The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[DogMa]

Pet sitter convention? Sue, have you ever considered moving to Arlington?

Although seriously, my pet sitter is awesome and I owe her big for this. Not only has she had to take Mojo to the vet three times already, plus deal with the bandages and the chewed-up shoe and everything, I just called to make sure she could stay longer, and she said it's no problem. I'm planning to replace her shoes and pay her a whole lot extra for this (and then hopefully she'll be OK with staying again in February, when I'm supposed to go to Denver and San Antonio; I can't believe I'm going to be going away again so soon).

He definitely appreciates it, as does my aunt. Through all this, he's totally aware and alert again, thankfully. No craziness since the morphine and the neurosurgery. He can be a little hard to understand because of the slurring and the weakness in his voice (although oddly, I seem to understand him better than anyone else, so I'm doing a lot of interpreting for my aunt and the nurse and the docs at the ER), and he seems far more forgetful than he used to be (asking a million times what time he took his anti-nausea medication and what time he should take it again; at the same time, he knows exactly when to take his regular meds and how much to take).

And my aunt has been enjoying my cooking, so I'm happy about that. He was, too, till he got this digestive issue.

So yeah, I'm very hopeful about my long-term success at this point. Even with everything so crazy, I'm not eating anything nuts or reaching for sugar or junk food to drown my sorrows. I've only even THOUGHT about reaching for it a couple of times. And my workouts are suffering, but I miss them tremendously and can't wait to resume the running as soon as I get home. At first I was at least walking the dog (and taking hills as much as possible), but right now he's staying with a friend because he was getting neglected when we've been so focused on my uncle. And I used the treadmill once, but it's ancient, so it's kind of pain to use (figuratively AND literally - it's not as cushioned as the new ones, so I was feeling some pain in my ankles and decided I'd be better off just taking a few days off).

But this is certainly the kind of circumstance that would normally have me diving into the fast-food bag for junk and ice cream and chocolate and whatever else I could find. And all that stuff is certainly readily available here. But the worst I've had is the extra olive oil, or a little pasta (but truly just a little), or some nonfat Greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of walnuts. Nothing crazy at all. I'm not always eating six times a day, either, but I try to get at least four or five little meals in, along with my usual water intake. I'm a little low on veggies, but I've been getting better about that, too.

[dede4wd]

Robin, you are so wonderful to your family and to the four legged poochies that own you!

So yeah, I'm very hopeful about my long-term success at this point. Even with everything so crazy, I'm not eating anything nuts or reaching for sugar or junk food to drown my sorrows. I've only even THOUGHT about reaching for it a couple of times. And my workouts are suffering, but I miss them tremendously and can't wait to resume the running as soon as I get home.

This is so wonderful to hear! Not only are you shining during a time of crisis, you have effectively changed your habits and ways of thinking as you've progressed in maintenance. That is SO wonderful! Some would revert to bad old habits, but not you, you've gotten through this with such style, grace and insight, I just want to tell you that you rock!

DeDe

[DogMa]

Thanks, DeDe (and Sue). Today I decided that since I'm going to be here a few more days, and with this crazy stomach virus going around, I want to stick to my normal routine as much as possible because it's kept me healthy for over a year. So I picked up Egg Beaters and frozen spinach and low-carb tortillas and yogurt and whatever else I normally have (OK, except apples and peanut butter), so that I can eat pretty much what I normally eat.

I can't wait to get home and have apples and peanut butter again, though. I don't want to stick them with a whole jar of PB, so I haven't gotten it out here.

And I can't believe I'm missing the skills competition, but it's official. My friend is going to buy the tickets from jdate guy. Who has been very understanding, so that's good. We've been e-mailing pretty much every day, and we talked briefly a couple of days ago. He asked me to call again tonight, so I'll try. It's hard with the time difference, though.

[DogMa]

Talk about a comedy of errors. Apparently my friend got swamped at work and didn't call jdate guy about the tickets till pretty late the next day. By then, JDG had given up on hearing from 'em and found someone else to take the tickets. But my friend says JDG swapped 'em for tickets to a Ducks game (JDG didn't say anything, so I'm guessing it's a surprise). But of course, I happen to know that the next time the Ducks are in Dallas is Feb. 10, when I'm supposed to be flying to Denver. So ... I already told my cousins I'll most likely be changing my plans and coming a day later. Hopefully JDG can use his platinum status or something to get them to waive the change fee.

As for my uncle, he's still got this stupid, horrible stomach virus. I feel awful about leaving, especially when they still don't have help. But they're trying someone out right now, and they have someone else on tap either in addition to her or instead of her if she doesn't work out. And Carol will come back out if neither one works out or if his condition worsens. Right now, he seems to be doing OK, though. I think he got too confident and ate more than he should have last night, which brought back the diarrhea with a vengeance (sorry about that; TMI?).

Anyway, I'll be glad to get back to my regular routine. I hurt my ankle last night, but hopefully it'll be better by Friday, so I can start running/walking again. I did have a small run-in with some sugar-free chocolate last night, because as much as I know food won't help my stress levels, I needed something.

[alpha femme]

robin, robin, robin...
you may have to put out soon.

[DogMa]

It IS starting to seem that way. But we've only even MET twice, once for coffee after e-mailing and once for lunch and a movie. This is all very weird.

On another NSV note, a friend of my uncle's came over yesterday. He also knew my dad for years, so I've known him since I was a kid. Anyway, he came by and didn't recognize me when I answered the door. He said he couldn't get over how different I look.

[Sojourner]

Nice NSV!! That must've made you feel great!
How's everything else going? How's your uncle now? I've been thinking of you and sending as much of Sojo's Mojo as I can muster! Your grace under pressure is very inspiring and has made me stop bitching about the comparitively small and petty things I have had to deal with lately. So, thanks!

[DogMa]

I'm still here. I left my aunt and uncle's house (and their computer) Wednesday night to stay at a hotel near the airport because I had such an early flight the next morning. Then wound up getting his stomach virus and staying at the hotel an extra day. Finally flew home Friday, still sick but at least not vomiting. Stayed home yesterday, and am finally able to stomach food today.

Meanwhile, JDG picked me up at the airport Friday night with flowers, Gatorade and a can of chicken soup. Very, very sweet. Then sorta ruined it all by staying and hanging out at the house for a few hours. I didn't have the heart to kick him out, but he just would not take the hint that I felt like crap and wanted to curl up and go to sleep. Alone. Sigh. Anyway, I'm still reserving judgment on him.

And Mo has to keep her bandages on for ANOTHER week and take antibiotics for another week, too. We go back to the vet on Saturday, and I have to change her bandages daily till then. Yeesh.

The good news? I start in features tomorrow. And my uncle seems to be improving again, and the person they hired to help out is doing well so far.

[DogMa]

129.2, but I had very little water yesterday, and I ate very oddly (for me) because of all the problems. Today's a much more normal day.

I may even walk on the treadmill for a bit when I get home.

[Karli]

Hi, Robin . It sounds like you have been handling everything that you are dealing with *so well* . Congratulations on that.


Cheers,
Karli

[DogMa]

129.8 and totally back to normal food (well, except for the workouts; I have GOT to start back up).

[DogMa]

No weight this morning, because I had some issues last night. I had to stop at the vet's on my way home and was starving, so I picked up food (bbq) because I didn't have anything prepared yet for dinner. Which was bad enough. But then I got home and Mojo had once again taken apart her E-collar AND escaped from her pen and torn off one of her bandages. And then would not settle down so I could fix any of it. So by the time I got them out and fed and bandaged and whatever else, it was late and I was ready to gnaw off my own arm. Plus of course frustrated and tired and whatever else. So ... I ate all the bbq, and then some SF pudding, and then progressed to the real stuff and had a few peanut butter cups and Butterfingers (the little ones, but still). Blech.

At least it stopped there, though. Today I brought an extra snack/meal, because I realized the food schedule just isn't working with my new hours. So the new plan is to eat one more time at work, and just a VERY light snack later at night. Which makes dinner pretty much my last meal of the day, but oh, well.

Tonight I'm meeting JDG for dinner. If he doesn't get more fun/funny soon, I'm going to be ending it. Because he's nice as can be, but he's just not much fun to be around.

[alpha femme]

tell the jdg, "knock, knock."
"who's there?"
"nommi."
"nommi who?"
"nommi if you don't prove you have a pulse soon."

[DogMa]

Gotta run to get ready because I have a meeting first thing, but 128.8.

[DogMa]

130.4 after yet another stop at the drive-through barbecue last night. No binge, though, and no mac and cheese, although I did eat the roll. I'm OK with that, but I really need to figure out a better eating plan for the new schedule because I was starving AGAIN by the time I got home last night. Granted, that was partly because it snowed and it took me forever to get there. But still. Starving.

I'm trying a little more water and fewer carbs today. Bigger lunch, but just a big salad with some chicken and low-fat feta rather than the South Beach wraps I had the rest of the week.

Tonight, JDG and I are going out for Greek food. With the two bbq trips and our dinner out on Wednesday and tomorrow night, this is five nights of eating out in one week. Which can't continue, although at least I've managed to keep my weight stable throughout, without even exercising. But the good news is I start running again Sunday morning. I'm thinking half an hour on weekdays, and 45 minutes to an hour on weekends. I'll add the gym back into the mix when I get back from vacation.