Sigh. I too am the human barometer. I get terrible pressure headaches and am hypersensitive to changes in pressure.

Not much to report here. I am being surrogate mom tomorrow for one of my teens and taking her bra shopping. She is an adorable girl...will be a 10th grader and is being raised by a single dad (just like I was). She is also very very busty and does not wear proper bras and does not dress appropriately. I promised her a field trip and tomorrow is the day. We are both looking forward to it. I just hope that finding her the right sizes is not too difficult. Step 1 is getting her measured and we'll move on from there.

DH and I are heading to Buffalo for the weekend for my great aunt's 90th birthday. I promised him a trip to Niagara Falls on Saturday. It's been so long since I have been..any tips from my Canadian chickies?

Happy days to all...

oh jesus. its days like today im glad im not an emotional eater (im an emotional starver, actually)

it sucks. i dont even know how to put everything in perspective. but basically the one person i have been in love with most of my life (for over 10 years), that im just not the girl for him. we do have a long and sordid past, but its the past. i know most of you will just say "there are other men out there, or just let it go..." please dont. i appreciate the thought, but until you feel what i feel, you'll never know what its like. my heart is broken into a million tiny little pieces right now.

julee - do you want a Gazelle? i havent touched it in over a year. its BRAND new. you can just have it if you want it.

im gonna go take a xanax and go to bed.

also, for those of you that have had gastric surgery, PM me what youve had and what you thought of it. im seriously considering it. im tired of fighting, and im tired of being fat.

good night

OK - I'm still working on the F-O-C-U-S acronym but my focus is back. I am up 2 pounds this week. I do not like the feeling. I've played around too much the whole month of July. Yesterday was day one of staying OP, drinking my water and again using the daily plate - today is day two - I have the "power feeling" right now and wish Anne would can it for me for later use. The past two weeks have been the most off program I have been since September and I like my new lifestyle better. Social situations are definitely something I need to learn to deal with better.

As always I appreciate everything each of you has done for me - without the support I would not have had the success I have had thus far. What is kinda scary is the eating I did on Saturday normally would have stopped the weight loss train for who knows how long - that is a huge behavior change for me to be right back on. I'm alternately patting myself on the back and beating myself up over the slip up.

Soooooooo..........move your bodies, drink your water and SMILE (me too!)

Hugs to all,
Carol

Wow I am to far behind to catch up on personals.
Penny _ i finally have a home for my sewing maching, for years i had to drag it out of the cabinet to use it. I now have it in a bedroom upstairs. My daughters room who is in college. I am finding I use it alot more often with it out!
Nothing really new going on here. Trying to get a shower planned for my daughter in law..I kinda put it off and now the date for the shower is a week and a half away. Gotta get things going on it.
A friend came by last night with a bag full of 18/20 clothing last night.I was able to get a few things out of it. I even kept a pair of size 16 black dress pants(hopefully by the middle of winter they will fit). It was so nice of her thinking of me while she was cleaning out her closet! I gave her a dress my daughters refuse to let me wear...they say its ugly and that i look like a grandma in it.LOL Its new and she was thrilled with it.......she said with her being 6yrs older than i am its ok if she looks like a grandma.LOL I will be a grandma in a few months!
Im glad my daughters give input on my clothing right now. They are actually getting into our shopping trips and picking clothes out for me to try on. To bad i cant afford to buy many..besides i dont plan on staying this size!
I know that i could not have made it to this point without each and everyone one of you!! Thanks to everyone for always being there to give me a kick in the butt when i need it .....or the hugs when i needed them!!
dmpls- let us know about your head and how your feeling.
debi


Hope everyone has a wonderful day..
debi

Feeling a bit better today....head only hurts if I move it quickly......and then the pain goes away....its normal for an after migraine pain for me.....so I think I will be fine!

Dh just sprung on me a possible visit to his Brother (who is visiting down in Louisianna his son has a new baby girl) it is a 12 almost 13 hour drive......but we might be able to do it thurs night spend all day friday with them and drive back friday night sat am....Dh has tickets for a mets/reds game in cincinnatti for sunday we were suppose to go down early saturday and find something to do and spend the night in a hotel......however if we drive down to see his brother & the new baby.....we will probably have to skip the hotel & the sight seeing on saturday! Which would be ok with me........however my youngest was lookikng forward to it! She wouldn't be able to go with us on thursday since she is committed to watching the teacher I work with's baby on friday (actually all week so she can earn some mula for school clothes! LOL)

I posted my WI on monday not thrilled with it but still posted it........I maintained my 3lb gain for 3 weeks and this week had a 4lb gain! UGH! need to get motivated DH got on me last night about our plan....he walked for 30mins on the treadmill and then talked to me about our plans! We want to continue........he said if you don't want to tell me and I will quit too...........LOL I don't want that!!!! so I have to kick it into gear!

LOve all my SIL here and thanks for the kicks in the butt and the encouragement!

Good Morning Everyone!

Anne - As usual your energy just amazes me, I would have been prostrate with exhaustion just getting home with the cherries, not to mention doing all that canning and dehydrating. My mouth did water though just reading about all those scrumptious cherries.

Luann - So sorry for your heartbreak. I do know just how you feel, having been there and felt how you are feeling, more than once. Reading your post was like reading a diary from my younger years. In fact, in my past when I had significant weight loss (100+ lbs) it was triggered by relationship breakups. But since time does indeed help heal the heartbreak, the weight lost plus more always came back. This time around I began my current program just for me because I wanted to feel and move better and I feel more successful than ever in the past. I know you don't want to hear it, but I'm going to tell you anyway based on my experience, time does indeed help to heal heartbreak, but in the meantime I know how badly it hurts and my heart goes out to you

Carol - Quit beating yourself up. Don't focus on the "slip" on Saturday, focus on the fact that you jumped right back up on Sunday. Kudos to you for that and if you don't want to pat yourself on the back, I will do it for you. You are still doing great my friend. Remember we know based on recent weeks, that 2 lbs is most probably water weight.

Wishing everyone a great day.

Good Morning!
I am tired and feeling kinda lazy today, but know I have to get moving and drink water! (Right Carol) The plan for today is to take some shelves off the wall and clean them so I can get ready to paint. . . . . . someday! I have been saying I want to paint for 6 months. I gotta get the girls moving too. They just got finished with breakfast, so now is the time! They are not going to like me too much today as I am going to tell them they have to help!! They will get over it, cause I know they will want to go somewhere and they will have to ask me! HA! HA! Sometimes it is just fun being a parent. lol
Anne-Yeah on all the cherries! They sound yummy!
Luan-Sorry you are feeling yuk! I think I am an emotional starver too! I can't tell you anything about surgery from me, but from a hubby 10 years ago. It is not an answer, it is just a tool. And you have to work at that too! I know you will make a choice that will work best for you. Here is a hug from me girl! And know that we are here for you.
Carol-Good Morning! I hate water gains, but I am sure that it will be gone tomorrow. Stay positive, today will be a good day for you, I just know it!
Bernice-NO QUITTING. You have been doing wonderful! Your hubby is there doing it with you, that is great. The trip sounds nice, have a great time. Sorry to hear about the headache.
Well, I better go and start "torturing" the girls, as they would say(cause they have to clean)! lol Penny

Penny-When I’m doing well on trips, I have a travel sized blender I take for my shakes. Most of the time though, travel is just killer on staying OP, especially when it’s all expense account surf and turf and wine.

Anne-I saw a show on the half week diet. It’s for people who have trouble keeping their energy level up, or metabolism. You basically go low calorie for 3-4 days, and just when you body wants to shut down and go into starvation mode, you up your calories for 3-4 days to stoke the fire. I go through periods where I just don’t seem to have any strength, and I’ll up my calories for a couple of days. The problem with me is that once I up the calories, it’s hard for me to go back. I can’t eat off plan stuff, I just have to eat more on plan foods.

MizM-Growing up in Oklahoma, I have the same kind of tornado stories. The day I was born my folks lost the front windows on the house. That should have been an omen.

Julee-We’re still supposed to be going to Niagara Falls in October, and besides the falls, I want to go to the big outlet mall. I’m fairly uncomplicated. I like to window shop, but will only buy stuff in thrift stores and used book stores. I remember taking the boys down to buy their athletic cups. I asked the older boy’s dad to do it for me, and he came back with an adult one for an 8 year old. So off I went to Walmart, hoping no one I knew would see me reading labels in that department. I wasn’t about to ask for help. I kept the adult one, and they younger boy used it years later. I’m so glad I didn’t have to measure them anywhere for it. Those things pretty much only come in two sizes. I just couldn’t figure out which end went up.

Luan-you’re right, I can’t know what you’re going through. I do understand about getting tired of the fight though. I go through that everyday. Get some rest.

Carol-Don’t you hate having a relationship with food where you have to beat yourself up over eating? Eating should be something we just do, and instead it seems to fill almost my every waking moment. Sometimes I wish they’d come up with some kind of astronaut replacement that I could eat at intervals, and never mess with real food again. Alcoholics don’t have to drink every day to live.

Debi-I love having my sewing machine out most of the time. I can sew for 30 minutes here or there, or all day if I want to. I only put it up for dinner parties. I’m trying to get ahead on my sewing this summer for next winter. I’m making this whole layered coat outfit.

Bernice-One thing I miss about Florida is getting to go to spring training games. I love baseball. In spring training you get real close to the players too. The parks are smaller. Have fun which ever way you decide to go.

I’ve got loads of laundry waiting on me. I’ve got to get it cleared to make way for a suitcase full of it that I know he will come home with from Montreal. My energy is okay today, and that’s always a bonus.

Afternoon Ladies -

Debbie - 30 day shred is a 20 min work out by Jillian Michaels Didn’t get you use is yet. Having problems with my DVD player.

Annie - The movie was fun. It has been a long time since I have seen a 3d movie. Jacob loved it. But really what 7 yr old boy wouldn’t? Now he wants me to read the book to him by Jules Verne. I’ve been praying for ya this morning! How did the interview go?

Merskie - and others. I am feeling kinda too focused! I backed off my meal plan last week. Kept up my exercise. I felt like all I was doing was paying attention and fixating on food choices. So I sat down and did a whole week meal plan. So there will be no more daily planning. I just eat what is on the calendar.

Catherine - Hope you are missing Himself but still enjoying some private time! I am in a similar boat. Ryan is gone Sun to Tues and Wed to Friday each week. I love the evenings when the kids are in bed and I am by myself. Then I love the nights he’s home. It is a good balance for me. Love how you word "food as a sedative and pain killer". I do that too and I hope you don’t mind if I use the phrase occasionally especially in my journal.

Dusty - I had one removed from the sole of my foot! The pain was worth it! I would rate the pain as medium. More than a tattoo but less then giving birth!

Bernice - You can do it! You rock!

Carol - No acronyms from me either. None I would want credit for any ways!

Luan - Hugs are sometimes all ya need for a broken heart!

For all who are suffering from seasonal allergies I hope that you are feeling better.

Julee-I would love to go to Niagara Falls! Hubby has seen it so maybe someday I will get there. Enjoy and take pics!

Julia-sorry about DVD player not working. Let me know about the workout when you can. I have thought about getting it. I didn't know your hubby travels too. It is nice to have some quiet time. Mine is going to work, I don't even turn the radio on.

Catherine-Yes, hubby takes a small blender with him too! We also got one for the camper so it was nice. He complains alot about staying op when traveling too.

It's lunch time, I'm hungry and the Schwans man just came. I did alright though I only got turkey filet mignon and some chicken and rice bowls. Oh and a mushroom spinach pizza that I have to put garlic on. I am thinking that 1/4 of it will be my lunch. I will put the rest in the freezer for 3 other meals. The kids don't like it. I have got half my water in so I should make it for the rest of the day. Still working and pushing the girls. They still aren't happy! HA! HA!

Help me out here - I need some suggestions - this is some of the better options that have been running through my mind

F - facing, forging, forming
O - opportunity, obstacles
C - creating, choosing
U - unlimited, unabridged, unbridled
S - SUCCESSES (can you tell I like that one)

Thanks for the help - now Johnnie if you could please turn around so I can pat you on the back we'll be even - thanks everyone!

Carol-me and the girls have been tossing it around too and we thought of some that you did. Facing obstacles creating ultimate success! But we are still working on it too. The others were O=only,obesity,open & other S=SANITY,safely & F=Finally
It is hard to think of. We like ultimate because they said I was giving them an ultimatium on having to do chores or else! lol

Carol & Penny - I like "Facing Obstacles, Choosing Unlimited Success". Now that you got me thinking about it, I'll have to see if I can come up with some other variations that I could use as motivation tools at work.

Miz M

Catherine, I bet you were wondering what that young whippersnapper could enlighten you on marriage. I know I would be wondering. Yep, getting older sucks.

Carol, I'm sure you will get to the 75lb with your "focus" and motivation. Just don't do what I did and put so much focus on getting there, that once you reach it, you falter....which I have. The goals are nice, but for me, they make me backslide. I figure since I reached the goal, I could do what I want for a while, and then that's when I gain my weight back. Good luck to you, my friend.
When Anne cans the power feeling, can you please send me some?

Anne, all I can say, is you wear me out just reading about your day. Whew!!

MizM, I hope the tornado season won't affect you. Those are so devastating and I can only imagine how scary they are. I so hear you on food being something there to sooth you. I'm the same way. My need for food right now is the stress of my brother and family coming, money problems, and plain old boredom. I have to sit myself down and tell myself that the food isn't going to make this go away. Easier said than done.

Julee, have fun with your shopping trip. That's so sweet of you to take her to help her since she doesn't have a mom. It's going to be something she remembers forever. Have fun in Buffalo. The falls sounds like so much fun and so beautiful.

Luan, sorry to hear about the guy. No words can help you get thru it, just time, which you probably don't want to hear right now. I think most of us have been where you're at now, so we know how you feel. Take care and try and heal.

Debi, I want to go buy clothes so bad too, but won't because I'm hoping to be in smaller sizes in the near future. But it sure is fun to shop and dream. I'm glad you have the input of the girls to help you figure out some flattering clothes.
How's the shower planning going?

Bernice, that's so great that your hubby is encouraging you to stay on track. It sure does help when you're feeling at a low point.

Johnnie, Penny,

Julia, hope you get the DVD player working so you can try out the Shred. Sounds interesting. Let me know how it goes.

I went to the doc, and my A1C for diabetes is at 6.7. When I first was diagnosed, it was at 7.5, so I've come along way, and the 6.7 is without any meds, so I'm doing it thru food and exercise. The numbness in my feet, I will never get the feeling back since they've been numb for 3 years now. I have more feeling in my left foot, and my heel on my right foot is pretty much numb. My blood pressure was up a bit but he said it usually is in the morning. My dizziness he's said is probably from being dehydrated, so I have to up my water. I just haven't been drinking like I should since I was sick. He did check me for vertigo, and I don't have that, thank goodness. My cholesterol , the bad one, was a bit high, and the good one, a bit low, so I have to work on that. All in all, not the best report, but he didn't have any concerns, and told me to just keep up the good work on losing that weight.
The feet are what upset me the most. I don't want to have them go any more numb that what they are now. It's sorta scary to think that they could be chopped off. So again, this will keep me on the straight and narrow. I think I just got my motivation back for losing weight again.
Gonna go down some water.
Toodles,
Debbie

Greetings all!

Work has had me running in circles. At least it's on a big project where everyone is overwhelmed. I have 2 days to finish a "book" discussion on an issue that is humongous.

I worked late and then went on a bicycle ride for 10.2 miles. The squirrels didnt bother me at all (always a good sign).

Luan, *hugs* to you. Time is the only thing that takes away the sharpness of your pain. I'm sorry your heart is broken.

Anne, I'm exhausted listening to you too! Yum.. cherry jam. *dr00l*

Annie, fingers crossed!! How'd the interview go?

Debbie, sorry about your numb feets. Mine go numb from putting them in my mouth too much hehe.

I like the FOCUS acronyms!! I seem to come up with dirty words.. sorry. Mind in the gutter.

Off to the showers,
Luv,
Ratkitten