Another fruitcake lover checking in...My Mom makes an amazing fruitcake. Almost no cake at all--just tons of fruit and nuts held together by a minimal amount of cake. Very yummy, although she does not soak hers in brandy (her aunt used to soak hers and used the same recipe as my Mom--it was good, too).
Lily~I've discovered the Weight Watcher's Smart Ones frozen entrees and I love them! Since my doctor doesn't want me to eat bread, pasta, rice or potatoes I've found that only Smart Ones and the South Beach entrees are the only ones that have varieties without the prohibited foods. Lean Cuisine? Not a single one! And I like the fact that the Smart Ones are about 100 calories less than the Lean Cuisines that I used to buy. Anyway, good luck with WW!
rabbit~whatcha doing in Hong Kong? Vacation or work? Sounds like fun regardless of the jet lag!
Rabbit-- you're in Hong Kong!? My brother-in-law lives there. We've been to visit twice. Nice to visit but I wouldn't want to live there....
My WW orientation was my official start of employment with WW last night. Now I have to get a mentor assigned to me and then I'll go with her for training sessions (watch what is done in meetings and then do it myself). We also have "Innovations" this Sunday which is an annual event. Awards are given, new product and/or plan information for the New Year is given, and it is fancy dress! The goal is to have me trained and ready to work by/before January 1 when the big rush comes in. I am eager to really start!
Morning! I'm loving having the day off. I actually had yesterday afternoon off too, but I was scheduled for a CT scan at 1. They took me in about 1:30 and then for the next 40 minutes the tech tried to get an IV started.... Grrr. I feel like a pincushion. Never did get it. I have to go back on Thurs to try again. They finally did an ultrasound to find my veins (I DO have some ) and he now knows where to look - they've very deep. And this time I'm supposed to drink a lot of water. Yesterday I did what they'd instructed - nothing to eat or drink for 8 hours beforehand.... So by the time I got out of there about 2:30 I was starving! Sad to say that I made some not-so-good choices. The calories probably weren't too out of line, but the selection of food - well, funny what drives you back to your previous life comfort foods. Today is fine so far, except I have a huge bruise on my hand.
Lily - Like Michelle, I lost a lot on WW. It's a good plan as long as you use "real" food to make up your points. Glad you had a good visit with your son.
And Barbara - where is Barbara????
I'm not a sweets kind of person, so my favorite holiday foods revolve around the turkey, stuffing and potatoes. We always eat with our next door neighbors' family (6 kids, umpteen grandkids, and only slightly fewer great-grandkids), and there is always a huge bowl of peeled shrimp. I love it and if I wasn't a guest, I'd eat more. I don't usually eat desserts on holidays either (nor other days, unless it's fruit).
Michele - good luck with the training! Can you work fulltime for WW, or are there only part time positions available? I always wondered.
Pat -sorry to hear about the pin cushion stuff. I'm lucky, my veins are huge and superficial. When I donate blood, the techs almost fight over who gets to stick me.
Allison, this was my first grocery shopping trip for WW. So, I used their book and bought all kinds of stuff. Tons of fruits and veggies. Lacy and Shelbey will probably throw a fit that I didn't buy the junk foods they love. I bought three of those Smart Ones dinners to try.
Michele, last night the WW leader offered to go grocery shopping with me if I needed her too. I was surprised, but felt I could do it myself after reading my books. I'm only getting a total of 20 flex points per day and feel like it's kinda rough. Hopefully I will get used to it and not end up counting on the extra 35 weekly points. I've gotta try to force myself to drink the water!
Pat, Ouch, sorry you felt like a pincushion. I used to have that same problem, but now my veins are very prominent. Hopefully they'll have better luck next time getting a vein.
I'm still having terrible pain down my right hip to about mid-thigh. I do notice that driving a car accentuates the pain greatly. Bending down is totally excruciating. I hope this goes away soon or I'll be heading to see my doctor. The tramadol I was prescribed does not touch the pain at all.
The Subway shop that Lacy works in was robbed after-hours Saturday night. There was no sign of forced entry and they think it was an inside job. They didn't have any security cameras and the cash register and safe were both taken. Shelbey has applied there too and will probably start working there next week. (She was jealous cause Lacy has plenty of spending money all the time and she doesn't). I'm glad to know that they are now having security cameras put in this week. Hopefully this will make it a safer place for the girls to work.
About my visit with Shane, he seemed more mature than before. Very respectful . We're very fortunate that his unit has not had any major injuries or fatalities. He should be home for good in early March (which is a month earlier than was previously scheduled).
Lily,
That is amazingly sweet that your leader offered to go shopping with you-- that is above and beyond! Yes, 20 points isn't much, but you can use the extra 35 points too. I tried not to use all of them as it helped me to lose faster, but other people use them all. Also, take advantage of the zero point foods-- lots of raw veggies, etc. Also, zero point progresso soup! I hope you feel better soon! It sounds like a doctor may be needed to see what is going on-- sciatica? (sp?)
Fiberlover-- I will be working part-time with WW as I already work full-time. Could you work full-time with them? Probably.... there are opportunities that they told us about with the training. If you work enough classes, you are considered benefits eligible, etc. You would probably have to work multiple centers though to get to a full-time position. I know that my leader is full-time and she works 3 different centers-- I think she has 15 or more classes a week-- she is one of the top leaders in the country and often has 100 people or more in her classes-- she is amazing! There are also opportunities to be trainers, location coordinators, etc., so it sounds like there are many options though most people are part-time. Since I don't work in the summers (I am a school librarian), I am hoping to pick up extra shifts as people take holidays, etc.
It is a good thing I don't have more days off. I am feeling positively lazy with 1000 excuses why I can't work out. I just had a big snack too when I wasn't really hungry at all. UGGHHH... I'm off to the gym in a few minutes to clear my head!
Last edited by traveling michele; 11-11-2008 at 04:45 PM.
Thought I had somewhat adjusted to the time change but apparently not. I was just so exhausted that I "slept in" the last two days until just after 5 a.m. Today was up at 3:45 and raring to go. Work until 8 p.m. tonite. Lotsa caffeine today!
At least it's not cold here yet. Usually the cold and fatigue casue me to overeat in the evening to try to replenish some energy.
Hi everyone! A quick fly-by for me. Sorry I haven't been in, I usually stop by 3FC during slow times at work and work has been anything but slow lately (I haven't had a lunch break all week!).
Goal - congrats on your anniversary!
Lily - welcome back, glad you had a good visit with DS!
Megan - how is your BF doing? When DH's grandpa died he took it out on me for a week or two -- don't worry, he will get better.
Favorite Christmas foods? :eg: My mom's chocolate cherry cookies. Any sort of desserts, actually, but those are the only ones that I love that we only make at xmas. I'm more stuck on Thanksgiving foods at the moment - candied yams and grasshopper pie.
Speaking of holiday foods, I tried out a recipe for brussels sprouts with chestnuts the other night. It was the first time I ever cooked brussels sprouts - they were really good!
I'll be in and out the next couple weeks. Our deadline at work is the day before thanksgiving and I have a whole lot to do before then.
Michele, I'm a big coffee drinker and was trying to figure out if I need to count a point for my non-dairy creamer that is 10 calories per tsp. with 0.5 grams of fat. Do you know? This could really affect my daily point count.
I think I figured out why I was having such horrible back pain. Last night I had (sorry TMI, bloody urine) and then the pain went away. I was nauseated all evening and even vomited twice. I tend to think I passed a kidney stone cause I feel OK this morning. With feeling so sick yesterday I only got in 15 of my points but I'm sure today I'll eat all 20 points.
Dagmar, this time change has really affected me too. I am going to bed much earlier and feeling like I can't hardly keep my eyes open.
I'm gonna wait til tomorrow and see if my back pain remains gone, if so then I plan to hit the gym.
Allison, I love brussell sprouts and cook them at least once a week. I also love asparagus. I like to eat many different veggies cause green beans every night gets very old. My biggest goal right now is to log my food each meal and to eat at home and stay out of restaurants!
Oh gosh, I go to my parents for the holidays. During the weeks leading up to it I make many phone calls suggesting, asking, begging, and pleading that "we" (my mom, sister, and my minimal involvement) not feel the need to make such huge batches of so many of the usual treats every year. My mom and sister, who are always trying to lose weight, decide to do it all anyway. We always have what I call "the FAT table". My mom sets up an extra little table in the dining room holding all of the desserts, homemade party mix (WAY better than store bought!), Christmas candies they've made and been given by co-workers, students etc. It's between the front door (in the kitchen) and the rest of the house, so you have to pass by it to get just about anywhere. It is EVIL.
That reminds me that it's once again time to remind Mom that we don't need to make tons of baked goods. They're not "for Dad" - his weight, cholesterol, and BP are all back up - he doesn't need them either!
Shane, we would get one of those tins of the different kind of popcorn every year too. And we would fill our old (saved) tins of that size - at least one - with a huge batch of homemade party mix every year, and leave them both in the TV room. Gosh I have no portion control when it comes to those.
This is totally the food porn thread.
Lily, I'm glad you're back and had such a great visit with Shane!!! Sorry to hear your hip is hurting though. Enjoy all those fresh fruits & veggies. Yum!
Jessica, thanks for asking. BF seems to be doing better. He's home sick with a bad cold, but that's unrelated. He had a dream about his friend the other night but he could talk about it w/o getting choked up and making him sad for a long time afterward, so I think he's accepting it.
Michele, all your training sounds exciting. I'm glad you're enjoying this new project!
I've been POP but now I want some of my Dad's pie. Sigh. I made Meg's Pumpkin Custard last week and that's a pretty darn good sub for pumpkin pie though. Maybe I'll eat my last serving tonight. Have a great day all!
Morning! I totally enjoyed having a day off yesterday! I didn't leave the house. Got a decent start on some Christmas presents, did some filing in my office (though not all of it) and generally relaxed. DH has his own routines on weekdays (he's retired) and I told him not to change them for me - I totally wanted the "me" down time.
I'm feeling a little better and hope to get back to exercising by the weekend. Tomorrow I go back for the CT scan and I sure hope he can get the IV started this time. The procedure itself is pretty short and except for the hot sensation from the contrast dye, pretty painless.
We had about 6" of snow overnight - enough to be messy, but not enough to shut things down. Looks pretty though. It's actually in the 20's so not too cold.
After I posted this morning my hip pain returned full force. I called and went in to see my doctor. My urinalysis still showed blood but no infection. She put me on pain pills and muscle relaxants. She felt I may still have another stone trying to pass. I have to drink a ton of water now. Also BP was way up and she added Norvasc to my medical regime. I think BP is high due to pain and I may not need to stay on Norvasc after this clears up.
I can't understand my weight. Monday morning I went and saw a Jenny Craig consultant. She weighed me at 153.8 lbs. Monday night I weighed 157.5 at WW meeting. Today at the Dr. I weighed 149 lbs. So, I don't know who's scale to believe. I don't think it's possible that since Monday I've lost anywhere from 5-8 lbs. I guess I'll stick to just my weekly WW weigh-in's and count those as my official weight. Better to err on the lighter side I guess!
Meghan, my MIL also sets up a humongous "fat table". She bakes each person their own favorite pie. I always tell her I absolutely don't need a whole dang pie! It never stops her from making it anyway! I politely eat one slice and brag on it. Then I take the rest of the pie home (at her insistence)and it usually just goes to waste. My Aunt always bakes everyone a huge tin of home-made fudge which DH always takes to work and the men never have a problem eating all of it. (better them than me).
Lily-- glad you went to the doctor-- ow! on the kidney stones!! I would bet that is why your BP was up-- pain can certainly do that.
If you are having 1 tsp of coffee creamer, it is zero points-- hooray! Do you have a points calculator? You can plug it in or look it up on the slider for any foods you don't know the points for. You should have gotten a slider when you signed up. If you are having more than 1 tsp, you would have to calculate with how ever many you are having and at some point, it would add up to a point. How many cups are you having a day of coffee?
Thanks Michele, I do have a points slider. When I plugged in my coffee creamer it came up in the blank area above the one. I am having 3-4 cups per day so yesterday I counted it as 1 point total.
My back still isn't any better today. I just walked my dogs and thankfully neither of them pulled at the leash (which would have been WAY worse).
My house sure needs a good mopping, but until my back pain is gone there is no way I can do it. Both girls are off work tonite so maybe I can get them to do it for me.
I got a really rude comment from a co-worker today. She said it joking but it has stuck with me.
She made a comment about how I was still losing weight. I told her, no, I wasn't and she proceeded to say about 3 more times how I was. Then she said I needed a boob job now.....
Now the "girls" and I may be sensitive, but that was just rude! I know she was "Joking".... I told dh and he says she is just jealous and he is probably right, but still.... I am feeling much less feminine as "the girls" have just about shriveled up to nothing.... I wish I had a snappy retort when she said it like, well, you need a facelift, but I'm just not like that. I laughed with her and then felt bad.....
) and he now knows where to look - they've very deep. And this time I'm supposed to drink a lot of water. Yesterday I did what they'd instructed - nothing to eat or drink for 8 hours beforehand.... So by the time I got out of there about 2:30 I was starving! Sad to say that I made some not-so-good choices. The calories probably weren't too out of line, but the selection of food - well, funny what drives you back to your previous life comfort foods. Today is fine so far, except I have a huge bruise on my hand. 
Glad you had a good visit with your son. 
Daylight savings blows!
. Have a good day all!
)
