I don't know how much exercise I'll get in tonight. I'm definitely not going to the gym. This afternoon, I heard a thump on the steps leading upstairs and being in the house alone, I thought, "I wonder what the cat is playing with." I walked to the steps and sure enough my boy cat was sitting about 4 steps down from the top, looking up the steps at something. I thought it might be my girl cat whom he was about to surprise attack. I sat down at the bottom of the steps and starting calling him and trying to entice him to play with me instead, but he just sat there when normally he'd come running. Then when he did try to stand up, he wobbled and fell back against the higher step. I ran up the stairs, and picked him up, brought him down and placed him on the floor, and he immediately wobbled to the side to a sitting position. His back legs were paralyzed! I have had cats all my life and have never had this happen to one! I wondered if his legs could be asleep, although I've never heard of a cat's legs going to sleep before, but he wasn't acting like he was in pain. Of course everything was going through my mind: Could he have eaten something poisonous? Could it be his heart or some kind of stroke? I picked him up and carried him to his food bowl in the kitchen, thinking if he eats, he probably isn't sick, and I stood him up on the floor again, and again he wobbled down to a seated position, but then he started eating. I was about frantic! I left him to eat long enough to go grab my phone and immediately called the vet, who wasn't able to get him in till this evening but thankfully he got him in! The vet gave him a steroid shot. He thinks he may have fallen and slipped a disk in his back and has a pinched nerve. He said it's probably either that or it could be a blood clot! He said if the shot is going to work, it should be working by 2 hours. It's been about an hour and 45 minutes and he has more strength in one leg but the other leg still isn't working. The vet wants me to call him again tomorrow, but there is no way I am leaving my cat tonight to go the gym. I've created a very low-edged litter box for him out of a tote lid and also moved his food and water into the room where I have my computer and tv. He's on the couch with me right now, but I can't let him jump down. I have to lift him down. He has a pillow he likes to sleep on and I put it on the floor for him but he pulled himself up on the couch by his front claws because he wanted up, and now he's asleep. Needless to say, I'm a little stressed and very worried about him. :(

Jacqui I so hope kitty boy is okay! I had a traumatic experience back in Feb with my boy cat....I know you feel so helpless and just want to do whatever possible to help them. Poor babykins...Mr. Darcy and Limoges are saying some meows for him tonight.

Mary, worrying like I am, I'll probably gain (cortisol). I hope not! And I don't think you can go wrong with some extra protein! :yes:

Chickadeee, thanks! And I'm so glad you had another good day off, and with your DH no less! :sunny: Have a good day at work tomorrow!

PrairieQueen, aw that's really sweet! thank you! :hug:

Jacqui, Prayers that your precious little guy has a full recovery asap. He sure has a good nurse!

Jac a big hug ( ) to your kitty, sending good wishes for speedy recovery.

Morning All,
Jacqui Hoping your kitty had a good night, and of course you too. I hope Mr. Scale cooperates. Thinking about the effect of stress on cortisol & weight adds even more stress imho. You are doing great with your eating and that's what counts. Even athletes take breaks from workouts.

I'm officially on vacation :dancer::flow2::dance::cp: Thanks Bewildered for a sound approach. Given the unknowns, I'll focus on moderation and a lot of walking! I packed a bunch of soynuts and protein shakes as backup, so I'm feeling relaxed about it all. Just need to pack all the rest of it now :)

Thanks Carol Sue & Bewildered for the kind thoughts re earthquake. It was a gentle but long one. I had plenty of time to look around and nothing was moving even the slightest amount. It's been a long time since I felt one. If we have a big one, I just hope it's after and not before my vacation :D

Carol Sue Have you decided on a tracker? I didn't dare look at the eggplant recipe--anything with parmesan and it's all over for my will power. Did you try the shirataki noodles? I meant to caution you that they have a fishy smell when you open them. I always breathe through my mouth and rinse them fast. I like that I can heap loads of the good stuff on them with no guilt :D

chickadeee Hope your first day back goes smoothly. First day back is the hardest! I like your ticker.

:wave: Mary & Prairie Queen!

Jacqui- how is kitty?

Chickadee- wish I could do eggplant but it burns my mouth?? I like portobellos as a sub but they are so. darn. expensive! I am thinking of trying a white bean pizza crust- you ever done that?

Started my 2 day plateau thingie because yesterday my cravings were out of control and I know I need to clear this salt from my system..doing this little 2 day thing always does that for me and it takes away my choices a couple of days which I need right now. It's just lean meat, green veggies, a diuretic fruit, water, not a lot of extras. I am hoping to move to the next "decade" in the next week or two.

Glad I got the new scale...been weighing on both and it's crazy how off the old one can be. I weighed the same the last 3 days on new scale but there was a 3 lb shift on the other scale.

Mary, tell me more about hash. What is it? How do you make it?

I wonder why eggplant burns your mouth. I never heard of that.

I wouldn't worry about the numbers being different on the scale. It doesn't matter what you weight, just if you have gone up or down. Decide which one you like and use that one all the time.

Jacqui, I hope your kitty is OK. We had a dog that did that a few times. One time I think it was a stroke, the second time we think it was cause by a tick.

Mars, I tried the sharitaki noodles. I knew to rinse them well immediately. I tastes them plain and didn't like the crunch. They are in the refrigerator in a container until I decide how to get rid of the crunch and how to prepare them. They might get tossed.

I didn't know if I was allowed to say which tracker I use. I have been using Fitday for several years and although I occasionally use MFP, I seem to like Fitday better. Probably because I'm used to it. I probably ended up around 1500 calories yesterday. I know that it's an estimate, because Fitday doesn't know exactly how your food was prepared. I want to try to get it a little lower than that, closer to 1200.

Chickadeee, I cannot prepare eggplant as our meal because DH won't eat it. I try to buy very small ones so I can just prepare it for myself.

Yesterday at Walmart I found some very small sweet potatoes. I love them baked, but they are always so big that I overeat them rather than waste them. These 4 potatoes were only .9 lb altogether...just a nice size to give me a few bites. I can't wait to have one next time I make white potatoes for DH. He will only eat sweet potatoes with tons of brown sugar and cinnamon made into a syrup. I think they are sweet enough just the way they are. When I order a baked sweet potato at TX Roadhouse they always give me a big cup of brown sugar for it, even though I tell them not to. I guess they just can't believe someone would eat it plain. LOL

Thank you ALL so much for your well wishes for my cat! :grouphug: Last night, I was so very worried. The 2 hours passed and he was still dragging his legs, and then 3 hours went by, 4 hours. I finally fell asleep on the couch with him. I had made a sort of ramp down to the floor so he wouldn't jump but could pull himself down, and this morning when I woke up, he was lying on the floor. He was sleeping comfortably so I didn't disturb him. Then DH came in and tried to coax him to come to him but Ichabod wasn't interested in moving. So I lifted him to his feet, and although very wobbly, he walked over to DH! And then he walked to his food bowl! His back legs are weak but he can walk! I am so happy and relieved and thankful!

I didn't eat very much after breakfast yesterday, but that seemed to be just the push I needed, because today I am down to 190! That's 30 lbs! :cheer2:

Week 14: High 194, Low 192
8/2--193.5
8/3--194
8/4--193
8/5--193
8/6--193.5
8/7--192
8/8--193 Carb Day

Week 15: High 194.5, Low 190.5
8/9--193.5
8/10--194.5
8/11--192.5
8/12--191.5
8/13--191.5
8/14--190.5
8/15--191 Carb Day

Week 16:
8/16--191
8/17--191
8/18--191
8/19--190
8/20--
8/21--
8/22--

Today's Meals:
Breakfast:
2 eggs fried in coconut oil
2 slices of bacon
A tbsp of coconut oil
Mio water

Lunch:
Fage Greek yogurt with Mio
Mio water

Snack:

Dinner:
Field greens and veggies salad, with bbq skinless chicken breast, walnuts, and ranch dressing
Mio water

Today's Exercise:
At home--20 minutes of Weslo CardioGlide, back stretches and exercises (I just wasn't ready to leave my cat alone yet.)

Mars, yay! Vacation! I hope you have a great one! :beach: And let's hope there are NO more earthquakes! :nono:

Mary, I hope you see that new decade very soon! :crossed: It sounds like it's time to shift only to the new scale. The old one sounds a bit wacky, lol! :dizzy:

Carol Sue, the mention of potatoes reminds me of what you said about cold potato starch, which reminds me that I found an article on pasta starch reacting the same way when it's cold. I'm sure you probably already knew that, but it's news to me! :yes: I meant to post the article earlier, but here it is: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...-diabetes.html.

Bewildered, I think it's a good idea that you are avoiding tomatoes and onions to see if that helps with the inflammation around your knee. I do think inflammation affects weight because you retain water. :getwell:

Chickadeee, Happy Back-to-Work Day! :D

Prairie, I hope you are having a good first week back to school! :yes:

Rennie, thinking of you! :hug:

Jacqui- glad kitty is better!

Carol Sue- the hash I do in a big electric skillet (a lot of times after I cook bacon or smoked sausage since I do our breakfast supper all in electric skillet). I do drain the bacon grease, I just leave the sheen. We do a little of err'thang depending on what's left in the fridge, but some common things in there are zucchini (shredded or diced), onions, garlic, colored bell peppers, mushroom jalapeño, yellow squash, asparagus (I throw this in near the end so it stays crisp). Spinach might be nice too. It is really good and it is soon many veggies. At the end I will toss my hubby's with the meat and add cheese. I put cheese and a runny egg on mine (after going on dash diet and eating them daily he started getting bad stomach pains from eggs). Try it...just cook low and long is my only suggestion.

on the eggplant- when I had allergy testing as a child they said i am allergic to tobacco and I think they are in the same family as eggplant? it happens to my sister, too.

Yesterday

B: Eggs, leftover radishes, coffee
S: 1/2 pear, pecans
L: Chicken Pattie, 1/2 banana with PB
S: yogurt
D: Big salad with chicken

Dairy Fairy: the skillet hash sounds so good.

I have been reading lately howsleep effects leptin levels. I have not sleep well for the past several years and don't usually worry about it. Now I'm thinking I might try something to help, even thought I hate the thought of it. My problem is waking up during the night. I fall asleep instantly and sleep for a couple hours, but then wake up and have difficulty falling back to sleep. When I was in the hospital they gave me a sleeping pill every night but I still woke up around 3 and stayed awake after that. There are some that are designed to work through the night, but I don't want to do prescription yet. I'm going to try going the more natural route. I'll have to read up on it.

Also, after some of the books I've been reading lately, I have decided to work on exercising and eating a healthy diet and not trying to lose weight. I'm not losing, no matter what I do, and I think it's stressing me out, and stress is not good. I weigh more than I should, but if I wasn't watching, I would weigh a lot more. My doctors are happy with my lab work and test results, so I'm doing something right. And who knows, it might be like those people who try and try to have a baby, then when they forget about it, they get pregnant.

Mary, your hash is similar to what I do with things like cabbage, kale, spinach onion, garlic. Cook it on low with a lid on it until cabbage is tender. I eat it with a sprinkling of Feta cheese on top. DH won't eat it, so it's usually my lunch. Occasionally I cook it for dinner for me and make a different veggie for DH. He is more into the old standbys like corn, peas, etc.

Jacqui and Bewildered, I agree that inflammation affects weight loss. Inflammation causes undesireable changes to your hormones and hormones affect weight and other illnesses. I think about that every time I eat tomatoes and onions, which are both favorites of mine. In fact, when I cook, I chop some extra onion to add to my serving. I love the flavor and also the crunch. I didn't know they cause inflammation. I thought they were very healthy.

Jacqui, I'm glad your kitty is moving around better. One time we thought our dog had a stroke or seizure. He was having trouble walking, flopping around, although he would not stay down. I read online that the testing for stroke is very expensive and there's not much they could do about it anyway, so we didn't take him to the vet. He improved daily and in a few days he was fine. It left him dragging one back leg a bit. It was only noticeable when he walked in snow. Pawprint, pawprint, pawprint, streak. LOL I'm not saying to not get him checked out. Only you can decide what's best for your pet.

Onions- my sister gets migraines if she eats too many onions. I try to add them to almost everything I make- they are just a nice flavor and add a little extra veggie and bulk to everything. She will eat onions, but she can't go crazy with it, because it definitely is a quantity issue.

Carol Sue your cabbage dish sounds really good. I have a head of purple cabbage in there I need to use. My sister suggested a stir fry with that and broccoli and onion, but adding asian flavor must trigger something in my brain because I never feel full for long with asian food. I know it is one of those long standing jokes, but it is seriously true!

Sleep: I don't have sleep problems now. My husband is able to live on less sleep than me so sometimes I get behind if I try to keep up with him. Have you tried some herbal teas for sleep??? My friend says a few of them knock her out. If you haven't had meds before you might still be really sensitive to those.