We have about 1/3 to 1/2 half an acre in garden and that's Jim's therapy mainly. He loves being down on his knees in the dirt pulling weeds and babying his posies and 'maters. :lol: It keeps the whole family in veggies all summer. Plus he has 18 or 19 fruit trees and 3 kinds of berries. Now you know why it;s hard for me to lose weight! I'm surrounded by food! :lol: :lol:

The property directly across form us...153 acres...is leased to a berry grower. He has 3 plantings of different kinds of strawberries and then about 100 acres of grain. Last year that 100 acres was all in corn! We get to help ourselves to anything heplants..yum yum! Now if I could just talk him into planting low carb stuff!!!

OK Fat, Did you know that all of your pictures change on all of your posts when you up-date them? I especially like the one where it says, "here's me at age 21/2" and the picture is of a little dog with it's tounge hanging out! You go girl! I can always use a laugh...

Steaks, you talk about your environment and your family etc, and it makes me jealous. You have the life I dream about but somehow couldn't create. You are blessed but I know you earned it...

Fat, I noticed that too and got a big chuckle out of it! I look forward every day to what new picture you'll have! :lol:

Joyce, thank you for the compliment, but, I always wonder if I do deserve this. I feel blessed to have a spot on this earth where I feel totally 'me'. I had never felt like I 'belonged' anywhere before. Always felt sort of like a misfit, if you know what I mean. Then we found this place and I found 'me' here.

But...it's just a piece of property is what I have also discovered. The true 'me' goes anywhere and everywhere that I go. It just took a lot of years to figure that out. I wouldn't want to, but I could walk away from this place tomorrow and know that the real 'me' will go along inside me. Does that make sense?

I spent so many years being an enabler to Jim's drinking that I forgot to grow as a person. When he stopped drinking, I started growing...actually WE started growing...and that is an on-going process now. Truthfully, I would love to see a young family have this place. It needs kids on it ALL the time, not just when the G-kids come to visit. The kids all want it but we've told them that NONE of them will get it because it would cause problems for the other two. Fortunately, they all understand our reasoning and agree with us. :agree:

Nance

Steaks, I think where ever we find "me" that's where life starts to get good. I think I am in that process now, at least I hope so. As for you and yours, there is nothing like working together to 'come to' (as it says in step 2 of the 12) I have worked with so many people in recovery that did not have the support of the spouse and either the client relapsed or the relationship ended. I am so proud of you and your family for hanging in there together, now look at what you have...My deceased husband did try recovery and when he worked at it he was wonderful, but he couldn't hang in there. Too many relapses and too many smashed hopes. So we parted. Then only five years later he developed pancreatic cancer that had spread to his liver. I always wonder how I would have held up as his 'wife' when he was going through that. I was in PA and he was here in Tennessee with my son. (my son never talks about what it was like for him) So now my son and I are back together and living in the same apartment where he lived with his father. I think this move to a new house will be good for both of us.

Joyce...You made me laugh so hard I was crying, and almost didn't make it to the batheroom...LOL, then I couldn't stop laughing. My mom wanted to know what was wrong with me. The little dog is our 9 year old doggie. I have another one too. Her tongue has been like that ever since she lost her tooth...it grew in wrong and made her tongue hang out.
Steaks you are lucky to have such a good neighbor. Also like I said before, you are one lucky girl to have a good husband.

So nice to find people I can identify with! I'm 56, and have degenerative spine disease for which I take quite a few meds. I had a hysterectomy at age 32 and have had to take premarin ever since. (I'm one of those who really hates to give it up and face hot flashes and dry skin). I also take HBP med and I have Menier's Disease for which I take a diuretic. You wouldn't know by looking at me that I have all these medical problems, I appear to be healthy as a horse.

My kids are always telling me to exercise, but it's so difficult to find something I can do with a bad spine. I'm not permitted to lift anything over 5 pounds. Walking causes leg cramps. I've purchased a Pilates for beginners DVD and it looks like something I can do. It's mostly stretching and low impact exercise.

I've been on Atkins for over 4 weeks now, and I'm in the stall from hell!! I lost 8 pounds the first 2 weeks, and since then, I've gained back three and just cant lose anymore no matter what I do! My husband, who is a few years younger than me has lost 14 pounds in two weeks. Why is it always easier for men??? He cheats on his diet all the time and still loses! It's so depressing.

Anyway, its nice to meet all of you. :)

Sveinne

Hi Sveinne, very nice to met you too. Lots of us have bad backs. I too have degenerative dic disease. Some exercises hurt, but I just don't do them very well. I do try. My DD ask me if I did my exercises and I tell her no, they hurt my back.... She understands.
What have you been eating...and are you still on induction....Anna

Hi Fat,

I've been mostly using Induction method of 20 carbs or less. I have cheated a few times, but for the most part I stick with it. I've been considering doing the Fat Fast that I've seen talked about on this forum, as well as the description in the book. It looks super hard though. I'm not sure how I would do. I do have a tendency to eat alot of the low carb specialty foods. It's just so much easier when working full time to eat those. I know I should stick to fresh veggies and meat, but sometimes on the run it's just easier to grab a bar or shake. I also drink alot of Crystal Lite, which I've heard can cause stalls. (Sure wish they made that with Splenda!) But I just don't understand how it could cause you to forever hold onto weight when you are under 20 carbs.

I always tell people that "I" went on a diet and my husband lost 14 pounds!

Can cause depression and headaches and stomach problems. While in induction you must stay off LC treats to lose weight. They are not all that low in Carbs. Why don't you start a journal so I can see what you eat each day. It will really be helpful to you too....Anna

Thanks Fat, I'll do that, but I'm going to wait till I'm at work so I don't have people peeking over my shoulder. ;)

Ok........

Sveinne, Fat fasts are only for people who have not lost anything OR HAD ANY REDUCTION IN MEASUREMENTS in months. You are not in that category...just stick to eating induction with veggies and no fast lc foods that have hidden carbs etc. Do not rely on the scales as the main way of knowing your progress... this diet burns fat, and spares muscle, so weight loss will often not happen while you are in fact losing fat. I am down a dress size with no change to the scales, and most folks report this as well.

Val

Fat's got a great idea there. I went to the Atkins site, http://atkins.com/ and use their journal. It helps keep track of what you eat and the site has a carb gram counter to make it even easier. :thup:

Marie...I was speaking of starting a journal on this form. A lot of us have one where we keep in touch on a more personal bases...Please feel free to come and visit me on mine. Click on Journal at the bottom of this post....
Anna

Something I wouldn't have thought of, and didn't know was available here. Thanks, I'll look into it. :cool: