MOLLY'S DIET RANTS! (ranting, raving, motivating & more)
RANTING BURNS CALORIES!
This is an open, ongoing, support-encourage-motivational-RANTING thread. Feel free to skip to the end, or spend days reading through all of this ...
* * *
I have decided that "Diet" is a 4-letter word.
I find myself muttering and uttering the word around my house these days with loathing and vehemence previously reserved only for comments directed toward liberal politicians. In fact, I seem to be talking to myself a lot more these days .... sort of a running, sarcastic commentary on all the foods I can't eat, or on various other related topics. I wonder if there is a link between calorie-deprivation and Tourettes Syndrome? Grrrrrrrrr.....
I am now on Day 8 of the dreaded D-word. This is already the longest period of time that I have ever successfully remained on a diet. And I seem to be growing grouchier and feistier each day..... at least when I am alone and no one is around to hear my running rants. (My wonderful DH has heard some of my more memorable rants on the subject of broccolli and reports that I am hysterically funny when I am hungry!) I am counting carbs. I am counting calories. I am counting fat grams. Sheesh ... now my math anxiety is about to kick-in!
Mini Rant #1 .... what masochist decided that the serving size of cereal was anything less than 2 cups? Have you ever measured out 2/3 a cup of cereal? Or even a full cup? And placed it in a bowl? Those few little flakes and pieces just sit forlornly at the bottom of the bowl, shivering and lonely, even when we dribble on a few meager droplets of skim milk! Sheesh. Well, I can tell you that there is simply no way that my oversized body is going to be happy with that tiny amount of cereal ... so I have been eating TWO servings for breakfast. SIGH. And while the side of the box says that I can supplement the cereal with some fruit, they probably don't mean eat 45 cherries with your cereal -- much less 1/2 a watermelon, huh?
Mini Rant #2 .... Things NOT to say to someone who has told you that they have just started on a diet:
1.Good, you sure needed it.
2. It's about time.
3. Really? It doesn't look like it.
4. Again? Haven't we heard this before?
5. Gosh, how much weight do you need to lose?
6. What do you weigh? I've always wondered.
7. I never need to diet, I have a fast metabolism.
8. Really? I can eat all I want and never gain weight.
9. Is THAT why you are so grouchy?
10. I sure hope you plan to exercise a lot more.
AAAUGGH! All of these responses are just the thing to make me even grouchier .... so just smile and say something encouraging and supportive, ok? I will let you know how it is going.
_____
=^..^= Molly
WELCOME TO MOLLY'S MOTIVATIONAL RANT / CHAT THREAD ... FEEL FREE TO SHARE YOUR RANTS, TOO! YOU CAN EITHER READ FROM THE BEGINNING OR JUST JUMP ON IN ON THE LAST PAGE ... JOIN US!
Reason: Removed sticky 9/12, had been up since 9/4
congrats on the good results Molly. I'm sorry about your thyroid, I think it's kind of weird that they only discovered it now. Didn't they do these same tests on you before?
We should start a calorie count doctor blacklist. a list of all doctors and their locations who are unhelpful/unsympathetic to those of us who are trying to lose weight through diet and exercise so that no one else will have to endure their snide and negative comments about how we can't lose weight without someone cutting us open and ripping our fat out.
personal rant: I finally hit my mini exercise milestone of a 12 minute mile and was extending my running to 15 minutes straight and I caught a really bad cold and haven't been able to exercise in a week :(
I don't know what was more discouraging ... getting diagnosed with hypothyroidism and needing to go on yet another med ... or having the diagnosis relayed over the phone from the doc to her staff to my husband (who'd called for test results since they never ever call US) When my wonderful DH tried to ask some questions about hypothyroidism and Synthroid ... he was told to "Google lt." So, not only have I not spoken to the doctor, even my DH didn't get to speak to her... we were just told to go to the Pharmacy and start taking the pill ... and to come in for an appointment in a month.
Grrrrrrrrr.
Of course, we spent HOURS online last night reading up on the med, and it contains nothing but BIG HUGE WARNINGS FOR DIABETICS about needing to adjust your insulin while taking the med. Did the doctor pass on this rather important information? Nope.... not a mention of it, in fact. Do I need to watch for dangerous blood sugar lows? Who knows? Do I need to watch for unexpected blood sugar increases? Not a clue. Do I even know if I have a mild, moderate, or severe case of hypothyroidism? Absolutely unknown. May this improve and go away with weight loss? I couldn't find that answer on Google.
Did I mention she is the only endocrinologist in town on my insurance and I'm stuck with her? And that it takes 3-5 calls/messages to get her staff to call us back? (We've never heard her voice on the phone... maybe she has a phone phobia or something.)
rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant
=^..^= MOLLY
Molly, go to your forum on how to murder a scale and picture the doctor in place of the scale! That should help make you feel better!
Good luck with the doctor!
I'll put some words in with the Big Guy upstairs for you.
Molly, Ifeel your pain! GRRRRRR don't even get me started on doctors and their staffs!
Just keep at it until you find the information you need!
As you know, my official weigh-in days are on Saturdays or Sundays ... and this week I selected Saturday and that's the official weight that I record for me. Though my weight loss to date in January has been slower than in previous months, it's still remaining reasonably steady and at a healthy pace ... which will be a nice prelude for February (which has been designated a "Maintenance Month") since I will be out of town for more than 14 days. (Don't worry, I still plan to do my very best to stay on track while out of town!) Anyway ... this week's results show a loss ... and a loss ALWAYS equals a good week, right?
And on a related note, I achieved my exercise goals for every week in January (90 minutes of cardio per week), so starting Monday that increases to 120 minutes of cardio per week for February! (I also work with some weights, too.)
STARTING WEIGHT: 369
CURRENT WEIGHT: 290.8
WEIGHT LOST THIS WEEK: 2.2 pounds
WEIGHT LOST TO DATE: 78.2 pounds
PERCENTAGE OF WEIGHT LOST (of starting weight): 21.1%
WEEKS OF DIETING: 23 weeks
SPECIAL COMMENTS: Started thyroid medication today for under-active thyroid.
NEXT GOAL: 289 = 80 pounds lost
I'll start by saying that I enjoy your posts very much, I always get a smile, some good advice, and maybe a good recipe or two. I'm very sorry for your experience will your endocrinologist. And, you're much nicer than I would have been... If I had a medical question, and a medical professional told me to "Google it" I'd have told her to "Google THIS b***h"!
Good luck!
Another member of the hypothyroid club here! Though my doc put me on Levoxyl, not Synthroid.
Molly: If you take a look at my profile, I have a bunch of tips on what foods are helpful/harmful to those with hypothyroidism. That goes to anyone else, too.
Small Rant:
Why in the world can't the dining hall here label the salad dressings? It would make it much easier to figure out what in the world I am eating. Today it was three white things and a red thing. How am I supposed to know what those are?
Thanks for the encouraging words, peeps. 
=^..^= MOLLY
My wonderful DH is taking me out to dinner Sunday night to one of our favorite Basque Restaurants in town. This is sort of exciting for me since it's the first time I've been there in six months! This is a restaurant I used to visit years and years ago when it was located Downtown in an old train station, and then it relocated north about 8 years ago. Our Rehearsal Dinner was at this restaurant in 2003 ... so it really is a special place for us. They serve Basque meals "family style" ... by placing all of the side dishes on the table in serving dishes, so people can serve themselves ... then they use individual plates for the entrees. The main reason we haven't gone in the last 5+ months or so is because I haven't wanted to go places where I didn't know ahead of time the exact calories I'd be eating so I could log, plan and budget .... but we both decided I was ready for this mini dining adventure.
Basque food is the fare of a hard-working people. It is simple, always fresh, and doled out in generous portions. Garlic is the seasoning of choice. One of the fun things about this restaurant is that until we show up tomorrow night, we won't know what the soup is (there is just the one), the salad (vinaigrette dressing already on it, no "dressing on the side" is possible) is always the same, the vegetable of the day (just the one) will be a surprise, as well as what the "side dish" (I am hoping it's not spaghetti and meatballs) will be. However, Ron and I will split my favorite entree (served with rice pilaf which Ron gets) ... two garlic-crusted pork chops (one for each of us!) I am pretty excited! My plan is to enjoy the soup (it's never cream-based), a LOT of the salad, the veggie, and some of the side dish -- depending on what it is... then my pork chop. (Then I get to come home and try to log all of that, what fun, huh?)
My plan is to eat my normal 300 calorie breakfast Sunday, followed by a standard 400 calorie lunch of some sort. (As I sit here Saturday night, I just can't figure out what to have, I am way too distracted by a garlic-crusted pork chop!) That will give me 800 calories for dinner .... or even more if I toss caution to the wind and opt to ignore my 1500 calorie limit for the day and (gasp) go over a hundred calories or two ... I figure I will decide that at dinner time! (Oooooooo..... I feel like such a calorie-counting rebel!)
Happy sigh ... garlic pork chops at my favorite restaurant!!!!
=^..^= MOLLY
Have fun!
Molly -- I hope you enjoyed the dinner completely. It sounds like a great evening at a special place. Congrats on the generally good health report, sorry about the hypothyroidism. But a lot of people on here are living with that, so you've got great support here, if not from your doctor. BTW, you make Basque food sound terrific.
Chunkyprogrammer -- congrats on reaching the 12 minute mile (can I just say WOW). Once your cold has passed (and they eventually do--even if they seem endless while we have them) you'll be able to get back there pretty quick. Personally, I've only recently moved off the 20 minute mile. I'm currently working on the 18 minute mile. So I'm pretty impressed. My knees won't stand running or jogging for extended periods.
Chris1208 -- lucky you to have gotten off the sinus headache train. We were all complaining about sinus problems at work on Friday. Between the bitter cold and dry air and the dust and diesel fumes (they're building a new wing onto our building), we're all suffering.
Google is not a valid/reliable source of medical information! What a silly suggestion! Anyone can put any BS on the 'net and Google will find it! I can't believe they'd say to google it. If you find a site that says "Should you sneeze during treatment with Synthroid, cardiac arrest is imminent unless you consume four pounds of radishes...", is this the medical advice you are to follow? Geez!
Molly - talk to your pharmacist! Maybe it's different here in Canada, but pharmacists are very knowledgeable about drugs, their effects, interactions, special considerations for people with medical conditions etc. Mine is always willing to talk to me about how to take it, when, what foods and other drugs might interfere. My doc never told me that calcium binds to my medication and keeps it from being absorbed, but my pharmacist did! Sounds like your endocrinologist isn't giving you the direction and reassurance you need.
Thanks for the advice and encouragement, peeps! (Much appreciated!
Dinner out was fabulous ... and I was within my daily calorie goals by 100-200 calories or so .... woooo hooooooo!
Hmmm.... this next week, maybe I will rant about TAXES!
=^..^= MOLLY
Molly, If you continue to have problems with your endocrinologist - if you are not satisfied, or are not seeing results, or feel honestly that you are not getting quality care ... then write a letter to your insurance company with your reasons for dissatisfaction (be sure to document, but you are brilliant so you know how to do all that ....) and inquire about a possible "forced provider" case for an endocrinologist. If you explain that the only in-network doctor in this specialty is not giving you quality care, they may approve you to see a non-network doctor and will pay in-network benefits for that physician.
The worst they can do is say "no", but if they approve you, then you will get to select another doctor without taking a hit to your benefits.
Also, for as long as you are having to "google" your medical info, use webmd. It is a well monitored, well informed, very useful site.
Original Post by ajr9000:It is about -15F here with wind chills close to -40AJ
Only 20F today; however, it going to drop again.
ouch
AJ
Original Post by mollymouser:Did I mention she is the only endocrinologist in town on my insurance and I'm stuck with her? And that it takes 3-5 calls/messages to get her staff to call us back? (We've never heard her voice on the phone... maybe she has a phone phobia or something.)
rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant rant
=^..^= MOLLY
I guess there are some benefits to living in Canada. Some of the waiting lists are tough; however, I do not have to worry about whether or not my doctor is on my insurance plan.
AJ
Dinner went well ... but as best as my guesstimating goes, I was almost 1900 calories for the day. (Maintenance would be 2400 ... so it was still a 500-calorie deficit for the day, but still!)
I must say, it was delightful and since I had the PMS hungries yesterday anyway, going over my daily calories by 400 didn't seem entirely out of the realm of reason, ya know? This was the most calories I've eaten in one day in over 5 months, so it will be interesting to see if it impacts the scale. I doubt it will, honestly .... but I do think PMS and TOM will impact the scale come this next weekend! Oh well.... my wonderful DH thinks February should be officially designated a Maintenance Month since I will be out of town 14 days of it,
That DOES have a nice sound to it, doesn't it? 5 months of hard-core dieting, 1 maintenance month. Then back to hard core calorie counting. Somehow, I bet that would probably do my metabolism some good. Of course, I still have to watch my carbs/blood sugar like a hawk (even on Maintenance), but it does mean I can eat ..... drumroll, please .... a teensy bit more cheese!
* happily nibbling on cheese sounds *
=^..^= MOLLY
Original Post by stellajo:Molly, If you continue to have problems with your endocrinologist - if you are not satisfied, or are not seeing results, or feel honestly that you are not getting quality care ... then write a letter to your insurance company with your reasons for dissatisfaction (be sure to document, but you are brilliant so you know how to do all that ....) and inquire about a possible "forced provider" case for an endocrinologist. If you explain that the only in-network doctor in this specialty is not giving you quality care, they may approve you to see a non-network doctor and will pay in-network benefits for that physician.
The worst they can do is say "no", but if they approve you, then you will get to select another doctor without taking a hit to your benefits.
Also, for as long as you are having to "google" your medical info, use webmd. It is a well monitored, well informed, very useful site.
Stellajo ... great suggestions! Only we tried that last August and it wasn't helpful. They did say that I could choose to travel, at my own expense, to any other military medical facility in the nation with an endocrinologist that I liked ... but I couldn't find one within 200 miles of where we live. (The hospital at the Naval Air Station an hour away doesn't have a staff endocrinologist there right now ... he's deployed for another year!)
My real hope is just to lose enough weight to get off insulin, then see if I can convince my internist to just monitor my diabetes oral meds and my Synthroid .... that should be well within his area of expertise as long as my diabetes is improved and/or controlled. We're going to re-evaluate as I lose more weight over the next 6 months.
Grrrr.... medical insurance!
MOLLY
Original Post by mollymouser:* happily nibbling on cheese sounds *
=^..^= MOLLY
Be warned Molly, cheese nibbling sounds are likely to make you an object of intense interest with your fur kids!
 |
New journal post Ruined by the weekend by annajo4emu 05:42 |
 |
New forum message Windows Movie Maker Question... by cucumberlube 05:37 |
|
New forum message What muscles do I need to... by restless_girl 05:32 |
|
New journal post Getting Started by blackjade64 05:32 |
|
New forum message Write it down anyway by templeellis 05:31 |
