[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue Praying that step son will be able to find the problem and get it corrected ASAP.

Some of the rashes I get look like prickly heat. I've been having my feet itch on top and that is usually caused from wearing socks especially when weather is cold because I wear them too much. I keep my feet clean and dry otherwise so not sure why that happens. I have a cream that I use that I forgot about and I used it the last 2 nights on my feet. I'll have to get it when DH gets up and send you the name. DS told me about it when they got it for Daddy. I get it from Amazon. I tell you the name later.

Well I ended up eating last night. Not sure the eating window, but I do better when eating brunch and dinner and I fasted until dinner which didn't help too much with short IF. Tomorrow will be the same way since I don't eat until after doctor's appt. Even with that, I not only kept the 182.2 but I actually lost down to 182.0 lbs so had a .2 lb loss this past week giving me a total 1.4 lb loss so far this month. At least it is a loss though not much. I'm always glad when I get my 6 month drs appt behind me and feel like I am starting over because I won't see him for another 6 mos. After that I have one more morning appt at beauty shop next week and then things will settle down again for a while and I can get into a better routine.

Cooking a steak dinner for a belated Valentine's meal for us today. It is a steak I bought at local store specializing in beef so hope it is good. I would love to find a.. good place to buy beef. There used to be a meat packing place DH#2 and I used to go and by meat when we lived in the country. In fact, there were 2 places that cut special cuts of meat for you and we would buy enough for a month at a time. My parents, sisters and all of us bought meat from there back then since we had big families and gatherings back then. Not worth bothering with it these days since we don't eat that much meat nor a freezer big enough to keep it in.

I got my wigs so I'm going to play with one of the short ones that I want to wear tomorrow when I go to the doc's office. I wore the longer one yesterday and it looked pretty good. It is a shag cut and I finally got it like I wanted it. I bought some foam rollers and rolled it to get the curl I wanted so I can wear it but will probably wear the short ones most of the time.

Hope everyone has a good day and hope I can stay OP today.
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Carol Sue, The ointment I use is Calmoseptine the Original. Taken from tube info... Active ingredients are Menthol 0.44% and Zinc Oxide 20.6% Inactive ingredients are calamine, chlorothymol, glyceriin, lanolin, phenol, sodium bicarbonate, and thymol in a suitable ointment base. Sharing ingredients so you will know if you have allergy to any of it. I've never had anything it didn't clear up within a day or so. I don't know why I've never tried it on DH, but plan to put it on his back after his shower tonight. I will let you know how it works for him.

[Gone Astray]

Hello All,

Sounds like we are all having scales bouncing down. I have been bopping around from 225.7- 227.1 I am not complaining, sure beats the be-bopping from 228-232.

I did a really hard bike session yesterday morning, raised up the level and pedaled hard to keep heart rate around 120. Getting in some cardio. So cold here, high was 20F , we bundled up and took the dogs for a walk on a rail trail. Train tracks are removed and it is now a walking and hiking trail but open to snowmobiles in winter. The section we were on was blasted into the rocks, the trail is 25 feet wide and the rock cliffs go up to 40 feet in some parts. There were rock climbers using it too. Snow melt runs down the rock faces and freezes making it like an ice castle. Due to the minerals some ice is blue, or green, or reddish. Wind chill made it below zero and we only lasted half an hour, I almost broke into a run to get back to my truck. In the afternoon, I drove into town so we could walk the dogs around, but again the wind limited me to going around only 2 blocks. I got in 7k steps with all our activity so I was glad.

Carol, I am getting the 'winter skin' here, dry and red in places. I have Dr Teal's oil that I like to put on but I hate the thought of getting it all over my sheets. As a kid my hands would get chapped from playing outside and my mother would slather them with vaseline and put white cotton church gloves on me to sleep in, sometimes did my feet too. Felt gross but really heals.

I make herbal salves in the summer and fall. I have one I make with yarrow that is wonderful for any cuts, rash, bug bites, irritation. Has natural antiseptic and antifungal properties as well, I use it on everything. My grandson cut his hand open on his chainsaw-he turned it off but hit the chain while it was still moving. He packed the yarrow salve in it and it was healing in a few days, completely healed in 10 days. If you can find some it may help.

Have a trip tomorrow to Concord, takes about an hour, Otis has an appointment with a cardiologist, his last blood work had a few values that indicated he may have a problem. Thursday is my second shingles shot and I will likely be down for the count if it is anything like the first one. It wiped me out for about 36 hours.

DBF went home this morning. He has a heart ultrasound tomorrow, going to be tough waiting on both of their results.

[Wannabehealthy]

Step son was readmitted with an NG tube pumping bile out of his stomach. His wife called and explained it to DH. He usually puts her on speaker so I can hear but he didn't, and what he's telling me doesn't make sense.

My rash is still on my neck but its no longer itchy. In fact, I had very little itch overnight. I am not afraid of taking Benadryl but after I took Melatonin and was so groggy I could barely make it to the bathroom I'm afraid to take anything for sleep.

I/we did 2 loads of laundry. DH helped. He can help with some things like towels, jeans and whites but he knows not to touch my tops and shirts!

I don't know what's going on with my eating today. I had scrambled eggs early today but no toast. I had 2 snacks of string cheese, then I made scalloped potatoes for DH for dinner. I ate about a cup. My calories only come to 606 on MFP. Its probably a little more because I don't know how my potato recipe compares to the ones on MFP. But I wasn't hungry all day and I'm still not. I will have to think if there was something else I ate that I forgot about.

[Gone Astray]

Up early here, when I was working I used to get up at 430 to take care of Otis, get ready for work as I had to leave by 620 in good weather to get there for 7am. When I retired in 2019 it took me 2 years to sleep til 530. I usually get up now around 630. I have to leave for Concord around 9.

Scale surprised me with 224.3, good thing it holds the number after you get off because at one point I thought the 4 was a 7. I got out the old scale to double check-I must stop this obsessing- but it confirmed it. I know a lot of fluctuation with me is due to constipation. I am having a glass of Kefir with ground flax seed in the morning, I also bought some fiber supplement but if this works I will stick to it.

According to the recorded weights I lost 10 in December, 4 in January, and 4 in February. If I can keep up the exercise I am hoping to lose 2 more by the 28th for a 20 lb loss. I am thinking about what I will get myself for a reward-it won't be food!

Carol, I am hoping for good news about your step son, so hard not to know what is going on. I like melatonin to help me sleep but I learned after a number of groggy mornings that I need to take it before 6 pm. Then I am relaxed and sleepy at bed time and I don't feel like I am coming off a drunk in the morning. I learned the hard way that I can't take night time pain relivers either, got up one night in terrible pain and took 2 at 11 pm. I didn't make it to work the next day.

I was able to snowshoe out back and pull the SD cards from game cameras, i got a beautiful gray fox and a coyote on video. Another camera that is set for video had over 20 files, all were darn red squirrels, running left to right or right to left. One of my cameras isn't working so i brought it to the house. I have 6 out there and 2 are giving me trouble.

My daughter is coming up to visit this afternoon. I have the birthday gift for my youngest DGD, Ry is 11. I got her a Tie die shirt kit and a white T, I also got her 2 wooden crates to organize her side of her room she shares with older sister. I got wooden letters of her name, 2 picture frames and pink and purple glitter paint. She can use an area in the basement to do her painting.

Her sister Mariah is 15, a couple years ago I made each girl a special quilt for their beds. When the boys were little- 15 years ago I made each one a special applique quilt, they still have them. I am going to make each boy aged 21 and 18, an adult sized and themed quilt this year for Christmas. I started an Amish look quilt for the older DGS, and will do a bear paw pattern one for the younger. Twice while deer hunting he has run into bears, when he was 16 a huge male black bear came out of the woods and stood on his back legs, then charged him. So every chance I get, I get him something with bears.

Patty, how was your steak? I had bought two nice ones for Sat but when DBF didn't come down until Sunday I put in the freezer as it is tough to grill outside when the temp is 8 degrees.

[fatmad]

Hi all: delighted to say weight is 153 again. I am happy with this, but know it won't be there on Saturday when I weigh in again. I won't be eating Keto tonight, and may even have a glass of wine or two with supper. With the weather, not sure how much exercise and skiing we will get in. So will just have to enjoy the getaway. The temperatures will go up well above freezing, then comes sleet and rain tonight, and then a flash freeze coming Thursday night.
Fasting blood sugars have been high, so I am dumping glucose from my liver for some reason.

Carol: sounds like there may be some kind of blockage in your step-son's digestive system. Glad it was not cancer, but something is up. Post-op complications are not uncommon with digestive surgery, in my brief experience. Hope answers are found and he does well in recovery.

Ann: all these cardiac issues for those you care about. I hope everything looks better with the testing, or is manageable once you know what is happening.
Trish: I am sure the wigs will let you try out some different hair styles and have some fun with different looks.



May everyone have a good week. I will have my laptop while away so may stop by to say hello.

[Wannabehealthy]

My calories ended up around 1000 yesterday. I found a higher calorie entry for scalloped potatoes, plus I had forgotten to add in the butter DH used to cook the eggs. I wanted MFP to accept the entry. Didn't eat after dinner, went to sleep on an empty stomach, slept pretty good, and weight is up a few tenths to 188.0. I have been getting up earlier so weighing earlier. Best weight is around 9-10 am but that would be after a cup or 2 of coffee. I like to weigh completely empty stomach. Whatever. I was surprised that I didn't feel hungry yesterday and had no inclination to graze as I often do. I often eat some of everything DH prepares for himself but refused it all yesterday. Even he was surprised. He would ask if I wanted some and my answer would be "Yes I want some, but No I'm not going to eat it. I'm not hungry."

When MIL was still here, she cooked a big smorgasbord of Eastern European Food every Sunday and all came to eat. To me, it was like I died and went to heaven. One day her 20 something grandson came in and she told him to sit down and eat. He said "I'm not hungry Grandma.". That shocked me. Hunger had nothing to do with it for me. This was during my gaining years and I left there stuffed every Sunday with a bag of leftovers. I don't know how people are so different and what happened to me to make me so uncontrollable around food. I don't understand my behavior yesterday but wouldn't it be great if the tide was starting to turn?

Its funny about the ethnic food. This part of the state is a melting pot of all different nationalities but the only way you can get any of the foods is if you know someone who makes it. Other than Italian you can't get any of it in a restaurant. The churches have their bizarres during the summer where you can try out all the foods and see the dancing and other entertainment of their culture. Most were cancelled during the pandemic. They prepared the food but sold it take-out only. Once the older generations are gone the food will be too. I am the only person in our family who still cooks any of this food. They will eat it but none have any interest in preparing it. Too time consuming.

I don't know what is planned for today. Weather is supposed to be temps in the 40s with no precipitation, warm with rain tomorrow. I still need to wash my tops and change the bedding.

______________________________

While I ate my scrambled eggs this morning I was struck with the idea that skipping the toast with my eggs could be what stopped my appetite yesterday. I really like the Sara Lee Delightful bread and it is low calorie, lower carb and higher fiber than regular bread. But I'm thinking that it wakes my appetite. I will see how things go today. I'm also eating a little earlier. It will be 5-6 hours between meals but that was ok yesterday. This was similar to what I did when DH was in the hospital. I recently bought a new loaf of bread but I think I will put it in the freezer. I doubt if I will stop eating it forever. I am still working on discovering how I can stop my overeating.
​​​​​

[Gone Astray]

We are back from cardiologist, I was in the room while they did an echo-cardiogram. I couldn't look at the screen as it kind of freaks me out, I just scratched his neck and talked to him to help calm him. I have had 2 ultrasounds on my heart and while I watched it on the screen, I couldn't help thinking that if I kept looking it was going to stop. Anyways he got an all clear, heart is healthy and normal. Was worth the price to know. Now waiting to hear how DBF heart ultrasound shows. Gosh it just never ends, tomorrow is his nuclear stress test.

Carol, I agree that skipping toast helped keep you full. DBF cardio Dr told him to have eggs and bacon, not eggs and toast. I used to make a 3 egg omelet with chicken sausage, I found I can easily have just 2 eggs and not notice the difference. If I had toast, it would lead to more toast, I cannot be reasonable with bread or pasta.

My daughter is going to stop up and visit, so I need to get a few things done.

[pattygirl63]

Doctor's appointment went very well. Everything is great. All my numbers were perfect except sodium still 2 pts low and I noticed total protein was .2 low but not sure what that means. I will have to research that. Eveidently nothing of importance because he didn’t mention it. I just happened to read it on the lab report I got from him. I loved it when he looked at me and said, “You are losing weight”. I told him “Yes and I’m still freezing”. He told me that it will only get worse if I keep losing. I told him that I wasn’t buying new clothes until I lose some more. A1c was 4.8 and lab results show average is 84.

Today was time for me to have my bone density test he has me do every 2 years.

DH A1c was 7 and shows his average is 153. His trigycerides were high so we will have to work on that.

Fatmad Congratulations on hitting 153. Enjoy your time away.

Ann Congratulations on your weight loss. You have really been doing well to lose all that weight starting in December. Glad Otis tests came out fine and pray your DBF tests will too.

Carol Sue I hope things go well for your step son and he will be able to get back home and things get back to a normal life for him.

I too can remember when I could sit in a room full of people with food all around and not even eat one bite. I could honestly say “No thank you. I’m not hungry” and actually meant it. I hope to someday get back to that kind of attitude again someday. I think life was so much easier back then when food and a scale didn’t have so much of my attention.

I made the liver and onions in the crockpot. I saw one on YouTube that had potatoes in it but that just didn’t sound good to me. Also I decided that I would rather cook liver and onions in a skillet on top of the stove rather than in the crockpot from now on as it is so much better.

Have a nice evening everybody.

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish, I am thrilled to hear that your labs were so good! You are doing so well. I think you get concerned when your sodium is high on MFP but its not affecting your labs. I don't think you are diabetic anymore.

Today was my 3 rd day of controlled eating. It was a bit under 1000 calories so I adjusted numbers to make it come out to 1000 so MFP would accept it. I did not eat more. I wasn't paying attention to my eating window but it came out to about 8 hours. I'm fine with that. I ate eggs at 9 because I was hungry.. When I felt hungry at noon I ate broccoli and cauliflower. Then we didn't eat until 4:30-5. I am fine with not snacking. I feel in control. I dont understand why this is happening but I'm glad and hope it continues.

DH was angry that DIL didn't call him about DSS so he called her. She was at the hospital and he got to talk to SS. He is feeling better but still has the tube and has to stay in the hospital awhile longer. I hope nothing else happens.

Trish, does your DH take fish oil? I take 1200 mg twice a day and it helps my triglycerides. When I ran out and didn't buy more my triglycerides went up. Low carb also lowers them. What did the doctor say to do?

Ann, I hope all is well with DBF and his tests.

[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue, Thanks for the suggestion of the fish oil. We both used to take fish oil, but switched to krill which is good, but stopped the fish oil. I don't seem to need the fish oil, but maybe DH should either double up on the krill or start taking fish oil with it again.

I looked up diets for lowering triglycerides and found that the reason my numbers are so good is that following WWSF plan is not much different from the diet for lowering the triglycerides. I have printed it out to show to DH so he can see some things he needs to change in his food plan. He really doesn't have to change much and it could be that the adding the fish oil or doubling the krill may do the job.

I agree that I am pretty healthy. I looked up the protein information and it isn't bad. I printed out info I found on protein and can see why DH and I both need to eat moderately low carb instead of a strict low carb as well as a moderately low fat diet plan.

Carol Sue I hope you will be able to continue eating the way you are doing because you not only like it, but you also do well on it. Just as I hope I will be able to do the same. It has taken you and me both a long time to get to this place where we have learned what works for us. It may not work as fast as we want, but it does work.

I started taking half a Benadryl last night and it did help me sleep although it took me a little longer to get to sleep, I slept very well and woke up refreshed and ready to get up. I like it when it works out that way.

Good night.

[Gone Astray]

I was a bit stressed last night and I had some red wine. Not on my plan, but it did not lead to eating anything I shouldn't have. I logged it into Fitbit and I didn't go over calories but that cannot be happening again for a long time.

DBF Echocardiogram came back excellent. The Dr told him he had the heart of a 30 year old, he is 73. Hoping he gets as good a diagnosis on he nuclear stress test, then he can start doing some cardio. He walks 3 miles every morning rain, shine, snow with his dogs, and takes them around a couple blocks at least twice during the day. When he had a Fitbit he would have 20k steps by afternoon-and it would infuriate me as I struggled to get in 10k. He does physical therapy every day for his back and legs, and he lifts weights, so cardio is the only thing missing. He says he wants a rowing machine so it will work upper and lower body at the same time.

Mad so nice to hit that low number. All that skiing and being outside will burn a lot of calories. Great to get away for a trip like that.

Patty, you must be so pleased that your hard work on your food plan brought such great lab numbers. I also like the fact that your Dr talks with you about your numbers. My Dr would see me first, then order labs. I would have to log into the patient portal to read results and her comments and there was no option to ask questions. I am changing Dr's so hopefully new one will be different.

Carol, frustrating when DIL doesn't keep your hubby in the loop. At least he got to speak to him, I hope he continues to improve.

When I was young I was a royal pain about food, I refused so many things that my mother used to try to force me. I spent a lot of evenings sitting at the table after dinner, it was a battle of wills between us. I was a skinny kid and much shorter than my brother and sister at same ages, she took me to Dr and got worm medicine as she thought that was why I was so thin. I just didn't like a lot of things and I was a stubborn child. When I hit 12, I just started to gain weight, and i battled my weight from then on. Dieting and starving myself began my obsession with food. I think I have a better relationship with food now than I have had for a long long time.

I am down a little more today, and I was happy to change my signature again. I made a large pan of keto chicken pot pie so I have enough to get me through today and tomorrow for dinner.

I took down 8 framed pictures from my hall way before I painted it. I actually started this a year ago and stopped when my bathroom was gutted. Now I can't find the darn pictures, they are 11 x 14 so they should be easy to find. I would like to get that last item finished.

We may hit 50 degrees today, if I am up to it after shingles shot, I am going to work out in my shop. I have some cleaning and organizing I could do. I would like to get a heater so I can work out there longer in fall and earlier in spring.

[Wannabehealthy]

I slept ok. Not great but 2 nights in a row I did not get up for the bathroom until 5 am, a sign that my blood sugar is coming down. No scale yet.

Trish, Krill oil is better than fish oil so I would not take both. Also I would research dosage before doubling the krill oil. JMO. He may be ok with dietary changes. I take the fish oil because that's what Dr said. I used to take prescription fish oil but Dr said ok to use OTC. If I ever see cardiologist I will ask about krill oil if triglycerides don't come down.

I used to take Niacin and fibrates. I don't know why I don't take them anymore. I don't know if the doctor took me off them or if I ran out and forgot to get more. If triglycerides don't come down I will ask about them.

Ann, the only time I remember not wanting to eat something is when mom introduced eggs around age 4. I gagged on them. I think she didn't cook the whites enough because I love eggs now but whites have to be cooked. I also preferred Cheerios to Wheaties or Corn Flakes because they stayed crunchy but she wouldn't buy Cheerios because I ate a half box at each sitting. When I got older the only thing I wouldn't eat was fish, because back then it had bones. I love fish now. Otherwise we all ate whatever was set in front of us. My grandson amazes me. Around age 5 they decided he was going to eat what they eat. No more chicken nuggets or hot dogs. He is a big meat eater like his Dad and loves things like grilled salmon, sushi and loves Mexican. Unfortunately he is getting chunky and will have problems if he doesn't have a growth spurt soon.

Glad to hear DBF had good test results. I have had heart disease for 26 years, so many tests and procedures. I need a valve replaced but its been delayed due to covid. I don't know if they will do it at all now because I'm not vaccinated. I haven't seen my cardiologist since 2019. Living on the edge!

____________________________

I might as,well go back to eating bread and stuffing myself! Scale is up .6 to 188.6. If it wasn't for the fact that blood sugar is better, I'd give up!

[pattygirl63]

I was looking at one of the IF groups on FB last night. Someone was complaining about scale not moving very well and wanted to know how fast you should lose fasting. Someone shared a piece of info I found interesting because of my doctor telling me that the more weight I lose the colder I will get. They told her that the scale measures weight loss, but not fat loss. This made me realize that if both of those statements are true, then this is why my weight loss is slow. We are losing fat and I think that is more important because fat especially around our middle is the bad fat that we definitely need to get rid of. So I will continue weighing and stop worrying about whether it bounces or not as long as I know I am eating healthy. I guess my freezing is a better signal to me than my scales are.

Ann, So glad your DBF got such a good report and pray his nuclear test will be just as good. Man with all the exercise he gets, he shouldn't have any problems. At least that is the way we usually think. Who knows. We do the best we can and pray for the best.

Carol Sue, I will look up info on both fish oil and krill. Should be able to find something on line that compares the two along with benefits of both.

Sorry DIL failed to call y'all. I hope she will do better today.

Well the one thing I like about wearing wigs is having one to put on when we decide to go out. Dr upped dosage of one of DH meds and we need to go pick it up today and DH decided he wants to go to Sam's and then get KFC. So I am wearing the wig I wore yesterday. I'm supposed to get a perm next Wednesday but the weather is supposed to be bad so I may postpone it for another week. Having the wigs makes that possible. Weather is high 48 today and down to 28 tonight. Then warm up Sunday and possibly rain and low temps in 40s again all next week. I don't mind the rain although not fond of it but rain in the 40s or lower isn't something that I really have to go out in these days.

I want to look up krill vs fish oil before DH gets up to go to Sam's. Hope everybody has a nice day.

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish, my friend who lost weight is always freezing, even before she lost weight but she was around 150 lbs at her top weight. When I was younger I was always warm but now I'm always cold but I have more fat than I had back then.

I just got a text from my neighbor. They have their 2 year old son at Children's Hospital diagnosed with leukemia. I am so heartbroken. She just had a daughter 2 months ago. Please pray for them all.

[Gone Astray]

Got a good news text from DBF, he said he 'blew the treadmill out of the water', but won't get official results on his circulation until sometime next week. Also great news from my daughter, she is going through chemo and her bloodwork came back perfect, always good to hear that.

Carol, oh I feel so bad for those parents, I can't imagine what they are going through. I will add them to prayers.
Patty I went through a number of years when I was cold unless it was summer. It wasn't when I was thin but it was when I was out of shape. As I am doing more exercise I feel like I am not having those 'freezing' issues as much. Once in a while my feet are just so cold.

I got my vaccine, my arm is really sore and has a burning sensation. The woman who gave me the shot said it hurts so much because it is a powder going to a liquid. Didn't know that. So far I am not too tired. Hoping I feel normal tomorrow as I want to get things done. Temps here hit mid 50's but the wind is awful, we have gusts 45-55 mph. It sounds like a freight train going uphill out there. Power will likely go out, happens a lot here but I have a standby generator that comes on if the power is off for 29 seconds.

I have done 2 loads of wash but haven't found the pictures to put in hallway. Going to be warm again tomorrow so I will get out and work in my shop. I have compost to take out to the bin, and a game camera that needs to go back out to the woods. I got a beautiful red fox yesterday afternoon on one of my cameras, it sends the pics to my phone as soon as they are triggered.