Days 8, 9 and 10 - it's all about support!

The next 3 days, which complete Days 1-10, are all about support: Asking for what you need, identifying your support systems and appreciating good support.  I am very lucky in that my entire family is supportive.  My husband has drastically altered his way of cooking to accommodate me - although once in a while he says "I know you like this with less butter but I just had to make the original recipe... but I made a plain ___ for you."  So the "good stuff" still sometimes makes its way to the table, but he always makes sure there is a different version of whatever it is, for me.  My daughter, on her own weight loss journey with her fiance, is always supportive, and my brother, who joined WW because of me, always supports my food choices and requests (and he's very "good" about our lunches with mom - letting me take the lead in what we will be having).

But the biggest family supporter is my son, who is a wonderful example of eating right and fitness goals.  Because of him I've made the final decision to join the Y.  I am going tonight to get the paperwork and have a meeting tomorrow morning for a "Wellness Consultation"  - the description is: "You will work together (with your consultant) to identify programs and activities at the Y that will help support you in reaching your goals.  Your consultant will help you put together a plan to get started, get back on track or move to the next level.    Then on Monday night I have an "Equipment Orientation" where (for free) I get two 45 minute sessions with a trainer who will set up a work-out card and figure out what is best for my situation, health and goals.

THEN I'm also signing up for the "In it to lose it team fitness challenge" that starts on February 27th.  So all in all, I think I am absolutely making the correct decision to cancel my WW membership and use the time and money for the Y.  My son and I will split the cost of a family membership (they are bending over backwards to work with the fact that he already has, and has paid for, an individual membership) and it comes to $40 each (per month).  There is also a pool and steam room (although I would have loved a hot tub) but for now I'm going to work on the strengthening equipment.  What's nice is that if I do this all on my way home from work I am 5 minutes away from home.  Or, on days I don't have to come in early, I can even go before work and leave from there.  There's also a yoga class I'm interested in, but I have to talk to the instructor to see if I can handle it, as I can't be on my knees at all.

I have also to thank my in-person friends (especially the gals at work who are always complimenting me and who are supportive when we face down "office food") and especially my cyber-girlfriends.  These include all the wonderful people I have met on various websites, in chat rooms, on blogs (and thank you especially if you are followers of this blog), and especially those closest with whom I share daily emails, chats and updates, trials and tribulations -and successes! 

I'm looking forward to moving on to Day 11 tomorrow.  Sometimes I feel like Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day" needing to repeat Days 1-7 over and over again.  But now with the commitment to the Y, I hope I can move on.

Dear Groundhog: I know it's your official day on Thursday, but please... I'm done with you for now!

Miriam

Days 6 and 7: I can do it!

Okay I'm ready to move on.  Day 6 is "Protect your Program" and Day 7 is "I can do it!"  Right now, as we "speak" I am protecting my program.  I have a group support meeting at my mother's nursing home at 5:30, which means a late arrival home and as I always eat dinner as soon as walking through the door, I saved my mug of vegetable soup from lunch and am having it now (4:30PM).  I also have an apple for the car ride home from the nursing home.  They have yummy (so I'm told) cookies at these meetings, but I've already decided I am not even looking at them when I walk through the door. First of all, I won't be hungry and second of all - calculating whether or not I can have them is moot now that I'm not doing calories or Points.  I'm not going to have cookies just because I am not going to have cookies.  I also have dinner waiting for me at home!

Day 7 is "I can do it" - As I mentioned in my earlier Day 7 blog I made little flashcards with the following I CAN DO IT statements:

1. I can do it.
2. I am totally determined.
3. I am using a great weight-loss plan.
4. I am capable of accomplishing anything.
5. Others have done it and so can I.
6. I've done it before and I can do it again.

I think these were directly from the book, but then I added in my own workbook: "I can do it BECAUSE:
1. I'm smart.
2. I'm a good cook.
3. I'm a good planner.
4. I want it.
5. I've done it before and I can do it again.

It's been a while since I've taken out my flashcards.  Now that I am really doing this 100-Days program I can see it's not just passive reading.  I have to work with my "magic notebook", I have to read my "I Can Do It" flashcards, and do whatever else is called for.  This blog is my journal so if I stay true to posting, at least I have this piece of the puzzle.  I'm wondering, though, if I have to keep repeating Days 1-7 before moving on... I'll see what tomorrow brings.

24-hours TAB free and surviving!

Miriam

I feel a blog coming on... Day 5 magic notebook

I just read my friend Babs' journal who is also on Day 5.  I already did address Day 5 (The Magic Notebook) last week, but I didn't actually do anything about it.  I did NOT write down foods that I wanted to eat instead of eating them, so I really didn't give that lesson a chance to do its work.  I said I was going to, but I didn't.  The road being paved with good intentions and all....  However, I have to add another Boundary to my plan (which I am becoming to realize is more about behaviors and less about foods)  and that is to actually write down what it is that I want to eat that would be off my program.  Then I need to look at it, sit with it, and then make a decision whether or not I really want it.  Truly want it.

Babs suggested having a substitution list available.  However, for me personally, that is not a good idea.  The reason for that is that the food I might be wanting at the time really represents behavior, not the food itself.  If I've had a good dinner, am already in bed, teeth brushed, an hour or so to go before my head hits the pillow, and all of a sudden I start thinking about a bag of chips in the kitchen, what good does it do me to eat a bag of carrots instead?  I'm craving the chips, not because I'm hungry, I'm craving them because I want to take my mind off something - maybe I need to unwind from the day, maybe I'm anxious about something that is going to happen the next day, maybe I'm just tired or bored, or maybe it's something as innocuous as it's my habit to go into the kitchen at night and eat something crunchy.  Substituting carrots for chips does not address these issues.  If I could munch a carrot or two and close the light, leave the kitchen and go to bed, that's one thing - I'm just satisfying a need for crunch (whatever the "need" behind it) - but what I actually am doing is keeping the bad habit going.

I know that it is often suggested to substitute an activity for eating - such a jumping jacks instead of a bag of chips.  That's okay - but to me it's the same as eating the carrots.  I think it's more valuable to explore WHY I want the chips.  However, getting out of the kitchen and cleaning out a closet or a drawer is still better than eating the chips and more useful than eating carrots!

That being said, sometimes we are just out of the house, face a piece of fudge or an ice cream and want it.  Yes, reaching for an apple is a good substitute. Or sometimes we just do truly mindless eating (like picking at grapes every time we pass the fruit bowl).  So I'm acknowledging that not all cravings and situations are the same.  But for me, it's rarely that simple.  It usually is that I am needing to swallow something other than the food at hand (anger, frustration, worry, exhaustion, boredom, etc.) and a better thing than substitution (food or activity) would be to face what it is that is bothering me.  Even if I don't know what is bothering me - and even if nothing is... it's just habit that is making me eat - I need to foster the behavior of just sitting on my hands until the craving passes.Well, sitting on my hands AFTER I've written the food possibilities in my notebook.

Now that I am following my very own weight loss program, I don't have calories or points to tell me when I am out of food for the day.  It was so weird last night - I was finished eating for the day and not at all hungry. I was thinking that if I had been counting calories or points, that I would have been running everything available in my kitchen, through my head to see if I could have it.  (That's where substitutions can come in handy.) But instead, I just realized that I wasn't hungry and in no particular NEED for more food.  However, I did succumb (to habit, not hunger).  I absolutely vow right here that it will not happen again without my first going to my notebook. I think had I taken the time last night to lay out all the possibilities of what I could eat (believe me - I still have a full kitchen left over from football last week!), and put it in the notebook, I could have contemplated it all (instead of eating it all).  I could promise myself that I could have it at a later time if I wanted - and by then the urge would have passed.

So I am reliving Day 5 - The Magic Notebook - today.  ALSO - and this is HUGE news for me: Today is the day I am giving up my diet cola (TAB is my choice).  I think I will give my notebook a very busy workout the next few weeks - or months - I wish they had a diet cola patch the way they have a nicotine patch! lol

Goodbye my love, goodbye....  You were my best substitute ever...

Have a magic day!
Miriam

Returning to Day 4 of 100

Okay, whew... I'm ready to move on.  Boundaries not Diets.  I didn't post yesterday because I was overwhelmed with some decisions I had to make.  I was thinking about my "temper tantrum" with regard to WW, and realized it really wasn't a temper tantrum at all, but a very uncomfortable growth spurt and very very difficult introspection.  WHY was I uncomfortable with being on WW - was it that I don't like the program (NO), don't like the meetings or eTools (NO), that I'm lazy and don't want to do anything (NO), that I haven't lost weight with this program before (NO)????  So what was it then?

It actually was a bit of a rebellion (but not against WW specifically).  At another time, long long ago, in another blog, I talked about trusting myself to do the right thing.  I know what to eat.  I know what portions to eat it in.  I know the "healthy guidelines."  I know about water and exercise and everything else.  I have given lip service to "trusting myself" but, with deep reflection, I realized that I really have never done that.  I have used "trust myself" as an excuse to have a free-for-all with my eating.  And therefore, I have learned to NOT trust myself - it never results in weight loss or better health.

So what is the Boundaries not Diets lesson all about?  I wrote on the surface about it - but that's why I am going back to REALLY examine each day's lesson.  I can't treat this process like every other process I've gone through - reading it like a light novel or cookbook.  What it means to me (although 100 Days is meant to compliment any diet program, as is this specific lesson), is that I have to dig deep within myself and acknowledge and praise all the "diet" knowledge I have accumulated over the years, and USE it.

I know that I have to plan my meals - it's deadly to come home after an hour's commute, tired and hungry and THEN think about what there might be for dinner.  It's not even enough to have it planned - I must have it READY.  On the plate ready to be reheated is even better!  What I can do for the week is better than what I can get ready for the next day:

Here is home from the grocery store

And here is ready for the week 

And REALLY, do you think something this nutritious really has to be measured and weighed?

And REALLY, what is so hard about having this be waiting for me in the evening?

Okay - got my point?  I am in NO danger of overeating or making wrong choices if I just do what I KNOW to do.

If I'm hungry at night I still don't have to worry about too many calories or points if I stick to something like this:

A whole separate meal but still under 300 calories - okay I don't have to have the avocado and cheese, but eggs, tomatoes and some fruit will SURELY stop all-night snacking.

My Boundaries will be that I have 3-Squares a day.  I'm sorry but I like to feel full, and 6 small meals is just not going to do it for me.  HOWEVER, that being said, neither will I eat beyond the point of being satisfied.  Like today, I had a big mug of vegetable soup at lunch that filled me and I will have the rest of my lunch before going home.  I suppose that is a different way of adding up 5-6 small meals a day, but I won't look at it as 6 small meals.  I will just look at it as, if I'm no longer hungry I won't stuff myself, but if I'm hungry later, I'll finish it. 

Another Boundary will be to try to include all food groups at every meal (even if that meal is to be finished up later): protein, carb, fat.  That can be fruits, vegetables, oils or other natural fats (like avocado, for instance), any sort of protein (legumes, dairy, meat, etc.).  I know how to balance everything - I've been doing this long enough.

I'm not  sure that I need the  Boundary of  recording  my meals (and in any case, without a calorie or point "tag"). I know for SURE that if I go meal-by-meal and every single one of them are healthy (in choice and portion) that I will eat exactly what my body needs for good health (good health includes weight loss!).

I will keep the Boundary of weighing in each week.  I have already spoken with my doctor's office, and they have no problem if I come by every week to weigh in on their "official" scale.  The reason this occurred to me is that I got on my scale at home and just for the fun of it I got on three separate times within a few minutes, and each time I got a different weight.  (Digital WW scale with new batteries.)  My WW membership lapses in February, so if I don't renew, then I can't weigh in there.  Also, I think weighing in the doctor's office will make me less of a slave to the number on the scale and only an observer using it for feedback.  Weighing in at home can become obsessive (not to mention inaccurate) and weighing in at WW, for me anyway, can become PURE obsession - even to the point of making sure I'm wearing the lightest possible clothes, and not having a drop to drink or a morsel to eat before going.

I am also going to have the Boundary of actually living my OWN program - I am not going to get seduced into other programs.  I am going to make it a program in that it will NOT be a free-for-all.  It's a totally new concept, really.

I will have the Boundary of removing the punishment or reward aspect from food (thank you to everyone at the Blog to Lose chat yesterday and today) and concentrate more on looking at feelings as rewards. If I pass by the donut that I THINK I'm buying as a reward, and then feeling good about myself because I passed it up, then that good feeling, not the donut, is the reward.

Big doings.....
Miriam

Still living a day at "No matter what"

I need another day here.  I did drink all my water today (but not yesterday), and since I didn't do my bike yesterday, I figured a promise for today was empty and fraudulent - so I got on the bike before I sat down to write this entry. 

I'm going through my "I don't need WW" temper tantrum.  My monthly membership is good until February 5th, and I can renew on that day if I want to.  Price-wise it doesn't cost me anything (because I get a reimbursement from my insurance company) - I'm just having my cut and run feelings that I ALWAYS have a few weeks into a diet.  I am surprised I lasted this long! 

My daughter posted her wedding website today - she put a live countdown ticker on it.  Hmm... it's at 31 weeks now.  Where will I be in 21 weeks?  Where will I be in 11 weeks?  Where will I be 1 week before the wedding?  Just as fat as I am now? I don't want to be.  Hmmm... maybe I need to quit it with the temper tantrum and pay up so my membership stays current.

So, when I am in those moments of denial and decide I am not going to do WW and I can do it on my own I start to think of ALL the things I can eat, want to eat, and want to eat in great quantities.  I get home, open the fridge, and am faced with everything from Sunday: guacamole, hommos, fava bean salad, breads, chips, crackers, cheese.... and mashed cauliflower and chicken.  The moment of truth.  I can eat everything if I want to (and say the heck with it, or just start again on Monday), or I can do what is right for me in the moment.  I pulled out the chicken and cauliflower. 

I think between that choice, and the water, and the bike, I am ready, tomorrow, to move on to reflect on days 4-7. Of course I need to work "Do it anyway" EVERYDAY but I am ready to work the other steps.

Miriam

Reflections of the week

I've made mistakes in the past by rushing through things too fast.  I don't want to do the same this time around, so I am going to take time every week to reflect on previous days' lessons and journal entries.  It might not be necessary for every week, but this first week has been filled with so many things to reflect upon, I feel that I cannot move on yet.  Babs (who often comments here) has started her own blog and she has a very good take on the first day's lesson.  Instead of taking the instructions to fill out: "I used to be this way ____, but now I'm this way ____" she had a different approach.  Instead of looking at failures and putting THOSE into the "I used to be that way" she looked at her past success where she DID lose weight and looked at how she used to be when she was successful.  So, I am redoing my own list (Thank you Babs!):

When I lost weight last time I used to:
(1) Walk religiously - even in blizzards.  One month I went down two dress sizes without even losing weight!
(2) Plan a week's meals, not just go day-by-day.
(3) Drink my water!
(4) Realize that losing weight was an important priority in my life (right behind children, husband and home).
(5) Never missed a weigh-in good or bad.
(6) Didn't weigh myself at home during the week where I was a slave to the number.

So, instead of saying I'm not going to be like I used to be, maybe the point is to be EXACTLY the way I used to be!


Day 2: Interested or committed?  I have to stop giving lip-service to this.  If I was REALLY committed I would be losing weight already!  I think part of the problem is that I have always taken the stance that if I am committed to the program, I don't need goals (other than to be committed to the program).  I have always taken the stance that if I am doing the program, the weight will come off at its own rate and amount.  I still believe this, but now I think that not having goals outside "staying on the program" has contributed to my less-than-enthusiastic feelings toward being on WW - or any program.  I just don't have any exciting goals.  Hopes, yes.  Goals, no.  So I am hereby declaring to the world that I have the goal to lose 6 pounds a month (a mere 1.5 pounds a week) so that when I go shopping in June for a dress for the wedding  I will be 30 pounds less than I am now!  Would that be so terrible? lol  It makes it even more tangible to be committed to a weight goal than just to the program goal.

Day 3: Do it anyway.  Every single day I say I am going to use my bike, do stretches, and drink my water.  And every single day I don't. Making a change in lifestyle is more than eating the right foods.  Eating the right foods is a diet change.  I need a complete overhaul.  But in little bits and increments - that will also get me to where I need to go.  In terms of little steps, I think it would be helpful to identify ONE task each day that I never feel like doing, and then do it anyway.  Doing EVERYTHING anyway has proved to be too overwhelming for me, where I just shut down and don't do anything after a day or two.  Or take one task and do it every day for one week.  THEN add another one.  The most important thing for my recovery right now is to use the bike daily.  I promise to do it - even if I don't feel like it.

You know? This is already almost too much to take in.  I am going to work on these three things:
1) Realize what worked in the past, what didn't work in the past, and what I am going to do in my present.
2) Commit to a weight goal and see how it feels, and if it motivates me and makes me feel good.
3) Ride my bike a minimum of 20 minutes a day, and also do those 5-minute intervals at work a couple of times a day.

I am not going on until I've lived with these three things for a couple of days.  It's better to do things right than just rush through day by day.

So here's to Days 1, 2 and 3 all over again!
Miriam

Day 7 of 100: I CAN DO IT!!!!!!

Well I made it to sleep yesterday without any snack eating.  I had my own nice dinner and that was that.  I fell asleep as the boys were cheering on the Giants in overtime.  My poor cat was rolled up in a ball under my bed all night! 

Today's lesson is:  I CAN DO IT.  Actually, when I had reached this day before (my notebook says November 20th) I put the following statements on business-sized cards and made several copies:
1. I can do it.
2. I am totally determined.
3. I am using a great weight-loss plan.
4. I am capable of accomplishing anything.
5. Others have done it and so can I.
6. I've done it before and I can do it again.

I think these were directly from the book, but then I added in my own workbook: "I can do it BECAUSE:
1. I'm smart.
2. I'm a good cook.
3. I'm a good planner.
4. I want it.
5. I've done it before and I can do it again.

The most important lesson here is to get used to positive self-talk.  I read somewhere that even if you use negatives in positive self-talk, such as "I am not lazy," your brain only hears, "I am lazy."  Not that I believe everything I read, but it sounded good - so I try to be careful to state things only in the positive.

Tomorrow I am going to reflect on the first 7 days, as well as some goals that I have been refusing to make up until now.

Have a great evening!
Miriam

Day 6 of 100: Boy did I need today's lesson!

Hi - my boys are in the other room watching football and EATING!!!!!  Nothing wrong with eating but my husband made a spread that would rival any - all homemade: guacamole, hommos, foul m'dammas (fava bean salad), cheeses, fruits, all kinds of chips, olives, etc. etc. Then between games he's making some sort of wonderful dinner - chicken francaise I think.  So I am thinking do I dare eat it all and then announce that I am a fraud?  I gathered myself and opened my 100 Days book and what is today's lesson? "Protect your program at all costs!"  What is nice is that she also gave very concrete ways to assist you with this.

Earlier in the day I had already told my husband that I was going to eat on my own - my worst days are Fridays and Sundays, when he is home, because we eat SO late, and unless I am in control of the menu, he makes things that are just too much (in quantity) and too good (in terms of things I would rather stay away from, even though I can weigh, measure and count and still have them).  So I was already thinking to protect my program.  But when he laid all the appetizers out my resolve was starting to quiver a bit.

I had a nice hot cup of coffee, re-read the day's lesson, and took out my laptop.  I have to honestly say I'm not even torn (i.e., dying to go to the living room to join the boys) - I am just running some dinner ideas through my mind instead.   Believe me, the boys don't even miss me, and won't think twice that I'm not sitting down with them during the later game.  And that was even one of the comments in today's lesson - that you could probably skip food during the entire event and no one would even notice that you didn't eat.

Interesting - how often do we eat when we are with others because we think they notice... or even care?

So I made a few things today that I am going to have for my dinner.  I didn't take pictures, but here are two recipes.  The first one is from Hungry Girl: Inside out Bacon Cheeseburgers, and are 4PP+ each:
I take one pound of 93% lean beef and divide it into 4 and flatten out each 1/4 pound.  In the center I put one wedge of Laughing Cow cheese and 1 TBS of real bacon bits (Hormel is one brand that makes these). I also added some finely chopped red onion. I close up the burger and voila - an inside out bacon cheeseburger!  I'll do that on the George Foreman.  I have three more to get through the week (it takes all of 5 minutes to prepare all four burgers!).

Second recipe is a remake from an original WW site recipe and it is ZERO PP+ and you will hear me talk about it often:  One large naval orange; 1 12 ounce package of fresh cranberries; 1/4 - 1/2 cup Splenda (the original WW recipe actually called for a cup of real sugar - so you can use real sugar if you want to stay away from the artificial sweetener, but then you have to adjust the points/calories).  I divide the ingredients into two batches and put in food processor.  Use the low flat blade that it, or a "chopster" comes with.  The original recipe also calls for about an inch of fresh ginger.  I do use it if I remember to buy it!  That's it.

So while my boys are consuming around 1000 calories this evening I am having my burger, cranberry relish and a fresh salad.  I think they are going to come around to see what *I* am eating!

I haven't been biking lately.  I have not been plowing my fields, only thinking about it. This week I MUST drink water and bike.  If you can forgive me - or rather, if I can forgive myself - I am going to start tomorrow.  Also, after Day 7 tomorrow, I think I am going to take a day or two to reflect over the week.  This first week of Days has been very intense, and I need time to digest it all.

If you are football fans, enjoy the rest of the game(s)!!!

Miriam

Day 5 of 100: Magic Notebook

Oh my goodness.  What a snowy day. I was sad to cancel my belly dance classes but I had a lot of gals who come from a long distance, so even if it was clear in the morning (which it wasn't) the drive home for everyone would have been treacherous.  I stayed in my jammies till at least noon, took a nap, got up, had lunch, and started to cook!  (still in jammies, but fresh ones!)  I also spent about an hour trying to figure out how to get the pictures on to this site from my camera.  Eventually I would like to add recipes and photos to this blog on a regular basis. 

But before I attempt my foray into cookbooking (hey there's scrapbooking so why not cookbooking????) I want to talk a bit about today's lesson:  The magic notebook.  In addition to using your notebook to journal feelings and experiences in this weight loss journey I love LOVE the suggestion that you use it record foods that cross your mind.  One of the users of this idea (from Linda Spangle's book, page 10) is Jennifer.  The best way I can tell the concept is to directly quote:  "She said, 'By writing it down, I take it out of my head. I tell myself I don't have to think about it anymore because it's recorded and I can always return to it later.'" Linda suggests to "practice the skill of observing food cues, then letting them go." 

This is very good for random things - like being out for lunch and seeing something on the menu that is particularly "sinful", or passing the bakery counter and smelling the fresh bread, or seeing the pastries. But, because I love to cook, I'm faced with it daily, in a little less random way.  If I just cooked the one meal for the one day then it would just be portion control.  But because I cook ahead many things, it's an issue of not wanting to eat it ALL the minute it is ready!  I am "worried" even about tomorrow - a big football day and snack-type foods available all day long.  I think my magic notebook will be very filled very soon!

I have three other things that I might make later, if I am so motivated, but I did put together two recipes today:

This first one is called "breakfast casserole" but truthfully, I ate it for dinner almost every night last week.  In this journey, I am trying to learn what works and what doesn't.  What works for me is to have dinner ready, portioned out and ready to heat when I walk through the door, with a minimum of sides.  It has to be filling so I'm not looking for food within an hour of dinner.  When I have this casserole with a side of steamed veggies, and maybe my cranberry orange relish, I really am set for the night.

Uncooked breakfast casserole

 

 

 

So this is the casserole finished, but unbaked.  It has to "soak" overnight.
Recipe: Layer the following:
6 slices of bread (I use high fiber that has about 70 calories per slice), diced and laid at the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  For those of you not eating bread, making this recipe without it will result in a really nice quiche sort of strata.
8 ounces sliced mushrooms sauteed in a non-stick pan with oil spray
8 ounces diced chicken sausage and 5 sliced green onions, added to cooked mushrooms and sauteed till brown
16 oz thawed frozen spinach, with the water squeezed out of it
Pour over all of this: 1 cup egg beaters, 1 cup skim milk, 1 TBS Dijon mustard (all whisked together)
Top with 3/4 cup lite or fat free cheddar or mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced tomatoes, then 1 TBS grated Parmesan cheese
Cover and let sit over night (or at least several hours) and bake at 350 for two hours.  6 servings (6PP+)

Buckwheat pilaf - this is SO easy, and can be made with anything: quinoa, lentils, barley, etc. (although cooking time and liquid might have to be varied).  Buckwheat is not wheat at all, so if you are staying away from wheat you might still want to check it out.

I am lazy and start with Miripoix - a blend of finely diced carrots, onions and celery.  This is a picture of a container of Miripoix from Trader Joe's ($2.99)

Pour this out into a non-stick pan and saute until softened.  I don't add oil, so a little way into it I have to add some water so things don't burn.  Add one cup of buckwheat, and continue sauteing for a few minutes until buckwheat becomes fragrant..  Add two cups of water or broth, lower heat, and cover for 15-20 minutes.  This almost doesn't even require cooking (like couscous... which is also another great thing to make with Miripoix) so really REALLY make sure your flame is very low.
And you get this (four servings, 4PP+ each):

Other things on the list today (but more likely might be done tomorrow): Cranberry orange relish; orange-apple-fennel salad; and apple crumble  Okay so you tell ME how fast my magic notebook is going to be filled!

Stay safe and warm and I hope you can share with my what has gone in your magic notebook.
Miriam

Day 4 of 100: Boundaries and Wedding Dresses

First of all I want to share the wonderful day I had with my daughter.  We went wedding gown shopping (her wedding is in September in Tuscany).  She had already tried on at least 75 gowns on her own or going with her girlfriend and future sister-in-law.  She said she didn't think she would ever have that "bridal moment" and would just find a pretty and flattering dress.  This is the first time I had gone shopping with her, and I am touched I was part of that bridal moment that she did, indeed, have.  She tried on a dress and her cheeks turned red and her eyes welled up.  She tried on a half-dozen other dresses and then went back to that one.  The minute she slipped it over her head she started crying.  That was her moment.  SOLD!  We did go to another place and between the two, narrowed it down to three dresses, but I told her that her reaction should carry as much - and MORE - weight than any other features of the other two dresses.  My husband asked what it cost.  My answer: Don't ask!  It was within budget and 15% off because it was part of a trunk show... but alas, $1000 more than the other two! lol  Doesn't matter. 

We went to lunch in between salons and I found out that her fiance is doing Weight Watchers and she is following along - she got a really neat program (I forget what the name of it is) where the two of them sync their phones, so if she decides on a recipe it generates a shopping list, which he then gets (if he's doing the shopping on the way home from work) and it checks off the groceries as he gets them.  It also allows her to put checks on the shopping list so he will know he doesn't need to get something.  Really cool... If anyone wants to know what it is I'll find out.  She made a lentil soup from the WW site that she said was fantastic - I'll have to get it from...  we love lentils here!

Okay - so today's "lesson" is about setting boundaries instead of rigid rules for your diet.  There are lines in the road - and some roads are wider than others, and some roads have wider spots than other places.  Following an eating plan is learning to try to stay in your lane - there's wiggle room, and indeed there may be days you drive off the road all together, but that doesn't mean you will drive into the woods and get totally lost (well some of us do some of the time! - but it's not the best way to get where you are going!).  Very few people drive down the road without going a little to the left or a little to the right, even if for most of the way you are straight in the middle.   Unless a road is under serious construction - you will never have a lane that is ONLY the width of the car - there is always room to move - but there are still boundaries.

When I had lunch with my daughter today I came very close to the edge of the line - I even felt the bumps as my wheels went a little over, but I didn't drive off through the guardrail!  We shared appetizers and one sandwich.  I don't think in my LIFE I've ever shared a sandwich.  So even though the cumulative amount of food I ate was just a little too much, I didn't run my program off into the ditch.  And that's the point of today's lesson:  I didn't run off into a ditch, I stayed within the boundaries of the road - granted right up to the line - and now I just go on to my next meal.  If I had been looking at this in terms of rigid rules (like really truly trying to count Points for the meal) I WOULD have seen myself as riding off in a ditch - with ensuing consequences - like eating stupid all weekend and starting again on Monday.  Instead of rules I thought of boundaries, and realized that I didn't do so bad after all.  Next time I'll try to drive more in the middle!

Anyway - I'm pleased.  Good day all around!  Now I just have to figure out the time line for this snow we are going to get tomorrow.  I might have to cancel my classes in the morning.  Because of the mild winter we have been having I didn't build a lot of snow days into the schedule, so I'm not too pleased... but alas... it's January - what can I do?

Enjoy your journey!
Miriam

Day 3 of 100: DO IT ANYWAY

So - after much redirection and recalculating (and a decision NOT to prepare anything) I had a nice lunch with my mother and siblings.  I landed up getting a Trader Joe's hommos wrap with a bag of Weight Watchers baked multigrain crackers, and TJ's peach salsa and carrots.  I bought some TJ's lemon squares, quite impressed by their 80 calorie count, but when I opened the box and found that were about 3/4" square I decided they were definitely not worth the cost - except now I have 2 unaccounted for points left over.  I'm sure I'll find something!  AND, I don't even feel the need to continue eating (which I usually do after these lunches).  I think it is because I was in control of my lunch.

So today's "lesson" is "DO IT ANYWAY" - Linda gave two lists of characteristics: one for people who are "interested" and one for people who are "committed."  The list of the committed actions list was:  "Stick to their plans no matter what; Take action whether they feel like doing it or not; Assume that if they stay motivated results will follow; Take responsibility for their own actions; and Keep going in spite of challenges and setbacks. 

She asks you to identify a task you don't feel like doing, and do it anyway.  I think for myself it's using my bike DAILY, and drinking more water.  I NEVER feel like doing either of those things.  But on my path to "do it anyway" I will.  And, as I said in an earlier entry... I can certainly do it just for today.  I am not going to worry about tomorrow ... or the rest of my life.  She also says: "Notice how it feels to accomplish a goal by taking a "no matter what" approach to it.  I can identify with that immediately just with how I felt after lunch today.  It would have been easy to join in (OMG - my brother put out such a spread!) and to say that I didn't feel like eating the lunch I brought for myself.  But I brought a lovely lunch, and I had it and enjoyed it, and didn't even look at the other possibilities on the table.  And I DO feel good! 

Tomorrow I am going wedding gown shopping with my daughter!  Her wedding is going to be in Tuscany in September.  I'm not going to have a typical "mother of the bride" dress - I figure if I am down at least 20 pounds I should be able to find something lovely at Macy's - or even TJMaxx or Marshalls. (Did I already write that in another post?  sorry!)  Everyone is asking me if I've started shopping for a dress yet.  Even if I wasn't on a diet I would not be shopping in January for a dress I'm wearing in September! -- But I bet I'll be mighty happy to be doing my shopping in July or August -- especially if I stick to a "DO IT ANYWAY" way of life!

Happy day!
Miriam

Day 2 of 100 - Redefining Yumminess

Today's question:  Are you interested or committed?  Good question.  I think THIS time around what is different is that I am committed.  I know I say that all the time... but what's the difference? - Redefining yumminess.  Whether counting calories or points, the bottom line is that I was always interested in how I could fit in a candy bar, or a decadent dessert, or eating out often, or tweaking my weigh-in days so that I could eat as much as I wanted but have a few days to almost make up for it.  I was interested in how many excuses I could come up with to explain why my weight loss was slow, or what would be a really good reason not to follow a diet at all. 

This time I finally get it.  It IS a lifestyle change in the way I eat.  It sort of does make me sad, but it makes me happy as well, because I finally understand the difference between being interested and being committed.  This is not to say that I can't have candy or dessert, or eat out, or skip an occasional weigh-in because of an over-indulgence.  But it means that I have to realize it is a different game that I have to play.  And I can have fun.  Really I can.  Not just shopping for healthy food (yes, I'm one of the few people that absolutely loves grocery shopping!) and finding new recipes, but I found today that I even enjoyed planning my meals for tomorrow. 

I am faced with a challenge tomorrow: I'm going with my brothers to visit my mother in her nursing home for lunch, which we bring.  I actually do this every week, but have never done it while committed to my weight loss plan.  At work I have soup, salad, several fruits, and a casserole or protein that I heat in the microwave.  When I go to my mother's there is no fridge or microwave, so we always just bring cold lunches (the one time we brought in Chinese food it was just too complicated).  Either my brother or I bring potato salad and coleslaw, sandwiches or bagels, desserts, chips, pretzels, etc.  And we eat and we enjoy.  So for tomorrow I told him to bring his own lunch (and for my other brother who is visiting) and I would take care of myself and my mother (sadly, at this point, she could eat cardboard and not care - I spent a lot of time at the beginning bringing her all her favorite foods but it doesn't matter anymore).  I'm packing a totally on-program lunch, including a big mug of soup that I will heat and eat in my office BEFORE going over.  I am also packing carrots and celery sticks because I will need a lot of crunch. Anyway - I mixed and matched all my options for tomorrow - from breakfast through dinner - so I would eat just what I wanted to eat, and still be satisfied.
Commitment.

So redefining yumminess?  That's another fun part of this process.  I just did my version of a 1-minute muffin, except it came out like a cake and it's wonderful.  Not Cheesecake Factory cheesecake wonderful.  Not even close.  Looking through interested eyes I wouldn't even give it a second glance.  Looking through committed eyes, I can't wait to have it again.  It's not that I am going to eat foods that I don't like - it's just that I am willing to be open to new tastes and textures and give things a second try.  I'm willing to redefine yumminess.

I hope I can stay awake tonight for the chat at Blog to Lose.  It's 10PM - WAY past my bedtime, but I'll aim to be awake.  I got so much from Mondays' chat I don't want to miss it tonight.

Have a committed day everyone!
Miriam

Day 1 of a 100

I think I mentioned in an earlier blog about Linda Spangle's "100 Days of Weight Loss" as a supplemental motivational program that can be used with any diet program.  I know that Flo and Jan are using it, and I started with a friend, Cyndy.  I started before Christmas, then we lost our way and have begun again with Day 1 today.

The first day is to write your answers to: "I used to be that way but now I'm this way."  How did you used to be and what are you going to do different this time?  The first time I approached this I had a huge laundry list.  After my experiences yesterday the answer was a short one: I am going to take one day at a time.  PERIOD.  I think one of the reasons I haven't been successful up to now is that I got very caught up in the future:

Would I be dieting forever?  How on earth could I weigh and measure and track my whole life?  Would I ever know what it means to have a normal food life?  How can I live with rules and various deprivations? What if I'm hungry?  What if I'm bored?  What if I want to eat the universe - and do?

After my chat yesterday on Blog to Lose, I came away with a new sense of "Just for Today."  I wiped off the white board on my fridge and planned my meals JUST FOR TODAY, and posted them on the white board so that when I got up this morning I would have an immediate map of where I am going.  Of course, since I only shop and cook once a week, I can't exactly go day-by-day but with many choices available to me, I can make that decision the night before for the next day.  I can also get in tune with what I feel like having - what I am in the mood for, what I haven't had for a while, if I need to get out of a rut.  I just felt so good about today.  I can do anything for one day.

Sandy (my sister knee-replacement blogger) reminded me that I would get in the same trouble as before with my walking, if I attacked 5 flights of stairs right out of the box.  So, once she put some sense in my head, I fabricated a new plan of attack, which I started today.  We have an exercise bike in the office that I haven't used.  So today I took {one flight of stairs up and down + 5 minutes on the bike} x 2.  My ultimate goal is to do that 4 times a day plus add 20 minutes at home on my own bike.  I can do that.  JUST FOR TODAY!!!!  And, if I'm successful, I can do it tomorrow again!

Thanks for commenting, Beth, Kathy and Elaine - it's nice to know you're reading this blog!  And Kathy - Not a clue where the vegetables turns from a yellow turnip to a rutabaga.  Maybe the Mason-Dixon line?

Miriam

A wonderful productive day

Hello everyone!  I decided that if I ever had the option of a 4-day work week I would rather have Mondays off than Fridays.  The entire weekend was relaxed knowing that I had today off too.  I got so much done in the kitchen today - and it was so relaxing - not like my usual Sundays where I feel so under the gun to get everything done.  Today I made the Italian soup - I didn't care for it as much as my own soup, but I don't blame the recipe: I had bought crushed tomatoes by mistake when it called for diced, and so the strong tomato taste was over the top.  I could have tried to thin it with more broth, but then all the other flavors would have been diluted.  Note to self: There IS a difference between crushed and diced!

Then I made my breakfast casserole.  It was supposed to soak overnight, but I baked it along with my chicken for dinner, and it came out just fine.  Then I did bake my chicken, prepare a huge salad which I divided between what I'll take for lunch tomorrow and what I had for dinner tonight.  I packed four bags of Ziplock steamer bags as well as one with yellow turnips.  I made 8 containers of the dry ingredients needed for my 1-minute muffins.  I am going to make one tomorrow chock-full of fresh blueberries that I got at Trader Joe's yesterday.  I have a sliced banana in the freezer for banana soft-serve "ice cream" later.

I also had a great chat today at Blog to Lose - a great place to visit.  Wonderful support, and now they have started with scheduled chats.  I left chat all re-inspired to stay on program, along with some great tips (including the reminder about the banana soft-serve, which I had forgotten all about!).

On the exercise front - I did absolutely NOTHING.  But I suppose that's allowed :) .  Once in a while....

One of the tips I got from chat today was to post my next day's meals on a white board on the fridge (which I happen to have!).  What I liked about doing that was not the posting itself, but it really forced me to sit for a few quiet minutes after dinner to think about what I would like to have tomorrow.  As I mentioned in yesterday's post I have almost TOO many choices in this house - and of course I would like to eat it - all at once!  So planning out the day is a good way to make sure I allow myself everything that I enjoy eating.

Stay warm (it's a virtual heatwave here - it's up to 28 degrees!) --

Miriam

So much food ... so little time

Because I have tomorrow (Monday) off I didn't have my usual frenzy of grocery shopping and cooking before the sun goes down on Sunday.  But - I still did grocery shop for the week.  I am trying so hard not to over-buy, but I really am not able to go again during the week so I have to really do a close estimate of what will get me through to the following Saturday, including fresh foods like vegetables and fruits.

I thought I was perfectly planning - but then we landed up making extra things today (not to mention that my husband brought home a half of cooked chicken from the restaurant, and I had forgotten I had an entire meal leftover from salmon and sweet potatoes).  Not to worry... I didn't overstock too badly.

I did get ingredients for a new soup I never tried: Italian-inspired vegetable soup.  This might require a WW eTools membership to get to, and if so and you can't get there, just let me tell you it uses escarole, fennel, spinach, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, and all sorts of other goodies.  I'm very happy with the soup I've been making for several weeks, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try something new.  I also didn't make my stuffed cabbage casserole (another thing I've been making every week for 3-4 weeks - it's a great take-along for lunch).  My husband made some sort of marvelous stuffed chicken breasts for dinner (stuffed with fresh spinach, rice, almonds, onions, red peppers, and I don't know what else) and while those are baking I have chicken thighs marinating that I will bake for me to use on salads all week.

If anyone lives near a Trader Joe's their BIG boxes of blueberries are in (for $5.99) so I got two of those, as well as 1/2 dozen packages of assorted greens for salads.  OH MY.  I just cannot control myself in a supermarket.  Giant cantaloupes are $2.99 but I am going to send my husband in to get those - he has a knack for picking melons that will ripen before they rot!

Anyway - I hope all this marvelous fresh produce will find its way to fit into my eating program.  The problem is not that I won't eat all that wonderful food, but that I will also dip into all the football snacks I bought for my husband and son!  I'm going to clean my bedroom today while the games are on and hopefully they will finish everything before I see the light of day.

Got up this morning and my knee was just fine!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm so happy.  No ill effects from the dancing yesterday.  Maybe things are looking up.  FINALLY.  Now if I could just drop these extra 50 pounds I'm carrying, I'm sure my other knee will feel better as well.

Enjoy the rest of your day - it's sunny and gorgeous here... I'll take the 8 degrees :) --- at least no snow!!!

Miriam

First class of the new semester

Well my belly dance class started this morning.  I changed the time to 10AM (from 9:30AM) so I could go to my favorite WW meeting in the morning.  I still have to leave early at 9:30 - this leader has meetings that go more than an hour (they start at 9 and rarely end before 10), but it was nice to be part of a meeting I enjoy - even if I had to leave early.  I didn't get on the scale this week so nothing to report, but I had a lot of NSVs this week and am pleased.

So my first class of the new session began.  My goal is to be able to do the full drill with them.  I made it maybe 3/4 of the way through ).  But I realized something that I am NOT happy about - my arms were exhausted and I couldn't keep them up and had to dance with them down by my side.  Because I haven't been dancing I also haven't been working my arms.  I am going to start tonight with light weights.  It's unbelievable how heavy your arms are just by their own weight!  During the performance class I also danced a little bit.  We have a recital on March 31st, and I am seriously toying with doing a 5-minute piece.  Most of my students have never seen me perform (they take lessons with me on faith because of my reputation) and they have been so understanding of my limitations all these years (they have seen me not only through my knee replacement, but also rotator cuff surgery a year prior to that... never mind the tendinitis in my feet - boy I'm a mess!) so dancing at the recital is as much for them as it would be for me.

I came home and slept for an hour.  I was beat!  BUT ---- MY KNEE FEELS FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Prior to surgery I would have to ice and elevate the rest of the day, even if I had barely danced in class.  So - for the FIRST time I am really confident I made the right decision!  HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

So now that I am napped and rested I am gong to make my grocery list for the week.  Even though it's dark already I might go out and do half my shopping so I don't have to do it all tomorrow.  On the other hand, I have to remember that I have Monday off so there isn't the usual rush to do all my shopping on Saturday and all my cooking on Sunday.  Maybe I'll actually just sit and relax the rest of the night... whatta concept!

Enjoy your weekend everyone, and if you have Monday off, enjoy it extra special!

Miriam

Interesting....

I had my teeth cleaned this morning - I have the same hygienist for over 10 years, so we tend to chat personal stuff when I come in for my appointment.  Anyway, she was asking me how my knee is going, and I told her that for 8 months out, I'm a little disappointed, but I know I still have to be patient.  Well... she told me about someone who works there who had her knee done in June, and has not been happy at all so she went to another doctor and that doctor said that in his opinion, the implant that was put in is too big.  I'm not even going there....  I had a top-notch doctor in the world's top orthopedic hospital do my surgery so I'm not going to second-guess anything.  I think you can go down a very slippery - and unhappy - slope when you do something like that.  Besides, all she found out was that if she wants a smaller implant she has to do the surgery all over again.  I can't imagine going through that again - for no guaranteed results.  Besides, I think MY implant is just fine -

So a recap - I am not in any pain!  My endurance being on my feet is great, although after too long ("too long" defined as maybe more than an hour) I can feel a little swelling.  Everyday when I use my bike it takes me at least 5 minutes before I can go around without saying "ouch" at every revolution.  My doctor had told me that repetitive movement like the bike riding breaks up the swelling and moves things along.  I will just be happy when I can get on the bike and immediately not feel uncomfortable. I still do feel pain during the night, and I still do have the "scraped" feeling under the skin.   In case I have any doubts I think back to the pain I was in - where I couldn't be on my feet 10 minutes, let alone an hour.  My belly dance classes begin next week and my goal is to be able to do the full 12-minute drill with them.  I was able to do about half of it when classes broke for Christmas.

Weight-wise... stayed the same last week.  I actually have an appointment with an endocrinologist in February.  I have a few problems (among them slow-to-no weight loss no matter what I do) that normally would indicate thyroid problems, but my thyroid is fine.  It might be a hormone problem or a mis-functioning gland somewhere.  I am sure it's nothing serious, but hopefully if he can get to the bottom of other things that are happening, he can get to the bottom of why weight loss is NOT happening. 

I have lost 4 pounds in 4 weeks, which is nothing to sneeze at, since the party line is that a safe loss is anywhere between 1/2 and 2 pounds a week.  However, it's just part and parcel of other things going on.  We shall see.....

Back to the knee, though - I had written about my Frankenstein walk.  This week I am starting to train myself to do glamor walking.  That is, head up, leading with the chest, feet barely skimming the ground.  I even put a sway in my hips today, which I don't normally do, but I'm trying to get a feminine stride going instead of walking like a Sumo wrestler.

Okay - back to work!  Have a great day everyone!
Miriam

Actions behind words

I read something today (Author Unknown): "You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind."  HOW GOOD IS THAT????  This morning I was thinking about going on the bike.  Thinking about yesterday got me nowhere.  So - still in my nightgown - but with my shoes on - I rode my bike for the requisite 20 minutes.  Granted I wasn't huffing and puffing and NO WAY it earned 2 PP+... but I did it, marked it down in my activity journal, and then got dressed and started the rest of my day!

How often do we THINK about dieting, exercising, or anything...  Sometimes those thought materialize into action: I mean - you HAVE to think about something in order to do it, or set your ducks in a row in order to do something.  But my person experience is that more often the thoughts just fizzle out before they become actions. 

However, THIS time I'm starting to take action.  I did get myself into a WW meeting, but more importantly, I am doing what I need to do for success: weigh, measure, TRACK, move, etc.  I still have thought behind it (what should I eat -> cook -> prepare -> shop) - you can't have action without thought.  The trick is to not just sit around ONLY thinking. 

So people - PLOW YOUR FIELDS FOR REAL!!!!!!

Miriam

Using Food Activities for GOOD!

I had a friend tell me the other day that I invest way too much time, thought, and activity in food - planning, shopping, cooking, storing (I'm always in Home Goods looking for the perfect containers!), etc.  I had to think about it and she was right.  Now that I have stopped teaching so many hours a week, it really has become my primary "outside" activity and hobby - but really it always was.  I did have to stop watching cooking shows and reading cookbooks, though, because those activities alone would trigger a need to eat even if I was not hungry (as did TV commercials for food - I had to develop the habit of changing the channel during a food commercial). 

However, when I really thought about what she said I had to realize that being a "slave" to that "hobby" has, in effect, given me freedom.  When I make out my menu plans for the week, make my shopping list, spend 1-2 hours on a Saturday afternoon grocery shopping, and HOURS cooking on Sunday, what I have actually bought is the freedom to not have to "worry" about food for the rest of the week.  I know I have healthy and happy meals planned throughout the week, and I do not have to come home at the end of the day and THEN start to prepare and cook... which always lands up being no good.  Because, instead of preparing and cooking (even if I have already decided what I want and have what I need in the kitchen) I eat my way through the kitchen - regardless of good intentions. 

I have decided that I owe no apologies for the way I approach my food activities.  It works for me.  It results in healthy eating and sensible shopping (I can't begin to tell you how my grocery bill can be close to double on the weeks I do not do my Saturday/Sunday food activities). I have to thank my WW leader for pointing that out to me last Saturday when I shared with the group what my friend said to me.  A favorite WW saying is:  "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."  It is SO true. 

I'm having a hungry day today.  Thank goodness for home-made vegetable soup in the fridge, and a draw full of washed and ready salad ingredients, and a container of grilled chicken! Make fun of me if you will, but it's all there... all ready... and I don't have to give dinner a second thought!

Miriam

First blog of the new year!

Hello everyone - Happy New Year!  I think my resolution this year is to not make any resolution other than do my best everyday to move towards health, and let the chips fall where they may.  (I never believed in weight loss goals - I figure if you eat healthy - and that includes portion control! - that your weight would come off at the rate it is meant to.)  So, as I mentioned in another blog way back - my new venture is to concentrate on the NEW ME part of this adventure.

I have done a lot of soul searching, and looking at the way I eat, the way I prefer to eat, and what fits into my lifestyle.  I like whole, wholesome foods, which is why Core/South Beach are so comfortable for me.  HOWEVER, in my many months since I declared my allegiance to that way of eating, I realized that I cannot do the basic tenet of each "diet" which is - if you eat that way you don't have to track, count, weigh, measure, etc.  Of course, also it assumes that you eat only when hungry and stop as soon as you are satisfied.  I actually didn't have too much problem with that... but I found I had two problems:  (1) either I didn't WANT to stop; or (2) I didn't eat enough and was constantly hungry.  So, alas... I have turned back to Weight Watchers.  And, not only that, I am doing the new Points Plus 2012 program.  I've given up my kicking and screaming, and figured - it is what it is - that's what is on eTools and since I enjoy using eTools then I will do it.  I will embrace it.  I actually went back to WW several weeks ago when the new program was rolled out and I am fine with it (I've lost 4 pounds in three weeks - I am a very slow loser, but I'll take it!).  I don't know why I wasn't fine with it when it came out in 2010.  I know it's all a mindset - maybe having had my surgery (and when the program was rolled out in 2010 a knee replacement wasn't even on the menu!) I have started to look at, and approach, things differently. You think? DUH

So anyway - here I am working on the NEW ME.  Although I don't do resolutions, I do have daily goals.  (Hmm... maybe I do have a resolution and its to stick to my daily goals?).  I want to use my stationary bike at least once a day for 20 minutes.  I think if I aim for 20 minutes, and not 30, that 10 minutes less makes a big difference in how my knee feels the next day, enabling me to do it daily.  I also have a daily goal of drinking 48 ounces of water every day.  I find that if I do those two things my eating is more in control.  The water and bike set the table for the rest of the day. I would love to do 20 minutes twice a day, but let's not push it!

Babs - thank you for your heartfelt comment on my previous blog.  I really do wish you the healthiest path through 2012.  I bet you can put off (or totally eliminate the need for) a knee replacement.  Wouldn't that be great?

Again - happy new year, and may you all find HEALTH in the coming year.

Miriam