The E-LAB Project

carolina - love babybel cheese...but it takes two or three to satisfy my cheese cravings...

I have been a little discouraged and frustrated...even angry...I am still struggling with getting in enough exercise and an sooo jealous when I read about Miles Walked...I can barely finish a mile before my muscles seize up and walking becomes to painful to go any further. I walk like an 90 year old with creaky knees and I am only 39.  I cannot afford to join a gym and with working full-time, trying to prepare healthy meals and raising pre-teen/teenagers sometimes I feel like my plate is just too full to take on anything else. 

How do you guys do it? 

I have adopted a radically healthier eating life style, reducing processed food from 90% of my daily diet to less than 10%, increasing veggie and fruits. I have cut refined sugars, white breads, pasta, rice and cereals substantially and after two months I still fluctuate between 159 - 164 lbs...UGH!!!  Why can't I see SOME results from such a radical change in diet!!! I HATE that 2nd to CANCER, what I eat, when I eat and how much I eat has now consumed what free time I have.   I miss living life with blinders on, eating foods I enjoyed, not reading every label in the store in order to avoid the soy hidden in almost all processed foods. I miss feeling like I can do anything; paint every room in my house, scrub my floors till they shine, refinish furniture or just rearrange the furniture in my house without the fear of my LE flaring up and the pain that comes with it.  

I am so sorry to dump on you guys but I am so sad, overwhelmed and discouraged I just needed to get it out before I explode on my family or retreat further into my shell.

Thanks Shelia!  I have been checking out some of the HER+++ threads and Tamoxifen threads and have learned that both Herceptin and Tamoxifen can cause weight gain and joint pain...joy!  I feel a little better knowing that I am not losing my mind, just fighting an up hill battle...  I guess all I can do is keep moving forward and be happy that I am maintaining a steady weight...

Sweet Dreams!   

faithandfifty ~ 4 miles in 1 hour, 3.5 miles in 1 hour. WOW, whew!! I do 3.3 miles in 1 hour, brisk walking/light jogging (I call it scooting along !) You are moving great, gal!

off to bed ~ Hi to all!

{{hugs}}

Michelle, Hang in there! With the meds you are on it's much harder to loss weight. Just keeping it off has got to be a challenge in it self. I hope this helps in some small way, but I know that exercising alone can get very boring. I loved it when my children were younger like yours and we would go for walks together. It took a dang shoehorn to get them up in the morning to go but once we got started they always had fun and it gave them lots of time to share information and thoughts with Mom. My middle daughter still enjoys coming over and doing Yoga with Mom and my oldest always wants to go for a walk when he is here. My youngest hasn't reached the stage of missing quiet time with Mom yet. I'm sure it will come soon. 

You are doing great! Keep up the good work, you look fabulous.

I really need to update my pic.  

Michele I  take Glucosimine and naprosyn.  I have arthritis and am allergic to most of the good arthritis drugs so it helps.  I admire you going thru all this while raising a family.  I started walking a little at a time and feel good when I go 2 miles, I pay for it and working in the garden but am learning it is worth the price.  It is really hard to lose right now so don't be too hard on yourself.  Eating better is a real challenge for all of us!  I was taught some simple leg lifts while sitting in a chair really helps with stiffness just lift one leg at a time start with 5 and work up to 15, hold 5-15 seconds and repeat.  I have found it helps with the stiffness but I have had a hip replacement but it helps both legs. 

Michelle, I love your new pic it is great and I love, love your hair!!! Paulding mom you need a pic with a smile... LOL! 

I went to weigh in this week... :=( no weight loss boo, boo!!! I held steady.  Maybe by Friday.  I guess with all the meds I have been on for my sinus and ear infection it has caused me to not lose?  Plus being at the hospital and not being able to stay on the diet very well.  I went back on it full force Monday and I'm hoping for a better show next week.  

Renee

o2behealthy, Thanks for remembering my Mom. She is doing well. Having the side effects from the hormones and trying to keep the weight off.  She got some of those Stride Walkers and took a fall in them. I think they take some getting use to. She's coming to visit in May and we will walk in the Relay for Life Survivors Lap. We are going on a trip together with our DHs in June too. That's why I have to drop a few lbs., well that and health reasons. 

Last night I skipped working out  I spent the evening looking for a lost car title. Found it but what a waste of time. Tonight BIG walk and early to bed. Got to be ready for tomorrows weigh in.  

I know my rep. as a bad influence for eating a certain orange snack food, so I am here to make amends and offer a dietary olive branch:

You can use certain spices to speed up your metabolism.  Cayenne is one; another is cinnamon.  Google either one with the second keyword being metabolism and you can get more details about appropriate daily amounts.  (The cinnamon has to be a certain kind.)

Good job E-LAB ladies who have been walking.  I have been trying to go almost daily myself and your reports are shaming me not to be a slacker on that.  Thanks!

elimar ~ I've added cinnamon to my flaxseed, along with turmeric, dark cocoa, ginger, & pepper that I take each morning with water to get those antioxidents. I did not realize the cinnamon had to be a certain kind?? I'll google cinnamon-metabolism & see what I find out.

Renee ~ That is really the first way I realize I'm losing weight, is that my clothes are looser. That is just wonderful that you got into that pair of capris from 2 years ago. YAY !!! I've noticed my jeans are not as tight as they were through the winter months even though according to the scale, I haven't lost much. I hope I have a loss for tomorrow's weigh in. It seems every Friday, I'm the same or a bit more but during the week, I show a loss. Like today, I was 146.2. I know someone who never weighs herself at all, she only goes by the way her clothes fit. I have to know, sometimes I think it's an obsession with me. I need to know the number. Crazy, huh?!?

Moral support: You really are doing great, Renee. Really. You come here to share, whether it is good news or bad & that is half the battle, I think. We need to have someone to talk to, & get support from, even if we don't lose, if we slide backwards. We all have those bad days, I know I certainly have. Sometimes I just want to eat everything I like & I fight like hell to not do that. My willpower somedays just sucks! I go to the store & it takes everything I have to stick to the outside rim of the store to stay away from the bad stuff & get only veggies & fruits. Lately I have thought of this group of gals & that I have a weigh in on Friday, & I feel good when I'm in my truck putting my seatbelt on, yay, I didn't buy anything "bad".

Thank you, ladies, for being that little birdie on my shoulder!   

I think ValJean wrapped it up pretty darn good. 
I know I've got to try a little bit harder because I have to come here to check in. I've always told my doctors that if they would just tell me an exact number to reach and made me weigh in I could do it. Of course the always say, "Jest eat healthy and curb the carbs." Blah blah blah. One told me once my weight was perfect I just need to grow taller. A real funny guy. 

Okay, 162 today but with clothes on. Just leave me at 162 Meece so that next week if all goes well I will be closer to that beautiful number with a 5 in it and I am not talking 165. We are headed to a baseball game this weekend and DD is packing a tailgate party. Gonna be  hard so I need to muster up some of that will power Renee was looking for. I'm sure there will be beers on ice and baseball and beer just kinda go together. I don't really like the stuff but do some times indulge. 

Way to go Cake!!! I hear ya on the Chocolate chip cookies. The children I take care of have cookies for snack everyday. I usually hand out animal crackers but ran out this week. I made chocolate chip cookies. Ate one but now the cookie jar is sitting there staring at me like my lost love.  I need to remember how they broke my heart when they forced me to stand in front of a 3-way mirror! Nemesis is right.