Sorry for posting a little late today -- I have been lots of productive stuff today and that has been especially good for my mental health goals!

Weight loss continues to be very slow this month. I am not concerned -- though I will talk to my dr to see if I should increase my dosage. I am shifting my focus to soups and baked meals which I am appreciating. Love the cozy fall vibe all around.

Weeks have been busy getting both home and office under control before the end of the year but I havent been feeling all that stressed despite the hours.

All in all, I think I am doing pretty well.

How are you doing?

I am a little low energy and achy today since we got both the C and flu boosters yesterday. I did Zumba step and weights yesterday in anticipation of feeling yucky today. I have to go for updated bloodwork this week, and I'm also meeting with HR and TIAA to talk retirement.

I"ll check in later this week. Need to get to bed soon.

All is good here. Got to the gym 4x last week, plus a long walk and a bike ride with a friend. The weather is cooling down and perfect for getting outside. But I’m mentally preparing for a long winter.

NYT had a recipe for roasted fennel and farro salad, and I’m leaning toward fall food now, too. One of my favorite soups is butternut squash, and I plan on making it next week.

Funky, seems like you’re running at a good, steady pace. Hope your sleep is improving.

Oh, i love fennel. I am alas, alone in that here. I saw a recent butternut squash and cranberry arugula salad Id like to make. Last night was halibut tacos, the night before was shakshuka.

Generally working out every other day but Sunday (limited schedules on Sunday). I just calculated that it took me 100 days to lose 8 pounds. Every ounce is a struggle, and I argue with myself about it because struggles are, IME, not sustainable. But as we all know, the goalpost keeps moving. It doesn't help that the range for a healthy BMI at my height spans 45 lbs!

Yeah, I used to be able to lose 5 lb over a weekend by eating healthy and running a bit further! Doesn't work that way any more.

No it does not….😔

alas

Finally got into Pilates for today. Bloodwork back, all is good. A1c is holding welll at 5.4. Thought I might need a thyroid med adjustment due to weight loss but not needed.

Half of DH's staff has been out sick. Students out sick. Fortunately both of us have avoided it.

DH and his lunch surprise. Salad greens with veggies featuring my home roasted pickled beets and his grilled chicken breast. Salad dressed with Basil Infused Olive Oil and White Balsamic . And a few of my house pickled Dried Cherries. Really satisfying because of all the rich flavor bombs!

. He also made his Almond/ orange Cantuccini ( biscotti with no fat ) and Cara Cara orange slices. ❤️c

I got on the scale today for the first time in 2 weeks -- not because I don't care but I know my body is "taking a rest" from losing and some days that would be very disappointing. I don't love it but I love that my body is not just shaving off weight faster than it can adjust to. Also, admittedly, I havent been super diligent and restrictive. I am not gaining and that is a good thing ;)

My sleep has started to improve -- still have some bad nights, even some very bad nights but I am also having nights with great sleep patterns. I have been able to see these improvements without using xanax so I feel good about that and I feel better in general with more sleep.

I am super glad today is Friday :) and we have some greater great and mild weather so that's all good. What about you? How are you all doing?

Guess what my Disney souvenir was? Flu A!! Came back with a cough and malaise. When it wasn't better after 10 days went to Urgent Care and got diagnosed. Luckily, it had not progressed into pnuemonia. I was the only lucky one out of the 8 of us to get it. Finally getting some energy back.

Oh no, RNmom! Glad you are getting energy back -- hope you continue to feel better in the coming days!

I am so sorry to hear about illnesses. I hope everyone stays well and makes good recoveries.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

. I am changing dressings 3x a day on DH’s left calf after a removal of a squamous cell growth that went bad. Staph and stitches failed so my RN basic training has been revived.

I am in the garden digging and transplanting and getting geared up for a huge project outdoors . I will post about it on a separate thread . c

I've been too diligent and restrictive. Need to set my maintenance calories higher because this week I ended up 2 lb below my goal weight and now I'm too close to an underweight bmi. I'm 5'3" so my feeling good, feeling bloated and being too thin weight range is quite narrow. I have to start adding more carbs back into the very low carbs keto diet I started in mid August. I definitely feel better not eating processed foods and sugars and don't feel bloated any more, but finding the right maintenance balance might be trickier than gaining/losing.

Ugh, DH tested positive for flu B after he got home but he is only mildly sick interestingly. But like he said with so many people sick at the office it was awful this week with productivity because the other ones were super sick and missed days (do they get updated v for C and flu--no, of course not except for one who didn't get sick). I gave the students a remote day yesterday which would give less time for interaction.

Debating about weights at the Y or just doing them here while weather is nice. Weather is nice today but it's supposed to be rainy this weekend, so maybe the deck is the better place.

RNmom, feel better soon! My siblings are going to Florida next weekend so yeah that's something to think about. I am "the baby" so they are all older than me.

I hope everyone is feeling better, too. Something seems to be going wround here, too. Flu season seems to be starting early.

A few people in the office with colds --- staying away from them! Hope folks are feeling better.

@Funkyart, I don't weigh very often for the same reason. My losses are so slow, and with the vagaries of the scale on any given day, it makes sense to wait. If I give it enough time, my habits usually do result in *some* loss of some kind. Your pace is ideal. You are my "wait-loss" hero!

@chispa the BMI paradigm is all but useless. I was so focucsed on just getting to a healthy BMI (24.99999 was my first goal, LOL), and then once I got there and kept losing I realized it is no longer helpful. Even at your 5'3" height, the range that is deemed healthy is 104 to 141! Those are two very different bodies. A 36% difference. Like, what?

NSV yesterday (IYKYK). I was at a spa/baths and I needed a bathing suit (shades of 7th grade swim class). The attendant says : Small or Medium? (bless her). The medium fit, no problem. Baths were fab too.

At the other end of the spectrum, I had a nasty run-in with a hotel mini bar. The kind artfully splayed out in front of you in a pretty basket. I actually left the room and went into the hallway to throw it into the trash. After a few hundred random calories.

Bugs/colds are going around here too .. hope my circle returns to health soon!

Aww thanks, Mtn ... I know you know that it can be frustrating! I am feeling good about my eating though and I know it will pick up speed. I always lose in spurts.

Mtn, you are at or so so near your goal-- you are great inspiration!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DceJIVXRC6N/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Well the Rabbit Rabbit deserted me and DH this month. His wound/ staph infection are finally healing just in time as it turns out.

Last evening I was teaching DGS 1 how to clean his ebike chain and I managed to get my R thumb trapped in the chain/ frame assembly. I don’t know how I got it out byt DGS stopped the movement .The scream is still echoing in my head and kept waking me last night.

I got to our substandard afterhours ” doc in a box”. They xrayed and cleaned . My thumb is broken and the nail was cut most of the way across just above the cuticle and the pad was pinched hard and hurt the tendon.

Needless to say the pain has been awful . I fortunately saw our family MD today, he is incredible and I will be seeing a hand specialist in C’ville at UVA this week.

So all gardening tasks are delayed to prevent any possible movement or contamination . DH has been wonderful . I am left handed but boy do you find out how much you need that other thumb!

DGS feels badly but it wasn’t his fault. I have never ridden an Ebike and never intend to.

Glad everyone is progressing ! c

oh my gosh, c, I am so sorry to hear that! ouch. Hope it heels fully and quickly.

4-6 weeks. It is a complicated break and tendon injury. Started antibiotics , thanks to my real Dr and they were worried about a clot. I am following all instructions so hopefully … 🙏

Ouch, you poor thing. I hope you get, and DH stays, on the quick healing path.

I have had several e-bikes when living in hilly Tokyo and LA ... they can have a mind of their own sometimes!

I don't use the one I have left, because there are no "hills" in my area of FL. I use my regular 7-speed beach cruiser to do my 10 to 20 mile rides. Everyone here seems to buy them ... maybe they should train on their regular bikes so they can go longer distances! Healthier than letting the electric motor do the work for you. I pass people on e-bikes with my beach cruiser. LOL You get a good leg workout to get it going full speed!

Ugh! I had some digestive issues this past week so I'm on antibiotics, which throws my whole gut out of whack.

Technically my toe is healing but now that I am on my feet all day again, it hurts chronically. And I already have neuropathic pain in that leg anyway, so sometimes it feels like someone is sticking a need through the tip of my toe, and then it jerks, mostly at night. The option seems to be to get really thick ugly orthopedic shoes to wear to work. And I still can't walk down certain types of stairs the normal way, I have to put both feet on each step, or it bends my toe too much. (This includes my steps at home). Luckily the shorter riser steps at work I can walk down. I have kind of traded one type of pain for another, it seems.

My blood pressure is acting up, at the Dr. the other day the diastolic (lower #) was 105.

Sorry to hear of everyone's woes. C, that sounds awful. I used to work with someone who's DH did plastics and hand residency at UVA so that is something they specialize in.

We do have a thread for the week of 10/4.

Oh yes, my bad - i was behind so I guess I started on this old one.

Gosh Pal, what is the prognosis. I'm so sorry.

@gsciencechick yes DH has been several times in the past 2 yrs to see the top hand guy there for a tendon problem . I willbe in good hands. 😊👍

Trail! so sorry to hear about your hand. ☹️ It sounds so painful! Keep us posted 🙏🙏🙏

I have to give it like six months. Of course I was only 8 when I had tendon surgery before, but I seem to remember there being pain for a fairly long period of time after the cast came off, into age 9 and through a good part of third grade? And the neuropathic pain preceded that, I remember that when I was just walking (the second time) I went from starting to walk to being in a cast and a device to relearning, so probably around three years old?

@palimpsest As you know, pain can sure do a number on your BP (literally and figuratively) Do you feel that you are in that much pain or that your body thinks it is? Dealing with chronic pain is tough to deal with. Will they prescribe something like gabapentin for the nerve pain if it is affecting your sleep?

Hoping for good days ahead for you.