Good morning everyone,

Day one went fairly well - convinced myself to have an eggwhite omelet instead of pizza. I was tired and hungry..... so it was almost pizza.
Other than that the only abberation for the day was a piece of LF loaf type thing.

How are the rest of my back to ticker coherts today?

-S

Pat~yes, I had salad with enough left over for my lunch today. Now to pick something healthy for my dinner out with the girls at a Mexican restaurant tonight!

Lily~spider bites are bad!!! DS had one a few years ago and it was really hard to get the abscess to drain, but it finally did without having to be lanced. He got another a couple weeks ago and as soon as we saw redness around it, we were off to the urgent care for antibiotics. This one didn't get nearly as bad as the first. The necrotic tissue is scary!! I hope the antibiotics get to work soon--that can be really, really bad.

sznn~WTG on the omlete instead of pizza!!! I have some eggs at home and really want one myself, but DD won't eat eggs, so we always save those meals for times when she is away. I am having pizza myself tomorrow night, but I make it myself and it will be a lot less calories than any take out!

So far, my re-dedication to diet is going well. I have seen the first dip in weight by 1 pound, so I'm on my way. Still 2.5 pounds before I hit ticker weight, though.

I'm working on "back to ticker" too I had a GREAT weekend, including dinner at Bucco el Beppo (spelling?) and Benihana's.

We have a big work meeting today from 2-5 and I KNOW that there will be munchies. I used to love the spread we get at big work meetings, but now I absolutely dread it. Something about free food during work meetings is a huge challenge for me. I always go up there will really good intentions (only fruit, veggies, whole grain crackers, shrimp) and I always end up loading my plate and eating too much. Then I feel bad and skip dinner.

I think..I will just go to the meeting with the mindset that I'm not going to eat anything from the meeting. I'll take my baggie of cherries. I do much better with "none" then with "some."

Hi all, I'm still 1 lb. over ticker weight, but that is an improvement over last week so I feel like I'm back on track. I've started walking on my treadmill again. I had 1350 calories yesterday which I was happy with. I was so hungry when we finally left the ER that I wanted to drive though a fast food place, but I didn't do it. I came home and made a turkey sandwich so that much was a victory. After smashing my finger yesterday evening, I didn't feel as hungry as usual at dinner and ate less than I normally would have. So far today I've had 2 four inch wheat pancakes and a cup of coffee. I got my Fitday back up and that helps. I tend to go over more on calories for sure when I skip logging it in.

DS's spider bite looks better today. The area of skin that they circled yesterday has shrank a little and he is feeling better. Less pain and less stomach upset. I think the antibiotics are working. I noticed that you can see his hip bone again, which yesterday it wasn't distinguishable due to the swelling. The center area is forming a pretty big head on it now, which is what the Dr. wanted so he can drain it tomorrow. Shane talked to his Sergeant yesterday and explained what happened. He is still going to Drill this weekend but the Sergeant said they will wait to have him do his PT test next time. (which is great news). He just has to take the ER papers with him to drill.

sznn and Allison, WTG , it looks like we've all managed to get back on track.

Glory, I used to have a really hard time too with free food at work. Although it was a hospital, it was always junk food that was provided. Some of the people would make me feel guilty if I didn't partake of it.

I've tried posting this comment three times and it doesn't look like it worked so I'll try again . . . apologies in advance if it shows up three times!

Wow Lily, that's really scary! I had to go look up fiddleback spiders. I hope you and your family all get healthy soon!

Lisa, I hope your back feels better!

Tara - GREAT JOB not overeating on the muffins!

I have a confession to make . . . this week I ate a Milky Way bar and cheez-its. I have really been struggling with emotional eating lately due to stress. Last week I had had a tough day and my fiance bought me a Kit Kat bar as a special treat (we almost never eat candy bars) to make me feel better, but I felt guilty about eating it. But then this week I was frustrated at work and decided "I want a candy bar now" and went and ate a Milky Way. I made up for it by not eating some other food I was planning to eat, but I still felt bad because the candy bar wasn't nearly as nutritions as the fruit and yogurt I had planned. It did make me feel better though.

I am struggling with a lack of exercise. With moving, doctor's appointments, and acupuncture, I haven't been to the gym in two weeks. I went jogging last weekend which helped but the lack of exercise is really getting to me. The less I exercise the more I want to eat junk. I'm hoping that next week we will get back into our routine now that we are officially moved out of the apartment. We'll only be able to do 3 days a week since I have two acupuncture appointments but it's better than nothing. I am so exhausted from getting home so late and not having much free time. Last night we didn't get dinner on the table until 8:45, then only had an hour until bedtime. Tomorrow we're headed to Boston again for another wedding. Next week is packed with more appointments, including seeing a new doctor (rheumatologist) and getting the second dose of the HPV vaccine.

Do you guys have trouble filling out medical forms ever? The forms the rheumatologist sent me are so extensive and I don't even know how to answer some of the questions. I mean, I get headaches sometimes (probably from congestion from allergies right now), but I don't get migraines or anything or even usually take painkillers -- so do I check off the "headaches" box on their list of symptoms I have had? There is a little drawing of a person where I'm supposed to shade in the areas that I have pain. My neck aches all the time but I'm 99% sure it is just a muscle ache from my computer monitor at work not being directly in front of my keyboard. Do I shade in my neck anyway? What a mess.

Hey Jessica, is there a place on the forms for comments? I don't think I'd mark "headaches" because doesn't everybody get the occasional headache? If you have pain in your neck, definitely shade in the neck and then make a comment if possible. The forms are a great tool, but hopefully, you will be able to speak to a physician and provide all the details about your health!!

Jessica, unfortunately I've had to fill out medical forms so many times that I'm a pro at it. If there is anything extra that you need to explain, you can always just write in on an extra plain sheet of paper and attach it. I've had to do this a lot as there is never enough room to list all my surgeries, hospitalizations or medications. Some forms are worse than others, that is for sure. I think the ones I filled out for my disability were 16 pages long if I remember correctly.

I do understand your concern over the candy bars. I wanted one really bad about a week ago, but when I picked up the 3Musketeers and read the label, I put it back down and bought a little pack of Peanut Butter crackers instead. I felt like I still had a snack but didn't have the sugar cravings afterwards. I'm not always able to resist but I made it through that one. I have more trouble with Ice Cream than candy. So, I do indulge in some fat free frozen yogurt at times. I don't keep it at home or I'd eat it everyday. I have to drive 30 miles to get it, so that limits my getting it. LOL.

So - day 2...not going so well
Already swayed down the garden path with 2 large (but delicious) cookies
+2x chocolates at breakfast
and now some crackers and melted cheese.
I am blaming it on an attack of the hormones, cramps and just major hormone overload.
How does everyone else combat the hormone monster???

Lily - scary about the spider bite -gives me the heeby jeebies.
I was bit by a scorpion years ago - that left a nasty poison filled welt.
Sure glad I didn't find out what bit me till much after the fact - I would have had a melt down.

-S

Thanks for the support, Jessica.
Good job Sznn!
Glad your son is doing better, Lily.

The weekend's coming up. I hope tomorrow goes smoothly. Today was kind of a crazy day at work, and I didn't get home until 8PM. Tomorrow I'll probably be there late, too because I still think I have a bunch of stuff to catch up on. If the day goes smoothly, maybe I'll get home before 9!

Well, I still am just eating the muffins on weekends. Hopefully, I'll do well this weekend, too, and just eat the right amount each day. It turn out that a couple weeks ago, the blueberry muffins that I bought at Wild Oats were spelt muffins. I didn't find out until last weekend, when I saw 3 different shelves of blueberry muffins without labels (?why?!), and asked a staff member which was which. Apparently one was spelt (gluten free), another was vegan, and the last set was regular.

I don't know why it's so hard for them to put the correct labels up. The lady who I asked to identify the muffins looked at me like it was weird to ask which was which!

Two weeks ago, the muffins that were labeled "low fat" looked just like the regular blueberry ones last week. Luckily, I wasn't buying the lowfat blueberry muffins, but I just hope no one was fooled!

Good morning, gang! I'm off on my family reunion cruise today and will be totally without Internet access until next Thursday.

My goal is to come back weighing what I did this morning. Send stay strong vibes my way!!

Would one of you start the weekly thread on Monday? Thanks!!

See ya in a week!

Meg - have a great trip!

Good morning everyone,

Project - 'Back to ticker weight' is not off to a great start for me.
Yesterday was better - but I really went over on the carbs.
Fresh new day today....but I am off to a party with a smorgesbord. (sp?)
Wish me luck on that one.

Have a great day,
- S

sznn~I thought I was off to a good start, too, but my scale is telling me otherwise. Today will be plan, plan, plan so that next week is a breeze. I really have to get more salads in and less bread (yeah, I have a carb problem, too!).

I don't know what prompted me to allow this, but I'm letting DD go to a "lock down" party at an internet cafe tonight. The cafe is for gamers (which she is really into) but this party goes from 8 PM to 8 AM Sunday. She had to have parental permission to go and she is paying the admission and it's not a school night (only 2 more days of school anyway). I hope I didn't make the wrong decision--although she goes there often and knows the owner now....

Hi ladies, I've been doing fairly well on my re-dedication to staying on track. I thought yesterday that I might have went over on my calories, but ended up with 1401 cal's when I logged it in Fitday. I do need to get some more exercise. DH is working 16 hrs. today, the SD's have gone to visit their older sister and my DS is at Drill. For now, I have the house to myself. It sure seems nice and quiet. I plan to work in the garden for a while and hop on the treadmill. I slept in til 10:00 AM and that felt nice.

Allison, I know what you mean about feeling unsure about the "lock-down". Lacy wanted to go to one last weekend at the skating rink. I didn't let her go. It was in a town 20 miles away and I didn't know the other people so I felt it best to just let her have a good friend stay the night here and rent movies. My decision wasn't very popular with her, but she's over it now. I have let her attend the "lock-downs" that are held at our church but there I know most of the people who will be watching the kids.

sznn, good luck tonite with the smorgasbord.

I'm happy to see that the pumpkin seeds I planted last Saturday are now 1 1/2" green plants. My watermelon and cantaloupes are coming right along. I counted last night and have 39 tomatoes on my plants and that is after picking 6 of them this week to eat. The only store bought food I'm using for now is meat. Everything else is from the garden each night. My steamer is finally coming in very handy. We have been using the fresh peas, green beans , potatoes, onions, squash every night. I will be happy when my corn and Okra are ready to use. DH built me some pantry shelves in my big laundry room. I have been buying lots of extra canned stuff to stock the shelves with for the winter months. I won't use the canned food til we're out of fresh food. My regular kitchen cabinets used to seem plenty big enough, but our house is so full of people now, that I needed more room for stuff.

My DS is healing nicely from the spider bite after having it drained yesterday. He is going with his dad (my EX) this next week on their yearly "boys trip". He always enjoys that. Since his dad is a very heavy beer drinker, I'm wondering if he'll let Shane drink since Shane recently turned 21.

Hello ladies, well I've made it three days sticking to a pretty tight food plan. I'm happy that I've been able to do that at least. Tonight we're going to a bonfire/cookout though. I hope I can do as well there. My back is still really stiff and sore. I'm trying to do gentle stretches, but my temperament is of the "force it" nature so I'm fighting the urge to really push it. I hope you all have a great weekend.