My weight was up one pound today and also my bs was high. I am not surprised as last night I ate way more than normally. I've been eating a little more than I should and was getting away with it but now I know I have to stop. So going to try to get back to the NS way of eating more. I go to the doctor today so hopefully he will notice my weight loss. Dh also has his first appt with this doctor.

I did a little housework yesterday...took care of a few things that were really bothering me. We had our gd all day since she did not have school. She has been very easy to care for and plays good by herself. I did not nap yesterday and slept pretty good last night.

Carol - I'm also very straight. I'm always larger on top but right now I'm really off balance, LOL, because most of my weight loss is below. I didn't measure today since I was up a pound but yesterday I was 43-almost 37-41. My waist had been larger than my hips! So glad to see that coming down. I have a large torso and upper arms compared to the rest of me and it takes a lot of weight loss before that part of me slims down. I have gotten a bit more slender throughout my shoulders but that's all I notice so far.

I get plenty of snacks on this plan, but they need to include a small amount of protein and fiber as well as carb. I can eat all the low glycemic vegetables I can eat. I should eat more of them. We are to avoid eating more than one snack/dessert in the evening and that is when I am most tempted and sometimes give in to eating what I shouldn't. Gotta stop that.

Well need to finish getting ready to go to our appts.

You all have a good day.

Finally home from the doctors and Costco. Dr appt went well as far as my bs. I didn't tell him I'm on NS, just eating a fairly healthy diet, and he ask me about my sodium intake and how many veggies I eat. This is because my bp was up again 146/88 and then when he took it again it was 150/?. So he told me to eat according to the DASH diet (6-8 veggies/day!) and he also put me on another bp med..Amlodipine. It only cost me 65 cents for a 30 day supply! Couldn't believe it! The only other thing he told me was to get back to exercising more. I admitted I was taking my cholesterol med only every other week because it caused me to hurt more and he kinda gasped and said "every other week?!!) LOL I explained it was because of the pain, at least I get some relief that way. He told me to take it every other day. I was afraid to do that because I was told it is such a powerful drug and that's why it's to be taken weekly, but he said many people do fine that way, so I'll try it.

It was dh's first visit with this doctor and he was good on everything and he likes the doctor. I'm sure glad I was there though because he has so much trouble hearing. He had to give his family's hx and everything you do as a new patient and that would have been difficult for him without me. Funny thing when they weighed us, we weighed exactly the same

I was going to eat so well today, well it hasn't gone so well. I had a NS breakfast, but then shared a slice of pizza at Costco and a pb mocha when I got home. Hope the rest of the day goes better.

Mary, for the past 2 years I have had $0 copay for all my meds, as they are all generic. This year, they changed it, adding a copay of $15/90 days supply if bought at retail. Still $0 from mail order. So I switched all of my BP meds to mail order and just got the first shipment yesterday. I also take Amlodipine. I have to start checking my blood pressure more often because as my weight goes down, so does my BP and if it goes really low I will need an adjustment on meds. I take 4 different meds for BP, and one of them is twice a day, so 5 pills. 2 of them are also for my heart, controlling heart rate and angina. I do not have angina, but that's what the one pill is normally used for. The fact that it lowers BP at the same time is why he put me on it. I will continue to get my Diabetes meds from retail until I see that doctor again.

At my perfect weight, I was 37-27-36. I have always been bigger on the upper body than the lower body, and I have heard that after menopause that becomes more prominent, and it has. They also say that the first weight to go is usually from the mid section, so I'm hoping for that. My one friend does 250 side bends every day and says that helps her. Who knows?

I signed up for a weight loss challenge on another forum. I don't do well with challenges, so I don't know why I sign up for them. The competition seems to cause stress, and the stress causes overeating. But this one is Red Team and Blue Team. Jokingly I asked if the colors represented political affiliations, and if so I wanted to be Red. I know if I really set my mind to it I can lose weight. And I want to work hard and make my Red team proud! ha ha This seems to have been a good year for Red.

Mary, remember that the recommended serving sizes for vegetables is small. 1 C for raw and 1/2 C for cooked. I rarely only have 1/2 c of cooked veggies, and half of your plate might be 2 cups, so that's 4 servings right there. People don't realize that the amount they put on their plate can equal more than a serving. I read online about fruit portions and I think what I was reading was overstated. They showed a whole banana as a serving, and the diabetic diet they gave me in the hospital said 1/2 banana was a serving, because it is higher in sugar and starch than some others. When they gave me a serving of fruit in the hospital, it was something like 2 pear sections in a little cup. Most would consider a whole pear as a serving. The hospital diet was were I learned to eyeball my servings. They are much smaller than most people think.

My weight dropped again. Hard to believe since I've been eating much more than I should. Trying to get back to the basic diet actually which is still plenty to eat. Dh still cannot see it around my middle..I can see it slightly but not much myself. I see less tummy when I look down and If I look at the side view it's a little smaller but not much. We both see it in my legs and forearms though. Even my upper arms are getting thinner but because of more sag there it isn't as obvious. Oh the sag, what to do about that. I am trying to exercise my arms more but I'm not sure it's going to do enough at my age. Funny thing every time I lose much weight my bp goes up. Thought it was suppose to be the opposite.

I've been thinking about what the doctor told me to do about my cholesterol med. It didn't make sense at the time and it still doesn't. I think he thinks I'm taking one prescribed for daily use. I am not, it is a powerful drug (per last doctor) and is only taken one time a week. So if I take it every other day, I'll be taking way too much. I took it yesterday and so far not hurting too badly so I'll see how it goes taking it weekly again, but I'm not going to do what he said unless I get it clarified. I was tired and thought maybe my thinking was off but I think it was him who didn't realize it's a weekly drug. It also can be taken daily and he did not prescribe it.

Carol - I don't do well with challenges either. I don't feel stressed about them, they just don't inspire me. My inspiration has to come from myself.
I'm going to call express script....I suspect this new med will be free with it and it will be a 90 day supply. Either way I am sure thankful for our insurance!

Yes I understand about the serving sizes of veggies and I actually like veggies, but I still think I'll find it hard to get that many every day. I have gotten 6 before but usually get about 3 servings of veggies. Now fruit is no problem, could eat fruit all day long if it weren't for my bs. And yes I count 1/2 small banana as a serving too.

Dh went to the gym today but I didn't, cause I didn't sleep well, however I was asleep when he left. I usually sleep best after 5 am.

Took my Nexium late this morning, so had to wait on breakfast but guess I can eat now. Hope you all have a good day.

Just was reading about the DASH diet...they are now saying 4-6 for 1600 calorie diets. My diet is only 1500 and may have to go lower as I lose, so for me it would likely be even less. For now I am going to aim for 4. I get 4, even 6 veggie servings some days but not most days.

Also reading about the statins...studies are making some medical people wonder about their use esp in older people due to the fact they cause muscle wasting, often increase pain and brain fogginess. I sure do not want to have a stroke, but don't like the way they make me feel either.

Mary, if I were you, I would talk to a pharmacist about your cholesterol meds. I'm betting that this new doctor was thinking you were taking a daily cholesterol med. I would not take it every other day! Actually, if you did that, you would run out of pills long before it was time to refill. I would imagine that the daily dose is much lower. I have cut back on the dosage of my statin but didn't tell the doctor. It will probably show up on my next lab work. I have read a lot of conflicting information about statins and older women. I felt that my cholesterol levels were too low, even though the doctor was really excited. It's not about "How low can we go?"

When I think about it, it's very scary that the doctor told you to take it every other day. What if you were one of these people who just did what the doctor said without question? You knew it was a weekly med, but some might not have thought about that.

I get my mail order meds from Express Scripts, too. That's who I worked for before I retired, but they were Medco back then, and have since been bought out by Express Scripts. When I worked for them, I was not allowed to post any information about them online, so I never even mentioned the name, just that I worked for a pharmacy.

I just signed up for another challenge. I just have to do something to get my weight going down. This challenge started at the first of January and is supposed to go all year, but some have dropped out already. I just started, but logged in my weekly weights for the year so far, which have gone up and down, up and down.

I have never tried planning my menus in advance. I don't think I am disciplined enough to stick to a planned menu and eating according to what and when DH wants to eat would interfere. I have to be more diligent with not eating between meals. Those calories tend to get out of control, and I'm not eating because of hunger. Maybe I should work out a plan that I am eating a certain number of calories per meal. I do great with breakfast, but it goes down hill from there.

Had a lot of pain last night. I think it is the cholesterol med. I took it two days ago. It usually gives me pain in the beginning and then gradually eases toward the very end of the week. I had a very restless sleep. We are going to our gd's basketball game today. Dh went to our gs' last night. He forgot to tell me the time until I didn't have time to get ready to go, so I missed it. I worked on our taxes and am almost done...need a little more info but looks like we will pay a little this year. Last year we got a refund which is very unusual for us. After I finish ours, I will start on son's. He's dog sitting this weekend but he stopped in last night and we had a nice talk. Love those times with him.

Still not doing much housework and my house looks so neglected. I did two loads of laundry yesterday and folded them last night. Still need to put it away. Wish I had more energy...it is improved, it comes in spurts but doesn't last long. I still went over on my eating last night. I think I'd lose much faster if I'd just stick to the plan only. I don't even know why I'm going over, it's not really hunger. Last night I thought I had to finish the strawberries (I'm the only one who eats them), and also ate lots of mixed nuts.

Carol - Yes I was thinking about that..what could have happened if I had done what the doctor said, but I knew it didn't make sense even though I finally said ok. Once I accidentally took two tabs of a daily dose and the doctor said that wouldn't hurt, but 3-4x a day of a weekly dose extra? That sounds scary. Now I'm trying to decide whether to take it weekly as prescribed or go every other week like I was. Either way I think I'm going to have some pain, the week without just gives me a break I guess. My cholesterol dropped from 219 to 167 already with this med but I don't remember, the lab may have been taken a week I took it, and I've been told by a previous doctor, the number goes right back up when you don't take it. How fast I don't know.

I plan dinner and sometimes other meals every week but I only adhere to the dinners. The others (breakfast, lunch, snacks) are just for healthy ideas.

Well need to get to things as it won't be long til we have to go to the game.

Mary, my husband had a lot of pain during the night and he does not take cholesterol meds. He doesn't doctor much, only when he has to. I think maybe he has Fibromyalgia, but I don't know. There are other statins out there and maybe a different one would not cause you as much pain. It did do a good job with your cholesterol.

I get pain off and on but never connect it to my statin. Maybe I should. I take less that I'm prescribed. I'm not a very good patient. I hope you get some relief.

That challenge I signed up for is Red Team and Blue Team. I jokingly asked if it was politically related. Now no one wants to be on the Red Team. LOL There are 8 people who asked to be on Blue, and only 2 on Red. I don't think this is going to work. LOL

Weight is stable even though I'm still not on plan in the evenings. During the day I do well. I had a very painful night again. I have pain anyway, the cholesterol med just makes it worse. Carol I've tried Simvastatin (used it for years), it caused pain, took me awhile to realize it. Took Pravastatin, I don't think it caused pain but it caused brain fogginess, forgetfulness etc, That lifted when I stopped taking it, now I'm on Crestor and the pain is back more than ever. The statins can also cause muscle wasting and kidney damage. They supposedly save lives however in regard to strokes, heart attacks. So one has to weigh the pros and cons.

Carol when you told me you chose red I had a feeling it might cause problems. Hope people can get past it. Things are wierd these days about politics, but I feel like things are going to get better in many ways for our country.

Need to get ready for church. I didn't go last Sunday and would sure like to go this morning.

Have a good Sunday.

Mary, the Red and Blue team challenge has been going on for a while. I don't know how they came up with the Red and Blue, but I definitely was making a joke about the Red, and typed "LOL." If they are the type who cannot take a joke, then I don't need to be in that challenge. It's possible that they just happen to like Blue, but it just seemed odd to me. Whatever. Lighten up, people!

The statin I take is Lovastatin, the generic for Mevacor. It's an old one. My previous cardiologist put me on it. One time my PCP wanted me to switch to a newer one but I told him I'd rather stay with this one since it's effective and it isn't causing me any problems.

Good evening GG's,

It has been kind of a dreary drippy day today. Yesterday too. But it was a good day to cook yesterday ~ so I got some things made ~ a pot of vegetarian chili ~ a bean loaf and a batch of roasted vegetables.

Carol Sue ~ did the Red/Blue people jump on you because of your LOL about the names? The mevacor you mention ~ I remember that name from being one my mom took. It seems like the doctor made her switch to something else, but that has been a long time ago, so I don't remember what the reason was that he did that.

Sharon ~ congratualtions on your new job. Sounds like you will enjoy that. You will probably be a bright spot for the people who you will be helping. Way to go on your new lower weight. And good job with choosing the salad. Have you ever (do you like) spaghetti squash? I like that as a replacement for spaghetti. I cook it so that it still has a little crunch to it (so it is not mushy) and like it a lot.

Marian ~ congratulations on being down another pound.

Mary ~ sorry you are having so much pain. Hope you can get things figured out and not have as much. I can identify with the eating problems in the evening. I too, do pretty well during the day, but struggle to do the right things in the evening.

I try to make reason out of it. The only thing I can come up with is that in the day time, I have all kinds of things I am working on and it keeps me busy and I want to keep going/progressing on what ever I am working on. But by the evening, I have run out of steam and just don't feel like working on that stuff. I am usually watching some TV show, or doing something on the computer. I guess part of wanting to munch then is because the two have always kind of gone hand in hand (TV/computer and munching) one of my bad habits.

I started thinking maybe if I went to bed earlier, but I don't think I could be consistent with that. One thing I have read many times is that if you are having sleeping difficulties ~ it is important to try to sort of stick to the same wake up time and the same going to bed time. I was never able to do that when I worked (well at least not when working the 12 hour shifts as a nurse). You had to stay until your work was done, so you never knew when you were gonna get to go home. So, now that I am retired, I have pretty much conquered that hurdle to better sleep. But I don't think I could go to bed early ~ consistently enough to use that as a method of trying not to snack in the evening. I don't know what the answer is.

Dentist appointment (cleaning and check up) tomorrow for the both of us.

Hope you all had a nice weekend.

Yea! Lost 2 more lbs. by sticking with The New Atkins for a New You program. Also got highlights in my hair so I feel like a half million bucks. Can't wait until I feel like a million - once I meet my goal - and stay there!

glynne- one of my tricks for decreased munching in the evening is to brush my teeth after dinner - then only fluids. My favorites are tea and diet gingerale. It works sometimes Marian

Happy Monday everyone.

Another 1/2# down this morning despite the fact that I still went over on my calories yesterday. Even though I'm on a 1500 cal plan, they allow us up to 1799, but I think I often (recently) have been going over that, yet I still lose. Wonder how long I can get by with that. I'm just so happy to see my bs down even more than the weight. Yesterday I tried on a skirt I've always liked to wear to church, and it was too loose! If I want to keep it, I'll have to take it in. Good problem to have though.

Another night with little sleep...I hurt but not as badly as the previous night. It seems to ease as the week goes on. I was hot and cold all night. Try to keep dh's blanket off me...I don't need it. I turn my fan on then get chilly and turn it off...so it goes all night. I think if I put all the hours together I probably got about five hours, but I didn't get to the gym again. After dh left for the gym, I got my best sleep. But it's hard to get much done when you get up so late. If I weren't sleepy at night I'd try to get more done then but I do feel tired and sleepy so I tend to go to bed at least by 1 usually by 12. Think last night it was about 11:45. Just can't get to sleep and stay asleep. I also need to get to the gym I did do quite a few stretch exercises yesterday watching a youtube video and I biked 20 min. Felt good to get back to the bike.

Just placed an order for Boom skin care. I like her products, they are about all I use anymore and I like the natural look. I do have a few tinted moisturizers I use at times and a compact powder which I use just a little now and then.

My youngest dd (the one who lives on the coast), hosted a big Lularoe training and then flew to Vegas to be a bridesmaid for a friend's wedding. She's so busy, but I'm looking forward to talking to her this week. We used to talk at least once a week.

Hi to everyone! Hope you are having a good day. Can't believe it's March already and spring is almost here. Today is my oldest dd's birthday, just sent her an ecard.

I lost another 1/2#. I still went over in the evening but I did notice that I was full and didn't need it. I biked for 21 min. but didn't do much of my other exercises. My bs was high this morning and think that's another sign I'm eating too much in the evenings. Got to go back to only one snack no matter I'm still losing.

Today we plan to go out to eat to finally celebrate our ds' birthday which was actually the 1st. He's just been too busy. Today is the birthday of my first child that passed on in 1963 and a little less than six weeks of age. I am not sad, it's been so long, but I do remember him. The person I am today is partly due to the experience of losing him as our experiences shape our lives to some degree. He would be 54. I look forward to seeing him again when it's my time to pass on.

Yesterday I felt I finally got back to my usual housework routine and it felt good. I tried to clean the oven, but found this morning, it had not cleaned (self-cleaning). So I've turned it on again and will see if it works, not sure what happened. Just noticed I can smell the oven smoking so think it's working. I've opened windows as our smoke detector is very sensitive which is good but not so good when I cook or clean the oven. I don't remember leaving the oven so dirty. Maybe our son or his gf used it when we were gone.

Carol - All the Lularoe tops I bought are very large on me now. I can still wear the Azure skirts but not sure about the pencil skirts as haven't tried them.I like them but I don't feel I look good in them because of my straightness, so may try to sell them online. They have hardly been worn and are really cute. I probably can still wear the Carly dresses.My leggings are getting very baggy, so I wear them around the house as well as out now just to get more use out of them. They are very comfortable and great for around the house.They are all the larger size so if I buy more I'll have to buy the smaller size now I think. Of course the biggest challenge really will be maintaining my weight loss so may keep a few larger sizes just in case, but I sure hope I can keep it off. I noticed today when I bent over from a sitting position to pick up something, it was much easier! Love that!

Funny about the blanket thing...last night I folded it and put it all on dh who can't get warm enough. But after I got up for a while and then went back to bed I was cold, so tried to pull the top half over on myself, but he had it so wound around him, I couldn't. So I gave up and soon realized I was getting too warm and didn't need it. Only my feet were cold but I pulled on socks.

Better get back to work...

My weight jumped up 1.5# as usual after a restaurant meal. I also ate after I got home. My bs is high again this morning. I'm not really worried about the restaurant meal, but I HAVE to get back on track in the evenings. Last night I had to change tops because the first one was too big. I love that and don't want to go back to where I was.

The clinic called yesterday and told dh to cut his Losartan in 1/2 plus decrease any high potassium foods in his diet as his potassium is high. This has happened before to him, but that time he was drinking coconut water which he isn't now. He has been making buko (coconut) shakes though. However he asked about coconut and she said it was ok.

Yesterday I cleaned the main bathroom and also the small appliances on my kitchen counter. That's all I did other than my daily stuff.

Carol - Hope the kelp helps you. I've never tried it.

Hi to everyone else! Hope it's a good day for all of you.