Hey all you good people!

This is my first time to start a new general thread. Just want to check in with everyone and see how it's going out there.

I'm getting back into the swing of losing weight. We had TOO MANY celebrations the past two weeks - and of course, celebrated with food. After I made the adoption goal, we had a celebration dinner. I didn't go nuts with food, but certainly overate. Then, when we got Elijah's referral, we celebrated again. Too much dinner, dessert on a stuffed stomach, AND margaritas when we got home. It was fun! But it's time to face the music. I stepped on the scales today for the first time in almost two weeks. I was afraid to do it, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. 3 pounds up.

Weight Watchers isn't working for me. I eat too much at the end of the day. It gets to be 7:00 and I find myself out of points. So, I'm trying "thin within," www.thinwithinonline.com . I've had a successful first day. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

I've had a nightmare of a time with paperwork and BCIS (new title of the INS) stuff for Elijah. But, it's all worth it!

Hope you're all on your way to a successful week! WE CAN DO THIS!

Angi.. be very patient with the INS - it took me 3 years to get my green card and I married an american. They are the worst people to deal with. And changing their name is not going to make a darn bit of differnce on their lack of efficency. (can you tell I'm a bit bitter!)

Not too much going on here... we have cut our spending budget by 75% so we can buy a house by the end of the year. We are so close to paying off the balance of Jim and he x's old bills from 10 years ago!!!
Single girls: don't only get a background check on your boyfriend - get a credit check too!

today is my last day at work then I'm off for the next 4 days!!! yahooooooo. I'm hoping to get alot of scrapbooking in plus on Friday Sara and I are going to have a garage sale.

That's it from here.

Dana

i had no internet this weekend-- in fact, only ONE phone jack works in the house. the one in the living room. heh.

david worked on it for about 3 hours. he was stripping wires. he was under the house. we wrestled with a HUGE ladder and a not so huge spot, with a phone box 15 feet in the air. no dice. looks like we're going to have to pay from pacbell to come out. the *******s.

as for eating, wed, thurs, fri, and sat - perfect. as for yesterday - not so much. about 2000 calories: really high for me. it was 2 things mostly. one: candy at the movies. two: david deciding to go out for nachos on a whim.

it's ok though. back on track today. i'm going to be low on the calories, and do some jogging at the park. oh, my pedometer broke, dammit. i guess i'll buy a better one next time, and not slam it into the side of the bathroom stall.

hope you all are doing well. i'm not really ready to start the week... but it's going and i'm trying to hang on.

My mom's best friend was here this weekend for their 30-yr HS reunion. She has gained some weight in the 10 years since I saw her last, and was asking me for weight loss pointers. Me! So I gave her a few. I'd like to try & get her here to 3FC, but she's computer-averse. Wish me luck girls!

Gotten about 15 hours of sleep in the past 3 nights, so tonight all I wanna do is sleeeeep, but have an appt w/my trainer, and a dinner date w/Mom, so we'll see what I can get done. *sigh*

DB's birthday is this week, so I'm also working on his gifts.

I had a fabulous weekend of doing nothing! On saturday I actually took a nap in the middle of the day. Yesterday, I spent the day at the beach and got a sunburned where I had obviously missed spots with the SPF46. But the waves were great and we swam out past the boogieboarders and just rode on the swells for a good hour.

Dana - I swore after my first live-in boyfriend, I was never going to date someone again that didn't have a clean credit record. When I fell in love again, I found out I must be attracted to men with bad credit!!! ACK!

i'm lucky david moved in with me, cuz i'm the one who doesn't pass any credit checks! eep. i'm working on it though.

This was a big up and down weekend for me (emotionally and with my weight!). I saw my doctor on Friday and finally got confimation that I probably do have PCOS. I have been asking questions about my symptoms since I was 16!

Now we are talking medication so that my husband and I can have another baby. She thinks it will probably be fairly easy for me to get pregnant! That's the good part of the weekend!

In addition, I have been reading about the importance of following a low-carb diet when you have PCOS. I read about these diets years ago and decided that they were not for me. I don't eat much meat or eggs and I prefer to try a low-fat, low-calorie approach to dieting. I guess it's time to reconsider the low-carb approach, but I really dislike the idea.

Unfortunately, the stress of all of this weakened my willpower and I gained back 2 of the 5 pounds that I lost last week. It's a bit of a depressing Monday.

We went to the zoo yesterday for my birthday, and then we went out to dinner (Chinese). We walked for over 4 hours, and a had a child-size chocolate softie. I filled my plate at dinner, and ate the vegetables first, and then had the waiter take the plate away when I was full.
I probably didn't lose any weight yesterday, but I didn't eat a whole cake either. So I'm Okay, and I had a wonderful time with my family.
Today, I HURT. That's how out of shape I am. But I did go to my water aerobics class, and I swam .25 miles of laps afterward. I hurt more, but tomorrow I am going to my yoga class. And I have stuck to a good eating plan today.
My, but that Ibuprofen feels good.

Alana, my weight fluctuates up and down a pound or two during the week. But I'm steadily fluctuating between lower numbers. Our body's water content changes, we have full or empty stomaches, there are all kinds of reasons. Be gentle with yourself, just do the best you can today.

Hey Alana,

I can fluctuate 3 pounds in a day...even when I am eating really well.

I have PCOS too, and have been loosing weight over the last 2 years (sloooowly - but surely), if you would like to PM me with questions, please feel free. I have not been following a completely low-carb diet. I have found that if I cut out most pure sugars (candy, pop, etc!) and limit bread and pasta, I seem to do alright with weight loss. Not sure that I would be able to give up carbs completely! Glad to hear that you had good news about your chances of getting pregnant from the doctor! That is great!

Take care,
Kris
261-188-155

Asuldoma: There's a lot you can do with a low-carb diet. It doesn't have to be as strict as Atkins to help. I have PCOS, too, and did the real strict low-carb thing for a while. It drove me batty. I had to do some experimenting to figure out what level of carbs worked for me, and it's higher than Atkins maintenance and lower than the AMA's highest suggestion. Actually, I've found their suggestions to be a good estimate for me. They say Fat 20-35%, Protein 10-35% and Carb 45-65%. I aim for the higher ends of fat/protein and the lower end of carb, and that works best for me. And I try to get most of my carbs from veggies, fruit, and dairy, with some from pasta and whole grain bread. I don't eat many potatoes anymore, and have really cut out the sweets. That's helped a LOT.

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/grumble at houseguest. Sunday I told her and told her that after I put Gem to bed I wanted to work out. Unfortunately, Gem wouldn't settle, so it was almost 8:45 before I could even think about it. I ask houseguest what time she wanted to go to bed, so I could figure out what sort of workout I could do (45 minutes is lifting. An hour is lifting and yoga/stretch or cardio. An hour and a half is lifting and cardio). She said "9:00". Argh!! I fumed for fifteen minutes while she tried to apologize and guilt me. She was drunk, too, which didn't help my mood. Finally, I said, "Look, I need to work out. I'll pick a short workout and you can be in bed by 9:30. How's that?" We agreed. I did Tae Bo, since it's only 30 minutes. Then she got a phone call and watched TV. She didn't even GO to bed until 10:30. /grumble

But I DID get my workout. Thirty minutes of Tae Bo gets the blood pumping like none of my other "short" workouts. And after the first five minutes, I was able to ignore her and my anger and focus on my body. By the time I was done, I felt SOOOOOOO good. Even her interminable chattering didn't bother me. /grin

Yesterday's trip to the county fair was fun, but not the healthiest of ventures. /grin Got a lot of walking in, though. And I DID do a pseudo-plan for eating. I ate a light breakfast with lots of protein before we headed out. I took a water bottle so I wouldn't want soda. I looked up the calories on funnel cake ahead of time, because Hunter can't go to the fair and not get a funnel cake, and I wanted to know how much of his cake I could allot myself (not as bad caloricly as I initially thought). I ended up getting a ham and cheese sandwich instead of a corndog or pizza. And a nice fresh lemonade instead of Coke. The surprise was how many calories were in the caramel apple. I had expected it to be like an apple and a candy bar, so about 300 calories, and it was more like 500. But I at really light when I got home (and lots of protein to offset all the sugar) and actually still made it in under 2500 calories. (I aim for between 2000 and 2500 a day.)

Gem loved the fair. We saw pig and duck races. The ducks were the funniest, because they stopped halfway 'round the track to "converse", then continued on. The pigs were really fast. We went through the cow, goat, sheep, and rabbit barns, then saw a lion/tiger show done by a big cat conservationist from Florida. He's the youngest Lion Tamer in the world at 23, and is an eighth generation Lion Tamer. (http://www.bigcatencounter.com/) Very fun. And Gem LOVED it!

Then it started raining, so we ducked inside to check out the arts and crafts, the old-timers exhibits (historic farm and settler equipment), the many booths set up by churches, political parties, merchants, etc., and the produce and items judged during the fair. I knew we'd see knitting and lace-making and vegetables and canned goods, but I didn't expect decorated cakes (some of which were amazingly lovely). Makes me want to dig out Rodgers and Hammerstein's "State Fair" and watch it again (the version with Dana Andrews -- NOT the one with Pat Boone and Ann Margaret). Our favorite exhibit, though, is the Great American Railroad -- a HUGE model train set. It has three or four trains running around it, and each side of the table has little signs. "Can you find the man climbing a ladder?" "Can you find the firetruck?" Fascinating!

We got a chance for Hunter to take his nephew (who was with us) through the Fun House, and for the boy to win a stuffed animal (which he gave to Gem) and a goldfish (which he took home) before the rain started up again in earnest. By the time we got to the car, we were all soaked to the skin. We got a dry baby blanket out of the trunk and wrapped Gem in it in her car seat. She was asleep by the time we hit the highway. Poor girl. But all evening all she could talk about was the tigers and lions. And the train.

Today it's back to work, and we couldn't do anything because of the virus this morning. It's hard to not have use of your computer when you're a webmaster. Kinda goes with the job, doncha know. /grin But now we're up and running again.

Aloha, Everyone...

How are we today? I'm doing pretty well, already did Tae Bo and I'm going to babysit for an hour (that's a good workout) and take a little walk later. Tomorrow I have to babysit for about 12 hours!!!!!! Two kids, ages 3 and 2. It's VERY special.

Synger: What a busy day at the fair!!! Oh my word, Gem must have had the time of her life.

Sounds like everyone else had a fantastic weekend. What's going on this weekend? On Friday (Ben Affleck's birthday, may I add. ) I have to babysit for a bit, then I'm having a friend over for lunch (what should I make? lol) and then we're spending the night at another friend's house. It will be so fun, but a fantastic challenge as far as eating healthy goes. Saturday = church, but no other plans as of yet.

Have a good one, ya'll. -Apryl

I ate like crap for lunch. Blehhhh.

My workout @ the gym Monday has left me very very very sore. I'm not sure I'm going back for more torture tonight, but the thing is, I can definitely feel that it worked. I will just pace myself and take it easier this time, but might not get back there until tomorrow. Tonight I will take a 2 mile walk, to get my legs mellowed out. I also banged the outta my elbow @ my mom's Saturday night & it hurts like a somb*tch.

My stepsister's wedding shower is Sunday & DB's birthday is Saturday. I made him a really awesome gift box, and for Rachel I still haven't been able to shop. I want to spend about $50, can't do that til I get paid Friday. Busy busy. I already have my outfit for Sunday picked out & truthfully, that is the most important part.

Your day @ the fair sounds great, synger!

Apryl, I think you & your friend need to celebrate Affleck's birthday w/some cupcakes.

Well, if it's gonna be cake, it must be CHEESECAKE. That's the only thing that's appropriate for Ben Affleck.

AMEN! to Ben Affleck!!

Well, it's Friday and I have had a good week. I feel very in control. BUT, next week we are on vacation. I have made it clear to hubby that next week CANNOT be an eatfest. I am not doing this good all week, just to gain it back next week. Plus, that'll majorly mess up my baby goal! The problem is that in my house when it comes to food, I am the leader of the pack. Since hubby never knows if I am on or off, he follows my lead. That means I only need to say the word and off we go. I am trying to head this off by making a big deal about doing decent next week!!

So, if I am not around much next week, it's only because I am on vacation. But I'll be sure to post my weigh in on Monday!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

The last two days have been a bust for me, pretty much. I wasn't feeling well, and I lean toward easy comfort food then. Wednesday we had pizza at work. I knew about it ahead of time, and budgeted the calories for it. But someone brought in chocolate cake for dessert, and I indulged in a small slice. That's all she wrote. I ate candy all afternoon (probably to try to keep up the sugar buzz from the cake), and by the time I got home I was tired and cranky. And Gem is going through this phase of not wanting to be in her car seat in the car, so she screamed during the whole 20 minute drive from Grandma's to home. I was ready to scream, too. And it was Hunter's late night, so it was just me and the usually-angelic-but-now-monstrous girl all evening long.

I had brie and Cheez-its and beer for dinner. Then topped it with fudge from the fair. Then the next day my throat was sore and head hurt (allergies, I think) so I stayed home. Ate the rest of the brie and more fudge, and watched the extended version dvd of Fellowship of the Rings, with all the "making of" stuff.

So, today it's back to cottage cheese and veggies, and a healthy lunch.

And what did I learn? What is my plan for next time this happens?

• I need to insist that Hunter not bring home more fudge than he can eat himself. And no more buying super-size brie and Cheezits at Sam's Club. /sigh If all we have to snack on is beef jerky and cottage cheese, it won't be quite as bad.
  
• When I'm in that sort of mood, I need to calm down before I eat. Even if that means sit Gem in Daddy's chair with her monkey and put the Wiggles in the VCR while I go take a shower.
  
• Start with soup. I keep cans of healthy soup in the pantry for just this sort of "emergency". If I can get something in me to start filling me up, I'm less likely to binge on junque.
  
• Once I got beyond my guesstimate of 2500 calories, I distinctly heard my mental self say, "oh, well, what's the use? Might as well keep going." And I did. I need to figure out some ways to ignore that voice. I KNEW it was stupid, but kept eating. And I wasn't even hungry!