almeeker

I'm left handed but very nearly ambi-dexterous. Most of the right side of my body is bigger, but the left side is definitely stronger, especially given that the right side has a reconstructed right knee and a messed up rotator cuff. Or it could be the left side is stronger because it has the bigger boob, yes that's definitely gotta be it.

Susan8Less

GameGal: Thank-you for the encouragement to help me get through my move. I'm in taking it one day at a time one box at at time now and trying not to let it get to me.

Ladies: I finally used my new running shoes tonight. I did 1 mile total with 1/4 of that running. My lungs gave out after a short time, but my feet didn't hurt!!! My shoes are Asics Nimbus 11. The first shoes I've ever had that didn't make my feet go numb and hurt.

8)

mstaff4564

Yay! I had to break down & buy some new shoes after our hike extravaganza a few weeks ago, because the bottoms of my feet were killing me (& my little toe was sticking out through holes in the shoes). It's amazing how much better good shoes feel & can help your workout. I covet your Asics. I had to settle for some Reebok running shoes, but they are doing a decent job for the price.

HA! I can totally see me responding to a trainer asking which side is stronger "Well, my left boob is bigger, so it must be my left side." The look on his or her face would be priceless.

Don't you hate those days where for a moment, you realize that you're awake, alert, in a pretty good mood, and feeling productive and slightly happy - which is a rare moment for you - then it's all yanked from you in about 10 mins? My husband's unemployment situation did that to me today. We might face some dark times in August if his unemployment runs out & there's no extension.

And this has huge implications on my weight-loss plans. I'll have to cut my one expenditure, which is the $3 I use each week to swim. I know there are other ways to exercise that don't cost $, but that is the one thing I truly do that's "mine" and I get such a mental & physical boost from it that keeps me destressed & motivated. Losing that is going to make things feel a lot worse.

It also ties into food. I'm getting great vegetables from my parents garden,and my lunch & fruits for snacks usually only runs $10-$15 a week. But this kind of stress is what makes me CRAVE sugary sugary carbs. It's what has made me fall of the wagon before. I'm really going to have to start taking it one day at a time, and try very hard not to self-medicate with food. This is where my journaling needs to pick back up.

I know that I'm blessed to have that $3 a week for swimming & the $10-$15 for lunch. But even that could be gone come August. I'm praying that everything works out.

WeightlossBoo

I hope everything works out for you!!!
I'm in a similar situation in that my partner's job is probably only going to last until September/October and when that finishes we'll both have to go onto unemployment benefit and may not be able to afford my monthly gym membership anymore.
I've felt too ill and overweight to work as nearly every place I work I've been bullied because of my weight. And I really don't want to go back to work until I've dropped more weight and feel happier about myself, my confidence is pretty shot.
We'll have to see.

almeeker

If you have access to the garden, is it producing enough for you to do some preservation? I do a ton of canning and freezing in late summer and early fall. I almost never have to buy veggies, jam, canned tomatoes, pickles, dried beans, herbs, potatoes, squash, salsa, pasta sauce etc., because I grow and preserve my own. Last year I spent about $500 putting in the garden and managed to put up about $4000 worth in groceries for the winter. We have 3 kids and I watch 2-3 more, so it takes quite a lot to feed all of them. I'm one of the only people I know that actually paid less for groceries last year than the year before. But with the economy where it's at, I doubled the size of the garden 2 summer's ago. It's even bigger this year than last.

pattialbert

Evening everyone,...
I feel like I dropped off the end of the earth here...Ive been struggling eatwise and emotionally... about 6 weeks ago my dh got laid off from work and it was soooo unexpected...we were in shock for a couple of weeks. Its been very hard on us....I am very grateful he had the job for 18months..now we are not sure what to do. This week the eating has been under control and actually lost about 5 pounds..I have two pounds to go to get to that virgin fat territory again...sorry I disappeared Ive been reading about some of you going thru the same thing and hanging in there I had to get back at it!
Welcome to the newbies!!! I will be coming back here more often. I am leaving for a holiday next week but can check in while Im gone.
Almeeker Im so impressed with your garden..wow..I get excited about my 10 little tomatoes and peppers! Yours sounds like a farm!
Michelle almost 15 pounds gone in a month...how impressive is that!@
Ladybug I love edamame..I have a big bag frozen in my freezer..I wish I could find the shelled ones to add to salads.
Weightllossboo....Im in the similar job situation with my dh losing his job I will be looking for work as well. I need to up my walking again as I know I will be back at retail on my feet 8 hours a day...my hips will pay for it...but you have to do what you have to do! We can do this together..
Pam good luck with the moving boxes..your friend gave you good advice..that works for housecleaning...laundry..etc....even weight loss! Don’t look at in picture expecially in my case where I have to lose over 100 pounds..but in smaller increments.
Susan..heres to another 10 more!!! Nice....

Ok ladies I will be back to check in tomorrow....
Have great day

mstaff4564

I have been freezing squash and have quite a bit to get me through the winter & spring. The tomatoes are really starting to come in, so I might look into making my own pasta sauce & freezing those as well. My mom is canning pickles (and I'm going to be helping do that as well), which will be good as well. So I will have some preserved veggies to use to save a few extra $ when the garden is long gone.

I'm stressed because my husband did get offered a job, but it's second shift work making what he makes on unemployment. My stepson is on the autistic spectrum and is hard to handle, so our families are reluctant to babysit for long periods of time, and most daycares will turn us away because of his autism (not to mention that because my husband is not making any extra money, we can't afford to pay anyone). So we're going to have to bounce him around during the school week so no one gets overwhelmed with him. That's roughly 5 hours a day he will be spending at someone's house, and only a few hours at home. I don't even know what's going to happen when husband & I start school at the end of August. But my husband couldn't turn down the job, because he would've lost his unemployment. And I know so many others are struggling & it's not right for him to still be on unemployment when he was offered a good job.

It's just really bad timing. 6 more weeks were all we needed. Then he was was going to go off unemployment & find a small part time job while going to school.

It's also been a rough week at work. Lots to do and not enough time to do it. 6 weeks until school starts. I'll be working and going to graduate school, both full-time, in the fall.

But in terms of my "plan", I'm doing well. The cereal craving has passed for the moment (well, the Cocoa Pebbles have passed, now I want the Special K Strawberry cereal). I've actually been coming in at around 1400-1500 calories the past few days. I've managed to keep a 1000-calorie deficit. And I've followed my exercise plan. I feel pretty good. The past few days have been pretty stressful, but I hope that by managing this storm, it will make other obstacles seem easier and I will be less likely to indulge in the sugar monster while stressed. Plus, it's really important I try to make these food & exercise changes a habit before school starts, so it's easier to integrate them into my schedule.

Hope everybody has a great day!

changeisgood29

Hello, lovely ladies, and happy (almost) Friday to us all.

To Mstaff and Patti, just wanted to show my support to you both - I fear I know very well what you're up against in terms of the financial side of things. I wish you both the best of luck and continued success in your health journeys.

My week has pretty much sucked, to be honest. I try to stay positive (both on this forum when I chime in, and in my 'real' life), but I gotta tell ya, it just has not been happening this week. I am so swamped at work and my eating habits have reflected my stress level... Shockingly, calorically I'm on plan but my nutrition is a flippin mess this week. I've also been too exhausted to keep up the 6-day gym habit this week (only went once since Mon), so that makes me even more frustrated! I also stupidly measured myself tonight despite knowing that my dear old friend Aunt Flo is coming, and then of course stupidly felt discouraged when the numbers were the same as last week. Rawr!

I guess the lesson I can take from this is to realize the effect stress has on my eating choices and try to do better next time. And also to realize that life happens and that does not mean I blew it. Just hard to feel that way in the midst of it. Thanks for letting me vent.

almeeker

Changeisgood, don't feel too bad. Stress is a powerful enemy. My mom has a crazy crazy job and at one point she was only eating like 300-500 calories/day. She works 12 hour shifts in an ER and almost doesn't have time to pee let alone eat. It was actually starting to affect her over all health. So now my dad makes her "munchy" bags that she takes with her, since she can't get to the cafeteria at work. Basically he takes a gallon sized ziploc bag, adds chopped heads of broccoli and cauliflower, tosses in a fist full of baby carrots and a couple of protein bars. And she takes that to nosh on while she's listening to her 50 million voice mails at work. You might try something like that for your situation. My local grocery store actually carries a ready-made version in their produce department. It costs a little more to buy it ready-made than if you chopped it yourself, but they certainly cost less than the vending machine. I've gotten so that when I'm out and about and need a fast meal I hit a grocery store produce department rather than fast food.

changeisgood29

Thanks, Almeeker. It's goin better today, but then, it's the morning, taha. I like the bag of veggies idea; I'll give that a try.