My dh has always believed very strongly in simply living on significantly less than he earns, and saving the difference. There's nothing magical about it, but it has resulted in security for us. We bought a lot less house than we could have (only 65% of what the bank offered to loan us). Our cars are 16-19 years old - we're getting every penny out of them! We simply live more frugally than other people of our income level. I know that's probably not helpful, but it's all I know to suggest. Sometimes, you make those sacrifices and still can't get ahead. I don't have any brilliant insights. But I look forward to reading others' suggestions.

I'd choose a place where I would want to put the employee discount to good use! :lol: When I was in my early 20's I worked at a clothing store that was marketed toward ladies who were 50+, and even beyond the age difference, the clothes were just not my style at all. And we were required to wear the clothes that we were selling. Not good. I loved my customers though. They were, with a few notable exceptions, an absolute joy to work with. So that part was nice, and actually probably matters more than the product. But I did not enjoy spending my money on clothes I didn't want - even with the employee discount it still felt like a waste. Gave them all to charity when I quit that job. I've heard good things about working for Costo, Starbucks, Trader Joe's, REI, and Albertson's.

Oh, no, I'm so sorry to hear that you're having such a rough time. :( Rest and recover for as long as you need, and we'll be here for you when you are ready to resume. But don't push it. Thing long-term here, and take care of yourself. :grouphug:

I'm absolutely shocked to be able to say this under the circumstances, but I completed Run 3 of Week 5 - the 20-minute one! To anyone who is intimidated by that run, I will say that the training schedule has you better prepared than you may think. I slept too late, and I got yet another migraine - thankfully a mild one this time. I couldn't decide what to do, thought about doing nothing, but decided I would at least walk the route that I had planned to run. I wanted to do *something*. And then I got really mad at all of these stupid migraines and the stupid way that they're messing up my life! So I used that angry energy to start running. It was so late by then that it was much hotter, and the sun was higher and brighter and searing my skin. My head was hurting, and I couldn't catch my breath. I was so tired that I stumbled a couple of times, and at one point I got queasy too. That was right before my turnaround point, so knowing that I was about to turn around and go DOWN hill really helped. I got through it. And it was easier on the way back down (this isn't much of a slope, but it's enough for me to feel the difference!) Anyway, the reason that I'm saying all of that is so that you will know when your time comes for your 20-minute run, you are going to feel FANTASTIC by comparison! :lol: You really can do it, because if I, total non-runner and world's biggest wimp, can do it, you guys can definitely do it!

Wow, that is fantastic!!!!

I seem to be pretty sensitive to fiber. I have to be careful with Quest Bars, though I love them, and chia seeds. So I might not be adding flax to my menu. :)

Happy to report: I got back on track today! I ate super low carb, Atkins induction level carbs. Yay me! This was a big accomplishment considering that we went to Freddy's for lunch today, and I resisted the fries! They have the best fries, IMO, the shoestring type, really thin and crispy. That's my fave. But I didn't eat any, even though hubby and daughter both offered to share! Got my bunless steakburger and an iced tea and I was good to go. But I also want to ask a weird question. Does anyone else have a problem feeling winded or out of breath after a cheat day or when you otherwise let your carb count get high? Lately, if I eat enough carbs to get out of ketosis, I feel like I'm breathing harder. Today was the worst I've ever experienced (even though I got my diet on track today, I got knocked out of ketosis yesterday and it will probably take a few days to get back in), and at one point it was actually kind of scary. I had to lie down - I don't know how to explain it exactly, I was able to breathe, but at the same time just had this weird sensation that I wasn't getting enough air. Any ideas what could be going on there? It only happens when I get out of ketosis, so I guess the obvious answer is to stay IN! But it does concern me a bit, because it's a very unpleasant sensation. I'm doing the C25K training program, and tomorrow is supposed to be my most challenging (by far!) run yet. I'm nervous about it after a whole day of feeling like I couldn't breathe! I hope I feel better in the morning.

I did not know this! So I appreciate the warning. :) I have seen some recipes for LC breads and crackers and such that use flax meal. Might have to be careful with those.

Maybe pick a new place to run, a really pretty park or something like that. Some new music or an audiobook to listen to while you run. Maybe a reward - once you've completed three runs, you get to treat yourself to something nice. And posting here helps a lot! I never would have been able to do this without this wonderful group of ladies!

Very wise to take a rest day! I hope you feel better soon. I had a pretty nasty two-day migraine, and while I am feeling better today, I'm just not sure I have it in me to run. I'm going to try to do something gentle but active today, and run tomorrow.

Hmm....do you eat any lacto-fermented foods? Yogurt, authentically fermented sauerkraut, things like that? The probiotics in them might help. I know they're carby but could you try prunes to make sure you're getting enough fiber? My understanding is that you want soluble fiber more than insoluble, because it's a prebiotic (food for the probiotics) and prunes have that.

Thank you all so much for the sympathy and kindness! So far, knock on wood, feeling much better this morning! I said I was going to do better on my diet yesterday, but I didn't. I did worse. But a new day always presents a new opportunity, so I'll do better today! Salt! That's one of the symptoms of hyponatremia, which is common with low-carb. Drink some broth with extra salt added. Use salt liberally with your food. Try those Nuun tablets. When you drop your carb intake, your kidneys release a lot of salt, so you have to get more in your diet. And make sure you drink plenty of water too.

You're so kind to ask. Not well, I'm afraid. I'm pretty tired of migraines. :(

That's a good idea! I will definitely consider it. Thanks!

I despise wallpaper. I had to remove a lot from our current home - all the bedrooms and the dining room. In some areas, where they had used appropriate glue and put it over drywall that had already been textured and painted, it came off very easily. In other areas, I swear they must have used superglue, because it was a time-consuming pain in the butt to get it off. And in one room (my daughter's) they had put it DIRECTLY onto the drywall, without any texturing/painting first. So as I tried to peel off wallpaper, the top layers of the drywall were coming off with it! I didn't know what else to do, so I left the wallpaper there, and textured and painted on top of it. It wouldn't make me choose not to buy a home that I otherwised loved, but it might be a negotiating point!

Wow, this is very interesting. Thank you for sharing this! It's a very different approach from the "no pain, no gain" mantra that we seem to hear much more often. Far gentler. And that is an interesting point about getting your heart rate to come down. I wish I had measured at the beginning. It would be interesting to see if it would be less now, doing the same amount of work. But I don't know how long something like that takes - maybe it's too soon.

Oh no -- I'm so sorry! I'm sorry to hear about the iPod. I dropped mine not long ago, and while it still works, there's this strange blob on the screen that is now permanent. It's very aggravating. But what's more important is, are YOU okay?

I don't have a credit card, because history has shown that I can't be trusted with one. It's possible that I've developed more impulse control since I last owned one (it's been more than a decade) but it might be best not to test that theory! I do, however, have separate bank accounts from my husband, (which he knows about - it's not a secret!) though they don't have much money in them, and I have passwords and access to his accounts. Investments are in his name, but all have me listed for POD. Our home is in both our names, and the car that I drive is in my name while the one that he drives is in his name. We don't have wills or medical directives set up yet, but we are working on them right now, and we do live in a "common law" state. I'm going to reread the thread to see if there's anything I've missed, but anyone please feel free to tell me if there's anything else you'd suggest.

Laughter? That's the only one I can think of. ;)

The secular private schools here (at least when I looked into them a few years ago) all charge in the vicinity of $22-24K per year. That's about what I paid for my *entire* bachelor's degree - all four years! I have absolutely no idea how people afford it. I'm sure the parochial schools probably charge less, but we didn't look into them, because my husband didn't want that. And once we found out what the secular ones cost, we didn't want that either. :) Still homeschooling.

Wow, you guys are all doing so great! I didn't do so well yesterday. :( I went for a run first thing in the morning, and I'm really glad I got it done while I could. Not long after, I got hit by a pretty bad migraine, so I spent the rest of the day sitting on my lazy butt. It's still going today, though not as severe as it was yesterday. I didn't have much of an appetite all day because of it, but what I did eat wasn't all on-plan. I'm determined to do better today.

Oh MrsW, I am so, so sorry. You do not deserve this. I agree with everything that Garga and Scarlett and the many other wise ladies here have said, but I've also been unable to stop thinking about the fact that he said you should have an affair. I think that he revealed a lot with that statement. First of all, as painful as this is and as much as I hate to say it, he revealed that emotionally, he is already long gone. When men are in love, that idea (the woman that he loves sleeping with another man) tends to be about the last thing in the world that they want. But the idea doesn't bother him, because he's not emotionally invested anymore. I ache for you when you say you want to win him back. You can't, and you need to understand that this is through NO fault of your own. This is on him. Secondly, whatever justification or rationalization he may have given for that statement, his motives can only be bad. Either he thinks it would lessen his own guilt, or he wants to be able to prove in court that you committed adultery. Either way, what he is saying here, loud and clear, is that he is willing to manipulate and hurt you to get what he wants. So you need to listen and understand that he means it. From now on, everything that he says to you has to be viewed in that light. He is acting in his own best interests, and he's willing to throw you under the bus to get there. You've got to protect yourself. HE is the one who made this adversarial. Now you must act in self-defense. You are absolutely NOT betraying him or your marriage by defending yourself. You must let go of that guilt or it will cripple you. He's about to start throwing punches. You should not feel guilty or hesitant about blocking them, or you will get pummeled. :grouphug:

Congrats! Oh, believe me, I was breathing hard too! Running slowly, but heart racing and breathing hard! It's funny (have to laugh instead of cry, right?) when people pass me on the trails and they are running twice as fast yet only breathing half as hard! They're taking these huge strides, and practically gliding along, making it look so effortless. And here I am, shuffling along at a snail's pace, yet beet-red, sweaty, and panting. :lol: I'm pitiful, but I just keep telling myself that I'm less pitiful now than when I wasn't running at all. I think that Thursday night would give you enough recovery time, as long as you haven't been having any particular issues (pain?). But I also think there's no harm in waiting, if that's what would be better for you.

Thank you so much! I forgot to report on my ankle. My left ankle is the one that has been bothering me. It now feels fine, and my right ankle is hurting a bit. So I'm thinking that these are just some normal "growing pains" that I'm going to have to get through as my ankles work to get strong enough to handle all of this. I will definitely try to go easy on them - not do anything pounding on my non-running days, take an extra day to rest between runs if I need to, etc. I'll keep doing the foot circle exercises, too. Beyond that, is there anything else I should do?

I did it, I did it, I did it! I did Week 5 Day 2! The 8-minute intervals! I'm so excited, because when we started this, I really wouldn't have believed that I could run for 8 minutes straight without chest pains or gasping for air! But I did! Trying very hard to just savor the moment, and not think about the 20-minute run on Friday! :lol: