made it through the surgery with no problems. It sounds as though it was very stressful for you so I'm glad that everything went all right. One thing I read that made me want to stay on a good eating plan was your comment about sitting on the floor. I would dearly love to be able to get up and down off the floor again without worrying that a crane would have to be involved!

Still chilly outside so I'll get the trash taken care of today and I've got a big barrel planter on the deck that evidently I didn't drill holes in the bottom for drainage. So, out with the wet soggy soil that's in there, drill some holes, and maybe wait a day for the soil to dry out a little. I'm going to put herbs in there, but need to have drainage for the soil first. I also need to move some of the dirt from the yard waste bin into the yard cart so that I can move the thing. The yard kid filled it like I asked him to, but I can't even move the thing. I doubt if the truck could/would pick it up not to mention getting it down the alley. So nothing exciting, but stuff to do.

The aversion therapy is sort of working. I have to admit that it works better for me when I catch myself thinking about eating something that wasn't on the food list for the day as opposed to snapping the band if I've already started eating it. It's almost like getting a fairy slap telling me to stop those thoughts.

And on that assault on your imagination, I'm ready for breakfast. Hope everyone has a great day.

[SamIAm86]

Evenin all. Today was one of those long days. I'm absolutely exhausted. DH wasn't feeling too great either. Didn't have too interesting of a dinner tonight. We went the easy route and got a rotisserie chicken. I had the breast with no skin and sliced cucumbers on the side with a 1/2 sweet potato. My plan was to exercise after my food settled but I just don't know where my energy is. If I take today as another rest day I will be sure to get all my workouts in for Fri, Sat and Sun. It's sad that I actually want to workout but I can't bring myself to do it. We didn't have the best night sleep last night with making sure Kita was ok and comfortable. She slept with us and the other two were banned. Squeegee is in here with us now but Sugar is the one who has the worst time when one of them comes back from the vet so I'm sure it will be a few days with her. Other than that things are good. Staying true to plan and doing my best not tto steer away from that.

I need to get a shower and I think it's gonna be an early night for me. Sweet dreams friends.

[Karencat]

Hi Ladies - been very busy at work last few days extra hours in there too

Besty - WW new points system - good by pro points hello smart points - fruit and veg have 0 points to encourage eating them as many people didn't when they had values - now only the starch veg or really high sugar fruits (like dried fruit, or juice) have points
they now assign points based around calories/protein/sugar/fat content -so you don't have to calculate them tools are available to add recipes or food items makes it simpler to follow too - you now get daily points - 49 points per day this would be like saying 1500 is what you should be eating ... weeklies are there to allow for times when you go out and enjoy a treat with friends or have something special at home...
they have fit points too - no longer swapping or using fit points to balance out the food points - now there is a fit point goal to reach to help you out
does this help - if you want to look into the idea further I can put in a link to the Aus/nz site - it seems clearer to me after having looked at the us one - could just be because I'm a Kiwi (from NZ) I find it easier to follow
Glad the little fairy diverter is working for you !

Fiona - sorry to hear your knee is still giving you problems -- good to hear that you have found a 'dance' step that enables more movement less pain

working hard at loosing -Chicken soups great for when your sick - and if that is still too much chicken broth-vegetarians, miso soup -my fit n healthy grandfather used to swear by having lemonade (like sprite) when ill - and when he had a sore stomach used to boil it!

on the subject of miso soup tried it for the first time Thursday just gone - uh I think I will stick with chicken broth thanks!!!!

Sam I am - its great you are wanting to work out - I find if I get up 10-15 minutes earlier and go for a short walk in the morning even if its just up and down the hall I have energy during the day - speaking of energy are you getting enough fruit and veg - seems a little depleted in the energy department and it sounds like your getting plenty of protein

My Dr suspected PCOS as I have some of the signs - lack of period - extra hair (includes a moustache to rival the hubbys when I get my T.O.M)
oh and we wont mention mood swings - he put me on a contraceptive -it helped I even lost weight at the time then they decided the one that helped was too dangerous as it had caused problems with cancer and other things.... I didn't show any of those side effects but it came off the nz market ended up on a different one not as good gained 1/2 the weight back on the next pill.. also was recommended a High protein low GI diet - or to take folic acid with /& a mulit vitamin, if you go this way see a herbalist for help for natural suppliments - or eat folate rich foods that are green leafy veg preferably raw - this was the better option he said too!- my answer was why - I'm not planning on having kids anytime soon... anyway back on track after gaining back the weight plus a little bit more and getting depressed - stopped taking the other pill.

herbalist advice for friend who had hair loss was drink Peppermint tea and use Jojoba oil - to use massage about a tablespoon of oil into the hair/head and use a gentle shampoo to wash your hair.
But you probably heard all this if not tried it all ready at a guess.. sorry about the ramble here

Cindy good news re the PCP and weight loss of 13 pounds! sorry to hear about the BIL

tomorrow /today now - spending the day watching my girls play netball well one in the morning the other in the afternoon - will get a walk in between there games as well as lunch!

Not much more to say off to get some sleep - Night all

[betsy2013]

Gorgeous day here and I'm finally going to go ahead and plant the flowers. I have lots of pots -- 5 in the front, 6 "window boxes" off the deck railing, and 9 along the downstairs patio and placed throughout the yard. Might have to spread that out over the weekend.

Sam -- Ever since you had the neck problem, you've been low on energy which is definitely not like you. I'm so used to your saying that you did an hour of some killer video that this has me worried. If things don't improve once the kitties are all healed and your sleep is back to normal, maybe it's time for a doctor's visit? Your dinner sounded good though! Staying on plan when you feel yuck is hard to do. Great job.

Karencat -- Thanks so much for the explanation on how WW is done now. I know it is consistently rated as one of the best diet plans for being effective, healthy, and developing good sustainable eating habits. What is netball -- is that what we call basketball in the states?

Hope everyone else is doing well. Not much planned for the weekend although it's supposed to be gorgeous here. I'm staying on plan. Today is a 500 calorie day on the 5:2 approach. I'm still using the rubber band and snapping it when I have thoughts of indulging in something. I have no idea why it instantly stops me from thinking about it, but it does. Maybe the pain (and it's very mild pain!) reflex is stronger than the craving one. Anyway, if anyone is having trouble with constantly thinking about what they want to eat, try using the rubber band snapping.

Have a great weekend!

[SamIAm86]

Karen I'm not usually low on energy, yesterday was just a long and tiring day at work. Being an insurance agent can be exhausing. With my cat healing and me being careful with her I didn't get a good night's sleep the night before, but there isn't anything to worry about. The majority of my food I eat daily is fruit and vegetables with some sort of protein. I don't take BC because it makes me very ill and I don't have any problems with period regulation anymore since I have lost weight and changed my habits. I'm all for taking medicine if it doesn't make me ill as I don't believe in homeopathy, it's utter horse $h*t in my opinion, but will take vitamins to help anywhere that I am depleted since that is a common side effect with PCOS. I've had it for 12 years and in that time I've had to do a lot of research on my own to find what works for me and what doesn't. I finally have the majority of my symptoms under control with just diet and exercise except the issue with excess hair and thinning hair. I've been lucky to not have it as hard as other people and have learned through trial and error what works for me. Just as how some things with weight loss...what works for one doesn't work for the other. Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it.

Betsy Yesterday was just a fluke thing, with being so busy at work it just made me tired. The first night home with Kita was the prior night so we didn't sleep that well. I'm feeling fine today. No need to worry. I'm just getting back into working out so I'm sure that's had me a little more worn out than I'm used to since I've gone without exercise for a month. I'm glad the rubber band seems to be working for ya! Hope you have a great weekend. Not sure how the weather is going to be here. It's been a really weird couple of days of cloud cover, no rain, then sunshine then rain, then sunshine, etc. etc. etc. so who knows what is going to happen LOL. BTW, did you notice I updated my avatar?

Just got done with my workout. Killed it with Turbo Jam tonight. Tomorrow planning on getting an 8 mile walk in if DH and I don't go to Brookgreen Gardens, which will be a lot of walking in an of itself. We haven't decided if we're going to go this weekend or maybe wait for another nicer weekend. I got passes on Groupon that were like half of the price so after not going there for years and I mean YEARS I've talked him into going. We've never been together. I think the last time was when my gma took me as a kid. It's a beautiful place and they have a really cool Lego sculpture thing going on right now.

Just made a new salad I saw on Pinterest to go with dinner tonight. It's cucumber with radish and scallions, S&P and cottage cheese. Super simple. Wasn't sure if I'd like it and made sure to find the cottage cheese that had the absolute lowest sodium I could find. It's sitting in the fridge to let it mix together better but tastes really good and a different take on the southern version of cucumber salad I'm used to. I've been doing really good on the salt lately and I think if I keep doing what I'm doing then my BP is going to get a lot better. I've never been one to consume a ton of salt but it's something I'm being even more cautious of now than I ever have been and this is coming from someone that usually never adds additional salt to things unless it's absolutely necessary.

Kita seems to be feeling a lot better today. She's been brought back to civilization with her sisters, but we're taking it easy with them and watching out to make sure they don't try and attack her or play too rough. She's napping on my bed right now. Her incision looks to be healing nicely.

Anyway, that's all for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend!