Dee-Do you really need to go? I think you should stay home and heal!!

My Dad has had similar injections for his back. They seem to help but in the long run he's still in pain. I hope yours do better for you. Interestingly, he is usually in the most pain in the morning, but he got the stomach flu this week and spent 2 whole days in bed. He imagined that he'd be in terrible pain when he finally got up, but instead he woke up with no pain at all. He did say that he wasn't going to make it a habit to spend days in bed just to get rid of the back pain. I personally think that he ought to consider at least a few extra hours lying down rather than scrunched over the table doing his stamp collecting stuff. But how do you tell that to a very stubborn old guy?

I haven't talked to my Mom for a couple days, but the night that I did, they were setting her up on an air mattress because she has developed a pressure sore on her foot. That's not good news.

Dee- I hope the injections will work. Sounds like you still have pain from the injections. How long before that settles down? Try not to over do it.
I have been working this weekend but wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing.

Ok girls how is everyone doing weight wise?
I hope that you are doing better than we are posting!
Are any of you trying to shake some pounds?

I am sure that I gainned a few over Christmas. I haven't jumped on a scale yet because I just kept on eatting sweets. I smartened up on sunday so now I feel I can face the scale again. I will weigh in tomorrow.
I need to have my weight down so that I don't have to worry to much about a few pounds gainned on my holiday. Only 18 more days to go.

Talked to Larry tonight. He is loving his trip. He said that Progue is so expensive. Couple of examples are two days of parking at the hotel was $180, bacon and eggs (not a fancy place) was $30.

He heads to Budapest, Hungary tomorrow. He is looking forward to it. He has never been there before. He said that the oldest bridge standing in Europe is there. It was built in the 1300's.

Dez is coming down for a salmon dinner tonight. She says she is keeping me company but I think she is just coming to mooch dinner....lol

Come on back and post. Lets get back on track.

Dee-Why is Larry in Europe? Is it job related? You sound like you are feeling better, I certainly hope so. On the eating, I am really trying, but my weight has been up to 134 for the past few weeks, and I can't seem to shake it off. While on break, I ran or biked everyday except 1 or 2. Now I am doing 100 crunches per day also. I really need to get these extra lbs. off.

I have been back on WW for a week now. Started counting my points last Wednesday. I only lost 2 pounds but at least its a lose. I was back up to 190 lbs. If I don't keep a journal I eat too much. I am having problems with my feet and I think the extra weight is making a big difference in my arthritis. 50 lbs overweight is a lot of extra pressure on my joints.
Its a new year and I am going to really make the effort to get this weight off.
Dee - How are you feeling after your injections? Have they helped this time.
Shelley - How did Mike make out with the job interview?
Allison - How is Mom doing?

My weight is still much higher than it should be. The holidays really did me in. My old "red flag" weight was 145 and yesterday I was at 153. That is really bad. HOWEVER, I was practically 100% on plan yesterday--only 1 glass of wine and 2 small chocolates! There is no wine left in the house! From here on out, I will be on plan!!! One or two OP days under my belt and the rest is easy--its just getting restarted that is hard.

My Mom: I talk with her about every other day (I should really use my cell phone to call her--my bill will be really high this month!) and she is in good spirits. She is getting therapy twice a day and she says it seems to be helping and she is enjoying it. She is in pain from time to time, but seems to be getting better. But, this morning I got a note from my SIL (who is an RN). She says that the swelling is so bad she can't see my Mom's knee cap, she's been ordered for another 3 weeks non-weight bearing. they're actually thinking she might not be able to go home at all and may need to go to a residential care facility. Dad has a bad back and can't help her with transitions and she isn't eating enough and is getting weaker and weaker so that she isn't strong enough to do transitions herself. It's hard.

Allison I am sorry to hear that your mom is not doing well I am sure that it is hard on your dad too. I will remember her in my prayers.
Now for business. I am glad to hear that you are back on track. I too only need a couple of days under my belt and then it is ok.

Shelley, Larry is in Europe for business. He is gone for 10 days. Sunday night he will be back home. He just loves it.
This is part of the email he sent me today....

We arrived in Budapest around 8:00, it was quite an interesting drive. We traveled through Austria from Czech Republic along some very narrow winding roads. These roads lasted about 2 hours before getting on the Autobahn. The autobahn’s typically have no speed limits but this one maxed out at 130 km per hour. Even though people were still flying by you and it was very scary when passing someone at this speed because people were passing you at probably 160 kmh. Michael let me drive for the last couple of hours after my 1 ½ hour nap.

The hotel is unbelievable, Michael upgraded out Holiday Inn Priority points card to get the internet and breakfast for free. We are on the executive floor and have access to the VIP lounge. The view out of my room is spectacular, it overlooks the river and royal castle. At night it is breathtaking and can’t wait until morning when you can see more than just the lights.
My room had a complimentary bottle of wine, fruit and expensive water.

As you can see he is not suffering.

How did Mike make out with the job? I really hope that he gets it, even though he won't be at home much.

Janice I am also counting points on ww's. I haven't journaled this week but I am keeping track in my head.I know that I have to start writting it down or I will let things get away on me. I am glad that you are back on track. Remember you are the only one that can take care of yourself. Your feet need you.

Well I have to say that I am very discouraged today. Yesterday my back pain started getting worse and overnight my leg pain and back pain kept me up most of the night. Today is even worse. I was so hoping that this was going to work. I am hoping that this is just a bad little stretch.

Now that is enough sitting for me. It bothers my back so up I go.

Thanks for coming back and posting.

Dee-I'm so sorry you are in so much pain. I know how it is because Mike lives with it everyday. He still takes so much medication. The company he interviewed with still hasn't let him know anything. They actually won't break ground on the houses they are building until spring because the ground needs to be ready. We are hoping to hear something next week.

Janice-Good for you on journaling again. I really need to do that.

Allison-Sending prayers to your mother.

Did everyone get the update email from Cheryl?

Shelley lets pray that Mike gets the job.
I did get the update on Cheryl and the baby. She must be so excited and she is doing great weight wise.

My back is still pretty bad today. I am going to go swim in about 1/2 hour, hopefully that will help.

Dee- I am sorry to hear that you are still is such pain. What do they say about the shots. Is it supposed to help right away or is this pain normal after the shots? My heart goes out to you.
Thank you all for the words of encouragement. I am feeling better about myself now that I am back to counting points and watching what I eat. Things sure can get away on you when you don't pay attention to what is going into your mouth. I am a big fan of the Biggest Loser show, are any of you gals watching it. They are such an inspiration.
Allison - I am sorry that your Mom is not doing so well. She is in my prayers.
Shelley - got my fingers crossed for Mike getting the job. Are you still working two jobs?
I have found that eating cereal really helps me keep on track. At work when I would normally have a bag of chips or a chocolate bar out of the vending machine I have been buying a little box of the guardian cereal and eating it dry with a diet coke. Feels like I'm cheating but I'm not. Any little tricks that you can pass along I will appreciate.

I'm finally back into the 140's! Only by half a pound, but I feel like I'm back in the game again. It reinforces me to stay away from the wine this weekend.

Also, so far this month, I've walked or run 19 miles. My goal is 50 miles and at this pace, I'll probably surpass my goal (unless I get sick again).

Take care everyone.

Allison you are doing great. You know what to do, so keep doing it.
How is your mom doing? That is good that you are jogging. It burns a lot of calories.

Janice have you heard of Nature Valley Fibre Source? They have 5 grams of fiber and 130 calories with only 3 grams of fat. They fill you up and are a great treat.

Shelley how is your foot doing? Injuries take a long time to heal especially when we want to be more active than we really should. Take care of yourself.

Way to go Allison, you are doing great.
Dee - I haven't heard of Nature Valley Fibre source is it something you add to things or a bar or what?

Janice you sure have been missing it out. It is like a granola bar but made with honey and lots of fiber. I buy mine at costco but walmart, or most grocery stores have them.

Good morning everyone.

My Mom is doing okay. I talked with her yesterday and she said she thinks the swelling in her knee is going down. She has an appointment with the wound care doctor today--hopefully that will be good news. She says the only thing she is not happy about is the fact that she needs assistance to use the bathroom and for transitions in/out of bed/wheelchair. I explained that the PT she is getting is to strengthen her upper body so she can do it herself and as soon as she can do it herself she can go home. She knows that. Hopefully it won't be much longer. She and my Dad are planning on flying down here in May for Dana's graduation (I already bought the tickets). I sure hope they'll still be able to come.

Allison I am glad that your mom is doing a bit better. It sure is hard to see our parents hurt.
I hope that your parents will be able to make it to Dana's grad. It should be plenty of time for your mom to recover.

This week will be a busy week. I have a massage this afternoon, hair cut tomorrow afternoon and I go for my epidural injections again on wednesday. After that I will be toast for a few days.
Inbetween that I have to start looking through my stuff for mexico. lots to pack and organize for going away that long.

Larry made it safely home last night. He was happy to be here even though he loved Europe. He gets very lonely without me. It likes a separation anxiety. Not sure how he will do so soon after his trip when I go to mexico two weeks before him. Hopefully the kids will check up on him. He even crys when i talk to him on the phone. Poor guy.

It is just freezing here today. It is like -26 with out the windchill. I have no fricken clue what it is with the windchill. To darn cold , as in like time for Mexico.

Morning everyone. I think the cold weather is heading this way too. I am tired of winter. Wish I was going somewhere warm. I walk in the snow for about 20 seconds in the morning. It seems to help the pain and swelling in my feet.
Dee - how is your back feeling? You need more shots?
Shelley - any word on the job Mike applied for?
Allison - glad your Mom is starting to feel better. She sounds very feisty.
Trying to stay on program, I am weighing in on Wednesdays. I didn't join WW but am following the plan.

Janice good for you. I am a life ttime member of ww's and I weigh in every month. Sometimes I like to go more often when I am having a hard time staying on program.
My back seems to have settled down the last few days, it was rough from monday to about saturday but now it is pretty good.
I go for more injections tomorrow so I don't think that I will post for a few days. I am so scared to go. I just hate it.
You can come and join me in Mexico. I have a two bedroom condo just for myself.

Shelley how you doing? I am still praying for a job for Mike. Don't give up faith.

Allison how is your mom doing today? I hope that she keeps improving. What is the weather like for you?

I talked to my mom and dad on sunday. They arrived in BC on friday but it wasn't uneventful. She said the roads were good until the last 100 miles, it started to get slushy and slippery. You have to remember that they are driving on steep swinding and twisting roads in the mountains. Mom said it was pretty stressful. Dad is not the best driver. They hit one really slippery spot and Dad hit the brakes skidded across the three times on a curve not knowing what was coming. The side of the road was a sharp drop off.....they headed for that and went down the side of the mountain....mom thought that it was over. They got hung up on a tree and needed help to get out of the van and climb back up the mountain. Some kind samarentins stopped and helped them. Someone else took my mom to a restaurant to wait for Dad to come back. Someone else called a tow truck and pulled out the van. Fortunatly no one was hurt and the van was in perfect condition. They were nervous to continue but made it to their condo that day. I am so happy that everything ended up that way. I don't think that I could deal with losing my parents after just losing Vivian.
I am having a hard time with that. I am sad that when I go to Mexico I won't be able to count on her being their for me and looking after me like mother's do.

Enjoy the next few days and I will post once I am up and around.

Gee Dee, your parents trip sounds scary! Thankfully they're safe.

I haven't talked to my Mom since Sunday--I'll call her tonight to see how it went with the wound care doctor yesterday. My SIL wrote to say that Mom is progressing well and is starting to be able to manage transfers, but not with enough stability to be able to go home just yet. She sees the ortho doc next week and also has a consult scheduled with a vascular surgeon.

Good luck with your back. What kind of injections are you getting?

Dee- I am praying that your injections are not too painful and that they work to reduce your pain.
Allison - it sounds like your Mom is on the mend, hope she is getting rehab to help her learn to transfer etc.
Shelley - how are you doing? Sometimes companies take forever to get back to interviewees, if they are starting to break ground until spring it may take them a while to get everything into place. I have my fingers and toes crossed for Mike.
I weighed in this morning and am down three pounds this morning. I lost two pounds the first week, so am down 5 pounds since the beginning of January. I will look for the Nature Valley bars at Costco, I'm sure they have them I just never noticed. I eat a lot of cereal for the fibre.
Have a great day everyone.

Wow \janice you are doing awesome. Think how hot you will look by Valentine's day?
Do find those granola bars if you like fiber and they are a great treat too.

Had my injections. they hurt more that they did the last time. I needed a few tissues to wipe away the tears.
I did get an explaination though of what they are doing. They are putting oxycontin in 6 locations hoping that is the nerves that are giving me pain. Then i got another 6 as a test to see how I do. I have to log my pain every hour for the first 24 hours then three times a day for two weeks.
They will availuate that to see if the pain improved especially right after the injections. If they see what they like then thye will coterize the nerves that are causing the pain. Normally this would be done two weeks after these shots but since I will be away it will be when I get bck. Now out of the options they could have done I was thinking that this is the one that is going to work. Guess I will find out in a few months from now. I only pray that they have found somehting to help me.

I am woozy but feeling pretty good.

Thanks for the prayers.

Dee - I sure hope the injections work. It sounds like they are on the right track. When do you go to Mexico?
I found the bars and they are delicious. 2 points I think they worked out to.
I'm going to make the WW vegetable soup today. Trying to keep on track.
The weather here is freezing. Minus 12 plus the wind chill. BURRR!

Janice I am glad that you like the bars. I count them as two points each. You think that you have it cold we have -25 during the day for the last few days. With the windchill it is -40. Sure is cold walking to the Y. I am glad that I will be out of here soon. I leave saturday.

Girls I want you to promise me that when I come back the board will still be up and running. I will check in and post the odd time but know that I will be thinking of you and even our long lost souls.

Hi everyone! I do pop in and read every now and then. There hasn't been a whole lot of dieting going on here, so I don't feel like I have a whole lot to add. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to get back on track with my weight, but I just don't have it in me right now.

Dee ~ You'll probably be in Mexico over your birthday, so I'll send you early happy birthday wishes now. Have a wonderful birthday and a great trip (bring back some warm weather and sunshine with you!)

Janice ~ You are really doing great! I wish I had your motivation to stick with it.

Dee- I PROMISE!

Suzy thank you for the birthday wishes. I leave saturday so you are right I won't be here. Sure do miss your posts.
I will be celebrating my birthday with my aunt, uncle and cousin. We had a party on sunday for me and my DIL. It was fun but it just isn't the same as on your birthday.

Janice thanks for promising me. Now you need to pinky swear!
I am going to be checking in on you.
Keep doing great, when I get back I hope to see less of you and by that I don't mean by posting. Just less per square inch.

I Pinky Swear! See I'm here. Still on program, now I need to get exercising.

Have a wonderful trip Dee and a very happy birthday. :hug:

Yesterday was a horrible day here. I ate almost continuously all day long and by evening I was miserable. I know some of this is due to depression. I don't know if I mentioned it here or not, but one of my best friends passed away after a year long battle with cancer on the 11th. Between losing her and my dad I have just been at the lowest of lows. I know I can't continue on like this though and that I need to start taking care of myself. This morning I got up half an hour early and got on the treadmill first thing and walked for 30 minutes. I'm also going to do my best to only eat when I am truly hungry and not eat to fill a void in my life. It's a start...I hope I can keep it up.

Suzy - how terrible for you. It is hard not to be an emotional eater when things are causing you such sadness. You are in my prayers. I think sometimes we need to stop worrying about our weight so much and get through the rough patches in life however we can.
Please take care of yourself and know that we are here for you. I feel like we are friends even though we haven't met in person. I share more with you girls than I do anyone else. It is nice to have a place to share without being judged for my shortcomings.

Thank you Janice! :hug: The trouble is that I did stop worrying about my weight back when my dad entered hospice and then after he died, I used that as another excuse to eat whatever I wanted and then MaryJo died and that was another excuse. I stepped on the scale yesterday and weighed in at 166! I am just 7 pounds from being right back where I started. It's time for me to stop sitting around and feeling sorry for myself and DO something that will make me feel better instead of worse! The dust is off the treadmill and I have been on it everyday since Friday. I'm trying hard to get the eating under control too. The weekend was tough because we had a birthday dinner Saturday night for my mom. Yesterday was better, but not great. I'm shooting for an totally OP day today! :)

Suzy - You know what to do because you've done it before. YOU CAN DO IT! It sounds like you are on the right track. It is so easy for the weight to come back. I am in the same boat as you. Back where I started. Lets do it together and try to keep each other motivated.

That sounds like a good plan Janice! :hug: I know you are right...I did it before and I can do it again. I did get on the treadmill for 30 minutes today and my eating was ok, not 100% OP, but not a disaster either.

Way to go Suzy, you are doing something positive. 30 minutes is a lot of calories.

Hey girls. I've been having a tough week. My eating has been all over the place with carb cravings. Must be PMSing. I'm determined to get it back on track today. DH is in SLC on business yesterday and today so our evening walks have been cancelled. I still am doing my morning running though and have walked/run 51 miles so far this month.

Not really missing. I'm at work checking in. My computer is in the shop and I should get it back on Tuesday.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend and staying on program.

Happy Monday ladies! I'm still trying to get my eating under control here, but at least I am keeping up with my commitment to get on the treadmill for 30 minutes every day. I did take yesterday off, but I went shopping with some friends, so I'm sure I walked more than 30 minutes (I'm not going to count it towards my goal though).

Janice, I wondered where you have been. I hope your computer comes back soon and is better than ever!

Allison, how are you doing with the carb cravings? Carbs are what I crave too...I think it's the hardest thing to kick!






:woops: Goal - 750 min. / 30 min. today / 90 min. total

Carb cravings only seem to bother me when I start the day wrong. If I have cereal or oatmeal, I want carbs the rest of the day. Sometimes a sandwich at lunch will do it to me, too. I'm doing okay staying away, though.

I caved in this weekend and had wine. 1 bottle lasted me Friday and Saturday and then I bought a second for Sunday which I shared with my MIL. No more. I'm off the "sauce" for another few weeks.

Eating has been all over the place lately. I'm up a little as a consequence, but I'm hard at the diet today and hope to reverse the little gain.

DD tried on her dress for her program in May. It won't zip up. She must lose about 10 pounds so it gives us all the impetus to really stick with it for the next month or so.

Hey everyone! I have been MIA, on other websites, etc. I can't believe I missed the princess's birthday! Happy Belated Birthday, Dee! I love you!

My eating has been bad up until yesterday. Now I am trying to not eat after 9:00 at night. That's when the carb monster takes control of me.

Suzy-Good for you getting on the old TM everyday! That's awesome!

Allison-It helps to have someone else trying to stay OP with you. I hope you and your DD do well!

Janice-Hope your computer is up and working soon!!

We had a scare with my mom. She had foot surgery last week and had a reaction to the anesthesia. She was nauseous for several days and wouldn't eat. She is okay now, but still not eating much.

I have been thinking about what Allison said about eating cereal for breakfast making the carb cravings worse. I almost always eat some kind of hot cereal for breakfast. I tried a scrambled egg and oj for breakfast this morning to see if it will make a difference, but I'm not sure it will be enough to hold me over until lunch. What do you all normally eat for breakfast?

It's good to hear from you Shelley! I'm glad that your mom is doing better...I'm sure that was quite a scare for you all!


:woops: February goal - 750 min. / 30 min. today / 120 min. total