The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Aerie]

Good morning guys and thanks. Hopefully today will be better. Scale moved overnight so that's a plus!

I also had two gals at the hospital say, "Wow you really look good!" That was yesterday so the entire day wasn't a bust. GGGRRRRRRRR
I also calculated that I'm just 16.5# away from the halfway mark (57.8#) I'd like to make that by Halloween.

So looking forward to getting away for a couple of days. I hope the weather cooperates. Well I'm on a 24 hour shift today so I'll check in again later.

Thanks again for all your kind words.

[Sojourner]

Hiya Doc!
I'm glad you feel better today, but I had no doubt that you could deal with even an extraordinarily crappy day--you've had your arm down a lion's throat!! I mean, c'mon...after that, you can handle anything, girl!
<img src="http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_12_7.gif" alt="SmileyCentral.com" border="0"><img border="0" src="http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fimgfarm%252Ecom%252Fimages%252Fnocache%252Ftr%252Ffw%252Fsmiley%252Fsocial%252Egif%253Fi%253D16%252F16_12_7/image.gif">

[Aerie]

If only that lion had been as cute as your smiley.

So today has been better but my dark mood is still hanging over me like a cloud. A thinning cloud but a cloud no less... Whenever I have worries at the hospital I always go on a major PR and planning spree and that usually knocks me out of it. So right now I'm working on a new program we are developing for the Humane Society. It's a twice monthly low cost Spay/Neuter/vaccination Clinic that we just started a week and a half ago. The 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month we sterilize and vaccinate 30 animals that have been sponsered by the Humane Society. The clinic raises money for the Humane Society, aides people with financial concerns about sterilizing their animals, and is a great advertisement for our hospital.

So I'm down 41.3 pounds. Funny I'm already thinking 50, when am I gonna hit 50? Never satisfied Oh well I'm glad my motivation is proving to be long lasting. I really thank the board a lot for that. It's such a great place to come and bitch

Hopefully my mood will continue to improve...

[Elizabeth]

Hey Doc I'm rooting for you to hit your 1/2 way point by Halloween! Thats just 1.5# loss per week. Halloween is 10 weeks from yesterday. You can make it!
Thanks for all you are doing for the Humane Society. I will be sure to support HS with purchasing their Christmas cards again this year.
Hope your day is getting brighter. Have a good one.

[Aerie]

When you put it that way it sounds doable. How great will that feel to be 1/2way to goal? I guess I'll know when I get there

Yup today is a better day. I'm off from the hospital and I just got some good news from the Humane Society about some puppies we've been caring for. Also my scale is plummeting..... that's gotta make ya feel good.

Tomorrow I leave for Asheville, Lyle Lovett and the Biltmoore. Really getting excited about it. It will be fun packing now that I actually have some clothes I can fit into. I'll bring my digital camera and get some photos to post here.

I'll also be bringing my laptop so I'm sure I'll check in at least once a day.

[Aerie]

Good morning. Well today's the day. We're leaving for the mountains in about 5 hours. Yeah!!!!! Can't wait. Packing last night was sooo fun. I remember months in my life where I literally had to do laundry every day because I had only one pair of pants left that I could SQUEEZE into. I wore sweatpants and a sweatshirt whenever possible. How f---ing depressing was that. I just can't say how happy I am and how good my body feels right now. Though I'm sure a lot of you are experiencing the same thing. Yesterday I slid on a size 16 jeans and there was actually some room in the top. I had to pull them back down and look at the tag to confirm they were 16's and not some left over 18's. Boy did that feel good.

So I'm nearing the end of The Master and Margarita. It is a very funny and well crafted story. If you've read any Russian comedy this one is typical, think The Good Doctor. I'll hopefully finish it over the trip and next up, well Ive got 60 books in my to be read (TBR)pile so......... I think it will be The Expected One - Kathleen McGowan or it may be Pirates! - Gideon Defoe. I'll probably pack both and then just pick which ever hits my fancy. I try to vary the style and story quite a bit between books so I can keep up a steady pace. Both of these titles look pretty light.

[Sojourner]

Yay about the jeans, that ROCKS!
Enjoy your trip!!

[Aerie]

Hi all, I'm back! The Biltmoore was wonderful and we really enjoyed it. We went on Friday and walked all day long. I had no problems at all. The weather was terrific; sunny and say in the 80's, little to no humidity. Really perfect weather. We toured the house and the winery. Our one disapointment was we felt we should have stayed at the Biltmoore Inn. Our hotel was mediocre at best: Courtyard by Marriot. But we were close to downtown Asheville so that was atually good. Lyle was terrific as usual. I just love him. The restaraunts in Asheville are fabulous.

So the diet.............. yeah oh well. I didn't go crazy and I didn't eat any dessert. I only drank beer on one of the two nights and I avoided the dreaded vacation breakfasts, including the Bruegers right down the road (Sometimes I'd sell my soul for a bagel with cream cheese). I ate all seafood and no pasta but I had plenty of butter on my lobster. I haven't gotten on the scale yet but my 16's slipped right up today so it can't be that bad.

Good to be back. I told myself no more vacations until I'm down another 30 pounds.

[VictoriousNat]

You are an inspiration. I wish you lived in New York so you could come talk to/with the kids in my youth group. Some of them have such a dim vision for their future. Amazingly the immigrant children are the opposite. They believe the sky is the limit; they are happy to be in America and they believe that they will live that American dream one day.

[Aerie]

Thanks Nat. I have spoken to youth groups in the past and it's gone well. I usually end up crying when I'm trying to hammer into them to never give up or take no for an answer. Then they usually end up crying. I think I get through.


So I'm feelin' good today because I really had no trouble getting right back on the wagon. Ate right on plan during the ride home from the mountains and it was hubby's birthday, so mom and daddy (the in-laws) threw a big party this evening and I had no problems. I haven't even really suffered any major hunger pains. I'm so relieved. Thought I might have trouble getting back in the groove, but so far so good. I may even have the guts to weigh in tomorrow. We'll see.

[JeepGirl]

I am glad you enjoyed your trip Doc! I agree Asheville is awesome!
I recommend the Biltmore Inn to everyone! It is well worth the costs and you can also find deals at SouthernLiving dot com from time to time that includes the Inn stay as well as Tour tickets.

lol resturants are always my weakness when we are out of town!

YAY on the 16s! Keep up the good work!!

[Aerie]

Hey Jeep missed ya while I was gone!

So it's 6am Monday morning. Yesterday was the second Humane Society clininc, it went well. I did 10 surgeries and left about 6 for my other doc to do. I was home early, about 5 pm and just hung out watching movies. Finished The Master and Margarita. Very funny book. Also a difficult read. I'm looking forward to discussion to start on the Book Forum (9/1)because I have a lot of unanswered questions about this one.

Started The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan. So far it's a page turner. Very Davinci Code in style. All in all I think it will be a fine light read ( good book - not literature).

I'm bouncing a little with the scale. Hate that. Up like 2 pounds since yesterday. and I ate just perfectly Just water or whatever but so annoying.

My kitties missed me so much while I was gone. It's so funny how they won't leave my side these days. God I just love them! 15 years is a long time to live with a little furry person. Well that's it for now.

[Aerie]

Well I'm losing again so Yeah! Looking for a decent loss this Sunday's weigh in. I'm really glad to be back home and on program. I cooked hubby a cheeseburger and fries last night and I wasn't even tempted one tiny bit. The craving control that I'm feeling most days on MF is simply amazing. Not that I don't have my moments but before MF I was insatiable. Yesterday I went to Panera at lunch time for a chat with some friends. Had an iced coffee with Splenda. Didn't even look at all those baked goods and yummy sandwiches. Later in the day I hit the bookstore. Walked right into the bakery cafe and bought two Diet Peach Snapples, barely glanced at the confectioner's display. I feel like super woman; nerves of steel

The animal shelter is looking for an outreach coordinater and I put my name in the hat. We'll see if I get it. I'd love to do PR for the shelter, how fun would that be? Plus the shelter vet is a complete idiot and I'd love to get some hits on her. Don't even get me started!

So we're starting ANOTHER new program at the hospital. We are running an educational series for vet. techs and assistants. It's a multipart dinner and learn series that my Emergency Chief of Staff is putting together. We'll invite support staff from all the hospital's that use our service. They'll have some social time and some pizza and then we'll teach them. The first series is on the Basics of Fluid Therapy. I really hope it goes over well. The first meeting is September 26th.

We'll I've got the morning off so I'm going to open The Expected One and see if I can knock off a hundred pages or so before I have to leave.

[Aerie]

Whew! What a busy day we had here at the hospital. It's 1:15 AM here and I've still got patients that need tending to. But I've just got to take a short break and relax a minute.

Such a cool little thing today. Someone brought in a baby flying squirrel. So tiny, like 7 cm in length. The webbing between the legs was very neat. I took some photos and I'll get them uploaded when I get a chance. Treating wildlife is a pretty neat part of my job. Right now we have a dove that's been with us for about 2 weeks. Attacked by a cat. She's healed up and ready for release anytime. (Ironically dove hunting season is comming, Yikes!) Of course ya'll know about the lions and the Canada Goose. I'll tell ya' I just love being a vet. I'm sure it's not too obvious

So The Expected One is getting even better as I go along. I have to admit it's a bit predictable, particularly if you've read TDVC (Davinci Code) but I don't mind. It's entertaining just watching the story unfold. I'm about 1/2 way through now and since I have tomorrow off I'll be getting through a big chunk. Hopefully by the weekend I'll be on to yet another book. I've been thinking about Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell but of course, as you may have noticed, I never really know what I'm going to read next until I close a book and walk over to the bookshelf and pick a new one.

What else; there's a hurricane comming this weekend. Good excuse to stay inside and read, watch a movie, eat MF chili. Yum!!! I've got to be sure and tell hubby to gas up the generator in case we lose power, which we do all the time during storms. I love an excuse to stay home and nest. Hopefully we'll get lots of rain so I can take a few naps.

[Prancer]

I didnt know people could hunt doves. How sad. Sounds like you have a nice plan for this weekend.