Several have said something along the lines of . . . increased regulations won't help, because abusers won't follow the regs. And I wonder about this. I don't know the answer, I'm just pondering the question. If nothing else, wouldn't increased regulations help make a clearer distinction between who is following the law and who isn't, and thus point the authorities more clearly towards those families where intervention is needed? Has anyone ever done a formal study comparing how effectively abusers are caught in states or countries were regulations are strict compared to those where it is lax? I can't imagine who would fund such a study, but it would be interesting to know whether (and in what ways) regulation is effective.

I had a good weight workout today. I didn't set any new personal best records or anything like that. I just felt good, and felt happy to be doing it. It's been awhile since I felt that way so it was nice!

Thanks, Wintermom! I do have a good quality pair of (still newish) running shoes. I think my problem is that I don't take care of my feet the rest of the time. I usually just wear slippers around my house all day, and flats or sometimes heels when I'm out and about, none of which have any support.

:grouphug: PinkTulip, I hope you feel better soon!

Wow, that's fantastic! Congratulations!

Would anyone happen to have any recommendations for a good insole or orthotic for metatarsal pain? My left foot has been bothering me off and on, not a big deal and I didn't think much of it. But yesterday's cardio workout was quite uncomfortable. I have super-high arches, hard (tile) flooring throughout my home (and I'm always at home), and I tend to prefer minimalist-type shoes. From what I read online yesterday, that's practically a recipe for metatarsal pain. But there are so many insoles and orthotics out there, I'm not sure what to try first!

Apparently UPS still delivers on federal holidays, because we had two packages delivered yesterday. I am surprised they put it in your mailbox, though. I didn't think anyone but USPS was allowed to do that.

I wasn't familiar with this resource at all, and I was wondering what exactly the author meant by saying that there was actual witchcraft involved. So I appreciated reading the replies, and I definitely don't feel that we missed out by not using this curriculum.

This all sounds perfect. I wouldn't have eaten the fat-free yogurt when I was keto, but I wouldn't have eaten full-fat yogurt either to be honest (I made my own creme fraiche) so I wouldn't worry about that. Everything else you asked about (lime, garlic, cauliflower, etc.) is great on a ketogenic menu. If you need some more ideas, you could check out Linda's Low Carb website. I used that constantly when I was eating keto. But what you have here sounds excellent - no need to change it. Salmon and a big salad would have been a complete meal for me when I was doing keto, so I don't think you necessarily need to add to it. But the roasted cauliflower does sound great, and is perfect for keto. If you're baking the salmon, then I'd say go for that. If you're grilling the salmon, you could grill some zucchini spears with it. The vegetable soup sounds lovely, but I wouldn't have eaten it when I was new to the diet and still trying to make sure by body was in full ketosis (i.e. to lose weight and not just maintain). You are very kind to adapt your usual menu for them. I'm sure they will really appreciate it! I hope that you all have a lovely time.

I thought ergot poisoning was generally regarded as the most likely explanation. ETA: Oops - Tammy already said it! Also, NOT an expert. :D

Oh, gosh, Hornblower that is very sweet of you. But since you are dealing with cancer yourself right now, I really shouldn't be whining about my dog to you. I hope that you are doing okay. I can hardly imagine, but I know it must be rough.

My goal for the new year was to be more consistent, and here we are only in week two and I'm already having a rough go. One day was pretty much wiped out going to and from the veterinarian clinic. We found out that one of our dogs has a brain tumor. :crying: Then yesterday was wiped out by a bad migraine. So, the only way I'm going to make goal for the week is if I do a weight workout AND half of a cardio workout both today and Sunday (I count my weeks as starting on Monday) and a full cardio workout on Saturday. And I'm posting this in the hopes that saying it will make me more likely to follow through and do it! Yesterday's migraine is better, but when I have one that bad, it doesn't usually just go away completely the next day. So I'm still not feeling super, though nowhere near as bad. In other words, I CAN do this, I just don't want to! :lol:

Did you see the champagne color on the Misfit website? It’s nice, pretty neutral. I don’t believe that the Shine has an alarm for not moving. No, unfortunately the device itself doesn’t show your progress. You have to open the phone app for that. (At least, I think that is the case. The device does have a light which can change colors so maybe there’s a way that it can indicate progress which I’ve never figured out! I’ll check into it.) ETA: Distegard the previous paragraph — I was wrong. On this webpage, click on “Activity Display†and then “Progress Displayâ€. https://misfit.com/go/ray The alarm is a vibration. It does make a slight sound, but it’s pretty soft, I don’t think it would bother anyone else. To turn it off when going to the movies, you would have to open the phone app. The app also lets you decide what hours of the day you want the inactivity alarm to work. I have mine set for 7am to 6pm, for example, because I don’t want it going off during or after supper. You can open the app any time to either change those hours, or just temporarily turn it off. It is swimproof.

I'd suggest checking out Misfit. I've been very happy with my purchases from them, and my interactions with customer support. The batteries are replaceable, so no recharging. The Flash is the least expensive device that would do what you're looking for. But it's plastic and not water-proof. The Shine is metal and water proof, and it's on sale (clearance?) for a steal right now, so I'd go with it, personally. I paid almost $100 for mine when they first came out, so for $20, I wouldn't hesitate! It uses a common button battery that's available anywhere. What I'm using right now is the Ray. I bought it because I wanted the feature that allows you to set inactivity alerts - if you've been sitting still for half an hour, or whatever length of time you choose, it will buzz to remind you to get up and move about a bit. I like it but it uses a less common battery size that is impossible for me to find locally, and has to be ordered online. It requires three of them at a time, and they're a bit more expensive than the battery for the Shine, so that's my one and only caveat regarding it. I would love to have one of their new smartwatches, but that's not in my budget right now. So those are the only three devices that I have personal experience with, and I liked them all. Unless you particularly want the inactivity alerts, I'd say you can't go wrong with a Shine for twenty bucks.

Oh, I see - he meant one on one parenting time, not one on one teaching time. I still think it’s bogus, though. Many of my friends who have kids in public school have complained about the many hours they have to spend on homework, and chores have to be done whether you’re a public school or homeschool family. It’s not like after school hours are *all* going to be magical and fun. I think homeschooling has given me a great deal of quality time with my daughter. Regardless, thank you for clarifying for me!

Well, he's certainly not sprinting or anything. He runs about 7 or 8 miles if I remember correctly, so not a super fast pace. Still, he's read articles saying that people with atrial fibrillation need to be careful to warm up gradually before working out, and yet he still does not warm up at all. So it kind of worries me. The cardiologist told him that his atrial fibrillation was probably caused by all of the endurance sports that he does, because it's not uncommon for endurance athletes to develop it. But that hasn't stopped him from focusing exclusively on endurance. For a little while, he was giving up his cardio three days a week to lift weights with me. But he stopped, and has gone back to cardio 7 days a week. It's like he's addicted! :lol:

I've been on my dh's case (with zero results) to warm up before his cardio workouts. He just starts running, for example, at his full running pace with no walk, no lighter jog, nothing. He just starts at his standard speed, whether he's biking, rowing, whatever. And this is a man with a heart arrhythmia! That cannot be good! Anyway, my point is that I do agree with the need to warm up. I was only thinking that you warm up by doing a lighter version of whatever it is you're going to do for your workout. But if that's insufficient, I am open to the correction! Thanks, Wintermom.

Huh. Well. I've heard many criticisms of homeschooling over the years, but that has to be a first. Taking him out of a classroom with two other students and putting him in a classroom of 20+ students will give him more one-on-one time? :blink: Okay, then. Sorry, I have no advice, but I do agree with you. And I think you are handling it with more grace than I would! :grouphug:

Well, I normally don't put much effort into warming up for a weight workout. I simply warm up by doing a very light/easy set of each exercise before I do the "real" one. Like on leg press, I would warm up with 70 pounds, before doing my real sets of 140-180 pounds. Then do the same for the next exercise, so that each muscle group is getting warmed up before each exercise. Do I need more of a warm-up than that? If so, then would it be okay for me to warm up at home before we head out? That would make it nicer - to have the full 30 minutes at the gym available for the real workout. The drive and dropping off should only take 15 minutes, so is a 15 minute delay between the warm-up and the start of the workout too much? Yes, that sounds great! I would love to do that, and had thought of that myself, but it will be tricky at my gym. People tend to "camp out" on a machine and claim it for a long time. So if I walk away from the squat rack to do a pull-up, I am very likely to find that the squat rack is no longer available when I return to it. I'm certainly willing to give it a shot, but logistically it may prove frustrating, or even impossible. Another option, though, is that my gym does have one area that is specifically set apart for circuit training. They have a system of colored lights to tell you when to exercise, and when to move on to the next machine. I'm not sure how many times I'd be able to make my way through it in half an hour, but I could try it and find out. It's all isolation exercises, though, so I wouldn't be able to get the time-saving benefits of compound exercises. But it is something to consider. Good suggestion. Thank you both!

I would like to ask for everyone's advice/recommendations about a full-body weight workout that I could get done in just half an hour. My time to go to the gym is while my daughter is in class at the community college. I drop her off and head straight to the gym, no excuses and no procrastinating! On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I do cardio, and I'll have plenty of time. But this semester, on Tuesdays and Thursdays she's only there for 45 minutes, which means with driving time, I will have at most 30 minutes actually in the gym. So I need to put together a very efficient routine that I can get done pretty quickly. I'm thinking lots of compound exercises rather than working individual, isolated muscles. Any recommendations for particular exercises or even a whole routine would be greatly appreciated! ETA: I will also do weights on Saturdays, when I will have plenty of time to do a longer routine. I will most likely do that at home with our free weights and bench, because the gym is crazy busy on Saturdays. So if you have any particular thoughts or ideas about a Saturday routine, feel free to post that too! Thanks!

Too peoply. :lol:

Makes sense. I did the fat bombs and creme fraiche instead of yogurt and heavy cream instead of half and half or milk, and fried things in a ton of oil, and . . . . well now I think I need to try to make up for it a bit. Not being able to find clothes, not having the strength to lift a weight, not having the endurance to be able to hike... I'm not saying everyone feels that bad at a lower weight, but that's how I felt.

I gave up on trying to learn how to fold fitted sheets neatly. Apparently it is a skill I simply cannot master. So instead what I do is create a "bundle" for each bed. I neatly fold the top/flat sheet and the pillow cases, and then wrap it all up in the fitted sheet. When it's time to change the bedding, I can just grab the entire bundle for that bed. It doesn't look neat and pretty in the linen closet, but it does stay contained and it works.

Yes, I had that same experience! Someone posted some chart or method (I think maybe it was based on wrist measurement or something?) which said that I should weigh between 115 and 125. I'm 5'9" so that's pretty skinny. And the thing is, I've actually been that skinny, and I know from experience it was not healthy. I am much stronger, healthier, and happier when I weigh 130-135, which is still WELL within normal range for my height. Where do people come up with these crazy low numbers?

And (I'm sure you know this) coconut has quite a bit. I was buying these huge tubs of coconut oil at Costco when I was eating VLC/HF. Now I intend to use up what's left on my skin, not in my cooking! I'm thinking about asking for an air fryer for my birthday. :001_smile: