Quarterly Posts Ending June 30, 2015.
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Maryanne--I do hope whatever lies ahead for you and your thyroid that it is a successful experience. I really hope the tomatoes offset the disappointment in the green beans. Bittersweet memories of Willie but good ones!
I had the Special K breakfast sandwich to start the day. I'll have the Dannon Light and Fit Greek yogurt in about an hour.0 -
You two have certainly been busy while I've been gone. What a nice story about the elderly Siamese cat. I'm kind of glad the vet tech's mom got her instead of your friend. It sounds like the mom needed her more. And you can certainly find another cat for your friend. LOL.
Jean...What great treatment you've gotten from your doctors, hospital and Humana. What other benefits can you get besides the free food? That's great that your appointments are moved back because you're doing so well.
Our NJ trip was a big success. It was lovely to see my niece after an 18 month gap. Her almost 3 year old is adorable. we went out to a seafood restaurant and Ada was perfectly behaved. One of her favorite foods is calamari but the restaurant only had it friend. I guess she likes it steamed. She likes sushi as well. My niece does such a great job with her. her brother has 3 little ones. They too are cute but can be a bit wild. His sister is much better at setting schedules and routines for her child than her brother and his wife do. Ada was in bed at 8 each night with no drama or fussing and slept until 8:30. She doesn't fight naps either. Maybe the fact she's well rested accounts for the difference in behavior. His kids fight and delay a normal bedtime.
I logged in here each day to keep mu streak going but didn't log fooods. I had no idea of calorie counts but I did portion control. I gained 4/10ths of a pound which must be a record. That should be gone pretty quick. I had seafood 3 of the nights we were gone. And I'm back on track with logging meals today.0 -
Helene--Other than the insurance company hopefully paying most of the bill, the free food and free exercise kit is all I know of at this point in time. I started reading on the company that supplies the meals and see it is part of an effort to keep people healthy upon return from the hospital and reduce chances of readmission About one-fourth are readmitted within 30 days.
The meals were delivered today so I decided to have one tonight. It wasn't bad. It was a very good beef patty with gravy, sweet potatoes and mixed greens. In addition to the variety of entrees, they included a loaf of whole wheat bread, a variety of individual servings of juices, butter and jelly, Quaker oatmeal bars to go, and a selection of Little Debbie cookies.
You did well controlling the amount of weight gained. Your trip was, indeed, a success while permitting you to enjoy family and eating out.0 -
I'm back to logging and today's total is good so far.0
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Sorry I've been MIA lately. We have a lot going on right now, interviewing assisted living centers and trying to work with my SIL as we figure out what will be best for DH and SIL's mom when SIL moves to Houston. I feel like I've gotten whiplash today trying to deal with SIL as she has changed her mind at least five times today about what she thinks would be best -- twice in one conversation alone. DH was gone all day attending a class, so I had to deal with her and I'm about ready to move without leaving a forwarding address! We have more assisted living centers to tour next week, but in the end I think she will end up moving her mom to Houston so all our efforts will be wasted. It would certainly be easier for us if she does move her to Houston, but I don't want her to resent us or feel that we aren't willing to help out with their mom's care. She has made quite a few comments to me to that effect. We are willing to have her move here and take over her care, but SIL has control issues so that is why I think in the end she will choose to keep her mom near her. Unfortunately, their mom gets along with my DH much better than she does with her daughter, but I think she's unwilling to stand up for herself and say that she'd rather come here. It's all a bit of a mess right now with SIL trying to juggle about six balls at once. She has a job in Houston but hasn't found a house to buy; she's trying to get her house ready to go on the market this weekend; she's trying to figure out the best way to get herself and her mom moved along with three vehicles; her son and DIL in Houston also bought a new house and will be moving at roughly the same time she will be moving; and no decision is made about where her Mom will go. And I've probably left out a few of the smaller issues she's also trying to figure out, so I understand how stressed she is, but she's really driving me crazy. I'm starting to feel as stressed as she is and I'm not even moving!
Last night I did get to have a bit of a break. A national tour of a Broadway play was in Dallas and my sister and her daughter, granddaughter and a friend of her granddaughter met me there to see the play. It was "Dirty Dancing" and was almost identical to the movie, though in my opinion, not as good. Some of the cast were excellent, but the male lead was no Patrick Swayze. After the play we came back to my house and they spent the night before returning home this morning. I stayed up much too late and DH was up early to get to his class, so I'm a bit sleep deprived today, which probably contributes to my lack of patience with my SIL.
Next week I'm hosting a dinner/birthday party for a very good friend, so the early part of the week will be busy as well. I did warn SIL that I wouldn't have a lot of time to tour facilities until later in the week, but I'm not sure she will pay any attention to my schedule. She tends to not think anyone else's needs are as important as her own. Unfortunately, DH doesn't want to tour any of the facilities on his own, so I will have to find the time.
Sorry to vent so much about my own issues. MY SIL isn't a bad person, but she is rather self-absorbed at times, and this is definitely one of them.
It sounds like everyone is doing pretty well right now and I'm glad to know this. I hope life settles down a bit soon and I can relax and go back to my usual, unexciting life.0 -
Pam--You definitely are tied into a busy schedule and challenging issues. I love "Dirty Dancing," and it would be almost impossible to find another Patrick Swayze. That movie was not expected to be a hit but it certainly struck a chord with many people.
Helene--I'm back to logging food also. I've gained 4 pounds since going into the hospital. I know one of the side effects of this medicine is a possible weight gain but 4 pounds?
Having egg, sausage,and potatoes as well as juice for breakfast from the Humana freebies, It isn't bad. This is my last Humana entrée for a week. These are supposed to be healthy and appropriately portioned but I want to be more in control with what I definitely know works.
I have to watch the calories of the ground flax seed. Although it has great health benefits, a serving is 70 calories.
Will someone go and find Summer and bring it here! Cold start to the day!!0 -
I goy a message on MFP that I'd never seem before. I guess I picked a lot of lower calorie items. I went to close my log and I got a message saying according to the calories I had left, I probably had eaten too little. I think I had eaten around 1,000 calories. I had some cheese and crackers to add 300 to the total and called it a night. I was surprised when the scale was 1.4 pounds lighter than when I started. I'm down 4 pounds in the last month. I had hopped to lose 5 pound. Since I didn't start in earnest until we got home in mid May, I'm counting the quarter as a success. I'm going to set a goal of another 10 for next quarter. Now that I'm logging, I'm more in control and feel I can set the bar a little higher.
Pam..Looking for assisted living places sounds very stressful. How far from you are the places SIL is leaning towards? Is SIL older than DH? It sounds like she's used to running the show. He should certaimly express location preferences so you can visit more easily but let her choose the facility in that area of the choice is important to her sense of control. Once MIL is settled, The location won't be that important to her and I'm sure she'd rather have more visits. She's probably not that thrilled about having to give up her home so that will be why she's stressed rather than if the facility is in Houston. Good luck.
Jean...Your breakfast sounded good. I had a NS banana muffin and a hard boiled okay. It was okay but your's sounded better to me.0 -
Helene--I have gotten that message. Congrats on your weight loss! I was doing great in May and June until the hospital stay. Now, I have four pounds to lose which is about what I had lost prior to the hospital stay. Keep up the great work!
The breakfast calories on that freebie were 250 for the entrée, 60 for the juice and 70 for the slice of whole wheat bread. Definitely more than I would normally have and it wasn't as satisfying as the Quaker Weight Control oatmeal.
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Helene, SIL is actually younger than DH, but they couldn't be more different in personality. He is very deliberate and logical in his approach to everything while she is more of a "fly by the seat of her pants" type, which drives DH crazy. I call her "Hurricane Karen" because of this. MIL has been in assisted living in El Paso for the last four years or more, so she's already worked through the emotions of giving up her home and accepted the need for assisted living. In the end, I think she will go to Houston because my SIL won't be willing to give up the control she now exercises over her mom. They don't get along terribly well, but I'll be surprised if she comes here. However, we have to check out all options and be prepared, just in case. I really think that if the cost is about the same in either city, then she will probably want to go to Houston to be close to her grandson and great grandson. It will also be much closer for us to come and visit, so we will see her more often as well.
So far today, it's been quiet on the Hurricane Karen front. I hope it stays that way!0 -
Pam - here's hoping it all shakes out. DH's one and only sister is both an LPN and extremely stubborn so she not only shepherded the care of their mom and dad in their final days (she got the family home in return) but she badgered the doctors of his brother when he was dying of cancer (and got him much better care than an indigent alcoholic would normally have gotten) and tried to do the same recently when another alcoholic brother was dying of cancer (he was in too bad a shape for anyone to save). Here's hoping Hurricane Karen finally settles down without using us too much more of your time.0
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Helene - congratulations on the loss!!!0
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Pam, I hope all remains calm o the Hurricane Karen front. I have a niece who was exactly like her mother. Both were stubborn and neither would give easily so needless to say, they were always arguing about something that made little difference in the long run.
I started the day with a Special K breakfast sandwich. It is sunny today for a change. I just went out and inflated my tires to the correct pressure. I was getting a little careless.0 -
Last week, first week after recommitting, I lost 7 1/2 pounds. The whole NS fast 5 is such a gimmick. If you eat badly enough and long enough, the first week you do any diet you're going to lose significant weight. Now it gets tough.
I can't find my 20-lb bear. He's my favorite (purple). I know he's upstairs somewhere. I didn't put him away "properly" because I knew he'd be coming out again soon but that obviously was my mistake.
This week I'm eating all food ordered from Diet Direct. Have a spreadsheet set up with each day's calories totally out at around 1350.
Breakfast is Kay's natural honey and almond cereal with 1/2 banana and skim milk (basically the cereal has no flavor - I finally stopped and added splenda).
Through the day I'll have high protein cocoa (thank you a/c or o/w cocoa would be a no go), salad, and high protein chicken noodle soup with 5 crackers.
Dinner will be one of the shelf stable dinners available on diet direct and - wait for it - green beans. Hee hee...
Snacks will be high protein pretzels and high protein pudding.
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Maryanne...I think I'm one of the few who has never had that big loss first week. Maybe it means I don't retain a lot of fluids. The best I ever remember is 3 pounds but usually it's 1-2 pounds. It's a good thing I know that about myself or I could get really depressed hearing others talk about those big first week. I'm glad for you. And I'll just keep poling along like the tortoise, making slow and steady progress. After all, it only matters that I'm heading in the right direction.
I had one of my favorite breakfasts today. I split a JD cheese omelet with DH and added a NS breakfast bar to it. I love eggs for breakfast. The JD breakfast products are so easy to fix. Only one of the stores in my area still stocks the omelets. I hope it doesn't get like the Florentine Eggbeaters that Maryanne liked but couldn't find anymore.0 -
A friend just passed along word that Costco has the NS gift cards on sale until July 19th, in case anyone needs them. They're $59.99 during the sale.0
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Helene - I love eggs for breakfast too. Especially now that I've found a new source for chopped onions/peppers. Still wish I could find EB Florentine but no luck. I still have a couple in the freezer but I'll probably toss them. I don't think being reminded of the taste at this point would be a good move. Luckily the EB Southwest aren't very southwest as I think the Three Cheese ones are likely to disappear from my local store as well. I was over there yesterday and they have a whole shelf full of ones that expire tomorrow. Have you ever tried the Smart Ones eggs? I enjoy them.
I'm out of FF 1000 island individual packets so thought I'd pick up a bottle at the store. Two stores later - no luck! I've got an order coming from minimus.biz but until it does I guess I'll be using other flavors of FF dressing.
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No, I've never tried Smart Ones. That's a WW product, right? I've eaten the JD egg sandwiches that come on English muffins. And I like the Special K flatbread sandwiches but I usually buy those when they go on sale. If I went for the egg sandwiches, I'd probably be close to the calorie counts of the half omelet and NS bar.
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Yes, Smart Ones is a weight watchers. I mostly like the breakfasts. There's an egg with potatoes and an omelet. There's also a breakfast quesadilla which is egg-filled - that's my favorite (it's not at all spicy although you can't tell that from the package).0
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Those breakfasts sound interesting. I'll have to look for them and give them a try.0
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Maryanne, what a great weight loss. The most I ever lost in first week of a strict diet of 1200 calories a day was when I weighed 215 and first starting my weight loss In the first week, I lost 5 lbs. In first month, I lost 10 lbs. It has been a very slow process for me. Now that I am on this med that can cause weight gain, I don't see much of a promising future. You are the lucky exception.0
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Does anyone know how frustrating it is to do your best and to struggle to just lose slowly but then be reminded how easy it is by others? I think I do better not being reminded of my apparent failures. There is a reason some need a jump start.0
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I apologize for any comments made. I am just frustrated. I had no idea I would gain while in the hospital. Also I thought it might be good when all these new people joined. I have contacted over half of them with no reply. Based upon that I see no reason to message the rest of them. July starts the new quarterly thread. I need one of you to serve as co leader of this thread so a new thread can be started if necessary.
I came in at 1190 calories today which also marked 69 straight days of logging in not that means anything.0 -
Jean...I'm a slow loser like you so don't feel like you don't have company. I compare myself to a tortoise because of my slow rate. In 5 weeks, I've lost 4 pounds. But if I keep moving in the right direction, that's okay. So I'll be keeping you company. For my profile, I picked a pound a week. That gave me 1,500 calories but I usually come in around 1,300 to 1,400 calories a day. And I'm losing the amount I picked so I think I't working. . Have you tried eating a little bit more to rev up your metabolism.? It might be worth trying it for a few days and then dropping back to 1,200. You might just need a jump start. I'll bet some of that hospital weight was fluids that you retained.
I'm not the most technologically savvy person, but I'm willing to help if you can explain what needs to be done.0 -
Jean - I'm very sorry you're frustrated and even more sorry that I contributed to it.
I think all these new web site that have been started will have problems attracting newbies since we're no longer on the NS site. If you want to attract new members, might it make sense to start our own thread under the MFP NS thread rather than having our own group or whatever they call this? Just throwing that out there. I'm not sure how many people will find find that either.
I think the NS refugee site put a "come to us" on the NS facebook page. I imagine that could have unintended consequences.0 -
I was just in a frustrated and lousy mood yesterday. I think perhaps I may have hit a temporary (I hope) state in which the body is saying "This is where I want you."
Maryanne--When we were on the NS site, we couldn't attract and keep people so I should not have expected that here. I'm a member of the MFP NS group and like it far more than the Refugee site. Everyone is in transition, so my inclination now is to continue our little close group over the next quarter and see what develops.
Helene--It was not only the hospital weight gain, it was the 2 more after I came home from the hospital for a total of 4 pounds.
Tomorrow or late this evening, I will start the third quarter discussion thread under this group.
I started the day with the Kellogg's Special K breakfast sandwich and a lovely selection of 8 prescribed pills plus vitamins. I use those chewy vitamins as it is the easiest way for me to down them. In the evening, I enjoy those chocolate calcium chews after I take 7 prescribed pills.
This is my last picture and was taken by my cell in Hawaii.
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Jean - look at you in Hawaii!!!0
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Maryanne--I have a problem with visual perception but I still carry the label of "obese" at a BMI of 31. I once crossed over to just "overweight" but I lost some height so the BMI changed. It is a losing battle. Compared to many in my area where obesity reigns supreme, I might be considered "average" in weight.
Off to get my mid-morning snack of Dannon Light and Fit Greek yogurt.0 -
Jean...I was thinking about you this morning and it occurred to me that you have a relatively small amount to lose at this point. Everyone says that the last 10 pounds is very hard to lose. You're probably in that group. Instead of letting it get you down, turn around and see where you came from. How many dress sizes have you lost since 215 pounds? I think the biggest difference for you was when you had to give up walking around the track. Is there a point at which you'll be able to resume some of that? Even if it didn't result in rapid losses, I think it's a mood lifter. I'd be thrilled to be your size so be proud of what you've achieved. I'll bet most of your friends don't see someone who needs to lose when they look at you now.
I'm open to newcomers but if they don't come, I'm fine with the four of us supporting each other. and it could be because we've gotten to know each other so well, newcomers may feel less welcome. I don't think that's true but that may be their perception.
I'm thinking of donating blood this week. It may be my last time for a while. I'm having a tooth implant later in the month and I may need a bone graft. I think I'd be disqualified from donating for a year if I need the implant. I don't remember if I told you the story of why I need the implant. I won't get into ti now in case I'd be repeating myself.0 -
I've lost 2 sizes. I have large bone structure. I have 30 pounds to lose. I remember when I was at that goal weight many years ago. I wore a tight 12.
Thinking ahead is important when it comes to an implant. What type of dental implant are you considering as I know there are different types.
My latest based upon doc recommendation:
http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/tiny-flaxseed-has-big-benefits.aspx
http://www.lifescript.com/food/healthy_eating_guides/low_fat/tips/your_weight-loss_food_flaxseeds.aspx0 -
When I came back from FL, my dentist spotted a tooth on my X-Ray that he said looked like it was being re-absorbed. He sent me to an endodontist in the hopes I could have a root canal and then a crown. The endodontist looked at the X-Rays and said the tooth was too far gone. It was collapsing from within. He said it was from pressure braces put on the tooth decades ago. If it had been discovered earlier, plan A might have worked. He recommended a oral surgeon and an implant after that. He thought I should do it locally because my dentist is in CT. It involves some travel to have it done there. My dentist was on vacation but I left a message asking him to call me when he got back so I could discuss the options. My dentist thought I should have it done in his office. His partner specializes in implants. The partner will extract the tooth and put in the implant. He'll decide then if I need the graft when he looks at my gum. Without the graft, it's 3 months healing before the crown goes in. My own dentist will do the crown. If I need the graft, it's 5 months healing so we'll wait until I get back from FL to do the crown. I'm more comfortable with Plan B because I've gone to that practice for decades. They know me and have given me great care. The local dentists are probably good but I don't know them. The first procedure is one visit with a follow up in a few months. That's not a lot of travel for me. I routinely make the trip for cleanings anyway.0
