the I AM WORTH IT CHALLENGE #1

[Luvmybabies]

Re: I Am Worth It Challenge ~ Tuesdays Assigmment

DAY 2 Tuesday

1. Make a list of things that you view as positive about yourself. This can be things ranging from nice feet to great hair or the inward things such as a good organizer. Maybe being trustworthy is your stong point. Whatever you view as the postitives, list those things. Post the list here and in your personal journal.

Positives... Nice smile, organized, welcoming, helpful.

2. List the positive effects Atkins WOE has had on you. Post this list here and in your personal journal.

More energy, self confidence, healthier me, smaller me. I'm sure there are more positives, this is just what comes to mind right now.

3. List 3 negative things about you and a course of action you could take to turn those negatives into postitives. Again, this list should be posted here and in your journal.

Negative 1 - I'm a worrier, a big huge worrier. Need to worry less about things, try and relax a bit.

Negative 2 - my stomach, I still look pregnant, not even just loose skin, my stomach is just big. Need to start doing crunches.

Negative 3 - I don't like the way I look, as positive a person as I am - I don't like the way I look... I'm working on that with Atkins and will have to start getting myself some new clothes, something more age appropriate that is comfy yet somewhat stylish. I've been living in fleece pants and white t-shirts for too long.

4, Write out the following and place it in your wallet or purse: DONE
I DON'T NEED OTHER PEOPLES CONFIRMATION TO DETERMINE MY OWN SELF WORTH.

[jimmie 48]

I Am Worth It Challenge ~ Wednesday's Assignment

DAY 3 Wednesday
We've written and thought about being Positive. We've seen how we can turn the negatives into positives. Now we turn our attention to Planning.

Dreamof145 (aka Becky) is going chat with us a little bit about planning and the important role it plays in our WOE and our WOL. I don't know if anybody on the ADBB knows more or has experienced more when it comes to planning as our Becky. Thanks for speaking with us on this topic!

Your boardwork will be in two segments, the first to take place after Becky's post.

1. Read and discuss the post (discussion is to be done in this thread) the post that Becky wrote. Everyone can and is urged to respond to other challengers with questions and/or thoughts.

Part two of the homework will be posted after the discussion time and is found in post #20.


Take it away, Becky!

[dreamof145]

Re: I Am Worth It Challenge ~ Wednesday's Assignment

Planning is essential for success in anything we do. Plans are our road-maps to goal. Cooking our own meals or eating in the comfort of our home is not always possible. Anytime we have an upcoming event that will take us out of our comfort zone…we need to take responsibility for our actions. Put your energy into creating life-style changes that will get you where you want to go instead of making excuses for poor choices.

Here is a sample of my ‘hospital plan’: It helped me to get through 3 surgeries in the past two years without going off my WOE. I had to do my homework beforehand, but it was worth every minute I spent in preparing it.

I called ahead at the hospital and asked to speak to the dietician. I asked them what they would serve me for low-carb menu. They advised me they could substitute corn, carrots and mashed potatoes (which they serve a lot of) with green beans, broccoli and salads.

They serve their diabetic patients sugar-free jello, so I could order that every day for my dessert instead of cake or pudding. My DANDR was the first thing I packed in my tote bag. Next, I packed some flaxseed (to avoid constipation from the pain pills I‘d be taking). I took several small baggies of cheese sticks, pork rinds, tuna pouches and mayo condiments in case I was hungry between meals.

When I got the menu sheet every day to fill out my meals, I specified that I didn't want the gravy, rolls or bread with my meal. I wrote across the top of the menu: “Attention: LOW CARB” I had a very good dietician and it worked out great!

I still double-checked with the dietician each time a meal was brought to make sure I'd received what was on the list. It was a little extra work on my part, but my WOL is worth it to me. I took ‘thank you’ cards to the hospital with me and sent a special one to the dietician when I left to show my appreciation for their cooperation.

[jimmie 48]

Re: I Am Worth It Challenge ~ Wednesday's Assignment

very nice that you had a dietician that would pay attention to the Low Carb words you wrote and nice that the substitutions were offered.

how long were you in the hopital, becky? and did you have to get into your emergency stash or were the meals sufficient?

i guess i planned more when i was starting out. making sure there were things from the salad lists, eggs and cheeses and a variety of meats. i almost always had boiled eggs ready in the frig. whatever we had for supper one night, i cooked just a bit more so that was my lunch the next day.
when i was cooking at the church building, i would take thngs from home if i knew that nothing i was cooking was not low carb. often i mixed salads for the group so i had access to that and there was always some kind of meat. i had to plan not only what i was going to eat but the timing of it. my eating time could not be when i was in the midst of finishing touches, serving or clean up.

[tmn]

Re: I Am Worth It Challenge ~ Wednesday's Assignment

Interesting. I don't know if I would have been allowed to bring my own food into the hospital during my recent stays. However, I didn't expect to stay longer than one or even two days at the most. I did tell them my diet was Atkins and they didn't seem to think twice about it.

After the first surgery, I had attempted to stay on Atkins and ordered a breakfast that would have made Dr. Atkins proud. However, it and following Atkins meals didn't sit well. I attempted to stay on it throughout the week but was miserable. I finally discovered that chicken noodle soup was very acceptable and helped my stomach out. Part of the problem may have been the morphine they gave me; I had a heck of a time with it.

A week later, I had to go back in for the second surgery. I mentioned the problem to the anesthegiologist about the nauseau (sp?) and all so they didn't give me any morphine the second time around. The second surgery went better. I tried vegetable soup that evening and it upset my stomach. However, grape juice, saltines, and shaved turkey on white bread have been total blessings. Two weeks later, and those are still what my stomach will tolerate the best.

I'm all for planning ahead, even experimenting at home for situations away from home later on, like camping. Using surgeries and hospital stays as an example...well, as they say, the results may vary. With my current experience, planning to low-carb after surgeries didn't work out the way I had hoped for and resulted in trips to the store for foods I normally don't stock at home anymore.

With no disrespect towards Becky, reading the list of foods in her post made my stomach turn. Eventually, the stomach will get better and they'll all be staples in my diet again, just not right now.

Just my two cents for discussion's sake...

[jimmie 48]

Re: I Am Worth It Challenge ~ Wednesday's Assignment

discussion is good, terry. maybe from the experience you are having now, it's going to help with planning as your journey progresses.

could you not tolerate a whole wheat bread?

[tmn]

Re: I Am Worth It Challenge ~ Wednesday's Assignment

i almost always had boiled eggs ready in the frig.

I have hard-boiled eggs in the fridge right now. When I'm well, I can easily eat three or four eggs a day, every day. So afraid these eggs may go to waste because it's another food my stomach just doesn't want right now. Same with the lettuce and tomatoes. Frustrating...

Fortunately, many foods I prepare ahead for Atkins are frozen. I'll buy a big chunk of cooked ham, dice it up, and freeze 1/2 cup amounts into baggies. The same with green peppers. And turkey. Cheeses, sunflower seeds, and other meats are also in the freezer. I'll use celery fresh but if I'm not eating it up fast enough, I'll cut it up and throw it in the freezer, too, to be used later. I may have to pop the tomatoes into the freezer and save them for a chili later on.

[tmn]

Re: I Am Worth It Challenge ~ Wednesday's Assignment

could you not tolerate a whole wheat bread?

Nope, it was rough on the stomach also. That's in the freezer now for future use. Between many over-the-counter pain meds for my legs, the morphine from the first surgery, Tylenol 3 (codiene) from the second surgery. and anything else they pumped into me during the operations, my stomach is really, REALLY tender. This recovery has been rough in three ways; the stomach issues, the calcium levels, and just plain worn out. I think I just need to get a lot of chemicals out of my system... errr, only to add more later... grrr!

ANYway, when I'm able to, it'll be Atkins full-time again.

[slimndown]

Re: I Am Worth It Challenge ~ Tuesdays Assigmment

1) Positives about myself: I'm a fixer - a always have to try to make things better for everyone. Even though I'm heavy, I still have kept a sort of hourglass figure and when I'm slim I have a really killer one: busty with nice hips AND legs and classic serene beauty like the old advertisements for Coca Cola. I'm a good mom to my babies, always expecting more of them to give them something to work toward, but not enough to cause them exasperation. I am a good wife: my house is a haven for my husband to come home to after a long day's work and I make it a point to be his best friend.

2) the positive effects this WOL has had on me include the loss of heartburn, I no longer regurgitate acid in my sleep, I am much more active than I used to be and now can endure through normal chores. I seem to only tire after a really long day now, like normal people would. It's easier to move around. My knees don't hurt anymore. I surprise myself by picking out clothes to big for me .

3) My negatives:

* I have a hard time being consistent with most everything. I think I take on too much at once, then get dazed and confused. I need to take it once piece at a time, one day at atime.

* My opinion is the only correct one. I need to humble myself and remind myself more often that I annoy people with my attitude as much as people with my attitide annoy me.

* I'm still overweight. I still need to be consistent with what I know works: this WOE and exercise. I need to refocus and recommit and stop trying to fool myself into thinking I can do things differently and still get the results I want.

[jimmie 48]

Re: I Am Worth It Challenge ~ Wednesday's Assignment

i'll share the time that planning was a major event, more so than any other time.

most of you know that i lived on the gulf coast for about 25 years. i saw my share of tropical storms and hurricanes and with each of those came power outages, lack of water, natural gas and electricity. we were fortunate enough to have a generator through some of them so we could keep the frig running and the microwave. as with hurricanes, you can plan ahead knowing your choices will be limited. i remember during Ivan, i spent time before the storm hit cooking chicken and getting canned meats, boiling eggs and haveing snack items such as nuts, peanut butter, pork rinds and so on. i got plenty of fresh veggies because they could be eaten raw. we stocked up on plenty of water, which you do anyway. planning ahead made dealing with the food, cooking and so on go much better.

during our road trip, we put fresh fruit, deli meats, veggies, nuts, and just about anything else legal in coolers. we would stop at road side rests and walk the parking lot and eat. that was so much better than trying to stop at a fast food place or stopping at a real eatery and getting too full to move.

[jimmie 48]

Re: I Am Worth It Challenge ~ Wednesday's Assignment

Nope, it was rough on the stomach also. That's in the freezer now for future use. Between many over-the-counter pain meds for my legs, the morphine from the first surgery, Tylenol 3 (codiene) from the second surgery. and anything else they pumped into me during the operations, my stomach is really, REALLY tender. This recovery has been rough in three ways; the stomach issues, the calcium levels, and just plain worn out. I think I just need to get a lot of chemicals out of my system... errr, only to add more later... grrr!

ANYway, when I'm able to, it'll be Atkins full-time again.

man, with all that it's a wonder you've got a stomach left. that seems weird to me that the wheat bread would muck you up. i wonder why? maybe becky will know.
are you on meds that make you retain water? my buddy was and food was not her friend either.

[jimmie 48]

Re: I Am Worth It Challenge ~ Tuesdays Assigmment

i am really glad to see the continued homework assignments being done. this is good, it's positive, its useful.

[tmn]

Re: I Am Worth It Challenge ~ Wednesday's Assignment

man, with all that it's a wonder you've got a stomach left. that seems weird to me that the wheat bread would muck you up. i wonder why? maybe becky will know.
are you on meds that make you retain water? my buddy was and food was not her friend either.

Well, I'm done with the Tylenol 3. I'm supposed to be taking baby aspirin but keep forgetting to. All I'm taking right now is the synthroid that replaces the thyroid hormones, 2.5 grams of calcium (Oscal), and Women's One-a-Day (50+, no iron).

Speaking of water, I can barely tolerate that right now, too. Hence the grape juice. Something else I'm looking forward to doing again - drinking my 100+ oz of water. Any clues to all this will be deeply appreciated; should we move this part of the discussion elsewhere, like my journal?

[WindCriesMary]

Re: I Am Worth It Challenge ~ Wednesday's Assignment

Wow this is timely discussion for me. Our big family hiking vacation is coming up in a little more than two weeks and I've been scrambling already for low carb camp foods. Tuna packets are going to be my staple I think, and nuts. I'm also planning to stop at any grocery stores we pass and see if I can get avocados to baby along in my backpack. This is really my first big planning challenge since starting, and I have to admit it's making me a little crazy.

[jimmie 48]

Re: I Am Worth It Challenge ~ Wednesday's Assignment

terry, we'll just keep it here. others will get here tomorrow and i hope to see more discussion. i know that some situations are going to be more difficult than others. could i do what becky did? probably so. could i face the drugs you've had and still stay on plan? i have no clue. but the discussion is good because you just have to know that at least one other member who is not speaking but watching just might be helped by what they read in this thread.

i did a quick reply so i hope i addressed everything in that last post, terry.

mary, you'll be glad to see the assignment that will follow this. maybe by the end of the challenge and before you outing, you won't be crazy but you will be very prepared.

girls, it's almost midnight for me and it's been a long day. stay and discuss but this tuckered out girl has to get to bed.