Healthy Choices 07/18/08

Good morning everyone feel really proud of myself this morning as I have lost 3lbs this week DGS running thing has gotten me back on track again or at least give me a goal to shoot for. Have been walking 3 to 4 miles a day and next week I am getting back to journaling everyday I think this is a must for all of use. We seem to have turned into a social thread rather then a health thread in the last few years as others have said most of use are previous WW members, we know all the information just not using it. I realize that it gets rather boring writing down your meals if they do not change much every week but by not doing so we are not getting any new members to really join this group witch I feel is a sad thing. JMHO

I hope you all understand that I love you as friends but I need you as helpers in keeping me healthy so I can enjoy what is left of the rest of my life.

Good morning viny...you are so right...this has become a social group BUT we have the tools to make it a support group among friends.  I think we need to get back to that...back to listing our meals etc.  I think it is an inspiration to me to see that others are eating healthy.  Let's do it!

I, for one, ate better yesterday.  I've let this house govern me....don't want to cook until everything's in place....well,  that's not going to happen any time soon.  I did eat better yesterday and felt much better for doing so.  I had energy and was able to  focus on the tasks at hand.  I did not wait until I was overly hungry to eat.  I had too much fat, but this is a start...

B..one scrambled egg on toast, 2 gingersnaps

S..two more gingersnaps

L..Caesar salad with grillec chicken, 6 black olives, three gingersnaps

S..diet drink...actually Hansen's Tangerine-Lime soda...yummers

D..20 med shrimp in cocktail sauce, 2 zucchini sauteed with 1/2 an onion, 2 small ears corn

Lots of water during the day...got to here as hot as it is.  Anyway, I sure felt better.

Today is not so busy...have to get out to the bank and also get some copies made.  This morning I have a young man coming to give me an estimate on yard maintenance.  He's just starting out so perhaps he won't be as costly.  The current yard man does good work but he is slow to trim the suckers off the crepe myrtle, trim the hedges, get the ground cover off the bricks etc.  It took him til late June to get the begonias in....they should have been in by early May.  And I never can talk to him...have to leave a message and it's usually 2-3 days before he calls back.  Grrrrr!  Today I need him to reset the sprinkler system as we had upped the frequency to boost the grass.  Now we need to cut back as we've boosted the water bill!

Jo Lynn...good to have you back...hope you have some pics to share of Trenton!  Shirley, if you're peeking in, good morning!!  Barb, the social butterfly, is probably getting ready for coffee and donuts with her sister....yum! 

I'll check back later...hope we hear from Marti again.

vammie

Good morning all! A beautiful day here, but I’m inside so what do I know. Yesterday was a hot & humid one. Had the oldest grandson here for a day & 1/2, learned just how lazy he can be. Verna, didn’t you say your GS didn’t like to work either? I was bound & determined he would help me outdoors & he wound up doing it too. I’m not into entertaining this boy like the other side does. We did watch some movies together as we cut out parts from paper for my sister’s greeting cards that she will put together & take to her convention. Talk about a run on sentence!

Viny, you’re right, we have gotten away from the physical Healthy part of our post but I do think out social club has helped us stay emotionally healthy when stress comes into our lives. Maybe I’m the only one who feels this way though. We do know what we’re suppose to do from WW but I know I need the scale & meeting to follow it thru. After being gone from it for 3 weeks & gaining 4.4 lbs I REALLY know I need them. Plus I’ve made some friends there that I really treasure away from the meetings. I did journal all last week and it’s been a LONG time since I could say that. I’ve started my new journal already today, meeting was last night and I lost 3.4 lbs. I just need to increase the movement in my body, I’m not good at that but I’m going to TRY to work out in the yard at least some when I’m home. Good going on the walking! Maybe you really will be running with DGS next year. How is Pat doing?

Verna, my kitchen table is piled with stuff right now. My house will never be a show place either. I too have found that I need to place ME above alot of other things going on around me. I’m trying to keep stuff I know I should eat in my frig, rather than stuff I think DH would like. He’s got more will power than I & will live without the extra JUNK stuff. Never heard of that Hansen’s Tangerine-Lime soda, sounds refreshing... Don’t you just love summer squash cooked with onions! Did you use olive oil to cook it in? I’ve had trouble getting in the 2 oils we should have each day but the summer squash kind of takes care of that problem. Hope this new young man works out for you, your other guy sounds like he’s too busy to take proper care of you.

Shirley, good to see you’re back among us. Take care of yourself and it sounds like you’re turning into quite a gardener!

JoLynn, glad you had a good time with your kids! Don’t work too hard at home this weekend though.

Barb, enjoy your sister! Not just with donuts though... LOL I just can’t picture you eating a donut, you are so conscious of what you put in your mouth!

Will have to talk to everybody else later! I have to finish getting ready for work!

Till later! Pat A

Good morning all... I envy those of you that have been getting rain - we sure could use some. Its hard to believe with the winter we had, that our crops are starting to stress out due to lack of moisture. Of course, its not as bad here as some of you in the South are having it. Did I tell you that we had frost last Friday & Saturday mornings - that didn’t help the crops, either.

Thank you, Pat A, for putting into words exactly how I feel about WW and this group. I don’t have a lot of close friends and certainly not any that I talk to on a daily basis like I do all of you. Like Pat, I need to go to the WW meetings, have someone else weighing me, etc. WW used to have you turn in your journals each week and the leader would take it and critique it for you - I wish they still did that. Like I said - I plan on going back to WW the first of Aug. So, I guess what I am trying to say is that I hope you all don’t mind if I come here more for the socialization. I would really miss not being able to come here and visit with each of you every day.

Verna, I hope the new yard man works out. It seems like it is getting harder and harder to find people to do labor-type jobs. I remember growing up there was an older gentleman in our town that did yard work in the summer and shoveled sidewalks, etc., in the winter. He stayed quite busy at it. Interestingly, his name was Mr. Greene. I don’t think there is anyone in town that does that type of work anymore.

Viny, congratulations on the weight loss. I believe you are back on track and it helps that you have that nice, big garden with all those fresh veggies.

PatA, way to go on the weight loss - 3.4 lbs. is a good weight loss in one week. I’m glad you were able to get dgs to help you outside. How is the remodeling project at work going?

I think I’ll go up and see Mom this afternoon. I haven’t seen her since the 4^th of July. She has been having a little trouble with dizziness and my sister took her to the dr. yesterday and they couldn’t find anything. They changed her bp medicine hoping that would help. We’ll see.

Until later.....

JoLynn (your unhealthy friend) lol

Good morning.

Great job on that loss Viny! You are probably right about posting our menus.

For me so far today:

¼ bagel

1 small bunch red grapes

Lunch will be

1 Boca Burger, crumbled into

1 serving Progresso zero point soup

Dinner will be

½ order Chinese Beef & broccoli with white rice

I may have a 1 or 2 point WW snack also

I can see Vammie and Pat agree too.

JoLynn, you had frost! That’s hard to imagine in July. I hope the crops weren’t damaged much.

We got a response from the realtor. DH had put in a low offer but it was just an email, nothing in writing and it was based on a closer inspection. Instead of flat refusing the offer they asked when we want to come out and inspect it again! So it’s still up in the air.

Got to get back to work. Sue

Good morning my wonderful friends,

I thought I would sneak in here and just read but I have to comment on our healthy choices. Viny you could not offend us we know you love us and I agree we need to focus more on our eating and exercising to be healthy.

I also agree that our friendships have become so important to me. I don't know how I would have made it through the last few years without you all.

I mentioned to Maureen the other day that I had lost 13pounds while recuperating from this surgery.

She told me to think of it as a very good start and to a continued to build on that.

Unfortunately my appetite has come back so I will have to start journaling again to keep those pounds off. 

It's a very H/H/H day. We have green tomatoes on the vines but it will be weeks before we can pick any. I am so looking forward to my first BLT. I can't get over to where the veggies a planted because it sloops and I don't want to fall.

Marti I hope Joe is feeling better. AND, I hope you are trying to rest some.

I'm surprised the knee doesn't feel to bad sitting here. It is improving but I have to say this hasn't been easy. My nurse was here a while ago and put a call in to my doctor. My blood pressure is high again today. I never had any problems before. Darn, I hope this doesn't mean another pill. 

Time to walk around again. I try to walk the living room, kitchen and dining room several times every hour.

I only use the cane now for the stairs and walking outside.

Love Shirley

Viny, I hope you don’t think that you offended me because you didn’t. I agree with you - I feel like we need to do both - keep up with the friendship side of it for our mental health and also keep encouraging each other for our physical health, too. But, I must admit that you all have done more for my mental health than for my physical health. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have such a weight problem if it weren’t for all the wonderful recipes I have gotten from all of you! Haha

Sue, to me it looks like you really aren’t eating very much - of course, that is probably why you are at goal and I am not! Lol Keep up the good work.

Shirley, its so good to see you posting again. I have missed you. What a tough way to lose weight - I'm sure once your knee is better and you are able to walk more, you will have continued success losing weight. I look forward to when you can post regularly.

Umm, it just occurred to me that if I post my journal on here, then all of you could critique it and make suggestions and comments - that would be as good as turning it into the WW leader. I can be a little slow sometimes.....

Until later...

JoLynn

Hello everyone, especially Shirley!!!!   So good to see you here!   

Today I sewed my curtains.   They are so cute, but I am not yet used to them.   Something doesn't quite work.  I have one long rug in front of my sink and stove area.    It is a darker tone.  I'm thinking I need a lighter, natural colored one.   Trouble is, I just bought this a few months ago, and it was expensive!!!   Won't make any decisions for a few days yet.   

Just watched the film Juno with younger DS.   Have you all seen it?   I liked it a lot.   We watched The Counterfitter the other day, and that one was also very good.

Today I realized that I have only 3 more weeks of vacation.  

My bike is not working very well.   The gears are so loose.   I'm really thinking of trading it in.   I don't want to put any more money into this one.

Well, off to bed now.    I'm trying to eat smart here.   Will be a lot easier when I get back to work, but I am really trying!!!!   Tonight I did some lean ground beef kebabs from one WW cookbook I have.   Really spicy, but good.   I made a sauce from FF yogurt, mint and cucumber.  Really refreshing.    You know if you put FF plain yogurt through a filter (let it drain through a coffee filter for a little while), it becomes really thick and creamy like sour cream.  

Good nite!  lusi

I don't know where the week has gone, but I'll try to do better next week by posting, Viny, you can't offend us, we love you too much, but we all need  moral support in our daily lives as well as in maintaining our healthy eating and exercise.  I'm proud of you for losing this week and I too can report a loss of almost 6 lbs the last two weeks,  I have been journaling but will begin to post it here next week.  I returned to WW in June and just needed 6 lbs. off to be back to the goal that I have set there, but my inches are in different places and i must maintain my walking to keep the inches off,   I really don't have a problem with exercise since I enjoy it so much, It's like meeting my friends at the gym each day and getting 10,000 steps is easy for me.   Just this week I visited a friend in the nursing home, she worked with me and they all joked that I would roll out of bed at 5:30 regardless of the weather to get my hours walk before work, then take my lunch and break time to add more minutes.  I couldn't help but think of all those people who thought it a joke that I did this and now so many are having medical problems that exercise could have helped, but we all have to make these decisions.  Joe wouldn't stick with his exercise like he should either and no nagging from me helped and now he can't exercise but short periods.  
I'm promising myself and you that I will report my exercise and food choices beginning Monday, but I will need your support and to be accountable to all of you for doing so, plus I suppose I will need to weight in once a month at WW for life.  It's too easy to fall off that wagon. 
Joe feels good today, but we learned yesterday that the cardiologist wants the aflutter ablation done so he can come off the solotal because it is beginning to affect his kidneys.  The doctors will talk and try to make a decision.  Continue to remember him
Shirley, so good to see you here and to know that you are improving.  What a good weight loss, but as Maureen stated, that is a good start, just watch your portions and you will continue to post, 
Jolynn, I've not read all the post, but if you are going to visit DD and DGS, enjoy your visit. I'll try to come back later and read the post so I can reply and know what all of you are doing.

Hello again everyone.  It's a day like Shirley's...3H...and plenty of it.  The car thermoter read 99º when I pulled in to the garage.  The garage thermometer says 94º.  Doesn't matter...either one is too hot with no wind.

Well...I was just going to run a couple of errands and got sidetracked!  Got the banking done, got the copying done...and it was still early so decided to go to the thrift shop to find dress up stuff for the DGGDs.  What fun...I found a whole corner of clothing for $2/item.  Got all sorts of dresses of slinky fabric, wild colors etc.  Found a pair of low heeled silver shoes and a pair of purple ones.  Got a couple of belts, a couple of purses, 3 or 4 hats, some long scarves....and a pair of tap shoes!  I can't wait to see the girls all dolled up!  The I went furniture shopping...looking for wicker/rattan for the family room.  PatA...I found some very expensive stuff and didn't even like the styles.  Then I went to :Pier 1 and found some that I liked but couldn't find cushions that suited me or the area!  I'll go next week to a showroom that was recommeded by a website that Pat gave me...anxious to see what they have.  I don't want junk...but neither do I want $2500 sofas.  After all this, I was very hungry so I stopped at Olive Garden for soup and salad.  Ate the whole bowl full of salad.  It was nice and crispy cold.  I forgot...I also went to Home Depot!  All in all, five in and outs of the car for me.  I'm ready to sit here at home for a bit.

Good to see our Shirley here again.  We've missed you girlfriend!

Viny, do you think you could really offend us?  I seriously doubt it.  Of course we are a tight knit group but we are always welcoming to the newbies when they drop in.  We DO need the support of this group...each of us in years past has needed the camaraderie this group affords.  And we WILL support each other in our weight loss efforts.  I think posting our meals will help make each of us more aware of what all (or is that ALL!) we are putting in our mouths.  You didn't offend me one bit...and I doubt you offended anyone else.  Sometimes we all need to hear the voice of reason...and that's what you gave us today.  There's an Italian restaurant here named vinnie's....I've never eaten there but think of you every time I go past it.

OK...I need to do something productive....regardless of how small it might be.  If I dont' get back today, y'all have a good start to your weekend.

vammie

Hello!   I got on earlier, but didn’t realize the mouse needed batteries – thought it was the computer acting up.

This is my menu so far today:

B:   SBB mix, milk, banana, 1 cup cherries

L:  Few chips, ½ roast beef sandwich with horseradish and mayo, 1 cup cherries, spinach     salad with tomato and few blue cheese sprinkles and light ranch dressing with a splash of red wine vinegar and a mix of vanilla soy milk and chocolate soy.       Had a few pieces of fresh pineapple later and 5 junior mints.

D:   Planned is chicken shish kebab with artichoke and fried brown rice

(I feel like I eat like a horse compared to Sue)

Had a hair cut this morning, think this style is finally fine-tuned.

Rest of day has been spent stopping at the Farmers Mkt, cleaning up the kitchen, moving waters and freezing some meat.   The artichokes were priced 50 cents apiece, so I couldn't resist, also got Kim some whole coffee beans.   This morning I walked and then got over on the south side after breakfast and weeded.   Thought I would die from the heat – think it was just too still.   We are 99 right now and finally have a breeze.

Viny, good job on the weight loss.   I find myself harder on me than any influence the rest of you would have.   This bringing attention to what we should be doing makes me try harder, but I think I get to a point where I am disgusted with myself and that is what motivates me.   Maybe I’m wording this wrong – what I mean is I have to be receptive to you before I will do anything.   On the new member thing, I would like to ask them if we appear to be such a closed circle of friends?   So if any of you new ones are lurking, maybe you would like to comment.   I think it is like any new group of friends, it can be a little intimidating in the beginning till you feel comfortable.

I think I am going to have to forego talking to everyone – I need to get dinner going.

Shirley, it is good to see you on here.   I don’t know whether to tell you that I’m happy your appetite is back or darn-it

Vammie, I’m sending your post about the thrift store to Kim – what a great idea for dress-up clothes.

Sure hope it cools down tonight since I like to open windows.