Physical Challenges WINTER Chat Thread ...
 

:wave: WELCOME EVERYONE ~ Please join us in our thread: to give support and encouragement; to share ideas, and/or just chat with one another about everyday issues ...

This special thread is for anyone with any kind of physical obstacle and/or challenge like SB, CP, MS, MD, PK, Lupus, Osteo, Arthritis, Rheumatism, or any other condition (s), whether genetic or acquired (like injuries), that causes some physical limitations and/or difficulties.

We try to focus on the positive here -- not seeing ourselves as victims, but as victors and overcomers. It is so nice to be able to talk with others who have some idea of what we are going through each day!


HAVE A WONDERFUL WINTER EVERYONE!

:wreath: You know, I thought & prayed long & hard about whether or not to restart this thread at this time, but in the end I noticed that over 600 persons were reading this thread, so obviously it is useful to them and for me and any others who may come by this way ...

This thread was started for those who have extra challenges or obstacles to deal with while also trying to restore their health and weight to a better place. I am doing much better than when I first came here about 3+ years ago too. My body has healed some and some of my injuries are getting better; and I am thrilled about that!

I am grateful for the support that I received from friends that came by here; most have moved on to other places, but that is OK too. I hope that they are better people for having come here. I know how much I have enjoyed it. I will continue to share the things that I have learned along the way, as well as my daily menus and exercises that are ever evolving in this life journey towards better health.

I hope some of you lurkers continue to come by and read; and maybe some day find the courage to stop by and chat for a little while. Welcome to our new winter thread and yes, winter is here for sure in our area. We have had 3+ days of windy, snow-blowing storm; and are now nice & cozy within a very thick blanket of snow.

Some say that winter isn't officially here until December 21st, but up here in Canada, winter has been here since around November 18 or sooner. My posting has been slower since mid-November as my best computer got a very bad virus that sent it to PC heaven ... ;)

So for now, I am using my old PC which is verrry, verrry, slooow ... zzzzzzz! Well, at least I can get on here and post now & then; until I can get another one in the near future (I hope). We have been busy; finished all my Christmas Cards & have all my Christmas decos up -- and they look grand. I love all the lights up around town; they are very festive and pretty!

:tree: I hope everyone out there is having a wonderful week so far -- take good care, until next time ... Rosebud :candy:

Hello, Rosebud and all:) We spent this afternoon shoveling and blowing snow again, so I think I was able to burn a few stray calories, since I was the one on the business end of the shovel!

DS2 made it home from college fine, but we called a couple times during his 3 hour drive just to make sure it was going ok-the car had been giving him trouble a few weeks ago and, of course, there was all the now and ice on the roadways. So, very glad he's home for break. He has to have his wisdom teeth out between Christmas and New Year's so he'll be unhappy part of the time, but he knows it has to be done-might end up having to get braces too to fix the problem.

DS3 is serenading me with his drum set right now-it's electronic and he has it hooked up to DH's stereo and is playing along with some of his music (some group called All That Remains). He's pretty good, especially since he's self-taught.

DH had to work noon to midnight today, so won't see him until I'm sleeping-LOL! Not sure what tomorrow's schedule is, but there's supposed to be some kind of holiday potluck dinner at noon, BUT since he hasn't told me what to make, he may just have to go without-don't know why men plan these things and then can't seem to get the communications out to the ones who actually have to make it happen:p He won't care if he misses out though-he can't stand most of the people he works with -bunch of butt-kissers, if you know what I mean.

We had tacos for supper, so that was an easy meal:) Not sure what tomorrow's plan will be, but waiting to hear what the DH's work schedule will be. We actually had tacos for brunch today also, so he could have a decent lunch before going to work-kind of weird to have tacos at 10:30 in the morning!

Well, take care and have a great day!

:wreath: HI THERE ~ Me and my PC have been having some challenges, but every now & then, it co-operates with me and I can get some serious posting done. We have had some lovely ***** here this week. Thank goodness, the temps have warmed up and it feels much nicer now.

We have all our shopping done for Christmas; and I am almost set. I am thinking of making some of those mini-loaves -- Banana chocolate chip for DH and guests since I have so many bananas in the freezer. DH is thrilled with the idea ... ;)

Still have to locate our stockings so that I can fill them on Christmas Eve and decorate my tree; gee, I got off to such a great start and becuz of fatigue (too many sleepless nights becuz of all-night parties next door), I am now a bit behind but these things should ony take on afternoon, I hope.


HI RONNIE ~ yes, those are awkward shifts but I heard a dietician once say that it doesn't matter what foods we eat when so much; she even said leftover pizza for breakfast is OK now & then ...

Poor DS2 having to have those teeth out at that time; will pray for him for comfort and quick healing. Drums aren't so bad if you can hear the music to go with them and they don't last for 10 hours at a time. We just hear ... bong, bong, bong every second that repeats itself incessantly over and over ... :dizzy:

I always wanted to take up drums myself; I may still do that. Let's see -- those kids play all night and keep us up but then they sleep in the morning: hmmm, that would be a good time for me to practice, don't you think? :p No, I won't do that, but it is sure tempting, isn't it? ;)

Time to go get some much needed sleep; take good care ... Rosebud :candy:

:wreath: MERRY CHRISTMAS!:wreath:

Hope everyone here had a lovely Christmas Celebration. We had some long-time friends over for the day and a good time was had by all. We got lots of chocolates and goodies (too many for us), so I made up a tray and passed it along to our SIL's party on boxing day. I also made up a smoked sausage and cheese tray as well.

Tried to have the treats as my snacks and keeping my meals on track; tonight I just had steak and veggies for dinner to control the damage, so2speak. Was sore and tired by Boxing Day so I just stayed home to rest. Am starting to feel more like myself today ... ;)

:tree: The weather has been nice and mild here with a peek of :sunny: today here and there. We've had lots of birdies visiting us the last few days: I took all the leftovers crunchy snacks; smashed them up and gave them to the birds -- and they just love them!!! Great way to use them up and it's a nice Christmas gift for our fine-feathered friends too ... :)

I have read a few good Christmas romances over the last week in the late evenings; very nice. Have a wonderful in-between-holidays week, everyone ... Rosebud :candy:

HAPPY NEW YEAR FRIENDS!!!


Well, it's a new year, and a new month as well; hope you all had a nice time ushering in the new year as we did. It was a quiet one at home this year; the weather was not good -- after :rain:ing all day, the temps dropped and the roads and laneways are sheets of ice. Not safe to walk on at all. The road fairies have been out with the sand trucks but our lanes and porches are terrible. I had to put mats on the ground to get in our car yesterday.
We need to find a source of sand as this seems to be happening every year.

The temps have dropped but the :sunny: peeked out in the late afternoon and it is clear out there now; I can see the stars, but will that last? I don't know; they are predicting a few days of :sunny: for us this week; hope they are right.

Well, I have my new modified plan in place for this year; I have tweaked and tweaked it and think I have found a good groove for now. I have been eating my own version of the "Miracle Breakfast" which is a mix of large flaked oatmeal with Kashi (natural cream of wheat), wheat bran and oatbran. It has been good for my stomach and intestines too; I don't feel as hungry in the morning when I eat this. When I have eggs, I am always hungry by 11 am again; with the oatmeal mix, I can last until lunch most days now and witht the other advantages, I am going to stick with this for awhile and see how it goes.

For lunch, I have a tuna, salmon, chicken, turkey, or other lean meat sandwich with lettuce & tomato and some soup: either broth or cupasoup or homemade veggie soup.

For Dinner, I have baked or roasted chicken, turkey, lean beef, or fish with some variations along with loads of roasted or steamed veggies and/or a salad most days. We treat ourselves on Fridays to whatever we want.

For Snacks, I mostly have fruit, yogurt, pudding, cheese, wg soda crackers, etc most days with some tea and coffee for measure. I do vary this with a little ice cream (1/2 cup) now & then too.

This is a simple balanced plan and it is easy to follow; gonna give it a good try this year and see what happens. I am still doing my AM toning exercises, hand-weights, dancing, walking, chair aerobics, and anything else I can think of to burn more energy and calories each day.

Hope you all have a great week coming up; and take care ... Rosebud :D

:welcome: LOVE ~ :lol: not sure what ugguggh means, but glad you dropped by ... I am gonna assume that is some kind of alien language and you were saying ... :wave: ... please come back sometime ... we'd love some company over this way, for sure ... ;)


:welcome3: INITIATIVE ~ glad you found us over this way too ... congrats on giving up the ciggies; both DH and I did that over 7 years ago now. Yes, it was difficult, but it was the smartest thing we ever did; saving lottsa $$$ too!!!

Yes, I can relate to what you are saying -- that is why I have been trying the "porridge" mix breakfast mentioned above. It was called the MIRACLE BREAKFAST by Sam Grossman, but I added some Kashi/Natural Cream of Wheat, some natural wheat bran, and oatbran to mine for the healthy benefits:

1 cup large flake or old-fashioned Oatmeal
1/2 cup regular 1 minute oatmeal
1/3 cup Red River Natural Cream of Wheat
1/4 cup Quaker Natural Wheat Bran
1 tbl Quaker Oat Bran (added later)

I boil 1.5 cups water; add the mix above and bubble 3 minutes; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. This makes enuff for 4 servings; I eat one and put 3 servings in the fridge. To reheat, I add 1/2 cup water, the 1 tbl oatbran, and nuke it for 3 minutes until hot. I serve it with milk & a little brown sugar splenda mix.

On the other mornings, I alternate with an egg breakfast or other whole grain cereal. About once a week, I may have a bagel with peanut butter and a banana. I find this breakfast fills me up and wards off hunger until lunch time better than other breakfasts. Sometimes, I add a tbl of Vanilla Whey Protein Powder to get in some protein (I add it to the milk).


It getting much colder here too; down in the -15C range up here ... :brr: I am chilled just sitting here, so am going to put the heat up a bit after. Am having leftover roast chicken and loads of veggies for dinner tonight; should be ready soon too ...

MY PC has been acting up; tried to come here on Saturday night and the net got knocked off for awhile, so went and read one of my Christmas stories instead. Then yesterday, it was just plain acting up, so I came in here first thing today and it seems pretty quiet.

I spent the afternoon upgrading my security programs; I went and bought a new McAfee only to find out it is too big for this old PC ... :dizzy: so I will just save it for a newer PC instead. I am seriously thinking about buying a new one right now ...

Anyways, nice to have some visitors over this way; hope you all come back and chat for awhile too; take good care and have a great evening ... Rosebud :flow2:

:wave: HI TO EVERYONE HERE ~ we had lovely :sunny: all day today; what a relief after the temps dove down to -25+ C last night. We had fierce northernly winds last night that were coming through our kitchen door. DH tried to plug them with some weather-stripping but it didn't work so we went back to an old stand-by that works -- stuffing the cracks with rags ... :lol:

This week has been a really good one for me; have been able to keep on plan pretty good -- getting back on track after the New Year. Any mistakes weren't too bad and I was so glad to do so well this year. This year, I hope to do even better; live & learn, they say ... ;)

I wanted to share with you all the basic outline of the plan that I have been using for some years now. As you go along, you can tweak it or change it as you like ... http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/fait...diet-diet.html

I really like this plan as it is so simple & flexible; you can add good ideas and tips from other plans (like I did), or take away foods that may cause you to binge. This was the plan that a doctor and I created for me when in my teens; my mother's dietician gave her a similar one as well.

We often used this plan in my work as a counsellor for clients who needed/wanted to lose a bit of weight to get healthier. It worked well for those who didn't want to feel deprived, but needed to feel better and gain more mobility. We added daily walking as the exercise to go along with it.

I hope you are all bundling up and keeping warm out there; take good care and have a great week coming up too ... Rosebud :flow2:

Hi, Rosebud and everyone -I see some new names since I've been here-Welcome!!

I'm so tired of winter I could scream:fr: Like you, Rosebud, we've had temps in the negatives and wind chills down to -25ºF for the last few days and have had snow almost every day/night for a couple weeks again. We've got over 18" in the low spots and piles that are over 5' tall:p And, this is after our January thaw, which actually came the end of December, which melted about 18" of the stuff we had already had!

DS2 is back to college after finishing his first semester much better than it began. He's taking antidepressants and doing much better with his adjustment disorder. He's even going to be teaching guitar lessons to a grade school child near the college:)

Still struggling with sticking to any kind of healthy eating plan. Part of that is due, I'm sure, to the winter blahs, and part due to still feeling the losses of the last year+. But, I know I've got to get it together and right now. So, my first step in that is to get back here and keep visiting regularly. I know how much the support helps with this healthy living struggle-I just have to remember that there are people here who want to help.

Hoping you are all having a good weekend!

:wave: HI RONNI ~ so glad to see you drop by again; and it's nice to hear that your son is doing better this term. Great idea to give those guitar lessons; could be a second career for him down the road (or a supplement). Yes, I find coming here so encouraging and the people are very helpful; offering so many good tips and ideas.

Take a look at the NO DIET-DIET (the basic portion plan); see the link in my last post. It is so easy and flexible; and worth a try. You might just start there; just remember, RONNI -- just take baby steps. One thing at time. Don't worry if it's not perfect: mine isn't you know. I am aiming for 90-95% becuz I realized that even if I make a mistake one day; it will even out over the week and month, for sure.

You had more than your share of stressers, but we can try to find strategies to overcome that. Practice makes perfect, they say. Things do get easier as time goes along. I just try to learn from my mistakes; and look for ways to improve myself as I go along.

YES, you seem to be in the same line as our weather systems; they seem to almost be in a straight line this year -- same for Texas too. You could have been describing us up here to a "T". It was -35 C here last night; might be around -30 C tonight, then it is supposed to warm up a bit the next 2 days.

I can sympathize with you becuz the cold really gets to me; maybe it's my age (dunno). I don't really mind the snow as much as the cold; it bothers my legs more (it stings my legs). The snow doesn't harm us in any way as long as we don't get snowed in; but the chills, yuck ... :brr:

Of course, if you have to clear the snow; you will mind it more (unless you have a snow removal business, then you love snow!). :lol: The snow packs pretty hard up here; probably becuz of the dry cold. The winds have died down here; that always make it feel about 10 % colder too.

Doing very well on my plan this week (end); so happy about that. We had a lite Shepherd's Pie for dinner with a small piece of pumpkin pie for dessert (I had mine as a snack a bit later though). Now having some tea.

Right now, I'm reading a very funny romance book called -- "MARRYING AN IRISH ROGUE". It's about a town of women who are fed up with the bachelors of the town who don't want to commit. They would rather stay at home with mommy waiting on them hand & foot. Well, no more -- becuz the THE MIDNIGHT COURT has commenced ... :lol:


Hope all our friends here have a wonderful week coming up -- and keep warm, Chickies ... Rosebud :flow2:

:wave:

Well, it's not been too bad a day today-warmed up to about 25ºF and very little wind-yay! And, they're telling us it may get to 32 by Friday! That will seem like a heat wave after this past couple weeks.

Eating has gone ok today-stayed away from any really bad stuff-my downfall is Coke-I just love it! But, no Coke or chips or even any chocolate until dessert after supper. And, kept a decent balance of protein, grains, and veggies, so I'm ok with that, even though my calories were higher than I wanted. And, Rosebud, i really appreciate the advice too. It's too easy to feel defeated after messing up (especially since I've really done badly this past year), but I was working this successfully once and I know I can do it again.

Time to see if the pres is done. Have a great Wednesday!

HI RONNI ~ that's right; just take one day at a time. Be proud of how well you did -- what you did right. Keep track of works well for you. I journal what I eat each day, then I can look back and see what days were the best. What foods caused triggers. What days I felt satisfied with. What meals made me feel fuller, and so forth. I'm ever tweaking and learning.

I seem to do best with my meals; but it's the snacking that can be off a bit some days. I have to make sure I eat enuff at the meals, so I don't feel hungry at night. Then I plan a good snack for that time now. I have been doing better this week too.

The temps warmed up here too; so nice we were able to go up town to do some shopping. It will cool off next week; but I hope it won't be as bad as they are expecting. If it is, we will be hybernating indoors for sure. It is a good thing we have my new fireplace stove and heaters this year.

Hope everyone is feeling well; keep warm ... Rosebud :flow2:

:wave: HI FOLKS ~ We had lovely :sunny: again today; what a blessing for us. It brings the temps up for us during the day so that will save a bit on heat and we can put it up during the night instead. January to March is the coldest time for us here; one month down, two to go ...

I had a great week this week, esp keeping well on plan; and that's a nice victory. Learned a lot over the last holiday which things not to have around and which ones are good for me. I'm slowly learning what snacks are best for me on a daily basis too.

When I tried to do my emails yesterday, it wouldn't work right -- then IE got knocked off for some reason, so I just gave up and did some reading last night instead. Thankfully, it was working better today. :D

Didn't get enuff sleep last night; DH kept waking up, then NIKO kept coming to me to go outside -- weird. DH finally got up and let him out. Then it was too hot in here so that woke me up again; finally got back to sleep and had a terrible nightmare which woke me up for good ~ but maybe tonight will be better ... :^:

Did some vacuuming today; and we will be having leftover pasta tonight. I think I'll have a salad with mine tonight. Hope all our friends out there are having a nice weekend; take good care ... Rosebud :flow2:

Heya, I normally only post in the 100+ lbs to lose forum but I wrote a blog today about fibromyalgia and exercise and my kind of...hopes for the future. (link below) but anyhow, this winter I've been dealing with it better than last, and I hope that next winter is better than this one.

hope everyone is doing well.

:welcome2: Lottie! Hope you're getting as much support here at 3FC as I have!

Rosebud-you've sure had your share of computer issues this winter-hope that gets cleared up quickly. I've had a lot of problems sleeping lately and my DH always has insomnia, so I know how frustrating lack of sleep can be. Hope you have sweet dreams tonight and feel more rested!

It's been another day inside today due to about 6" more snow and lots of wind:p. But, still doing ok with the eating:carrot: I think it has helped a bit that I'm taking time to watch tv programs when they have weight loss successes on them-Rachel Ray was really good yesterday and Dr. Oz almost always has some good hints, but, of course, I just take what I think will work for me and leave the rest, because it can get really overwhelming to attempt every plan/idea they put on the shows:dizzy:

Made tacos for dinner tonight-yummm! Now, I'm ready to fall asleep, but will stay up a couple more hours-early morning today and had lots of chores in the house, so now I'm beat.

Well, hope you all have a great evening!

:welcome: LOTTIE ~ nice to have you drop by our thread over here. I'm glad to hear that you are having some success feeling better. I know others with FIBRO would appreciate any helpful hints they can get.

HI RONNIE ~ I was able to get to bed earlier the next night and get a good night's sleep. Sometimes I get those nights but I am fortunate that I can make them up soon after. If I am chilled or too hot, I have trouble getting to sleep. If there is too much noise or my mind won't stop thinking, the same thing happens. I find reading helps tire me so that I can sleep better; I'm sure watching TV or a movie does the same for others too (I know it does for my DH) ... :lol:

Glad you are doing better with the eating; I am doing well this month too. Actually since about the middle of January, I have been in a good groove. I am finding that if I eat a bit later, that helps me not want to snack as much. As I have mentioned before, meals are OK for me; it's the snacking that I wrestle with. Plus finding the right kinds of things to snack on that satisfies me, yet are things that I won't be tempted to binge on, was key for me.

I switched to SALTLESS nuts becuz the salt on the other kind was addictive for me. I wanted to eat a few nuts becuz they are a protein and a good healthy snack for me -- I am so glad that I finally found the best way to eat them. I also like those 1/2 cup natural applesauce packs (no sugar added); they help me to feel full too.

Hope you all have a fabulous Friday tomorrow; then the weekend to follow -- take good care ... Rosebud :flow2:

Rosebud-I know exactly what you mean about snacking! I just always want to be snacking on something:nono: I've been keeping fruit and dark chocolate on hand to tame the munchies. I also eat saltless nuts sometimes, but I just don't like nuts all that well--however, I loooooove peanut butter:drool: So, I put it on my bananas! I've been using info from the Carb-lover's Diet about resistant starch and it seems to be helping me keep from being hungry as well as jump-started my weight loss again. I'll just see how it goes.

Not much else going on here-too cold to do anything except sit under a blanket and watch the tube (which actually isn't a tube anymore, so don't know what to call it:lol:)

Hope you all have a great day!:hug:

HI RONNI ~ that sounds interesting; have never heard of that. What kinds of foods are they talking about?

I have been noticing that if I eat my dinner a little later, that I feel less hungry in the evening; and if I eat certain kinds of foods, that I feel more satisfied ie lean roast beef with lots of veggies and a small wg roll fills me quicker than say the same with a small potato -- not sure why that is!

The other night, I couldn't even finish my dinner; gave some to our dear NIKO so it didn't go to waste. I use a rule about eating the veggies & meat first, so I had .5 of a small potato left, etc. Having both fills me up faster too.

I am finding that some foods fill me up faster and longer; so I am trying to keep track of that. For instance, I love corn; most goes right through my system anyways, but I like it as a substitute for potatoes, etc.

I am also delaying my breakfast time and that helps me too. I have a banana and coffee upon waking; then have my breakfast mid-morning, so then I don't have any desire for a morning snack. This is helping me to eliminate one snack a day.

Like you, I love peanut butter; so I try to incorporate it into my breakfast or lunch even so it fits into my plan better. That's a good idea to put it on your banana; apple slices are nice too and I love it on baby carrots: they compliment each other well.

Today, I had only one wg bread for lunch with homemade beef veggie soup; and saved the other for my afternoon snack; that worked out well for me. I did the same for breakfast; cut the whole grain in half of what I might usually have had. I feel OK so far.

Time to go put our leftover chicken on for dinner; will have some veggies and brown rice with that; take care ... Rosebud :flow2:

Rosebud-the carb-lover's diet says to use foods containing resistant starch to keep filling full and help speed weight loss. They say that resistant starch is a kind that just passes through the system without being broken down and causing blood sugar spikes or being converted to fat. They say you shouldh have between 10 & 15 g resistant starch per day. Green bananas have the most at about 12.5g, but they are hard to eat. Ripe bananas have 4.7, so I eat slightly green ones on my cereal in the morning (they want you to start your day with a banana alone or in something else-and you already do that, I see). Other things with the resistant starch are (# grams are per serving): uncooked/toasted oatmeal 4.6g
white beans, cooked or canned 3.8g
lentils, cooked 3.4g
potatoes, cooked and cooled (think potato salad), 1 small 3.2
garbanzo beans, cooked or canned, 1/2 cup 2.1
plantain, cooked 2.7
whole-wheat pasta, cooked, 1 cup 2.0
barley, cooked, 1/2 cup 1.9g
white pasta, 1 cup 1.9g
boiled potatoes with skin (warm), 1.8g
and lots more stuff. There are probably lists on the web, too, but if you want I could probably scan in the entire list and send it to you if you want to pm me your e-mail.

As you can see, it's all the foods we're being told are healthiest to eat, with the whole grains having more resistant starch than the white stuff. But, of course, you're also restricting calorie intake, so what I'm seeing is that the resistant starch keeps me from being hungry all the time and allows me to feed my carb cravings (I have never, ever been able to stick to a low-carb diet for more than a week-I just need my carbs). But, and it's a big one, I have to be really careful how many bananas I eat, due to the ongoing issue of constipation:o

Well, not much else going on here-some of that nasty white stuff has started melting the last 2 days and more melt to come, they say:D Must get DS3 on his schoolwork, so I'd better get moving! ttfn!

Hi Ladies - I was walking on the local track and I thought of you :) (I walk pretty much every day, and I do it with a friend -- this way I'm largely unable to overdo it) and I'm still doing yoga whenever possible -- it's a lot less necessary to manage my stress because I left my municipal government job and work as an executive officer at a university college.

Life has been an interesting journey the last year or so and I'm learning to have a healthy relationship with food and exercise -- one that doesnt include obsessing, guilt or injuring myself. I have gained some weight back, and I have lost some. I am maintaining and that's awesome :) Life with MS is difficult.. and it's hard to eat right and exercise when I'm dizzy, numb and/or exhausted but the most important thing I'm learning is to be present in whatever I'm feeling. Only then can I manage life in a healthy way.

I had my five year brain MRI last week. I've made new friends, and I've had old friends walk away. But just wanted to send some love to rosebud and purpleorc! I would visit more often, but in order for me to be healthy I'm not able at the moment to visit much online with calorie tracking or diet websites. *hug*

ps. way to go rosebud on your slow and steady successes :) way to go!

HI VAL ~ so happy to hear from you, sweetie -- nice of you to come by and let us know how you are doing. I think of you and PURPLE often; and I still pray for you both, and likely always will. I am glad that you have found another job that you like better; one of my nieces works for a university in Thunder Bay and loves it.

Yes, I have been continuing to lose inches, and lbs, and sizes; slowly though, but in between managing to maintain too and like you, I am so very happy about that. That's why I love the PORTION PLAN (the NO-Diet Diet) so much; I know that I can stick with this long-term and when I eat a little more than I need to, I just continue on and any damage works it way out in the end. It's the law of averages thing ... ;)

I have being doing so well since Christmas; I'm getting better at choosing healthier foods and snacks (still workin' on the snacks as you may have read in a previous post, but I'm improving all the time).

I agree that the most important thing is to focus on life; you have extra challenges for someone your age, but you are doing so well too. I admire your tenacity; and I just know that you'll be OK. That's a mile-stone for you I know, the 5-year mark; and you'll have many, many more, I'm sure.

PURPLE has been busy helping out her family; her sister had her back surgury and needed PURPLE's help to look after her 4 daughters/family. Also her DAD had some health issues at that time too. We haven't heard from her in a while, but I am sure she thinks of us now & then; as I know I do -- good friends just do, that's all.

I wish you well, girl; and by all means, do come back some time and keep us updated. I 'll be here as long as I have a PC that will bring me: I'm on a very old one right now (it's very slow) until my newer one arrives; that is why my posts here have been less lately. I post in other threads as well, and just have to spread them out at bit.

Hope your family is well too; and do take good care of yourself ... Rosebud :flow2:

THANKS RONNIE ~ for the information; sounds like we are already eating those things now, eh? I buy my bananas a little green too; not all green, just a bit of both yellow & green, so they are still edible. I read somewhere that greenish bananas have less sugar in them also so were a better choice for those watching their sugar intake like diabetics. Seems beans are up there too. I have the old-fashioned large oatmeal a lot for breakfast but I cook mine for about 5-7 minutes.

:wave: HI EVERYONE ~ Well, we have certainly been blessed over the last 2 weeks -- with lots of :sunny: and warmer temps during the daytime. It has been a bit colder at night, but the sun makes up for that. We had only one day with some pretty ***** in between there; not too bad for February in northern Canada, I'd say ... :D

I did up my income tax return this morning: it was the fastest ever simply becuz they changed the form & the rules; so we aren't getting a rebate back for the first time in my life, but we don't owe anything either (thank the LORD). So we are just making an income statement to the gov, moreorless. I just like to get it done and gone as quick as possible. :lol:

Am resting up my injured left knee; staying home to relax and getting DH to do all the errands & running around this weekend. He picked up some BBQ spit chicken for dinner; I will make some brown rice and veggies to go along with that. Might have a bit of coleslaw too, I think.

I have been going to bed a bit earlier each night to help my knee heal up; even if I don't sleep all of the time, at least it's up and resting. Along with lots of prayers from friends & relatives, it must be working becuz it is feeling much better today -- yeah!!! DOC says I have to keep on crutches for a while yet though, to make sure it has healed completely.; I'd rather not go through this again so I'll have to be very careful in the future.

Our phone got knocked off yesterday; called the repairmen and those nice fellas showed up quite promptly for a late Friday afternoon. Felt foolish becuz we had knocked off the second phone in the bedroom somehow which knocked the main line off completely -- either I did it with my crutches or our dear NIKO may have bumped it too; but the guys were nice about it and checked to make sure all was working well and that my PC was working too before they left.

When I went to the doctors last week, I had the best blood pressure reading yet -- for me, at least (132/76). I am so glad for this NSV -- as it makes all this so worth it to see these improvements to my overall health. Have been eating very well through this whole month of February and am very pleased about that as well.

There's only a few days left and March will be here; that signals that SPRING is just around the corner too ... :) Hope all our friends here are having a wonderful weekend; take good care ... Rosebud :flow2:

HAPPY MARCH EVERYONE ~

Well, March came in with a roar; but hopefully, it will go out like a lamb! We had a blizzard here yesterday; lots of blowing ***** snow from around dinnertime and all through the night. By this morning, things had totally cleared up (amazing); and we had beautiful :sunny: all day long. The temps have dipped down to -20C tonight, but the skies are clear and I can see the stars ... ;)

I took some leftover chicken, added some veggies; and put it all in my crockpot to make a nice light stew today -- it was delish. We just had a light snack around 9 PM, then DH and our dear FIDO went to bed around 10. I think he was pushing around too much snow today ... :lol:

My left knee is starting to feel much better; by the evening, it starts to ache a bit, so gotta put it up for a while so it can rest. Will go to bed a bit early again tonight to give it more time up; I just read a bit before going to sleep. I'm just staying home mostly; but did have to do some grocery shopping last Monday as DH just doesn't know what to buy. So his job will be all the errands, odd jobs, and pick-ups instead; but he likes to do those.

Hope all our friends here are having a good week; take good care, and keep warm out there ... Rosebud :flow2:

:wave: HI TO EVERYONE HERE ~ well, finally my PC is calmer tonight so that I have been able to get some replies in; this is my fourth one. My PC has really been jamming up on me this month. I was only coming in about 2-3 times a week so that I could do my emails on the other nights; but my PC would jam up so badly that on some days, I couldn't get a post in. Even my reading got behind becuz I couldn't move around the different forums either. It would jam or freeze up so that I would have to close down IE completely ... :(

But I kept trying and would get one post in here or there; and tonight EUREKA -- found a good, clear night which happens once in a while. Said a few prayers before I came in too; so I'm sure that helped too! :lol:

I have been eating very well this month; only had one slip-up of popcorn but ate well for the rest of the day and week to make up for that and it worked out well for me. It was an emotional reaction thing; but I am getting much better at this -- once a month (or less) isn't too bad really. I am really trying hard to replace salty snacks with non-salted nuts and other healthy things too.

We had a big ***** storm last week that dumped about 2 feet (or more) of snow in a 24 hour period. We've had mostly :sunny: since then with some colder temps, but it has been melting a little bit too. The sun does make it seem like spring is just around the corner after all.

We can't wait for all the snow to melt so we can get out to our lot this year; hopefully we'll be able to stay out there now and then this year. Gonna pick up a futon mattress for my bed/couch (we have cushions for DH's already); so if the weather is OK, we'll be able to stay out there more often. We are gonna try it anyways and see how it goes.

Hope everyone here is feeling well; and trudging along with confidence in their good-health journey. Take good care, and have a great week coming up ... Rosbud :flow2:

Heya, I normally only post in the 100+ lbs to lose forum but I wrote a blog today about fibromyalgia and exercise and my kind of...hopes for the future. (link below) but anyhow, this winter I've been dealing with it better than last, and I hope that next winter is better than this one.