Trish, I know that you seem to disappear when you aren't doing as well and I figured that's what was going on. I can understand you wanting to move closer to family, since there's really nothing to hold you in SC. I think I would like TX better than FL. I hear a lot of bad things about FL, although I liked it when I visited there.

It's funny that you are going to try the egg/meat fast, because I am going to try to go a week without eggs. I was reading JJ Virgin's book about food intolernaces and she said that eggs can inflame psoriasis. I had never heard that before and I googled it and just found a slight passing reference, but I want to see if there is any change after a week without them. I really don't know how I'm going to do this because you know how I am about my eggs. I think I've had eggs every day since I was 5. That's a lot of days. LOL I can't imagine having to give them up entirely. One person who said they quit the eggs and their psoriasis started to clear said that they were going to start adding them to see if they could tolerate any. Like having 1 egg a couple days a week, and so on until they started to see a flare starting again. Some other people said that eggs do not effect their PS, but how do they know if they have never tried eliminating them? So I will see how I do with this. I have no idea what I'm going to eat for breakfast. I can still have some sausage. Or I might try protein shakes for a few days.

My dog is improving greatly every day. He is getting much friendlier. He quit barking at night , thank God, and today he learned how to go up and down the cellar steps. I think they said he was in a trailer, so, no steps. When it's time to go outside he goes and waits at the door. Before he would go under the table and we had to drag him out. So, nice changes. Tomorrow will be day 7 that we have him.

I think they have the bariatric patients eat eggs because they contain so much protein and nutrients and they go down easy. I hope we do well with our new dietary changes.

Carol Sue I hope you can find a solution for the Psoriasis problem although I do know you like your eggs as much as I do. Glad the new pet is beginning to warm up to y'all and his new home.

I've decided not to get excited about the move yet and won't believe it until we do it especially when it comes to moving back home. I'm not sure what DH really wants to do. When I headed for bed last night, DH was absolutely sure we were going to move to TX. Today he got up saying he was confused about moving and not sure about it. So I'm glad we haven't told anyone yet. We may end up staying right here in SC. He will continue to be grumpy and I may continue to be homesick, but I am the kind of person who will learn to adjust to the way things are. I really think either way will work out for us financially even if we just sell our house and move into a smaller home. At this point, we just have to decided what to do. I have been looking at new homes in our area as well as looking for some place in TX.

I didn't do well with the meat and egg fast. For one thing it is very high fat and while I don't eat lowfat anything these day, I just can't eat all that fat and protein. I'll just have to continue with a low carb way of eating. In fact, after doing that, AI doesn't look so bad if I can find 2 weeks to do it without going out to eat. May just do the Paleo/Primal version of low carbing.

FBS is pretty good right now so I will just keep doing what I'm doing at the moment which is the low carb/IF combo way of eating.

Have a good day.

Well, I made it through day one without my eggs. I had a small avocado for breakfast and a bratwurst with a salad for lunch. Then we had Chicken Viola for dinner. It has pasta in it, but I cooked 2 extra pieces of chicken breast and some extra broccoli and cauliflower to add to it to lower the total starch in it. Right now I'm having some acid reflux because the Viola is processed food which I rarely eat anymore. But I had it in the house for when I needed to make something in a hurry, and it's not something we eat often. My body cannot handle that, or too much fat. My weight is up a bit. It's a never ending battle.

It makes me feel bad to hear about you being homesick. I think that's the way my mother felt when my father was working in Philadelphia. After he got sick they moved back to the Pittsburgh area where they were from originally. I have lived here since age 7 so it's all I know. We now live about 5 miles from where DH and I grew up. My family has all passed on. One of his 4 brothers moved to NV, but the rest are here, all within a couple miles of each other. I know what you mean about adjusting to the way things are. I hope you get it all worked out.

It seems we all try out different plans once in a while, looking for what is going to work for us, but eventually come back to what we know.

A funny thing happened today. I called Target to order a refill on my Metformin. It had expired so they said they would contact the doctor and it would be delayed a couple days. A couple hours later I received a robo call from a different pharmacy that I never used saying my prescription was ready for pickup. I call them to see what they were talking about, and it is the Met, so I guess the doctor responded to the wrong pharmacy. It has a similar name to Target. I asked how much it was and they said "no charge." So I went and picked it up. Target will probably contact the doctor again to say that they never heard back from him, but I already have my meds. I think I previously had to pay $12 for this at Target.

This morning I had 4 little sausage links, but I'm still hungry. I don't think it's true hunger, but just craving the eggs. Last night I tried one of Dr Oz's recommendations and put some apple cider vinegar on the psoriasis on my left leg. I don't know how long that is supposed to take to see results. If that starts to clear up but not on my right leg than I will know it is the vinegar but not the eggs. I'm not hopeful about any of this. I have tried so many home remedies for this with no luck. Usually it takes very strong meds which I don't want to take. It has gone into remission a couple times for no rhyme or reason, but right now I have a bad flare. I have cut way back on my coffee consumption too, but I can't give up everything! LOL

Carol Sue I found it interesting about your med price difference between Target and CVS. We get ours at Walmart and I always thought they were cheaper. I've been seeing CVS ads on how they try to help you be able to keep your meds. I know my beautician said that one time she had to get her medicine at CVS because Walmart didn't have it and was surprised that it was cheaper at CVS. I might should check on that with DH Invokana and my Januvia.

I know the psoriasis must be terrible. I think that was what my great grandmother must have had. Back then they used some kind of ointment and of all things wrapped her legs and now we know that was probably the worse things to do. I hope you are able to find a way to get rid of it. I've also heard that stress causes that but I'm not sure they really know. My baby sister used to have flare ups with it on her neck. I haven't heard her say if she still has problems with it or not.

I made a few changes in my eating too. I got my book on Paleo for Beginners out. I only skimmed through it last night, but I think I could tweak it to work for me. They seem to be half your plate is protein and the other half is veggies and fruit and snacks are seeds and nuts. This book says avoid all dairy, including butter, legumes, grains and starchy veggies.

Well, I'm not giving up bacon or butter and milk, but I could give up the rest of it 95% of the time.

I got up this morning and had my 3 sl bacon (I usually eat only 2 but that was the last 3 in pkg) and 2 boiled, an apple and a cup of coffee. DH has been trying a new way to tenderize steak that he learned from Alton Brown so we are going to have steak and I will have veggies and a fruit for my main meal with a glass of unsweetened tea. I will look at my fruit as a dessert. Then later tonight when I need to take my Januvia I will have a snack of mixed nuts. They say if you get hungry in between to eat more protein. I don't want to do that. I've been making a cup of hot lemon water to drink 1st thing in the morning before I eat or drink anything else. I will drink water and unsweetened tea the rest of the time. Since we have gotten to where we eat so late in the day, more like 3 or 4ish, I will eat only 2 meals and a snack each day. Like we always do, I am doing my paleo MY WAY.

Carol Sue Adding the veggies to your meal was a really good idea to balance out the pasta etc. I wonder if you drank lemon water with it if it would help with the indigestion. I started drinking the lemon water with meals long ago for something to flavor the water. The more I read about the way it helps digestion as well as other things I am finding myself using it more and more. We ate at a different fish place last night and I didn't have the lemon water because I think it makes me go potty and we had 3 places to go before we got home. My weight was up this morning more than I think it would have been if I had added the lemon to my water. Just a thought. It also might alkaline your body which should help with the psoriasis.

DH says we are going to move to TX. I talked to the builder's office this morning and they are going to email me some floor plans to choose from. My Daddy thinks we should be able to get a good enough price for this house so as to purchase a house there, move and have money left over. He doesn't know we are definitely moving home yet because I don't want to tell him we are and then something happen and it not happen. But at this moment, we are almost sure we are moving.

Catch y'all later. Have a good day.

Trish, I usually order lemon water when we go out, but I forget about it at home.

My psoriasis doesn't bother me except when it's itchy. It isn't always itchy. It doesn't bother me that it shows...I'm past that. Sometimes it bother DH and a lot of times I will wear a 3/4 length sleeve if we go out. Naturally, I'm happier when it's in remission. If I knew of something that I'm doing that is making it flare I would stop doing it. It could be more than one thing. I should probably cut back to a very basic, bland diet and add things in one at a time to see if it flares, but I like my food too much.

My prescriptions are all generics, so that's why the price is so low compared to brand. I try to avoid brand any time I can because the price is so much higher. It is cheaper for me to get them with mail-order and some of them I do, but the mail order company I deal with is very strict and won't give you your meds under certain circumstances. I worked for them for 10 years, and they are hard to deal with. They are doing this for the safety of the patients and to avoid lawsuits. I know that. But when you order your meds you want them to come. The pharmacist at Target told me "If your doctor writes the prescription we fill it to his specifications." But the mail order company questions every little detail. We don't have a CVS in our area.

If you and DH want to continue taking these meds you could check around at different pharmacies and see where you can get it for the lowest price. If they want your business, sometimes they find a way to give it to your for less.

So far, I have put the vinegar on my leg twice with no change. Still itchy, still red. I screwed up with my eggs yesterday. I didn't eat them for breakfast but I ate at the salad bar for dinner and accidentally put eggs on my salad. I had eaten half of the salad before I remembered. But it didn't bother me this morning to do without and I had sausage again. The bad thing is, since I'm not eating eggs, DH isn't eating them either and I have 1 1/2 doz in the refrigerator. I usually put lotion on after my shower. Last night I put it on before bed and when I woke up my psoriasis had calmed down a bit, but will probably get red again once I take my shower. Maybe I should start taking my shower before bed instead of in the AM. I've done AM showers for 40 years so it would be a hard habit to change. The sun is supposed to be good for psoriasis too, but we don't get a lot of sun in PA. It's hit or miss.

Anyway, I'm doing well with limiting carbs. Weight is still up, but coming down.

I'm through messing around with food plans etc. They only work for a short time and then I gain weight back. I've decided go back to WW P+ again. I do love the plan and I seem to do better. I don't like eating lowfat foods, but I will do whatever is necessary to get the weight off and the fbs down although it is slow. LOL Slow steady weight loss would be a blessing at this point since I'm still at the weight I was the last time I started WW. So I've actually just wasted time (sitting and spinning my wheels) these last few years.

Shared this with my closest friend about it when she called this morning and she said "You were doing good on WW before, why did you quit?" Then I remembered that I was doing extremely good on WW and suddenly realized that I had stopped it when the kids moved in with us because I had to buy food for all of us, diapers for the baby and utilities skyrocketed. The kids loved the raw fruits and veggies as much as I did and I felt guilty buying it for me and not sharing so I just stopped buying it altogether.

I'm not going to join WW as I still have the books and the little calculator. I am allowed 26 pts, but I don't always eat all the pts. I will have 5 pts left when I stop eating today. I will eat the non/lowfat foods that I like however, I will keep the good fats that I like. I think I can work with this better by just counting the pts. DH likes eating less fat especially better cuts of meats w/o fat and this just might work better for him as well.

I am almost out of the Januvia and I am going to try the Metformin ER again. I realized that since it worked good for me for 6 weeks that maybe the reason I started having problems with the diarrhea wasn't the Met ER. Maybe it was the fact that I use Trident gum sometimes when we are in church or when we leave a restaurant. Since I cannot handle sugar alcohols in any form, I just bet that was what caused the diarrhea problems. There is a big difference in $118 for Januvia and $0.00 for Metformin ER.

Not sure about moving. We found a house that we could build in TX if we can sell this house, but as much as I miss my family, I do have to be sure this is what I really want to do. We will be further from DH daughter and grandkids. I do have friends here. I'm wondering how much of all this has to do with my weight. I am just not sure which way to go on this so maybe we should do nothing right now. DH and I were talking last night about how scary it is to jump up and start over somewhere else at our age. A lot to think about.

Carol Sue I do so hope you can find something to help with the psoriasis. Have to make that a prayer project. :hug:

Have a good day.

Trish, I just checked my insurance for Januvia. For 90 days at mail order it's $115. 90 days at retail pharmacy $135. For a 30 days supply at retail it's $45. I have a medicare HMO supplement instead of just medicare. This is why I try to stick with generic. I need my money for other things.

I did well on WW and was able to do low carb with it. But once I quit going to the meetings I couldn't stick to it on my own. I don't like paying the monthly fee, and I also don't like having to go out to the meetings. I am a home body. If it works for you, it works for you, and that's what's important. No matter how good a plan might sound, or how good it is for someone else, if it doesn't work for you, it's not good for you. Like your doctor said, any plan will work, if you can stick with it.

Today at the store I bought a package of sliced deli turkey. The store I was in didn't have a fresh deli. I came home and had it for lunch with a slice of swiss cheese wrapped in a lettuce leaf. It tasted so good. I like deli turkey but I quit buying it because I always think of a sandwich with bread, but the lettuce leaf is just as good to me, so I might start buying the deli meat again. Just have to watch the sodium.

DH wants hot dogs for dinner...easy for me!! I will grill a piece of talapia for myself. Since he doesn't like the talapia I make it for myself on nights that he wants something else.

Then we are taking the dog over to my step-sons so they can see him, and we want to see how he does running around their fenced in yard. We are also taking our tie-out because there's always a chance that he will find a little place he can squeeze through and get away. Their dog is very big so they don't have to worry about him sneaking out. Also, as long as they are with their dog he will stay put and not run off.

I would love to move because I like change, but I don't know where else I would like to be. I am used to PA, with the 4 seasons, and even the hills. It's all I know. I stay in when it's cold and snowy, and I also stay in when it's beastly hot and humid. So I could not handle a warmer climate. I always wanted to live near the ocean, but then you have to worry about hurricanes. I would like New England because their summers would be cooler, but winters would be much harsher. DH would never moved, so the decision in out of my hands. LOL

hi all, have been MIA for a bit. Was working off the "conference belly" and got busy with work, and a little down about the weight.
Then we went away for out long weekend, up to our island place on Manitoulin. The shell of the cottage is built, no indoor walls or insulation, no plumbing. no internet of course. We will be "camping" like this for most of the summer, as we work to get plumbing then electrical installed. After that we can start insulating and putting up walls etc. this will be a two year project I expect.
Anyhow, on return, in spite of not eating to plan at all, weight is just above 180, and am feeling ok.
Am still working on increasing my exercise, which was good up there.
I will catch up on my reading of your posts this week.

I find this interesting with my bs. This morning it was 154. When traveling I like an egg mcmuffin. Today, that was what I wanted, but I didn't want to spend 4 pts on an English muffin so I made the sandwich on my Sarah Lee Multi-grain bread saving 2 pts, then used 1/2 sl regular American cheese, 1 egg and 2 sl Canadian bacon and my coffee with Stevia and mini-moo half & half. Later in the morning I decided to have an apple. Checked my bs just before lunch and it was 96. I was surprised because I didn't feel any signs of it dropping.

I made the WW chicken with rice recipe from the WW Plus cook book for 7 pts. DH and I both like Chinese food and this was a good way to have a Chinese meal without the msg since it was made from scratch. I told DH that I can use this as a basic recipe and play with it to make various flavors of a homemade Chinese stir-fry. I think we will both enjoy this pretty well.

Carol Sue One of the things I do love about living here is that weather. It seldom if ever gets to 3 digit #s in the summer... sure can't say that about TX. LOL

Fatmad So glad that you could check in. We miss you when you aren't around. Your cabin work sounds like fun although it is also a lot of work. Think exercise, exercise, exercise. LOL

Trish, I think the reason WW works so well for you is that you are conscious of things like the difference between the points in the English Muffin and the Sara Lee Bread. Normally, as you said, you like the Egg McMuffin. What time of day do you take your Januvia?

When we visited Las Vegas it was October and it was still too hot for me, even though they don't have humidity. But a good thing came out of it because that started me drinking more water and I continued that habit after we came home. We usually only get several 90 degree days in the summer here and mostly 80s. That's hot enough for me. I didn't mind it as much when I was younger but I can't take it now. We never get 3 digits!

My step-son's fenced in yard had too many small spaces where Rusty could get out so we had to keep him on the tie-out. Also, my grandson wanted to walk him with the leash but he was dragging him instead of walking him. Rusty was glad to come home!

Hi Ladies!

I apologize for going dark like that; my DD graduated high school on Tuesday and life has been nothing short of insane.

Oh, who am I kidding- I've used life, again, as an excuse not to do anything for myself and was ashamed to admit it.:mad:

I am going to have to decide which is more important, being able to eat the foods I want, in smaller quantities or eating larger portions of 'sensible' food. I don't love calorie or points counting, but in all honesty, it's the only thing I've seen work for people...long term.

I'll play catch up later today, until then, have a great day!:hug:

Momwithdogs Good to have you back with us. I missed you. I know the feeling about finding reasons/excuses for not doing what I should do with my eating. I kind of had one of those "moments" day before yesterday as I was looking at the paleo diet and some others. I can find a reason or excuse why I don't want to do any of them. Then I had one of those moments when I heard speaking out loud to my self saying "Patricia Ann, just pick a plan and commit to it!!!" I had been thinking about the things I liked about WW for several days so I decided to just go with it. I'm so glad I did. I actually need the portion control aspect of WW. I love the fact that most veggies and fruits are considered freebies because they are 0 pts. I'm shooting for those and a lot of 1 to 3 pt foods.

Carol Sue Sorry your dog wasn't able to get out and run in your step-sons yard. I think kids probably drive dogs crazy sometimes. DH DGD has a little dog she carries around all the time. Sure is good that they got him as a pup because I'm not sure an older dog could or even would put up with it. I think he fills an emptiness she feels and he makes her happy just to love on him all the time. Kind of a security blanket for her.

I had a wonderful eating experience yesterday. One I haven't enjoyed in ages. And it didn't hurt my FBS or my weight. I ended up using all 26 pts plus 2 of my weekly pts. My weight had jumped back up to 220 yesterday and it was 218.6 this morning. Remember FBS was 154 yesterday; it was 115 this morning. So I honestly believe that it is the way to go for me.

I ended up having French toast this morning. I was going to have cereal @ 5 pts, but by the time I add my half and half it would have spent more than pts than I wanted to spend. Besides I wanted milk with it and I didn't have any. I don't add milk to my egg when I make Fr. toast so I just have the egg count. I ended up eating 5 pts. I wanted to save as much as I can today because we will go out to eat today. I still have 33 pts from my weekly pts, but I don't want to use all of those either.

Last night I got hungry kind of late so I just got a bunch of raw veggies and had those at 0 pts. My thought this morning as I made breakfast was "This is fun". Had a pharmacist ask me one time when I was starting on a new diet "Do you have the mindset for this?" Well, I do believe that I have the mindset for this. Funny how all those years I fought counting anything and now here I am doing it again and actually enjoying it. Feeling good about everything today.

Y'all have a great day!!!

I think the problem I had with WW was not knowing how many points an item is. It's OK for pkg foods that have the nutrients on the pkg...you just plug them into the little calculator. But when I make a recipe, it's so hard to figure out how many points it is. It's bad enough trying to figure out the calories. Sometimes I will try entering all the ingredients into Fitday, but then I have to calculate how much is a portion. I like using my own recipes instead of using theirs because DH likes my recipes and I don't want to change what he eats. He always tells me, one I find a good recipe, don't be changing it. See, I have an excuse right there!!! I guess I could take the time to do it once and then keep a record of it. I think it would really help if I tracked my food every day and just kept track of the calories, but I get lax on that, too.

I just watched them make an easy eggplant parmesan on TV and it looked very good. Very easy. 3 ingredients. Eggplant, sauce and cheese. Yum! Don't know if DH would eat eggplant.