Quarterly Posts Ending June 30, 2015.

mdubbs1

Helene - congratulations on the loss!!!

KonaKat

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.

mdubbs1

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.

Helene610

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.

Helene610

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.

mdubbs1

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.

Helene610

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.

mdubbs1

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).

Helene610

Those breakfasts sound interesting. I'll have to look for them and give them a try.

KonaKat

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.

KonaKat

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.

KonaKat

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.

Helene610

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.

mdubbs1

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.

KonaKat

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.

mdubbs1

Jean - look at you in Hawaii!!!

KonaKat

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.

Helene610

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.

KonaKat

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.aspx

Helene610

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.