Doreen's New Way of Life (comments are welcome)

[married2grumpy]

Hey Doe,

I just wanted to drop by to give you some encouragement. I don't usually have time to post much but you always find time to care about everyone else's progress. I think you are doing great and you have such a great support system on this WISH board. I think it takes a lot of work and courage to stay on track like you have. I caved today but will be back strong tomorrow. It's hard when you only want those 10 pounds to disappear because they are the hardest to lose. I caved because I saw a big loss the 1st 5 days and since then have gained 1/2 pound while following stricter than ever. Induction is hard! I wish I had your strength. Chin up and stay focused. You are doing terrific!

Simone

 

[lulu201]

Hi, it's Lulu here, missing my friend, Doe-Doe. I know that we can't be on-line writing every minute of every day, but just the same, you should know that I was thinking of you today and sending you all kinds of warm hugs and fuzzies.

Onward and downward, sooner or later, day by day

erin

 

[DoeWDW]

Here we are at Wednesday. Ladies, I gotta admit, I'm really struggling this week. The hurricane is coming our way - we expect 50 mph winds and 2-4 inches of torrential rain from Thursday evening through Friday. Then, of course, we'll have beautiful weekend weather to clean up... The rational part of me knows that I have planned for this. I have the extra food & water and dogfood and lots of candles & matches in case we have no electricity or water for a few days. However, there's an irrational part of me that is feeling a LOT of anxiety over this.

I took off work today - will be calling in sick - because I have made myself sick over this. My stomach is in knots and my whole digestive track is messed up. My depression is really kicked into high gear and making me so tired and anxious that I just want to hide under the covers. Of course, I have to hide a lot of these feelings for the sake of my 2 teenagers. We have prepared them but they are as nervous as the rest of us and I don't want to add to their stress. They don't need to worry about the hurricane AND Mom falling apart. I have told them that I am a little more anxious than usual because of my depression and they understand that.

Through all this, in spite of wanting to eat everything in sight, I have stayed on plan - I have no idea how. It has been a moment by moment choice at times. Ben & Jerry have been CALLING me!! I was at the store this morning and I wheeled my cart very quickly past the ice cream freezers!! So far, so good.

I am down a pound this morning. I only walked 7200 steps yesterday but I made a conscious decision in the morning that, because of my anxiety, I would take a rest day. I made no effort to get extra steps in, especially since I'm feeling so tired at the moment.

I'm holding steady, girls! My husband has been a real gem and helps me so much. I really feel I could face anything if he's with me. I also feel like I can face anything with all of you cheering me on! These down feelings will pass. I'm expecting a TOM visit next week so I might not feel better til then, but that's OK - it will pass. I just have to keep on going until it does. And if it doesn't, then my doctor and a counselor can help me. It's good to know that this isn't a never-ending downward spiral that I have to face alone.

In the meantime, I will continue to eat healthy, because my poor body and mind are dealing with enough, without me eating poison food to make me feel even worse. I will scale back my steps a bit, until the tiredness passes but I'll try to get at least 7000 steps a day.

{{ Hugs }} to all of you for being here for me and caring about me. Together, we'll all be fine!!

 

[wovenwonder]

Doreen -- I feel your pain! Hold tight neighbor -- I'm sure we will weather thru this storm just fine! I've picked up any stray items in the yard, have extra water on hand, ALWAYS seem to have extra food on hand, etc. I am an anal planner and worrier ALL the time -- so I'm usually prepared. I am one of those people that bought the duck tape and plastic during the terror threats --- and my car is usually stock full in case we need to evacuate for one reason or another! I know, I am pathetic!

I am not too worried about here at home. My thoughts have been sidetracked to our family vacation home which is right along the waters edge in Delaware. My father is down securing what he can and moving the boats to higher ground. I will be sitting watching the news 24/7 beginning mid-day tomorrow.

 

[Mom2Princesses]

Hi Doreen

you are always so encouraging to me, I found the time today to read through your journal and I have to say that you are doing great! All those "steps" add up---I think I will buy a pedometer too! Actually, I bought one a few months ago but lost it before I used it! It is probably with my camera that I also lost.....I am soooo unorganized!

I hope that doggone hurricane just dissolves into nothing before it hits the coast! I can imagine how scary that is, I would get myself worked about that too! It sounds like you are prepared, even for the cleanup, so that is a good thing!

Okay, I am off to study and do that dreaded housework.....

Take Care and good job!

 

[Auntmeme]

Chin up. Glad to hear you took off a day for yourself. You are doing good, keep it up. Great job giving Ben & Jerry a wave as you cruised by them

Don't know what town you are in however you are doing the right thing by being prepared. Being prepared is the best you can do right now. If you can handle it, stay updated at www.nhc.noaa.gov. I work for the Red Cross and must stress to you not to use candles(cause of many fires) but to use battery operated flashlights. It sounds like you have already begun your preparing and now it is a wait & see. We can only pray that it falls apart as it travels closer.

I'll be thinking of you

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Hey Doe,
Just wanted to send along a prayer for you and your family. As you know, my mom (sister and her family, too) is down there with you, so I'll have you on my mind a lot in the next day or two. We are expected to get heavy rain on Friday....3-4 inches. Yuck! Last month when we got heavy rain, we had a damp basement. I hope that doesn't happen this time.

Anyway, you seem to be doing well program-wise. I'm proud of you. Keep up the good work and try to stay dry!

 

[DoeWDW]

I'm feeling better this morning. I was going to go back to work, but DS isn't feeling well so I'm staying home with him.

Pedometer yesterday = 9600 steps
Weight this morning = 135 - down a pound from yesterday.

We're all prepared for Isabel. The kids have school today but I'm guessing they'll be off tomorrow. Hubby is bringing work home so he can work from home tomorrow. I'm not going into work tomorrow - will take a vacation day if necessary.

My mood is much better this morning. I think taking a day off yesterday really helped. My anxiety is not nearly as bad. I'm still eating on plan in spite of all kinds of temptations in the house so my cheat free clippie has been updated to 14 days!

I think today will turn out to be a good day!!

 

[wovenwonder]

Enjoy your mother/son time today --- as you probably WILL have a houseful tomorrow as we batten down the hatches here in PA.

It DOES sound like we are not getting the weather they had originally thought. Calhoun is calling for 30-50mph winds and 1-4 inches of rain ---- that really doesn't sound TOO bad. I do notice the breeze picking up here already!

Hang on TIGHT!

 

[lulu201]

Good morning, Doreen. First of all, let me tell you that you're in my thoughts and prayers as you all brace yourselves for this bad weather. It sounds as if you've really prepared and done what you can to get ready. Hopefully ole Isabel will be in and out of your area without too much damage. Hold on, friend.

Doreen, I can't tell you how you inspire me. Hey, a hurricane and PMS? If that ain't stress, I don't know what is! Look at all the wonderful choices that you've made in the last two days to care for yourself through it all! You're watching what you eat 'cause you know those bad carbs do more harm than good, you're recognizing that you're in a stressful situation, and you've lowered your exercise standards to honor how you're physically feeling right now. Sounds like you're not only looking after your family's needs, you're looking after your own, too (and that sure isn't easy sometimes). Way to go, Doreen!

You give so much to others (I see how you lift up so many folks on the boards); you need to make sure that TLC comes back to you. It's all about "mothering ourselves." I don't know about you, but I know that if I'm going to wait for someone to tell me I need a day off, I could be waiting a VERY long time! It's in nurturing ourselves that we can nurture others, right? Maybe that's the lesson that you get as you give yourself this permission to stay home before the hurricane. . .

I'm going to find us a volksmarch to do sometime before it gets too cold. What do you think? Are you up for it? We'll get MeMe and hit the trail!

Waiting for your PM--if you sent it, it never got to me. If you didn't, whenever you get around to it is OK.

Thinking about you as the winds pick up. . .

Erin

 

[lulu201]

Oh, my gosh. . .you're two weeks cheat free!



That's FANTASTIC!

Wear that clippie proudly! Also read how those pounds are falling off you! Good going!

Two pound Happy Dance!

 

[Castillo Mom]

Hi Doreen. Sorry it's been so long since I last paid you a visit, but it's been a busy week. I hope all is well with you and that you and your family are safe and sound.

I'm happy to see you're feeling better. You're doing wonderfully with watching what you eat and the walking. I just haven't had the time to exercise. I really admire that you're able to fit it into your busy schedule and still keep your sanity!

I'm apologizing to all of my WISH friends tonight for making my posts so short, but my pillow is calling! I hope to be able to check in with you all tomorrow or Saturday morning at the latest. Take care!

 

[lulu201]

Hi, Doreen!

Thanks again for helping me through the Chocolate Cake Crisis. My hips and I sure appreciate it! Got on the scale this morning (I know, I said I was going to put it away, but I got it back out again) and found that not giving in to the cake was a good decision!

About the walk in Ridley Park. . .I looked at the dates, and I think it's 10/11 and 10/12. I don't want to be a party pooper, but I have to be perfectly honest here. . .I don't think I can do those dates. That's the weekend that we're back from our week in FL, and I know that I'm going to have to spend those days doing wash, helping DD meet the challenges of overdue homework, grocery shopping, etc. so that I can face the next week as a sane person. Let's try to find another date, OK? I'll look over things and get back to you. I'd love to go for a walk with you and your DH!

Have you weathered the storm? Our schools are closed today, but the storm is long gone except for some winds. The sun is shining and it looks like the start to a lovely weekend. We found out that there was no school last night at 6 p.m., so we were able to sleep in until 8 this morning. Boy, did that feel good. Anyway, I hope you didn't have any damage or power outages.

Eat right and exercise today. It's an onward and downward kind of day!


Erin

 

[DoeWDW]

Hurray! We survived Isabel!! We did not have any power outages at my house but a few blocks away they are still without power. Our cable was out and since I connect to the net via cable modem, that meant no internet or TV today. I'm thankful that the loss of cable was the only problem we had - I'm not complaining in the least. No school today (although I didn't find out until 6:30 AM this morning) and I stayed home from work - the kids, especially DD 14, were a bit freaked out. We were still having tropical storm force winds this morning and lots of rain.

Through it all, I did not get much exercise - only 4500 steps on the pedometer yesterday - a new all-time low but that was the least of my worries. However, I did stay on plan with my eating. The scale was up a pound this morning but TOM's coming to visit next week so I'm not worried about the scale.

My mood is much better! I'm beginning to feel like my usual perky self again.

Erin, don't worry about the walk! I'm sure we'll find something that works for both our schedules. I'll keep my eyes open for something over your way!

Enough for now, since I must go and check up on all of you!!

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Way to go, Doe!

Glad you didn't stress eat. Also glad to hear things weren't quite as bad as they expected. My mom said the biggest problem at her house was raking all of the leaves OUT of the street. She said she had to rake them because they were all from her trees. Gotta love her!

Don't worry about one low day on the walking. I know you are committed, so one day doesn't hurt anything. (Although, 4500 steps sounds good to me, what is a high number??) I always say, it is what you do 90 % of the time that matters, not the 10%. If only I had lived by that when I was fighting a weight battle at 145 lbs.

Have a great weekend. Onward and downward.

 

[cinmell]

Glad to hear you made it thru the hurricane safely and that you stayed on plan with eating. Keep up the great work!

 

[Auntmeme]

Hi Doe-Doe,
Happy to hear no damage at your place You handled everything like the strong woman you are. I agree with Lulu about taking time off, no one is going to tell us to it, so we need to just do it. We are the mom, the wife, the maid, the cook, the shopper, the sex slave(did I say that?), you know what I mean. We have sooo many hats to wear that when is it our time just to be us, only on those days that we take for ourselves.

Happy happy dance for your 1 or is it 2 pound loss

Looking forward to our walking meets. Have a great healthy weekend!

 

[DoeWDW]

Hello all!! I'm enjoying looking at the sunny weather from my window - was getting a bit tired of clouds and rain.

I haven't been posting my menus lately but I have stayed on plan. I am going to try harder to post them from now on!

Yesterday:
B/L (got up late) - Atkins bar & water
D - chicken quesadillas without the flour tortillas and a rum/diet Coke

Today:
B - Atkins bar & water while I took DS to the doctor.
L - cheesecake - YUM!

Pedometer yesterday - another new low of 3500. I WILL get back on track today. No more hurricane excuses - it's time to get off my butt. I've had a couple days off so now it's back to business.

Weight is still 136 and holding. If it stays the same for tomorrow's official weigh & measure day, I'll be down a pound from last Sunday. I'm hoping I've lost some inches though!

Ta-ta for now!

 

[lulu201]

Hi, Doreen! Sounds like you're having a good day. I know that I'm a whole lot more cheerful now that the sun has come back out! Isabel was getting old. . .

Well, I have my new cheapo pedometer clipped on and I don't like it one bit. It was the deluxe version at Wal-Mart, and still I think it is too cheap! I can't get it to record all my steps! I'm going to toss the darn thing in the trash! IF I get a new one, I'm going to get one of those $30 models instead of the $8.93 one. So MeMe, if you're going out to get one, think top of the line or it just isn't worth it! At least that's my experience. . .

Doreen, you had a good dinner out last night! What good choices you made! I told my DH this afternoon that when I'm on that boat I'm going to have myself the yummiest pina colada in the Bahamas! Now that is worth losing my clippie for!

My in-laws are coming tomorrow, so I'll be spending the day getting ready for the October birthday party (uh, slightly early because we're going away). There are four of us who have our bdays in Oct., and because three of them are the members of my family, I'm the hostess. No objections from me, but I always get frazzled getting ready. Maybe if I entertained more I wouldn't be such a basket case! If I don't check in, I'll still be thinking of you as you get on the scale. Good luck! Whatever the number, you know that you've been running the good race with strength and perseverence.

Take care,
Erin

 

[DoeWDW]

Erin, you'll get through the day just fine! I know what you mean about getting frazzled when entertaining. I get the same way! In fact, the ONLY time hubby and I fight is when we're getting ready for company...LOL! Now we recognize the pattern, so we can actually laugh about it!

Pedometer yesterday = 8900 steps, including walking my dog.

Official Weigh & Measure Day Results!!
Weight: 135 -2 last week, -7 from start
Bust: 38.5 +.5 last week, -1 from start
Chest: 33 -.5 last week, -.5 from start
Waist: 31.25 -.25 last week, -2.75 from start
Hips: 39.25 -.25 last week, -.75 from start
Thighs: 40.5 +1 last week, -.5 from start

I'm a happy camper! I'm losing slowly and steadily and I'm getting more exercise in. I'm sorry, Erin, that you're unhappy with your pedometer. It took me a couple days to warm up to mine. I spent $15 on it at Amazon.com.

Onward and downward, all!!

Edit: 5:45 PM
B - slept in late so I missed it <giggle>!!
L - flour tortilla w/ cheese, bacon, mayo 17 carbs