Prayers for Gayle, hopefully she is in recovery by now.

At my gym, the exercise bikes have arms that also move and look like the sitting down eliptical. The arms are aggravating to me but I can peddle frontwards or reverse and often change directions the second time I use it after working on the strength building.

My left knee doesn't hurt even when I walked. Oh h h , I walked this morning and it just dawned on me my hip didn't hurt either!!! First time in ages, so perhaps the extra movement is paying off!!! It has been 6 months since I received the last of series of 3 shots of lubricating stuff shot into the sack between my top and bottom bones at the knee. Amazing that that cushion will make it so easy for me to carry over 200 pounds on this 5ft, 2in frame.

We've always had 3 meals a day with snack of fruit or nuts between lunch and 6:00 PM dinner. Always had breakfast by 8:00 am until DH retired less than 2 years ago. Now, he cooks and sometimes it is 6:00 or even 8:00 and I'm too hungry to wait. Bit frustrating, but I'm biting my tongue.

Eating cereal, with whole grains from 7 different plants with fruit, and walnuts for one meal a day.

DH fried large Portebella mushroom (with Pam only) then put on a slice of smoked Provalone Cheese and bit of Mayo with chopped garlic. On the whole wheat thin buns it was delicious! Mushroom had texture of meat but flavor so different.

Yesterday the family gathered at our Son's to celebrate Anthony's 2nd birthday. Our great-grandson loves wheels, so he received lots of many sized cars, a dump truck, tractor and fire engine. I was amazed how carefully he checked out each one and played with it for a while before looking in the next bag. His patience for a 2 year old is amazing.

His cake had small cars from Disney's movie and icing 1 inch thick. He carefully licked off the iceing from the bottom of each small car, and polished off good size piece of cake from the corner. Loves icing. (i hate icing and took a bite or two of the cake, then was glad to stop. Just don't like cake.)

Family conversation; the fiance of Anthony's Godfather, DIL, DD#3, DGD and her boyfriend (College age) and 4 generations of guys was fun company. So glad they live within driving distance.

Day before I had blessing of being with or talking on phone with all 4 of our kids. So good to catch up, and even better to see them!!!

We are not going to the gym this morning as we both have a lot to do. It is another beautiful day! I opened up my curtains and hope I can get some Vit D through the window...can one do that I wonder. I always thought one had to sweat to absorb Vit D but I haven't read about that in a long time. Anyway I almost never sweat unless I have a hot flash. If I sweat more perhaps I'd lose weight. LOL What got me on that topic? I guess I type just like I talk, sorta rambling..whatever comes to mind..at least sometimes.

Today I want to weekly clean my office plus do more dusting in the master bedroom plus straighten the bottom of our closet. My shoes get to be a mess. Think I'll also do a little more decluttering in my office. Think I've mentioned it is also a storage area so I'm always trying to find a way to decrease what's in here. Also still need to change the sheets from the kids being in here.

One thing I need to do this week too is take Halo for her grooming. Her nails are very long now and that is part of it. She is too strong for me so I have to have dh with me. Also need to call my old clinic and make sure they are sending the premission slips for our records as they were to come by email and I haven't received them yet.

Lynn, Everyday is a new day to try again. I'm sorry about the losses in your life. I recently lost an old friend, we were the same age and I started thinking how I'll probably see that happening a lot from now on. The funeral receptions used to be all carbs but the last one I went to had lots of salad and other raw veggies. How are your bs these days? It is often difficult to get enough veggies in restaurants. Even salads can be packed with calories. Something I like doing for myself (like lunch) when I'm home is to stir fry a bunch of whatever veggies I have on hand. I don't use much oil, just enough and a little s/p or splash of soy sauce. I can eat just that. I think Carol Sue does something similiar. I haven't done it for a while but used to. Now I always feel too busy for some reason. Need to get back to that.

Tonight I'm fixing fish again, rice and asparagus. About 1/2 my plate will be asparagus. Unfortunately the 2# I gained yesterday stayed today, so I don't have much hope for my Wed weigh-in but am hoping..

Was just watching our squirrels chasing each other around the back yard. They are cute and enjoying the nice weather too.

Glynne - Prayed for you this morning and am hoping that all goes well with your surgery and that you recovery quickly.

Love2 - I bet you are very busy in your yard/garden.

Oh Love2Garden we must have been posting at the same time! Your talking about mushrooms made me think about the fact that I love grilled veggie sandwiches ...the mushrooms take the place of meat for me. I have them decrease the amount of cheese and sauce as it's a bit much for me and I'm sure I get too much carb with the bread. But so yummy!

I came back to post this link. It is a church site but the article is about eating with discipline and offers a slightly different way of thinking about it. Just skip to the second paragraph if you want.
http://westsidechristianfellowship.o...ane-idleman-2/

The author has written a book called What Works When Diet Doesn't. I haven't read it. It only has one review which was negative and says she didn't learn what works but really as a person who has read many many diet books...I find it really all comes down to making healthier choices and sticking to it..a lifestyle change. People seem to want to be told a particular diet will work wonders without permanent changes. If that were the case I'd be 130# long before now. It's not even making the changes, it is making them permanent that has been hard for me. I am learning but way too slowly..this article gave me a slightly different approach I am going to apply when tempted to overeat or eat unhealthy things.

Gayle,

Hope you are home and happy.

Lynn

Hi Everyone,

I did pretty good today. Had salad for lunch & a side salad w dinner. For dessert, I had a dessert shell w cool whip & berries.

BP, blood sugar, & weight are all good. See the dermatologist tomorrow. If he finds stuff, I will wait until I get back from Italy to deal with it.

Lynn

Lynn, I never got into being a salad eater, as it was not something we had growing up. I tend to prefer hot food and even when I eat out I tend to order soup instead of salad. Now that the weather is warming up, I'm starting to add more salads to my meals. They are refreshing, and there are so many things you can add to them.

I hope the derm doesn't find anything, and you enjoy your visit to Italy. When are you going?

Love2garden/Mary, I love mushrooms and we eat them a lot, but I only had a grilled portobello mushroom sandwich one time, at a local restaurant. It was a new item and I ordered it to try it. Here, it turns out I was the first person to order it, and the manager and servers were all standing around waiting to see how I liked it! That embarassed me. I felt that I HAD to say I liked it. They must not have had a very good response to it because it didn't stay on the menu very long. I liked it. It's a healthy change from eating so much meat all the time. I think meat is good in small quantities. Portions in the US are just bigger than we need. They also had a veggie burger on the menu that didn't stay there long, either.

Mary, I am going to read that link you posted. I think I need a book that tells you how to stick to a diet for more than a couple days.

Waiting to hear from Gayle.

Hello all ~ thank you for your prayers. Surgery went well, I didn't have to stay overnight. Very tired and my neck hurting ~ so, not feeling much like making a lengthy post. Will share more later when I feel better.

It is a beautiful sunny day here today ~ hope you all are doing well.

Gayle I'm so happy to hear from you...it means that the first surgery was all that was needed. Rest up!

Mary, I'm so glad I read that link you posted. I totally agree with what the man said, that we are meant to eat only what our body needs and it should be a lifestyle change, not a diet, that comes to and end. Now to learn to put this idea into action.

A cooler overcast morning but the sun is trying to come out right now. Dh went to his retiree brunch, I chose to stay home to get some things done around here. So far I have kept up with my schedule. Today I plan to weekly clean the kitchen and also do a little more dusting here and there, places I don't always get to. Dinner is planned but chicken is still thawing. Baked Hoisen Chicken and rice, with tomato soup is the plan. My son likes tomato soup and also Hoisen sauce so think he'll like this. He is out of town though so might not get home in time to eat with us but he can take for his lunch tomorrow.

Carol Sue - Yes putting it into action is the difficult part and also continuing it long enough to make it a lifestyle method of eating that is even harder for me. My weight was down 1.5# again so hoping Wed weigh in may be good afterall. At least I'm trying. Last night I fixed baked cod again and it was good but I didn't care for the asparagus recipe I used, I ate the asparagus but tried to drain off the sauce which contained tarragon vinegar and was too sour for me. No one else complained though.

Lynn - Glad you met your goals. I always think of you as being a disciplined person and an achiever and for those reasons you have always been an inspiration to me. I'm still struggling with my bs and am now on three different meds! Never thought I would take that many. Are you in Italy now? Or just about to go? I'd love to go there.

Love2Garden - So glad you were able to get some pain relief! I've always had a lot of pain and now can appreciate that (pain relief) even more now that I seem to have arthritis in my rt hip. It is not terribly painful right now, just more annoying and makes me feel unstable when moving more than anything. I'm thankful the pain has eased a lot from what it was.

Glynne - I'm glad your/our prayers were answered and you were able to go home after the surgery. So glad it is over and praying they took care of it all and that you will heal quickly. Also praying for pain relief. Take care of yourself.

Well need to get busy around here...you all have a nice day.

Gayle So glad your surgery is over!!! That is a good sign that you were able to come home so soon. May you rest and recover and get on with life.

Mary, Your housekeeping and cooking are way ahead of mine. Gardening comes ahead of most things for me and I've let the laundry really pile up.

Good news really. I had all my pants in to be washed, and only a pair of jeans that were too tight to wear were clean. When I put on those jeans, they fit, and I can even sit comfortably in them. No weight lost, but something good is happening.

Lynn, glad you are disciplined and I'd love to become more so about some areas. Funny that we choose what we are willing to spend time on and what can be "shoved out of sight."

Carol Sue, I don't eat a lot of meat either and sometimes have to check to be sure I'm getting adequate protein. Nutrition classes showed me how to get it in ways other than meat, and I'm grateful for learning that.

White Trillium are waving in the wind near the new Red Tamukeyama Maple as we watch the red Cardinals feed on bird seed near by. Also periwinkle blue blooms of native Geraniums give peace to the areas.

Now, to get to the rest of the laundry and finish paying bills.

Hi Mary,

It has already happened to me - friends & family dying. I am the oldest family member left - except for 1 cousin. Now 2 of my close friends and my sister have died. As I have never been a person with loads of friends - except for our Golden Girls - these leave giant holes in my life. I really wish we all lived close enough to each other to do things together.

We leave for Italy on 5/11. Dermatologist did find some spots & insisted that he burn/freeze them today. Hopefully, blisters will be gone by the time we leave.


Carol Sue,

I am like you - did not grow up eating salad. However, I have taught myself to eat them. To try to get veggies into my daily diet, my goal is to eat at least 1 salad/day. If I have other veggies, that's great.

Hi Gayle,

So happy surgery went well. I aM dOiNg ThE hApPy DaNcE for you.

Love2Garden,

Hi, I am sure you have posted your name, but I've been away for a while. What is your name? NOTE: you do not have to provide your real name, just something I can get to know you as.

Lynn

Not much new with me. We are having a cool, rainy week. Typical spring in PA. I would rather have this cooler weather than the 80s or 90s we get in the deep summer. No need for either the furnace or the air conditioning.

Today I mailed out the first lot of bills. I checked closely to be sure I was sending the checks to the right people. LOL This is social security day for us. The second wave of payments goes out on the 1st of the month, when we get pension checks. Then we stretch whatever is left through the rest of the month. It can be challenging at times.

Love2garden, I actually love meat and probably eat more than I should. I definitely get my required protein, because I eat eggs every day, too. But I'm trying to cut back on meat portions because they are higher calorie count, and eat more veggies, that are much lower calorie count. I still haven't found the proper combination to result in weight loss. I have a problem in thinking that because a food is healthy that I can eat a lot of it.

Lynn, I hope you are blister free in time for your trip. Better to get those spots off as soon as possible.

Mary, I just started cooking asparagus in the past couple years. We tasted it grilled in a restaurant and we both liked it that way. I just spray my stove-top grill pan with olive oil and place the asparagus on it, sprinkled with some salt and pepper. Cook, turning occasionally, til tender. No sauce of any kind. One thing DH and I agree on is we aren't much for sauces.

Gayle, I'm hoping you will start feeling better now that you have this parathyroid issues taken care of.

Hello, introducing myself here. I am 52, mum of 3, youngest in his last year at school, one at university and eldest grown and flown, she is a librarian at my local library, my own personal librarian...how cool is that!

I was overweight a long time, did Atkins/low carb/paleo/ketogenic and lost some weight but stalled despite going strict zero carb for a year.

Went low fat vegan (McDougall diet) and lost the rest (total weight loss 41kg) took up running at age 50 and got up to running ultras(only 50km but still an ultra)

Then a few life things happened and I have started to put on weight and stopped running seriously. It has become a vicious cycle of being heavier so running less, and running less so becoming heavier.

Time to stop the rot before it goes any further. So here I am.

I need to build up to running distance again. Also Bonnie, my 4 legged running companion has stitches which will not be out until 30th April and can only walk on the lead. So I am walking until her stitches are out and then I will run again. Yesterday we walked 7km.

Food wise, I am still vegan, still home cooking everything, but have been eating too much oil and sugar. Vegan muffins, vegan cake, roasted veges, kumera chips, dark chocolate...I'm sure you get the idea. Also too many nuts which are a food trigger for me, I love to eat raw nuts by the handful and even the healthiest food is bad in excess.

So back to low fat cooking, back to walking every day for a week and a day until Bonnie can run again, then back to the running. That's the plan anyway

So hello all, I hope to get to know you all soon

Auto.

PS I am in New Zealand so my posts will be out of time with most of you

PS again! I was here briefly during my low carb phase in 2012. Then wandered off, but back again now.

Hope you are all having a good day. It is cooler still here but nice...if you are active you don't need a jacket. Dh is working outside planting flowers, reseeding yards. I have done my daily cleaning and weekly cleaned the living room. Have to clean the front window weekly (should more often!) because Halo spends so much time looking out the window there and makes a real mess on the glass. I still haven't found time to clean the carpets but they sure need it. Pulled back the rug in the living room and thought oh, that's what color the carpet used to be!! Sure isn't now. So I'm no perfect housekeeper by a long shot!

autodidact - Welcome!! I cannot imagine a year on zero carb! My doc wants me to do it for a week and I can't even do that. So you must be very disciplined and hopefully you can share some of your tips. I'd love to hear about New Zealand too...would love to visit there. I seem to remember someone being from New Zealand on this group perhaps it was you, but I don't recognize the username.

Carol Sue - We really like asparagus and I often cook it as you mentioned. I am not much for sauce but my dh likes sauce to be on most things he eats. Last night I served the sauce from the chicken separately and he and our son spooned it on everything. He would prefer though that I make a sauce on all the veggies but it really spoils them for me sometimes, so I don't always.

Lynn - I'm excited about your trip to Italy! Have you been there before? Please tell us all about it. It's good you are getting things taken care of before you go (skin) as you will feel more relaxed. How is your hip, do you have any pain now?

Hi Love2garden! Hope you are enjoying time in your garden today. I know someplaces have rain. We do not ..the NW is behaving very strangely this year but have to say I don't miss the rain.

ETA: Forgot to say that my weight stayed the same as last week 168.5. I was around 160 for so long that it feels strange to have to say that but since last July that's not bad. In Jan. I was 173.

Auto Welcome from New Zealand! At first I guessed the British Isles when you said you are "Mum" to your kids. My Mother's ancestors are from England and I read lots of English History growing up, and she always dreamed of going to Australia or New Zealand. Lots of books on those, too.

Carol Sue Supper had lots of fresh Asparagus and we NEVER have leftover of that treat. I also long for hot soups when we eat out. The mark of a good restaurant is good, flavorful soup without it swimming in fat.

Lynn Do make sure you have some antibiotic cream to put on those areas that were burned off. One time when I had that done before we went in the woods camping, I became quite infected (area was under the bra and out of sight) Had to go to doctor who was surprised, but with outside John being the only kind of bathroom we had for 5 days, he then gave me some extra samples to finish out our stay.

Mary Outside is warmer at your place than ours. I got really chilly but also the wind was stronger than average and raining. Didn't Garden but hit Gym, etc instead. Good workout!!

Carpet cleaners needed at our home too, but I hate to do it before we get the major planting finished. No matter how careful, we seem to bring in dirt and the carpet would be dirty again. Yet, don't want to wait till the bugs are so bad outside that the hose going outside the door would let them in.

Gayle Hope you are able to get around OK today. When to you return to your doctor?

Like Mary, my weight didn't budge.