ifyourstomachoffendsyou

Great--I live in Thornton, IL, home of the largest stone quarry in the world. They blast daily. I dust when I know people are coming over. Which isn't often. As long as you don't draw in it, you really don't notice how thick it is. Or I've trained myself not to look. Otherwise it's just an exercise in futility. I'm also missing Melissa and Peaches. C'mon people. Now's your chance to junk up the thread. Emotional eating. How do you, or don't you, cope? Julie, I would be emotionally eating during all that food prep. Not only would I be around what I'm addicted to, I'd be stressed to the max trying to make sure everything got done just right. How do you stop yourself from tasting everything or pigging out on your favorites? Physical pain can also be a food trigger. I want comfort food which means lots of sugar. I also eat when bored so I have to get out of my house frequently. But when I'm out I'm tempted by Starbucks and I can't go to Borders without wanting a fancy coffee. My budget says no more clothes for a while, so shopping is out. I've told myself no matter how cheap it is, do you really need it. The answer is usually, "No!" My husband sleeps days and goes to work at midnight. Often sleeps part of the evening too. So I have to be very quiet in my house. I like to take my grandchildren outside because sitting inside with them is a huge trigger. Sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate--rain or too hot. I get sick of facebook and computers. Keeping the food out of the house is helful in avoiding emotional eating, but I need to replace it with something else and that isn't always easy. My biggest test is this summer as I finish tutoring mid-morning and have the rest of the day and evening to myself. I'll keep posting because that helps. I'll keep reading your posts because that helps. So keep posting, especially if you're in the middle of a relapse. Helping you, helps me. Cheri

Some of the newbies and others have posted about emotional eating. I just wrote back some things to someone else on another thread and thought I'd repost it here. Could be our new topic for a couple of days. I blogged through my weight loss period and it really helped me express my feelings safely and tackle a lot of the reasons I eat. I kind of lost interest once I reached my goal, but I do post on this and other threads to help me stay on track. Reach out. Don't eat your feelings. Find a safe way to express them and talk them out. You may have to do some confronting of others and take control of your own happiness, which can mean ignoring people who are used to manipulating you and letting what they say go in one ear and out the other. Sometimes you have to minimize contact with them. God wants you to be healthy and to put him first--not those who demand your attention. That includes husbands and kids and parents and siblings. That doesn't mean you stop caring for them. But it does mean you stop listening to them and start listening to God. And that you can't fix them. If their demands on you are making you sick emotionally, you learn to pick and choose what you can do for them. Learning to say, "No, I love you but right now I can't do that," and learning to walk away from arguments is one of the things that has helped me grow spiritually and emotionally. All of this happens in baby steps, just like taking off the weight. As I shed the lbs., I also shed the expectations of others. I pick and choose the help I can give people. I think I actually accomplish more, now, because I do the things that I'm good at instead of the things they think I should be good at. Instead of disappointing others with my inadequacy at things they are learning to respect me for what I excel at. That's a good trade. As always, with my advice and anyone else's, take what you like and leave the rest. Cheri

God bless you and keep you. I know its hard. I blogged through my weight loss period and it really helped me express my feelings safely and tackle a lot of the reasons I eat. I kind of lost interest once I reached my goal, but I do post on this and other threads to help me stay on track. Reach out. Don't eat your feelings. Find a safe way to express them and talk them out. You may have to do some confronting of others and take control of your own happiness, which can mean ignoring people who are used to manipulating you and letting what they say go in one ear and out the other. Sometimes you have to minimize contact with them. God wants you to be healthy and to put him first--not those who demand your attention. That includes husbands and kids and parents and siblings. That doesn't mean you stop caring for them. But it does mean you stop listening to them and start listening to God. And that you can't fix them. If their demands on you are making you sick emotionally, you learn to pick and choose what you can do for them. Learning to say, "No, I love you but right now I can't do that," and learning to walk away from arguments is one of the things that has helped me grow spiritually and emotionally. All of this happens in baby steps, just like taking off the weight. As I shed the lbs., I also shed the expectations of others. I pick and choose the help I can give people. I think I actually accomplish more, now, because I do the things that I'm good at instead of the things they think I should be good at. Instead of disappointing others with my inadequacy at things they are learning to respect me for what I excel at. That's a good trade. As always, with my advice and anyone else's, take what you like and leave the rest. Cheri

Got an extra 2 hrs of sleep in this morning. Woke up at 7:30 instead of 5:30. I'm going to Lansing Christian School at noon to observe someone using the Interactive Metronome with a couple of students. It's been a long time since my training on it and I'm supposed to start doing it with a couple of kids M,W,F mornings starting next week Wednesday and probably into August at Lansing Christian. I haven't had the equipment available to review, plus I'll be in another school doing it so I need to see how its set up at that school. We've had beautiful weather in the 70's the last couple of days and I think this will be fairly nice today, still cool in the morning, so I'm going to go for my walk now and then get some gardening done. My garden is still just gorgeous. One of my beds of phlox is in full bloom along my driveway and the hollyhocks there still look good. Hardly any of my sunflowers came up this year. They usually reseed themselves and give me a great deal of July color in my garden. Don't know what's up with that. Could be the squirrels and goldfinches got them all. I need to start weeding my neighbor's garden that borders mine. Theirs just a retaining wall between them. Mine's a little higher. She put in a lot of plants but has difficulty getting to the weeding. She's in her upper 60's with diabetes. Her husband is retired but doesn't know a flower from a weed. The flower gardens are in between our two long driveways. They both are junk collectors (flea market types) who buy and sell every Saturday morninig. Their junk litters their side and back yard, which is composed of asphalt, concrete, and a large area of sand where a pool used to stand, and the whole mess, with junk trees and weeds growing through the mess is visible from my side patio. So I'm trying to grow vines to cover the fence I have right there to hide their mess. Unfortunately, I got them started kind of late. Next year I'll start them earlier. So I'd better get crackin' if I want to get anything done. Cheri

Nice to meet you, too. Not all that many people spell it Cheri

Arlene,(Channeling Janet) WTG on throwing out those cupcakes. Its that darn head hunger. Its a life style change not a diet. Channeling me. Diet foods do not a diet make. WTG Great on channeling Janet so effectively.

Cheri is nickname for Cheryl. Middle name is Sue. By the way, my first year bandiversary was June 18. I am 75 lbs lighter and in maintenance. PTL Cheri

Hi all. My husband and I have absolutely no plans for the 4th. After church he'll sleep all day because he worked midnight the night before. He's off on the 5th, however, so I told him let's do something then. Maybe there'll be a fest around here with a good band. Don't wanna do the Taste of Chicago. Too hot, too many people, can't eat the food anyway. Can't remember any really bad 4ths. When I was growing up in Lansing, IL., my town and the surrounding towns, like South Holland, were full of Dutch people, many of whom sent their kids to Christian grammar schools (like the one I teach at--only it was Dutch then, not African-American). These schools were feeder schools for Illiana Christian High School which was in Lansing. On the fourth the schools had what we would now call a festival on the grounds of Illiana in a wooded section that had a lot of oak trees. Various school bands played patriotic music, some preacher basically preached a patriotic sermon or something like that, much food was prepared and sold, and lots of contests were held--guess the weight of the watermelon, hop-sack races, 3 legged races, wheelbarrow races, etc. After getting thoroughly sweaty, sticky, sunburned, and covered with grit and sand from the baseball field where many of the races were held, we all hauled out our lawn chairs and blankets and proceeded to acquire many mosquito bites while watching the fire works display. My dad won the watermelon weight-guessing contest because he sold watermelon and weighed it everyday on his routes. He had a truck and went to his customer's houses selling Johnnie's Fresh Fruits Vegetables and Eggs. I got to go with him 1 day a week and fill paper bags with 1# and 2# of cherries or grapes, a dozen eggs, etc. I would have them pre-prepared so when he came back to the truck with his customer's orders it was easier to help fill them. When sweet corn was in season he would hang out the door of his truck while driving slowly down the streets and yell, "Fresh sweet corn, come and get your fresh sweet corn." Those were the days when no one had air conditioning so all windows were open. Fresh sweet corn and watermelon were much in demand in the July heat. With the advent of supermarkets and air-conditioning and second cars for housewives, his business began dieing out and he eventually went to work in a supermarket. Kinda sad really. I'm not sure life improved all that much with all those improvements. Cheri

Hi all. Had a great time today with my summer school kids. We had our nacho and ice cream social today. The kids first listened to some African-American/Chicago history because tomorrow we're taking them to Hyde Park to walk past Obama's house and then to the Du Sable Museum. Then we had the social. Then we went outside on once of the most beautiful days of the summer. The kids had waterfights with squirt guns and water balloons. We had a water balloon tossing contest. And I found a slip and slide for $8 that I set up in the field. They had a ball. Some of our kids have never been on a slip n slide. They were awkward at first but soon got the hang of it. One of the girls who has some pretty severe learning disabilities, doesn't play with others, and seldom smiles, was laughing and giggling and taking her turn over and over again. They were quite disappointed when it was time to go home. So tomorrow is the last day with our field trip and then its over. Next week I start private tutoring and training a couple kids on Interactive Metronome, but that should be over by mid-morning each day so I'll have most of each day free. Won't know what to do with my time. Went to Dr. today and although my cholesterol is down I need to go back on meds. Good cholesterol is up to 53 finally, but bad cholesterol is 162. So Crestor, here I come. Again. Got to schedule a mammogram. All the fun stuff. This is the 3rd Dr. I've had in a year. I think they have a revolving door at this clinic, but it's what my HMO will do. Dr. was young enough to be my daughter. Scary. Wish our trip well tomorrow. It's meant as the grand finale. Hopefully, the summer school will gain a great reputation and we can grow it next summer. This is the rainiest June I can remember. Lots of thunderstorms with high winds. Lots of damage. Lots of flooding. Anyone else having wierd June weather? Cheri Cheri

Karen, on one of your posts I thought you said your egg salad was mad and I was trying to picture a mad egg salad. Have a great time at the lake. I really do think one of these summers we should go to the lake, mosquitoes be damned. I sounds wonderful. You are the hostess with the mostest. Eva, don't know what all went on in your past but I'm glad you've come to a place of acceptance and peace. Cheri

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. I'm taking Friday off and leaving early a.m. and will arrive in LV at 9:06 a.m. I hope some other early bird can meet me and guide my sleepy body where it needs to go. Unless there's a shuttle or something. I'll have to find out. I'll need to leave in time Sunday for a 3:22 p.m. flight back to Chicago. Whoever told me about Frontier, thank you. I picked different times to give me the most time with you guys and I'm going to be one tired puppy at work on Monday, but that's OK. Now I gotta go back and catch up on all your posts. Cheri

The Lord bless you and keep you and cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and grant you his peace. Cheri

Like JP Inc. Janet's Possy but we could spell it possi to give it some cachet.

bbff's=best bandster female friends

Thanks everyone for the offers of help. I know Ken can check Priceline and Orbitz, but it is confusing. I can fly out of Chicago Midway or O'Hare. I don't have next fall's school schedule at home. I doubt I'm off Monday (sometimes we have off Columbus Day--not sure if that's Columbus Day. I can leave school early Friday if I have to to get to the airport. Ken is usually off Sunday night/Monday morning so could probably fetch me Sunday evening. So if you run across any flights that would fit that time frame, let me know. I can tell Ken and he can actually book it. He was just really crabby last night and apologized. He was also paying bills and we had some high ones that totally ate up his salary. But with all the work I'm doing this summer we should have some I can set aside for this. It's just that we're getting estimates on putting our basement back together after having to tear out all the walls and the bathroom to put in permaseal and get rid of the mold from the flooding. Anyway, I've been on the phone or e-mailing a lot of people for various work things yesterday and today. I also have been writing articles, rewriting other's articles and editing the final version of the school's newsletter. I'm not teaching summer school Fridays but I did go tutor my neice this morning. Phew! I don't think I'll really get any vacation this summer so I don't feel guilty about the October thing. I'll have earned it. Cheri

Ladies, I have not flown anywhere in years and years. I am not good at trolling the internet. I've never paid for anything online. These are the kind of details that make me crazy. I end up giving up. My husband spent a lot of time with the Florida thing trying to get a flight on a Fri. evening and a return and it wasn't possible. He's not too happy about trying to do it again. The cost was also prohibitive. In the past, flights to Vegas were relatively frequent and cheap but I have no idea if they still are. I'm going to try. Maybe my daughter will walk me though it. If anybody thinks ADHD is not at times debilitating, think again. A friend recommended travelocity. We'll see.

Joyce, I can share. Cheri

Melting butter vs. hard lard. LMAO. Desert Rose it is. I'll sleep on a couch or whatever. I'm gonna get my friend to look into the best deal on flights for me. I'm definitely into cheap. Cheri

LauraK and Linda, you look fabulous dahlings. So nice you could meet each other and Laura's daughter. Laura, the part of the brain that can predict outcomes and organize and plan and see consequences does not finish growing until about 25 yrs old. My kids are now all in their 30's, married, kids, steady jobs, etc. Tim was ADHD and took a little longer to pull it together, but all of them started changing at 25, and 30 was another wake up call to settle down and put together a meaningful life. I must say that without the fat I'm much more tolerant of the heat and humidity than in the past. I may take a nap. Stayed up later than usual to write an article for the school newsletter. I'm falling asleep in my chair. If anyone passes through Chicago and wants to meet, let me know. Cheri

Fantastic Laura! So happy for you and your family. Whenever you have to let go of Nels a little, you make me smile with how hard it is for you. But you're doing it anyway. Good for you. Apples, the composite is incredible. Can't wait to see the real thing. Arlene. I was thinking about your Dr.'s advice with the no beef unless organic and all that. You have fibromyalgia. I'm not sure if that's an autoimmune disease but I do know that with some autoimmune diseases like RA people who eliminate all red meat can experience remission or greatly reduced symptoms in their disease. I know it really helped my sister. So stick with the chicken and fish. But back away from the carbs. Cheri

So, have we decided on a hotel? I've never been to Vegas. So I've no clue what to look for in a hotel. Water is always fun. I'm not a gambler so that part doesn't appeal to me. Just seeing the sights would be interesting. And seeing all of you. Lady, congrats on onederland. What happened to our OA posters? Food addiction is a very real problem that I know is going to plague me the rest of my life. It astonishes me how many bad-for-me foods I can still overeat with the band. Two parties two days in a row. Back on high protein, low carb tomorrow. My chicken quesadillas turned out great and were a big hit judging by how many disappeared. And they're so simple. The flour burrito wraps I used didn't make me pb either. Tortilla chips and salsa, guacamole, sour cream as appetizers, sides, and condiments for the quesadillas. Had jalapeno peppers and diced green chile peppers people could put on, too. Plus I had some leftover baby shrimp from yesterday's party on a bed of reduced fat cream cheese with shrimp sauce over it. Mini-chocolate eclairs for dessert. I'm going to have to make that for family get-togethers more often. Ken's kids got there by 2:15 and stayed till 8:15. I also got up early to dust the house and clean the kitchen counters, sang in both services, and came home and cleaned the patio furniture and pull some weeds from around the patio so we could sit out there if the weather cooperated. We ate indoors but then gravitated outdoors. I usually get a lot of help from Ken, but he'd worked the midnight shift, came home and cleaned all the floors, and then slept till just before they came. So I set out the food myself while he chatted with his kids and cooked the quesadillas. I feel like Apples. Or Julie. Now I've got to go to bed. Gotta get up early to teach tomorrow. Hope everyone else had a nice Father's Day. Cheri

Ditto to everything Arlene said. Interesting on the mouth issues with ketosis. I'm also surprised by the no steak. Tell us more. Is it too hard on the stomach coming off of liquid? I'm thinking it could cause major pbing as your pouch is probably shrunk to nothing. So Laura, you are doing maintenance right now. Considering the stress you're under, that's probably a wise choice. I'm doing really good with maintenance as far as my weight is concerned. As soon as I gain a lb. or 2 I go back to a couple of days of high protein very low carbs and take it right off. I've also been walking a lot and doing some massive gardening. I've been trying to get all the major weeding, transplanting and planting done before the heat really hits. I really do have a lot of garden. We've had a lot of rain and its very lush. I'll have to get my husband to take some pictures as I'm moving into mid-summer flowers so I can post them. Lots of hollyhocks in bloom right now. Some butterfly delphinium. Gotta spray "deer fence" almost every night because the rain keeps washing it away. Otherwise they'll eat my hostas which are about to bloom, and some of my lilies seems to attract them before they bloom, as well as my phlox. They also like hollyhock buds. The stuff stinks but it works. Having my husband's kids for Father's day tomorrow. So far he has one gd. Gonna make quesadias (sp?). Went to a backyard party of an old friend today. Wonderful garden. Sort of a meditation, wandering around pathways looking for hidden treasures kind of garden. I'm thinking about Oct 1-3. Are you guys planning on being there till Sunday afternoon or evening? I wouldn't be able to get there till late Friday night or early Saturday morning. I'd want to make the trip worth while with air fare and all. Cheri

Severe weather hit. Extremely high winds, lots of lightning. Going to be very hot around here next week. Around 90 degrees accompanied of course by Illinois humidity. Gonna be much harder to teach next week. We'll survive. Got a lot of exercise this week. Probably less this coming week with the heat. Laura, tough waiting for news. Newbies, high protein low carb. Most days. We are realists. Good food days, bad food days. The band helps you have more good days than bad, if you let it. Its's still your decision, your choice. Cheri

Lori, they should have a sitcom on your luck with cars. Karen, you were always attractive, but the new you is amazing and I can't wait to see you with your new smile. Wish I had your clothes connections. As far as looks and aging, a deflated face means more visible cheekbones and chin line. Before, my features were held hostage by the fat. Check out Vanessa Redgrave. Great bones, plenty of wrinkles, totally beautiful. Loss of fat means looking down and seeing your feet, not your belly. It means you can cross your knees and polish your toe nails without having a heart attack. It means your health. Healthy people glow. Even their wrinkles glow. Cheri

Amazing pics ladies. Total transformation. Keep it up, keep it off. Cheri