Hey!
Not much happening here today. Just sort of hanging. Getting ready to finish up a test which I am giving tomorrow. Time just got away from me at school today, and never got around to doing it. Yuck...
Mouse: I'm so sorry about your test results. That's terrible. Also sorry about the drama in your room today. I was thinking today, that I really haven't had a whole lot of drama this year. How amazing.

Was gonna excercise, but my kids are all lounging in the livingroom, so unless I boot them all out, I guess I'll have to wait....It's getting on my nerves. Finally got my birth certificate today, I am officially birthed..!

Robyn: Did you have our glorious weather too? It was too nice of a day to be trapped inside. How did round two of excercising go?





Hope everyone else had a good day. Just remember, tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!!!!

Pam

Finally I can post. The site was too busy for the past 45 minutes.

Anyway...

Robyn, congratulations on entering a new decade...doing it backwards is the only way! Try to relax about your work stress. There is only so much you can control...so control what you can, and let go of the rest.

Zelma, I am so impressed by your amazing weight loss. What got you started? How long did it take you to get so far? How did you overcome the obstacles along the way? How did you do it?

Kerry, I just love the Biggest Loser. Did you love last night's episode? I was so tired, but I forced myself to watch it for motivation. I wish it was on every night. It is great that your school is having a contest. My friend's job is also doing one. I wish my school would. My aide, (you know, the one who calls out sick all the time) is getting married in the summer, so she is dieting. So, the two of us are encouraging each other, but I would like more coworkers to join us.

Pam, sorry your mother had to deal with cancer, but thank God she is cancer-free now. It really sucks that your DS and DH are taking such pleasure in teasing you instead of supporting you. I refuse to exercise in my DH's presence because of the same kind of behavior over the years. I do most of my exercising at the gym where he is not a member. But, when I exercise at home, I do it when he is not around...especially if I'm doing a video. I know women who get support from their families and work out together, but I guess we are out of luck.

Mouse, trust me, you would know if you had the virus...basically because the vomiting and diarrhea occur simultaneously!!! And as far as wasting time swimming so much and trying so hard, imagine what condition you'd be in if you didn't work so hard. Be proud of your accomplishments.

Thanks to motivation from the Biggest Loser, I rode my bike for 20 minutes this morning in spite of wanting to stay in bed longer. I also ate on program all day. I felt silly eating tiny meals so often...kind of like a breast feeding baby needing to be nursed every 2 hours. I caught myself saying, "Oh, it's time for my next feeding!" I'm used to eating 3 big meals. It is weird to be eating all day long, but I did it, hopefully with good results. We'll see.

I had a frustrating day arguing with the pharmacy and my doctor's office over a prescription, arguing with Lenscrafters over an internal miscommunication, dealing with difficult parents, and PMS. Yeh, I was a beee-ah-tch today! But, I got my prescription, a doctor's appointment, and my new glasses. They are so pretty and stylish. But, since my new prescription is A LOT STRONGER, I'm getting a headache getting used to them. I may even wear eye makeup tomorrow to show them off.

Evening All,
Are you all ready for a nice long relaxing weekend? I know I am. But my dh has already told me that we can spend some of it, starting to pack up the house. That way we can do it a little bit at a time and not be rushed to do it when we are closer to moving. The other day we had a little old lady look at it and she just dearly loves it. So I am hoping that she decides to buy it. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
My arm is much better today. I was able to put on my bra without screaming in pain today or doing it the grandma way! I am able to move it alot more. Which is a wonderful feeling without pain shooting up my arm. But I am not doing any of the arm machines or arm movements in my walking videos until after next week or the week after. That way I don't injury myself further.
Pam, I am sorry that you are not getting positive feedback and support from your ds and dh. When I first started out working out at home, I had to do it when no one was around. Or they made what they thought was cute little funny comments or they would try to show me how to do it their correct way. Now I have gotten more comfortable working out at home and I just tell them off if they try to talk to me while I am working out. But I guess that is the Irish and Scottish in me coming out! Hope things start looking up for you on the homefront where your excerise is concerned. It is very sweet of your youngest ds to try out the Total Gym and make the comments that he did. He deserves a great big hug and kiss from mom!
Mouse, I really feel bad for you today! Sorry that you had such a sucky day. Why is it when it rains it pours? But look at this way, if you gave up swimming you wouldn't have no means of positively releasing your stress from work. Hope the concert was a nice one. Just think you only have one more day this week and then you can have a little vacation from school. Hope tomorrow is better than today for you. Sending positive thoughts your way.
Summer, I was able to stay awake until the final weigh-in and than my ibeprofan killed in last night. I was hooked all the way through it too. My dh woke me up to say that Sara and Steve won the weigh-in. I am glad that they did. I had at first thought I liked the other couple,but after the wedding cake challenge and she whined about having to eat brocolli instead of getting diamonds. I thought she was just a spoiled brat. As for our contest at school, we have eight teams of four people. So that will be a nice jackpot to win on April 13th. I am going to really try to kick butt and lose some weight between now and than. One of the lady janitors wants to do it, but she is a single mom of two daughters and has health problems, so money is tight for her right now. I said to a couple of my co-workers that we should all just take turns chipping in the weekly $2.00 fee for her. Two of them said that they didn't want her on their team if she couldn't pay the $2.00 fee. Because they didn't think it would be fair if she could to share the winning pot. I was so upset and hurt over their cruel comments they were making. This lady is a wonderful person and goes the extra mile for the staff at our school. She does extra little special things that isn't even her responsibility. So my one TA and I decided that we would just put her on our team and split the weekly fee. So we are hoping that our team wins a couple of the weekly pots and the grand prize pot in the end. So we can prove the other team wrong.
Hi to everyone else. We miss you and hope all is going well with you.
Well I need to go run to the store and buy a newspaper. Didn't do that earlier when we were out and about.
Talk to you all later.
Have a wonderful Friday!
Kerry

TGIF! TGIF! TGIF!
In case you didn't know what day it is!
TGIF! TGIF! TGIF!
We will ignore the fact that it is Friday, the 13th! We will also ignore the fact that it is Friday, the 13th and the moon is full!

I've got much to say, but no UMPFFF to get it typed out! I lost a nice long ranting post yesterday......

Hope all is well with everyone. I will try to get back to this machine either tonight or tomorrow. School is closed on Monday. We may wander down to Hatteras to celebrate MLK's birthday! (Of course it is supposed to rain and get cold.. so we aren't sure!)

take care,
meee

Kerry, good for you for taking the high road and helping out a friend. We have a similar problem in my school with some teachers thinking they are superior to the other staff in the building who don't hold as many degrees. Pooh on them! A person is a person, and all people deserve dignity. And, if one of them needs a little help, and lets face it $2.00 a week is not much to ask, then why not give them some help? Good for you! Oh, and I agree with you about that girl who got all ga ga over the ring!

Robyn, I was trying very hard to forget that today is Friday the 13th...after all, I always say that I'm NOT superstitious. So I would not only like to THANK YOU for reminding me, but also for announcing that it is also a full moon!!! Gee, your a great friend! I may not be superstitious about the date, but I do believe in the powers of the full moon since they seem to have been proven over and over again. Add to it that I am PMSing, and it should be a swell day!!!

Oh Mouse, I wish there was something I could do to make your day better. Well, I suppose it is a new day now, so we can hope for a much better one than yesterday.

I'm not sure I could afford a personal trainer, so I would be looking for alternatives too. I hope you find someone who can help you.

Oh, it sounds as though your kids were just 'peachy' Thursday. Makes me REALLY eager to return to the madhouse. There are days when I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else, and there are the 'other' days. Those days when you really question your sanity and can't work out why you would choose to work in such a situation. It sounds as Thursday was an "other" day for you. Hey, at least Friday the 13th - WITH a full moon (and I believe in the effects of the full moon as I actually seem to get a little emotional around the full moon, but I haven't started howling yet) - can't get any worse... can it? Hopefully not.

You mentioned that you have exams next week, with early closing. Is that ALL week? If not, could you convince someone to MAKE it last all week? Sounds like a fine idea to me.

Sorry about the results of the blood tests not being what you had hoped. I got my results back this week too, and I am low in Vitamin D and B12, but I think they are easily fixed with supplements, so I'm not too concerned. I wish your problems were as easily fixed, but it sounds as though you are going to have to do a little trial and error to get them sorted. I can certainly understand that you are upset about working your butt off to try and get better and then these results are like a slap in the face. Mind you, as someone else said, they may have been even worse if you hadn't worked so hard. I know that probably doesn't help much at all at the moment, but it may give you a little 'light at the end of the tunnel' later.

I truly hope that Friday is good to you and that you have a wonderful weekend.

Take care,

Zelma

Summer, I'll answer your post separately, as I tend to go on and on about how I have lost the weight. You may regret ever asking after all this.

You asked what got me started and I really can't answer that, except that perhaps some kind of survival mechanism kicked in. All I can say is that I weighed myself in the middle of January 2004 and saw that I had gained 10kg since Sept 03. Now, at the time, I can't remember feeling anything in particular, or making any major decisions. But in the car later with my husband of 3 and a half years, I remember looking across at him and thinking "If you don't do something you won't be around to spend those MANY more years with this guy that you had planned." That seemed to be it for me. I had never had any bad medical results, but diabetes was in the family and I knew I was a time bomb just waiting to go off. I mentioned something to hubby, can't even remember what I said now, but it must have been about having to do something about my weight. Well, from that moment on we both decided to start some action.

The first thing we did was that we bought NO more rubbish food into the house. We didn't throw out everything we had, but once it was gone, there was no more. I was not good with temptation in those early days and knew that if it was around, I would keep thinking about it until I ate it. I didn't deprive myself of treats, they just had to be outside the home. So I would have something if we went shopping, or I would have a treat when there was a morning tea at school. Now, I don't even want cakes, candy or chocolate, and my treats are dried fruit, nuts and flavoured licorice. But early on I still craved things and probably ate too much at those times, but hey, it worked for me. We also started looking for healthier eating options, but only gradually, nothing too major to take in at once I don't think. Things like stopping drinking soft drinks and milk drinks. We have some nice fruit cordials over here that we have now instead. I also have diet flavoured soda water that I have to mix with plain soda water as it is too sweet for me now.

Halfway through 2004 I had a parent/teacher interview with a student's mum and found out she is a dietitian. Since then we have become very good friends and she has given me some fantastic advice to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Basically, what I eat now is mostly fresh fruit and vegetables. I try to eat as little processed food as possible. I start lunch and dinner with a large salad and then add a little something like boiled eggs on wholegrain crackers, grilled chicken, tuna, sushi (vegetable), low fat sausages, lean steak etc. I have three good-sized meals and 2 or 3 snacks. My dietitian friend likes me to have 3, but sometimes I give 2 a go to give my body a little variety. Snacks are mostly fresh fruit with yoghurt, sometimes nuts and often low-fat icecream. Oh, my salads have a basic base, then I vary what I add to them. It may be red peppers, snow peas, green beans, sugar snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, chick peas, etc. Just things to add a little variety.

I've read up on Low GI eating and it seems to be mostly what I am sticking to anyway, but I do sometimes get a few ideas from there. I've never counted calories or points, or weighed food. Maybe I should, but so far things have worked with what I'm doing. Things are slowing a little as I get closer to target and as my hormones have kicked in again, but I think that is to be expected, so I just need to learn a little patience.

Oh... I didn't mention exercise. I KNOW I couldn't have come this far without combining the healthy eating with exercise. For the first year I just did my own thing. Hubby and I would go for long walks when we could and at other times I would 'exercise' to music in my lounge room. This involved a kind of aerobics routine, but I didn't really know what I was doing, I just made sure I moved. Early in 2005 I hired a treadmill to make sure I would get use out of it and then I bought one. For most of that year I used the treadmill first thing in the morning and again in the afternoon/evening. At the end of last year I got an exercise bike for Christmas and I now use that in the afternoon instead of the treadmill. I just felt I needed a little variety. I wasn't getting bored with the treadmill, and it is still my favourite, but I think my body wanted a change. I'm also considering the Walk Away the Pounds DVDs, as I have heard some great things about them.

I have definitely taken this on as a lifestyle change, so I don't break down at Christmas or holidays like that. I know that my 'system' is used to the way things are now, and doesn't need the other stuff. I did make a couple of special salads (such as sweet potato salad and caesar salad with low fat dressings) over Christmas and had a special low fat dessert for a few days, and they were treats enough for me. I didn't stop my exercise routine at all. I start my day with exercise and I exercise in front of the news in the afternoon/evening. It is just part of my day now and I feel lost if I miss a session.

You asked how I overcame the obstacles. Well, believe it or not, I didn't really have any major obstacles. You see, I have always told myself that it "isn't an option" so things seemed easier that way. When I looked at chocolate I just said "You can't have that Zelma". In fact, I'm sure I often said that out loud, just to make sure I was listening. I may have sounded insane to other shoppers, but at least I listened to myself. When I came to a couple of little glitches, my hubby has been a rock of support and my dietitian friend has always managed to come to my rescue as well.

Well, I have probably blabbed on WAY more than you ever wanted to hear, but hopefully you have taken in what interested you and kinda just skimmed the rest.

If you have any more questions (if you are game enough to ask after this 'novel' of an answer) I am most happy to answer them. One of my aims is to help as many people as I can to make a healthier life for themselves. I am worse than a reformed smoker though and tend to want to tell EVERYONE how they can help themselves. I have to learn to wait to be asked. THEN they get an earful.

Take care and have a wonderful weekend,

Zelma

TGIF!!!!!!!!!WAHOOOOOOOOO! My day started off crazy. Filled up my water bottle, and by the time I got to school, the entire thing had emptied into the front car seat.....Two fights this am...One boys, one girls, not in my room, in the hallway....The rest of the day was easy....

Going to Virginia Beach this weekend. My dog who NEVER NEVER NEVER DOES THIS, has been standing at the fence HOWLING LIKE A WOLF....I don't know what her problem is. I didn't even know she could do that. Today is the first day I've ever heard her.

Kerry: I generally don't pay attention to the things they say...However, it just bugged me that one day. My husband is usually very supportive, although has become a little jealous since I've lost weight. My son, just thinks he knows everything....SO, you know how that goes. You cracked me up about the grandma way of putting on a bra....That's exactly how my granny used to do it..Ha!

Zelma: What an inspirational story. I'm not that regemented. Some days are good, some are not...Sometimes I don't care. Today is one of those days as I had to pour myself a Pepsi when I got home....But, other than that everything is still on plan.

Summer: I love the biggest loser too.... I personally was hoping for the other team to win the weigh in at the ranch. I just think it's cause I liked that other fiance...He seemed like a super nice guy. I didn't like the girl from the team that one or the girl who went crazy over the ring...But, I guess that's cause I'm really not that into the jewlry thing. I would rather have had the ten thousand dollars...

Hey to everyone else.....

Pam

Well, I am in shock....this is my first run with the computer- finally had the computer guy fix this darned thing up right- upgrade a bunch of stuff...hopefully Ds can't infect this too much with too many viruses! It will take me some time to get caught up with each of you. So bear with me. TGIF! This week could not end fast enough. Very stressful. And so glad it is over. And I am planning on spending Monday (we are off) in my jammies.
Ok, better go check email. See ya!
Ginny

Lets see if I can make some sense of this weeks posts....

Mouse- so sorry about all the medical issues. Gosh that stinks for you. It must be tough trying to make the best of the situation, which I am sure you do- and not- at least from a surface look- really make any strides. Keep your chin up- I keep hoping and praying that some doctor somewhere can make some sense of all this for you. As far as the dress goes- ever consider having someone sew one for you? My Dm used to be really good at combining patterns- which might work if a traditional pattern did not work for you. (gee, if you lived closer I would do it for you...........somehow driving 6 hrs for fittings seems prohibitive).

Robyn- off to Hatteras??? Hope your trip goes well, if you go. Planningon going to WW tomorrow?

Kerry-bursitis stinks- but I have it a wee bit in my hip and shoulder. The hip has only flared up 2X in 10 years, the shoulder only a wee bit more. And it resolves quickly with some advil. At least for me. Feel better!

Pam- enjoy the trip to VA beach. Sorry about the howling dog- but I suspect some of the problem is the full moon. Got a kitten here to testify to the fact that there is a full moon. Fidgie is off the wall......worse than normal.

Zelma- I enjoyed reading your story, and find it inspirational. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Michele- congrats on the 5 miles of walking and the weight loss!

Summer- going back to an older post, congrats on the mammogram! I remember last year, it was none too fun for you. You must feel so great just having a "normal" mammo. (I know how unnerving an abnormal mammo is, been there, done that). Hope today was good for you- full moon, PMS and Friday 13th all in one.


Hope I did not miss anyone!

Gosh I am SO glad this week is done. Had to give a major lecture to my kids today on manners. I am TIRED of being treated subhuman. Every time a student boards or leaves my bus I personally address him or her. Ok, I know that some are shy- or not morning people, etc... but there are some who routinely say nothing- ignore me- or just make some snotty comment. Enough of that stuff. I am a human being- take their safety and well being very personally- and will now insist on some basic level of respect. (not too much to ask, is it?).

Anyway- nuff bellyaching. Gonna go get in my jammies.......chill out.....Have a great weekend! Gee, it is good to be back.
Ginny

Evening, all.
Robyn: Thanks so much for reminding me that it was Friday 13. And a full moon. At least I know why my kids were off the wall all week now. I am afraid I was a total crab most of the morning: but at least it was an easy one. We had the Bermuda Day, which only one of my kids went to. The rest were shuffled off to a study-hall in the cafeteria. I let them bring the Uno cards along, even though they were supposed to study... what are my kids going to study for 90 minutes? Most of them can't read and I wasn't dragging all the manipulatives over for one of my kids for math. They all need 1:1 help, and I was a study hall monitor. They were better behaved than a lot of the other kids were, and quieter! Then, we went back and I let them play Uno, which I've turned into a math game, by having them score each hand, and also its a good color-matching/direction following game for all of them. After that, we went to work at the new Goodwill sorting clothes. That was certainly interesting, because at least one of my kids couldn't identify the clothing! We found a Sorry! game there, for $2, so I bought that for the classroom. We went back and played Sorry... another awesome math game.
We were supposed to go to the DMV, but it was closed for some strange Virginia holiday (Oh, Robyn, what the heck is Lee-Jackson day, anyway????).
Kerry: Glad the arm is much better!!!
Michelle: Glad the exams are almost over... ours start next week!
Zelma: Thanks. I appreciate the thoughts. And yes, it'd be much worse if I hadn't worked my butt off. I'd be at least 55+ pounds heavier, I wouldn't be swimming. And, I might not understand why all of this was going on.
Your eating plan is very similar to mine: I don't bring things I'm not allowed to have into the house... if I want something sweet, I have to go out and buy it or bring the small piece of whatever home. I do tend to eat it at home, but that is mostly because I do still get sick when I eat at times. But I only bring in one piece. Never a whole cake or pie or anything. The exception is sugar-free or low-sugar, low-fat frozen yogurt or ice cream, and microwave popcorn. The latter isn't that bad, except the carbs. I have to do a low-carb diet... my carbs are actually even below the recommended limit for people with diabetes. They are usually allowed 45 per meal, I get 30-33. Unlike diabetics, I can save the carbs for other meals, and I'm not as restricted on dairy and fruit carbs. I'm super restrictive on carbs from sugar, or things that cause significant blood sugar reaction (high glycemics like tomatoes, potatoes and carrots). It hasn't made much of a difference in my weight, but it sure has made my life better! I don't throw up near as often, and I have more energy.
Ginny: I was really shocked to get the blood test results. There is some question as to whether or not it is from not exercising as much due to my ankle. I did get read the riot act about my ankle and not following through as much I should with the orthopedist. He'd sent a letter to my primary care saying I should come back in 4 weeks if I was having problems, but I wasn't told that and was told I didn't need a follow-up appointment. She wants me to wear the brace at least half the day, or the high shoes, plus buy sneakers to wear when I'm guarding, so I'm less likely to slip.
She was also wanting me to try something to control the insulin. I flat refused to go back on the Glucophage, and was wary about Avandia because I hear that you have to have blood tests weekly the first few months because of liver complications. She says that is rare, and that if the liver issues were caused by the glucophage, the enzymes would have gone down, not up. That wasn't what I was told initially, 4 years ago, but I can recognize that I might have been given wrong information. She asked about fatty liver, and I said it was mentioned (they saw something on the abdominal ultrasound I had), but that my liver enzymes were now normal and that doesn't indicate a long-term issue like fatty liver. I also admitted to her that I'd looked for other solutions beyond Avandia and Glucophage, but had only found one or two... one turned out to BE Avandia, but the generic name... the author of the study had used both, so I was confused. There was another drug in the same family as Avandia, but it doesn't have all the side effects. So, I agreed to give it a shot... Actos. Its new, or at least new enough that there isn't a generic for it. She also asked me to consider prozac or another serotonin inhibitor because that can help with nausea. I'm reluctant to take any kind of drug that is mainly for emotional problems... I have had too many kids on those drugs and I don't always like what it does to them.
I started the Actos tonight... I've only had one, but its been 2 hours and I'm not nauseated at all. I have to have bloodwork done on Monday for the possible thyroid issue, and to check my H1AC level. I'm not diabetic, but they want to keep an eye on it because of the insulin levels and that's a much pleasanter way to do it than the glucose tolerance tests. Those make me sick because of the drink.

I LOST 5 POUNDS!!!

I realize that 5 pounds doesn't seem a lot to the rest of you, but I haven't lost any weight in a while. With all the exercise I did in the fall with the personal trainer, I lost a few inches, but because I couldn't stick to South Beach longterm, I didn't lose any weight. And then the holidays didn't help! Anyway, I'm finally back on Weight Watchers, my old fail-safe method while keeping an eye on the carbs, and finally, SUCCESS!!! I'm so happy, I don't even care that my cramps are horrible and I'm practically hemorrhaging!!! (sp?)

Where the F*CK is my signature?!

Summer: I'd scream louder than you did if I ever lost 5 pounds in one fell swoop. Seriously.

The signature thingy was on a poll (Robyn pointed it out to me when I asked too!)... right now people are complaining because some of the sigs are really long and people say they are slowing things down for people with slower connections. Mine looks long, but its not very many characters... just a lot of spacing. I should take the silly tracker off: its not like I ever have anything to report on it (or if I do, its 1 pound this week, then gained back the following week).
Me? I'm off to the gym in Baltimore: I told my one friend there I'd help her because a lot of people bailed on her for the winter session. We don't usually have a session this time of year, but they shifted things, and now we do.
I'm not going to help whoever is there guarding, though, since they took me off the schedule. I also just discovered that there is no generic for my prescription, and its a non-preferred drug. Its going to cost me $38 a month to stay on it. Oh well...