Ward Your daughter could be a younger you! Very cute kids!

goal You just went through major surgery, anaesthesia, etc. and your body was seriously stressed. Give it a chance to calm down from all this invasion. And ask your DH to bring a bunch of healthy snacks so that if you have to eat it's good calories . Glad to hear it went so well and they sent you home so fast. Hospitals can be dangerous places (don't hit me SusanB ).

Michelle If the food being pushed at you looks high sugar politely say "I have blood sugar problems. How much sugar does that contain?". If it looks high fat ditto with cholesterol problems. If the person says "but you look so healthy" say "yes I am a healthy eater. I have to be to deal with my body's problems."

I find people are much less insulted if you turn down their food due to health problems (yes, lying is permitted) rather than personal dislikes.

Good morning to everyone else!

I need to get back OP and shake myself out of this depression. I wish DH were back OP - that helped so much with morale. I am at a physically really low point and it's only Dec. I have to cope with at least 3 1/2 more months of winter outside without regaining all the weight I've lost.

Dagmar

Good Morning

Ward-adorable kids!
Goal-Goal-glad it went so well. Your poor body is trying to heal I expect. I would think fish, eggs, lean chicken if you can stand it and lots of fruits and veg. Maybe it would curb those cravings? Don't do too much too soon.
Allison-inspectors. Yuck!
Mud-I'm going to use your techniques. I'm so tired of people pushing the eating once you've politely said no.

Today is much calmer than yesterday was. I ended up stopping at Taco Bell but got a fresco chicken bowl so not too damaging. I had to go to the dentist at 5pm (where I discovered I have a cracked tooth, oops) then on to a 6:30 Girl Scout cookie meeting. I took one cookie. That was a small victory. Today should be filled with Christmas decorating (we don't have any up yet) but we'll see how that goes. Have a great day all!

Hi everyone,

I'm finally kicking my crud out the door and am feeling 90% better. Whew. I'm a baby when I'm sick! It was hard to eat OP but I got back there over the weekend, and back to the gym too. This morning my weight was 146, exactly where it was right before Thanksgiving, soo... I'll take it! I hope everyone else is starting to recuperate as well. There are a lot of sick people around here!

I just started rehearsals last night for a pretty big (and fun) role in a new play! My character is an Olympic swimmer, though I don't have to appear in a bathing suit or anything, so there's more incentive to stay in shape! At least I've got the swimmers shoulders going on.

goal, ditto what Dagmar said. You just had surgery and your body does need time to heal. Also I agree about asking for some healthier snacks that might be more satisfying - when I eat things like chex mix and cookies that are all simple carbs, I really don't get filled up. How about some pb, raw nuts, yogurt, cheese, fruit, veggies with light dip, popcorn...? Be patient with yourself.

Michele, in both the most recent Oxygen mag and Clean Eating mag they've had articles w/ suggestions about how to deal with food pushers. They both talked about how people are more receptive when they don't feel they're being rejected. e.g. when your aunt says "I made this pie/cake/cookies/etc just for you", acknowledge the thought and ask to take some home. "Thank you so much for thinking of me. I just ate and couldn't eat another bite, but I would love to take a piece home (take a piece for later, etc)." Wrap it up and toss it as soon as you can when you leave (or they leave). If it's in your trash can, ruin it with dish detergent if you need to (right Meg?) I think white lies are ok in this case.

Pat, that's strange, b/c purchases I make for work are also tax exempt and the stores around here have no trouble not adding tax on their registers.

Wardhog, your kids are so cute! What a nice card that picture will make.

Allison, I hope today is less stressful.

Midwife, that is just strange and really irritating. I hope it is just some kids harmless prank.

Meg, congrats on graduating physical therapy! Sounds like you're doing great at the gym. It amazes me how you went through pre-surgery, surgery, and physical therapy with what seems like barely a blip in your healthy lifestyle (I don't mean that to minimize all the hard work I know it's been). Way to be determined!!! How was the 10-hour day at the spa?

Joy, way to take one cookie! Mmm, thin mints....

I know we're all so busy with Christmas shopping, wrapping, cleaning, parties, travel, battling crud, in addition to fitting in all of our everyday activities, working out, and eating healthy. Stay strong everyone! We can do it!

Thanks for the ideas for food pushers. I am a very bad lier but I will try. The food pusher yesterday is the nurse at my school--- she was using my library to do vision and hearing testing and was trying to thank me for the inconvenience-- I could see my lying about my blood sugar or cholesterol and then she would ask me medical questions and I would get caught! I have taken food before and later thrown it away-- I might try that next time....

Ward - your kids are adorable!

Meg - congrats on finishing PT!

midwife - I hope the phantom pornographer will stop soon, that's really creepy.

Sick folks - I hope you're all getting better!

Goal - glad to hear the surgery went well. Can you fill your chocolate craving with SF hot cocoa?

Michele - I think the doggie did okay. When I got him home yesterday he was sooooooo thirsty and I wasn't supposed to give him water for another two hours. I felt really bad, he was wandering around the house whining and nosing at his water dish. When it was finally okay to give him water he drank two bowls full. He continued to wander around the house and whine pretty much all day and into the night some. He seemed to be doing better this morning though -- I think his teeth and feet hurt from the dental cleaning and them cutting his nails so short. He has pearly whites and good breath now though!

Okay ladies, I have a confession to make . . . I made my dog fat!!! The vet said that they think the reason he's been snoring so loudly and groaning when he lays down is that he gained 8lbs since our last visit (that's 10% of his body weight). I had no idea he was gaining weight! We had been encouraging him to eat recently because he was ignoring his food and we were worried about him, but I guess he was just not hungry. We barely give him any table scraps so it is just too much dog food and not enough exercise I guess. We're cutting back his food now so hopefully he will drop a few pounds. The vet said he's not obese, but he could stand to lose a few pounds. We haven't been walking him as much since the weather has been so nasty out there. I ordered a coat for him to keep him warm, so that should be arriving in another couple days.

Jessica~I made my dog fat, too. My vet "prescribed" carrots. They basically fill up the dog with very few calories and they pass right on through. My dogs each weigh around 70 pounds and they get 1 cup of dry food and 1 large carrot twice a day. My yellow lab had "blossomed" to 103 pounds at one time. Yikes!

Thanks for the tip Allison! My dog doesn't like vegetables but I'll give carrots a shot. He's supposed to be about 80lbs, right now he is 88lbs.

Morning all. It's very windy here, giving us windchills near zero! The actual temperature is in the low 20's.

Jessica - I have friends with overweight dogs who have had good success mixing canned green beans with the dog food so the dog gets the same volume of food. My cats like pumpkin mixed with theirs (I do it for the fiber). Glad he came through the anesthesia okay.

Goal - so glad to hear that you didn't have to have the abdominal surgery. You should recover much more easily. It is easy to get bored and eat when you're home not feeling 100%. Do you do any hobbies or crafts that would keep your hands and mind busy? Maybe you could offer to wrap presents for people? Anything to keep your mind off food. And I suspect more "real food" snacks would calm the cravings.

Megan - glad you're feeling better! Your play sounds like fun.

I talked to my sister on the east coast this morning. She has been laid off and is busily looking for a new job. She has a really good attitude, and a proactive attitude which makes me feel good. She's had a hard last 10 years. Her son was killed in a car accident, which resulted in a multi-year lawsuit; and she and her DH had problems and finally separated about 18 months ago when he went to Canada to live with someone he'd met online. She's suffered from depression - and other health issues - most of her life, so to see her maintain through this is wonderful. We were able to talk about Christmas, her grandchildren, and her immediate plans.

On the health front, I'm pretty much hive-free! Just a few itchy patches. I see the doc on Thurs for my annual so she'll advise on whether I need any more meds. I have a City Council meeting on the budget tonight, preceded by a dinner meeting with our legislative delegation giving them information about our desired capital improvement projects. However, the falling price of oil will about kill any chances of getting money from the state. Last year's budget was written for $75/barrell, and it's now below $40. Sigh. I like the falling gas prices as much as anyone, but our state depends on oil revenues for funding. And why is our gas still around $2.50 (and that's with state taxes suspended) while the rest of the country going below $2?

Hi everyone!

Goal - I am glad everything went well for you! Have a good recovery

I am feeling tons better today, still some voice problems - but that is usually the signal of me getting better (just when I sound the worst!). Felt good enough to do some cardio and weights today. I hate sitting still LOL!

Funny how when I get sick, I am not one of those who loses my appetite. Actually, I don't really think I lose it ever

Good morning everyone.

The sales tax auditor is gone. Thank goodness. It wasn't all that stressful, but I couldn't get him to UNDERSTAND! I know it's his job to find revenue, but you have to listen! This is his gripe: we do glass, mostly windows, some shower and tub enclosures, some mirrors and a few table tops. He's trying to say that the mirrors and tabletops need to be taxed differently because they can be removed from the house and taken with the homeowner when they leave. Ok, not ours.
Mirrors for us are not the kind you hang on a wall like a picture--they are completely affixed to the wall and removing them would cause damage to the house and probably break the mirror. Usually a mirror is an entire wall covered with mirror with specific cutouts for electrical sockets and light switches.
Tabletops are custom made to fit the room. Most of them are permanently affixed to the table base which is permanently affixed to the house (some are even set into the foundation). These table tops (some in excess of $20,000) require 6-8 guys to move it into the house, then it's bolted into place.
He says these two things are considered furniture (tangible personal property) and that is just the way it is. (I even showed him pictures.)
Aargh.

There was something else I wanted to say, but I've forgotten now.

Everyone have a great day!

Pat, it's good to hear your sister has a good attitude. Good luck to her in her job search! DH's company just started laying people off so we are feeling the pressure too. His job is safe for the moment, but if the economy gets worse he could get laid off (so could I, for that matter).

Lori, glad you're getting better!

Allison - yay for the auditor being gone!

I actually went out and did my run this morning. Woohoo! Got my poor overweight doggie some exercise too. So far he's doing great with the reduced food. We have this scoop we use to scoop up his food, and we used to give him a whole scool, and we're now giving him 3/4 scoop. He hasn't seemed hungry or anything (at least, he hasn't begged for extra food).

My weight is down to 141.6 this morning, yay! Hopefully it will stay down there for my official weigh-in Friday.

Hi maintainers,

I'm still crazily busy with work work work and work related issues BUT....drumroll please...I am now on day 4 of the beck diet solution. I kind off fell off the wagon but I'm back on it now. CBT has helped me get through burnout, depression & divorce so hopefully it will help me loose the pounds that crept on.

have a great day all,
Rabbit

Hi, Everyone I've been coming to this web site on and off for years and feel like I know you but just registered today, because I have a question what happen to MisJim or I think her name was Karen, I followed her from a Body for like site to here years ago. Thanks Just curious

Hi Lou and welcome! MrsJim hasn't been around for a few years, so we don't know what she's been up to lately. Hope you stick around and keep posting with us!

Welcome Louhou!

My plan to not take seconds at dinner is working great! Now I just need to work on making sure I get all my workouts in.