With a title like that, this summer has a lot to live up to.

Well, I'm back after a mostly absent few months, having narrowly escaped a date with a surgeon's scalpel and being given the green light to resume gym activities now that everyone is satisfied I will not be dying in the near future. Though DH did have dollar signs flashing in his eyes when he thought of the life insurance and paying off the hacienda.

I was back in the gym today after three full weeks of not stepping foot in the place, and I felt like it had been years. The manager was thrilled to see me and is already recruiting me for the next fashion show in November. Not so sure I want to get involved this time, but we'll see. By November I could be 30 lbs lighter and want to show off. Which is the general plan, by the way. I think the break, although not welcomed, did some good. I am ready for a fresh start and in a better mind set to do it. I am not dieting. Strict plans may give me initial results but I know I won't stick to them. I am concentrating on healthy-for-me foods that work with my health problems, regular exercise, and lots of water. I am not setting a weight goal because my goal is to feel better and be healthier. I'm sure that will involve a weight loss of 30lbs or so, but numbers are just data. If I get there at 20lbs or 40lbs, so be it. My focus is going to be conscious living, not just going through the motions on auto-pilot. THIS will be a challenge, because I am a great planner, but not a great follow-through-er.

Yes, I am challenged.

So, here it will be....the good, the bad, the fugly. The next leg of the never-ending journey. Welcome aboard, hope you brought a life preserver.:D

avast ahoy and welcome ye non-land lubber, or something!! :D

glad to see ya back!

Welcome back and you'd better have a damn good summer, now that you've titled your journal like that.

I'm also glad you are not dead, even though you made me beneficiary.

I keep expecting to see Lucifer himself lounging on one of my deck chairs. It's freakin' HOT here.

Really not a stellar day today. Was doing okay until after work when the heat and hunger ganged up on me. There was ice cream. Uh, the devil made me do it? :lil:

Hey Jess! Thanks!

Hiya Chum! Yeah, it's like I dare summer not to be sensational. Some kind of convoluted psychology. I had to make you beneficiary. I know you and Emma G will look after DD and the cats. Plus DH is a little shifty-looking...I know there's a crazed madman under the innocent act.

Tomorrow will be better. I dare it not to be!

Hey - did you hear that the "superclubs" were bought out by LA Fitness? no more oakville club. Though I might flip over, since they own bodyworks which also has a club in Brampton.

(and hello!)

Well, it's official. The Zone coach at my gym has admitted defeat. She was attempting to develop an eating plan for me that used Zone principles yet was IBS friendly. It can't be done. In fact she said,"I have no idea how you figure out what to eat with IBS. It's nuts." Yeah, welcome to my world.

So it's back to the drawing board. She still wants to meet with me every two weeks to track progress. Weigh-in, measurements, strength, etc. Which is good, I will have some accountability but I'm on my own food-wise. Ah well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Plan of attack is to work on eating more. I've slipped back into not eating for 18hours at a stretch, then having dinner. Need to get back into breakfast and at least a couple of small meals during the day. That's the focus for the coming week.

Hi Cori! :wave: No, I hadn't heard.

Wow. Nutritionists don't even know how to give you a food plan! Crazy! I do think that not eating for 18 hours and then gorging wouldn't be recommended...hahaha My cousin with IBS is very thin but she has figured out what she can eat, what she can't, eats regularly, and in reasonable portions. She can eat very little fruit, some canned fruits. She cannot eat all veggies and some need to be cooked to death, but she thinks that is better than nothing. She cannot eat whole wheat items, but plain pasta. That sort of thing. She is HUGE into Pilates though. Maybe that is the key.

Hope you are having a good week.

I noticed that you were posting, but failed to notice that it was a new journal. Good to have you back. Are you still working insane hours? I hope not.

IBS sounds like a big pain in the...gut? I have a freind that has it so bad, that they thought that he had Crohns disease (spelling?). He eventually narrowed it down to certain combinations of foods (peanuts and gluten-rich foods together are a GIANT no-no). He has to plan his meals and/or what he eats next with what he has had to eat over the last 24-36 hours too. Such a pain.

Is this Zone coach a nutritionist? Maybe you should go to a medical clinic for this? I would. I would insist that my doctor set me up with a dietician specialist in IBS. Well...not really. I would ask about it, and if the doctor blew me off, I would find a new doctor that will at least work with me to have a more normal life. I hate doctors that won't listen to you.

I hope that you have a nice week. Take care.

So I'm a little frustrated. Been going to the gym since September of last year and can see definite improvement in cardio ability (even though I have still have the lungs of a goldfish, it is a slightly larger goldfish now), noticeable gains in muscle and strength....yet no real change in weight/size. Have decided to use WW points for a while just to keep track of what exactly I am eating or not eating, as the case may be. WW only because I have an array of their reference materials and a couple of cookbooks. I really dislike counting/journalling but for a while I will do it.

Had a killer workout on Monday, and I am glad to say that while my muscles had a tight feeling yesterday, there was no real pain. Looks like I may be over the "return to exercise" hump that goes with the Fibro....and much quicker this time, too. Today was such a crappy day in general that I chose to come home and drink scotch rather going to the gym. Wise choice? Nope. But it was mine.

Hey Chum! Part of the problem is that IBS is such an individual affliction that any course of treatment really has to be tailored to each person. There is a lot of trial and error, unfortunately. Pilates...hey that reminds me...I want to check out the yoga/pilates schedule at my gym.

Hi Fagan, the hours are strangely NOT insane this year....yet. We have another year end close at June 30, so the next few weeks will be a little hairy but I don't foresee any late nights or weekends at this point. IBS is a huge pain the gut! :laugh: No, as far as I know the Zone coach is only trained in the Zone, not a licensed nutritionist. My doc is actually pretty good. We spoke recently about my IBS and she wants me to give high fibre a go again (failed miserably for me last time several years ago) and also wants me to try the medication Dicetal. It's a calcium channel blocker that basically keeps the gut from reacting when you eat. There's no halfway with this drug, it either works or it doesn't, but it can take weeks initially to figure out if it will work. The downside is no caffeine or alcohol. :( But worth a try!

Somehow I managed to bend one of the claws that hold the diamond in my engagement ring. Luckily there are six claws holding it so the diamond is still secure, but when DH goes down to the States he is going to take it in to the store it was purchased from and see if they can straighten it out. You'd think I would remember banging my hand against something with enough force to bend a ring, but I have no idea how it happened.

Do you measure yourself? I know that even when you don't lose weight, you can lose inches. I would be thrilled to lose inches. Or show more strength. Stick with it b/c it is making you healthier, even if it doesn't feel like it. They told me at the breast health place that exercise can help stave off breast cancer. Well, I am already exercising but am even more glad than before.

I wish you could find a nutritionist that specializes in IBS. There are some here in NYC. Maybe if you plan to visit family again in Pennsylvania (DH's right?) then you could meet with one in NYC on your way. They might be able to help a little.

Yuk I hate counting and keeping track too. But it seems necessary for the weight loss portion of losing weight. hahahahaha Damn shame. I've been trying to go without and with all this moderation stuff, but I am just maintaining or losing teensy bits of weight at a time. I will go back to some sort of dumb assed plan in mid-July I guess. Pffft. Annoys the hell out of me. hahaha

Are you still having a sensational summer? Stopping by and see you haven't been around for awhile, huh? Well, I hope things are going well!

Hi Seaweed::bd Hope you are having a super day:bd.. All the best for the coming year:balloons: Hope you are enjoying your summer too. Miss you

Hi, Seaweed! Hope you are havin' a great summer! Huzzah!

I'm not sure where the summer went, but I heard rumors involving hell and a handbasket. Oh, and those plans to lose weight? Yeah, not so much. Not really sure what happened, but I know weight loss wasn't part of it.

So here I am, another birthday passed (Thank you Lulu, for the birthday wishes!), and while I am in better shape as far as muscle & endurance goes, the fat is still hanging on. I weigh the same, it's just arranged differently. When I turned 30 and was unhappy with the shape I was in I swore I would be in fantastic shape when 40 rolled around. Since then Fibro became part of my life and granted though it does slow me down sometimes, I refuse to let it ruin my life. I still plan to be in fantastic shape when I turn 40 because let's face it...when I get my motorcycle for my 40th birthday I want to look hot on it. I've got two years to get there.

So I'm climbing back on the wagon for the hundredth time. I am on vacation until August 27th and want to use this time to get back in the swing of things. I want to post here everyday, exactly what's going on and maybe I can see when I'm sliding back into old habits before letting go completely.

That's it. That's all I've got for now.

welcome back, happy belated birthday, and YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Thanks, Jess! :wave:

This is all about choices. I know I won't make the best choice every time, but at least if I am thinking about it I am making conscious decisions.

Usually Friday nights, end of the week, are pizza night here. Not last night. I went to the grocery store, picked up taco fixings and we had that instead. DH and DD had theirs in flour tortillas, I had mine over a bed of romaine lettuce.

Breakfast remains a problem for me. Not so much when I don't have to work, so that is going to be a focus for the next week while I am off.

Change comes through choice, and it is high time for a change in my life.