BINGE ENDERS CHALLENGE - Saturday, February 25th

C77D19, 8 water, 20 points, all ghgs, 1256 calories, 14 grams sodium under goal, 10,475 fitbit steps, K-14/15, G17 Y3 R4 February.

Woke up 4 AM on Friday itching and had to gloop up. Oatmeal bath at 9 AM and haven’t needed anything else all day. So maybe………the end is here or at least near. Fingers crossed.

Here’s my plan for tomorrow – instead of just isolating the meal, I’m going to weigh, measure and count everything. If they stick to our order, I’m going to have 2 oz corned beef on a slice of rye with mustard, 2 oz turkey with 1T Russian dressing and 1/3 cup coleslaw on a slice of rye and a pickle. Breakfast will be ½ cup cereal with a small sliced banana and ½ cup ff milk. Lunch will be roasted sprialized beets, spiralized zucchini, green beans and a cup of cantaloupe cubes (1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp bummel and Brown and brown). And mini meal 4 will be a salad with 2 T Ken’s lite parmesan peppercorn dressing, a cut up mango in ff yogurt and a Whitman WW 2 pt treat. The total will be 30 points but surprisingly it comes to only 1287 calories (sodium over goal by 268 gms)..

Kathy – Yes I did get in a nice long walk with my friend this afternoon after having grocery shopped this morning. I do find that I’m having some issues with shortness of breath. We circled our community once and I hesitated to do the second. We did stop and talk for a few minutes and then I got my wind back and we did the second go around. By the time I got home, though, I had had it. So I guess my Emphysema and Bronchiectasis aren’t quite as symptom free as I thought. I hope, though, that it just had to do with that recent upper respiratory infection. Let’s face it, I’m not getting any younger <g>.

Jan – Yes I really find MFP to be useful. I find myself aiming for 1200, though not always possible, but once I hit 1200, I’m willing to forgo some ww points. Before I would never stop at 20 but would look around for something to fill out the next 6 points. What I do is plan out the day, count the points and calories and make adjustments where possible. After a while you get to know what page the different foods are on and can check them off rather rapidly. The recipe feature works very well too. So far I have my Quest Microwave cake, my mushu, my home made chicken soup with chicken, carrots and noodles, our typical turkey dinner, gas house eggs and our typical potroast and potato pancake dinner. That speeds up the process even more.

Cindy – Wow, that’s really in the realm of a flu epidemic. And yes the weather has been crazy. Today it hit 71 here. It’s not just the vents, Cindy, it’s the air ducts. The service has a huge truck with power vacuums so they can suction out the ducts. The vents and the dryer are sort of an extra. I just read an add for one of them and it says “If there's dust in your ducts, there's dust in your lungs!” – something that I don’t need. Kudos on K-closed and treadmill.

C28. D15. OP. Tracking. Exercising. Weekly round up: Exercise 7/7 day for 64 APs. Avg 31 points per day (ranging from 27-36 points per day). Lost 1.2# this week. I'm so pleased that the scale is continuing to move down.

Nancy - here's hoping the hives have run their course. You really had a reaction to that antibiotic. Glad you got in your walk and concerned about the shortness of breathe. You have to listen to your body, but I find that I have to push it sometimes too, like you taking that second lap around. My mom moved to a new home last October and her activity level has dropped to zero (new community, doesn't get out as much, icy winter, etc...). It concerns me that she doesn't even walk around her house for a concerted 15 minutes per day.

Jan - Glad that you're back on speaking terms with DH. Marriage is a challenge - no doubt about it. I have a friend who was divorced three times and she sometimes is just in awe and so gushy about how I've managed to be married for 22 years - lol. I don't usually think of it as an accomplishment, but there's something to be said for giving ourselves a pat on the back for sticking in there and, in my case, muddling through. I tell myself, on the off days, that marriage is about commitment and not about 'love.' Cuz that feeling can come and go!

Cindy - hope you can avoid that bug. You had the flu shot, right? I did too, but caught a bug that stayed with me for 12 days. My voice is still recovering a month later. My DH is really sick with a fever and he got beat up handling our cattle yesterday (kicked in the hand and elsewhere) so is one hurting guy.

EDESIA - fun weekend plans? Cooking any special meals? I made a vegetable shrimp stirfry last night that was an absolute flop with my family. Too spicy. So I have lunch for the next three days :-) I have beef stew meat thawed out, so will throw that together in a crock pot. AND I have a lamb roast thawed for Sunday dinner - any suggestions? I did the pomegranate molasses recipe you recommended last year, but don't have time this week for a three day recipe!

Beth - how's DH doing today? Hope he has the weekend off and can rest and recoup.

Lori, Jackie, Jane, Meg, and all who follow, have a great day!

Kathy

"Copper member"??!? Sheesh. I guess that's better than "Lead."