Shannon,
I'll cross my fingers that dss is right about things going better.
Allison-- that sounds stresful. EEK! Hope today is better.
Saef-- temporary housing would probably be more normal for the long run. When we moved to the US from Africa, we were in a hotel for a week, then a small apartment for a month. The apartment was much better living than the hotel. Easier to cook, etc. More room.... Was still quite interesting with our Great Dane and Doberman and 2 cats! Five months sounds very long though!
Gosh, Saef. they could practically build a whole new house in 5 months! I wonder why they want to spend the extra money to house you while they put up with such a slow contractor.
Shannon, I'm glad to hear DSS is doing better. How is your DH doing? I hope things even out for you and you can feel good about yourself every day.
JayZeeJay, I hope whatever you are experiencing will get better soon. Hang in there, and don't be afraid to share.
My 38 yo stepson is 6'4" or 6'5" and weighs about 160. He looks like a concentration camp survivor to me. And he does try to eat more, but his wife goes vegan most of the time, heavy on vegetables. He has to get his extra calories when he's not home. They also run a lot. It's funny to me that both their cat and dog are obese but she won't fatten up her hub I have also known a few women who lost weight on the Divorce Diet. Complete loss of appetite due to stress. They all gained it back eventually, plus more. For myself, I have always been an intuitive overeater. If I'm very busy with a project I won't think about food, or if I'm hiking and chatting I won't think of food until I'm really hungry. Otherwise it's usually "what shall I eat next and when?" It would be so wonderful if they could come up with an appetite suppressant that doesn't have adverse effects. Eight or nine years ago I used to take phentermine now and then, but one time my heart rate seemed to be elevated all day, so I decided never to take it again. But it was amazing to not feel hungry.
Alice, I am very amused by the expression "intuitive overeater." That describes me to a "T," though I am also fond of "recreational eater." I guess people who are naturally thin just don't find food entertaining, comforting or pleasurable if they're not hungry, and they can tell physiologic hunger from "head" hunger. What I wouldn't give for those features. I've started working on acknowledging my sense of fullness, and repeatedly pointing out to myself when I'm having cravings rather than true hunger.
Also, I know some really fat vegans, so I suspect your stepson's thinness may have other causes than his wife's cooking.
Saef, that sounds like a really sh*tty day. Sorry for everything you're enduring. I agree with Alice that 5 months is absurdly long to redo a kitchen, and I'd definitely challenge the contractor on that estimate; 5 weeks should be more than enough!
Allison, you have way too much employee drama. I thought you only had a few employees? Or is that just your office staff?
Allison, you have way too much employee drama. I thought you only had a few employees? Or is that just your office staff?
We are small. We had 12 installers, 1 estimator, 1 part-time warehouse employee (my FIL), one part-time bookkeeper and me and DH. We've fired two installers in the past month, each with a different set of issues. The bookkeeper is back to her normal self after her "cancer" scare (which, it turns out was her hearing the doctor incorrectly and that spiraled into that huge mess). I still expect her to retire, but at this point, as long as she's there it allows me to take time off knowing the business won't completely fall apart when I'm gone.
My weight is starting to come down. I'm back to previous before-vacation weight. Now to continue!
At 151.5 today, after waking up at 2:30 AM and feeling so fully awake, so conscious of having a list of things to do, I just decided I'd better start my day right away.
I should be revising some slides for a 2 PM meeting, so I'll try to shut down my browser for a while to focus.
Saef - I'm so sorry about the drama with the repairs. It only took them 5 months to build my house, almost to the day. They had already cleared the lot and leveled it, but hadn't poured a slab or anything. Five months for your repairs is ridiculous.
Allison - you have had a run of employee trouble. I guess it is everywhere, even small.
Alice - DH is doing better. He has now taken 60 days of prescription PPIs and the symptoms are mostly gone. He still reacts quickly GI wise to stress, and his doc is still talking endoscopy to look for something called Barrett's esophagus that I had never heard of. But better.
Though, he may be about to be alone in his department. One person is out on disability, another left a year ago and was never replaced, their engineer left a few months ago and was never replaced, and now his remaining partner is leaving. As he and his partner are currently already way overworked they were looking to rehire the one who left last year, but they dragged feet and missed him. With her gone... They don't want to move a trained person on their systems from another department back to his area. We are scheduled for two weeks of vacation for our anniversary in November. If he is the only one in the department there is no way they aren't going to cancel it and not let him take the time off. I really hate business, at least what seems to be most of the business around here right now. The managers see lower salaries that equal more to the bottom line and higher bonus for them and they skim things so tight that they burn the people that they have down to a nub. Heck, they aren't getting the calls all evening at home and all weekend and at 3am that DH is getting, so what's the big deal, right? Sheesh. It isn't helping my stress any at all.
My weight is coming down for the moment. I bought a spaghetti squash to fix myself tonight while the boys have spaghetti. It felt positive. If I actually make it. Sigh.
I love spaghetti squash spaghetti, Shannon. You can do it!
I agree with business--even when I'm on the other side. I hear enough from other people how horrible conditions are regarding this and that and it really isn't all that much better being on the side that makes the decisions. It makes me wish my kids could go into business for themselves so they aren't at the mercy of the employer, but what they've gone into, that probably wouldn't be possible.
Oh, Shannon! I hope you don't have to cancel your vacation. That would be awful.
I'm glad your weight is coming down at least-- and good job for choosing spaghetti squash over spaghetti.
My weight was also coming down a bit so I tried on smaller pants today (from my closet). Mistake. 4 pairs. None fit. Made me grouchy. Oh well. I guess I need to lose a bit more before I squeeze into them again.
On Saturday morning, I'm at 151.4, again after an erratic sleep, waking just before 4 AM, with an undone project nagging at me.
I'm relieved to read here that five months for gutting, drying out and renovating a kitchen and part of a dining room seems unreasonable. But nothing has happened yet -- I haven't received any indication that the insurance adjuster has released his report, and we're within a few days of it having been a full month since the water damage occurred.
I've got another half-day class today. Again, I wish I hadn't already paid for it. But I didn't know I'd be displaced or that this project I'm working on would become so intense.
I think part of the problem, saef, is the insurance. Nothing can be done without their approval. So much red tape. Had it been a normal kitchen renovation, and had you been able to shop for the right contractor, the timeline would most likely be much shorter. Instead, you have to take what they give you, which is unfortunate.
Golfing on a regulation course this morning, so I should get my exercise in. Weight up slightly this morning, but I think it was due to salt and nothing else as eating was spot-on.
I'll never forget an interview with Barry Manilow that i saw years ago.
The interviewer asked how he has stayed so slim all of these years and he said basically he's just not into food and the only reason he remembers to eat is that he'll get hypoglycemic. I don't know if he has pleasure in eating like a "normal" person but i'll never forget that and how i'm drastically different from that.
Food is a MAIN source of pleasure for me and i have to constantly make conscientious choices every day, ie. maintenance, and am happy to do so but it would be nice to think like he does, however i would want to know the pleasure of food and just eat when my body really needs it.
Susie, I can't tell you how thrilled I am to meet a real lurker on this thread. I've seen you about over the years and it's just lovely that you've called in. Do come again! I'm sure I'm not the only one who values new voices talking about themselves and their experiences.
Very interesting about Barry Manilow. I'm also much too interested in food - before, during and after eating - to be like him. I'm on my phone so it would be too complicated to check, but I don't remember him looking at all healthy. Or is that just my memory?
Must go. I must read a few pages before switching off the light. Night!
My BFF went on a date with someone she met on a dating website. They went for dinner or appetizers, anyway, she decided she couldn't date him because he didn't feel any association with food. Whereas she is a "foodie" and, like me, seeks out new recipes to try and things to make for others to make them happy. It's hard for me to fathom someone for whom food isn't a pleasure. That said, I'm glad it is a pleasure for me--something I enjoy in many ways (looking, buying, preparing, sharing, eating) instead of something that is necessary and therefore seemingly unpleasurable. Also, I'm glad food is what it is for me and not something that I overindulge in (read: binge). While I love food, I'm thankful I'm not of the persuasion to stop at several fast food venues on the way home to overeat and over indulge. I feel bad for those who have that affliction and am thankful that I'm not that way just as I'm happy not to be of the persuasion that I should buy Soylent because I don't like food and just need sustenance.
Hmm. I think, Barry Manilow aside, most naturally thin people enjoy food a lot; they just don't enjoy it if they're not hungry. It doesn't matter whether the food is carrots or carrot cake; they stop eating as soon as hunger is appeased. My 11 year old eats this way.
This evening, instead of white-knuckling it after dinner, every time I thought about having a snack, I said to myself "you are so not hungry," (which is absolutely true) "this is just a bad habit that needs to be broken," and "food is not a substitute for entertainment." I managed -just barely- to stay out of the kitchen 3 days in a row. 10 pounds and 3 years ago, this was just not an issue. Now, every day is a struggle: I swear there isn't a single 2 hour stretch of time that I don't think about food, eating (not eating) or my upward-creeping weight. But I'm slowly making my way through the IE book, and at least for the moment, it's giving me some small sense of control.
Up to 152.5 this morning after going to bed early because all systems were shutting down, but waking up briefly every couple hours after midnight. I know it's stress and I also know that's why I'm eating too much at meals, as though the food may be taken away at any moment and this could be the last opportunity.
Today I'll be in recovery mode, cooking, doing laundry and of course, working. I wanted to see that movie "Sully" but I think it may just be a bad TV day.
I have also known a few women who lost weight on the Divorce Diet. Complete loss of appetite due to stress. They all gained it back eventually, plus more. For myself, I have always been an intuitive overeater. If I'm very busy with a project I won't think about food, or if I'm hiking and chatting I won't think of food until I'm really hungry. Otherwise it's usually "what shall I eat next and when?" It would be so wonderful if they could come up with an appetite suppressant that doesn't have adverse effects. Eight or nine years ago I used to take phentermine now and then, but one time my heart rate seemed to be elevated all day, so I decided never to take it again. But it was amazing to not feel hungry.
