Starting the topic - be right back

April - wow - that's quite a trip. Have a great one!

Tricia - good luck on your eating. What do boy scouts eat on their adventures? That's great that the treadmill is set up. Have you gotten on it?

I had a good weekend until last night. I went to my meeting which was good but I did opt not to weigh in. My rings were tight, my sneak peek wasn't good and I just didn't want to see bad news. I WILL weigh in this week though. Saturday evening Tony and I went to a new restaurant that opened (Whitey Ford's) and I did OK there. I had the menu faxed beforehand and planned in a way to have ribs - I had planned to have a baked potato instead of fries but they didn't server baked potatoes (!) so I had them substitute veggies instead. I had a couple of bites of Tony's dessert but basically did OK. I went shopping with my mom yesterday (lots of walking) and went to Applebee's with her armed with Dottie's list. So far so good. Tony and I had a pretty low point dinner when I got home. The problem happened in the evening. I called a very dear friend who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She had the nodes removed last week because the sentinel node came back positive in the original lumpectomy; while she still has to see the oncologist this week, she had to go back to the surgeon this past Friday and that's when she found out that every single node came back positive. She's now considered stage II. I was very positive with her on the phone but sort of broke down after I got off the phone. I ate through it - I knew what I was doing but didn't care to stop myself.

I'm back OP today and decided that I have to exercise/journal my way through this - I can't eat my way through it - that won't help me and it won't help my friend. So, I'm back OP and determined that I'll do whatever needs to be done to help her.

Judy
163.6/155.0/135 (weigh in from 2 weeks ago)

Hi all

Sorry I was MIA the end of last week. I was out and about quite a bit and didn’t get the chance to post.

Judy – I’m sorry to hear things are so unsettled at work. I know how stressful that is. Hang in there and hard as it may be to do, try to relax. What happens at work is by and large out of your control. So control what you can (planning for the next step, your eating, etc.) and try not to worry about the rest. I’m also so sorry to hear about your friend’s cancer. I’ll keep her in my prayers. It’s a good plan to exercise and journal you’re way through it. Do you still have my e-mail address? E-mail me as much as you want if that will help.

Tricia – Welcome! Congrats on quitting smoking. Like Judy, I’m an ex-smoker (pack a day). I quit 20 years ago and am very glad that I did.

Angel-eyes – Sorry about that gain, but you’ll have it off in no time.

Michele – Good to see you again. Great job getting those 5 pounds off.

April – Congrats on the maintain. In the face of Thanksgiving, that’s a real victory. Enjoy your vacation!

I had a pretty good weekend. Friday we went to the Milwaukee Art Museum, so I did a fair amount of walking around. No exercise since then, though, so I have to jump back on that wagon. I'm PMSing right now. The cravings haven't been too bad, but I am retaining some water, so we'll see what the scale brings on Wednesday.

Take care all.

Carla

Judy- sorry to hear about your friend. I will add her to my prayers. Journaling is the only way to go.

The Boy Scout adventure went ok..shared a turkey sandwich on wheat with my son and some grapes, not bad. That night a bowl of chili. I've been drinking more water which is a big accomplishment for me. I am also dealing with hypothyroidism do any of you deal with anything like that? It makes losing very difficult as by it's nature it slows down you metabolism. I use to lose easily prior to this condition..but now my biggest obsticle with losing is that it comes so much slower and I get discouraged.So I was just curious if anyone else fights this.
I haven't been on the treadmill yet..I plan on it tomorrow a.m. along with a work out on the ball.

..
Well children are calling.. so I'll check in tomorrow

Carla - glad to hear that you had a good weekend and got some walking in. How did you knee/ankle fair? We are on the same schedule, girlfriend - I am PMS'ing too. I don't have your email address so if you could email it to me ([email protected]). You are so right about trying to control what I can (eating, exercising, journaling, planning) and let the other stuff be. As for the water retention - guzzle, guzzle, guzzle. Do you like lemon in your water? I think it was you who told me that helped water retention.

Tricia - No, I haven't had to deal with hypothyroidism but I've heard it's tough. Are you under a doctor's care for it? I have a friend who is currently working with her doctor to get the medication right - it seems to be a sometimes long process. It sounds like you did GREAT at the Boy Scout adventure. I hope you've given yourself a well deserved pat on the back for that.

I had a pretty good day. I did an aerobic and a strength workout (I needed the stress relief), and so far am still under my max by 1.5 points. I plan on keeping it that way. I'm in part #2 of that involuntary training at work Tues & Wed so don't know if I'll get a chance to check in until Thursday. Thank you both for your prayers and good wishes for my friend.

Take care,
Judy

well since i am "recommiting" myself, I guess this is the best time to "weigh in" -- so here goes:
starting weight: 194 10/22/02

Hi all -

Tricia - Sounds like you had a good day at the Scout camp. I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with hypothyroidism - I hear it's rough. I was tested for that last month when I had blood work done up and it came back negative, thank goodness. Hopping on the treadmill should help boost that metabolism.

Judy - I hope the training isn't boring you to tears. Sounds like you had a great day yesterday. Good for you for relieving the stress through exercise. I sent you an e-mail last night with my addy. My ankles held up so-so on Friday - I had to take aspirin when I got home, but I didn't have problems on Saturday. Yes, I love lemon in my water.

I didn't get a chance to hop on the bike early this morning as I planned because Ana woke up early and didn't go back to sleep. I have to be out and about soon running errands and I'm going to try to do a walk at a local trail. We'll see how the ankle feels. Tonight we're bringing my MIL to the airport (she's going to Poland for three weeks) and she wants to go to dinner first, so I'm going to have to really watch what I eat today. I have no idea where we're going. Still PMSing, although it hasn't been that bad this month. I am, however, becoming increasingly unnerved by this sniper business out east. My sister and her family live in VA. They moved in June from suburban DC to about an hour or so west of the city, so I wasn't too worried about them. Then it occurred to me that both my sister and my BIL work in or close to suburban DC. Plus the creep seems willing to travel, given his shooting near Richmond, so now I'm really starting to fret. This is scary stuff that seems to be re-opening the still raw national wound from 9/11, one hit at a time. I surely hope that 2003 brings some peace to this tired old world.

Have a great day.

Carla

Wow - It's quiet again in here.

Karen - I hope all is well with you. Please come back and play with us again.

Judy - I thought of you yesterday. I had a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble to spend, so yesterday I picked up the book Knitting for Dummies. (It was the knitting part that made me think of you, not the dummy part!) I'm getting ready to pick up the needles again.

I stepped on the scale expecting a maintain at best, so I was very pleased to see a 1.2 pound loss. Even though I wasn't stellar about tracking, counting, etc. this past week, I guess I was self-regulating. Anyhow, it helps motivate me to keep on going and keep on making good choices. Other than lunch with a friend tomorrow, no particiular challenges are coming up for me, so I'm hoping for another good week. I'll be hopping on the bike soon to get in my 30 minutes of exercise. I didn't do any walking yesterday because my ankle wasn't co-operating.

Have a good day everyone.

Carla
271/266.4/244 - 1st 10%

Carla - Congratulations on the 1.2 loss!!!! It sure does sound like you've been self-regulating. I hope your ankle is better. I guess you did OK at dinner with your MIL. I'm sure you are relieved about the newds that they think they got the sniper creeps. I have a number of friends in the area and have been worried about them. I got your note - thanks. It's been hard to catch up what with being away from the computer for two days!

I've done OK the last few days considering. I brought my breakfast and lunch both days to class (it was held in our building across the street) and therefore was able to avoid the bagels, sandwiches, macaron salad, etc. I did have one cookie each day after lunch but I consider it a victory that I had only one - they were the soft and chewy kinds with big pieces of chocolate. Tuesday night I had a bit of a rough time. I had heard in class that day of a rumor that the severance policy (a newer version of which was just published on 10/15/02) may be reduced next year from 3 wks per year to 2 wks per year - just a rumor but enough to feel stressed. I don't think I told you but last Friday I had a talk with my boss and I'm OK for the November cuts but things he said (not straight out) make me think that I'll be in the second round of cuts they talked about at the meeting last week (based on 2003 projects - the cuts will most likely be in 2003). Of course, if the rumor is true that the current policy will be changed in 2003, I stand to lose quite a bit if I am cut - almost 5 months difference! Of course, it's just a rumor and while they can certainly change the policy at any time, my sister (who is in the HR biz) said she thinks it unlikely that they would change a policy so soon after they published a new version - that it takes forever to get a new policy out (lawyers, etc.) I don;t know that there is anything I can DO about it though - so Tony and I are just going to try to save as much as we can just in case. In any case, I snacked a bit too much and went into a deficit of 1/2 point which I made up for yesterday. I had a problem with my mid-back for the last couple of days so I didn't exercise but I'm feeling better today and plan on doing some cardio and strength. My sneak peek wasn't great this morning - I think I'll see a gain on Saturday but I'm going to stay OP and take whatever the scale says.

Judy

Hi all.

Lisa - Forgot to say welcome!

Judy - Yes, I'm very relieved that it appears they caught the sniper creeps. Once he put out the message about the kids not being safe, I almost went over the edge worrying about my nephews. It does break my heart, though, that one of them is a 17 year old boy. Sounds like you did really well the past two days, all things considered. Try not to pay attention to rumors. As you know, they run rampant when a company is in upheaval and most of them turn out not to be true. Three weeks per year severence is very generous. I got two weeks per year and my severence runs out this month. I guess I'll be getting myself to the unemployment office. Are you still thinking about pursuing a career change?

We ended up having take-out chinese last night. I was all ready to make a good dinner, but my plans went awry due to the fact that I believed that there was a mouse in our kitchen and I thought it was in the stove. So John had to tear it apart when he got home. No mouse to be found, but not a far-fetched notion considering that we've had a run of mouse catchings by Luigi (and yes, for a short time, a baby mouse that John and Ana were trying to nurse along) and there were some unexplained noises coming from my kitchen. Ah well, today is indeed a new day.

Have a great one everyone.

Carla

Hi all,

Haven't fallen off the face of the earth, although I have fallen off the wagon in a big way.

FIL is just home following hip replacement surgery, and looking after Jasper is more work than looking after a baby! I haven't had five minutes to myself for a couple of weeks, and it's showing. I have to get back into some kind of routine. I've been trying to arrange home support to come in and help FIL get moving in the morning - it's kind of like trying to wring blood from a stone.

I've fallen into a cycle of eating anything that isn't nailed to the floor, and haven't been to the gym for two weeks.

Hope everyone is doing well. Welcome Tricia and Lisa...looking forward to getting to know you.

Will try to get back to daily posting and to find some motivation.

Karen

Just went back and checked the posts...Judy, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend's illness. Keeping her and you close in thought. Carla, hope you have your peace of mind back now that the sniper has been caught.

Talk soon...

Karen

Hi Lisa - welcome! I'm sorry I missed your post yesterday and didn't say "hi" then.

Carla - Hey, take-out Chinese happens! What's important is your attitude afterwards. Mice? Tony said he's seen some in the garage (we got an exterminator) but luckily we haven't had any in the house!

Karen - I'm sorry to hear about the tough few weeks you've had. Hey, you came here to post, right? That says to me that you want to climb back on that wagon. I hope you can get some home support - it sounds like that would help you get back into some sort of routine. Maybe you can try one "baby step" in the meantime - like drinking enough water? Thanks for your kind words. I plan on speaking to her today - she was scheduled to see the oncologist yesterday.

I had a bad binge last night. It involved Halloween candy, PMS and an argument with Tony. I know, I know, it's not good to have Halloween candy that I like in the house but last year wasn't a problem - I managed to have one piece a day and never dove in. I guess the argument with Tony set it off - that plus the continuing sterss with work. Whatever the cause though, there were other things I could have done (write in a journal, knit). Well, the important thing is that I'm back OP today. I took a sneak peek at the scale today and it was 3 pounds up from the last time I "officially" weighed in - even though I am retaining water, I know I'll see a gain tomorrow. I found myself thinking about skipping the meeting but I'm working on myself now to go to the meeting, get on the scale and take my lumps! Any encouragement in that area is appreciated. No real challenges this weekend food-wise. We're babysitting for Anthony on Saturday which should be fun.


Judy

Hi eveyone.

Karen - I'm so glad to hear from you. You certainly have had your hands full. I wish I could go help you. I hope you're able to find some home help for your FIL. My mom had a hip replacement 11 years ago and I know that one of the reasons she recovered so well was she was so diligent about doing her PT and getting up and about. I hope you're able to find someone to help FIL in that area. I'll echo Judy - start with baby steps: do your water and reach for a piece of fruit rather than a sweet. Whatever small thing you can do to feel some control will help. I hope you're able to find some time to yourself this weekend.

Judy - I feel your stress. I wish we could all meet somewhere in the middle and have a nice spa weekend. Anyway, first of all congrats on not diving in the halloween candy too much. It must have been in the air - I got into ours yesterday too. Now, you know you didn't do enough damage to gain three pounds, so that has to be some water. Gain or not, you have to get to a meeting and get weighed tomorrow. Knowing what you're dealing with will put you in control, not some unknown number that you'll be thinking about all week. Besides, you'll need to know the number so you'll know how well you've done next week! Have fun with Anthony and try to do something for yourself this weekend that will help you relax.

Yesteray was ok except for the halloween candy. I'm looking forward to a sane weekend, eating wise. I have to really work at my water today - I've not been so good with that the past couple of days. Have to get back on the bike too.

Have a great day and a terrific weekend.

Carla

Carla - sorry to hear that you got into the Halloween candy too. Thanks for your pep talk. I know you are right - it's now been 2 wks that I didn't weigh in - one was when I was on vacation and last week was my avoidance no-weigh. Tomorrow, I will weigh in and as you say, I'll need to know the number so I'll know how well I've done next week!

On a positive note, I did a whopper of a workout at lunch - an interval cardio tape - so I'm feeling rather pleased with myself and hope to take that feeling with me through the evening. I'm also hoping that today's Oprah (which I'm taping) on journal writing will inspire me to pick up my journal tonight.

Have a great weekend.
Judy