For as long as I have had Bo and Chloe together, I have to deal with the "Food Struggle." The first part of "Food Struggle" was that Bo and Chloe have to eat separate food. Well, now, both dogs are supposed to eat the same food, but Bo has a powder he must have added in order to absorb the nutrients. The problem here is that neither dog wants to eat their "own" food. Sure, make them eat in separate rooms, but that never works. A lot of whining goes on with being separated from me, so that does not work.
The second part of "Food Struggle" is I used to leave the food on the floor so that Bo could "graze". Well, he has become a little pig. If I am out of the room, he will eat all of Chloe's food and leave his alone. In the end, I have to deal with stomach problems - not pretty.
The third part of "Food Struggle" is when I try to eat. No matter what, I get no breaks from the "staring eyes" or the downright bullying barking. Lately, the only time I get peace when I eat is if I am at work or eating out. It is annoying.
I have gotten to the point where I sit the food on the floor then set the timer for 10 minutes. Both dogs have 10 minute to eat their own food. I sit here and do whatever, read, surf the internet, listen to the radio, or watch TV. Once the timer goes off, up goes the food. Too bad. I feel that this has had a good effect on Bo in that the tummy problems and pigging out has stopped.
As for my eating and their begging, I will just have to get mean and continue to ignore it. My mother for years fed Chloe table food and it would always mess up her system. Now, Chloe has a diseased gall bladder. I am not blaming my mother, but it was something I refused to do with Bo. When I got Chloe, she weighed 25 lbs. That was pretty overweight for that little dog. My mom could not get Chloe the exercise she needed as my mom was dying and pretty much bed ridden. My father did not have the time.
Once my mother decided I needed to take care of Chloe, her gall bladder was already a mess. I got her to start eating dog food and the only time she got table food was when she saw my mother. I could never break my mom of the habit. However, the vet was extremely pleased I was able to get 8 lbs off of Chloe. I chalked all of that to the fact that Chloe had dog food, had to be walked with Bo about 4 times a day @ 30 minutes each outing, and she climbed the stairs.
So, rather than start that downhill business with Bo, I keep table food from him. However, the whole "who is Alpha" cause a bit of headache.
I will say, I do allow for a few things to give to them. I will give both dogs pizza crust, rolls, bread, and french fries, but I do not give it to them in mass amounts. It is a "treat."
I suppose I will just have to sit back and concentrate further on the barking and demanding when I eat my dinner. That will take more time and I need to be patient.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Monday, August 25, 2014
Health Update...
Only time will tell...
I could never get myself back on the wagon for whatever reasons. After getting on the scale and reading 294.4, 10 lbs more than last weigh-in, I decided it was time to get serious.
Now, I am not in this to have a model's body. Honestly, that is simply NOT possible. The realistic view is that I need to lose weight to get my blood sugar and pressure down to some healthy values. Being a bit physically stronger always helps as does being able to fit into smaller jeans.
My trainer has told me several times that you may not lose any weight, but you should always measure yourself. Your body does change. Muscle does weigh more than fat. You should feel more energized (although, with this Texas heat, that part gets sucked down faster than you can imagine!). So, rather than get down in the dumps because you have not lost any weight, look at your measurements.
For me, I know it was not muscle gain. My back issues have not made strength training much better. I can do for a bit, then I get a pinching pain in my lower back, but not in the same area as in June.
So, I spent Sunday doing grocery shopping and making sure I got plenty of fruits and veggies. That piece is very important. I have kept in mind that I need to have a proper combination of protein, non-starchy veggies, starchy veggies/grains, and fruit. I have also gone back to doing the 2 week on and off of drinking hunger shakes for breakfast and lunch. This way, I can focus on eating healthy snacks.
Like a junkie getting off of whatever drug, it is going to be a tough couple of days. I know how I am and it will take a lot of hard decisions to be made to stay on the straight and narrow. I have already decided to curb the amount of times I get something out to eat. It is probably better for me to fix healthy meals that can be used a couple of more times during the week. This weekend, even though it is not the best, I will make jambalaya and shrimp gumbo. While both are not the best health wise, the best part is that both taste better each subsequent day. Having that with a salad is not as bad as having Tex-Mex. :-)
Now, need to see how far I can go in the area of losing weight.
I could never get myself back on the wagon for whatever reasons. After getting on the scale and reading 294.4, 10 lbs more than last weigh-in, I decided it was time to get serious.
Now, I am not in this to have a model's body. Honestly, that is simply NOT possible. The realistic view is that I need to lose weight to get my blood sugar and pressure down to some healthy values. Being a bit physically stronger always helps as does being able to fit into smaller jeans.
My trainer has told me several times that you may not lose any weight, but you should always measure yourself. Your body does change. Muscle does weigh more than fat. You should feel more energized (although, with this Texas heat, that part gets sucked down faster than you can imagine!). So, rather than get down in the dumps because you have not lost any weight, look at your measurements.
For me, I know it was not muscle gain. My back issues have not made strength training much better. I can do for a bit, then I get a pinching pain in my lower back, but not in the same area as in June.
So, I spent Sunday doing grocery shopping and making sure I got plenty of fruits and veggies. That piece is very important. I have kept in mind that I need to have a proper combination of protein, non-starchy veggies, starchy veggies/grains, and fruit. I have also gone back to doing the 2 week on and off of drinking hunger shakes for breakfast and lunch. This way, I can focus on eating healthy snacks.
Like a junkie getting off of whatever drug, it is going to be a tough couple of days. I know how I am and it will take a lot of hard decisions to be made to stay on the straight and narrow. I have already decided to curb the amount of times I get something out to eat. It is probably better for me to fix healthy meals that can be used a couple of more times during the week. This weekend, even though it is not the best, I will make jambalaya and shrimp gumbo. While both are not the best health wise, the best part is that both taste better each subsequent day. Having that with a salad is not as bad as having Tex-Mex. :-)
Now, need to see how far I can go in the area of losing weight.
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Interesting Views...
The past several weeks have left me with tears and no words to truly express myself. There is so much sadness going around and it just seems to double. One friend had to remind me that in many cases, there is just not anything one person can do.
I have begun to see where I need to pull away from Facebook more and more. Sometimes, the people you *think* are your friends, really are not. The drama caused is tremendous. I am not saying I would completely drop being on Facebook, but at some point, I had to look at what it was doing to me emotionally. After the high school reunion, I will be considerably pulling back from it.
Upon hearing of Robin Williams' death and his recent diagnosis of Parkinson's, I felt so much sadness. It was as if I had lost that friend who always knew how to touch me to make me smile, laugh, think, and cry. I feel that this amazing person with such a special gift was also fraught with a torture in his own life. How I wish all of us that loved him would have been able to make him laugh, smile, think, and cry the way he had done for us.
ISIS - could anything be any closer to an updated version of the Spanish Inquisition (and not the funny one.)? I sit and wonder how is it that we live in this world with such a rich history of atrocities committed over the centuries and still, it continues? Men, women, and children are beheaded for their religious beliefs.
As I read, there are many on a mountain top and ISIS is on the attack. I pondered to a friend about if there was a way to save those people. The response I got was profound - If we did that, what happens to the other 3 million people? The truth of the matter is that as a single person, it is a battle we cannot win. We are dealing with unreasonable bullies (that description is only putting it lightly). It is very apparent that ISIS has major financial backing from some group. As Eddie Izzard put it so well regarding those that murder in large numbers, governments simply cannot wrap their heads around that. It is difficult to fathom how people can be so callous towards others. Then, again...
I spent some time trying to understand cultural differences. I came to find that in our country, racism and discrimination are highly non tolerated subjects, but are common place in other countries. I had someone attempt to, how should I say, assert themselves as a higher class than myself recently. In the end, I stood up and asserted myself as an equal. I was not going to tolerate that behavior. I found the fact that this person had the gall to do that astounding. It has happened to me in the past. This time, I was not going to just let it slide.
The incident in Ferguson - only the dead boy and the officer know the truth of what happened that night. I will say this much, no matter your race, sex, or belief, if police officer tells you to stop, just drop to the ground. The police go through a lot with criminals. I do not believe all officers are angels and neither are all suspects. If you want to get through that mess alive, just stop, drop, and spread eagle.
By the way, looting is never acceptable. I do not care if there is a hurricane or there is a protest. Looting is wrong, wrong, wrong! It only reinforces the idea of horribly educated people. Most people are smarter than that.
I think, for right now, I need to concentrate on my own life for a bit. There are some things that I need to pay attention to and get back on the right track. Most of the above, I cannot do anything. I can give money, support, but will the right people take care of it? Never know. However, I can do what I can to protect myself.
I have begun to see where I need to pull away from Facebook more and more. Sometimes, the people you *think* are your friends, really are not. The drama caused is tremendous. I am not saying I would completely drop being on Facebook, but at some point, I had to look at what it was doing to me emotionally. After the high school reunion, I will be considerably pulling back from it.
Upon hearing of Robin Williams' death and his recent diagnosis of Parkinson's, I felt so much sadness. It was as if I had lost that friend who always knew how to touch me to make me smile, laugh, think, and cry. I feel that this amazing person with such a special gift was also fraught with a torture in his own life. How I wish all of us that loved him would have been able to make him laugh, smile, think, and cry the way he had done for us.
ISIS - could anything be any closer to an updated version of the Spanish Inquisition (and not the funny one.)? I sit and wonder how is it that we live in this world with such a rich history of atrocities committed over the centuries and still, it continues? Men, women, and children are beheaded for their religious beliefs.
As I read, there are many on a mountain top and ISIS is on the attack. I pondered to a friend about if there was a way to save those people. The response I got was profound - If we did that, what happens to the other 3 million people? The truth of the matter is that as a single person, it is a battle we cannot win. We are dealing with unreasonable bullies (that description is only putting it lightly). It is very apparent that ISIS has major financial backing from some group. As Eddie Izzard put it so well regarding those that murder in large numbers, governments simply cannot wrap their heads around that. It is difficult to fathom how people can be so callous towards others. Then, again...
I spent some time trying to understand cultural differences. I came to find that in our country, racism and discrimination are highly non tolerated subjects, but are common place in other countries. I had someone attempt to, how should I say, assert themselves as a higher class than myself recently. In the end, I stood up and asserted myself as an equal. I was not going to tolerate that behavior. I found the fact that this person had the gall to do that astounding. It has happened to me in the past. This time, I was not going to just let it slide.
The incident in Ferguson - only the dead boy and the officer know the truth of what happened that night. I will say this much, no matter your race, sex, or belief, if police officer tells you to stop, just drop to the ground. The police go through a lot with criminals. I do not believe all officers are angels and neither are all suspects. If you want to get through that mess alive, just stop, drop, and spread eagle.
By the way, looting is never acceptable. I do not care if there is a hurricane or there is a protest. Looting is wrong, wrong, wrong! It only reinforces the idea of horribly educated people. Most people are smarter than that.
I think, for right now, I need to concentrate on my own life for a bit. There are some things that I need to pay attention to and get back on the right track. Most of the above, I cannot do anything. I can give money, support, but will the right people take care of it? Never know. However, I can do what I can to protect myself.
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