Posts by jenloftin

You know what?  I bet that's not what's in their heads at all.  I bet they're smiling because your pup is cute, or because that's just what you do when you meet someone's eye.  I get "those looks" all the time when I'm out running.  Maybe it's because my thighs are jiggling, or because my shorts are riding up a little.  Who knows?  I always assume it's because my pooch is so darn cute (I'm used to her making heads turn though, because she's hairless...), or because they recognize I'm doing something good for myself.

So keep your chin up!  Go right back out there next time with that "I'm-doing-something-good-for-myself-and-happ y-about-it" attitude!  If it's something you truly enjoy, it's not worth giving it up for something a few strangers may or may not be thinking.

I like the bird too!  I've been putting off getting my reward-tattoo (for reaching my goal weight!!) for several months until I figured out what I wanted.  I also knew I wanted it on my foot, just not what it should be.  I finally came up with it:  a cheetah.  They've always been my favorite animal, and mean a lot to me on a personal level.  Plus, I'm a runner, and love the symbolism that the fastest land animal on my foot would provide.

I think a swift would be a wonderful bird to get.  They're one of the fastest birds, and have a lovely wingspan/silhouette that would lend to making a tattoo.

Good luck with it, and post pics!  I love seeing other people's tattoos!

Polar does, but they do look very pricey.  Garmin makes them, and they look a little less pricey, but definitely more than $100.  I have a Polar f6, no GPS.  But I run on city blocks and even if I don't remember exactly the route I took, it can still add up to the same amount of milage if I remember how far down and how far over I ultimately ran before heading back home.  I just use mapmyfitness.com to estimate my miles, and use my f6 to keep track of HR and calories burned.

Ha ha!  I wash my hair before I get a haircut too, but not because of curls.  I just don't think they'd want to put their hands in my icky unwashed hair!

Ha!  I love it!  That's kinda just like the fact that I brush my teeth before going to the dentist for my checkup/cleaning so they won't think I don't take care of my mouth.

You're not crazy at all...unless I'm crazy too

I had 4 incisions as well, and that one hurt the most for me too.  My doctor explained that that's the one where they pull the gallbladder out from, so it gets stretched a good deal more than the other holes.  He actually sent me home with pictures from the procedure of my insides taken during the procedure, and showed me a video of the entire procedure afterwards!  Not mine, of course, but one just like it, and he explained everything that was being done.  I think he did that all for me because I expressed a lot of interest in the procedure beforehand, and even (jokingly) asked if I could take my gallbladder home with me   

I may just have a higher threshold for pain, I don't know, but I didn't need any painkillers at all.  They kept me in hospital one night, and I went home bright and early the next day (they invited me to stay longer, but I went home instead).  I didn't need any painkillers when I got home, but they sent me home with Vicodin anyway.  I was pretty much back to normal after a week.  I couldn't bend over, get myself out of bed, etc, for the first week.  But I went back to work and functioned pretty well after that.

I'm sorry you guys had such bad experiences with your doctors.  They aren't all bad out there!  It's true though, don't let them push you around, and don't be afraid to demand to know what they're doing, why they're doing it, and to get painkillers when you need them!

Is there a drastic difference in altitudes between the two places?  I know that can affect stamina and your ability to keep your breath (when I traveled from here, New York, to Colorado Springs last Christmas, I would lose my breath walking up just one flight of stairs at my sister-in-law's house!).

A) That's not enough to make your stomach pooch out.  B) Where's lunch?  That's not nearly enough food for this point in the day!  No wonder you were so hungry. 

Oh, this is mine!!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8cCPH1qnYI&am p;feature=related

Every time I hear it I can't help but smile, and the video makes me giggle too 

I read your post and thought, "That sounds like the dining halls of my school, I remember Snelling's omelette stations", and who would've known?  That's the one you're talking about!  I know how hard it is to eat well there, because there's so much variety and everything is so freaking good there!  They have sandwich stations there, and the students who work at them will usually be willing to build it the way you want.  You can go light on condiments and heavy on veggies, and you can even ask them to show you what kind of bread they're using so you can look up it's content later.  And they always have the salad bars (it does get boring I know, but it has some great variety...).  And the hot food bar usually has a good veggie side dish, and often a lighter meat option (than say, the grill).  I'm afraid you'll probably just have to estimate everything.  That's what I do whenever I go out to restaurants, I'll just look up a comparable dish on CC's database and use it, or log each individual ingredient.  I've been measuring everything so long, I've gotten pretty good at estimating serving sizes (cups, ounces, grams, you name it!).  

Hi!  I just had mine taken out yesterday, on a sort of emergency basis.  My ultrasound showed exactly what you described, sludge and stones.  Apparently they can become gangrenous if you leave it that way for too long, plus you have to deal with the intense pains associated with eating certain foods.  My doctor told me that I don't have to drastically change my eating habits, just avoid really fatty foods (which I do already).  I had it done laproscopically, and I'm feeling ok right now.  There are four tiny incisions (I still haven't seen them yet, they still have the bandages over them).  They feed a camera through the belly button, and instruments to clamp and cut through the others.  My doctor saved images from the procedure that he printed out for me (AWESOME!!!), and today showed me videos showing the entire process.  I'm not terribly uncomfortable right now, I've been up and walking today--slower than my normal pace, but I'm walking.  I feel very bloated too, because for the procedure they fill the abdomen with air to be able to visualize everything better.  So it takes a couple days for the body to reabsorb it.  It feels bloaty, and a little crampy below my clavicles from it.  

All in all, so far it hasn't been so bad (I only had it done yesterday, sorry this is all I have!).  I'll keep you posted on how I feel later!

Hi all!  No internet yesterday, so I didn't get to check in.  It's supposedly fixed now, so we'll see!  I was bad this morning, I reset my alarm when it went off to get an extra hour of sleep instead of going to the gym.  Oh well, maybe tonight, and if not, tomorrow's another day!  I did very well on the calories yesterday, I just discovered Progresso Vegetable Classics soup, only 160 cals in the entire can of the one I had yesterday!!  And it plus the fruit salad I had along with it kept me full until the end of my work day.  I also just discovered these Weight Watchers individual cups of ice cream, in my FAVORITE flavor, mint chocolate chip, an only 140 cals in a cup!  Thrilling, because I haven't had any since before last April when I started trying to lose weight.

BTW, Friday sounds fine for weigh ins.  Here's hoping the scale moves in the right direction for everyone!

Anyway, I'm off to work.  I'm thinking of packing another soup for lunch and leftover other half of a Subway sub (roast beef).  Have a nice Tuesday!

Hey guys, can I join too?  I'm a little shorter and younger than most here, but I feel like I have similar goals.  I've been pretty steadily losing since changing my lifestyle in April.  I'm currently somewhere around 146, I've been fluctuating there, give or take a couple, for about 3 weeks now.  I'm shooting for 130-135, depending on how I look/feel there.  I'm 5' 4.5"(the half inch does matter!!), 26 years old in 2 weeks, married for 3 years, and only have pets as kids.  We FINALLY joined a gym a week and a half ago, and I'm excited to only have something like 15 pounds left to lose!

Jen

Oh, I love Taco Bell!  Like, obsessively.  In high school, my friends and I had a Taco Bell night every week.  I'm jealous!

I did indulge today.  There was a street fair right outside my apartment building, and I had funnel cake!  I only ate about 1/3 of it, my husband ate another 1/3, and the other 1/3 fell on the ground.  But it was great, and totally worth the cheat 

Prevention is all that works for me.  I would do the same thing, if I didn't bring my own lunch to work.  I'm a little boring though, and always tend to do the same thing over and over.  I keep easy things around:  pre-cut fresh pineapple, strawberries, and grapes.  The occasional batch of blueberries or raspberries.  I measure 1 cup each pineapple and strawberries, and top off the Tupperware with the other fruit(s).  Then I have a sandwich, usually turkey but sometimes peanut butter, on whole grain bread.  That's usually it, and it's almost too much (read:  VERY FULL after lunch).

You really just have to keep telling yourself:  if you mess up one day, it's not the end of the world.  You'll be right back on track the next day.  Or even later that day.  Also, try not to restrict yourself to the point that it's so easy to slip up.  Allow yourself treats or even fast food every once in a while, in moderation.  It really does make it easier to keep going with this new lifestyle.