Stress, stress, stress...is this a relatively recent invention, or did folks in the olden days have another word for it? These next two weeks will present numerous opportunities for me to say or do the wrong thing, due to an overload of work and a strong undercurrent of dissatisfaction with our newish director. I'm candid and direct--to a fault--so I have to put a lot of energy into being more thoughtful before I open my mouth :nono:. I think I'm traveling again later this week, but there aren't too many details, and I'm thinking of canceling the trip. Never dull moment!

Penny, please send photos of your flowers when you have them. I hope you can post a loss this week! I'm in the midst of TOM, and am feeling a bit bloated, but I'd like to go down at least a pound. The scale hasn't done much these past few weeks, but my clothes are getting looser, hooray!

Carol, you're pretty active for a lady with a bad back! Wow, you have fresh raspberries....they cost so much here that I only buy them frozen. Welcome back onto the wagon!

Marie, I'm glad that you got out of working late today. Keep taking it slow.

I didn't work out this morning, but will work out this evening. I've been eating lightly, between the heat and not having many groceries. I bought a few days worth of fresh produce and dairy, which I've figured out keeps me feeling full in the afternoons. Today I had lox and V8 juice for b'fast, cold watermelon and almonds for AM snack, beef chili for lunch and half an apple and a bit of smoked tofu for PM snack. I'll have a big salad w/turkey for dinner.

I've been really into frozen grapes for snacks or dessert. You can't gobble them down too fast, and they are like healthy popsicles for adults. For a year I've been experimenting with what to do when my tongue's "hungry." I was on an Altoids kick for a while, until that stopped working. Gin-Gins have been dong the trick all year. They are hard ginger candies that are a litle spicy and just a little sweet. I really like them, but it's hard to eat too many of them, so they are perfect for me.

Oy, duty calls! Back to work.

judy

G,day lovely ladies
Major bummer all those post,s went AWOL and I also agree it would be good if we could lose weight just as easy but then again if it was that easy then all the weight loss companies would go broke, and so would we buying all the little clothes that we would just have to have LOL.
I,m doing OK bored, bored, bored but eating healthy I like the sound of your frozen grapes Judy and the candy sounds good to I love anything with ginger.
Penny, Marie and Carol good to see your all hanging in there and Elyn I don,t know you yet but I,ll get there.
Well take care all bye for now

Juls

Judy - Frozen grapes sound good - especially when (and if) the weather gets hot here. I agree it's a good idea to find some low cal but healthy alternatives that we can turn to when we get the munchies. This often helps me stave off a full fledged binge. I hope you soon get some relief from all that job related stress.

Juls - Maybe you need to "spice up" your diet with some new but healthy foods if you are bored with what you're eating. I find that as soon as I get bored I fall off the wagon and landing on my butt gets painful after a while :lol:.

Carol - You suggested that we post some healthy recipes. Here is a link to one of my recipes on Spark People. I have these in a "Recipe Box" so they are quick to enter into my food log. This one is for the "guilt free" bread pudding I came up with after a bit of experimentation. I sometimes even have one for breakfast as they are quite well balanced with carbs, fat and protein. I hope the link works.

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recip...?recipe=323258

Marie - I hope you are feeling better today.

My DH is in Seattle for a few days. A good time for me to eat up some frozen left overs! I've been doing some long overdue spring cleaning.

Hi everyone,

Things are ok here and the weather is supposed to start warming up. this morning it was 29 degrees and there was frost on my strawberries. But 80's by Friday. YEAH!!! Still sick but every day has been a little better. Except for some reason, my neck is really sore today. It might have been the ridiculous coughing fit yesterday that I couldn't stop for about an hour.

Anyway, yesterday morning I got up and di 2 WATP miles and then did it again this morning. I was a bit tired after the 2nd mile so I definitely knew it was time to stop. Food has been reasonable - neither great or bad. soon I'll be able to swim after work and that will help.

Penny, enjoy your quiet alone time. I really like brief alone days. And I love clematis - purple ones. They are so pretty.

Juls, soon the ankle will be healed and the boredom will slip away. Good job on eating healthy.

Judy, stress has always been a part of life - but I think it's a hear and now thing. Once a couple years have past, the memory of stress nearly evaporates and then it's hard to think of it way back when. I know I'm like that. A decade ago I had a very stressful job - but that's all I remember that it was stressful. I don't remember the specifics. I'm really sorry your new director didn't prove to be all that you thought she'd be. Bad hires make a stressful situation so much worse.

Back to work for me...
Marie

Hi, chickies! I'm not leaving town today after all. There weren't enough meetings confirmed to justify the time and expense. You know that life has gotten crazy when I'm relieved to not be going to San Francisco :dizzy:.

Marie, I'm glad that you're feeling good enough to work out. Thanks for the note on stress. When I think of some of the things I've been through, I'm like, yeah, that happened...but it's as if I'm watching a movie of someone else's life, I'm not able to go back and connect to those exact feelings (thank God!). Every day's a new day.

Penny, is your hubby anti-leftovers? I don't have any, now that I've had to clean out my freezer...I'll make up a big batch of soup or something this weekend, and start over again.

Juls, it must be frustrating to be laid up for so long! Good luck with not using this as an excuse to munch out. I know that you will get through this.

I've been eating on program, but not working out at the level I wanted. My weight is actually higher (215) than its been in weeks, but I think it's bloat from salt (eating out, packaged food) and TOM. Today I had V8 juice and salmon for b'fast, cottage cheese and strawberries for AM snack, and a big lunch--pork loin, plantains and spinach--so I'll just have scrambled egg and veggies for dinner. I work up late, only had time for a 20-minute workout, so I'm heading home and to the ebike shortly.

judy

G,day lovely ladies, I,m doing great I,m off to hospital tommorrow and I hope I can start to put weight on my ankle and get back to normal but good or bad I know this to shall pass.

Penny you made me laugh I know the feeling of landing on your butt when you fall off the wagon these days I,ve got a bit of a built in cushion to fall on I wish I had fallen on that intead of my ankle I might have bounced LOL.
I,m not bored from my healthy eating I,m bored from doing nothing but watch TV and read OH MY GOD I never thought I would say that, I am actually bored from being lazy, hope I remember that when I can exercise again.

Marie I hope you get better soon and way to girl on your exercise and enjoy your swim after work.

Judy it has been frustrating but it will end soon enough then I,ll find something else to whinge about probably exercise again but I must say that at the moment I even miss not being able to do that.

Carol hope your well and hanging in there.

Elyn hope you are doing well to.

BREKKI: A BANANA AND A PEAR AND A CUP OF COFFEE.
LUNCH: 2 SLICES TOAST WITH DEVILLED HAM SPREAD AND A CUP OF COFFEE.
DINNER: PLANNING ON CHICKEN CHOW MEIN.
SNACKS: 2 PEICES OF CARAMELLO CHOCOLATE AND A PEAR.

Take care everyone.

Juls

Morning all!!!

Well, I couldn't get out of bed this morning to exercise. So I snuggled with Kai, the love puppy. For a Siberian Husky, she's the most snuggable puppy I've ever had. It was a great way to start the day. I think I'll walk at lunch, then maybe if Le Soliel heats my pool efficiently today, I'll swim after work. My fingers are crossed on that one.

Juls, I hope that the desire sticks with you for a long time. After nearly 2.5 years of regular exercise, I definitely hate when I don't. I never thought I'd be that type of person. :)

Judy, congrats on getting a trip cancelled. That will help with the work stress. You'll get more done and not have to play catch up.

Penny and Carol, I hope all is well. elyn, if you're lurking, come out to play.
Marie

Kai the Love Puppy...Marie, does your husband know about this? ;) What a nice way to start the day. I don't have partner or a a pet, so I'll give my pillow a fetching name.

Juls, I'm sending positive thought waves across the thousands of miles in your general direction Down Under :hug:. Good luck at the doctor's office. It will be great to get on to the next stage of your recovery--and away from the brain-liquifying TV!

I'm feeling mentally pooped, but physically fine. I did my workout last night, and 40 minutes of aerobics this morning. I bought a jar of healthy nuts for my desk, but I think I have to take them home, 'cuz I keep digging into them too often. I usually bring almonds from home, 15 at a time. Besides too many nuts, I had a protein shake for b'fast, half an apple and a bit of smoked tofu for AM snack, and will have a salad for lunch.

It's a beautiful day today! Hope things are going well for all our chickies out there.

judy

We have company from Canada with us, so I've been a bit busy to post. The weather has FINALLY started to improve and we may go to the coast tomorrow. I've been on track with eating and can now move my weight tracker down a pound! :carrot:

Marie & Juls - I hope you're feeling better every day.

Judy, Carol & Elyn - I hope everything is on track for you guys.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The good news (sorta) is that I'm back down to 213, at least, so that was a temporary up-blip on the scale. I was getting a little worried, despite looking a bit thinner.

The bad news is that things are tense, almost hostile, between some of my colleagues. I'm just dreading this next week. I have to work some over the weekend, but I'll need to go to the movies or play home spa or something to keep myself from dwelling on what might happen with my boss or, more worrisome, to my little nonprofit.

I had a protein shake for b'fast, half an apple and some tofu for AM snack; tuna and chickpea salad for lunch, and watermelons and nuts for afternoon snack. A salad with an as-yet-undetermined protein for dinner. And a furious ride to nowhere on the ebike, I didn't have time for a workout this morning.

Hope everyone has a good weekend, and that the fathers in your lives get some extra love!

judy

Hi everyone:wave:

DH and I have been on our summer vacation since saturday.
I have my laptop with me and there is wifi in the hotel, but the connection keeps dropping.:mad::(

I have tried many times to post, but everytime I click submit reply, it either goes back to the log in page or I lose the connection.:(:mad:

I have actually given up, but I told myself I should try one more time because I don't want you all to think that I have jumped ship.

We still have 1 more week of fun, so I'll catch up with you guys later.

Juls - It's nice to meet you. Hope you're well.

Penny, Marie, Judy, and Carol - Hope everything is OK.

It is vacation time - so eating is really bad :( :ink:but at least I'm getting some exercise from all the walking, etc. I just hope I'll not gain too much.:crossed:

Hey, Elyn, I hope you're having fun on vacation! Two weeks or more at a time is the way to do it, for sure. It takes me a week to get into relaxation mode, so it would be nice to be able to settle in and enjoy it for at least week. :beach:.

I spent Saturday trying to stop obsessing about what might happen at work. Whatever...all I can do is keep working hard and try to be positive. I'm on track with my eating, and did good long workouts yesterday and today. I went the library and took out the Fiber 35 Diet (I have a small collection of such books that I bought over the years, I won't buy anymore :nono:). I think it will help me think about my mini-meal program, and it fits in with a lot of what I'm doing, anyway--lots of veggies, soups and salads, etc. I expect to be able to report a loss for Wednesday's weigh-in:carrot:.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

judy

Well girls sorry for not being on here but I messed up my computer. My SIL couldn't even figure it out. Well tonight some how with a little prayer I managed to do it. My computer has a trouble shooting thing on it. Well guess it works pretty good huh? Hope I don't do that again.
Judy your work sounds stressful non for profit and every other company seem so stressed with the prices going up all over the place. Gas is killing me 4.15 a gal. crazy huh? Well I hope things get better soon for you. Gotta fly for now another storm is coming in. I am trying to behave with the food front going to do the scale on tues. first time in awhile its time something needs to knock me into shape. Gotta fly take care all and I will ck in on tues.

Good morning all its so nice to beable to keep in touch again. Penny I read my Spark info. this a.m. and it is a good place to get recipes. I also downloaded some from ww site yesterday. Trying to inspire myself to be motivated to eat healthier and have more variety. Yesterdays intake was good. Today I am going to write down my intakes from yesterday and beginning today will track once again. Sometimes we get away from that even though it works for us? Our lives get so busy and fast paced I guess thats the problem. I am working late tonight covering another girls caseload. But it is okay as friday I am planning to use a half of sick day for an appt. with my mom for a walker for her and will add tonights hrs. on etc. It will be nice to save on gas going in. Our company at least is considering the option of a 4 day work week if things don't improve with gas prices. I for one drive 18 miles in and 18 miles back on top of what ever I drive to see my clients. Its killing me. I am trying to group things together and will work with other coworkers to try and consolidate some things but thats not easy.
Judy too bad you had to cancel your trip. I hope things get better at work I know how hard that is I have been there too many times. For me that area of my life has improved there will always be some people whom dislike the way I do things but thats okay I am coming to grips with that. We are all different it makes life interesting I guess.
Elyn vacation sounds like fun hope you ar enjoying yours. I have taken my big time off to HI earlier this year. So now just a day here and there. We are going on a nice camping adventure on July 4th. It will be the only far away one for us most of the summer it will be with in a 20 min. ride due to gas prices. Oh well as long as we are kayaking somewhere and relaxing.
Marie Kia sounds lovely aren't you glad you got her? I love my Bear even though he can be a handful at times. The other day I was working and my SIL was hiding in the bathroom as we had storm warning something kind of new to us here but 2 times with in a week for tornado watches/ warnings. Bear stayed in there with her I think he was her comfort level giver. I was of course working. Glad you got a snuggly one.
Penny how fun having company. Did you get a chance to have a tea party with them? I would love to join you in a cup of tea someday. Hope your doing well. Is your patio done?
Well off to a long day today but its okay. We are down to 60's today for a high talk about extreme changes we have been in the high 80's to 90. Nutty weather this year kind of scary wonder whats up with mother earth here. My gardens look great they love this hot then cool conditions put in 4 dz. tomatoes hope to can some for winter. I even have a peach tree that has fruit first time ever. So I have raspberries, apples not to many, lots of pears, peaches too. I am very happy with my yard this year. What one can do with an acre of land.
Take care. I will cont. to try to stay on track. Spark says work on 10% wt. loss goal so thats my plan.

Hey, Carol, welcome back. You're right, it's easy to get away from sharing what we eat each day. I get so caught up in what's going on in everyone's lives--or in nattering on about my own--that I can forget to mention the business at hand.

Today was the calm before the storm at work, I think. Oh well, I'm trying to get some focused work done before people start showing up from around the country. I made up an errand to give myself an excuse to take a long walk at lunch, and I bought some weird gluten-free crackers which don't taste like much but don't have many calories or carbs and are helping with the nervous crunchies. I've kicked my Baked Lays potato chip habit :carrot:.

I did a 40-minute weight training this morning, and will ride the ebike this evening. I had yogurt and chicken b'fast sausages early this morning, and salmon and sliced red pepper for AM snack. Catfish and greens for lunch, and almonds, those strange little crackers and some frozen grapes for late afternoon snack. Will have a big salad for dinner. I really want to post 211 for tomorrow's weigh-in!

Hope all you other chickies are dong well!

judy