Hi all--

Just a quick check in. Life's been a bit crazy and I'm pretty pleased that I've managed to stay OP regarding food, at least. Worst thing is that somehow I managed to throw my back out. Anyone know any good exercises for lower back pain? I've got to get rid of it by Sunday! Supposed to be doing a museum/dinner out day with my friend-who-I-wish-was-more (let's call him FWIWWM, shall we?)

Sheriengle: Welcome!!

Lilion: Glad you felt motivated and happy today! There will be more of those I'm sure. And don't forget to share them--I want to know one might be coming.

Terri: You tell Ginger we're all losing our heads!

WI tomorrow... TOM's been here all week, so I think it should be a fairly accurate WI. Let's see what a week of eating OP has done, given that I really didn't exercise.

Have a great weekend, all!

Today was a very nice day. I did the minimal Curves workout but went on a hike at the state park which is on the (Pacific) Coast. I hiked around for two hours by myself and had a great time. Unfortunatley, when I got home I discovered I had brought home with me a few ticks. They give me the willies.

Good food day, too. Oatmeal and berries for breakfast, two Trader Joes cereal bars on the beach for lunch and some veggie spaghetti and salad for supper. I am tired and faintly hungry, which is as it should be.

No baby horse! Jeepers!

Lilion, your description of feeling and looking good today really made me smile. It's working!

Karen, I can relate. Sounds like you got some good stuff!

We are invited to dinner tomorrow night. These folks are Danish and are not the type of people to insist I eat a lot of food and aren't into frying, so it should be ok. May we all eat carefully this weekend! May we enjoy every bite but may they be few and well-considered!

Hugs to all,
Celery

Hi, all!

I introduced myself several weeks back, then lost the thread and found it again, but things were very stressful in my life and no time to breathe, let alone regroup to deal with the stresses... so I haven't been online.

My control over my eating was falling apart along with my knee. I was managing to lose a pound or half a pound each week, so I let the bad habits continue, but now I've gained four pounds back. Can barely stand on my knee at times, so walking is cut way back. Lots of depression and frustration around that, as I walk for the pleasure of it, not just the exercise. Now instead of hiking through woods, I'm doing laps around a middle school track, and instead of 1 1/2 - 3 miles, it's 1/2 - 1 mile, with pain at the end. Not just walking, but standing up to cook a decent meal is not something I can rely on at the moment.

You are all such a lively bunch, I hate to bring in my gripes. I guess I'm here as a first step to getting back on the diet. I'm planning a chicken stir-fry with lots of veggies for tomorrow.

Thin, I love your slogan, Make efforts, not excuses! I'm going to pin that up somewhere. Applying it to my knee, there's nothing wrong with the rest of my body, so I could be doing other kinds of exercises.

More about the knee: I saw an orthopedist about it, and he took x-rays. He found a torn meniscus, which is probably an old injury and not the cause of the present pain and collapsing episodes. He also found arthritis behind the kneecap (yecch). Understand, I had no pain from this until I started taking the glucosamine he prescribed and doing the physical therapy exercises. Now I feel the grittiness he was asking about.

Anyway, I saw the doc again yesterday, and he thinks I should just remember that I have this arthritis and keep working to lose the weight. The knee problem isn't from the arthritis, I'm sure of that. The weight is very likely contributing to the problem, but the onset was sudden, not gradual. I feel like he isn't even trying to see past the weight. OTOH, what more could he do? He did an x-ray and an MRI, he's prescribed physical therapy and the glucosamine chondroitin (anyone familiar with this stuff?), and recommended getting the weight off. If I was skinny and had this problem, would he do anything different? Well, I'm thinking of seeing a sports medicine doctor, if I don't get laughed out of town for getting "injured" from just walking.

Meanwhile, I'll feel better emotionally as well as physically if I get back on the diet. I had a short trip earlier this week and gave myself permission to go off the diet for it. I figured I'd not diet but would try to keep things reasonable. I didn't wholly succeed with this, but having done it, I'm really ready to get back to eating right.

So, a note about my trip. I flew coach and was too wide to put the armrest down. Thank god the armrests can be pushed up out of the way! But don't you know, my two seatmates were also very heavy. The three of us were really wedged in together. At least they were considerate people and at least I wasn't the one in the middle! Flying back, my immediate neighbor was very slender, so no problem except the armrest had to be pushed back. It has been years since I last flew, but last time, though a bit tight, that armrest was down, in place. What a reality check.

To end on the bright side, I tried on some clothes I haven't worn in a while (thinking I'd wear them on my trip), and they were so big it was almost a joke! Even though I've gained the 4 pounds, I'm fitting into the jeans that are a size down from what I've been wearing. So I'm losing inches even though the pounds haven't been coming off lately (because of my cheating and lack of walking mileage). It's sort of undeserved, but I'll happily take it!

[Edit: Hated having to move my chickie back!]

Well, ladies, the first batch of fresh turkey breakfast sausage is out! :D I'm beginning to feel like that Stewart dame. ;) 4 oz has only 140 cals and 1.5 grams of fat with nothing artificial, no salt, no sugar, just lots of sage, fennel, parsley, onion and garlic powder and a touch of cayenne...YUMMY!

Thin, nope, no excuses, just a messy kitchen...the dishes never seem to end! :o

Lilion, don't worry, it was meant to be amusing! ;) You had me laughing out loud on the veggie steamer, I saw that coming a mile away! BTW, I do have both. :high:

Siena, welcome back. Just keep finding us. :hug: I know exactly what you mean on the knees. That was probably THE major motivation I had this time. It got so bad I could hardly work. That's scary.

Side to everyone. I wanted to make a comment on the whole flying issue. Has anyone heard any more about certain budget airlines charging double for those they deem to large? I had a few online friends affected by that. They were actually delayed, evaluated and told that they were to large for one seat and would not be able to fly unless they purchased 2 seats. Very humiliating. :o

Angela, OUWIE on the back. :(

:wave: to everybody else!

Have a great weekend!

Hi Siena, I am glad to meet you.

I have found that the thinner I become, the better all my body parts work. It is hard to figure out what ailments derive from extra weight and what ailments would have been there even if we were skinny minnies.

For instance, headaches. As I am losing weight I am discovering that my headaches are less frequent and less intense. But is that because of the weight loss? Actually, I think it is because I am drinking a lot more water! I think in my case I had frequent headaches because I didn't drink enough water.

So who can tell. But all in all I would say that losing weight will help improve a lot of chronic nagging health problems.

Again, great to have you here, Siena. Congratulations on the smaller clothes!!!

-Celery

LILION – It looks like you’ve discovered a broccoli salad very similar to the one I became addicted to. I make it at home now with fresh squeezed lemon juice and Omega 3 & 6 rich Flax seed oil instead of that dressing, and it’s surprisingly yummy, plus extremely healthy. I’m really glad your WI wasn’t so bad, even if it wasn’t your best ever.

CELERY – I love fish, even for breakfast, but somehow the idea of fish tacos is just a bit too weird. I wish I could actually try them because they must be wonderful the way you talk about them.

TERRI – I hope you had a nice ‘real’ dinner out with DH. The tack shop we went to is a small local one and we’d even called ahead to be sure they were open. When we got there, however, there was a note on the door that said “Gone next door to pick up hay.” Well, anyone who’s ever picked up hay knows that it’s at LEAST an hour or two long event, and usually longer depending on how much hay you’re picking up, and how much chatting there is to be done that day.

We decided not to wait and went to the movie (where I not only ate the popcorn, but way too MUCH of the popcorn.) We saw Pirates of the Caribbean II. I’m a big Johnny Depp fan, and of course I love a good sword fight, but it was really pretty ho-hum. I suppose the special effects were good since they were so really gross, but the other guy from ‘Lord of the Rings’ really stole the show. I really like a long movie – the longer the better generally because then I feel like I got my moola’s worth, but 2 ½ hours was rather unnecessary in this case.

Maybe next we’ll check out Uma Thurman’s “Ex-Girlfriend” movie. Comments? Reviews?? Whuddaya say, THIN?? We were disappointed to discover that 'John Tucker Must Die' wasn't available yet. Definately a chick flick, that one.

ANGELA – I have my fingers crossed that TOM will depart, all your back pain will be gone, and FWIWWM becomes FWIM (Friend-Who-Iz-More!) in the near future. Have a great day Sunday!

CELERY – I don’t even go to certain State Parks during tick season – yuck! I lived for a brief period out near one and was taking showers 3-5 times a day cuz I hate them so! They got on the horses and were everywhere!! I totally sympathize with you! I hope you have/had a lovely dinner with your friends. Love that line – “enjoy every bite but may they be few and well-considered.” I agree as well on your statement: “I have found that the thinner I become, the better all my body parts work.” I can hardly wait to see what else will work better next. =)

SIENA – I’m so glad you found your way back! And we understand gripes – we all have them. I certainly hope that at some point you can find a remedy for that knee. I have some lower back arthritis but so far nothing I can’t deal with. A few months ago I had ankle pain and I know how terribly limiting that sort of thing is! As for the glucosamine/chondrotin, it’s WONDERFUL stuff! It’s not a med that you will feel right away, so give it time. When you hit your mid-30’s or 40’s your body stops producing the glucosamine which naturally lubes your joints. It not only helps ease the arthritis pain, it helps to prevent wear and deterioration of the joints over time. I would suspect the physical therapy before the G/C if your pain has increased. When I’m taking it (which I SHOULD all the time but don’t) I feel it starting to help in a week or so, but some people say it takes up to a month. I definitely DO feel a difference when I stop taking it in less than a week. I also give it to my old, arthritic horse, and I can see a definite difference in his comfort level as well. I’ve known a number of people who take it and no one has ever complained that it increased pain – quite the opposite in fact. I hope it helps you!!

GINGER!!!! WHERE'S THAT BABY?????

Well, everyone, I have work to do so I better get to it. It’s almost 3 and I’ve been worthless so far today.

Good Evening Ladies!

Well, Saturday night and all is well! I admit, food hasn't been terrific this weekend, but it hasn't been the worst either. I've made a couple good choices and a couple bad. :shrug: Friday we ended up going out for dinner...Seafood Fajitas. Ate way too many chips and shouldn't have split the steak quesadilla with DH, but all in all, seafood fajitas are way better than what I could have had. Unfortunately, DH wanted ice cream after, so I ended up with a blizzard-type treat. BAD CHOICE! So then I went to the store and stocked up on some better choices - fruit and FF pudding and such...so I won't be so willing to give in. Forgot the Cool Whip for Thin's recipes though. Darn.

Terri: Hope your weather was as good as mine today! It was NICE here! The cami is one of my favorite pieces of clothing...and the chest isn't an issue for me - Even 80 lbs ago I didn't have "huge tracts of land" and that seems to be the first place I lost! Tell Ginger to get a move on! We're all chomping at the bit! (pun intended :p )

Angela: A little late, but try these exercises for your back! http://www.nismat.org/orthocor/progr...ck/backex.html Low back problems are miserable! I had epidural steroid injections twice for disk problems, shooting pain and muscle spasms way down the leg! Owie! Hope it feels better! Hope tomorrow goes well with FWIWWM.

Celery: I HATE ticks! They were awful when we did our medieval camping thingy in June. They would announce every morning to remember to do tick checks - (with a friend - more fun that way :lol: ) I got a lot of them...and still have several lumps where they were pulled off. YUCK!

Siena: :welcome: BACK! Don't dispair about the 4 lbs gained. I went off the wagon in May and just jumped back on now - about 5 lbs higher than I was. :( So sorry about the knee problems. I haven't had that particular problem and hope I don't - but I feel for you. By all means you should get a second opinion. You can never tell - they may have some wonderful idea to help you.

Karen: The turkey sausage sounds great! When DH and I went to Vegas April 05 I was still 300 or so. We actually went ahead and bought three seats for the two of us. I was just so afraid that I wouldn't fit and DH is a big guy too (he's lost about 50 lbs) so far and was over 280 then. As it turned out, we probably didn't need to. We're about 5'10" so I'm not as wide as I might be. Still, the worry was definately there. I think it's awful that they'd do that to a customer in front of everyone. Although I understand the need to fit in the seats, you'd think they'd have some guidelines for when you make the reservations or something. If they pulled me off a plane I'd never fly again. :no:

Valerie: I actually really liked Dead Man's Chest. In fact, DH and I will probably see it again since we went without the kid and so he still needs to see it. I've heard that most folks either really like it of really don't. Me, can't get enough Johnny Depp and Captain Jack is probably my favorite character he's ever done.

Well ladies, must run. It's late and I'm about ready for be. So for now - Good Night Ladies! :D

Thanks for the good thoughts and encouragement all.

Thanks especially, Lilion, for the back exercises.

It's a bit better today... I babied it, did some other, even easier back exercises I found, and read most of the day. I've gotta be good enough for an hour drive tomorrow--I've got a quasi-date (dinner/movie).

Siena--Good for you getting back on track.

So HAS anyone else heard this news about airlines? I hadn't, and I'm getting ready to buy a ticket...yikes.

:sp: Well, I have been perfectly OP for three weeks but tonight I ate over 1000 calories in one meal. Some friends had us over for dinner and fixed the most wonderful meal imaginable, all for us. Lamb roast, potatoes, ice cream- oh my. I usually don't eat meat so when I do there are usually digestive consequences. All I can console myself with is this: 1. If it weren't for my diet I would have eaten three times as much and 2. I used to eat this much for dinner every night. :sp:

No exercise today, either.

Good morning ladies,

Looking like its going to be a beautiful day. Yesterday was fabulous although it did get a little warm later on - certainly NOTHING like it was earlier in the week.

I had a good, and a bad, day down at mom's. A good day from the perspective of having a really good visit with my sister (now that we've cleared the air earlier in the month) so it was good to have that time with her. Guess I've missed that. A bad day from the perspective of how out of touch I've been this year about my mom's living conditions. She's 75 and been on her own now for 3 years on a 20 acre farm with an old house. It has gotten so into disrepair that, IMHO, needs to be bulldozed. She found out yesterday that she has floor damage due to a water leak in the subfloor area in one of the bathrooms. The shower, stool, and sink area has to be removed and the floor repaired. The alledged buyer of the house is supposed to be buying it AS IS and with no inspection or warranty's. But she feels that she has to repair it since she found out about it. The bid yesterday was $4400 but the Mormon family that came to take her piano said they could fix it for a lot cheaper. Think she's going with them just to get it done. But the house is absolutely full of crap and she's packing it to take with her. WTH! I've told her that she has to get rid of stuff. Boxes of material and yarn. Boxes of craft books that she's never even used. Stained glass supplies. Leather making supplies (which she's very good at and used to do but hasn't in years). I've long thought all the craft crap was not about doing the craft but some comfort from "buying" it. A way to get back at dad for money he had spent on something stupid (which happened a lot while I was growing up). And that behavior continues as she buys more :censored: from all those stupid catalogs she gets. The house is filthy too. That really bothers me. That my mom chooses to ignore that part and live like that. Sis thinks it is perhaps depression about being there by herself and the repairs have gotten out of control and no one to help her. Neither of my brothers can make time to go help her. (Which is another thorn in the side about my snootyville brother). Sis and I are helpless when it comes to that kinds of stuff. Sis is going to check on a big dumpster and make her throw stuff away. She is going to have an auction in September. OMG and the magazines that are piled up. Where have I been in the last year?????? Oh geez, it has gotten so out of control. And we have two months to get her packed, stuff sold and tossed, and moved to 3 hours away. I convinced her to rent a storage area in town and to be taking her boxed stuff to storage so we can rent a really big truck and drive her there in October. So, I'll be spending most Saturday's down there helping her until this is done. I'm not kidding, I almost :faint: when I walked in. Still horrified about it. She did try to tell sis and I to my our own business when the plumber was there. Keep that up and I'll jump her a$$. We have to hear that from DH's mom and I'm NOT taking that from mine! :lol:

Enough ranting about that.

Oh yeah, and the food yesterday was bad. Tasted good but was bad. Fresh blackberry dumplings and fresh peach pie. I wanted the blackberry dumplings because I remember mom making those eons ago and that will more than likely be the last ones I get. Wasn't quite the same as she used canned biscuits instead of real dumplings. :rolleyes: Sis wanted the peach pie. I brought a big container of both home but it will be going down the garbage disposal. Mom really didn't need it either as she is diabetic and her weight is too high for her body. She's 220 and I'd be thrilled to weigh that. :dizzy:

I'm staying home from church today. I need to work on financial stuff and get that all caught up. I also want to putz around getting more stuff unpacked and do some outside work. The pool needs cleaning after the wind storm we had Thursday morning. Just want to have a day here.

I think I'll cook up some chicken breasts to have on hand for lunches. I've been spending too much each day in the cafeteria and its too easy to make bad choices.

So Ginger and I had a little chat while I was cleaning her feet last night. She said she's not worried about having that baby and don't expect it until next weekend. She's probably planning a surprise 2 AM birth when I least suspect it. She also said to quit feeling up her boobies and leave her alone. :lol3: So here's by prediction: August 1st and its a boy.

Celery - You've done great to be OP for that many days in a row. Count this as a planned splurge day and celebrate how much better you did than before. Now just get right back on track. I used to have sinus infections all the time and sinus headaches which have improved since I drink more water.

Angela - Hope your back is feeling better. I do the Windsor Pilates Back exercises that really help me. Even though its pilates, they are not difficult movements. Really stretches out the lower back to hamstring muscles which relieve my pain. Enjoy your quasi-date with the FWIWWM! Inquiring minds need to know the details later on. :lol:

Valerie - What a bummer about the tack shop. I really do have to stay out of those places because I like to buy too much. I love the smell of saddle leather. I need to get my tack room set up. However its this hideous yellow color (why paint it in the barn?) which I'm not sure I want to paint or not. Plus I want to put up better hardware for hanging stuff. Know of a good mail-order source for tack room organizer-stuff? I'm a fair-weather Johnny Depp fan. Depends on the movie and outside of that, he is such a bizarre person. IMHO!

Sienna - Welcome back! Sorry about the four pounds. But you can get it off again. The knee sounds sooo painful. Get a different doctor! Glucosamine is supposed to be good stuff. We used to give it to the dog for his hips. :D Why no anti-inflammory meds for the arthritus? That would at least help with the pain while the glucosamine would help improve the joints. DH and I still both take celebrex for our arthur. I do hope you get some relief for the pain soon. Gripe away! That's what we're here for. Helps to relieve the burden.

Karen - That sausage sounds really good. Maybe you can post the recipe on the recipe thread??

Well I better get this posted before I do something dumb and end up losing it. Think I'll go work on the linen closet for awhile.

Have a great day!

Hi ladies,

I'm back! I got up off my big butt and had a very productive day.

I unpacked several boxes. Arranged the linen cabinet. You'd think a house with 2100 sqft would have a linen closet. Nope its more like a cabinet in the master bedroom closet. I may have to get rid of towels! Completely rearranged our clothes in the closets. Did several loads of laundry. Watched Fun with Dick and Jane. Repotted two plants. Weedeated the front landscape area and down the fence line on one side of the driveway. Had to quit when I ran out of string. Made sun tea. Spent over an hour in the pool cleaning, floating, and doing some exercise. Fed the horses. Sat and watched a hummingbird war out the front window. Took pictures of the place. May vacuum the bedroom before I go to bed. Whew! It was nice though.

Here's a link to photos around our new place. http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/...60&uid=1162304 I thought you might like to see what I'm talking about!

Well, I'm off to put up the clean clothes and go relax in bed. Have a good evening. I won't be posting in the morning as I have to be at work really early. Make Monday a great day!

Terri, I loved the pictures. I can see why you love it!!!

The wierdest thing hapended to me this weekend. The keyboard on my laptop quit working. Completly quit. I couldn't enter anything. no passwords to log into sites, nothing. It was like that until a little while ago, I was trying to figure out something and I saw something in the systems tool menu abut restoring the system, so I ran that and restored it back to Thursday where I knew the keyboard worked, and now I'm typing on it. Don't have a clue what the problems was, but I'm sure glad it's fixed.

Hi, everybody - I'm home!
Wed had a really nice time. Henry IV Part 1 was in the Tom Patterson theatre - a small, experimental theatre in the round. My daughter wants to be Falstaff, I think, although the actor who played Hotspur wasn't very good - the one who played Prince Hal was adorable.
And South Pacific was so good that we went to Oliver, because half the cast is the same, and they were all so good. So it cost a whole bunch of money - we all love live theater.

In Stratford, we stayed in an old farmhouse on an organic farm about 20 kilometers outside of town. The walls are 2.5 ft thick, and our room was lovely. And the breakfasts - slow-cooked oats that have to be soaked overnight, and fruit cups. Yummy!
Stratford has many of the best restaurants in the area - lots of what-you-call fusion restaurants, with tapas and fresh salads. Getting everything organized was tough - long, slow breakfasts, matinees at 2, evening shows at 8 - it was complicated but possible.
Niagara Falls was much harder. Lots of really crummy restaurants, expensive. I've never been in any other Wolfgang Puck's, but I would highly recommend that you skip the one in Niagara. If you're ever there, go to the Old Stone Inn. I had the baked trout with roasted baby vegetables. Yummy, yummy.

One thing I've noticed is how much more fit I was on this vacation than I have been for several years - I mean, my knee still killed me, but I managed to walk many of the tourist attractions, like the white water rapids (.25 mile walkways). This diet and exercise thing actually helps.

Will post replies tomorrow - just too tired tonight. Puppy is also home from the kennel, so I'm being stared at.

Sue

Good morning!
 

Just checking in this morning. things are going well. Op and still not drinking enough water. That is the one thing I have the most trouble with, well that and the hated exercise.:p

Terri, loved the pics of your place, nice. That is a lot of yard to weed eat. We have a lot too, but I don't have to do the work, thank goodness. I wish we were out like you are. We have land but it is in the middle of what I laughingly call the city.

Well my dears, that is all for this morning. I wish you all an op day. Ta, Ruth

checking in
 

Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to check in. I wasn't able to read posts this weekend so i'm getting busy now!!!! My fiance was here for the weekend so we were busy, busy. He's a big BBQ'er so that was challenging. I did pretty good though. Hope everyone has a great week..time for me to get busy reading!
Hugs,
Sheri