Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

[scottish lass]

Hi TT - now, there will be little opportunity for me to get away from my parents, or to get away from drinking. I am being more and more honest with them about that I am not drinking, and I am getting more and more secure in my position - and I sincerely hope that that will do it - I did mention the flights as it is not really that far away and I do have to prepare - this will be the biggest challenge that I will face around not drinking...
Ava - your poor pet ordeals! I am glad I had a bonus to pay these new bills - as I am coming out of financial devastation I know how terrifying running up debt truly is - and so glad you are not drinking when so anxious - hang in there!
Patrice - missed your post last time - 5kg is a lot to lose especially if you don't want to - that would be a red flag for me when doing medical histories - I do hope they will look into it...NoSugar is a wealth of knowledge on most things dietary - maybe have a chat with her??

[NoSugar]

Hi, Gloamers

We went to a happy hour this evening. I think they're pretty boring but I like noticing how much I don't care about the drinking around me and I absolutely love the drive home with no worry about having consumed too much or needing more. The only problem I had tonight was that I ate so many peanuts, I had no interest in making dinner when we got home. (There's some real high quality diet advice for you, Pat :wink.

TT, I hope your sore throat is improving - that is one of the most annoying ailments. Have fun in FL, Jane. I would love to be going somewhere warm! SL, you deserve your restorative walk tomorrow - I hope that works out. It will be so good when your tough work situation is resolved. (And yours, too, Pav!). I'm sorry those are hanging over your heads. Ava, miracles happen and maybe there will be one for Poppy :hug:. Pat, I'd be happy to discuss nutrition with you - it sounds like your eating pattern is fairly similar to mine. Sorry about your fermentation disasters. I've not had much success, either, but I'm going to try again this summer when good vegetables are available.

talk to you later, NS

[treetops]

Thats a big vet's bill Ava - and I hope its not too sad for you with you shitzu. SL - I recall that when you visited your parents last time things did not go well for your sobriety. Am I right? How can you do it differently this time? One thing is that your daughters are older and will be more aware - so maybe you can have a wee talk to them - to enlist their support? Just being able to get a smile from them or such like when you say that you don't drink might help. You are much stronger now too - and further down the track from the divorce. Will you have internet access at your parents' place - so you can be online and post on MWO? Ava and I will be about 12 hours ahead of you time wise and so that will help for the times that the North American Gloamers are asleep! Anyway don't fret too much about the visit ahead of time - because that will add to the anxiety.
I really hate being sick - I have been so well these last few years and being sick annoys me. Not just a sore throat now but the aches and flu-type pains. Never mind - it could be much worse.
Pat, 5kg is a lot too loose - I agree. Is this because of dietary changes? NS - No happy hours for me tonight and I will stick to peanut butter at breakfast for when I feel like a peanut hit!

[peppersnow]

Hello, GLOAMERs...Happy Friday to all. I experienced a rough medical appointment earlier this afternoon, confirming my 17 year old daughter's diagnosis of clinical depression. She's been seeing a therapist for 6 months and it's time to begin medication now. I expected medication, but the real mind blow was when her doctor told me that if she didn't show signs of improvement within four weeks, the doctor wants to discuss a medical withdrawal from school. My daughter is a trooper and has been masking a lot from us it seems. I made the doctor appointment for her because her older sister, whom she spent last weekend visiting, blew up in tears concerned that something was very wrong with her younger sister. I knew that the past 2 months have been very hard on on her, but I did not see the shift from anxiety to full-blown depression. The plus side is that I'm sober and can handle this and be there for her, and we are very close, although clearly she's not telling me everything. I'm also very grateful that as of yet she's not tried any substances, which is apparently quite common with kids with mental illness who experiment and self-medicate. So there is that. Gratitude, right?

Patrice - 2 things we have in common: I'm doing a clean-eating/paleo food style as well, and also recently ruined a batch of kimchi. I did go off paleo the last 2 weeks after a work crisis that prevented me from doing any cooking. When I've got my kitchen I'm fine, but restaurants and ordering out kill me when it comes to sticking to my clean eating. Got back on track again today, finally!

Jane, that's a flight right out of a recurring nightmare I have. I flew back from DC yesterday and sat in the exit row and that dream kept popping into my head! There are shivers running up and down my spine just reading about your experience...which I'm sure I'll relive as soon as I'm asleep in a few hours

[narilly]

Wow, there are a lot of healthy eaters on this thread. I have been following th low carb high fat diet which is similar to the Paleo I think. I haven't been eating carbs and I do feel a lot better. I find that I have more energy and that I am not hungry. I used to be hungry all the time. I have really increased my fat intake after years of eating low fat. I absoloutely love having cream or whip cream in my coffee, Yum!

Jane, like SL, I just put the shells in my garden. What else can you do

I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow and can't wait. It's going to be good.

I am looking forward to another UnHung Saturday.

[NoSugar]

Peppersnow, what a tough situation. Our daughter developed an eating disorder at that age. I remember just wishing so much it was like when she was little and we could "fix" all of her problems or goof around and tease her back into a good mood. Thank goodness you are healthy now and can give her whatever support she needs :hug:.

I agree with you, Nar. Letting some good fat back into the diet sure makes food taste good. The other night when I went out with friends, my decaf with cream seemed vastly preferable to their wine!

[scottish lass]

Morning all - awake early today, thinking lots of thoughts thru the night about my eldest girl. Pepper I feel for you - my daughter is not there yet, she sees a psychiatrist but no meds at this time, it is hard to swallow and as NS says, really tough when we can't fix. My daughters grades are suffering and that is really hard - so much is focused around education and what that equates to for the future. Well done for not drinking your way thru this, but as we all realize it doesn't help anything.
Off for a walk, hopefully get done before the rain forecast around noon! Need to clear my mind of the crazy thoughts that rattled around all night!
Found a fresh egg place - pick up my first eggs today - hoping for good bright yellow yolks! Loving the fat back in my diet too, though I did have some fresh bread under my butter last night - yummy!!!!

[peppersnow]

SL, can I ask how old your daughter is? I'm sorry she's going through that...like NS said, it does make you feel helpless. We have this video of when my oldest was about 3, and she's melting down into a crying puddle -- you can hear me asking, "What's wrong, honey, what do you want?" And she replies, "I want you to FIX me!" I think of that a lot...those days when we could fix them. This is day one of Celexa, starting at the lowest possible dose.

One trick I discovered for those cutting the carbs or doing paleo/gluten free...I bought one of those thingys that cut a zuchinni up in noodle strips. I'm blanking on the name -- not mandolin but something that sounds like that -- anyway, it was only about $8 and when I make pasta for my family, I make zuchinni noodles for myself as a pasta substitute, and saute them for a few minutes in olive oil. Yum! The last time I made these, my daughter actually preferred the zuchinni over the pasta. For me the paleo thing is about limiting inflammation, as my arthritis is becoming progressively worse and I've had stomach issues. After about a month of cutting out wheat, dairy and refined sugar (I do honey and maple syrup) my knees were 100% better, my hips didn't ache, and my turbulent gut issues that I'd thought I'd just have to live with were much improved, although not disappeared.

What I'm missing is an awesome brownie recipe. I love, love chocolate and dark chocolate chips are something I refuse to cut out. At one point I found this awesome brownie recipe with a fantastic texture and flavor (they were moist, gooey and dense). I made a batch last night from the caveman site, and the texture was like eating foam rubber! So if anyone doing paleo have any great chocolate recipes, please pass them on. I really, really need to find that recipe I used a month ago!

NS, like you I'll take an awesome cup of decaf and desert over a glass of wine anytime, and that's the best dang feeling, isn't it? I was in DC last week and they brought me a pot of pressed decaf that steeped on the table. It smelled so good and was so delicious that 3 of the wine-drinkers at the table ended up trying it and loving it we had to order a second pot!

[narilly]

Pepper, I hope the low dose helps your daughter. Kids eh, it's so tough sometimes, like you said- you just want to fix them.
I think that is great NS and Pepper about the coffee. I had coffee this morning and yesterday with cream, butter and coconut oil. I know it sounds crazy but Whoa, it was good! It fills me up and so I don't eat until lunch time. I have been losing weight on this low carb high fat diet. And I have been exercising way less. It's so weird.
I made Brownies last night Pepper and they turned out just like yours, tasted like cardboard. Yuk.
Pepper, I also bought Zuccini yesterday to do exactly what you said! Geez, we should live together
SL, I bought my farm eggs and bacon yesterday. So good.

It's so neat, we all seem to do the same things. How cool is that?

Dottie, hang in there Sweet Dottie. We are here for you.

So happy, woke up at 7:30 UnHung and ready to start the day.

[NoSugar]

I have been losing weight on this low carb high fat diet. And I have been exercising way less. It's so weird.

Actually, it all makes sense biochemically. This book provides an easy to understand explanation of why this is: http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat.../dp/0307474259

[narilly]

NS,is that Gary Taubes? Lol, I have been watching his videos and all kinds of videos. About it. I know it does make sense scientifically but all these years of eating low fat. I think it just takes time to really believe it.
I have my Big Fat Surprise book right here as I type.

We are on the same page so to speak!

[treetops]

Morning Gloamers and it seems some of us share having (or did have) concerns about teenage children. Pepper, I hope your daughter gets some relief from the medication. Its tough when we can't fix things like when they were little. I find I have to watch so carefully what I say around my 17-year-old. She has put on some weight lately and is over-inclined to sometimes eat too much of the kinds of foods NS would not approve of (!!) but its not something I have been able to discuss with her - without either tears or an argument. I can only do so much to enforce reasonably healthy food to the house and my partner is no help at all. I guess the great thing is that she seems confident about her body and maintains that it is not an issue for her.
Thank goodness I am sober during these teenage years because I am pretty certain that if I was still drinking I would obsess over things way too much. I still do though…..
I'm still a bit cautious about a high fat diet for myself. I eat fish but don't eat other meats. And I don't want to go on a high dairy diet as that makes me feel pretty yukky and it seems to be the best way for me to put on weight (which I don't want to do). So I am keeping with my lentils, beans and nuts, as well as plenty of vege. We get lots of fresh vege and fruit here but nuts are mostly imported.

[NoSugar]

Yeah, Nar, Gary Taubes is the author. His whiny voice drives me crazy on his videos :dispirited: but his writing is clear so I enjoy that.

TT, I think the main message is that what works for some doesn't work for others. Problems really took off when everyone was encouraged to eat a low fat, high carb diet. While that may be a great way for metabolically healthy people to eat (especially if real, not processed, food is eaten for the most part, which is what is sounds like you do), it just doesn't work for people who aren't. Yet, despite increases in problems such as overweight/obesity, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, dementia, and a whole host of other inflammatory disorders, we've all been too brainwashed to even consider that a HCLF, processed diet was actually part of the problem, not the solution, and even if we did, too scared to try anything else, especially eating demon fat!!

Eating LCHF with little or no processed food has worked wonders for me in terms of blood sugar and arthritic issues so I'm hoping it also is preventing the development of truly awful problems such as dementia. I think people have to be willing to experiment on themselves and see what works because one-size-fits-all clearly does not.

As adults, our kids cook high quality food from scratch for the most part. That wasn't always the case while they were growing up, though, to say the least! I think you're smart not to fight about that - they figure out how to eat to feel best eventually (just make sure she knows how to cook some good stuff :smile:!).

[scottish lass]

Hi Pepper - my oldest is 16, so similar stage in life.
my youngest is 14...

[peppersnow]

Nar, I also tried the coffee with coconut oil/ghee butter drink today. I've heard of that from a bunch of people but never tried it before -- gave it a shot after reading your post! I liked the flavor as a cream substitute, but is there a trick to preventing the oil from rising to the top of the cup? Other than just stirring it a lot? And if we do live together, can I have dibs on moving in with you? Because my house is disaster right now... :happy2:

Yeah, it sounds like there's a theme with teenager girls going on here, and people like NS who have lived through it. Treetops, it's hard to walk that line between feeling the compulsion to take care of them...by helping them to take care of themselves with issues like eating, etc....and the fear of making their insecurities worse. My 17 year old has always had naturally healthy eating habits, so I've never had to be on top of that, while my 20 year old would live off of potato chips and ice cream if she could. That's such a tricky balancing act, as far as reminding them to take in healthy food without feeling like we're contributing to development of a poor body image.

Thanks to all for the well-wishes. So far, so good - the celexa hasn't caused her to feel any side effects so far. On Tuesday she moves from 1/2 a low-dose pill to a single pill, then after 7 days she is supposed to increase to 2 pills, which her doctor assured me will still be a low dose. What is interesting to me, is that her doctor described this to us as kind of a reverse-addiction. As some point in her teen development, her brain stopped producing enough seratonin, likely due to a triggering event which we're pretty sure we can identify that involved bullying at school. Her doctor said that after a period of time, her brain decided that was the new normal and quit producing normal amounts of seratonin. She described the celexa as putting the rubber stopper back into the sink that is her brain and allowing it to fill up again to normal levels. She said that if these meds work, after a year when she's stabilized and her brain understands what the "newer new normal" is, she can begin weaning off the drugs and her brain should take over the production of the seratonin she's missing now. She was very confident that this will work, and said that because their brains are still developing until they are about 25, if they can get this under control now they can avoid a lifetime of depression and anxiety. We have our fingers crossed. But that whole piece about changing the brain chemistry and training our brains to recognize a "new normal" reverberated with me as far as my own alcoholism is concerned. And like you all, I'm SO glad that I'm sober and healthy right now while she goes through this!