God Bless America!

We want to invite everyone to join us in our journey.
We share laughter and tears.
We share what works for us and what doesn't.
We recently started a Topic of the Day.
Monday........Motivation Monday
Tuesday.......Tuesday Tips
Wednesday.....Wednesday Weigh ins
Thursday......Thankful Thursday
Friday........Friday Facials, Fingernails and Fun
Saturday.......Sit-up Saturdays - any physical activity
Sunday.........Soup and Salad Sunday - recipes

These are not required topics ...just ideas to share. We have found them very helpful. We also share heartaches and fears...joys and celebrations.

WELCOME!

Thanks Thin!

Sorry for bailing on the thread but I was so bleary-eyed I could hardly see what I was typing.

GOOD MORNING!

Well, my knees aren't sore this morning but I had to but ben-gay on my lower back. The horseback riding will be good for strengthing those back muscles. I got to ride DH's horse on a short trail ride last night. That was fun but kind of scary not knowing how Tanyah would react to things. Would she bolt? Would she shy away? Neither of those but drug me across some tree stuff. Thank goodness for jeans. But it felt so good.

I'm really having problems getting to sleep lately. I'm tired but when I lay down to go to sleep, its like I can't relax. I'm not fretting about work or anything, just my body won't settle down. I don't know if its because we're eating later or what. But it sure is frustrating and that doesn't help either. I did sleep in this morning. It makes for long days at work when I haven't had a good nights sleep. Tonight we won't do any riding but will go out and work with them a bit.

Food last night was not good but since it was 9 pm when we got home and both were hungry, DH wanted pizza instead of cooking. I was too tired to argue. Tonight will be fish and broccoli. Isn't that part of healthiy eating patterns - its okay to have pizza as long as you quit and go back to healthy foods? I'm really working on my relationship with food and removing any emotional reaction.

Time to get ready for work. Have a great day!

Tuesday Tip
Go to a FoodFit.com and find a new healthy recipe to try tonight or for one night this week.

Is anyone here diabetic? Dh just got his bloodwork back, his blood sugar was elevated, as was his cholesterol. The doc immediately prescribed Lipitor and Avandia and told him to go out and buy a glucometer too. Now, I haven't seen the results yet, don't know what the numbers are, but I hate the idea of jumping right in on taking meds when there's a possibility that dietary changes can improve/control the situtation. Has anyone been through this?

In the meantime, we'll be jumping into high gear around here as far as diet and exercise go. No excuses. Diabetes scares me. I've seen too many people at work ravaged by complications of the disease. A lot of this is due to non-compliance...not eating the right foods, or exercising, which is so important for good circulation.

Funny how his potential health problems can spur me on to do exactly what we should be doing all along. The risks associated with obesity are there for everybody: heart disease, diabetes, cancer...all of which are hereditary and in both of our families.

My Tuesday Tip? Cherish your good health...do everything possible to keep it that way. Eat well, exercise, de-stress. Treat your body like a classic car: with proper maintenance, good fuel, regular check ups, it will keep running smoothly for many years!

I'm off to the filling station...

kat i have to jump in on this. i am diabetic. iwas taking 4 pills a day and only take 1/2 of one pill on high carb days now i went low carb and find that was my thing. the glucometer is a good thing you can really learn to manage with that thing. white flour and sugar are the big culprits with diabetics. tell him to watch medication as some make you gain weight. i gained 50 lbs after i was diagnosed from meds. and it is hard to lose i am dowm 40 after starting atkins. if you need yo know more feel free to ask.

on a good note i went to a neal mc coy concert he is a great entertainer.my sister and family are here so am very busy.

hope everyone is well . pat

Hi everyone!!

Just another quickie here as I started my new semester on monday and have a lot of reading to do along with assignments, housework, laundry and packing for the weekend. We are leaving thursday afternoon to check out North Carolina!

Terri - I have been having a hard time falling asleep too at night this past week. I am sooo tired but stare at the ceiling, toss and turn and making the nightly bathroom run. I haven't had a good night sleep since Andrew was born! I always seem to get interrupted by either John, Andrew or mother nature!

Kat - diabetes runs in my mother's family. My grandmother and my aunt both had/have it. So far I've been lucky but I know it won't last forever. I really need to get on the stick and get this weight off again once and for all!

Barb - $44,000 dollars...I don't think so! I could buy 2 cars for that money!! Geesh!

Tina...where are you girl?? We will definately have to meet at some point once I get settled down there!! John got the letter from the corporate office at Lowe's that they received his transfer request and they were forwarding it to the hiring manager down there. The store isn't scheduled to be complete until the fall I think...and thats if all goes well!!

Well I am truly not ignoring anyone here by not posting a reply...my brain is fried from work and I am in the middle of cooking dinner and folding laundry so I can settle down and start my reading so please don't be offended! I will try and get back again before we leave for NC! If not I will definately come back when we get home!

So just in case!! I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday weekend!!

TTFN Michelle

Where is everybody? I am here at work. DH got home safely.

Hi ladies!

Another busy night. We made our nightly run to the stables. No riding tonight; we just did some spoiling and meds. I took the weedeater and a weed whacker to work on cleaning the place up. I'm bartering yard work for some lessons from the girls. It felt good to be out doing the physical work.

Then the neighbor just left after presenting his bids for doing some landscaping for us. Yikes. I'll have to do some budget work this weekend and decide what to do this year. He wants me to take care of their dog for four days this weekend. I said I'd trade him - trim up my shrubs in front and I'll take care of the dog!!!

I have to go for now - DH has dinner ready and wants help. Takes a lot of nerve.

Later!

Tina: Tony??????

This past weekend was another exhausting one. Then the family arrives on Thursday & stays until the following Tuesday so I don’t see rest and relief coming my way until July 10th!!!

BarbG: The Wellness Clinic sounds like a wonderful thing to do. Congratulations on deciding to go. It’s good to take care of yourself like that. I am trying to learn that too – take care of me so I am better for everyone else in my life.

BarbPA: It’s so exciting going through IVF with you. Thanks for sharing it with us. I keep you in my prayers.

Steph: Welcome Back!!!

2Cute: I am so happy for your “Happy Grandma” status and all the good choices you have made.

Andria: You have to do what you have to do. I too got divorced and it is difficult even if you’re the one that wants it. You are brave to make a decision right for you. I wish now I had gone to a therapist when I got divorced. I could have probably cleaned up a lot of things in my life. (So now I just write long essays on the Dr. Phil thread)

Oh, can I relate. I felt like I couldn’t breathe towards the end of the relationship.

Well, that made me cry. OF COURSE you aren’t ostracized – and I feel honored that you feel “safe” with us. Besides, isn’t that what friends are for? We may agree or disagree but we are always there for each other.

One of my nieces at 13 had trouble at school too. I don’t think it was as serious as your daughter but my sister ended up taking her out of school and home schooling her. My niece is a lot happier and even her allergies got better. School is a lot more dangerous now than I could have imagined. At lease she is talking to you. That is a BIG thing when kids can talk to their parents. I will keep you all in my prayers. Let us know how you are doing? It always helps to “talk”.

Mary: Good to get an update from you – keep posting!!!!

Thin: “ I’ll do just about anything for money”! REALLY????? I got tired just reading your “hot dog” story.


Geez, I couldn’t get into this site the usual way so I did a search and thought I would try that. Little did I know – the 3Fatchicks I picked turned out to be a porn site!!!! BE CAREFUL OUT THERE.

Paperdoll: what’s a glucometer and can you get them anywhere or only through your doctor?

Tina: Glad to see you are back - I have missed the color orange! I wonder if there will be more handsome pictures on this thread again????

I SWEAR I will write more but it is already 8:15 and I haven't had dinner, gotten ready for work tomorrow or anything. I am tired trying to get everything done at work since I will be gone on Friday and next Tuesday. Plus I have to get up before 5AM and go in early - so it's time for beddy bye for me.

I'm back to throw out my two cents about diabetes for Kat.

DH is diabetic. Has been for about six years. Probably longer and that is why he has neuropathy. Anyway, the best response we had to his sugar readings has been from following South Beach. At the time we had decided to give it a try, we had gotten a message from his doctor saying that if his sugar was still where it was in three months, he would have to go on insulin. DH lived (still does sort of) in denial about his diabetes and his responsibility and opportunity to control it himself. I rant about the doctor not discussing harder the behavioral changes he should be making. Just sent him to a dietician. While it was informative, it didn't sink in his thick head. So the doc just kept upping his meds. Until the thread of insulin. Within our three months on SBD, his sugar was down to what they consider to be the normal range. DH has gotten lazy again about it because the doctor hasn't been saying anything more than it looks good. Well that just tells him to continue to live like he used to. Male logic isn't exactly proactive. So I ride his a$$ all the time about what he's eating and plan the meals to try to be Phase 2.

I'm calling it 'his sugars' because I can't for the life of me remember the official name. Its the three month check and the result should be down around 5. His was 7.1 or thereabouts for years until SBD. Last time I saw the number it was 5.4. Pat or anyone else diabetic will know what I mean.

SBD has also helped his cholesterol and triglycerides. I learned that high sugar foods act like a fat in the bloodstream and will raise the triglycerides.

I have to go walk the dog now.

Have a good night! I hope to get caught up on personal replies soon.

Hey guys..... I'm here.

I'm totally exhausted today. I'm taking the Lasix for my ankles, but they just aren't going down. They are absolutely huge today. I can barely move them. I suppose it doesn't help that I sit with the hanging down at work all day, huh? After we got off work, we went down to Dalton to go shopping and of course you KNOW we got "Cold Mountain" cause it came out today and it was SO good. Of course, I am a sucker for happy endings so I was not happy that Inman died, but you could almost see it coming.

Hope I didn't ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

Sometimes I get so frustrated with myself.... I don't know what's wrong with me. I got right at a lb. of popcorn chicken in the deli at Walmart and a couple of the small containers of honey mustard to dip them in. I was about halfway through my chicken and I was utterly and completely full. Even looking at the chicken kinda grossed me out, yet.... I kept eating. I just don't understand that. WHAT makes me do that??? It's like I just can't leave anything left.

Lucky: Glad you finally got those pages read and I'm happy to see you too girl. Also, how dare you laugh at Tony? And uh.... per your request:



Michelle: That's totally SO cool about you moving to NC. I'm going to love having you closer to me. However, couldn't John apply at Home Depot? Tell him I said

Terri: I love to hear you talk about your horses. I've never ridden one before but I've always wanted to.

Kat: I really appreciated what you said about cherishing our health.... it is SO true. Keep us updated on your dh, ok?

Well little ladies..... I've got to hop out of here for now and get these ankles up. I swear they are taking on a life of their own!!

Hi all!

Just a quickie on the diabetes info. I've been on Glucophage for over a year now. 10mg x 2 each day.

The test referred to over a 3 month period is Hemoglobin. Normal range is 3.5-6.0. Mine was 6.3. The regular Glucose test range is 65-110. Mine was 129.

It had been watched for about a year with no reduction in the numbers so the Dr. decided on the Glucophage. Of course she doesn't really PUSH the diet and exercise either.

I am also doing the Lipitor thing. 10mg once a day. My cholestrol was 220 and it should be under 199.

*NOTE: the ranges given are from the printed report from my Dr.'s office.

Of course, now that I'm 50, my blood pressure was a problem, so this year I'm adding meds for that too.

Maybe I should be pushing the diet and exercise, ya think????

Gotta run. Love ya bunches.

Hey, Kat, another diabetic here. I started on glucophage, which actually helped me lose weight when I last attempted it (about 75 pounds in 6 mo.) but that was *before* my blood sugar was elevated. When it came back elevated about a year and a half ago, my doc added avandia and my numbers have actually responded really, really well. I think, especially when it's adult onset, that this is one of those things where what you really need to do is watch your body and its responses very closely and pay attention. Before I took avandia, I was trying very hard to balance my carbs/protein/fat every day. Sugar did not respond. Started on avandia, sugar responded immediately. I don't count carbs any more, but sugar stays swell, right where it should be (as do other numbers). My cholesterol was good before, but doc warned me that when the diabetes came under control, it might go up (somehow excess sugar binds cholesterol and so controlling your sugar levels can have this effect) and I'd have to do lipitor or really start watching fat in my diet or something; but cholesterol remains good. I know, I'm a bad, bad, diabetic, but my numbers are enviable--last time I was in my doc wanted to know my secret, because he'd like to have my numbers (this is a fit man who plays intense tennis with my boss every day...) I was embarrassed to say I had no secret--although eliminating stress in my life also has seemed to help my numbers, honestly. I guess my point is everybody's different

Terri: I'm in southern Illinois, so depending on where you are in Mo., we might be close... if I'm ever driving through I'll let you know, maybe I can get a look at those horses!

Sorry, I'm still getting to know everyone, so I'm not prepared to send personals to everybody

Me, I'm doing not too bad. Focusing on my health for the last month has helped me put some other things in perspective. I don't think I ever laid out my whole situation, so here it is in a nutshell. I've been separated for 4 years (my idea); my ex/estranged is in PA, where I was before taking a job in Illinois (I used the move to make the separation happen). Still in contact with ex, who is currently underemployed and struggling financially. In past 6 months or so, ex has been asking for reconciliation, primarily for financial reasons, and has repeatedly threatened to kill himself if I wouldn't let him move out here with me. Although that manipulation is pretty extreme, it's typical of his behavior. Meanwhile, about 2 years ago, I got a new co-worker who, despite my best efforts, captured my heart at the same time that he became a close friend. Because he was married at the time he came here, I've never said anything about my feelings. But in April he and his wife separated, and since then we've been spending a fair amount of time together, but only on a friendly basis, since it would be insane for either of us to be dating given our marital situations (his divorce is likely to be very messy, while my problem is simply getting to the point where I feel I can get a divorce despite ex's threats). MEANWHILE.... my father died a year ago. I'm an only child. My mom, in PA, is left with my elderly grandma, who has progressive dementia. Mom still works--but doesn't have a driver's license.... dad used to chauffeur her. So, we need to sell the house, move mom and grandma, get her a driver's license, etc. Meanwhile, I'm states and states away. And I get the feeling that the guy I'm crazy about might have started seeing someone. Okay, now, talk about disapproval, I'm sure some of you think I have pretty loose morals. But life just seemed to happen this way, and I'm trying to be as good as I can in the situation. But those are the primary sources of stress in my life. (My job is sometimes stressful but mostly a blessing; I can't really complain there.)

Hey everyone

It seems like forever since I have been on! Ok, not forever, just the part of my week where I get so little sleep that I forget what day it is. Thank goodness the next 4 days are more normal.

I definitely had to get in here and thank everyone for being sweet and supportive. As usual, you were even better than I could have hoped.

One thing I realized I didn't make clear is that my daughter is getting professional help as well. Just so ya know.

I plunked down my $10 at Curves, got weighed and measured, and I'm off and running to the 6 week finish line! I feel so motivated right now, this couldn't be more perfect timing. I also got my food plan from Decisions. There is an awful lot of food every day. That part is going to take some work and getting used to, plus I really have to keep a food journal to do this right. I'm excited to see how well this goes. The plan is super flexible. If there is something I want to eat that isn't listed anywhere, I call in and they tell me what boxes to check off, proteins, fats, starches, etc. Should be really interesting.

I caught myself in some weird thinking this afternoon. I'm still in the introductory 3 days of this food plan. After that, it seems almost too easy. Well, I'm finding myself really scared to start. I am so frightened of failing again when I've been handed a perfectly good tool. And I'm even finding out with some soul searching that I'm afraid to succeed as well. I've used my weight as a crutch for a long time. In a way, it is the friend I've created which will stick with me no matter what I do. My fat doesn't turn on me, and with it, I find a sick sort of solace and an excuse for not living a real and genuine life.

Ack! Adam just caught me asleep at the keyboard. Maybe I should finish the previous thought tomorrow.

*wave* Goodnight!

Andria

Andria: are you you sure you haven't been reading Dr Phil on the sly? That post sounds like him talking. Several of us are going through thinking like that right now. If you haven't read the book, you might want to check out our comments to it in the book threads. I still have the question about this DECISIONS thing. What is it? Is it something like WW where you go and pay and get the plan? or is it something online? Tell me more about it.

A/a/A: I think you will find out that this group will be supportive and loving no matter what your situtation. We are not here to judge you, but to accept you as you are and to be there wehn you need it, whether it be help with weight loss, or just to be here if you need to vent, but generally just being here to share your life.

To everyone else:I hope you don't mind my comments, I still feel like a newbie here, but I do feel like this is a place for lasting friendships and a place we can come with all our fustrations. I am glad for the threads like the book thread, the challange threads, and the weigh in threads so that we can have a place to focus on the #1 reason for this group, weight loss, but I am also proud that we have this general thread where we can share the ups and downs, and ins and outs of ever day life.

Hello everyone! I am doing really good after surgery. I haven't had a chance to ready over all the posts yet. But I just wanted to drop in and let you know that i am alive. And when I can sit at a computer long enough I might be able to read it all and it is a lot. I am doing really good just really tired. I went to TOPS last night and lost another 3 1/4 lbs (of course they all laughed and said that was what my gallbladder weighed.) But I didn't think I would lose I thought maybe the swelling would cause me to gain but I guess not!

Well Later dayz

Scooter