My sons and I have HAND FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE!!! I first noticed my 5 year old's hands had little blister like bumps and then his feet as well. I thought it must be an allergic reaction and I kept my eye on them. Then yesterday while breastfeeding the baby, I noticed he had little bumps all over his hands. I immediately un-did his footed pajamas to look at his feet. Sure enough...bumps! Then I started to think...the day before I had had a bump on my foot that I thought was a blister...and that morning I thought I had a splinter in my big toe...Come to find out...It's HAND FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE!!! The Dr said that it is going around right now and that it is highly contagious. However, it's fine to send the kids to school and day care as long as they don't have a fever. How wierd and annoying!!!

Well, the Atkins diet is going well. I'm going slightly over 20 carbs each day, but still staying around 25. I haven't lost anymore weight, but I also started my period. My first one since having the baby. I'm probably experiencing bloating and I also haven't been drinking enough water so I'm probably retaining water due to the excess sodium from the diet soda. I will not give up. Even if I don't lose any weight, at least I'm not gaining! If I were to give up, I would eat horrible horrible things and get really really really fat instead of just really fat. LOL

Cyan, are you taking a multivitamin? You definitely need a boost. I think your excess hunger could be due to the weight lifting. Your building muscle and your muscle needs fuel to grow. Try munching on a handful of pecans or peanuts when you find yourself wanting to eat a house. Take a brisk walk around the block. Do some stretches.
You can do it!

See you all later,

Lisa

Where do the weekends go..I dont know...but I blinked and its monday.

Hey Lisa..I hope you and your family are feeling better ... I have never heard of foot and mouth disease here in north america...I hear about the british hoof and mouth diseas that the hooved animals had..so bad that lots of them were slaughtered.

Take care and let us know how you are doing

quick hellos to Cybele, Cjunk, and all you lovely MIA ladies...I miss you

Anyway, I spent most of saturday ..like from noon until 5pm having my tires changed...from my four seasons to my winter tires...sigh...my good friend was with me...my car is small and I can only fit two tires ..on rims with the hub caps in my trunk..so he comes over to load the other two tires in his trunk. Anyway, so we drop off my car and go shopping...He likes me to help him choose his clotes. So I helped him pick out this very nice CK turtleneck blue sweater and a red button down CK shirt. I bought myself winter trousers...corduroy pants..size 10 and they are loose...woohoo and I bought a tshirt..to work out in Adidas.

We then went to have lunch...we ate at a buffet...but I did really well...had a plate of mussels and then some salad...jello for dessert and water. Dinner was baked trout with salad and then I went to see my childhood friend that is visiting from LA...I havent seen her in like 10 years..she looked wonderful...she used to be a model...so needless to say...she is physically very beautiful...and a great person as well...it was at a restaurant...but I had no food there...just sipped on some white wine.

Sunday was a day of chores again...my friend really wanted to go to ikea..so we went in the early afternoon and of course she didnt find what she was looking for...we then rushed back to my house she helped me clean my top floor of my house...yes I know...she is very very cool and a real good friend. She dusted while I cleaned the bathroom and did the floors. She also helped me put away my clothes...so I promised I would take her to a matinee ...Bridget Jones movie next Saturday and I gave her brand new Levis Jeans and this powder pink very soft turtlneck sweater she has been wanting for awhile now.

We then had dinner...home made burgers (havarti cheese, dill pickle, onions on a portuguese bun) with carrots and snowpeas.
I also washed my clothes, changed the kittly litter boxes and made lunch for today...which brings me to todays

Meal Plan
breakfast: carnation breakfast with skim milk
snack: 8.45 oz unsweetened grape juice
lunch: one cup of homemade chili con carne and one pumkin cake pattie (my 90 year old aunt make them and they are delicious)
snack: banana
dinner: broiled chicken breast and leftover carrots and snowpeas
beverages: water, tea and diet cola

exercise: morning arm exercises (5 minutes of weights), cycling and pilates in the evening

Have a great day

Cyan

Hey Gals,

Popped in to read the posts and to say hello. Had a bit of an eating weekend. Seems like you Cyan I too am hungry all of the time. I think that sometimes happens when it starts to get colder maybe??

Went for a lunchtime walk today and also tried to reduce what I ate today overall. Doing well but it seems that the families I work with are always feeding me treats! Very hard to say no when they have worked to make them especially for you.

Watching Everest Summit on television tonight. Very amazing stuff!! I would love to have the fitness to climb something like that but the ladders over the crevasses and the bad weather unpredictably are enough to turn me off a bit. Otherwise I wouldn't flinch at the opportunity to train to do something so different. I wonder how my lungs would hold up!!

Weekend went way too fast. Got my flu shot on Friday and ended up feeling a bit fluish all weekend so I relaxed took it easy and then ate way too much!!

Gotta Go.

Cjunk

P.S. Lisa I hope you and your family are feeling better soon!!

Hand, foot, and mouth disease? Yikes! It sounds exotic and scary, much like a disease I had when I was young, when I got red bumps all over my arms and chest. THe doctors said it was called Fifth Disease - what kind of name is that, I ask you? As if we numbered diseases! At any rate - I hope you'll all be doing fine soon. Any chance that it's one of those illnesses that suppresses the appetite? I am always up for a disease like that.

I did pretty well while I was away, which is why I was entirely depresed when I got home and weighed myself. I had only three drinks the whole time, and only two full meals (one of foccacia, buffalo mozzerella, and tomatoes, the other a very dangerous meal of gorgonzola gnocchi with vodka sauce) - otherwise, I ate the dried fruits and nuts I brought along; and the fresh vegetables that were out at the banquets. I thought I'd done so well, but then I got home and went to the gym. I weighed myself after the workout, and found that instead of the 174 I'd left with, I weighed 178. How does that happen, I ask you? FOUR POUNDS? On vegetables? I'm depresed...but am sticking with my goal of doing 100 miles on the bike at the gym before Thanksgiving. I'm up to 51 now - so I'll keep doing that, and see how it goes with the weight. Patience, patience...


Cyan, cjunk, the food is always a-calling. We must just join leagues against it - I really liked Cyan's description of her battle with the key lime pie, and like the idea of doing battle rather than being passive. We can do it!

For some reason I though it was tuesday...but no...its wedesday! My sister’s bd is this friday...will have to call her and say Happy Birthday.

I exercised last night on the bike and then did some arm exercises, sit ups , leg ups...the usual floor exercises. It was good. My hunger for food last week is gone...and yes I have my period...man...its funny how the body works like a well oiled machine...it knows its stuff...and influence it has over you...when it screams...feed me...boy do I run...and with a smile on face...geez...I am such a slave to this over weight body of mine....I need to tone up...loose these last friggin 20 pounds...I keep hovering around the same number 162 to 159.....I am tired of this bull crap....I know what I have to do...cut back on dessert...I swear...there are no cakes, puddings, chocolate left in the house...I am praying my Dad wont bring any this weekend. Actually we have chocolate pudding but I dont touch those...dont know why they dont appeal...but there you have it. I also have lots of regular coke, pepsi , 7up in my pantry...Yep...my dad again...but I have been soooooooooo good....I never touch those either...thank goodness for diet colas...I have two cans per day...sometimes three cans. I would like to cut back to one can per day..but not there yet

So Meal Plan for today
breakfast: carnation breakfast with skim milk
snack: Arthurs 24 carrots juice and fruit smoothie...8.45oz
lunch: homemade beef steak sandwich on portuguese bun with havarti cheese and hummus
snack: one cup of berries
dinner: mahi mahi fish with snowpeas
snack: if very desperate..one tbs of dulce de leche
beverages: water, tea and diet cola

exercise: cycling and floor exercises

Have a great day

Cyan

Hey Cybele...maybe you are holding on to water from the travelling and plane ride...give yourself a few days to decompress. I am always battling with desserts...they know me so well...they taunt me, seduce me...every trick in the book...they use...they come at me with their full arsenal...that is why I have armored up..you have to fight back! You must show your "temptation food" who is boss!! We are the boss...we decide if we eat the dessert or extra helping or not...so time to take back our control..reclaim our beautiful bodies...its ours...muahhahahahahaha

Ok I am off of my soap box

Have a good day

Cyan

Oooh, I like the idea of having retained water. It was also a few days before my period started, so perhaps the scale was against me for numerous water-retention reasons. I'm going to weigh myself again on Sunday, so we shall see what it says then. Eating has been decent - I had sushi last night, and only ate 1/2 cup of edamame and 10 california rolls - they were the really small kind, and they were dinner, and I deemed it fine. It couldn't have been more than 3/4 cup of rice in all of them together. Sweet husband has taken over cooking duties for the past several weeks, and is cooking solely out of the Cooking Light cookbooks. Now, if I can just stop going back for seconds I think I'll have it!

Biked for only 30 minutes yesterday, on account of sushi, so only got 5 miles in. Also had an ally working out with me, so didn't have to fear the snobby girls in the stretching area. Still need to do more ab work at home, but have decided this weekend to measure my body all over so that I can start recording any change in measurements. Since I'm trying to be less scale-dependent, I thought it might help me have goals and keep track in several ways.

Cyan- I'm, as always, amazed at how you can avoid all the food hanging around your house. If I know there are even a few chocolate chips left in a bag in the pantry I'm after them. How do you and your parents set up grocery shopping? Do they do all of the shopping, or do you do it independently of one another? I'm just curious about the arrangement - I think you show marvelous resistance. Rock on!

Hi everyone!! Seems like an eternity since I was here last!! I was almost afraid no one would be around, but thank goodness ya'll are keeping the thread going. I didnt have time to catch up on posts, but I hope to do so this weekend. I just had to pop in long enough to say "HELP!". I am out of control. I am up 10 lbs in the last 4 months or so. I have had so much going on I cant even begin to catch you up. Hopefully things are settling down. I know that coming back here has got to once again be a priority for me. I need ya'll more than ever. I feel like I am totally out of control with my eating and when I was this way before, you ladies are what saved me from it. I just cant let myself gain back the 60 lbs lost before.

I see we have a new member. Nice to meet you Cybele.

The rest of you ladies..I have missed you LOTS!! I think of all of you often.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. I hope to get back in here very soon to catch up. Thanks to all of you who keep on keeping on even when we 'slackers' dont. I admire you all.

Miki

Looking forward to hearing all about your last few months. And your are right..you cant and will not gain back your 60 pounds lost!!! So put down the food and step away from the mindless eating...only eat when you are hungry and only eat good food...you hear me? Ok!

Hey Cybele...I buy food and so does my Dad...obviously I buy the more expensive items...like the porl loin, ribs, skinless chicken breast, shrimp and he will get things like milk, deli meats, cheese...I also buy cheese too.

He buys veggies and so do I and I buy most of the sauces etc.

Dad loves to buy lots of junkfood...I have a hard time with him..he's 78 so I cant be to hard on him...but he loves his junkfood but then forgets about it and it stays in the pantry calling out to me. Thank goodness I have become immune to full fat soda's...we have tons of those...coke, pepsi, 7up sprite..you name it...like a restaurant..he just keeps buying them...in cans in bottles...He loves those chocolate puddings in a cup, little debbie snack cakes...candy ..he even brought home fudgicles...and yes ice cream..somtimes 2 tubs...different flavors...and lets not forget the chips and tacos he buys.

The only junk food that gets to me is the chocolate bars, sometimes the tacos and I melt when there is keylime pie or chocolate cake

Meal Plan for today
breakfast: carnation breakfast with skim milk
snack: pineapple juice
lunch: panini with side salad...(have to buy my lunch)
snack:2 cups of berries
dinner: oven baked trout with snowpeas and red pepper
beverages: water, tea and diet cola

exercise: cycling and floor exercises

have a great weekend

Cyan

Hello girls! Welcome Back MIKI!!! I have been thinking of you and hope things are going well with you and your family.

I'm so glad it is Friday! Even though I'm behind on my school work and I have tons of laundry to do and I need to get groceries and get my oil changed and clean out my car and do some Christmas shopping, It's still another week gone by before school is out for Christmas! I can't wait for my kids to be out of school and for me to not have to worry about school work myself.

Well, baby is fussy and I must go. I'll type more later!

Lisa

Hi, ladies!!! I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted--October 14, to be exact!!! I just finished reading 4 pages of posts. Lisa, your life sounds even more hectic than mine; Cyan--what a pretty picture of you!!; Cjunk--glad you've been helping to keep the thread alive; Miki--hang in there! Cybele--welcome to the thread!! There are great girls in here who are very supportive. I've gotten a lot of help from them.

Well, I can't believe how busy I've been!!! Mostly with school--grading papers, doing lesson plans, parent-teacher conferences, meetings--very time consuming, though I do love what I'm doing. Home has been hectic too. Hubby works generally 11.5 hours per day--the union representing the workers in his company (United Auto Workers--UAW) finally reached a contract agreement with the owners of the company--came close to a strike, though. I worried about it quite a bit. We had our upstairs bathroom floor replaced a couple of weeks ago after September water leak--$2000, but gorgeous. Floor needed to be stabilized, and rotted wood needed to be replaced, along with unknown toilet leak, but thankfully that is over. We had a second plumbing "situation" early in October--in kitchen. A build-up deep in pipes caused a clog--had to call a plumber on Saturday night-$132.00/hour!! There was black sewer stuff all over my kitchen after hubby tried to unclog it himself. I spent days disinfecting the place. I did get new curtains and some counter accessories replaced in the whole of it. Also, I'm dealing with quite a bit of adolescent attitude from my oldest. We celebrated both girls' birthdays in the last few weeks--Oct. 17 and Nov. 4, so now they're 14 and 10. There was a big bingo fund-raiser late in October, so that was another thing going on.

I survived Halloween mostly by sending a lot of chocolate to school on Nov. 4 for my youngest's birthday treats and throwing away a lot of bite-size Tootsie Rolls. Of course, you know I ate plenty of chocolate and Tootsie Rolls before eliminating those two sources. I believe I weigh 161 now. My bra and pants are a little tight --it's only 4 lbs. I've gained since August, but I can feel it. I've been so busy that when I'm hungry I usually pick the first thing I can get my hands on, which is usually something sugary--most often a cookie or two or three or four. I've had chips a few times too--it's the crunch and salt I crave. I've also recently decided to go back to high fiber cereal away from Metamucil to keep myself regular. Several reasons--even the smooth texture stuff is NASTY!!!; also, too much gas--sometimes enough to clear a room, if you know what I mean; and I seemed to always be struggling with constipation if I forgot to use it. Anyway, I'm trying to get back to healthy eating and also to getting enough sleep, though that can be tricky with hot flashes and a hubby that sometimes snores so loud you'd think a train was in the room with you. I beat it to the couch at that point. I heard on the news that not getting enough sleep sets you up for weight gain--something to do with cortisol and some other chemical that regulates how your body uses fat. I also know from experience that when I'm tired, I eat more to try to get energy, and to generally feel better. Not good.

I'm not exercising at all, except for going up and down stairs at school--my classroom is on the second floor. I am always going up and down to the first floor and the basement of the school for something with the kids--music, gym, lunch, etc. Office is on first floor. Also, I have my very own computer now--remember that Ford Focus we bought in September? Well, there was that "Focus and a Dell" promotion, so I got a free Dell computer. It's still in the box--I have to get furniture to put it on. I picked it out--from Office Max--won't buy it till Christmas break when hubby and I are both off and can put it together. It's going to be for my school work--not connected to the Internet, but it will have all my school stuff on it. I'll have my own space too--in a room between the girls' rooms upstairs--I'll be able to keep better tabs on them when they are doing their homework. They want to talk instead of work. Anyway, I haven't had my own space--all for me!!!--since I was single!!

Anyway, that's what's been going on with me. Today I stayed in and did housework and crocheted and slept and did whatever I wanted. We're going to a buffet for Thanksgiving. Hubby doesn't want me cooking. It's $11.95 a person--I'd probably spend more than that making the food myself. I also don't have to worry about eating leftovers. I am hoping to spend much of the four day weekend resting. I can't wait till Christmas vacation--two weeks off!!!

Well, girls, I'm glad you're still here. I'll try to get back and post more frequently. The last month has been incredibly crazy. Hopefully it will die down now. We don't do Christmas big, so that won't be a big frenzy for us. I'll see you all soon. Thanks for being here. Now that I've played with all the smilies, I'll post now.

Hi again everyone

Hope you dont pass out from the shock of two posts from me in one week. Just a short one tho. It's after midnight. I was just heading to bed after watching "Twisted" (starring Ashlee Judd) with Hubby. (no kids home tonight) Thought I'd pop in and say hello since I promised to start doing better with my posts. Now if I can just keep the promise to getting control of my eating. Not going to make any promises about this but I am going to TRY to get myself on that Air Walker tomorrow. It has been way too long since I've done any real exercise.

Thanks to everyone for the welcome back. All of you are inspirational to me. I was so thrilled to come back and find out you're all here and still truckin along. Plus have acquired a newcomer too..I'm looking forward to getting to know you also,Cybele.

I think I hear my bed calling so I guess I'll go, but if I exercise tomorrow, I will definitely come here to report it. If I dont show up, you'll know I didnt..which means --Cyan, be ready with one of your "cyber kicks".

Goodnight Ladies!
Miki

I'm Baaaaaaackkk! It's 10:45 a.m and I am happy to report that I just got off my Air Walker. Bad news is I only did 20 min and had worked up to an hour 6 months ago. Good news is that 2 yrs ago when I started I could only do 5 min at a time so it's still an improvement. Who knows..I may even get back on there before the day is over. I think I'll start out maybe more than once a day in smaller amounts instead of one long session until I get back into better shape.

Gotta hit the shower now. Just wanted to save myself a "cyber kick".

Miki

Good to meet you MikiG and newinspiration! I'm glad to be on such a supportive and active board. It's good to see people like the two of you who drop back in, and remind me that this is such a long term process. We just have to do the best we can, and the fact that we're being mindful at all is just a step in the right direction!

I am now 70 miles to my 100 miles on the bike by Thanksgiving goal, and think that I'll be able to make it. I also had a LOVELY thing happen at the gym today - if you'll recall my horror last week at my weigh-in when I found I'd actually seemed to go UP four pounds, you'll appreciate this. I was too despondent to register a change up on my ticker, and left it (down in my signature) at the same 174 rather than 178. Cyan very helpful thought I might have held on to some water from traveling, and lo and behold, I think she was right! This week shows me at 171 - three pounds down from my steady weight, and a solid 7 down from the holding-in-water-from-traveling weight! That was some bad water, man. Anyway - this seems almost magical, and I'm so excited. I had just crossed into the 160's when I stopped last year, and I think that I'm getting there more quickly because I know what I have to do and I'm accountable to the lot of you. So, check out the new ticker - no way is it going up!

Cyan - I seem to recall reading something about a love interest - how is that inspiration working for you lately? Sounds like an awfully fun one to me. And lisa, how is the hand, foot, and mouth disease?

Hope all is well for all of you out there-

Oh lord..how I wish I could sleep in monday mornings...they are so hard for me. And after last week's work week... Hard..but we will get through this hack business.

Exercise this week was good...I did an hour long pilates class on saturday...tough tough tough...but I was supposed to go to my hot yoga class but I was unable to go to the classes they have at the times they have them so I did my pilates accelerated dvd at home. Sunday was biking and weights.

Food wise was good on saturday and Sunday...I did have a big dinner sunday night...punjaby Indian food..oh so good..but now my butt is on fire

Cybele...well my young man is still around...we talk daily...lol but is all fun...I am 11 years older than him...so its nice to have such a hard bodied cutie think you are better than keylime pie and chocolate combined But I know better than to think more of it.

Hey Miki...good to hear that you are back on plan...but if you need me to...I must always help out a friend..the cyber kick is always ready Tell us about your comeback details please

Lisa...how's atkins plan coming along for you? details please

Hey Newie...your posts reflect a happier you...that is so nice to read. Good to hear that life is treating you nice. So what will be your plan of action in terms of your health regimen. details please

Meal Plan for today
breakfast: arthurs green energy fruit smooite 12oz
snack: 8.45oz unsweetened pineapple juice
lunch: broiled chicken breast
snack: 2 cups of berries
dinner: tuna salad (light mayo) with carrots and snowpeas
beverages: water, tea and diet cola

exercise: cycle for 30 minutes and floor exercises

have a super duper day

Cyan

Hello and welcome back!!

Glad to hear from you again Miki, Newie and way to hang in there Cybiele. Thought for a while that it was going to be Cyan and Lisa with the occasional pop-in from me and came back to find so many of us back!! That's Great!!

I have a new job in a few weeks!! I just got hired at a new place and they created the job for me and recruited me there which is an honour and very exciting!! I am a Social Worker by trade but have lots of computer experience and this job will be to train IT people on how to work with Health Care professionals. Totally uses both fields!! Looks like I will be training an upwards of 150 staff!! Where I am now is strictly counselling so it will be very different. I expect to drop at least 5 pounds because I get fed by families when I go to home visits for my current job and that will no longer be the case---so goodbye to all of the cookies, cakes, chai teas and samosa's. I will miss the families dearly but I won't miss the extra weight when it comes off!!! It has been hard saying goodbye to my current clients and my job but it was a contract and my new job is full time with benefits and I have to jump at such a fantastic opportunity.

So--I have been overdoing it with food. Unfortunately food is a comfort when I am stressed and saying goodbye is stressful and I have been trying to comfort myself with healthier foods knowing that this is my crux. I stayed home yesterday and made some healthy foods to snack on so that I can keep myself healthy and stay at the same weight if I can.

Cybele, I am so happy to hear about your loss in weight!! After reading your food choices I was thinking that although they were healthier foods, they were traditionally higher in fat foods and I was worried that you may have gained because of that. For example--nuts and dried fruit is really healthy and is good in small portions but the calories add up quickly---I use it when I backpack because they are so high in calories and I am burning them fast that my body needs it. Focaccia is also very high in calories and fat--although generally good fat from olive oils. Gnocci is high in potato starches and vodka sauce is generally a cream sauce--also high in fat. Sushi is amazing for you and if you can lay low on the soya sauce as it has a lot of sodium--that and the endamame is an excellent pick!! On www.fitday.com you can set up a free account and track what is in the food you eat and it is a great way to help for food choices. I eat out a lot and have found a lot of tricks for eating healthy and still eating out. Sushi and Vietnamese foods happen to be 2 of my favorites for the health benefits without the calories and fat. I also like to go to restaraunts where they have healthy options mapped out--like Subway and East Side Marios etc. I love the cook books your husband is using--it is great to have such an awesome support!! You are doing a fantastic job--keep up the great work!!!

I got a ski pass this year and we have already booked a one week ski vacation which should help me to get back into cardio shape--we go in January... and my new workplace let me have the time off (lucky I think).

Miki--so glad to hear from you. Perhaps you are eating out of stress and for comfort?? You have had a lot of challenges that would be difficult for any of us and I would be in your shoes doing the same!! It doesn't need to be that way!! If you recognize that this is happening set aside time to prepare what feels like comfort food and adjust it to be healthier so that you are just as satisfied. For example--I love lasagna. I am stressed and I am craving the cheesiest, greasiest, fattest lasagna--so I went out and made a healthy chili and made mexican lasagna with only a bit of cheese on top and tonight I ate it with as much satisfaction and comfort as any other lasagna. How are things going now for you?? Does it help to talk to us about it??

Lisa, I hope everyone in your family is feeling better soon and that you are continuing with success on your Atkins diet. I am not great at diets so I think it is amazing when I read about all of you who can stick to them!!

Cyan, I think you may be letting a good man slide!! My fiance and I are 71/2 years different in age. I am in my mid 30's and he is in his late 20's and we have an amazing connection--age aside. So if this guy is a hottie who has the personality to go with it---I say go for it!!! In terms of your diet and exercise plan I commend your determination. Perhaps a muscle building regimen of more concentrated weights or more weight-bearing exercise such as swimming may build more muscle mass to burn more fat. Your eating and cardio are usually pretty stellar, so I think that this might be the route. What do you think???

Newie, yet again your post blows me away as to how much you accomplish for others and how busy you are. I am always feeling lazy after reading about your pursuits!! What are you doing to take care of you??? You seem very giving and also very compassionate to others but I am wondering about You time!! You deserve it!!! Keep up the great work but don't forget to reward yourself too!!

Talk to you all soon,

Cjunk

P.S. If I have given too much advice please ignore it--It seems I am in an advice-giving mode today