Happy Memorial Day. Just a quick post to get us started. I don't have much to add since my post last night. I did eat 3 more flex points last night, but still have 3 left. Since this is an extra weekend day, so to speak, I'll have to be extra diligent as weekends tend to be the hardest for me. Maybe the weather will cooperate (doubtful) and I can go for a walk later.
Back from my vacation in one piece. It was great to get away and relax, although we did some fairly heavy physical labor as well. The rain caught up with us for the last few days, so we caught up with naps and reading. The dogs had the time of their lives.
FIL had to have emergency surgery 10 days ago. I left for vacation Thursday morning, Mike was to join me Friday night. FIL woke Mike up at 3 a.m. with severe abdominal pain - he had a perforated colon and had an emergency bowel resection. The biopsy came back positive for cancer, it's in lymph nodes too, so I think his months are numbered. He's 88. Anyway, Mike joined me on Saturday, and we came home the following Saturday. FIL is still in the hospital, he's looking pretty well all things considered.
I managed to eke out a maintain after vacationing. Mike declared that he was starting South Beach today, so I'm joining him, and will keep you posted as to progress.
I'd better go and look back at last week's thread to catch up on your goings on. I hope Ana enjoyed her birthday! And I hope that Anthony is feeling okay now.
Nice to be back (but not so nice being back to work!)
Karen - I'm so sorry to hear about your FIL. I hope he can be pain free through what I'm sure will be an ordeal. It must be very tough on Mike too. {{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}} Major congratulations are in order for your maintain during vacation. Even though it was shorter than planned, it sounds like it was a good one - and a nice mix of physical labor on your land (that always makes me feel good) and some relaxation. What exactly is the South Beach diet? Is it one of the no carb ones? I've heard of people following it while also counting points as a way to watch their portions. Is that what you are planning on doing? Good luck with it. I'm tempted to try something new as I haven't gotten very far recently but there's no way Tony will do a no/low carb diet and there's a part of me that just feels it't not something I can do forever - and what I want to do is get to a point where I *can* eat in a healthy way that is forever - cause when I lose the weight, I don't *ever* want to put it back on. Ooops, I've been rambling.
Carla - the weekends are tough, aren't they? You know, someone who goes to the later meeting (I haven't seen her in a while) remarked when they came out with flex points, that the way she lost her weight a few years back was to eat a lot on the weekends (use a lot of banked points) and watch herself during the week. That's sort of what I tend to do (and I think you do too). So maybe it's OK to use say, 10 FP's on a weekend and just try not to use too many of the others (some but maybe not all - at least not all the time). Just something I was thinking about after Saturday's FPs.
I'm did OK yesterday - I used a few more FP's but didn't go nuts. Today has been a day of gardening in the morning (it started raining around 1) and some school work (what else?) up to now. I'm a little anxious about what still has to be done for this course but I also don't want to make myself nuts. Of course, the fact that we are going away next weekend makes me a little more anxious but I'll just make sure that I have lots of material to bring with me (plus my trusty laptop). I'm going to do a nice yoga workout now (one section of a dvd that's called "Magically Hips"). I'm trying to convince myself that I've done plenty of work so far this weekend (which I have) and that with the exception of a little reading later, it's time to RELAX!
Have a great one,
Judy
90/240 workouts (catching up slowly but surely)
Back again...Judy, SBD is essentially low carb for the first two weeks, then adds back carbs on the low side of the glycemic index. You lose lots in the first couple of weeks - mostly water, apparently, but it gives you a good headstart. Tons of info on the SBD threads. Have made it through day one intact and not hungry. Thanks for the hugs. FIL is doing well, except for the cuts on his face from me attempting to shave him with his ancient razor - plus he's on anticoagulants so he bled like a stuck pig. I left him with chunks of paper towel stuck to his face and snuck out before the nurse saw it!! I'm going to pick him up an electric razor tomorrow.
Karen - I'm so sorry to hear about your FIL. I join Judy in sending {{{hugs}}} to you and Mike. I hope that your FIL can be comfortable and pain-free. It sounds like you ended up having a good vacation. It's probably a good thing that you ran into some rain - it forced you to relax and take it easy! And congrats on a maintain - after a vacation that is terrific! I'm glad to hear that it's so far, so good on the SBD for you. Are you still using points for portion control? I know myself well enough to know that when I'm told I can't have something, that's when the wicked bad cravings start, so I doubt I'd have much success with SBD.
Judy - Hmmm - interesting way of looking at the weekend vis a vis spending flex points. I have to get past that weigh-in day usage of the flex points so I make sure I have plenty to spend on the weekend. That would definitely be a help. I hope you allowed yourself to relax yesterday afternoon - you do deserve it. We got rain yesterday too - our parade was cancelled because of it. Basically, we had rain all weekend.
Despite the rainy weekend, the sun came out in time for the block party to go on yesterday, which was actually the rain date. We went, met a bunch of neighbors (the party was at the cul-de-sac on the street at the end of our block, so we don't often see these neighbors. We had a good time and I did really well with eating. It was a "bring your own meat to grill" affair and we brought chicken breasts and I brought a lite bun for myself. I had a bit of the baked beans I made, a taste of potato salad, a tase of pasta salad and a small brownie. I came home with points to spare and still have my three flex points to use today if I need to. This is PMS week so it's been a struggle, but I'm determined to stay on program. And now I'm off to the neurologist to see if he can figure out what's causing my foot to feel cold.
Hmmm, I'd have to live in another house to even try the SBD - no way would Tony go for it and I sort of agree with Carla - when I'm told I can't have something, it sets me up for a binge. But good luck on it and keep us up-to-date with how its going. Good idea to get an electric razor!!
Carla - Yeah, I forgot that your weigh in day is mid-week - my weigh in day is Saturday so the FP's that I use are on the weekend! Your stratgey for the block party was a good one. I'm glad you were able to go. Good luck with the PMS week - I swear, I think I'm getting PMS for two weeks now - it's definitely not time for it (in the old days) but I was definitely getting PMS cravings over the weekend!
I did OK yesterday. I did the yoga workout and that with gardening gave me enough AP's so that even though I snacked a bit, I didn't have to use any FP's. Of course, it didn't help that Tony brought cashews (!!) into the bedroom. Between that and a dinner of FF hotdogs, my rings were tight and my sneak peek was awful but I know it's water so it's guzzle, guzzle, guzzle.
I plan on doing a strength workout after work and then it's back to school work - sigh! I can't wait for this course to be over!
So far so good...they swear up and down that cravings for all the "bad" stuff go away within a few days of starting SBD - we shall see! I'm not 100% convinced, but it's easiest for both M & I to be eating the same stuff.
Carla - you could always switch the weigh in day, if that made it easier to use flex points on the weekend. I'm not counting points at the moment; it seems to be pretty low cal the first couple of weeks, and we're following the meal plans in the book for two weeks. Seems to be plenty of food prep to do; I ended up making Mike's and my lunch at 11 p.m. last night - way past my bedtime and I was a bit grumpy about it. Your block party sounds like it was great - good for you for being so in control!
Judy - I almost fell over when Mike decided he wanted to do SBD. He's Italian and in love with all things pasta and bread. I did get him to eat (and enjoy) some organic whole wheat spaghetti on the weekend, so there's hope for him when the carbs start being added back into our diets. Good for you fitting a workout into your busy evening tonight.
Karen - I would definitely fall over if Tony agreed to go low carb! I can definitely understand it being easier if you and Mike are eating the same thing. Are the cravings for carbs bad?
I had a good day yesterday. I did a strength and abs workout - an old one that I haven't done in a while - wow, was it tough. After that I did a yoga pose that's a preparation pose for a headstand. There's a June challenge by the yoga folks at video fitness on what's called "inversions". No way I can do those but the prep pose is a beginning. Boy, it really works your shoulders! I did some school work and then got online. I guess that kept my hands busy because I only had a couple of snacks and didn't use any FP's. All the water guzzling helped me see a much better sneak peek. Hopefully I can continue the downward trend for my weigh in Friday morning.
Judy - Tony brought cashews into the bedroom? That's just evil. :-) I don't think John would care much for a low carb diet either, given that the Poles are a dough-eating people too. That's why we Italians get on with them so well! Although my BIL has done well with Atkins. My MIL tries to do it, but the bread gets her every time. Here's a pat on the back for doing so well yesterday. Keeping my fingers crossed that your good sneak peek carries over to your official weigh-in.
Karen - I thought about switching my weigh-in date, but I really think I need to stop accomodating my bad habits and start changing them. So, I'm keeping my weigh-in day on Wednesday (a day I chose to accomodate the fact that I would splurge over the weekends so that I didn't have to face a bad weigh-in on Monday) and tough it out until I stop feeling the need to blow half my flex points on weigh-in day. I completely understand how it's much easier for you and Mike to follow the same eating plan. It's great to have the menu plan spelled out the first couple of weeks. Sometimes it's just easier being told what to eat.
Well, I ended up my third OP week (although I might have gone over by a point or two as I was doing a "spoon of this, a bit of that", but did try my best to count it all). It paid off because I lost 3.2 pounds this week. I've now revisted my 1st 10% and am back to where I was on April 7th. I could cry over the lost time, but it's done and it's no point fretting about the past. So I'm going to look forward and work on having another OP week. If all goes well, I'll get below 250 next week. I'm sure anxious to say goodbye to this decade. My mini goal is to be able to buy my new fall clothes in a regular, versus a plus-sized, store. That means I've got to get a move on with exercise, both cardio and strength training. Just a couple of challenges this week, at least that I know of. Tomorrow I'm having lunch out with a friend, but I can handle that. Sunday is Ana's b-day party with her friends. We're having it at the local gymnastics center and will only have 1/2 hour for food after an hour of gym time, so that will help. I'll have leftover b-day cake in my house, but I was successful at weighing it and counting it last time, so I anticipate being able to handle it well. Now if I could just get past this d@#* PMS...
Carla - fabulous result and congratulations on being back to your 10%.
This will just be a quick note. I'm so beat - 5 hours sleep. I had a real problem with my group members in class - too long to go into here but they have acting immature, irresponsible and passive-agressive. I was up until 1:00 last night after writing and sending my portion of the project that we had all agreed to during class and receiving a note that after class they decided they wanted to do something else (and this is due on Wed). I did NOT eat through the aggravation (of course, I only finished dinner and 9:00) although, still steaming at 12:30, I had a light beer to try to help me get to sleep. I have to be extra vigilant today because when I'm tired I can get sloppy. Obviously I did NOT get up early to exercise - I plan on doing a gentle yoga when I get home - hopefully after hearing via email that the group members have agreed to the plan I sent at 12:30 am as to how to get this done in a way other than last minute scrambing. Then it's pack for Friday's trip.
Didn't get here yesterday as I was at a workshop all day, and my home pc has taken to freezing every time I try to post. Grrrr.
Carla - what a terrific loss, and I'm sooo pleased for you! I'm hoping to soon be back at my start weight for the year, and then it's downward and onward. I'll be so mad if I don't fit all the summer clothes I bought last year!
Judy - Oh you poor dear. I despise doing group projects for the very reason you described. I hope those @#$%&^ people sort themselves out soon. Good for you for not munching your way through the anxiety!
Well, I caved in at the workshop and had a maple walnut muffin, AND a donut. I had every intention of looking the other way, but they called my name and the rest is history. And today it's ancient history, and I'm back on track. My weigh in y'day had me down 1 lb. Mike's had him down 6 lbs. Today there are no particular challenges, so here's to a good day for all of us!
Judy - I'm so sorry to hear that your group did that to you. What a bunch of jerks. I agree with Karen, I've always hated group projects for that very reason. I'm much rather be responsible for myself and myself only. At any rate, a huge pat on the back to you for not eating through it. That's some major stress and you did a great job by refraining from snacking, late dinner or not. (Late dinners have never stopped me when I've had my mind on snacking.) I hope you're able to get more sleep today and that your group acts reasonable.
Karen - Congrats on your loss! Ah, yes, the meeting muffins and dougnuts. I know how hard they are to pass up, even with the best of intentions. Good for you for recognizing it as ancient history and for getting right back on track. I hear you on getting into your summer clothes. I have a bunch of tops and dresses that are just a bit too snug and I'm determined to get into them. I do not want to buy any more summer clothes, other than the few pairs of shorts I need.
I'm happy to report that I made it through my weigh-in day without using a single flex point. I'm going to try hard to hold on to the majority of them for awhile. I've been jonesing for a chicken taco dinner from the local Mexican restaurant and I'd like to be able to indulge in that sometime this week. We'll see. Off to lunch in a bit. I'll be good. And my period started today so PMS cravings is done for a few weeks.
Karen - Congratulations on your loss!!!! Yes, conference muffins and doughnuts are especially evil. So are croissants and home baked goods at maternity showers (at work for me this week) Good for you for getting back on track!
Carla - Wow! Not using a single FP on weigh-in day?? I bow to you, oh determined one! I may end up repeating that feat this Saturday (when I get my new flex points) but only because it will be after a day of exercising and I'll have a ton ofr AP's I can eat!
I fell like a zombie from lack of sleep but I was pleased to see that one of my group members agreed to my plan - now I'll have to see if they come through by Sunday but at least it's progress. I've decided that at least for now I am not exercising today - I'm way to beat. I also decided that I am not doing a stitch of school work today - I'll be doing plenty on the way down to AC tomorrow and know that I will do a couple of hours in addition sometime over the weekend (the final project for this class is laughable it's so big). Instead, I decided to sit on the patio on a beautiful day, sunny, dry and in the 70's with a light beer and "talk" to you,. my friends. After dinner, I will do a light load of laundry so I don't have to do it when we get back on Sunday, figure out what clothes I'll pack in which to exercise in public, pack as much as I can and then watch a few of the new exercise dvds that arrived today (they are 1/2 hour combined strength and cardio); in other words, I'm going to relax. I'm looking forward to the fitness conference. It's one I've never attended before so I don't know what to expect from the standpoint of the size of classes but I know a number of the instructors and like them very much. Additionally, I will be seeing a friend from Minneapolis and it's a very small number of us VF'ers attending so I'll have a lot of time to spend with her.
I don't think I'll be able to get back on (unless I need some motivation tonight) until Sunday. If I don't, have a great weekend!
Judy
Judy, hope you have a wonderful time at the fitness conference!
Carla, what fortitude in not squandering your flex points!
SBD is going well, feeling full, and strangely enough I'm not craving any carbs or evil sweet things. My only gripe so far is prep time for all the veggies involved, but I think that after doing the first week, I'll do lots of weekend veggie washing, slicing and dicing to save time on work days. It actually feels like a very healthful way to eat. We're going to friends' for a Saturday dinner get together; I offered to bring salad, so I think we're in good shape for that.
Karen - Have fun at your Saturday dinner. I wonder if you could earn activity points with all that slicing and dicing. I hate chopping, slicing and dicing. One more reason, I suppose, why I would be a washout on the SBD. Seriously, I'm glad that it's working well for you and that you're not dealing with cravings, etc.
Today is Ana's first day of summer vacation, so that means I'll be operating outside of my normal routines. No matter, I'll just have to create new ones. I used 5 of my flex points yesterday, which is fine, except that some of them were on the Smart Pop Kettle corn - at 11:30 at night. No need to be eating that late. I'm looking forward to my weekend without any particular challenges and will be glad when Ana's b-day party is over on Sunday.
Weigh in at Home 5/31 - June 7
I'm hoping to soon be back at my start weight for the year, and then it's downward and onward. I'll be so mad if I don't fit all the summer clothes I bought last year!
