BJean

Who's willing to keep track of the numbers in this next challenge?

MourningFuneral: That was the sweetest Christmas story I've heard yet! Betsyjane: Your post is an inspiration to me. Listen to my body, slow down, stay gentle with myself and food, and listen for the cues. Brilliant! bwaydiva: Congratulations for getting up, dusting yourself off (at Renfrew) and having a bright future. Your experience sounds hard but you've had the strength to work through it. Thank God you were able to get the help you needed. A lot of people never do. You people continue to amaze and inspire me. Thank you so much!! I hope you all have a beautiful day and a very Happy and Successful 2007! BJ

Tami: Your suggestion of the exercise challenge is probably a good one. I won't be able to participate though because my knees are shot. I can only do water exercise with the exception of a few floor exercises with my weight completely off my knees. I can't even take a little walk with my dogs. My dietictian says I'm doing well even though I can't exercise much, but I am sure that if I could do some aerobics and biking, etc., I would see much faster results!

Betsyjane: Thanks for sharing your background a little too. Your mother sounds like she's sharp as a tack! That's fabulous. I am sure she appreciates her right to vote a whole lot and doesn't take it for granted like some of us do. If she is a Republican this Iraq thing must be hard for her. Personally I don't think that anything that Richard Nixon did is in any way as bad as what this president has done. If anyone deserves to be impeached, it's G.W. Some of the older generation who lived through WWII and the depression can sure teach us a thing or two. I would love to hear what all your mother has to say about the current state of affairs.

Poodles: Don't think too bad of your brother... it was the drugs talking (pie). I've done Adkins more successfully (lbs. lost per diet) more often than any of the other diets I've used. And I've used them all. But when I fell afterwards, I always fell hard! Nothing is more all-consuming than a taste of carbohydrates after a long spell of Adkins! At the insistence of a doctor who treats women to help them achieve overall good health, I tried the Schwartzbein diet a couple of years ago. I actually felt better than I had in a long time. But it was so restrictive and took so much time and planning, it was very difficult for me to stay on it. Within a few months, I was off the wagon and taking my crack hits (carbs) as fast as I could get them. Which led me to my last hope, the LB surgery. Recently, one of my friends from high school who has fought the pounds all his life, who weighs a lb. less than he did at age 16 (he's now 60), insisted over and over ad nauseum that I buy and read the Blood Type Diet by D'Adamo. I fought it tooth and nail because I was sure it was just some other diet gimmick. He wouldn't give up and I finally relented. After reading the theory behind it and reading the book every chance I got a free moment, I started wondering if it really might be the answer to this wrecked overeight body. I am just phasing into it, in a reasonable way, nothing too far from the norm. I had to go get my blood typed (which they didn't do before the LB surgery). I found out that, if D'Adamo's theory is correct, since I'm a Type A, I was killing myself with the Adkins diet. The jury is still out since I am just getting into it, but it has so much promise for the ever-eluding good health and ability to conquer the binge compulsion that I've been hoping for and fought for so long. I can report back in a few weeks, if anyone is interested. And if you're at a bookstore, find it and scan it and see what you think. Blood Type diet book by D'Adamo.

St. Patricks might be a good compromise. I'm afraid that Easter is just too far off for me. I still am up for Valentine's Day if that is the consensus. People will start checking in after Christmas Day. Maybe we can nail it down for sure after the Monday weigh in?

LetheaG: My mother's name was Reitha Goldie Fordyce. Her mother was Cherokee Indian and her father was Scotch-Irish. My Dad's mother was Cherokee and his father was Welsh. All four were eventual residents of Oklahoma, however they got there. When I was in elementary school, we were told to have our parents fill out forms about our native American heritage. My parents balked for the same reason their parents balked: they were all afraid of the implications of being counted and being placed on the "rolls', and the motives of the government. They refused to reveal their Cherokee lineage. We knew we were part Indian, but our parents told us that we were only about 1/64th and so it didn't count. In fact it wasn't until much, much later that my parents even told us kids the real truth. My sibs look more Indian than I, at least until the past few years. I always had reddish brown hair and some freckles and didn't tan, just burned and peeled when exposed, Green. So I feel your pain. Now that I'm older and chubbier, I look more like my mom with roundish face, Indian bone structure and squat body. But I'm working on the squat part. I love knowing that I am part Cherokee. I am very proud of my grandparents and I respect the fact that they overcame the stigma attached to being "half-breed'. Mom was totally into Cherokee beadwork and creativity and the degree of sophistication that the Cherokees worked to attain. She used to tell us about the Trail of Tears. When I visited the homeland of the Cherokees in North Carolina, it was a very moving experience. Along comes a cowboy via Yale and oil riches, and because I disagree that our countrymen should lose their lives to protect his rights (or anyone's) to oil in the Middle East, his supporters and he call me a "left wing liberal with no patriotism" and a "traitor to this country." Can anyone understand why that pushes my buttons?

I definitely want to join in the accolades for Momofmany! You've been a real gem taking it all on and keeping up with all our numbers. Thanks so much. I nominate someone else to take over that job if we decide to go for a VALENTINE'S DAY CHALLENGE! What do you say, folks? Want to make it a Valentine's Day thing or something a little further off? I'd volunteer for record keeping except I'm this {} close to being computer illiterate! I've still never mastered the art of the freakin' ticker! I was hoping you all would think I just didn't want you to know my stats. Nope. I've gone through all the steps, over and over, and I finally threw up my hands. I kept thinking I'd enlist the aid of my DH. And I'll tell you what... if we do go ahead with another challenge I promise I will get my guy to get my ticker up. Whatdaya say? BJ

Yeah, well, furthermore, I'll bet Bush's place at Crawford, Texas has lots of bugs and snakes and all. heh, heh, heh.

r2ht4u: Gosh I'm sorry to hear that you have been having to deal with the stress of a move. It is hard too, to avoid fast food places when you're on the go like that. I'm impressed though, keep up the good work!

P.S. George Bush is definitely one of the worst presidents we've ever had. I miss T_O_M and his spelling of BuSh.

Thanks, Green. I find your fondness for travel quite different from mine. It may have something to do with the fact that I am about a quarter Cherokee Indian. Give me the wide open spaces, the mountains, streams, lakes, valleys, flora and fauna. I am less trusting of other people in some different cultures, especially some of the more remote ones you mentioned. I have enjoyed several trips to England, Germany, Paris, Luxembourg, etc., all the usual American tourist places. That's where I feel the most safe, abroad. Mexico and Central America are a completely different animal. We lived 30 min. from the Mexican border when we lived in Arizona. We learned that there are places you can go in Mexico and some that are dangerous. Like America, perhaps, but it isn't as easy to know good places from bad when you are in a foreign country. We enjoyed Alcapulco and ventured out into the country and met and stayed in a small out of the way hotel there. Once we camped out on Kino Bay and drove into the mountains and were basically run off by some Indians who were said to be former cannibles, but who were supposedly controlled by the government now. I bartered some of my son's clothes for a beautiful wood carving. (They didn't want our money.) We also have stayed in a big luxurious hotel where we ran into many well-known movie or athletic stars. But we know too many people who have had frightening experiences there, some who were incarcerated, some who became seriously ill. I was one of those and it took me months and months to get well. After that experience, I have been much more cautious about travelling to places that can present a health risk in any way. My DH has been to most of the places you mentioned and has on occasion come home with various afflictions. Although your adventurous nature is appealing on the surface to me, in reality give me the wide open spaces! Good luck in all your holidays in the future. I am sure it would be fun to get to know you and hear some of your travel tales. BJ

Thanks for all your comments about my mum-in-law. They haven't put her on coumadin (which my dad took too) just something to keep her from developing a clot. I think they've taken her off a lot of things since I believe her strokes have been as a result of bleeding in the brain, not blockage. Enough about all that. I don't want to get repremanded for not staying on topic. But one more thing, Green, why do you have trouble traveling just because you live on this side of the pond? Have you seen everything there is to see that is great and wonderful in North America? Or are you drawn to old stuff and crowds more than new stuff and wide open spaces? Just wondering... I agree that someone should start a pro-Bush thread. They all get so bent out of shape here. They jump in and make an inane statement about what a good president we have and then, to their surpise, they get trounced royally here. Face it, Republicans, we have lots of ammunition in our arsenal to shoot down just about anything you have to say in defense of the Bush Brigade. The ole chap makes it easy for us every single day.

P.S. It SHOULD be interesting to everyone, not just us old farts.

Bitter: I'm not familiar with DailyKos. Can you enlighten me? I have been saying for years that Iraq is another Viet Nam. Everyone thought I was nuts and argued with me. But some of us who lived through it know the similarities and the consequences. All I can think of is the people... used as pawns and sacrificed for what many Americans choose to believe is freedom. If only it were true. Reading John Graham's essay brought back so many vivid memories and his story is totally right on. I thank you for sharing it.

Bitteroldhag: You hit the nail on the head about the fallacy of why we went to war and why we stay there. Thanks. I am sorry to hear you have suffered a mini stroke. A TIA? My MIL had a couple on Monday and we're going through some tests, etc. with her. Can you believe she hasn't been to a doctor in 40 years? Bizzare, but true. She's an introvert and just always managed not to get seriously ill. She's 81 and may finally need blood pressure meds or Heprin to keep her blood from clotting. Gotta be the genes. Also, she is about 5'8" and weighs 110. You can imagine what she thought about my fat a$$. Hate to tell her about the meds I take. Hope everything turns out well for you and you get back to sweet restful sleep soon!

Boy sometimes it's hard to be happy just doing baby steps, but I think it's the way we can get past the binge problem. Every time I don't freak out and go on a binge when I think about something I like, I congratulate myself and feel really, really good about it. Now if I can just do that more often, someday maybe these silly little baby steps will be giant leaps, like what it sounds like Jack can do.

r2ht4u: Wow that's a dramatic weight loss. How are you managing it? Mostly determination or a restrictive band? Or both? I'd dearly love to be in the 160s now. Did you set interim goals from time to time? Do you exercise a lot? Please share when you have time. Thanks!

I'm like Betsyjane. I come here instead of eating. In fact, I hate it when there's a post about food. Like "hambasket" boy, makes me hungry!

Tami: Great going! You've done so well. I know you were debating on whether to get an unfill. Glad it's working out for you so far. I had Wendy's chili last night too - a large. I didn't have anything else, but it's a sure sign I still need some fill. I hope I can follow in your weight loss footsteps after my 4th fill next week.

What fantastic support! Thanks to all of you who came to my aid. I am going to feel much less hard-core about the 2 hour thing. You've all definitely made my day!!

Hillary Clinton has been a very strong proponent of the U.S. getting involved in helping women all over the world who have been discriminated against. I am thinking that if she is hawkish on this war, it has something to do with her belief that it will serve to help the women of Iraq. However if she has a blind spot because of her advocacy for women, and is irrationally supporting our stance in Iraq, it might be viewed as a weakness if she were elected president. On the other hand, hearing people agree that she is such a strong supporter of Bush and the war in Iraq really makes me wonder... especially seeing Bill Clinton buddy up to George Herbert Walker the way he has. I hate to think that these people have sold out too.

Itsgottago: Man it's torture to wait 2 hours! I asked about it again yesterday and the dietictian said that if I drink anything before that I will be flushing out the pouch and will be hungrier all the time. She reemphasized that I shouldn't drink anything after 15 min. before meals and 2 hours after. It is really hard to do that and it is hard to get in all the water they say you should have when you are on that kind of schedule. I think that's why I've been getting a lot of abdominal pain after I drink water. I'm so thirsty I glub it down to fast and I'm taking in air. Last night I sipped it and by the time I had about 5 or 6 ozs, I gave up. But I did not have the pain, so I guess I have to work harder at keeping a bottle with me and just sip on it all day. My doctor's office staff has put so much emphasis on what we drink and when we drink it, I am surprised to read that some doctors say you can drink as soon as a half hour after a meal. Thats a pretty big difference! I could live with that. Thanks for your input! Maybe I can relax a little bit and compromise on the wait time by a half hour or so. I don't want to feel hungry, but frankly I'm feeling hungry the way I've been doing it. So keeping a bottle with me has to be make sense all the way around.

julestwu: I asked the question if it could be that I'm swallowing air because I get so thirsty after waiting 2 hours to have any water after meals that I might be drinking too fast. She said she hadn't heard of anyone else with that problem but that it might be the problem. Now that I've read your post, I think it makes perfect sense. I may just be drinking too much water too fast. Thank goodness I've finally heard from someone who has the same problem! I was really beginning to think that I have something wrong going on inside. I will slow down and try to take small sips of water and see if that helps. Thanks so much for your input!

Tami: Thanks for your response. I went to the doc's office today and saw the dietictian. I asked her about the pains after drinking water and she said she'd never heard of it before. The two other people in the office hadn't either. Heck, I hope I haven't sprung a leak. I should go to that thread where Dr. C. answers questions. Thanks for reminding me that there are other places to get answers at LBT.