Catracks

I do don't I LOL! It's just that the spa day is expensive and it's one of my goal rewards. I'm shooting the works with a pedicure, facial, massage, lunch and a swim. This place is an old resort - it's been around since the 1880s. No more horses , but it's still a great place. If you have time to look at it, you'll know what I mean. http://www.glenivy.com/springs/

Way to go! I'm waiting until I lose most of my weight and then I'm going for a whole spa day. I've never done it before. The sleeve was DEFINITELY the right decision for me too. I still restrict the carbs a bit and eat a lot more healthy, but yes, I eat pretty much what I want. Thank goodness I want lots of steak I am so happy for you!

That is really good advice. I'm not sure at all where I'm going to end up and if I do have plastic to get rid of the apron then I swear I will go down two sizes. Things that fit in the hips now are too big in the waist. The pants I am wearing today are stretchy, but of a style that was popular 10 years ago. One day I'm in flair legs, the next straight. I've found that I don't like the high waist-ed stuff. I like pants to sit at my hips or just above -- but not to the point that I show crack when I bend over. Seriously, that is so gross! The only old denim I like are a pair of well-washed Levis 501s. The shrink to fits are never true to size so you might fit in one labeled 32x30, but not another. Then a 34x30 is too small. (Actually I wear a 36 now :-P) That's another thing. I'm short okay. I'm sick of walking on the hems. Yeah, I know: they make short and petite, but with used clothes that is not always available. I'm not going to the expense to hem them only to give them away in a couple months. Sheesh!

Oh, believe me my friend, if I could have gotten up off the pavement fast enough, I would have given him holy hell. Most of the time I am pretty good with a retort, but honestly, I didn't happen to me that often. I didn't grow up fat either. I was 100 pounds until I hit my early 30s. I was teased for being short and skinny as a kid. Weird huh? Sometimes these embarrassing moments can hit us at our lowest times in our lives. A snappy retort is good, but for some of these unthinking people, a look of disgust intermingled with disbelief is also called for -- before you deck them that is If it's a family member treating you thing way consistently they need to be told point blank that their behavior will not be tolerated. There was actually a lady on this board whose husband was taking cruel pot shots at her. I wanted to kick his ass for her, but she was so beaten down she could only cry about it. These people can't really be happy people can they? I mean the rude people. You are right. We are so much better than that. We also need to remember that as we lose our weight. Sit next to that overweight person on the bus, train or plane with a smile. If you actually get into a conversation about weight, tell them about what you've been through. It just happened to me a few minutes ago. I work at a botanical garden and one very portly gardener said to me, "I noticed you lost weight. How did you do it?" I told him. It may have sounded nosy on his part, but he's one of the few at work who has bothered to notice out loud.

Menudo is great if you take the crud out. I hate hominy and tripe any old way, but the broth is outstanding!

Oh, forgot one. I had abdominal surgery a few years ago. Not laparoscopic kind, but the full on messy open abdominal type. It was only a few days after surgery and I was determined to get better fast so my daughter and I went on a slow walk. I weighed about 200 pounds at the time. Well, I was walking along and tripped. You simply cannot catch yourself after surgery of that type so I just fell and HARD! This man in a truck pulled forward to get a better look and just pointed and laughed. Usually I can just laugh these things off, but I had actually prided myself for getting up and walking a mile a few days after major surgery. I still think had it have been him, he would have been in his bed on painkillers and whimpering. Stupid #$%@.

I remember reading a bit about you and your dad from a post here. This time I bookmarked your blog. I read chapter one. More please.

Ahhh, but you will get here faster than you think. There are many happy moments to come for you!

You totally crack me up! I think for the most part, I deal with hurtful things with humor. Get this: I have a friend who is shooting a miniseries. He has open casting calls and asked my daughter and I to show up. I've been involved with the project since the beginning. There are some very talented and very pretty people working on this. I am an introvert to boot. They are very kind people, but I am aware that I am not so very pretty and talented. I sent my daughter's headshot and a picture of me -- I ALMOST jokingly added something to the effect that it's okay if they can only use my daughter. Isn't that pathetic? Even with the humor, we do have the lowest self-esteem.

I also missed seeing a friend for the last time before he took his own life. These are moments you can't get back. I'm glad we are no longer hiding.

I had one of those stalls for part of May through June. It started when I kicked up the exercise and started hiking some strenuous trails. It was horrible! I hope I don't have another that bad, but odds are that I will. That must be how my body works it. You look incredible BTW!

An amusement park attendant trying to strap me into a ride who was not all that amused.

Wow. I looked those tumors up a Wiki. Most types are asymptomatic. You only notice if they start releasing hormones. You dodged a bullet there. That had to be scary beyond belief. I'm so glad things are looking up. It kind of puts my stupid little concerns and pains in perspective.

I thunk I shrunk again. I can wear 12s and even 13s. I'm also wearing some Hang Ten Jeans that looked like doll clothes 6 months ago. I even fit into a 34 x 32 BUTTON FLY 501 pair! I got 10 pair of new/old pants and 6 new/old tops. Funny about some of the jeans and pants I have. The ones from the 90s or so (I think) are high wasted and the denim is HEAVY. Don't like them at all. I gave them to Goodwill as well. The Hang Tens are acid washed. My daughter just rolls her eyes and puts on her skinny jeans. My dad saw me this weekend and he hasn't seen me since Father's day and he was flabbergasted and pleased. I don't notice differences so much because I see me every day. I also have to bless God that I can hike up strenuous terrain without even breathing hard anymore. I have old pants in reserve in size 10 and 8. I expect to get to a 6 and a small top. It will be wonderful to shop for things I won't grow .... in? of --- shrink out of? HAHA! I love saying that: "Shrink out of." I will probably do a combination of Ebay, Goodwill, Tilly's, Old Navy and American Eagle. I can't WAIT! When I got at my heaviest I was busting out of a 20 and I didn't want to by a size larger let alone buy anything my size. Now I have so many clothes I can wear that I can't decide sometimes.

I went to Disneyland and California Adventure a couple months ago. I could fit easily into EVERYTHING. It was such a huge relief and pleasure to just be like most everyone else and not have worry or even think about fitting on a ride.

I did find something I couldn't tolerate: Red wine, specifically Chianti. It felt like I was drinking hydrochloric acid. I don't really care though as I'm not a huge wine drinker, but that was AWFUL!

I took that stuff too. Lost a lot of weight on it only to regain what I lost. I liked the feeling. I was always charged up and speeded. Now I get that with coffee LOL! On phetermine though, I would forget to eat at all sometimes and I think the hunger was there, but I could not feel it. Like now, When I'm hungry I tend to bite the inside of my mouth. Sounds weird, but there it is. One of the weird side effects of phentermine is an obsessive chewing on the inside of the mouth. It why those meth heads are so skinny and never want to eat. This is much healthier, no?

The recipe is just peachy, but THAT WEBSITE!!!! I'm going on that regimen, fo you grok? LOL Seriously, there is some good information on that site and it's not difficult to follow either nor is it restrictive. It encompasses much more than diet. Now I have to continue the cholesterol fight with my PCP who think that despite losing 75 pounds I must eat more carbs because my cholesterol is high. He also thinks my dead normal blood sugar and A1C is just a fluke and I'm diabetic.

I'm still a foodie. I don't obsess, but I do enjoy it.

There is a trick to adding protein powder to hot foods so it doesn't curdle. I forgot what the trick was though. As I rule - other than baking with it, I don't add it to hot liquids.

Yep, just puree it, but the others are right. It would be good to add protein to it. Depending on whether or not you like Greek yogurt, maybe stirring in some of that would work. I think it's just like sour cream.

The difference between the calorie, fat and carb counts for items without nutritional labels are staggering. So which one is correct? Are My Fitness Pal entries just from anyone? Is that why some entries are misspelled? ARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!

Oh man, how I wish I were taller! Congratulations! That is phenomenal work!

I came late to the party, but would LOVE to try this. I know raw meat is not required, but my meat is cooked so rare that it may as well be. I like blue/red centers on my steaks. I think this will work because I lost 1.2 pounds yesterday and all I ate was 8.5 oz. of tri tip and 1 cup of broccoli. I only worry about doing long hikes without the sugar. Last time I tried that after 7 hours of hiking, I got really cold, got the shakes and had some intense muscle pain. P.S. The dark chocolate probably helped. I eat 72%, but maybe I should look for a higher cocoa content.

Good LORD! Never get a hot dog from 7-11. My husband was desperate. There were 3 hot dogs on the grill and he got one of them. He went in two days later and there were still two hot dogs on that grill machine thing. They may have been the same dogs or not. We will never know.