2017
Replies
-
Morning hatters!
Not much to report at my end - the scales do seem to be slowly moving downwards; i'm still in the "logging what I eat mode" as opposed to setting a calorie goal every day; I appear to be hovering between 1600-1700 the past few days and working on healthier choices. I think I will give it another week of logging what I eat and if the scale keeps moving a bit, i'll pick a number to actually aim for - but i'm definitely not jumping back to only 1200 until I see how it goes
Hope all is well with the rest of the hatters!!1 -
-
Spot on, Snoozie!!! Hahaha! Awesome!
I set my calories at 1450 and I just shoot to stay under. I've been sticking to it really well this week (I'm on a roll!!) and the scale has started moving again. I'm back to where I was before I started this whole "eat one day, feel guilty the next and then eat more" routine. Now if I could only make myself go back to the gym! I've been walking but I absolutely need some strength training and yoga. I'll get there.
Here's my big worry: my nephew and his family and friends (9 people total) are coming to visit at the end of the month. They are huge drinkers and foodies. I always have the intention to stick with it but I'm weak....especially when it comes to gin & tonics and good food. When I go off the plan for a few days I have a HUGE problem getting back on. Ugh!!!0 -
Sorry about you mom Susan, I hope she is feeling better! I have in the past tried flax seed, I am going to try all of the above suggestions. Right now down with a cold not following any special regime.
0 -
Thanks milove. Hope you get over your cold soon.
Snooozie- ROFL about the latin WTF root for menopause
0 -
milove hope youre feeling better by now!
Suzy... I would normally probably say don't sweat it for a few days while you're family is here... BUT... I was doing pretty well and then went to a party a few days ago... I wasn't drinking cause I was the DD, but it was a wine and cheese party sooooooooo since I couldn't drink I did decide to try some of the scrumptious appys they had - I pigged out in the end.. AND had cake... which would have been ok I could have written it off as a day "off"... but since then??? omg.. I haven't been able to stop eating.. and eating CRAP. and CARBS.. omg... today is the first day I have been able to withstand any junk.. but it's only noon so ....
I cannot believe how quickly and easily I went nutso - and that its taking me days to get back to it... sooooo i'm gonna change my usual reply to you and say try to stay strong and maybe just allow yourself one treat a day ... or one day only to go nutso?? cause I am miffed my hard work now has been pushed back yet again and I don't wish that on you cause you've been doing so good!!
So ... will just wish you luck and pray for ya lol!0 -
Thanks Snoozie. I totally get it. When I go downhill I go all the way and then the climb to get back up to the top is very slow going. I'm going to try and stay strong. I'm planning on NOT drinking because those are completely empty calories and it blows away any self control I might have. I don't know how I'm going to handle the eating yet. I'm thinking about it and hoping to come up with a realistic strategy. The main problem I see is that they will be on vacation and in a city with fantastic restaurants (they're from a tiny town in Mississippi) that they are going to want to try. It's so difficult when everyone around you is eating and commenting about the food and you're sitting there eating yet another salad or chicken breast!1
-
Morning hatters ! The sun came out today I made it down to the lake and it was just gorgeous cold but sunny and beautiful. As its valentines day I tried to write hatters in the snow with a heart around it but my reach wasn't long enough!!
2 -
Thanks for that, Snoozie! I keep looking at it and thinking that I'd have been guaranteed to fall over if I tried to do it!
I agree about how easy it is to set off on a course of destruction. I haven't been so great recently - allowing myself some leeway because of not feeling well, though, but still - I'm back to grazing and carbs so quickly. I was out on Saturday night (when I was still feeling OK) drank too much, and spent the next day eating rubbish.
On the other hand, I can't stand eating a chicken breast or salad when other people are enjoying their food, Suzy! It's not supposed to be a penance! I don't know what the answer is. I have found fasting is sometimes easy because I just don't eat at all. If I had self-control I'd maybe try eating half portions of something really good - you get all the enjoyment of the meal, but half the calories. But it does mean having to not just finish off the other half!2 -
Love the Valentine's heart in the snow Snooozie ! Very creative
Milove- hope your cold is better.
Suzy, Snooozie and Vail- I completely hear you about the difficultiy of getting off track and then back on. I think that's a great idea about avoiding the alcohol, Suzy, if you are so inclined. I find that alcohol leads to total disaster for me when I'm out, not only from empty calories, but it seems to increase my appetite and erase any willpower! I think your idea is great , too, Vail, about ordering what you like but eating half. Suzy, sometimes when I order out I ask the server to please wrap half of it to go before serving it so the temptation to finish my whole meal is removed.
I totally agree with you Vail that fasting or what I refer to as my previous days of old starvation diets are so much easier, which is kind of sad to say, ya know? But this eating just the right amount of calories combined with only sticking to healthy foods is so hard to do consistently. Consistency, portion control and head games are my biggest challenges!
I am grateful to you dear Hatters for all the support and encouragement given and the honesty we are able to share with each other with no judgement. How wonderful is that!?!? We may have some blips along the way, but we CAN do this, we WILL do this and we ARE doing this!
2 -
Hi ho Hatters....
love the sticky note pic Susan! and totally agree about the being able to be honest and support stuff here... there's nothing better than knowing your peeps have your back, so to speak!
Vail - omg I can totally relate to the "if only could eat SOME" and leave the rest... actually if only I could do it instead of relating to it.
So..
*********** WARNING - LONG RAMBLING POST AHEAD - PROCEED AT OWN RISK **********
=============================================================
This morning sucked for me
i went for my regular doc apt .... for all my numbers.. and to go over the MRI results... i wanted to get the results from it translated into English which she did - the tear is in one of the 4 muscles in the rotator cuff and the cyst thingie is on the scapula bone. So now i know what it is, and altho i confess i googled both, i will wait to see the ortho guy before attempting any more physio. i did find out tho that im not suppose to push it when it's in full blown mode, that makes it worse. Duh. anyway.. that wasn't the sucky part... that was ok...at least i know i'm not imagining things.
My A1C though (blood sugar level) was UP. Before i went i had jotted down my numbers over the past year..so i could see the progression of all of them easier than on my phone where i keep em.. and this time my A1C was back over 7.
omg ... when she gave me that number... i actually felt my eyes well up and i thought omg i'm gonna start crying... she had her head down writing on my chart, so i was trying not to snuffle and to clamp down on the tears the whole time while i was wondering why i was losing it. because that is SO not me. I can usually control any emotion in public and wait til i'm alone to melt down.. plus i wasn't sure why i was crying in the first place.. it's not the worst news in the world i know.. but it completely destroyed me hearing that.. so my doc is like ok so you're struggling to get your numbers where we need them to be so since you're only on a half dose of metformin, we can easily double that amount and have you take 4 pills instead of 2 a day...
well jesus... i thought i was gonna bawl my eyes out again!!!! Then she puts me up on the table to take my blood pressure and we're at eye level now... and i'm trying to avoid looking at her and biting my lip and and talking to myself in my head saying STOP IT just stop... but she's known me a long time an i'm right at eye level... so she was like what's going on.. why are you upset? of course i'm like no i'm fine.. so she starts talking and saying how it isn't like it was 50 years ago when we didn't have the meds and i'm already on them so upping them a bit is ok and blah blah blah..
but i was only listening with 1/2 an ear cause i was trying so hard not to stop myself from going into a full blown wailing session. Which i did... pretty much.. i just wanted to get the hell out of dodge lol.... so almost made it out of the office building intact but got in the car and just blubbered for a few then came home and blubbered again. Only then did i try to figure out why i was so upset.. and realized it's because i have always DREADED ever hearing the medications had to go up. It has always been one of my worst hidden fears....
When i was first diagnosed 5 years ago i remembered my doc saying it's not about me simply giving you more and more meds so you can continue to live an unhealthy lifestyle .. its about you investing in yourself and wanting to be as healthy as YOU can make yourself. So i guess i just felt like a complete failure when i heard "up the meds" and also because i KNOW once you start upping the meds.. at some point they won't be enuf and it will have to be insulin. and THAT scares the crap outta me.
So after my blubbering and a small pity party for myself.. (not big enuf to warrant presents unfortunately
) i had a long talk with myself and admitted to me how i was feeling... and me listened and consoled.. then gently slapped me upside the head and reminded me that it was totally in my power to change things IF i really wanted to. It reminded me i had gotten slack with not only eating better, with not walking with excuses of winter (i have 2 gyms in my condo); and with being CONSISTENT with both. i didn't really want to hear it at the time, but i did listen to me. and realized i am lucky enough that i CAN still change some things about my health - not everything, but certainly there are two areas i Can control and change - many of us can't change some things health wise (me included), but eating well and moving every day are. And it doesn't bother me now that I've tried before and ended up back here - because i still have the chance to do it again. So i finished my pity party, and went down to the gym and did the treadmill for 40 min and will start working on making those changes right now.
I'm in a good place mentally after an exhausting morning lol... so it's all good. And I'm not sharing this to look for consolation or you can do its or anything like that... its just this is the one place where i can be completely honest about this stuff and sometimes just getting it out there helps unload the baggage. So it's a good afternoon. and a good day for me after all.
Thanks for listening and know that I've always got another good shoulder still available should anyone need it LOL!!!
1 -
I'm really sorry about you results, Snoozie, and I can understand why you were so upset. But I'm hugely impressed with your attitude to it! That's a major bit of self-talk! I don't know much about diabetes, but I wonder if you may already have slowed the course of the disease with all the work you've done already, and committing to health has got to be good for you even if it doesn't reverse it.1
-
Thanks Vail - yes the men in white coats would have come calling with their pretty little self tying jackets had they heard my internal conversation with myself LOL..
One benefit to having tracked all my numbers for the past 5 years is having the numbers easily available to look back on, and when I hit my goal weight and was eating well and moving? my A1C was definitely at it lowest so its definitely an incentive and good visual to get me back to taking care of myself.. that and the fear factor
The down side to having tracked for so long is realizing ive been on the site for 5 years and am still struggling.... so when I go back to work Saturday I'm gonna print Suzys sign about time to get my *kitten* together,and Susan's "every bite" one, as well as one with just my A1C # on it... and put them up on the front of my cupboards in the kitchen!
2 -
Snoozie, I agree with Vail. I don't know a lot about diabetes but isn't it possible that if you hadn't been doing what you've been doing then it could be much worse right now? Regardless...you're motivated, you have the knowledge and the tools, you've got us...so you can do this!!! Just out of curiosity, what is a healthy A1C? I need to have mine checked the next time I go. There's no family history but mine was a bit high many years ago (I just don't remember what it was!). That's one reason I started on this healthy makeover journey as well.
I'm trying to be patient and adopt a zen attitude towards the scale moving (or not moving). I feel like I'm eating really well and doing more walking but it's just not showing on the scale. I know...patience!!! I'm hoping for a loss before my company shows up...that would give me some extra motivation to stick with it. If I'm still feeling frustrated then it would be easier to dive into those mixed drinks!1 -
Snooozie- sending you a private message
Suzy- An A1C level below 5.7 percent is considered normal. An A1C between 5.7 and 6.4 percent signals pre-diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is diagnosed when the A1C is over 6.5 percent.
Hope that nasty scale starts cooperating soon for you!2 -
That's great that you've kept all the numbers, Snoozie. I suppose it does show that you can make a difference. I've been here a long time too (it can't be five years, can it? Unbelievably, it is almost five years!), and I'm still struggling too - but I think things would have been worse if I wasn't trying!2
-
Suzy - i'm keeping my paws crossed the scale starts to reflect your hard work before the kinfolk arrive!!
Patience.... definitely NOT one of my virtues either ... but consistency is the key (as I was reminded the other day lol) ...and I guess they both kinda go hand in hand when it comes to weight loss.. but I totally agree they forget the frustration part of that equation! Hang in there ... your hard work WILL show up on the scales LOL @ the zen attitude.. love it!
and Susan's A1C number guide is spot on.. !
Ive made the decision I am NOT going to up my meds at this time... I have another apt in 3 months with my goal on getting my number to an acceptable level again by then.
Thanks for the note Susan btw!
Vail - I think you and the others are absolutely right about how much worse things could be if we hadn't all come here a while back - and while its still somewhat of a catch 22 realization for me (5 yrs in and i'm not really all that far ahead, yet its true had I not come here back then... who knows where i'd be!)
I remember reading something way back on here about not waiting til tomorrow to start anything.. or the "right time".. cause time is gonna pass whether you do something or you don't... and boy did realizing 5 years on here has come and gone in what seems to be a heartbeat... yikes!
So i'll take the positive look at it.. and consider those 5 years the "theoretical side of my learning curve - and now its time to get to the practical application
0 -
I got so fed up this morning when I got on the scale and had gained a pound. So I began the dreaded, evil downward spiral that ended up with me so far in the whole with total calories that I couldn't see the light at the top. Let me put it this way...if every day were like today then in five weeks I'd gain 18 pounds! I can't remember ever having such a terrible day. It was catastrophic!!!! Why do I do this to myself? It's insane!0
-
I don't Suzy - some days seem to start off on the wrong foot and keep going. I had one yesterday. I kept going back to the kitchen all evening for another little snack. What was I thinking? Why didn't I just NOT DO IT? But I suppose at least every day isn't like that! (Although I love your reminder of what would happen if it was - lol!). I like your point about doing it to yourself too. I need to bear that in mind. When I'm cheekily rebelling and having a late night snack, it's myself and my own goals and aspirations that I'm rebelling against! Thank you for your post, because I think it has given me insight into my own shortcomings.
Incidentally, I weigh every day, so I'm used to being up and down a pound or two daily - I do find it takes the emotional component out of weighing, so I don't have the same negative reaction that I would if I weighed weekly and gained.
Snoozie, you are so right about time passing by anyway!1 -
Suzy - I would have curled up in the fetal position with a bag of chips in my hand and cried if I had seen the stupid scale have a fit after all your hard work..... remember todays meltdown is just one little tree in the big forest; it will hardly be visible on the scale in another day or 2!! and the first day I started tracking what I was actually eating?? I got the same message .. in five weeks i'd up be up about 20 lbs!!
Theres nothing wrong with a meltdown now and then; its just that we can't move in and stay there lol.. so consider today your visit to meltdownville.. and head home again tomorrow without any recriminations or fears about today! you really are working hard and staying on track so don't let a little stumble throw you off your game - a home run is just around the corner!
hugs!2 -
Thanks y'all. I'm taking a break from weight worries this weekend. I'm just not going to think about it or obsess on it until Monday. I decided that I need to shake up my routine. So starting Monday I'm going to structure my day differently. It's worth a try.1
-
Oh my goodness- I posted a novel yesterday , photos and all, and guess what- it's gone! I think I must have hit preview instead of post before leaving it so it didn't stick?0
-
MFP is being a little 
1 -
Hmm it jus cut off my reply to Suzy at the bottom of my last one - said good on ya Suzy think it's excellent decision mentally and physically - any ideas on how u mean to restructure ?0
-
I've been getting rerouted to the App Store in the middle of typing on MFP for no reason. Weird.
My days are pretty unstructured since I'm retired and have no obligations. I've found that I'm a really lazy person in the mornings. I get up early enough but I just don't get motivated until noon. On those days where I have an appointment in the morning or manage to get going earlier then I do really well with my eating. I'm also a night owl and sometimes stay up way too late. So....I'm setting my alarm for 7:00 and forcing myself to get showered and dressed before leaving the bedroom. Then I have exercise planned for the morning at the gym and things to fill my afternoon. Yesterday went okay...didn't make my exercise class but did manage to walk and run errands. This morning was not a success but I didn't sleep well and got a late start. I know I won't be perfect right off the bat...habits are hard to change...but I am going walking and have a list a mile long of chores to get ready for company so I'm planning on staying busy. In other words, I'm trying to live a more purposeful life instead of just being a slug!!! Hahaha!2 -
That's a good idea about restructuring and changing habits. I used to have a book called the No Diet Diet - it never took off, but it worked on changing habits rather than dieting, with the idea that you would actually lose some weight just doing that, because some eating is just habit. It was a lot of fun to do - I didn't lose weight, though! But I hear about taking a while to get going in the morning. I'm the same, if it's not a work day. It's good that you've managed to hit on what makes the difference in your days.3
-
-
I've got to say...I've been rockin it with my calories this week! I've managed to get in some exercise, too. My company arrives tomorrow night. They're staying four nights. How do I make myself stay on track?!?!?!!! I really don't want to lose this momentum.2
-
just keep repeating I've been rocking it this week... AND ... remember you don't have to deprive yourself - if you can stick with "sampler" bites and or picking one night to indulge and stay the course for the rest?? you'll make it suzy !!2
This discussion has been closed.