Okay. It's official. Wh...

Okay. It's official. When I don't get my regular workout, and I am out of my routine, I am GRUMPY. We're back from our trip. It's not that I didn't think of working out. We were, however, at an elevation of 8000 feet. I wasn't feeling too well. My lungs hurt and I was car sick from the roads. My grumpiness got worse when my well-meaning husband commented on my protein bars. "Aren't you supposed to be eating real food? Maybe that's why you don't feel well." AWWWWW! I average 1 to 2 protein bars a day as a supplement. I eat the Trioplex which have 30-32 grams of protein each. And I do eat "real" food, too. And a lot of it, lately. In fact, I have been waking up at odd hours -- notice this post time -- and eating. This is scary for me. Yet I am maintaining goal weight. So maybe my body needs it????? I do workout very intensely. Okay. Not your Earl-lifting-triple-digits-kind-of-intense, but for me intense nonetheless. I have to watch my rationalizing addict. I am still within the range of 1700-2000 calories. It's just the mindset when I eat that is not where I want it to be. This was our first full day back from vacation, so I got this incredible workout in. I feel back in "control" again -- or the illusion of control. Anyway, enough about me. This is a formal apology to Earl and Valerie for the constant Starbucks plug which rendered Valerie helpless in the face of a SF latte. I agree with Mike about spending retirement money on lattes. I guess I am still ahead considering how much Hostess and Nabisco made off of me. Hope all is well with everyone. Hugs, Chris

Chris Welcome back! BIG HUG FOR YOU!! Don't worry about the latte addiction Hey, I don't smoke, I don't drink (well you know couple times a year) and I am in my sexual prime and Earl isn't (sorry honey ), I don't rely on food for my "fix" so I figure a latte here and there isn't hurting anyone! I am glad you told me about them. I love them...treat treat treat! I am not sure about the hunger thing. Could be physical, could be mental. That is the part that is hard. Deciding which is which. If you are training aggressively (I love the line about the triple digits...) then you very well may be physically hungry. I notice that some days I am more hungry than others. Some days I can physically eat more than others. I think this is probably completely "normal" and since we have had an abnormal eating habit for so long as obese people we are not sure what "normal" really is. I love well meaning people. Sometimes they make me want to scream. This is where education steps in. Has he ever gone to any support or education groups? Supplementing with protein bars is great. You are getting just what you need, and 'scuse me, but it is food? What kind of food isn't "normal" food? I would imagine things like dirt, clay, crayons and glue are not normal foods. Now, if you were eating those, I would be a little worried! And 8000 feet would kill me!!! I wouldn't have been able to do much in that kind of change for sure. I think it would have even put the Big Earl down a notch or two! I am going to get some major workouts in today. I miss mine too, in a bigger way than I thought. Hope you are feeling better today! Val