Hi, Turtles,

Lauren, glad that little insight helped you. It sure helped me.

Time flies--I was over points once, but it was after the challenge was "officially" over. Does it count? Well, maybe not for the challenge, but certainly in the overall scheme of things.

Actually, I'm doing really well with points, water, taking my supplements, but not with exercise. I think, though, that since TOM is almost over, I will find it easier to get back into exercisiing. I always find that starting to exercie during PMS (after not doing it for a while) is difficult.

One other thing I'm doing these days is to try to keep my fat percentage to between 20 and 30. I don't really know what's optimum, since it's different for everyone. But I've noticed that the amount of total points I need to be full has gone down since I started doing this. I'm eating all of my veggies and 2-3 fruits. The reason is that I was noticing that I had cut the fat way too much. It was especially clear when I decided to check the number of fat grams I was eating. I really had to work to get it up to 20%. But, I feel better when I eat about that amount. My hair doesn't fall out and my skin doesn't get dry like it does when I go lower.

Good luck at the doctor's! I hate going, too. But sometimes, ya just gotta do what ya gotta do. :)

Writers still use index cards, but mostly to rearrange scenes when the plot needs help. It keeps you from thinking too linearly. Just spread them out and start rearranging. Great way to braintorm.

But the HTML doc is a great way to keep track of the "research", (whether actual or invented). Stuff about the religions, culture, laws, science, magic, etc. Plus the drafts, misc. notes on the story, and the cut stuff that I might want to use later. I can just click to the page when I need something, rather than searching through a bunch of file folders-either virtual in my word processor or hard copy files in folders or notebooks. It's working well and I have the basic design done. (I love templates!) Now I have to make the rest of the basic pages, set up all the links, and put in the content I have developed so far. I'm also including a section on my class, since I'm using this book for my assignments.

Have a great day, everyone. Hope to hear from you all soon.

Happy turtlin! :)

Lin
272/249/246/final- :?:

Hello everyone...Just wanted to say hi. LIn I totally agree with you on what you said about the dieting mentality. If I got the points...I think I have to eat them.

I don't know If I have been perfect, but I do know something, I have said "NO" to my dh who is trying to sabatage me with pie, and muffins, and chocholate milk!!! Now I did have some desert the other night, but have been ok the rest of the week, have been weighing myself in the am, just for fun, just to see if it going down (I don't consider it official or anything) and it is. The truth will come out on Sat am.

I am going to have to bank some points for Sat night. My neighbor who I have known since the womb...is turning 21 years old Sun, so mom, all her friends and me are taking her out for 2 hours of celebration..I am excited. When my oldest turned 21, she wanted to go to the show, and we never went anywhere to celebrate afterward. With Jenny, she was alread signed up for the airforce and her recruiter told her stay out of trouble. So she went to bed early...So anyway, I get to go to Debbie's !!! And it will only be 2 hours!!! and her mom is driving!!!


Talk later

Kathy

Hi, tortoises.

Lin, I hear you about the fat. I tend to fall off in that regard, too. I plan to incorporate healthy fats more into my daily diet.

Kathy, so glad to hear you're doing well.

Looks like we're doing pretty well right now. I wonder what it is about this time of year for me. I consistently lose weight best from July through December each year. Every one of the past four years has followed that pattern. Hmmm. Anyway, I'm learning to live with that rhythm -- getting motivated and losing weight during these months, and handling the other months. In the first three years, I gained during those other months; this is the first year I was able to maintain instead. I'm very grateful for that.

The doctor's appointment was a good news/bad news kind of thing. My BP was way up -- I was extremely tense. She suggested I get a BP monitor to take it at home and see if I can get over my phobia of having my BP taken. So that's what we're going to do. Also, my fasting cholesterol level was even HIGHER than non-fasting. 271! :( She said it's genetic, and losing weight probably won't change it. So what's the good news? My triglycerides were low, and my HDL (good cholesterol) was quite high. In fact, my overall HDL/total cholesterol ratio was good. The doctor didn't really even notice that, however; I figured it out on my own afterward. She just focused on the LDL (bad) cholesterol, which was also extremely high.

For the next six months, I'm going to try eating oatmeal and non-hydrogenated fats to see if I can bring it down on my own. After that, if it's still high, she wants to put me on medication. Also, if my BP stays high, she suggests a water pill. Personally, I think it's more related to stress. I have got to learn ways to manage stress better.

I'm trying to have a good attitude about this, but it really has thrown me for a loop. I was sure that if I ate right, lost weight, and exercised, my cholesterol and BP would be great. That's what they always tell you. Didn't happen. So now I'm focusing instead on what this lifestyle is doing for my blood sugar (which is great), my good cholesterol, and my resting heart rate. Not to mention my energy levels and quality of life.

So that's the update. Wish it were better news.

So here's better news: I'm finally going to meet with the Univ. of Michigan guy next week to nail down those freelance writing projects. I'll be glad to get going on those. Also, my mom and pop (stepdad) arrive today, and I'm looking forward to seeing them. Also, we're refinancing our house today to take advantage of these lower interest rates, so our house payment will go down $200/month. I had a great workout last night and stayed within my points. And finally, I lost my TOM weight already, even though TOM isn't over. Two more pounds to reach my birthday goal.

I'll try to keep in touch while the parents are here; a lot depends on whether my brother sleeps in the office, which is where the computer is. He sleeps very late most mornings. (He'll be staying with us, too.)

Onward and downward,

Lauren
274/186/184 by August 4

Hi, Turtles,

Time for a new thread. See you all there.

Lin