[Meg]

Good mooooooorning, Maintainers! Time for a quick mug of coffee and then off to the gym here.

What are you up to today?

[lilybelle]

Hi, I'm up and on my second cup of coffee. Busy day ahead of me. Gotta go sign my old car title over at the car dealership (had forgotten to sign it). Then go sign a release to get Lacy's medical records sent to her gastroenterologist. Then take my new car to the insurance office to change my policy to include it. All of these places are about 30 miles apart. Then I need to get home and mow the yard if it doesn't start raining again.

I'm not feeling well this morning and I hope I can get everything done. I'm hurting over my right side again and my skin and eyes look jaundiced again. I see my hepatologist again on Sept. 5th and am trying to avoid going to my regular Dr. before then. (mainly cause he doesn't know what to do for me except send me to OK City to my specialists).

[Meg]

Lily! I hope it's nothing serious and you're feeling better soon. Take good care of yourself.

[joyofsix]

Good Morning. All school age kids out the door with a minimum of fuss. I have another MD appointment today. I have to take the three year old with me. That should be fun. I've developed a symptom of dizziness this weekend. Going for my walk and even just cleaning the house leave me woozy. I checked my bp and it's fine so I guess it's just being huge.

Lily-It sounds like a busy day. I hope you feel better soon. I also hope all that horrible flooding stays away from you.

[srmb60]

Good morning. I slept late and am enjoying my coffee in my jammies because I'm on vacation

Lisa, you're making me nervous ... dizzy pregnant women hmmm. And Lily too. I feel a bit guilty saying I'm going to do big time cardio today. You two take care of yourselves.

[carolr3639]

Just thought it might help to know that this summer when I got dizzy for a day it was due to dehydration. That night I didn't go to the bathroom all night....a first in years. I really drank water the next day and was fine after that.

[AnneWonders]

Meg, SusanB, enjoy your coffee. Lily, take care today. You don't sound so well. Lisa, almost there, wow, 16 days! Be careful.

Kind of a disaster weekend from an eating standpoint, but I really enjoyed it. Got out, spent time with friends, good food, so from some perspectives it was a "good" disaster weekend. At least I'm not up from munching Doritos alone in the dark watching TV.

Next weekend, I'm going away to the mountains, by myself to sleep and roll around and generally get to know myself again. I've been so tired and stressed lately that it is almost a necessary thing now. I think this will be my first time away from DD for any length of time and I'm hoping I don't wig out.

I also decided to get my life off hold. I've been sort of simultaneously waiting to get over the miscarriage and waiting to try again, and haven't really been taking care of myself. So uncertainty or not, I signed up for a sprint tri in late October and started training--I am SOOO out of shape now. But I've followed my training schedule religiously since I made the decision, and if I can quit partying and drop a couple pounds I'll be right back on track. I don't know if I'll actually be able to do the tri, since I don't race if I am pregnant, but at least I'm sort of back to being me for the time being. I figure if I have to eat the entry fee, it is a small price to pay for getting it back together.

Anne

[Sweet Amor]

Good morning!

Lily, I hope you both feel better and that whatever you have clears up soon.

Lisa, I hope your dizzy spells go away. I find that whenever I get dizzy it's because I'm low on iron. I usually take a daily multivitamin but I haven't been good about taking them daily.

Anne, don't worry about your splurge. It's more important that you had a good time. Today's a new day to get right back on track. Going away to the mountains sounds like a great idea. I hope you enjoy every minute and not worry too much about your DD. WTG on signing up for the tri! For me, it really helps to have a future goal set to keep me going and on plan each day.

The weekend was pretty good. My boyfriend and I went over to his brother's house because they were celebrating his birthday. I brought over a batch of No Pudge brownies that I made. Being able to have a brownie really helped me turn down the ice cream cake.

I remember there had been a discussion about Maximum Heart Rates. In the September issue of Shape magazine, there's a little article about that.

For years, the formula 220 minus your age has been the standard for estimating your maximum heart rate (MHR). Now researchers at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, may have found a better way. After tracking the heart rates of 132 people over 25 years, they found that subtracting 70 percent of your age from 207 (207 - [0.7 x age]) gives a more accurate MHR. "The old formula may have you exercising more intensely than you should be, which can lead to injury, or not hard enough, which will slow down your results," says Ronald Gellish, the study's lead author.

To hit your target on cardio machines (which rely on the old formula): Calculate your MHR with the new method, then subtract that number from 220; the result is the "age" to use when you program the machine.

Have a great day!

[clvquilts]

Here's the latest email from Bob Greene's Your Best Life. It's on finding the perfect goal weight for you:

Whenever you start a diet, you usually do so with specific goal weight in mind. Maybe you chose that number because it would put your BMI (body mass index) in the healthy category. Or perhaps you're hoping to get back down to the weight you were before you were married or had children. Whatever your reason, it's important to assess that your goal is one you can actually reach. Use the guidelines below to make sure your ideal weight is a healthy one.

Take a history lesson. What you weigh is largely determined by genetics. So take a look at your parents: Are they thin or have they struggled with their weight? This will help you set a realistic goal for yourself.

Look at your life. Genetics isn't the only thing that affects your weight. Your choices and habits can alter your weight destiny, so assess your lifestyle, starting with your childhood: Were you an active child or sedentary and overweight? What has been the lowest weight you've been able to maintain as an adult? Have you had children? All of these things will affect what a healthy weight will be for you now.

Evaluate your commitment. Figure out how much time and effort you are willing to devote to exercise and diet--not only for right now, but for the rest of your life. If you focus only on the short-term, you may be able to reach your goal, but you won't be able to stay there. Not surprisingly, the stronger your commitment, the more likely it is that you'll achieve a greater weight loss.

Recognize your accomplishments. When you're looking to drop 30, 40, 50 pounds or more, a loss of five pounds might seem like nothing. But research suggests that a five to 10 percent reduction in weight can have a significant effect on your health. So, while you're keeping your eye on your end goal, make sure to celebrate the small successes along the way. Each positive step forward brings you that much closer to your goal, and that's something that will keep you going.....

[Megan1982]

Hi everyone,

I had a very nice visit with my parents last week. I think they had fun despite the heat. Food was not good. That is all I have to say about it. I'm getting back on track today, and going to the gym for some good cardio after work. Seems like we are dr's visit central around here this week. I'm looking forward to driving to the city for my annual obgyn visit tomorrow. Gosh those are always thrilling.

My the weekly thread was busy last week! I'm trying to catch up...

Hmm, goal weight is something I think about often, but I don't think I've found my ideal goal weight yet. At least, not stayed there - it's definitely below where I am now, though! This is not control, this is not a happy weight.

Sweet Amor, gotta love those no pudge. Mmm.

Anne, your weekend getaway sounds like it will be lovely. Enjoy. And wtg on signing up for the tri and starting your training! Sounds like it will be good for you. Good luck training!

Susan, way to enjoy coffee in your jammies. I love to do that on the weekends when I don't have to get up for anything.

Joy, hope your doc's appt. goes well and your dizziness goes away.

Lily, glad you're enjoying your new car so much! I hope your symptoms go away soon.

Have a great week everyone.

[alinnell]

Good morning. I had my coffee, read my paper and had a nice, light breakfast, and now I'm at work--thinking of heading home. I've suddenly become dizzy and have a headache and feel rather pukey.

Lily~I hope you feel better soon! Take care.

Anne~have a great "self-retreat". I'm sure it will do you wonders!

Joy~good luck at the doctor's! I can't imagine having to take a 3 year old along--I hope it goes well.

[lilybelle]

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. I'm back home now from all my errands. All my joints are aching and I feel like maybe I'm just getting sick. I'm going to take a nap now and let the kids help with mowing the yard this evening.

Lisa, I hope you feel better soon. Dizziness is certainly not fun.

Allison, I hope you feel better soon too.

Anne, WTG on signing up for the tri.

[rockinrobin]

Good afternoon everyone.

Wow, I'm so sorry to hear that Lily and Lisa are not well. I hope everyone feels better quickly. You too Allison. Gosh, what's going on around here?

Anne, that mountain weekend sounds like it will be very enjoyable and worthwhile Great going on signing up for the sprint tri.

Megan, oooh the gyno. What utter fun. NOT. But at least you'll get it over with.

I had a really nice weekend. But I definitely ate too much. These weekends are killing me. Or I should say, I'm ALLOWING myself to be killed. And I'm not sure why.

We did have to cut short our weekend away yesterday. Last night was my DH's nephews Bar Mitzvah party. That's when you celebrate a boy turning 13 and becoming a man. Ha. We had a very, very nice time.

Anyway, one of my hubbys cousins says to me, "How did you lose all the weight, you took the pills?" And I said, "You mean there are pills I could have taken, I didn't have to bust my butt. What kind of pills? How come nobody told me this? Pills? What pills?" I simply could not help myself. I said it kind of lightly and a bit sarcastic. And she's laughing and all and then she says to me, "Well yeah, ya know the appetite supressant pills, Ronnie always used to take them." And I said, "Ummm and how did they work for him?" Ronnie is her late husband who died of a massive heart attack about 13 years ago at the age of 40 something. He must have weighed more then 350 lbs at the time, no more then 5 ft. 8 inches. She kind of just giggled and said, "Well you saw what he looked like." So I'm guessing that there are no pills afterall.........


Feel good everyone.

[Mel]

Aw Robin, that was kind of cruel, but funny. Heck, if there really were pills (with no nasty side effects), I'd still be taking them!

Lily- I hope you just have a short bug and a re better soon

Mel

[Sweet Amor]

Good morning everyone.

I had such a salty food craving in the middle of the night last night! I think it was due to TOM which is coming next week. Unfortunately I gave in I had about 4 1/2 servings of Spelt Snack Sticks, each serving about 150 calories. Not good!!!!! I should have just stayed in bed.
Anyway today's a brand new day

Anne, Lily and Allison - are you feeling any better today?

Megan, good luck at your obgyn appt! I hope everything goes smoothly.

Robin, your weekend splurges could fit into your plan if you keep your calories lower than maintenance during the week and then increase it over the weekend. Or are you already doing this?