Good evening! As usual, this has been a busy place!

I've had a little trouble these last couple of days with snacking after school. Made a salad for dinner cause I knew I had overdone a bit earlier.

Work has been very hectic, we got a new student right before Thanksgiving and another new one Monday.

Finally came to an agreement with our insurance about our floors so will be going ahead with replacement in the next couple of weeks. Oh Joy!

Add me to the curry lovers, I love it in tuna or chicken salad and I have a chicken divan recipe that also has curry in it.

Have a great evening! It's cold and wet here, we have a nice fire in the fireplace, Life is good!

petra - congrats on surviving the call! You haven't grossed me out - not by a long shot :drool:!

lambchop - Curry is a wonderful, wonderful flavor(s). Some of them are blends, and there's a big range of heat level. A great place to give it a try, if you can find one, is an Indian buffet. I've been to several, and the staff is always thrilled to answer questions and help with learning the terminologies. Once you figure out if you like it or not, experiment! The world is a kaleidoscope of flavor, and it's so much easier to eat well when you're excited about new tastes. DS10 got into his first pomegranate over the weekend :lol: - it was cute and it was messy, but he loved it! The kid even likes okra - who'da thunk?

OMW - Yippee for the upcoming new floor! My goodness, am I to understand that an insurance company actually ruled in your favor? Will wonders never cease? :rolleyes: ;) I know what you mean about the snacking. I've been lucky lately because spouse is arriving home just a few minutes before me, and is usually in the kitchen getting dinner rolling when I arrive. That was my PRIME misbehavior time. I've started having a small snack in the late afternoon before I head home, and that seems to derail the urges pretty well. It's definitely getting colder here too. Supposed to have a high of 31 tomorrow. :p I'm NOT READY!!! The first snowflake is going to be traumatic!

newleaf - I see your ticker's moving in the right direction again - yay!

Marie - forgot to congratulate you on the vacation victory :cheer: Are we going to see some pictures?

Nothing new here beyond getting settled in the new "decade". I must be getting close because being stalled here doesn't make me a bit unhappy! I got back in the downward trend last month by the usual smidge, but I lost an inch and a half off my waist - yay, I'm under 30" again!

Petra- we have a thai restaurant right in Clinton (5 mins away), but yeah...until i'm on a regular eating plan again, it's going to have to wait!

OnMyWay - glad you worked out something for your floors...as for snacking, i've found these little baby gherkins that seem to keep me out of trouble when i want something..not sure if it's soemthing you'd like, but kills any cravings for me

ICU - awesome on losing the 1 1/2 off your waist!!

About trying new tastes - i retried strawberries the other night, something i've hated all my life, and think I could eat a few mixed in with other fruit...i'm experimenting tiny bits at a time, becasue my tastes are changing so much on this protein shake plan....very odd to me...my husband laughs because i'm like a little kid trying new bites of stuff, where before i was like, NO THANKS, now i'm like...what else might i like now?

woke up with a nagging cough...but the sinus infection is clearing out...changing to healthier colors (TMI? sorry), so i know it's almost done...just frustrated because I want to run, and i can only see myself walking at most as i'm coughing about every 3 minutes.

Marie - Good to see you again. I had no idea what was going on with the boards while I was away. It got to the point that I didn't check in because it was so frustrating. Glad they resolved the issues..... I need this group.

OMW - Great news about the floors. I'm with you on the snacking... some of my vacation habits followed me home.

ICU - You really are getting close, congratulations. I'm 4" shorter and 149 is not ideal for me but it is comfortable; maybe a bit too comfortable. I've bounced between 140 - 150 for about six months now.

LC - sure hope you are better soon.

Congratulations to those that were able to keep it together while on vacation. Your experience gives me the determination to get through the rest of the year.

Although my eating hasn't been perfect since I got home I do feel good about where I'm at. It was the 15th of December that I started my journey and in the last year I have learned a great deal and found a way of life I can live with. My primary goal when I started all this was to get healthy, I feel that I have achieved that and now it is time to focus on those extra pounds that contribute to poor self image.

Thai food – eeks I hated it. :p When DD and I were in Bangkok for 3 weeks last May I lost 3.5 pounds. Both of us got used to being hungry as we hated the food. We finally figured out the pizza delivery. So I’m guessing curry was the flavor scent I hated. I used to hold my breath walking past the street vendors because it made me nauseous. :p:p:p

Petra, you are much more adventuresome than I on foods. Your list reminded me of being surrounded by yucky food in Thailand. ;)


OMW, great news about the insurance settlement and new floors. Although holiday season with carpenters could be overwhelming.

ICU, it was 20 out this morning and I’ve been in 4WD several times this year already AND I’m still not ready for winter. Brrr! And I didn’t go on vacation recently. I was just gone from 3FC because of the inconsistency of the site.

Lamb, are you only having protein shakes? If yes, I didn’t realize that. I’m a big fan of protein powder but I LOVE food and chewing on food. I hope you feel better. :hug:


Cindy, you are almost at your 1 year anniversary. Isn’t it mind boggling what we can accomplish in a year? You are doing great! :carrot:


I spur of the moment decided to take tomorrow off as I haven’t had the house to myself since DH came home. He has guard weekend this weekend so it will be like a 3 day mini-retreat in my own house. I like that after the hectic Thanksgiving weekend with all the visitors. Saturday is my day to begin daily weigh ins again. I stopped over the long weekend because I retain water when I travel, including driving over the mountain pass to shop in Medford (80 miles away). I’ve been frustrated with the plateau and figured that wouldn’t help. So two more days and I have to face my nemesis.

Marie

CAT - I'm glad you're getting back into your regular groove again, and it sounds like you enjoyed your trip. Your old habits will be back soon, because you'll get into your regular zone now that you fall back into home routine. I've had vacation brain for the last few days...

Marie- yes, i'm on protein shakes 5x a day and a regular meal (i see my doctor weekly for it), usually a veggie stir fry with protein, or a salad with protein...the days i run, i have a piece of multigrain toast and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese

I've done protein shakes before on my own - used "designer whey" (brand name) when working with a trainer, but this is a program called "center for medical weight loss" and i go to an internist/family doc so we can keep a close watch on how i do, adjusting things as we need

she also put me on fish oil, vitamin d, cinnamon (for diabetes), a multi-vitamin and I choose to get Vitamin B shots -- I feel great, and have been very happy wiht it so far. I'll add in more meals as I go. If i eat out dinner, i trade 1 dinner for 3 shakes, and work at about 1000 calories right now

--

how's it going with your DH home, i know it was going to be an adjustment again

Lamb-I make smoothies with designer whey, yogurt and frozen berries. Had one for breakfast this morning. I'm curious how you decided on this particular diet program. This is my personal opinion but I am leery of any program you can't do for life and I don't know too many people who can live on protein shakes or Jenny Craig food or Nutrisystem or whatever specialized low calorie program for life.

Marie-you would not do well at my house with food. I think thai and japanese are probably my two favorite asian cuisines and moroccan is my favorite mediterranean cuisine. I'm making an authentic moroccan dish this weekend which requires me to make a special spice blend. Tunisian is also close-its that north african thing.

CAT-I bet you'll have all that vacation weight off by the time you get to your 1 year anniversary. My birthday is the 14th. I hope to be at my goal weight next year by my birthday. Big ambition. We'll see how close I get.

It's good to be off call. Might go out with one of the nurses from work tonight for a little while.

Hi everyone! Glad to see everyone back and doing well after the holidays : ) The TSO was an awesome start to the holiday season as always, and the visit with my best friend was great, but too short. Life has been crazy and hectic with ds 18 back in the house and I have totally fallen off the wagon, but am determined to get back on starting today! Out of the blue he's decided he wants to go back to school. Went to talk to one of the local colleges yesterday, he aced the assessments and starts classes on december 14th. Total turnaround from 24 hours previously when he spend the day telling me all the reasons he can't do anything with his life! So it looks like I have a roommate for the next year-and-a-half while he completes this accelarated associate's degree program in electronic engineering. Now he just needs to find a job because I can't afford to feed him and keep him in cigarettes! So today I'm going to plan my eating and eat op. Awake since 3am so it's going to be a long day, and the insomnia thing is part of what throws me off. For some reason when I'm overtired I can care less what goes into my mouth. But if I have my food planned and packed for the day I'm less likely to give in to impulse eating the way I have all week. I did discover while I was out of town that in addition the the unhealthy food I've stopped eating by giving up fast food, I also save a ton of time and aggravation : ) Today's the first day of my workweek, hope everyone has a great weekend!

Kathi

Marie - Enjoy the house to yourself.

LC & Petra - Thank you for the support, even with the evening snacking the vacation weight is falling off, I'm down another pound this morning.

Petra - I want to come eat at YOUR house. I love different foods but I'm not very adventurous in the kitchen; fact of the matter is I cook very little. It was something that I had planned to work on when I started this WOL but really haven't done much. I still eat mostly chicken and fish.

WLW - You can do this.... make that meal plan and stick to it. As for your son maybe if you don't buy his cigarettes he'll quit or find the motivation to support his own habit. I have a step son that sounds a lot like your son. The 180 degree turnarounds from day to day may indicate the need for a professional. Sorry if I have crossed the line... I just want you to know that you are not alone and more importantly not responsible for your son's future.

I'm off to research options for hiking this weekend. If there is snow up at Big Bear still we may go up there.

petra - I agree with CAT - there's nothing better than new foods! I am especially partial to Middle Eastern, and Lebanese makes me swoon. I'm very fortunate to live "near" Detroit, because of the hole-in-the-wall authentic cuisines. Name it ... we have a grocery market for it and at least one restaurant within an hour's travel. I'm not quite as good with cooking it myself, but I do want to branch out.

Marie - thanks for reminding me about your non-vacation. I've been branching into too many threads, I think, and I'm not keeping people straight. I joined Featherweights, and am also beginning to dabble in the Maintainers. Too much info. I need to spend a little LESS time here surfing EVERY forum, methinks! We share the travel water retention, btw! Your weekend at home with the puppies sounds wonderful!

CAT - I'll bet your homecoming was impressive - doggies happy to see you? Just a little? ;) That vacation puff doesn't have a chance - good to hear it's abandoning you the way it should!

lamb - your plan sounds aggressive, but if it's working for you ... cool. I hope it will include transition time to real life, because I agree with Petra that it doesn't sound like something you'd want to do for a lifetime. Marie's right - chewing, tasting and the social benefits of good food are one of the great advantages to living! Glad to hear you're working closely with medical professionals and trainers. :)

wlw - Cigarettes? Are you serious???? Feeding and sheltering and supporting while he's getting educated, sure ... but why would you shell out your own money for something so trivial? Idea for Christmas gift - anti-smoking program! Yes, I'm militant anti-tobacco, but I will shut up. I promise! I know you two are feeling each other out and developing a new relationship, and you're the adult. I will shut up. :) I totally respect what you're trying to do and how difficult it is!

I'm just groovin'. I drank an extra glass of wine last night, but still wayyyyy under calories, pretty much for the week. I am LOVING LoseIt!!!! I do wish it had the ability to do meal/recipe entries on PC instead of the iPod, but it's not that bad. I'm able to retire the paper journal, and that's a huge plus.

ICU-I am so jealous of all the ethnic cuisine in your area. We do have several mediterranean restaurants in this area-more greek style and a really good italian restaurant in town but none of the more exotic stuff I really like.

wlw-the one thing I have found that really gets to me is sleep deprivation. If I am sleep deprived I have a really hard time staying on plan. Otherwise I really don't find this difficult at all. That is something I only discovered recently but I have a feeling that is not unique to me. Probably happens to a lot of people and they have no idea that is what is happening.

Lamb-I'm not trying to be critical of your plan. If there is somthing I can learn from you I am always interested in learning new things. I'm just curious how you decided on this program. Maybe there is something to it that I have not thought about. I'm always suspicious of programs that are based on the idea of being "on a diet" to lose weight and going "off your diet" when you've lost your weight because we all know what happens when you "off your diet". And I'm even more suspicious when there is money involved because they may have another motive for you to "go off your diet." I have what I call my 5 commandments of weight loss. The first 1 is: The best diet for you, is the one you can do for life.

Well I screwed myself today. I had something Japanese for dinner last night-involving soy sauce which means I retained water and my weight is exactly where it was this time last week so I don't get to move my ticker this week. Note to self: no Japanese food on Thurs. from now on. Hope everyone has a good day. I have the last of my baby showers to go to today. Glad these will be over.

Cough was bad yesterday, but MOSTLY GONE today! woohoo...

lost another pound, made it to 20 pounds lost so far, big smile. I've been stuck since Nov 22nd, though I'm not complaining too much, since i survived vacation without gaining...just happy to see a downward trend again

Petra - I've done about every plan out there...went for a gastric bypass consult and was turned down because i have malabsorption issues (read chronic diarrhea, all foods, 7 days a week, all meals, since gallbladder out 15 years ago). I cried and cried, and said...pfft, now what. I then went to a personal trainer and dietitian. I ate clean, and worked out with my trainer 2-3x a week for an ENTIRE YEAR. Didn't lose any weight...we found I'm insulin resistant, and my doctor said my body stays in starvation mode...and I just was so overwhelmed..i couldn't lose weight, no matter how i tried...and I TRIED! so I stopped for a year....just started getting depressed about my weight again, and was about to go for a second opinion on the gastric bypass when my husband found this...said...can't hurt to give it a shot...so the goal right now is this...

5 shakes, 1 meal...when i stabalize, 4 shakes - 2 meals...3 shakes, etc..so that I gradually am back on food and still losing. What's happening more than anything is as i'm building healthier habits, my tastes are changing, my metabolism is starting to fire back up again, and we're seeing a loss - that previous I couldn't see with clean eating and working one on one with a trainer before .....my internist things i may have food allergies that weren't apparent, and we're going to see how i react to each food as i add them back in. She in no way says you must use 5 shakes..she asks me where i am, how i feel, and we'll add more food back in as i choose...we've also added toast/cottage cheese on workout days...so we're guiding this week by week based on how i feel, and how i adjust.

If i go out to eat, i trade 3 shakes (160 calories each) for a dinner out...when i get under 200 pounds, i'm looking at switching to 3 meals/3 shakes...in essence, it's high protein/low carb right now...but with high nutrients.

Hope that explains - best i'm able - and just grateful at this point, my body is responding...i'm about about 1000 calories a day

Will go back and respond to rest of postings now..

WLW - Today is a new day...how's it going so far? Making good choices? I hope school helps your son focus on a productive goal

Cat - can't wait to hear about your weekend hiking. You always find such cool places - hope there's no snow

ICU - yes, it will absolutely transition me smoothly...in fact, I'm eating more veggies than I ever have, and eat out 2-3x a week as it is (ex: a salad with protein, or a filet with asparagus)...my goal is to be fully back on food. I do not want to live on shakes. :) Not my goal, not my doctors...just need my metabolism moving again...and hopefully the running will continue to help.

:) Don't worry girls, I'd be saying the same thing to people - but I promise, I'm a smart cookie, and a realist.

I do appreciate the concern...TRULY - I do go to the doctor every single week, and all ready I feel great, AND she's brought my average blood sugars down 20 points too! She wants me off medication - and I believe with her help I'll kick the meds too

I am ALL about lifestyle, not gimmicks...:) it's been a 20 year journey. We just hit a wall and didn't know what else to do at this point. In fact, my FAMILY doctor wanted me to go back for a 2nd opinion on gastric bypass...my internist...she wants me to go as natural as possible, adn THAT feels right...vitamins, slowly adding good healthy foods back in, teaching me about protein/carb ratio, etc...

Lamb-thanks for the info. When you eat your meals are you eating low carb? I'm trying to make sense of this metabolically. Glad you are feeling better today.

so for now, i'm taking it one day at a time, and each week I make decisions about what I want to do. Because I have over 100 pounds to lose, I want to continue on the shakes for another 30+ pounds, then transition in more and more meals..

I'm all ready looking at what a good trade is...example - to replace my morning shake, an egg white omelet with veggies -- for a snack, yogurt + 1/2 cup of cereal, etc..

My family is so grateful this is working. They've seen me bust my rear and struggle for so long with no results...so we're grateful I can get to a healthier weight, and they know I've always been willing to put the work in - and have in the past...so the exercise sticks, the better food will stick, etc...

k, i'm done for now

again...((GROUP HUG)) thank you so much for your concern. I do not feel defensive in any manner, and appreciate your thoughts. IF I saw a 20 yo severly limiting her calories, or someone doing something like this without knowing any background, i'd be right there with you --

Cheers, Deb