hi girls...yesterday I got 3pts...no excercise .

Thanks girls...I mailed the letter out today to his mom so she can take it to him on Saturday. I'll be going to an alanon meeting today and see how that goes. I feel a bit shy and uncertain its what I need, but i guess it won't hurt to try. Honestly I believe I need a therapist, but can't afford one now ...I guess we all need one at some point in our lives huh.

Lisa- sorry 'bout your toothache. Hope you feel better.

Julie- your doing a good job with staying on top of pts and stuff. Thank you.

Susan-good luck at the gym


everyone else take care I'll check in later if i can...pretty busy here at work today...bye bye

I did it!
I went to the weight room and turned my arms half way to jell-o. It wasn't nearly so intimidating as I feared.

WOOT
Hope all are well

Last check in for the night.

Dorothy gets a for her 3 points!

Ooops, hit the wrong button........

nighty night ladies!
Julie

Well ladies... i am sitting here writing and drinking my 2nd beer... i have a terrible headache from my ds... he jumped off the bus but didnt tell me he was going to... landed right against my face... smashed my glasses into my nose... hurts to even put them on my face... i think i may get a black eye or two outta this... lovely huh?? LOL Oh well, at least i will be op even with the beers... and i exercised... did my 2 mile watp... so all in all its been a good day... i just hurt... even my top teeth hurt... how would i know if its broken??? i just thought of that... oh i hope its just my mind going a bit crazy on me... have a wonderful evening ladies... i love you all.. take care of u...

Sandy

Julie: You are aces sweety! Thanks for picking up the slack for me.

EVERYONE IS DOING FABO! CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE DOING IT!

Man I must have walked a 100 miles today between parking lots, home and all over that cotton picking hospital. It is all spread out and they MOVED HIM TO A ROOM THIS MORNING! HE GETS TO GO HOME TOMORROW MORNING BARRING ANY COMPLICATIONS! He is doing great and he is TALKING about it. I am so very proud of him. He is doing things he has to do to improve his quality of life. For example. he ate half a salad with ff ranch tonight and he hates mayo, sour cream etc. He is committed to changing how he eats and so I am going to change my menus to reflect him as well. Many of my things he can't have because of salt issues like ham etc, but we are going to work on the menus together and have food that is pleasing for both of us. I am calling YMCA tomorrow to find out what a membership will cost us. I am of course much better since I got through the night with no ominous phone call. He looks and feels really good and that of course allays my fears.

Dorothy: I think the letter is wise and you are amazing! I know you will take steps to help yourself make the right decisions!

Lisa: I have HORRIBLE teeth and a terror of dentistry so I know how you must be feeling. Hope things go well for you. Jack and I will say a prayer, it's the least WE can do! Give your daughter a kiss from all of us just to make it better. Mom's always have miracle slobber!

SandyB; oohh, man I can imagine. You want to kill the little stinker but you know they didn't MEAN to whack you in the face! Hope you feel better soon. You ought to see Jack. His right leg half way to his knee and his you know whats are PURPLISH YELLOW from the catherization. Dr said it would happen. He is pretty sore so I guess a BJ is OUT! DID THE OLD LADY SAY THAT? See now you know I am back to normal, I am as crude as always!

Susan: Good for you! You are going to have a body to rival the model's pretty soon!

Joy: Keep taking those steps! We are with you girl and you are doing great!

Carri: I met Jack when I was just short of 18 (he was this "older" man of 22!) I love having a male best friend. He is always there and I don't have to worry about him having PMS or being snotty!

Judy: Keep it up you are doing wonderfully! I am very proud of you!

Pam: You as always my dear friend are terrific! I couldn't be prouder of you!

Thomas got to come up and see Granddad today. Got to look at all his "stuff" (he has a portable heart monitor, IV's in both hands for medication emergencies and oxygen.) I was explaining what they did to him and how they put a balloon in his heart. "Nonny, does that mean Granddad will float away?" Isn't that cute? I told him, No that it is a very tiny balloon!

Well, I have been gone ALL day because there aren't restrictions on visiting in this room so I need to get my clean sheets on the bed and vacuum as I didn't get it done last night then get to bed. I have to be over to the hospital first thing so I can ask the doctor a lot of questions, like "when can we have sex again?" There I go again!

Here is something from me to you! I love you all so much!
http://view.greetings.yahoo.com/gree...?2JDVC3N8KGFQ2

Faye

Faye

Jack coming home tomorrow!!! that is wonderful to hear, I was so concerned about you and him! He has some recuperating to do, and as you stated some life-style changes to make! will benefit both of you, thats a good thing! I admire you so much, and cant help but believe that this will help draw you two even closer.

more in the am ladies, been remodeling bathroom, last day or so, pooped out! but scraping paint and scrubbing walls, ripping out old paneling! whew!! that is some exercise, I was sorrrrrrrrrrrrre this morning! but it is such a sense of accomplishment.

later chickies, have a good nights rest, guess most of you are already tucked safely in your beds....sweet dreams my lovelies

Something woke me up so here I am! I could use your help with some stuff. Jack is more than likely going to be on the Amercian Heart Association diet in some form or another. I took a bunch of recipes off their site and then went searching other places. If you have any recipes that are lowfat and don't have more than 500mg of salt in them, would you pass them on to me? I am starting at square one doing menus again that I can fix for he and I instead of just myself and some of my stuff is too high in salt. I can use entrees (not fish he doesn't like fish), desserts and sandwiches. I need some suggestions about turkey bacon (what type you found to taste the most like bacon without having the turkey taste), has anyone used spaghetti squash, how do you cook it and does it taste like squash or does it take on the taste of whatever sauce you put over it? Jack has always been a picky eater though he doesn't consider himself so. This is the list of meats that are acceptable and he will eat, lean pork, lean red meats, turkey breast, chicken breast. He likes salmon and shrimp but that is the only seafood. He is NOT a veggie eater but will eat gr beans, carrots, pork n beans as long as it is baked bean style, loves cucumbers, salad, corn. He doesn't eat much fruit, pineapple, watermelon, mandarin oranges and said he would try to eat blueberries and grapes and strawberries. So there you have it! He will eat pasta but not flavored like carrot or spinach stuff like that. Anyway, that gives you an idea of what the recipe can have in it so as not to waste your time.

Thanks a lot!

Donna

Good morning Ladies....I got all four points for yesterday...Faye ,I am so glad to see Jack is doing better ,and he gets to come home...you are in for some changes ,huh....the American Heart Association has some great recipes..you will just have to adjust them to fit what Jack likes...he is like my husband..I swear reading what he likes is almost identical to my husband's taste...I use the George Forman Grill to cook just about all my meats,which I get the real lean cuts from Sam's...usually baked potatoes and lot's of fresh veggies...with side salads....breakfast I vary from egg beaters to oatmeal or grits...all ff products .whole wheat breads...you will benefit as well from the changes...I love any type of veggie or fruit ,,,the squash I just bake in the oven ,add a little of the spay butter and a little pepper and it is really good...the biggest adjustment my hubby had to make was the mayo...he likes kraft ,and when I changed to fat free,he really had a time getting use to it...but he eats it now...he has high cholestorol...and had to make changes..he was a big meat eater ,and the more fat it had ,the more he liked it,until he went for a yearly check up,his first ever,as he just simply did not go to doctors,but a lot of things run in his family,so finally I convinced him,and he was glad I did...so even the kids have adjusted to how we eat,[not everything] but for the most part...we eat lot's of apples around here too,the kids favorite...take it one day at a time and try different things..it took a lot of trying all kinds of things to find out what would work for everybody,but the grill has been a life saver ,as we use a lot of spices that are salt free,cause I have a blood pressure issue,which I never have liked salt though...well I have rambled on ,but Faye I am so glad things are going a lot better...anyway don't forget to take care of you girl,and all of you other ladies are doing terrific,keep up the fantastic work and I will check back later.....love and hugs to all.... Joy

Morning Lovelies!

Faye, I'm soooo happy that Jack is doing better and he'll be coming home soon! Maybe this will be just what you need to help you get over your "slackness" Someone else to fuss over and focus on instead of yourself. As long as you stick with what he's doing, you should stay right on track too.

As for recipes: ohhhh boy!

First off, spaghetti squash ROCKS! All you do is slice it in half (ok, that's the hard part. those suckers are hard to get open. I have to pound the knife through with a mallet!) then put it face down in a pan. Fill the pan half way with water and either bake it or put it in the microwave for about 20-30 minutes. When it's tender, you just comb through the squash with a fork and out come all these cool spaghetti strands. I like mine al dente, but you can cook it squishier. As long as the strands separate, it's done. You can put any sauce on it that you like! I put fresh basil pesto and feta cheese on ours. YUMMMMMM!

Turkey bacon is also really great! I use it almost everyday....even the kids and dh love it. But the only kind we can stomach is the Louis Rich brand. The Jennie-O stuff is kgnarly! I microwave ours, and I think it tastes best if you make it crispy rather than "floppy" as my kids call it. To microwave, just put it in on high for 1 minute per piece....to make it crispy, I add another 30 seconds on to it (NOT 30 sec. per piece)

I love making whole grain salads, too! My favorite is lentils and barley with asparagus, tomatoes and onions. Sometimes I substitute greenbeans for the asparagus. But you can really put any veggies in that you want. Just boil the lentils and barley until they're tender, rinse them off to cool them down, add chopped FRESH veggies (not frozen), and pour a vinagrette (make your own to control the salt) on top. I also add feta cheese, but you could skip that if there's too much salt. I know when people read "lentils and barley" the immediate reaction is EWEEEWWWW, GROSSSSS......but it's really good! My kids devour it and it's got tons of protein from the lentils. It will keep in the fridge for about 3 days, it's really good the second day after the vinagrette has soaked in.

I also have a really yummy cabbage soup recipe, if you guys like tomato soup bases. It's very low calorie! Let me know if you want it. Actually, I have several super yummy cabbage recipes.

Gotta go, I got 2 points for op yesterday. No exercise and not enough water, was way distracted! Today will be better, though!

Later all,
Julie

Oooooooh, remind me later to give you Lorien's Veggie thingie recipe. It's a "veggie patty" but there's no significant carbs in it, it's made with mainly oatmeal and carrots! It's good, I swear!!!

Julie

Good Morning Beautifuls... Julie i would love the recipes... i love soup .. any kind...lol and low fat is my fav!!! I will have to try the lentil and barley salad... i love barley in soup love the texture of it... I o nly got 2 points yesterday... went over op last night... had a bowl of chili with hubby when he cam home last night... i didnt eat dinner cuz my face hurt... so when he was eating i was hungry... and instead of just saying NO... i ate. That being said... i lowered my calories back to 1600 per day... i am more determined that ever to get this weight off and begin a new way of eating and looking at food.
Faye... i am so happy that Jack is coming home today... i found a lowfat pumpkin cheesecake recipe at kraftfoods.com only 150 calories per serving and 340 mg of sodium. i am making it for thanksgiving... hubby loves cheesecake... My nose still hurts... i am hoping i dont get black eyes... lol Well ladies... i think i am going to try and make a menu plan... i have not done so as i feel its a pain... but its a pain to not have one i am realizing... this should be quite a challenge for me... as i am a fly by the seat of my pants kinda gal... any suggestions?? Have a wonderful day ladies... take care of u... love you all

Sandy

Morning girls!

Faye- sooo happy Jack is coming home . I think it's great what you two have and also that now both of you will focus on improving your eating habits together. Hope all goes well. Oh and this may be a dumb question but I just have to ask or it'll bug me...forever...Donna is also your name??

SandyB- oh boy, hope your nose feels better and the black eyes don't form.

Julie- spaghetti squash...I've heard of it, but never know what it is really, but you have made me become very interested in trying it...thanks...sounds like you cook lots of yummy stuff...yummm Can I go over for dinner???

Pam-Wow you've been busy girl . Glad you getting things done...I'm sure it'll look pretty. I love remodeling or redecorating.

okay now for points I got all 4pts yesterday and I did make it to the alanon meeting...I tell you I was skeptical about it I must confess, but a higher force must have taken me to that specific meeting. I indentified with the spokesperson completely. It was kinda like a pat on my shoulder and that little voice saying, "Listen Dorothy you know what you can't do and you're on the right track. It's gonna be hard but for now focus on yourself and improve yourself cause then everything will fall into place." These last few days I've been really brainstorming and soul searching. I have begun to be healthier in my eating habits and physical state, but now its also time I start focusing on my inner stae and soul...mending some damages even from childhood so I can feel better. I have a lot of work there but baby steps will get me there I guess. Okay enough rambling I think you girls get the picture.

Morning,

Faye, so very glad to hear Jack is doing better. Well be on the look out for recipes. This site has good ones as you know, and I feel certain I have one of the paperback cookbooks from Am Heart Assoc. I will try and find it and send it to you if you want, also have one called Heart Smart or Healthy Heart Cooking, something like that. Keep us posted, I know you will love having him back home with you (where he belongs!!) I know you will take good care of him, just as it sounds he takes care of you!! So wonderful to hear after 31 years, MAKES MY HEART SING!!! (FOR YOU!)...LOVE TO YOU SWEETIE!

Pts for yesterday: 3....STILL NO FORMAL EXERCISE, VERY ACTIVE, BUT, I KNOW IT IS NOT THE SAME, I NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE GIRLS, HELP ME HEAR...OKAY HERE IS MY PLAN, GET OFF THIS DO MY 2 MILES (32 MINS), GET A SHOWER, RUN AN ERRAND AND BE AT WORK BU 12NOON..THINK CAN SWING IT??? LET YOU KNOW LATER, TIME NOW 10:19a---OFF AND RUNNING!!!

LATER CHICKSTERS

Hello!
Another 4 points for me!

Faye, wonderful to hear things are looking up.

Wow, all this talk of recipes, I wish I could cook for myself sometimes, but no, I'm stuck trying to lose weight on Dorm Food!
Very sore from yesterday's strength training adventure. But when I complain I just gotta think "Sore means muscles over-worked, muscles over-worked means building MORE muscle, more muscle means more fat burned, more fat burned means less time till a low-fat Susan."
And of course healthier. I've been trying to deny the fact, but its true that I have already seen weight related problems. I had to have my gallbladder removed last May.

I've got a question: How much weight and/or inches did you lose before or between losing clothing sizes?