Catherine: I know what you mean about food issues. DS is naturally very thin...I'm hoping his sex and build are the only two things he got from his natural father! But I worry because he won't eat anything healthy. You'd think you were poisoning him to offer him a piece of lettuce. But then again, I liked most everything at his age and look at me. I try to make sure he gets either a fruit or vegetable at every meal, don't force him to clean his plate (often) and try not to make him eat fast...which is hard because he is so slow it becomes annoying. He finishes a lot of meals alone...but like I tell my DH, if we ate slower we'd probably be thinner.

I had a disturbing conversation with my best friend last night and wanted to pass it on. She's very large, (well ok, my size, but it's all in her belly) diabetic, at 39 has had a mild heart attack, she sooo needs to lose weight. I worry. Anyway, I know I'm often passing on tips or suggesting she try skim milk or whatever. She's told me often she's happy for me having lost weight. She's considering a lap band. She's bi-polar as well and I'm quite worried about that too...she has a real problem with emotional eating.

Anyway, she told me last night I'm like a person who "finds God" and who won't shut up about religion. Not that there anything wrong with religion, but you all know what I mean...no one wants it crammed down their throats. Anyway, it really bothers me that she said that. I know I talk about nutrition a lot these days, but I didn't think I'd become that boring and, well, pushy. Apparently, I depress her. It really hurt my feelings.

Thank heaven I have these boards so my only topic of conversation has an outlet.

Crock - I wondered why I hadn't seen you on Yahoo, I did see you on MSN, well you were showing as online, but I assume you weren't around because I sent a message and got no reply. Hope we can chat soon.

Lilion - I am not surprised that you felt hurt by what your friend said. At the end of the day if you do pass on what you have learned about nutrition it's only because you care about her and want to help her. I think perhaps she feels a bit jealous that you are dieting and doing so well, so she sees your advice and tips as rubbing it in her face. I know you aren't doing that, and she probably does too, she's just overly sensitive. If you can't stop feeling hurt I would say something to her about it, you don't want it all to fester until it turns into an argument or anything one day.

Hugs,

Ammi :D

Welcome back, Ammi! I will send you an email soon, but have had trouble accessing my account! We missed you here... Sorry you had a bad week, but at least your eating was good!!

Ammi- What are we going to do with you? I was starting to wonder if I missed a post about you going away or something- I missed ya' :hug: Good for you to stay on program, even with the kids home...can't be easy when they want to snack on treats & such. I've got to ask you, do you shop like most people in the UK & Ireland, where you buy groceries every couple days from a neighborhood market? I think that would drive me bonkers with trying to diet because you have to recommit to buying healthy food every time you step foot in the store. I can usually avoid going shopping for a few more days if I'm not in the right frame of mind & all I want is junk food instead of healthy food. Of course there is the advantage that there is never that much food in the house at once if you get really hungry, but I don't know if I could get use it- though I did love the fresh meats & such when I lived in Dublin.

Quote:

Originally Posted by [COLOR=#9966cc Tashabella[/color]] I had complained about this guy spraying Febreeze (?) all over the office (he does this to keep from doing any actual "cleaning") and he expressed that he didn't like my complaint.

Febreeze is actually made from corn...kind of ironic that they hype their allergy-spray version, when I'm allergic to corn ;) The only way I can use it is if we get something and spray it while its outside & it stays outside/in the garage for a couple days- I bought my last couch second hand and I did this & it worked pretty well...if it gets sprayed in the house, I can't breath. Its amazing what breathing in some of those chemical will do to you- I started having problems big time when I worked in a geriatric psych facility & I was a med passer. You don't realize how much dust gets into the air when you crush all those meds- and those patients were on a lot of heavy duty meds. It got to the point I had to wear a mask when I did meds- I felt foolish, but when the alternative was not being able to breath...you get the picture. I would put a complaint in with your boss- maybe even get a note from your doctor about cleaning fumes making your asthma worse & needing an accommodation, if you need to. You shouldn't have to put up with it- the least the cleaning guy could have done was to flush the chemical he put in the toilet...of course, who knows what all combination of stuff he dumped in :mad:


wyllen- my Mom has lost more wedding bands over the years- she lost her first one on her honeymoon :( Dad replaced them a couple times- I know she lost them another time when she was feeding the cattle. My sister gave her the really expensive one from her first marriage to wear at one point years ago & it came up missing- we had been cutting wood for the winter out in the woods at the time, so she figure it come off when she took her gloves off & there was no chance of finding it in all the leaves & junk. She was surprised a couple years later when she was looking for something in the kitchen junk drawer and there was the ring, way at the back. By that point, I had bought her a cheap, gold plated band for Christmas (I was only 16 or 17 at the time)- she still wears it to this day; which is the longest any of her wedding bands have lasted :D

Brenda- when I'm typing a really long post, I use notepad to create a text document-that way I don't' lose anything if my internet connection goes haywire or something. I also use a program that lets me keep a program on top at all times & I have WordPad set up to do that, so that I can type & reread past post... I also try to remember to take it into OpenOffice to run spell check, 'cause I'm am terrible speller :D

Green- I know in the past that I had less problems with baggy skin if I worked out as I lost weight- if you can tone up the muscles underneath, the skin will look a lot better. Unfortunately my upper arms will always be floppy, no matter what I weigh or how much I work out- thank goodness for 3/4 length sleeves ;)

kayley- Don't you love it when they want you to work around the clock? I think the best job I had was one of the group homes had a sleep over position- I was paid something like $2 less per hour while I slept, but if the awake person had to wake me up for anything, I got full pay for the entire night. I use to work afternoons & overnights- it was great because I had about the same amount of time off during the day as if I worked one shift & slept at home...besides, with working the afternoon shift before hand, I could get everything set up for the morning so I could sleep a little longer ;)- though the boss didn't know that

Jillybean- I looked at your FitDay log & I know you are having your calories go up & down on purpose, but do you usually let them go to that far of extremes of 800 calories some days & almost 4000 another day? Also, do you take a multivitamin or something?- its pretty much impossible to get enough vitamins & minerals when you're eating less then 1200-1400 calories most days, even if you only eat natural, unprocessed foods. BTW- Like the new glasses...I need to start shopping around for my next pair- after 3 years with the same ones, but I love them so much with the little sunglasses that clip on with magnets & all and haven't seen any so far that I like that I can afford.


Lillion- I set up my Welsco Skier today- it takes a lot less coordination then the Nordic Track one (sigh...that one is going back into storage until I'm in a little better shape in a few months). I'm at about the same level you are with the elliptical & am aiming for 5 minutes today. We need to keep encouraging each other to keep with- its so hard when most people don't understand that 5 minutes is a big deal for us :tread: And don't count on the slow eating :hun: I was always the slowest eater in the group & was usually the heaviest- and it wasn't because I was eating more then my companions. Now I have to eat even slower with my stomach problems- it literally gets to the point were I am just finishing one meal when I have to start thinking about preparing the next meal...its no wonder I get stressed out about it and end up eating high calorie foods with no nutritional value to speak of when I panic.


Catherine- I loved hearing about your rings- that is so sweet that you made them. Love that you wear a claddagh too- one of my goals is to be able to wear mine again, I bought mine the first time I visited Ireland in 1994. I should get it back out and see if I'm getting close yet. I have an amber ring I bought in Roscommon Ireland- it means a lot because it was only a few miles from where my grandmother grew up & she had probably shopped along those same streets as a young girl. I was the first one in my family to go to Ireland and was able to trace back & find the house she grew up in & all; she had died in 1929, when she was in her mid-30's & my father (the oldest) was only 16, so much of the history had been forgotten or never passed down.

Have any of you tried the FlatOut brand of flat breads? I had forgotten how good they were- I had found them when they first started out here in Michigan several years ago & now I guess they are available all over the country in SuperWalMarts & such. They make the best pizza crust I've ever found- I can't have tomatoes so I made a spread with fat free cream cheese & a little ranch dressing, plus a little of the tomato basil dip mix from Watkins that DogPal sent me (Thank You :D)- added some low fat ham, part skim mozzarella cheese & mushrooms & they're perfect. I made a bunch up this weekend & froze them, thinking they wouldn't keep in the fridge long enough, but they taste so good that I don't think that was necessary. The latest ones I made used the MultiGrain FlatOut & for the entire 'pizza', its only 500 calories. Last night I tried a recipe from the FlatOut website for Fruit & Walnut Wrap & they were yummy too. I made it minus the strawberries, since my tummy doesn't like them anymore :( (wish I would have realized before I bought 20 pounds of strawberries this past summer-lol) and just put more apples in & added a little cinnamon. They even have low carb versions, if you're on a low carb diet- I haven't tried any of those yet.


I'm off to see the dietitian this afternoon about finding a different feeding tube formula that, hopefully, I'm not allergic to. It will be interesting to see how they calculate how many calories someone in our weight range needs per day & how much water, etc- I'll be sure to share anything I learn. I've managed to eat enough for the past week without the formula; but I don't think I could do it long term if I wasn't concentrating on it & making such an effort to actually eat- and not get myself into a bind where I eat empty calories, just for the sake of getting enough calories in. I'm pretty impressed with the reports from FitDayPC- there are only a couple nutrients that I'm low on & my daily vitamin should take care of those.

Lilion...I think I told my story about my friend who had a successful GBS...then got sick and gained back almost all of her 100 lbs. she lost..and then ripped me a new one for talking about food and diet and nutrition constantly....as it always makes her feel guilty and ashamed and upset. It's tough when we take on something that becomes such a part of our lives and our enthusiasm is not taken on as well by our near and dear ones.

OY....so last night was the big birthday/engagement party. What a BLAST we had! It was wonderful to celebrate with so many good friends and just relax and have fun. 2 of my friends brought me birthday tiaras...one made up some gorgeous floral centerpieces, and I got some cool presents. I goofed on food of course...had too much Chex Mix and allowed myself a piece of the birthday cookie...and then my friend (who was the karaoke DJ last night) bought me a "blow job" shot...a tad embarassing...but all in good fun.

Aside from that it was an excellent food and water weekend. I got up yesterday morning and made breakfast...scrambled eggs with onions, mushrooms and Tofurkey Italian Sausange....ten took some polenta and tossed it into the skillet in some Oilve Oil Pam. We went to a friend's house in the afternoon to help out with a project...and he had bought everyone chinese food for lunch...so we brought our own with us...then for dinner we met Jason's parents and I had a delicious grilled chicken with spinach.

Oh well...it's not the end of the world...and all will be well! The size 18 skirt I was wearing last night was really big on me...wow!

Now if I could only lose those last pesky 80 lbs before I go dress shopping on Saturday (KIDDING!!!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by christineu Jillybean- I looked at your FitDay log & I know you are having your calories go up & down on purpose, but do you usually let them go to that far of extremes of 800 calories some days & almost 4000 another day? Also, do you take a multivitamin or something?- its pretty much impossible to get enough vitamins & minerals when you're eating less then 1200-1400 calories most days, even if you only eat natural, unprocessed foods.

Yup, I do let them go to those extremes on purpose (with the exception of the 4000...I usually don't go over 3000). As long as my daily average for the week is 1800 or less, I am good to go! And I don't take a multivitamin (mainly because I never remember to, not that I don't think it's a good idea). I figure I've lived 23 years without proper nutrition and have never had any deficiencies or overloads of any particular nutrients, so I don't tend to worry about it. If anything becomes a problem, I'll pay closer attention, but I'm willing to bet a million dollars that I've NEVER had perfect nutrition, so why stress about it now? :dizzy: And it's certainly not "most days" that I eat so little--maybe 3 days a week. And thanks about the glasses!

Christine -- Your mother's ring woes put my story in perspective. How cool she found her ring all those years later!

I just wanted to let everyone know that March is coming and it's a great time to join the 300+ exercise thread! We count MINUTES of exercise, of whatever kind of exercise you like, and many of us find it great for accountability. In addition to our own minutes, we keep track of how many minutes we have done as a group -- this month we are over 10,000 minutes!!! That's a lot of exercise. So those 5 minutes on the elliptical ARE a big deal and can count toward the group total as well as your own (and we can all cheer as they become 6 and 7 and 8...). So, please join us!!!!

Dogpal ~ I don’t mind that kind of side-effect! I’ve been feeling a lot better too. It says to take it at night, but I found my mind is very active around 2 a.m. if I do so I switched it to dinner time yesterday and slept like a log all night ~ DH even commented on how soundly I slept.

Catherine ~ That’s horrible ~ I didn’t know a mammogram machine could do that to you. The lady who did mine kind of “scraped” my boob across it and it was very irritated (the skin was broken) for about two days. My mom told me they don’t clean those things between patients either. (Ew!) She told me to use the towelettes they provide to wash up afterward (which I didn’t think of at the time so I walked around with other people’s boob funk on me until I got home).

Also, when I came to work today, I held my breath when I went into the bathroom to make sure I wasn’t going to inhale anything. I flushed the toilet where the chemicals are and turned on the fan and closed the door. The guy is mad because we complained about him. Fortunately, he’s told his boss he doesn’t want to work here anymore and may be re-assigned. However, he lives about two doors down from me and my husband had to complain to him about his kid before (the kid stood in front of my car and wouldn’t let me enter the community and he also was bouncing a basketball off of our car). Their whole family is really weird. I still say it was deliberate and I agree with you ~ you have to watch people when they don’t like your complaints. I’m being very careful.

Ammi ~ We all missed you! Glad you’re back. At least you stayed OP. That’s something!

Lilion ~ You were sincerely trying to help your friend. Don’t feel bad about that. (Just don’t do it anymore, and save up enough money to buy a nice dress to wear to her funeral.)

Christine ~ I didn’t know Febreeze is made from corn. That’s shocking to me. I guess we never know what’s in that stuff. Good luck with your dietitian visit.

Julee ~ I have stopped talking to people about diet and nutrition. Most people don’t appreciate it and I’ve found that it actually hinders my progress.

I’m not telling anyone what is going on with my food anymore ~ it seems that whenever I do, I fail. I have come to a point where I feel that they can worry about their weight/health and I’ll worry about mine.

your friendly neighborhood trucker, just bumpin' the dock
 

Hi all - I was lost, but now I'm found....

Been trying to catch up as usual, but it's hopeless.

Welcome back to Ammi & Teahoney, Welcome to our new members!!!

Christine, I've just started using the Flat-Out bread you mentioned. I really like it - the taste, the low carbs, the high protien, AND it's much easier than regular bread to eat a sandwich of. DH likes it too, especially cuz he spills less if I hand him a wrap while he's driving than it was a reg sandwich.

Can't remember what I told you about the puppy, but he's growing and his teeth are getting sharper. He was wonderful today when he went in for his first shots, but then again he was a sweet TIRED puppy. It took everything he had to keep me awake for most of the night last night!!

We're just in for a few more hours, then it's off to Lexington, KY and on to Montana. It never ends.

Regarding weight loss efforts, I've been struggling, and the scales have said anything from 280 to 288, so who knows where I'm at, but at least I'm not back over the 290 mark.... I don't think. Since my exercise has fallen off and my diet hasn't been great, I've decided to follow Crock's lead and go back to phase I of South Beach - NO breads, 'tatos, fruits, sugars or flours for 14 days, just like when I started. Hopefully that will get me abck on track and losing again. It's a miracle I haven't gained more back, but I just have to get back OP NOW!

I'm so sorry I don't have more time to catch up with everyone now. I read so many posts I felt like responding to, but in the few hours I have left I need to go help the girl with the new mustang. The horse has her intimadated to the point that she's in danger - it even kicked her yesterday - and I want to help her get back on track safely before I leave town. Decent trainers are hard to come by, especially someone that will come to the barn and help her there. I have an old student that willcome by once a week, but that mare needs an attitude adjustment ASAP.

Love you guys! It's a comfort to know you're here. I just wish I was here more, then I wouldn't get so far off track. Be safe, be healthy, and be good to yourselves!!!!

Val -- Good to see you back! I'm sorry to hear things are still going back and forth. We miss you on the exercise thread -- hopefully the weather will improve and that will help.

Christine - :lol: I don't know anybody that shops like you said, going to the market every couple of days. Personally I like to go daily to the bakers to get fresh bread rolls for my lunch, but my big shop, I do online and get it all delivered. Then once a fortnight we go to ASDA (part of the wallmart group) and get all our fresh food.

I hope all went well today at the dieticians.

Kayley - I am sorry things are a bit rough at the moment, relationships are the most beautiful thing, but they can be the pits when things are going wrong. I hope you and Andrew can sort things out, and in the mean time just remember that you are a beautiful person with a lot of friends, especially here who care about you.

Tasha, Dogpal, Wyllen, and everyone who has said hi and welcomed me back, thank you.

Take care all, and bye for today,

Hugs,

Ammi

Alison - I'm not sure if we've met before, and if we have, my memory's horrible, so yeah! LOL! HI! :D

Catherine - You never cease to amaze me! That is so special, and again, he sounds like a wonderful man. You are very lucky to have nabbed him for yourself! ;)

Ammi - You're HERE!!!! I haven't gotten a chance to reply to your PM yet...it's been a busy couple of days! :) You better stick around, maam!!!!! :drill:

Lilion - Some people just don't understand about passion, I guess. Perhaps it makes her feel depressed, because she'd like to be able to do what you're doing? It's better to have a passion about nutrition/exercise than most other things!

Christine - Sounds like a pretty sweet setup you had with your work! I'd like to get paid to sleep! :) I haven't tried the FlatOut products, but maybe I'll have to try them once I allow myself onto Phase 2 of the diet. You say they have Low Carb products? I know I used to see people come through the line at Walmart when I worked there, but I never paid attention, cuz I loved fast food at that time! LOL!

Julee - So glad you had a fun time. I wanna go out and party. :( Lol

Valerie - So glad to see you back! When are you heading back on the road, and do you know where you are going to go? Hope everything works out with your horse. :)

Well, I headed up to Kalamazoo today, and went to my interview. I GOT THE JOB!!!! They are going to give me a call when they have a case for me in my area, and then I'll be able to start. Pretty excited about getting more hours. I got an e-mail from Andrew this morning, and he seems...better. I might go and see him this evening, and then we can talk this all out, and figure out what's going on.

Well I started my "lifestyle change" today. (Diet is a bad word) :smug: It seems to be a turning point in my life what with losing my Owen and going through a divorce. A time for change. I feel there is a bright future ahead... here we go... I plan on sticking around here for the long haul. I've learned that support from your peers is very important in life. Thank you all again for the caring you've shown over the past couple of weeks. I look forward to getting to know you all a little better.

Ammi-we always miss someone when they fall away. It leaves a hole in the dam so to speak. There is always that fear that someone has given up or given in, and we all feel that there but for the grace of God we would go. That exercise stuff can be so hard to get into the swing of. Right now all I’m doing is walking to the store, and doing house work. I can’t start to the gym until I get my leisure pass which I can’t get until I prove I am a resident by showing them a utility bill in my name. That takes time. The state health insurance just wanted to see our marriage certificate. The city gym needs practically my fingerprints.

Lilion-I had an angina attack, not a heart attack, but at the time, before they figured out I wasn’t having a heart attack, I remembered what my father said about his first heart attack. He said that in the ER, even surrounded by people, he felt so alone. He felt his life slipping away, and that is the ultimate being alone. That was the way I felt too. If the heart attack, and the diagnosis of diabetes didn’t make her hit rock bottom yet, she may not be able to be helped. Being bipolar complicates things because the medication they take often causes obesity and diabetes. When you feel like you have found “the answer,” it is difficult not to want to share it. The best thing to do is what I did with my bipolar roommate. I called it living a quiet example. You can glow with new found health and vitality, and eventually, if and when she is ready, she will come to you. You don’t have to be boring or pushy to push the button of someone who knows they need to change and aren’t ready yet. I’m sorry she hurt your feelings.

Christine-My dad’s father was from County Cavan, and his mom was from County Longford. My husband’s grandfather used to own a castle in Scotland. I understand it was quite run down and very cheap. His family are Anglo-Saxon, and mine are Gaelic, and I tease him that just means that his people used to oppress and push around my people. I’d love to go visit some cousins that still live on the farm in County Cavan, but I really hate to fly, so we will have to see. Plus, I can’t leave the country until my immigration paperwork goes through, because they might not let me back in. It is hard to prove that you are a “visitor” who deserves a visitor’s visa when you have applied for immigration. I know it doesn’t make sense to me, but I’m following the rules to the letter.

Jilly-I have heard that going up and down on calories like that is a good way to avoid plateaus. I have trouble remembering vitamins, but if I don’t take them, I actually feel low energy.

Wyllenn-I have never done the exercise thread, because I had such a routine of going to the Y, but I might try to join it this time. I don’t know how many minutes is a good starting point.

Tasha-“boob funk” should go in the dictionary right between toe jam, and naval lint.

Kayley-congratulations about the new job. You’re right about having passion. There was a movie I liked about wrestling staring Matthew Modine where he said “get obsessed and stay obsessed.” I’d rather be obsessed about nutrition than oreos.