We may kill each other before the caffeine gets us
Hahaha, my dh and I did that a few years ago. We are back to coffee, but much less of it!
Meg- Hope today's activities in Congress didn't just make MORE work for Len. It's made less for me
Anne- So glad to hear you are doing better. Sleep, a paycheck and some adult conversation does wonders.
Allison- My ds and I eat basically a no grain diet, except for occasional brown rice and oatmeal for me. No wheat, barley, rye or ANY product containing even a trace of them. It's not for weight control and had virtually no effect on my weight, but our intestines sure are happier! I actually find it harder to eat low cal without wheat at all, because the other sources of carbs are higher calorie. It's very doable- you just have to really like vegetables and change your thinking about what are "proper" breakfast and lunch foods.
Thanks Mel. Frankly I don't think the no grain part is so much for weight control as it is for reducing my cholesterol. Anyway, I'll try it for a few weeks and see how it goes. I don't have any intestinal problems from grains--just from fats (fried chicken is a big NO NO!).
I went to Trader Joe's yesterday and stocked up on vegetables and nuts. The book suggests mixing several raw nuts and having 1/4 as a snack. I'm sure they're better than the dry roasted ones I usually get at Costco. I got pecans, pepitas, pignolas, pistachios and almonds and now I have this HUGE bag of mixed nuts. Next time I'll skip the pepitas--I don't like them so much. But I was amazed at how YUMMY the raw almonds are. The doctor suggested raw walnuts, but I'm not as big a fan of walnuts. But the almonds are supposed to help, too.
I found two frozen meals that I can have for work lunches. I like Lean Cuisine because they're convenient, but since I can't have grains, pasta or potatoes, I thought it would be impossible to find a frozen meal to take to lunch. I found one Smart Balance Salisbury steak that came with green beans instead of potatoes and one South Beach chicken that came with a vegetable medley that didn't include potatoes. Really, can't they come up with more? I did fix a huge flank steak last night and we have leftovers for one day, and I'll try to make extras (and hide them during dinner so DH doesn't have seconds) so I can take leftovers to lunch instead of relying on frozen meals. I'm also going to fix my Italian sausage soup this weekend--without the beans and pasta--so I can take that as well. I think I'm set for week one of this diet thing.
Every Saturday morning I sit down at the computer and go through all of my finances. I have accounts all over and I keep a spread sheet that details all of the accounts (savings, CDs, brokerage accounts and 401k accounts) as well as what my perceived equity is in my home and our other lot. With last weeks tremendous ups and downs I came out pretty much even. Some went up, some went down, but all in all I ended up pretty much where I was last week. I'm glad I didn't panic.
The days are warm here, but with a little nip in the air. Letting us know that fall is almost here. I finally removed the flowers in the front of the house and replaced them with mums. Nice and fall looking. I need a few pumpkins for a finishing touch now,
Dagmar, i'm seriously addicted to coffee. I get a migraine headache if I don't have it in the morning. I know I should quit, but i've failed at that a couple of times. I have cut down and i drink 1/2 decafe now. Not much of am improvement, i know, but it's something!
Meg, Glad to hear that you're coming along well. If your thyroid is low I'm surprised you kept the weight off as well as you have.
Allison, i love nuts, but don't eat a lot because they are so calorie dense. but I do sprinkle them on my salad or yogurt because they have so much nutrition. I love walnuts! I don't think I've ever heard of pepitas, sure i've never eaten them. I always have almonds, cashews, walnuts and pecans in the house. I'm anxious to see how you do with the new diet.
Freda, pepitas are pumpkin seeds. I've had them raw and roasted and sometimes roasted with different spices. Those are the best, but you have to use oil to roast them, so they aren't quite as healthy (IMO). All in all the nut blend is really good. DH even tried them and said he liked them. I guess that means we can stop buying the roasted stuff from Costco (which have cashews that I LOVE and tend to eat too many of).
DH and I took the dogs for a 3 mile walk this morning. We're starting to get cooler weather. I think the high this weekend is only 98--fall is in the air! Just a few weeks and the in-laws will be returning.
My thoughts on things to do this weekend--pay bills, clean my closet and go see a movie. I hope to get all three done, but who knows if the closet will get done! I'm not too motivated at the moment.
This morning I made a recipe I found in the South Beach Phase I breakfast thread--egg and sausage "muffins". I used Canadian bacon instead of sausage and they're really good. I think next time I won't make "muffins" instead I'll do it as a crustless quiche--very yummy and DH and DS liked it too (DS liked it even with mushrooms!).
I've been in computer **** for the past two weeks. My computer crashed, and I didn't remember my 3FC password. Finally, today, I have a working computer and changed my password and can quickly respond. yes!
Hey, yall! The past two weeks have been both good and bad. On a good note, I'm keeping with writing down what I eat...on a bad note, I've eaten too much of some things I should have stayed away from. I became infatuated with bbq pringles and with chocolate over the past two weeks. My reward came last Saturday--a 2.5 lb gain! UGH! Right then, I promised to stay away from the Pringles and from the chocolate. That is so much easier to promise than to do!!!!! I have been tortured by the Pringles calling my name and have passed up the chocolate until today when I bought myself a package of sugar free York peppermint patties. I'm going away for almost a week on Tuesday and these are divine. Ok, so they're chocolate too. So, that's been my big problem the past two weeks.
I also have health news. I will be having a hysterectomy the first week of December. On one hand, I'll be glad to be done with the mess; on the other hand, I hope they can leave my ovaries, so I don't go into medical menopause. On a very scary note, I spoke with my personal trainer about what to do for exercise after what my doctor says will be major abdominal surgery in December. My trainer said she is barring me from the fitness center until I have a doctor's note saying I can exercises. I hate this! I understand why, but I am so worried about my weight going back up. I have already decided to pack my own food for the hospital, so I can have some control, but I can't imagine not being able to exercise for several weeks. It's going to be rough. I know I have to be careful, but I'm going in with a positive mind set. I had both my kids by c-section, so I know what major abdominal surgery is. I can handle it though it's been 17 years since my last c-section. The important thing is that I take care of me and don't let my eating get out of control. I can get back into shape when my body is ready to do so. I just hope it gets ready fast!
Other than those things, I've been good. I continue to journal what I eat--as many of you do. I would like to lose 10-15 lbs before December 1, but I can't get myself to give up a starch which the first step in cutting back down to my weight loss eating plan. Guess I'll have to try upping the cardio and work outs. Of course, that's tough too. Far too many excuses. If you all wanted to lose weight and didn't want to give up what you're eating, is there a way you'd do that???
Hope this week is good for all of you. I am going to be out of town and am looking forward to peace and quiet along with a couple conference meetings. I'll be watching my eating closely as a year ago, going out of town meant free for all eating for me. No more of that! You can count on that, too! Have a good week!
Hi everyone, I'm making a quick check in. The reason for my absence has been that we have allowed a friend of my son's to live with us for the next 4 weeks while he waits to leave to the military. His only family is his mom and she is in a nursing home after a major stroke. Anyway he is staying in our computer room and that makes it uncomfortable for me to use the computer. Tonite he is at another friends house so I grabbed the chance to drop a line.
I'm looking very forward to my son's visit and he should be home around Oct. 1st. I did go buy him the new Harley he wanted this past Monday. It's a beauty and I sure hope he's safe with it.
I'm still on the increased Prednisone, still feel hungry all the time. The Ultram is helping my joint pain and I am walking again with my Dr.'s approval now. I'm taking it kinda slow and easy, but at least I get to walk again. I did 1.5 miles yesterday and 1 mile today. My eating still isn't completely perfect, but I feel like I'm heading very clearly back on track. My weigh in yesterday showed 155 lbs. , so still 10 lbs. above my original goal. But, considering my health and my medications, I'm not terribly disappointed. I'm also doing a little UBWO and after only a couple weeks without exercise, this is kickin my butt.
Meg, I'm with you on missing doing my Elliptical and also Stairstepper routine. I never really care much for the Exercise Bike.
See you all in a week
