New You - January 17, 2005 - WEEK THREE!

You guys are seriously getting the wrong impression about me! Healthy habits are totally a challenge for me. I never drink plain water, hate vegetables to the point of refusing to eat most of them, hate exercising almost as much as vegetables, and stay in my points only by keeping large quantities of yummy food completely out of the house! Frankly, for me it's just easier to not eat than to eat right!

What I am good at, though, is doing exactly what Becky suggested: I adjust things to fit my own preferences/weaknesses!

I need to choose a new WW meeting time this week. I've been going to a 10:00 am Wednesday meeting, but have a class at 11:00 on Mon. and Wed. I think I'm switching to a Thursday am meeting...Tuesday is too early in the week to "repair" any week-end indulgences!

It's time for me to go add the noodles to my soup for dinner. I did get some bread made last night...and only ate one small chunk while it was hot....and did count the points!

The only other activity on my docket tonight is a manicure. I've left the polish off for over a week and it's time to cover them back up! I cut my nails down, so I think I'm doing a french manicure...it will depend on how early I get started and how often I get interupted

Good night, girlfriends!

Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Remember the previews for that little black book movie? I didn't see the film, but I feel like we're all together in that scene where what's-her-name smashes the answering machine with the fireplace poker.

If you think I've totally lost it, feel free to let me know!

Ha!

took 'em already!!! I'm putting them on my 'to do' list, that way they become one of the things i can more easily cross off early in the day. They get in ahead of the ironing at least!

worth a try anyway.

I have a jug of water on my desk, but it's almost empty from yesterday. It's a massive jug so if I ever empty it you can bet I've had at least enough! Had some cranberry juice yesterday, but since I've just discovered that cranberry can cause kidney stones you can bet I'll be skipping it in future. It's expensive anyway. I like it and I was hoping it would help me to not get any UTI type infections which quickly turn into kidney infections for me. I'd rather have the infections than the stones, though it's a toss up!

my scalp is once again reminding me that life is cyclical, by going all scaly. It's not the regular flaky dandruff stuff... more like cradle cap DH says! I'm thinking maybe some cosmetic quality olive oil might do the trick, since Body Shop has gone over to some new weird style shampoos. I used to just get one of their fruity light ones for a break. It goes away for a couple of years then drifts back for a few months and drives everyone nuts. Olive oil might just be the answer. I've been trying to use baby shampoos but it hasn't helped at all. I'm not too worried though, because it goes away anyway in time.

I'm getting half an hour of walking in every day (Mon-Fri) getting DS to school and back, so I suppose that's useful. Even when I have the car I probably won't use it for that unless it's raining heavily because the parking at this primary school is lousy, unlike the parking outside his kindergarten. I plan to do lots more walking when I'm back in the UK, but I will actually have to follow through, and as Hope so subtly reminded me, I'm not so good at that. All talk and no trousers!

Kerri.

DD definitely had cradle cap, and I think DS did too... I'm pretty sure it isn't as icky as that on my head. They had great yellow scabby bits... don't think mine's as yellow, or as damp or as big scales as that! But still definitely closer to that than what most people would think of when you say dandruff.

gross...

let me know what you get and if it works, because I'll probably still not have gotten round to it.

Does it count if I flushed my junk food down with a lot of water today?? Ah well... just a thought. I've definitely not eaten well today, but I'm putting the blame squarely on Flo!

Kerri.

:lol:
I live in the desert! Have you ever noticed the huge hills in the desert! OMG, ya'll got me giggling. I post when I walk to keep a momentum up, I want to drink this water, I pee a million times a day! You don't see me, late Sunday nite, with this huge chocolate cake (and to ease my guilt, fat-free milk)! I was actually hiding from NEW YOU, cause I had been bad...ain't I silly.
I know that I can NOT diet, I have to change my lifestyle, and for me that IS the hardest part. I love binge eating...I do. I can sit and eat a HUGE bag of M&M's all by myself, while reading a book! That is why Anne weighs in at 240 pounds, being 5'8", makes those pounds stretch a bit, but, when I married, this frame only weighed 153! 15 years married and almost 100 pounds! Not good. I am being realistic, I want to fit into clothes that I did last summer. I am not looking to be 153 again, but under the 200 before I hit 20 years married...
I am doing babysteps, one is to try to get off my Frannie and move. I have to be someplace else...I go mad on treadmills. I love being outside. Would love a beach...let me refrase that, would love to have a shore with water to walk on! Jana, I am SO so jealous of that walk on the beach!
The other is to drink so much water instead of my usual soda, coffee, chai and anything other than water.
If I can do one of these consistantly....IF....than I got a new lifestyle happening.
Like Kerri taking her meds...she needs them to feel better, I need to walk. I slack, cause I want to feel better without walking. It ain't happening. Good job with the todo list Kerri!
oh Hope, I do have a recipe for buns, that make Cinabuns taste like cardboard.... Lifestyle change so I ain't giving it out....ha ha ha
Ya'll are really great, I was sitting here in gloom, ready to give up, and you got me laughing at myself. I love that Vonnie had me elevated with my diet. Thank you for that faith Vonnie, you are the reason I came over here to NEW YOU! Your determination really inspired me!
Now to be put on the same plain as Lenora tickled me pink! Your outlook and drive are just wonderful!
Thanks again...
today
I walk
drink water, and pee a million times!

AnneP.
A child enters your home and makes so much noise you can hardly stand it--then departs, leaving the house so quiet you think you'll go mad. -Dr. J.A. Holmes

1. Low-fat cinnabons substitute for Hope: cinnamon-raisin bagel (or cinnamon bread, like Pepperidge Farm brand, would work), toasted and still hot, spread with a little bit of reduced-fat cream cheese that has been mixed with sugar or powdered sugar. I did that at the airport once when the Cinnabon line was too long and it worked great. It's just low-fat though, not low-carb.
2. If you really love binge eating, for Anne: get frozen things, like grapes and sorbet pops and stuff, which takes a while to eat, so you get the experience of eating for a long time without actually eating a large volume of food. I'm assuming that it's the long time spent eating that you like.
3. Exercising with a hurt tailbone: do push-ups every day. I know how hard it is to do ANYthing, but something is better than nothing. Also depending on where the break is and how it's healing, you might find swimming to be bearable in short doses.

And me? My big thing for the semester, besides figuring out an unconventional exercise schedule, is that I really don't have the energy to cook much, so I need to stock up on healthy family-sized convenience foods. (Single-sized is too small for two people; it's easier to get family-sized, then eat leftovers the second day.) Also I need to do some freezer cooking. Crockpot chili tonight!

Yesterday I had: cereal for breakfast, pizza (with light cheese, sausage, mushrooms and onions) for lunch, and more pizza and split-pea-and-ham soup for supper. Hot chocolate and coffee with milk for snacks, but remembered to make the coffee half-caf!

for jumping on me repeatedly about the medication. Not that I love it, but I certainly need it. I didn't make a to do list yet today, but I sat here and started taking the medication anyway, even before coming on here. It's easier when I have that jug of water and a handy glass on my desk, so I don't put it off for a few minutes and then forget about it! It still fits Becky's suggestion of finding what works for me. I have to take them, but I have to find a way of getting them down that suits me so I remember them every day. Becky telling me I could take them all at once has helped no end, because otherwise I'd have ended up getting myself hospitalised before now. I lost my momentum when we were away 3wks in June, and I have just never managed to claw it back somehow. I've tried, honestly. But at the moment it's still a hassle to remember, rather than a habit I do instinctively.

Anne - I know the feeling, about the binge eating... I do that sometimes too. More often though I tend to bounce backwards and forwards between a whole variety of unhealthy items, sometimes as many as a half dozen different bits in one afternoon. Doesn't happen when I'm busy with something though, so I guess there's a lesson in that somewhere! Not being able to eat fruits would definitely make snacking harder. I tried low carb for a while, but since I couldn't find healthy low carb snacks I was just going mental, and if you cut out junk and fruit you're basically on veg, meat and dairy snacks, and boring dry crackers! You can freeze small quantities of yoghurt to enjoy instead of ice-cream too. Saves you needing a ton of freezer space, or putting frozen stuff on your grocery list every few days. Also saves you eating a whole big tub if you've only got a bit! At least your goals sound reasonable, but lifestyle changes, no matter how small are rarely easy - you have my sympathy on that because I'm working a few myself!

Shaun... your holiday sounds worse than my cruise from hell holiday with all the in-laws (trapped on a boat with a dozen in-laws and kids, and unable to even enjoy the evening entertainment because the kids had to sleep early!). Sounds like you need a few days of self-pampering to soothe the Grouch in your soul. Take it easy and don't beat yourself up if you let the WW slide for a couple of days while you recover - it won't really be the end of the world.

Oh, I just had another great idea that might work for you Anne - get things which take a long time to peel or deshell, like groundnuts in their shells or sunflower seeds in their shells. That way you're occupied with the deshelling more than you're actually eating. Ad make sure these are the kind of things you have in the house, not easy to grab and binge on items like big bars of chocolate! Even individual chocolates might slow you down. Perhaps allowing one binge a week would help. Oranges work for me because I take forever to peel them!

Kerri.

Was having a good day, but still feeling really stressed and wanting to eat constantly. I had been eating carrots and a measured portion of graham crackers. Then, I saw the unopened box of Christmas candies . . .

Luckily, they are not all that good, so I only had 2. (Will still take a lot of self-contraol not to eat more.) Still, I am totally snacking away my "points" for today. I ate a yogurt to try to slow the insanity. My Plan B is to eat real food and track as well as possible, even if I eat too much.

I agree with Kerri -- oranges are a great snack for me too, because of the long slow process. (And I like them when they are in season.)

Shaun
"If you jump off the boat, you only rock it once"

I rode my bike...first time in ions...to the school and back. No more...I feel muscles I never felt. I was so scared, thought I had pulled or torn something...it's just muscles that were sleeping, awakening. So, tomorrow, I do the same route. The alarm clock is on muscles!
I drank my water today, not one soda. Pat, pat, on my shoulder!
I am for tossing the candy too!
I found a good snackie today...pretzels...yogurt covered. Very satisfing. I am gonna do raisens next...I love raisens, and think I saw some dried cranberries. That would be great too. I am very excited about binge eating healthy!!
I have to be honest, I have never eaten a sorbet...but I am willing to try...
Kerri-I thought having to unwrap chocolate would help, I bought the huge (silly me) bag of kisses. I unwrapped the whole bag, then ate them...I am my own worst enemy. Not having them in the house is the ticket.
Vonnie!!!! Good Job!!! You are doing great!!! Keep up the motivation! Enjoy that massage!
AnneP.
A child enters your home and makes so much noise you can hardly stand it--then departs, leaving the house so quiet you think you'll go mad. -Dr. J.A. Holmes

I am off to bike (look out Lance), across my hill and dale. Actually to my bestest friend that usually pops in here, she has pleaded for me to go to her home...so we are off!
I have a liter bottle of water in backpack. We are going to go to the library, (4 blocks south of friends house) afterwards.
Then home to ibrobrofen! ha ha
My tummy feels a bit better this am, but am dreading the first pedal...I think I can, I think I can!
Thanks Kerri, re: the dried fruit binge! Although Chocolate binges always had the same result!! I also feel a bit at loss, when were you diagnosed with Chrohns? Is this something new? I am a bit confused, with timeline and names from years ago, wasn't it Becky and another really sweet lady(can not remember her name) that had Chrohns? There was a thread just for that>? Am I confused?

AnneP.
A child enters your home and makes so much noise you can hardly stand it--then departs, leaving the house so quiet you think you'll go mad. -Dr. J.A. Holmes

I lost 2 pounds last week (part of that due to Aunt Flo's happy departure, I'm sure.) That brings my total to 7.2 pounds since Dec. 29th! I'll take it!

I'm meeting a friend for lunch...at Applebee's where they have a WW menu and I have a $5.00 off lunch coupon!

I had my first two days of school on Tues/Wed. I'll probably update later on the Clutter thread or start up our old "college" thread!

Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

My bottom area was a bit tender to the seat, but my tummy actually felt better while biking. We are quite a sight, folks wave at my cute little girls with their bright bike helmets, and me with my bright red face!!!
We spent way to much time at the library, and got too many books, filled backpack and bag they gave us. Silly us. But fun.
I drank one liter of water at my girlfriends house, and have only had to use facilities once...maybe my resevoir is getting bigger?!??!?
Tuna noodle for lunch, made with fat-free everything....'cept the bit of cheese on top(for calcium)
Hope to get another water down.
Feel good. That counts.

Kerri-thank you for clearing that up...that is amazing to me, I had never heard of Chrohns til this site, I really researched it years ago. Just enjoyed the attitude the ladies had with such horrible times. I am a bit bummed about you being diagnosed with it, but does it feel abit better knowing what "it" is? If I am prying, just tell me to back off woman, and I will. Is the health care good for you in Singapore(?), gosh I am going from memory here. Cyndi, that was the other lady, she had some really bad side effects with her meds, I seem to remember...
So now I will really nag....take your meds!
A child enters your home and makes so much noise you can hardly stand it--then departs, leaving the house so quiet you think you'll go mad. -Dr. J.A. Holmes

I heard from her briefly a couple months ago...we promised to write and catch up...you know how that goes. Things were crazy but OK at that time. You've nudged me now to write her tomorrow.

My new adopted family is taking me out to Texas Roadhouse tomorrow night! Yum! I promise to only eat the things I love.

Hey Shaun...about the oranges-take-a-long-time-to-eat thing...maybe that's why we love Grape Nuts so much. All that chewing is very satisfying, even when the bowl is small.

Throwing out the candy...ok, I've got a box and a half of Cordial Cherry Little Debbie cakes in my pantry. I tried one box, loved them, so I bought two more. Halfway through the second box I decided they weren't that great after all, so I'm giving them to a girl at work who says her boyfriend will like them. Mikey eats anything, so find yourself a Mikey if you can't throw it out.

Congrats, Lenora! Hey, I'd love a college thread. I'm really getting into these classes of mine.

Must go hit the tub.

Love to all,
Julie

I think you just helped me make my decision!!!

So, this is the New You thread...what have a done toward my new you committment????

Oh...I have been parking way out in the parking lot and in the back of the school so I have to walk a llllloooooonnnnngggg way. I have been watching what I eat and portion control has been good. Water......need more, as always! I also have been VERY good about taking my meds!

Have a good weekend guys! I will try to do something that involes me sweating and gets my heart pumping! Oh! That actually sounds fun! I was thinking a nice walk but maybe.............

Jana

I get nothing put on mine, but I wonder whether that's because they figure out it isn't me. Sometimes they ask, but mostly they just don't. Whether your hair looks good has NOTHING to do with how much gunk you put on it, and everything to do with getting it styled right in the first place. If you have somebody who is good at cutting you will be happy with your style on the first day, throughout the first week, and even once it's longer than you really want it. It will still look perfectly reasonable. This is the difference between somebody who just cuts your hair to get it the length and shape you ask for, and somebody who really knows what they're doing. I've noticed that some salons are really popular but they're better at colouring or whatever, and other salons have people who are damn good at cutting. One chain I go to actually seems to have everyone good at cutting because I almost never get a bad cut from them in nearly 10yrs. And it's not because they're the most expensive either. I did try other places for a while, but kept coming out dissatisfied, wth my hair only looking okay for about one week out of 6, where it had grown into the shape, and before it got too long!

I feel like sh1t and it shows. That said, we went out for lunch yesterday and DH said that of the 4 women there I looked the nicest turned out, despite being 'a housewife'. His words not mine. Mind you, one was a SAHM for the last 14mths, and she really looked like she was in that early motherhood phase of sloppy scruffy clothes. Another was a teacher. Funny really because I was wearing a dress that I've had for about 12yrs! It wasn't an empty platitude from DH either - he was right I admit.

my eyes and nose seem to be hypersensitive to pretty much everything at the moment, whether it's bright light or strong draughts, or just specific air-con. Meanwhile it seems like my taste buds went on vacation because they've been AWOL for about a week. I can just about pick up on sweet, and I still get spicy, but all other signals are down. It doesn't make it fun to eat, healthy or otherwise. I actually threw my dinner away the other day (Thai green curry) - all I could taste was spice and no flavour at all. Surprisingly the kids finished theirs and my SIL said it was nice, so I know it was just me. So I have all the symptom of a cold but I'm fairly sure it's not a cold at all. I'm itchy as well, which suggests high histamine level (or long fringe perhaps in the case of my eyes!). And superzits keep sprouting all over the place.

It's been a rough month so far.

Still at least it's going fairly fast so maybe I get a fresh start with CNY!

Kerri.

My babysitter used to put cool, wrung-out washcloths on my legs. It felt good.

The next time you go to the doctor for a check-up you should mention that you've had a skin change from oily to dry. It's probably nothing much, but sometimes that can be a sign of hormonal weirdness such as thyroid changes, so your doctor should be aware of it at least.

Kerri, curly hair needs gunk if one is to avoid looking like Cyndi Lauper (I discovered after my hair grew back in curly). BTW I am no longer definitely Crohn's because my current GI looked at the exact same lab results my previous two GIs had looked at; the first said ulcerative colitis, the second said Crohn's, and the current one says ulcerative colitis. They probably alternate out of ego. Then he gave me another scope but it only showed remission so he couldn't distinguish.

I've been not having a lot of change. I've lost about a pound over the last two weeks. Fell a bit off the exercise wagon since I had a mild cold last week but I'm feeling better today. I have to go to an event at the Getty Center tonight for a class field trip thing, and I plan to go early. The phone recording says "Wear comfortable walking shoes" to explore the center, so I intend to do lots of walking there.

My GI ordered me some bloodwork last month to find out if I might have some sort of inflammatory arthritis since I am still having joint pains, so I finally got around to getting my blood taken on Thursday. That's my big achievement for the week.

Gradually getting back on track. I'm just soooo hungry lately! Eating lots of clementines, which helps. Drinking too much coffee, but now it's 1/2 decaf, at least.

Still gotta find some method of getting activity. (DD5 being home sick didn't help!) I like the push-ups idea. Too bad I can't do even one! But I can do some kind of strength training, so that's what I need to work on.

Hope you sickies/stressies feel better!

Shaun
"If you jump off the boat, you only rock it once"

Actually every day is hard. I need to get back into the swing of feeding myself. I haven't eaten yet today. We've been eating out a lot and I've been trying to make healthy choices but it is expensive.

Got less exercise than I planned at the Getty Center because I was running to the bathroom every few minutes for a couple of hours (my punishment for having treated myself to some extra grapes on Friday). Fortunately it cleared up by performance time, and I did get about 3 ten-minute walks in, so I got a minimal amount of exercise.

I'm feeling blah this morning, but hoping that a nice shower will perk me up.

I might get on the Dreaded Scales this morning, it'll be the first time since April! At the end of last year I was promising myself I would get stuck into a weightloss plan in the New Year, and it's about time I started. We have a very busy week ahead,so I'll start this week slowly with a pledge to try and

1. Eat three meals and not snack between meals, unless it's fruit.
2. Get some exercise everyday (probably walking)
3. Drink water
4. Check in here every day and remain accountable!

Have a nice Monday

I went to bed early last night full of good intentions, but read until 1am. I've been good lately about going to bed at a reasonable time, but the book was just TOO good

Me-- I'm not even going to post anything about myself. You can look at my Flybabies post for more information on that.

I'm laid out with a cold. My head is so stuffed up I can't think. My ears are not draining and I'm all off balance. It should pass soon enough, but in the meantime I'm thinking and acting like I'm borderline retarded. I have no appetite, I'm tired but not sleeping well. Enough whining for you all?

I'll try and come on here more often, as reading a pack of posts and trying to remember it all, then attempting to post something understandable is just more than I can do right now. I don't think I'm getting enough oxygen to my brain. A person must breathe lazy when their chest is plugged I'm thinking.

I'm certain to have a nap later as I was up at 3:50 this morning, horfing up a lung. I just could not get back to sleep, so decided to just get up and start my day early. I can drop back down when I need to.

I'm not eating enough, just because the desire is not there. I *can* say I'm drinking a good deal of water though so that's good.

Hhmm...that's all my mind can come up with right now. Have a great day and take your meds/vitamins/supplements, drink some water, eat some veggies, and *MOVE IT*.

Yay! i went to tap class last night! Sweated like crazy, and my calves were killing me, but it didn't seem to make the tailbone any worse. Sooooo good to get exercise.

Also, I got these fabulous grapefruit at Whole Foods. Just picked up more today. I would rather eat them than any cracker, roll, potato chip, etc. A really good reminder for me.

Ooops Iris is calling!

Shaun
"If you jump off the boat, you only rock it once"

Get someone else to vacuum when you're not there, as it makes dust fly (ok, might not be feasible, so do it with the windows open. Do you have carpets or wooden floor/tiles? I would mop rather than vacuum if possible. Do the dusting with a damp cloth instead of spray polish. Don't spray ANYTHING indoors if you can help it - change to roll on deodorants, don't use spray air fresheners, etc. Make your own laundry detergent (I recently had one I couldn't use at all as laundry that had been washed in it made me sneeze). Or use baby/sensitive laundry detergent (I think you maybe do that already?) Get the mattress vacuumed, change the bedding frequently.

Just a few thoughts

Then last night the mac truck just drove right over me, backed up and drove over me again.............

migraine, vomiting, worse migraine, more vomiting....

Hope, drink a toddy for me.....if it makes you feel better go for it......at the moment I feel like flushing my head down the toliet so you can't be doing worse in the name of health!

Jana

you really know how to cheer up my day. NOT!!! Normally my pupils are huge in moderate light, so now I'm worried that they're only normal size in low light. As if life wasn't fun enough already. I had a massive outbreak of those nasty spots on one side where my bra is. Needless to say I changed to a fresh bra - I handwash them (yes, in baby detergent Honey - you're right).

Who else am I gonna get to do my vacuuming?? I mean really?!? DH is overworked and I'm already feeling guilty enough over letting my SIL do almost all my washing up (because it makes my hands go crazy itchy). Fortunately we have ceramic tiles but a couple of small round rugs next to our bed are gonna go, at least as a trial measure. I hate mopping. Less than I hate washing up, but possibly more than I would hate Jana's cure for migraines and vomiting.

You two, Hope and Jana, sound absoluly bloody rotten. Go to bed and Jana - pay for someone to watch the kids if necessary. Maybe if you hibernate completely for one day you'll be almost human much quicker. Hope - stay in. Don't get black boots. Get them to move the formal ball thing. Yeah, I know you gotta go. I'll bet everyone will wish you hadn't though - can't imagine you being in a good mood really!

and Hope - drink whatever oyu need to get the sleep you need to feel better. Just don't drink so much you start vomitting like Jana!

Kerri.

I gotta start vacuuming... 'scuse me. *sneeze* *sneeze* *sneeze* *SNEEZE*... well you get the picture! I laid it on good and thick with my SIL though, so that's another one to chalk up to why we're moving away! You gotta look really hard for the silver linings some days

I have actually been to other doctors and dermatologists many times Hope, and not one of them managed to treat me properly or give me a diagnosis. Which is why I prefer to go along and tell them what I've got and ask them to give me the right medication! I went as a youngish child and as a teenager and never got anywhere so I ended up swearing off the whole damn lot. Maybe this time I'll get lucky. But I won't hold my breath.

I'd agree with you about the Hepa stuff, and I'd get a proper vacuum cleaner too (not let DH buy the bloody thing) but I don't foresee it being a problem when we're back in the UK. It'll clear up fairly quick I hope. If it doesn't hen I'll deal with it then. For now I'm just doubling the quantity of charity bags to dump so my room has less places to trap dust.

I know the theory about carpets being bad because they trap dust, but hell... it's gotta be better than having it swirling around all over the place, surely!

good luck with your boots Hope. There's nothing more risky than going out shopping for a specific item that you need, and this is the one chance you have to get it. Plan to have the paracetamol and the glass of water on the side so you can take them the moment you walk back in through the door! And get your bed ready because yu may want to collapse into it, if you don't need a hot bath first!

Feeling any less awful Jana??

Kerri.

...and have lost one pound so far! Grr.

Went to doctor today for heart thing. She's pleased with my progress.

Waving to everyone...Jul