Saturday January 27, 2018

Weight 117.2, calories 1001. I think I'm averaging a little higher than at home, so I need to be mindful of that. I'll have to transfer them from MFP to my spreadsheet to check. I used to keep the weight/calorie spreadsheet up to date at work, but haven't made the time!

I am going to try volunteering at the shelter and hopefully can restrain myself from taking all the doggies home. Orientation is mid-day today.

Also on the docket is a craft fair 1/2 hour north of here. Tomorrow may be rainy so I have a couple of projects to do, plus pay bills and do laundry (the last 2 are no fun).

It is exciting that Dave has another new granddaughter!

Have a satisfying Saturday!

Wt 241 . I am eating 1/3 less on the nuts and yogurt. About the same on the alcohol. Have dr appointment Tuesday with pain management. I hate those pee in a cup visits. But I guess they think if I have it in me I am not selling it. Evidently a big business $100 per 10 mg of oxy or equivalent of morphine. Make a person on a fixed income think but a pain patient thinks yeah I would pay that. New babies are great. I think I will drive down after my pain dr visit. I need to take the dogs to the house. I have a bed set up still. Then I can make a round trip to the new grand baby. Maybe rock both at the same time. I had a very bad day a couple of days ago. A chain of events that kept getting worse. Almost comical by the end of the day. I was so far outside my comfort zone. I ate almost a whole bag of fish crackers that I bought to keep me awake while driving. As the anxiety increased the handfuls of crackers went in. When I got home I drank some alcohol but I had broken one of my 2 shot glasses so I drank from the bottle. Got too much and the room was spinning when I went to bed. I laughed out loud at the thought of finishing my bad day being intoxicated. I do not like that feeling of being out of control. At all. I can laugh at it now but in the moment it was pure anxiety. Grand babies reduce stress. Always seeking peace. David

TIL that last night I burned thru 700.00 as I used leftover surgery Vicodin for my nighttime cough. When I had to admit to myself that apparently more wasn't better, I thought about opening up a bottle of wine cuz alcohol quiets cough, too. (I know you know that) But I didn't; any improvement in cough would be outweighed by anxiety as I worried about potential for respiratory depression (I know you know that, too, so I am really hoping you are out of pain pills. Zero judgment from me, just some worry, my friend)

The whole opioid thing is a mess. Simply a mess. I am sorry that you are caught in the middle, particularly because I am the very one who breezily says "I ordered a urine test for you today"

Goldfish crackers are simply the best. Crazy high number of fish per serving, too. 33? I haven't looked for a long time. They are on DD's short list of foods one must have for any festive occasion. I make her keep them in the garage.

Our garage houses many valuables.....all of DH's woodworking tools and most of the household processed foods. As I type on and on, I wonder how much of that Vicodin is still in me ;)

My narcotics are OXY 10 mg extended release. Relatively low dose and I have been at this dose for 3.5 years. They need to be increased because my break though Ultram makes me itch and I don't take it. (The vet said I could use it for our hobbling 7 yr old pit bull.) I have been using alcohol to take the edge off of the pain until I can see pain management on Tuesday. Kind of like grazing with measured 1/2 shots of bourbon. Thank you for your concern.

I think grand babies are the best solution all around!

Liz, volunteering at a shelter would be dangerous to even me. We have kept dogs almost as long as keeping children. Do not want any more dogs. At least as a volunteer you would know their habits. Good therapy but I would be the guy with 37 dogs.

Yeah I'm going to go to the orientation today, but try to be VERY careful (so she says now...).

We have neighbors who have a daughter that volunteer at the shelter. Yes, they have shelter dogs. They also have fostered a few. They keep it to 2-3 at a time and every single one has had exceptional temperament.

Weight: 129.4
Macros: Cals - 1,557 carbs - 179, fats - 48, protein - 91, fiber - 27
Veggies/Fruits (goal 8): 7
Sleep (goal 8 hours): 6 ¼
Exercise: Aquarobics class

Weight's back down again. Clearly, I need more pie. And this time I'm going to find an extraordinary piece of pie and eat ALL of it!

Last night I stayed up a couple hours later than usual, but woke up only an hour later than usual. I broke the sleep hygiene consistency rule (always go to bed and get up at the same times). You can't argue with arithmetic.

Yesterday I received a call from the company that handled my husband's body donation for medical research saying his ashes will be mailed to me next week. That means it's time to schedule the memorial services and plan those. Deep breath! I can hear him saying, "Don't make such a big deal out of this. Keep it simple." So I will. But there are many moving parts to an event like this. I do appreciate that the key to not making myself crazy is to ask for help from others and delegate a lot.

Yesterday's 7 servings of V/Fs came from carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms, plantains, more carrots, and blueberries.

It's time for my morning meditation.

Today's Theme: Keep calm and keep it simple.

150.2, normal daily variation - I will get down to the 140's again in the next few days I'm sure. Not gonna sweat it! Calories were 1373 with 135 C, 62 F and 98 P. Not the best eating day but better than if I wasn't tracking. Knowing that I have to write it down and will be sharing it with you all helps me stay on track better! I bet I was averaging 1,800 - 2,000 calories a day before I started tracking again.

I was sore yesterday from my workout on Thursday. Have not felt that for a while! It is already much better today. Workout had a lot of lunges in it and I could feel a little twinge in my right knee again and remembered why I had kind of stopped the exercise. Knee feels good today, so I hope that it won't become a chronic problem for me!

Ann, thinking of you sitting on your porch and watching the deer made me smile. I would love to hear you play the piano! I took lessons as a kid but was never any good. I wouldn't even be able to read music now. Enjoy the pie - can't wait t hear what kind you choose! How do you prepare your plantains? I've never had them!

Shel, thanks for the JAMA articles. I will have to peruse them this weekend. I had a conference in Vegas several years ago. I took in an Elton John show, it was great. Maybe book a show to a favorite artist? The hiking sounds grand too!

Joey Jo, so happy that you are getting some support and making taking care of YOU a priority! You always have so much on your plate with your son and daughter and grandkids! I started CT5K several years back but didn't get very far with it. I've come to the conclusion that I am not a runner. I enjoy many different types of exercise, running is just not one of them. I have two co-workers that are running nuts. One does 1/2 and full marathons and the other even has done several Iron Mans until she was diagnosed with asthma. She probably had it her whole life but because she was in such great shape, it didn't really start to affect her until her mid 60's. She now has COPD from years of untreated asthma!

David, congrats on sweet grandbaby girl #2. You are indeed very blessed. I hope the pain clinic can find a solution for your pain. I worry about the alcohol but also understand you need to find relief in some way! Every time I see a pic of your wife I am struck by her beauty!

Diane O. Which valve needs to be replaced? If it is the aortic valve and you have a somewhat advanced medical center nearby, check into having a TAVR done! Much less recovery time!

Diane S, so sorry to hear of your hand troubles. I also had no idea how debilitating your disease is for you. Sounds like it will be a lifelong struggle to free them up periodically. Hoping a permanent solution might be found for you!

Liz, I am always amazed at how low your calories are per day. Do you track on MFP? Could you give me a typical day for yourself? Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snacks? I think I would be very hard pressed to be less than 1,000 calories at this point, maybe even less than 1,200!

Have a great weekend everyone!