Sharley's (insert catchy journal title here)

[SharleyBloom]

Well, Fu is back at the vet and our regular vet is on vacation (probabably from the last time we paid her!). They're putting a new tube in and this time they're charging us MORE! They say it's the surgery plus a recheck fee. I think they arbitrarily charge a stupidity fee and they must think we qualify.

We really can't afford to continue to move ahead with more vet bills so I hope this does the trick.

Overall, though, I do think the cat is feeling better. I have changed the cat's name from FU to FUBAR!

[HeidiG]

Hey Michelle

So sorry to hear about your cat, hope he feels better I once had a dog and she was simply one of the family so I know it can get really hard.

Been reading through your journal and must say I love your targets You're obviously measuring with something that matters to you much more than a number on a scale.

Look forward to seeing your success on the beach

[kittykathy]

Poor Kitty cat! I hope that the medical problems come to a resolution. It's hard to realize when vet bills become to much and I hope it doesn't come to that for you. I would have thought that if the cat pulled out it's tube, it would be free to replace. I guess that's why the vets make so much money. Sigh. When my little baby boy dog broke his leg it was 2500 for a plate and surgery. That's the worst I've had.
I hope the next news is good news, and I'd like to maintain that your food still sounds great, even the dip you weren't thrilled about.

[Gypsie]

Prayers for your kitty Sharley. I have a kitty that is specifically for me and he helps my anxiety with his purring. I know how it is when they are sick. Vets are like other docs, they charge through the nose becasause they can. They know we will pay it to keep our loved ones healthy.

Keep your head up... today is one less day to count till the weekend. One less day towards our goal of being healthy.

Toodles for now... got work to do.

[kathynsm]

Hey sharley---wanted to just say thank you for posting on my journal. It's so good to know that someone cares. I sure hope your cat gets to feeling better fast. Keep in touch! Thanks, kathy

[SharleyBloom]

Good morning all!

So, it's been an interesting couple of days. I'm rather new to listening to my body. Typically it says "get me candy, chips, cookies, cake, pie and GRAVY!" And it screamed those things. Now it's whispering and I have to take real care to try to understand what it's saying. Yesterday was D2 P2 and I'm pretty sure it said to me "Wheat crackers? Blah! That's the best you can do?" I spent the rest of the day (it was afternoon snack) paying for my error. Ended up having SB breakfast for dinner (do what you know, right?) I think today I'm going to try to tuck a carb into lunch instead. That would really be my favorite place for it.

The kitty now has his second feeding tube in place. This time it's stitched, stitched and triple stitched and it comes out the front over his head instead of behind his ears and he has a very ugly plastic cone collar for the duration. We've decided when he feels better in a couple of weeks, we're going to decorate it. He does appear to be feeling better. Who wouldn't be if they didn't even have to get out of bed to eat? This better do it because we're at the end of the vet fund.

Kathy ~ I was so happy to pop in on your journal. It can get discouraging to be on a board like this and think no one is paying any attention to what you're doing. It's good to see you here.

Gypsie ~ Counting down to the weekend already? LOL I can't start counting until Wednesday at the earliest. And being that I'm the Granny Nanny for the grandtots (whom I live with now), weekends aren't a whole lot different for me, except I get to laugh at them making their parents jump, jump, jump. Purring for anxiety? What a great idea! My silly psycho kitty has only purred once in the two years since we've rescued him, it's nice to know he can still do it. Not sure what happened to him before we had him. Go figure.

KittyKathy ~ $2500?!? WOW! That's amazing! Did it work? Because I'd be a bit miffed if he wasn't nearly good as new after that! LOL I might have to think long and hard to authorize spending that much money on a broken leg for one of my kids! (just kidding!)

Heidi ~ So nice to see you here on the beach. I've noticed that you've just joined us and we're glad you did. Yeah, it's noble (ha!) of me to have non-numbered goals. Truth be told, I'm too inconsistant to step on the scale on a regular basis. I stink at keeping to a schedule. I feel better and I know what I want to DO, not what weight I want to end up at, so this works for ME. Everyone is different and it's whatever works for you that should count. No one way is better than another. Just start and keep on walking on the beach.

I've started a new thread on the Phase 2 boards (but you don't have to be in P2 to go there!) called In the sun, on the beach drinking club soda if anyone wants to join me there. I'm also hanging on the Accountablity anyone?? forum because, well, there's nice people there and I need a little accountability!

Yesterdays fun:

B: Oatmeal w/ sf syrup, V-8 juice
S: cocoa almonds (yummy!)
L: Pork/veggie soup (a lot of it)
S: Ruben dip/ww crackers
S: sf jello (the crackers left me starving and I have to cook for the rest of the family, I was looking at the french bread like a vulture looks at roadkill!)
D: Scrambled Eggs w/ zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, turkey bacon
S: NSA fudgecicle

Oh, and somewhere in there I accidently had 2 skittles.

[Gypsie]

Accidently had 2 skittles???? How does that happen? (giggles) Too funny.

I got my kitty this summer. We have a problem with stray cats...having babies and then we have a bunch of wild kitties that no one wants to help us with. They brought in this one kitty they caught and he was calm so I knew he was not one of the wild residents. I held him and he started to purr so loud and he started licking my nose and chin. Up until that point I didn't want another cat. We had one at home for my son and his anger issues. However, this kitty was ment for me. So I took him home. He is quite the character and I just love him to pieces even when he attacks my feet or "accidently" tries to take a nibble of my nose. I truely believe that animals help with many medical issues. Especially depression and anxiety.

Ciao for now Sista!

[SharleyBloom]

Hi Gypsie,

This morning I am not a big fan of animals. I know that sounds bad, but this kitty is being a real pain and it's not fun to have to get up and change sheets on the bed because the cat got up from the end of the bed, walked himself up to the very middle of the bed and urinated. He's been going in his litter box, so there was no real reason for it. I'm not holding it against him, I'm just keeping my hands away from his throat today so I don't tempt myself! I'm kind of offended that we saved this cat's life, not once, but twice, and this is how he shows his gratitude! (real adult of me, eh? ) Hmmpt!

But, my life right now is about FOOD, not about CAT! Hopefully someday it will be about something else.

B: turkey sausage links, onion/mushroom/spaghetti squash and scrambled up with an egg, coffee
S: Cocoa Almonds (thanks Suzzi!)
L: Spaghetti squash w/ red sauce, cottage cheese, sf orange jello, diet Mt. Dew
S: String Cheese
D: Leftover Chili, ww bread slice (good thing there were at least SOME veggies in the chili!)
S: NSA fudgecicle

[lilblondedancr1]

Good morning! The binder in the meatloaf was just a little ww bread crumbs. Probably not the best for P1 but it was a very small amount. What will your planned cheat be? I admit, Friday night I will indulge in some vodka diets At least it will be calorie-free!

Have a great day!

[HeidiG]

Hehehe, those skittles! Nasty bastards!

I used to grab a handful and eat them all at once *euw!*

[jhderm]

Hey Michelle,
Long time! Check in under the P2 place for sodium reply. Thinking of you! And no, don't kill the cat. Doesnt' make for a good protein meal anyway...too hairy I occasionally promise my dog, a maltese, to turn her into a hot dog!
judi

[purenavygirl]

I thought I'd put my ideas here in order to keep them from getting too dusty!

5-10 minutes, huh? I think I can make that work. You know, I'm just smooth like that...



I'm not sure what your daily schedule is, so I'll try to be generic in my input.

First, here's something that's really easy! Try walking for 10 minutes a couple times a day. During the winter, it's a little harder if you have bad weather, but you can still do it on the "nicer days". There are some walking DVDs that you could do in your home that have short sessions: Walk at Home. You should try to get some type of cardio in as much as possible.

For strength and toning, I would recommend one of these 10 Minute Solutions. I have the Yoga for Beginners (not shown on the site for some reason). I got it at Wal-Mart in their sporting goods / exercise section near the hand weights. It's awesome! (I would assume Meijer or Target would probably carry this line of DVDs too.)

As you can see, this series has a variety of different types of DVDs - and each routine is only 10 minutes long. IMO, pilates and/or yoga would probably be a good starting point and would help get some flexibility into your body.

(Don't get the Fat Blasting Latin Dance Mix... It's a little harder to follow than I think it should be. )

With that, maybe you will be inspired to try a little something. I believe you said you and your daughter live together. Maybe she can help jump start you? (I try to encourage my Mom in the exercise department as much as possible!)

I'm done babbling for now. Take care!

[joesuzzi]

Hi Michelle ! I just dropped in to tell you that I will be back in full force on Monday........when all of my company leaves. Right now, I am happy to have them here.
But, who knows how I will feel by the time Monday gets here !
Thanks for you sweet thoughts.............Check ya later !

[jhderm]

Hi Michelle and everyone else-
Sorry for having had little time recently. Just kept going and going this week, wall to wall all day, every day. I was exhausted by Friday and ready to rest for a week or two! (Fat chance....no pun).
I have been sticking to da beach, yes I have, and I see that so have you! I am learning to be patient, the hardest thing for me, being that I figure that if I go on a diet, by the next day I should be 10lbs less, and by the end of the week down to goal weight ( the long term one being about 34 lbs). Such is my head. This time though I am doing better, seeing all the success stories, and also all the persistence of everyone here. Very helpful.
I see that you are cooking yummy stuff, I admire that, I have little time to cook and probably by now, it would be like learning to cook all over again, but maybe some day...I do eat lost of soup, veggies, salads, turkey "meatballs" with shredded veggies instead of breadcrumbs, and invade my son's stock for string cheese from time to time. I am very content with the food, it's easy for me and I think I can sustain it long term. I only get into trouble when I start eating stuff that I would normally avoid (Skittles ) and do it to overcome anxiety, pain, exhaustion, depression, whatever the circumstance. Then, when I inevitably gain weight, I get more depressed, anxious etc bec of the gain, and in order to cope with that, I eat more of the comfort food. Now on the way down, like now, it's the loss that supports the good mood, perks up my self image and helps me stay on track. All this is a long way of saying that when I hit the dreaded P phase (plateu), I am going to need your cheers to keep me going!
Meanwhile, I hope you are well, cats, grandkids and all. Beware the Halloween candy. Too easy to mindlessly pop them! I am trying to figure out how to cope myself. Any ideas?
xoxo
Judi

[SharleyBloom]

Good morning everyone!

Happy Halloween! Well, today is kind of a do-what-ever-you-want day around here. We've given ourselves a free pass on SB and I found myself eating SB friendly bean soup for breakfast. How funny is that? I was going to "cheat" with a piece of pumpkin pie, but, apparently if I take the crust off, which I'm happy to do, it's mosty SB friendly. Then I was going to "cheat" with a piece of apple pie, but a recipe for an apple crisp magically appeared on here that sounds yummy and is SB friendly. So, maybe my planned cheat won't be so planned anymore. LOL!

PNG! Thanks for the info. I'm going to go through the links today and find something to do for 10 minutes today. I'll update you tomorrow.

Suzzi! Enjoy your weekend and your company. Can't wait to hear all about it on Monday!

jh! No real magic here. Somehow I used to be the see it, eat it kind of girl. Now I am surrounded by stuff that definately is NOT on the SB plan and I don't have any real desire to stray. I guess I'd say to just not eat that first piece of candy (you do know they have candy everyday and not just on Halloween, right? It really is NOT special! ), keep your hands and your mind busy. Don't you have some project you need to get done? Replace the candy with productivity. If that fails, cheat with something worth while...which is not M&Ms... enjoy your fav beverage, wine!

Fear not the holiday. Sunday is a new day on the beach and a single day will NOT derail us from our noble cause! *puffed up chest, battle cry!*