Today is Thursday!!!!!

morning all and welcome Mal.

third sugar free day.    Calories 1265 and steps getting better 9, 886

raining.   The grass is happy.

holidayers and travellers have the best day.   

Hit a rough patch. Tuesday, my right calf blew up, red streaks appeared, and by the time I left the couch to go to bed, I had a 104 fever. Yesterday, I went to my PCP and my BP was 74/33. My fever was down to 102.4. She sent me right to the ER, where I was admitted with acute cellulitis. They weighed me to dose an IV antibiotic, at 138. Between all of the fluid in my leg and the bag after bag of fluid they are pumping into me, it is anyone's guess what I weigh.

I did all of this to live a healthy life. How can this happen to someone who is so physically active ?  Feeling a little discouraged, but fever is down to 101, so my head is a bit clearer.

Oh Diane, so sorry to hear about the cellulites. It is no picnic for sure! Cellulitis can happen to anyone. A little break in the skin can let those germs in and then boom, you have cellulitis.I hope it gets cleared up for you real soon. A friend back home was hospitalized for well over a week a few months ago and he still has considerable swelling!

Take care of yourself dear and healing thoughts are being sent your way! 

Oh, Diane, I'm so sorry! I can understand your frustration and feeling discouraged (and I'd even understand if you were depressed!). I read up on cellulitis on the Mayo Clinic site. Lymphedema is a a main risk factor for cellulitis. Cellulitis is a bacterial infection. There is nothing you did or didn't do - it just happened. Here is the list of risk factors according to the Mayo clinic site. 

Several factors can place you at greater risk of developing cellulitis:

• Injury. Any cut, fracture, burn or scrape gives bacteria an entry point.
• Weakened immune system. Conditions that weaken your immune system -- such as diabetes, leukemia and HIV/AIDS -- leave you more susceptible to infections. Certain medications, such as corticosteroids, also can weaken your immune system.
• Skin conditions. Skin disorders -- such as eczema, athlete's foot, chickenpox and shingles -- can cause breaks in the skin and give bacteria an entry point.
• Chronic swelling of your arms or legs (lymphedema).Swollen tissue may crack, leaving your skin vulnerable to bacterial infection.
• History of cellulitis. People who previously had cellulitis, especially of the lower leg, may be more prone to develop it again.
• Intravenous drug use. People who inject illegal drugs have a higher risk of developing cellulitis.
• Obesity. Being overweight or obese increases your risk of developing cellulitis and having recurring episodes.

   I hope you are feeling much, much better by the end of the day. Don't worry about what the scale says. All the fluids that have been pumped into your body will muck with the number for days and days. Don't even bother getting on the scale until you are fully recovered. It's not worth the mental anguish you'll go through.

Oh, OW!  This is your lymphedema leg, right?  If so, just like Paula said, a little bug finds a tiny port of entry.  That impaired lymph system may not be able to contain it.  KaPow!  Cellulitis!  

Unfortunately, being active/healthy doesn't prevent.  

Now, dear friend, your job is to literally take your medicine, continue to eat for health, don't worry about the scale.  

The scale will likely be confused for quite a while, both from the iv's and from the cellulitis inflammation.  Once the infection is cleared maybe hook up with the lymphedema specialists to help you decongest, if needed.  

Also, rest!  Most people feel like the stuffing has been knocked out of them for a while.  This ain't no sissy infection. 

I am so sorry!!!  I hope you're on the mend very soon.  I know this has to be very frustrating.  Sometimes we are just not in control of what our bodies do!  Positive energy sent to you. Prayers lifted up!

Aw Diane what a stroke of bad luck.  I hear your discouragement in your post but as has been said, you've done nothing wrong and actually you've done everything right. Take care and you will get through this in no time flat. 

Ouch!!!!  Am so very sorry.  

Hugs to you!

Good morning, all!

It is a crisp sunny morning here, which means the fog came in across the bay last night and up over the Oakland hills and probably in as far as Walnut Creek. One of the very best things about the weather here is the lack of summer humidity. We have lovely dry heat - such a pleasure compared to the sticky humidity of the east coast.

Eating was very much on point yesterday. I again did not log, but did weigh and measure. I was able to maintain my "no graze" rule for the day. The grazing is a behavior that I need to really subdue. I must remember that "drive by bites" do add up and count. I also need to remember that I am not hungry when I graze. Grazing is not about eating. It's about coping. Must, must remember that as I continue to work on changing this particular behavior.

Scale was down 3.2 pounds from yesterday! I had to double-check that one. Three times in a row I got the exact same number, so I'm taking it as a real number. (Gotta love this new Homemedics scale! It is far better than my old one. Great recommendation Linda!!!)

Goal for the day is to eat 3 healthy meals and two small meals or snacks with no grazing. I can't say that every meal is going to be protein forward today. The summer fruit is ripe and some of the later stone fruit is beginning to ripen and I plan to enjoy a peach and some gorgeous strawberries today. I am thinking that a small bowl of steel cut oats with fresh, ripe Mexican mango, blueberries and yogurt sounds good for breakfast, too.

I continued work on creating a list of highly charged reactionary foods. So far I've gotten down the basics for me: ice cream, cookies, all other baked goods, donuts, chocolate in any form, pancakes or waffles with maple syrup or pancake syrup (without the syrup, no problem!), caramel and toffee. I'm sure there are others, but for a start this is a pretty good list. What I notice about this list is that the common thread with the foods is NOT sugar, but rather sugar and fat combinations. A worthwhile observation I made was that I can eat a hard candy (Lifesaver, butterscotch drop, etc...) and be satisfied with a single candy, but a single square of chocolate or a Hershey's kiss and I'm craving more the moment I've finished it - sometimes even before the chocolate is completely out of my mouth. The darker the chocolate, the less intense the craving.

The pups are doing well. Girl pup (Ruby) will leave in two weeks for her new home in Luxembourg and we will be down to just Ace. Ace now knows his name and comes when he is called. He can sit and down and walks well on a lead (most of the time). He still pulls though. He is a back sleeper, which I find charming. He has two favorite sleep spots - on the fireplace hearth and in front of the refrigerator.

I love hearing the travelers' stories and adventures. I am most impressed by how well you all are doing on the food front while traveling. Carbon, don't over do it too soon. Knees are fickle joints that like being babied!

Keep on keeping on, people. It's what we do best!

High fat high sugar is indeed a dangerous combo. I watched a Canadian produced show recently that focused on how food industry researchers have perfected the sugar to fat ratio. We can and will choose the product with that ratio much more frequently. Just looking at it. I did it jus****ching the show! Even when choosing between a selection of high fat high sugar products like doughnuts, researchers have figured out how to get us to choose and eat more of 'their' foods.