mtlgirl

Congrats Mern! And sorry to have to welcome you to my world of restless sleep. I don't get up to pee, but I do get up several times every night. It's the bane of my existence right now.

I am super duper happy for you regarding your ALL GREEN day!!! Keep rocking those goals. You've totally got this!

Mike, sorry the TSA didn't get to second base with you. Maybe next time? Try to look guilty perhaps? Like your hiding something. Maybe take your cue from this guy. LOL! Man Wearing Pants Filled With Snakes Stopped by TSA

Mern

Cassie, I'm so glad the worst you've heard is the loss of some trees by your family in the hurricane. Keep us posted if you hear more news from your family.


Amy, I am SO looking forward to my doctor visit Thursday as followup to the dietary control of blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides. The way the doc talked, she doesn't have many patients who are pro-active. I'm most interested in what she has to say about the triglycerides being reduced from 286 to 228 in three months--whether that's sufficient progress or whether she'll "turn on me" like my last doc-- i.e. whether she'll give up on me too quickly and suggest statins which I refuse to take. But I have come up with three ideas to accelerate my attack on the cholesterol and triglycerides: reduce sat fat further, increase fiber and veggies further, and possibly increase my dose of Omega-3 fish oil. And I'm most hoping that she'll be supportive and offer more suggestions than that.

Whoever wondered, fun new word for me from Terri: from the World English Dictionary
juju as a noun:
1. an object superstitiously revered by certain W African peoples and used as a charm or fetish
2. the power associated with a juju


Tanya, I cried with the tendonitis pain. Couldn't get an appointment with the doc for three days and our health insurance wouldn't have covered a visit to the hospital emergency room for that. I was told to ice it, too, but I found the heating pad more soothing. The physical therapy to lengthen the tendons to keep them from rubbing on the bone spurs in my shoulder worked wonders and I was told to do the exercises three times a week for the rest of my life to keep the tendonitis from flaring up again. Nice thing, though, is that the regular upper body strength training exercises I do as routine for weight loss and general health now cover the physical therapy exercises, so it's no extra work. Like you, I get way more support from our group--but it's just because we all have experience and know what each other is going through. My family and friends have no idea how much work it is to alter one's eating and exercise lifestyle, so they nod in approval of my accomplishments when I bring it up, but offer no encouragement along the way. In their defense, though, I lose weight so darned slowly that only one person at the family reunion in August even noticed I lost weight--37 1/2 lbs. from the last time they saw me. But I'm so obese that I guess it doesn't show much yet--although I can see it in my face and belly. I love your line "Time to get intentional and build myself a healthy body." That's fantastic!

Mike, I can see a big difference in the pics between the 177+ and the 169+. Six pack more defined and absence of love handles. Banana hammock. Oh, my Lord! You're as naughty as my little brother who a few days ago turned a joke about pantyhose into major porn. LOL I believe you, but am amazed at your surviving your heart racing like that from exercise.

Rose, thanks for the kudos on my all green day. I have a really slow metabolism, too--rarely sleep over 5 hours per night and even that is broken. The only time I can sleep straight through for 7 or more hours is if I'm totally exhausted after an emotionally or physically stressful day (which is rare) or when I'm sick with a fever. Other than that my sleep time just plain sucks. Starting off at level six and getting up to eleven on the elliptical is amazing! Congrats to ya! And OMG, burning all those calories is incredible! It threw me off at level ONE (not joking) after I exceeded my peak heart rate in just two minutes. LOL But I decided I can just do other machines more suitable for me.

Tanya, so sorry 'bout your having to fork over the full facility fee for just swimming. Membership at the gym was unaffordable to me, but now that I'm 65 my health insurance covers certain gym memberships as preventive medicine.

Mary and newbies, I don't think Mary was limiting her comment to regaining when going off only low carb diets, but I just wanted to add for newbies that as a low carber, I have learned that diet must be a new lifestyle rather than as a weight loss diet. I think it's true even with low fat or high protein diets or any other diets--once we go off and start eating the way we used to that caused us to gain weight to begin with, the weight comes back on. To lose weight and keep it off we must change our lifestyle.

mtlgirl

So Mern, how do you cope with this? I'm sort of losing my mind over it a little. I used to sleep so well and wake up cheerful, energized and chatty (much to the annoyance of whoever isn't a morning person and I'm not naming names) but now I wake up groggy and exhausted. Do I just accept that this is the way things are now? I thought I had sleep apnea but my doctor instantly dismissed that idea. I might have to seek a second opinion. Why do you think you can't sleep through the night? If you have any tips, I'd appreciate it.

almeeker

Did you have a week long heart monitor with a written log of your activities? That's the sort of test they need to do to either rule it out or diagnose it. DH is young a healthy, so it was really hard for them to firmly diagnose him. In the end as they were prepping him for the surgery they basically said to me that we're 90% sure it's a-fib. A little nerve wracking that, but he's better now so it must have been the right thing to do for him.

Mern

Rose, I have sought advice on my lack of sleep from two doctors, but they were both just family practitioners. They both gave me just the standard advice anyone would say: try to relax, have a regular routine before bedtime, turn off the TV and electronics half an hour before going to bed, eat right, exercise, etc. And they both offered me sleeping pills which I refused--don't want chemicals putting me to sleep. My problem is a lot like my daughter's former boyfriend--when I'm awake, I'm THINKING and it's hard to turn off my brain. I don't go to bed worrying about stuff--just can't fall asleep until I'm so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. I guess I'm just afraid I'll miss something if I fall asleep. Just kidding. So I just learned to live with it. I'm not dog tired during the day--have learned to just be jealous of those who can sleep 8 hours and except for the slow metabolism, it doesn't seem to bother me in any other ways I can think of.

I hope you find a doctor who will help you find out the cause and cure. Big restful sleep hug to ya!

mtlgirl

Mern, thank you! I think I am reaching that same point that you are at now. I don't really feel dog tired either. I go to work, am productive and I can go to the gym after work so I guess I have energy. I am just convinced that this is why I lose weight so slowly, and why I crave carbs the way that I do. When I stay away from sugar all together I fare better than when I allow myself a treat because once I have a cookie or a dessert I want more and more and more. I think we have similar brains you and I. I can't seem to stop thinking for a moment. Maybe meditation is the key? Ha, just picturing myself trying to meditate is a hilarious notion. But thanks again, Mern. You are so wise. I feel comforted knowing I am not the only one! Big ((hug)) right back at you!

Mern

LOL: the funniest DUH comment from my DH. I told him about how I forgot about drinking my water yesterday and last night after dinner made myself finish the 40 oz. I had to get in, so woke up six times to go to the bathroom during the night.

DH (aggravated) : "Well, drink it during the DAY from now on so you don't have to flush the toilet so much!"

Me: (pretending I don't understand because I'm STOOOOPID) "OH! So if I drink water during the earlier in the day it won't make as much pee???"

DH: (more aggravated) "Well, then just don't press the flush handle down all the way--it'll use less water. "

Me: (still pretending I'm STOOOOPID) " Well, so it's OK for the toilet paper to go only halfway down???...because we women don't shake ourselves off men do. But then you will plunge the stuck toilet paper out of the pipes out every few days?

DH: "Oh, you don't understand!!" (his favorite line when losing an argument. LOL) "Then from now on, don't flush toilet paper--throw it in the trash can!!"

Me: "EWWWWWWW!"

DH: slammed the front door and left to run an errand.

Me: ""

quinnesec

Well, I think I'm back in business. Doesn't appear to be a worm or a virus. My email provider said that hackers were using email contacts to send spam and changing my password should suffice. It doesn't appear to be malicious in any way... just a PITA! All of the malware, spyware and virus scans were clean, so who knows. Luckily, my computers all work fine.

Have to get back on track today... as long as I don't send any more spam to my contact list, I should be fine. At least it was only a phone ad!!! Fingers crossed, it will stop.

Have a great day!

quinn

Hunny24

Also make sure to change your other passwords and that you don't use the same password for multiple accounts. Someone could hack into your email and then log into your bank account if it has the same password.

almeeker

Monday Report Card

Health Goals:

1. Calories 1,400 (wish me luck). 1,500
2. Exercise 7 hours. 75 min (total 1:15)
3. Water 100 oz. Y
4. Deficit 3,500 for the week. -1,337
5. Keep protein at or above 25%. 19%

Non Health Goals:

1. Housework, 30 min/day + 1 load of laundry. Y
2. Finish BTS shopping. N
3. Clean out dressers. N
4. Weed garden, get veggies picked. A little weeding, lots of picking.
5. Clean out & organize coupon binder. N
6. Pick blueberries and make jam. N
7. Pick peaches and make jam. N

Well yesterday looks a like a fail, went over calories, and I didn't make a lot of progress on my goals. However in truth it was more successful than it looks. I was at mom & dad's house working in the garden and without logging throughout the day like I usually do, I managed to stay at 1,500 calories, which I think is an all-time record low (especially considering there were still leftovers from the wedding). Their refrigerator is like a display of foods that can kill you. Seriously.

Mern and Rose, I live in the land of sleep deprivation too. I've narrowed my issues down to a few factors, hormones, caffeine, genes and exercise. I can't be terribly specific about the hormonal issue, only that I know I had terrible insomnia when I was pregnant and even several month post partum, it's also worse right before Aunt Flo visits, and my mother had issues when she went in to menopause. I only drink caffeine in the morning, I used to quit drinking it at 1:00pm, now I'm done by 10:00am. If I have a really rough night, I skip the caffeine the next day entirely, that almost ensures I'll get some sleep. I'm probably going to have to give up caffeine eventually. Genetically speaking, most of my family members suffer from varying degrees of insomnia, many of us have RLS, and I think that is part of the issue. I take a dose of Flexeril (for my shoulder no less) at bedtime, and that seems to help me quite a lot with the RLS. My dad was on some kind of crazy addictive, heart harming, narcotic for his RLS until I told my mom that the Flexeril worked really well for me. Now he takes Flexeril too, which is a much safer option, it's only side effect is sleepiness. Now on to exercise; I have to get it done in the morning, if I workout in the late afternoon or evening the runner's high will keep me awake or wake me up all night long. I also try to limit the amount of liquid I consume after dinner, so my bladder is not a factor every hour on the hour. It's crazy how much work it is to get a good night's rest, isn't it?