Good Morning!
Jane enjoy your fit bit. Anything we can use for motivation is good. Glad you were able to find your Tobey.
Sam I am waiting for my Bobs Red Mill to get delivered. Thanks for the topping and making it ahead idea. It sounds like you are doing a great job planning your meals. Posting is very important especially to keep us going when we used to give up.
Andrea I'm sorry you did not get to see the doc. It is very frustrating to put in all that time and effort and not have it pan out. Your tea always sounds so nice and cozy. I reallt need to drink more tea. I like your whats for dinner thread. I'm lurking and getting ideas. Thanks!
Chris you'll have to join Silent on the injured reserve list. Chips! Are they your go to no no food?
Pam nice score on the dead tree coming down for free! You sure are giving off positive energy! Keep it up!
I am working on a thought. I find that when I weigh myself and the scale is up the feeling I have is most likely fear.:( Fear that no matter what I do it will climb back up past where I started. I am not far enough (if ever) to say I got this, I know what I am doing. I have a lot of fears. Anyone know a good self help book?
How is everyone doing?

Good Morning All!!

Yes it is coffee time for me this morning. I am on my second cup. :coffee: I had a brunch of sliced turkey on whole grain bread with lettuce and lime pickle. Yummy!
I have made sweet potatoes and have chicken breasts baking in the oven. Because DH and I have such varied schedules we need to have meals prepared ahead of time. This helps to avoid that rut of ordering in or picking up take out food. DH has a dentist appointment, a Dr. appointment and then has to work an evening shift. I have therapy group this evening and so neither of us will be having dinner together. I may not even end up eating these items but they are there for me to grab if I want.

I am wondering if anyone can relate to the following? Prior to this week I have been very off plan and eating junk food like chips and take out like rotis, burgers etc. I find when being so off plan and then staring on plan again I find my healthy foods boring and unsatisfying. It usually only takes me a few days to get back into enjoying my healthy foods. I think that it is easy for me to develop a taste for extremely salty and fatty foods. Does anyone else find it takes time to adjust your taste buds back to healthy foods? The funny thing is I love many healthy foods too.

Ubee Good Morning! I can relate to the fear. I have a go to book but it does not focus on this fear specifically, it is more about why we overeat and how to deal with that. I do find visualisations help with overall fear of life.

I hope everyone is having a good day. I am going to do some work now.

Good morning all. In spite of waking up early, I still feel like I'm running late. Don't ask me how I can be running late when I'm retired and totally on my own schedule, such as it is, but I'm playing mind games.

Plucky -- The sweet potato sounds so good and they are actually so good for you. I need to pick some up next time I run to the store. Your schedules with your DH must be a challenge to get to have any time to just sit and talk. Yes, after I've gone off plan it's hard to stay away from the salty and sweet foods -- I know there are receptors in our brains for foods like that, and I think that we crave them for a few days. Obedience training is enjoyable although Toby is much more interested in what the other dogs are doing than in listening to me.

Ubee -- Totally understand the fear component, but I've gotten to the point where I think that it's actually a positive to be somewhat fearful -- as long as it's not all consuming. I feel like it's the trigger mechanism to snap me back on plan that has maybe been missing for so long. I equate it to not putting my hand on a hot stove because I know I'll get burned -- and it's the fear of the pain that drives the logical thought. OK, that may be a little deep for early morning.

Sam -- Sounds like you're doing a great job with finding a variety of foods to eat that are satisfying -- good for you. My suggestion on the request from your boss to work at a different site one day a week is to do the math. Your hourly wage plus what it would cost for the commute. If you're breaking even, then you have to decide if the good will you would generate is worth it and if you would enjoy the variety it would offer. If you're not covering your expenses, you can always give her your calculations and ask to at least have them covered. Always hard to know what to do in those situations.

Pam -- A nap may be needed after reading about your day! But getting the tree cut down -- what a relief that must be for you as one that big falling on your house would be major damage.

Merstopher -- OUCH!! Your volleyball injury sounds absolutely horrible and glad that there weren't any broken bones involved. And, yes, tomorrow is another day. Chips and I are well acquainted as comfort food.

Jane -- Don't you just know that our pets know that running off like that is designed to provide maximum embarrassment?! Glad you were able to get your Toby back. Mine is curled up under the desk on top of my feet taking his morning nap.

SilentArctic -- Hope the soreness has gone away. I've never thought of curling as an injury prone sport, but playing a game on ice and falling would definitely hurt. Take care of yourself.

Today I'm mentally committing myself to getting back on track with the calorie counting, carb counting, AND staying away from my binge foods. I just feel so much better when I eat better -- not only the loss of weight, but healthy foods just make me feel better. Have a great day.

I've been so busted up over the cancellation of my Belgian friend's visit, I had two large vegan cookies, and then a dozen of another brand of cookies, and also some peanut butter from the jar: that's the first time I've done that in quite a while. Not quite a binge, but still, a major lapse! Did I say I've had a toothache, too? 'Saw the dentist on Tuesday: he thinks it's probably a gum infection, and put me on antibiotics, which have alleviated the pain but have made me really dopey.

So yesterday was a bad day. But finally today around noon, I rallied and wrote my friend a letter that was more upbeat. Now I feel ready to get back on plan.=whew= It helps, too, that I made four collages from the the Nat Geo I cut up: that's about twice as many as I usually make in a week. (Ubee, the frame around the collage you looked at was made from dried mole paws, not seashells.) So I had some positive energy going, despite the evil C-word activity. The off-plan eating didn't feel as out of control as it used to feel: it's hard to explain, but it just felt different. Anyway, that's all I'm able to write today. My best wishes to all of you!

I never thought that I would say this, but I have been uncomfortably full in the evenings. I am going to have to reduce what I eat for my dinner. Many of you know that I have been experimenting with a combination of calorie counting and Volumetrics. Breakfast is normally skipped, Lunch is a controlled calorie meat, starch and veggy. Dinner I switch to Volumetrics which entails eating a lot of low calorie density food. Last night I had a large onion boiled in sodium free chicken broth to which I added a whole can of no salt added green beans, a whole can of no salt added mushrooms and some hot chili sauce. I also had two raw medium size Granny Smith apples. All this dinner food added up to 354 calories and 190 mg sodium. I ended the day at 1,065 calories which is way under my 1,440 goal. But as I said I was uncomfortable and did not want to eat any more. I may have to add breakfast or increase my lunch calories.

pjvw34 Loved your tree story, Today I unpotted my elephant ears and divided them. In May I planted two very small elephant ear tubers in the largest flower pots I could locate. They flourished all year and now I have about 45 tubers to plant. I had no idea they would multiply that fast.

SamIAm86 I can't imagine paying $6 a pound for oatmeal. I was at the Airforce Commissary yesterday and bought a 2 lb 10 oz box for $1.74, Be careful at night, it is scary to think that other girls are missing. Go with someone or get a guard dog to take with you.

time4me2change Glad you got some sleep

Ubee - My Blood pressure has always been low. I suspect it is genetic as my sister and brothers also had low blood pressure.

betsy2013 - I am also retired and I fully understand "retired and running late" I am so busy now that I have no idea how I ever had time to work before retirement.

silentarctic - Your attendance at a curling match got me to thinking. I bet a lot of my Florida neighbors have no idea what curling is and they would have no idea about what stones and brooms are used for.

Radiojane - OK I am an old guy, what is a fitbit? I know what a fit is my cat used to have one.:D Down South where I live they have hissy-fits:D but I have no idea what a fitbit is.

pluckypear - You said coffee time and I had to leave my computor and go make a cup. I guess I am just like Pavlo'S dog. LOL :D

merstopher - I could feel the impact with the bleachers from your description. Ouch. We all have bad days, there is an old Japanese saying "Fall down seven times, pick your self up eight"

Evening all!

Today turned out to be another good day...kinda makes me fear when I'm going to have a bad day...Ugh, I know I shouldn't feel that way, but I've had anxiety issues my whole life and that's just the way I think sometimes. But I'm going to try to ride this happy wave for as long as I can.

Betsy I'm thinking about just telling my boss regardless of how much they were willing to help pay for my gas that I don't want to go to another location. I would be there by myself all day and it's not in the best area. I'd be afraid of getting robbed honestly. The only reason she asked is because the current girl working there has had to go to part time since she was diagnosed with cancer. I don't mind helping out but I am a wuss lol and I don't know what DH would think about it either. I haven't had a chance to talk to him tonight because he has band practice again.

Larry now that you mentioned about the cheap oatmeal I had to go check to see just how big the bag was lol...It actually is a 2 lb bag, but it is gluten free which is a lot better for me. I don't have celiac's (sp) but my stomach gets affected by a lot since I don't have a gallbladder. But still $6 is a little steep lol

I went to the grocery store after work today to stock up on a few things to eat so I have some food before I run out of money lol....Payday isn't until next Wednesday and sadly like a lot of people, live paycheck to paycheck. I stopped at the 3 grocery stores that are on my way home because all of them had some things on sale I wanted to pick up. I came home and threw on a little brown rice and decided to eat one of my packaged up salad toppings of taco turkey, blackbeans and corn and threw it with some rice and had a little sort of Tex Mex bowl. I put some salsa on top and a dab of sour cream and a smidgee of cheese. I wanted to get some Fage 0% greek yoghurt when I was at the store so I could use it instead of sour cream, and also heard it was a good alternative to mayo if you wanted to make something like chicken salad or something. I didn't want to go over and figured I could wait since I have sour cream leftover. The dinner was very filling and it portioned out correctly so I didn't over eat. I went over to my next door neighbors house to chit chat while my rice was cooking. We actually went to high school together. He and his boyfriend are so sweet. He's telling me of his plans to move to France after school and wants me and DH to come with him. He's going into medicine and I'm really excited for him! Other than that it's been a boring night over here LOL....Just the usual routine, shower and PJ time. I got hooked on Pinterest last night and I have a feeling after my bath it will be another night of Pinterest. I hope everyone had a POP day!!

Hi all!

Today I am back in the saddle. I nervously stepped on the scale, and despite eating lots of Doritos last night and minimally exercising since Sunday due to a cold (and a bit because of my. well sore shoulder) I lost a pound. Whew! Today I went to the pool and the shoulder felt good with some strokes and tredding water... Laps tomorrow morning! Still protecting it outside the water though.

I am working in the chronic pain clinic so I should be done early tomorrow as well... Bring on Friday!

Sam... Glad to here you are still riding the wave ;). Way to be proactive with shopping and preparation, it is paying off!

Larry - what time do you wake up in the morning? Breakfast is important in weight loss. Besides the obvious curbing of hunger with the risk of overheating later keeping your metabolic furnace burning is important. Ie if your body is constantly moving food through the intestines, digesting and processing, it burns energy... = higher basal metabolic calorie burning = more "calories out". I would add some breakfast if I were you.

Fiona - I liked your collage. My off plan yesterday yesterday felt the same way... Sort of a controlled lapse. Which I thinks makes me more disappointed in myself... I was doing it eyes open.

Betsy - yep, chips, cheesies... Salt and fat. I hate to love them.

Plucky - yep I certainly relate! I am either all in or all out, always struggling to find the grey...

Ubee - don't catastophize with the scale ;). Keep your compass pointed the right direction and there's no reason to fear slipping back to the start.

Whoever sent me the sad cat diaries link thanks so much! I had seen it, I love it :D:D:D

Hey all!

I have had my dinner and am relaxing with a cup of hot peppermint tea while I type here and wait for DH to get home from work.

Sam I can relate about having to budget for groceries. When on plan I am constantly having to go shopping for veggies.

When I read the prices that some Americans on the forum pay I get envious. :) Food can be expensive here. I will say that quaker oats was on sale for 1.88 a bag but that is a good and rare sale, it is usually 2 dollars more.

Larry I love my coffee especially my first two cups in the morning. :)

Betsy Glad to hear you are enjoying the dog obedience classes.

I am tired and hope to get to bed tonight at a decent hour. I had a tiring therapy group with lots of emotions and such. :)

Good night.

merstopher My wife sets her alarm at 8 AM to take her medications.
I get up and stay up and she goes back to sleep.

Your post makes perfect sense to me so I am going to try consistently eating breakfast starting in the morning and I will track how my weight loss is affected for the next Month or longer as compared to when I was not eating breakfast. We can call it a scientific experiment of sorts.

It also levels out your insulin response and sensitivity = good thing :)

That's why you always here the benefits of smaller more frequent eating than our evolved 3 squares per day... Anyways look forward to seeing the results of your trial!

Good Morning Everyone!

It is finally Friday! Woo hoo! That's a good thing for me because I don't have to work on the weekends so I'm going to get some time to do some me stuff that I don't really get time to do during the week. Gotta tidy up the house and do a few chores. Maybe I'll get to go to the park if it isn't too cold, but it seems like its gotten colder as the week has progressed this week so there's no telling what it will be.

plucky I heard everything costs more up in Canada. I had a friend that lived in Toronto but moved out to Victoria, BC last year. The economy sucks to bad where I live, and I'm sure everywhere else, the prices of food and things we need to live go up, but your pay barely increases to help with the cost of living. It's very frustrating.

merstopher Hope your injury gets better!!

I haven't been able to find my measuring tape to take my measurements. I'm really curious and anxious to get those down. I took a before picture that I'm going to post in the picture thread when I'm able to post pictures. I know since I've really started trying to make changes this week I am feeling better mentally. It doesn't take me as long to feel awake in the morning like it usually does and I am trying to make a point to go to bed earlier so I can get enough sleep. I don't sleep well at night most nights. I can never get comfortable so I usually end up moving around a lot switching positions until I get comfortable for most of the night. I know my weight probably has a lot to do with it, plus I need a new bed. I've had the same bed that my mother gave me for like 10 years and she owned it for who knows how long before me lol...I am thinking about getting a sleep number bed. They're pricey but their base model seems pretty comfortable, my grandmother has one. Does anyone here have a bed that they absolutely love and can recommend?

Ahh, so it's friday! What does everyone have planned this weekend? I know I won't be doing much but I'm glad that I don't have to work lol....I think my boss is thinking about letting us have Monday off for MLK day since schools are close and a lot of our companies are, but I'm not sure. That would be a nice surprise :). Anyway let me know how you all are doing! Have a POP day!!!

Good Morning!
Wow this place is busy. Good thing I've got my coffee.
Andrea for the first time in my life I am experiencing the opposite. I find off plan foods unappealing. I was shocked when I first realized it. I so need to get peppermint tea!
Betsy thank you for sharing your positive out look on fear. I appreciate it. I need to stop doubting myself. Some fear is just me keeping myself in check. Are you making any changes as you recommitt to healthy eating?
Fi nice to see you posting. Hope your day goes well.
Larry I love how you are willing to share your experiments with us. I am always trying to figure things out because I don't think science has it figured out yet.
Sam I buy from Bobs Red Mill also. We feel so much better off gluten that it is worth the extra money. I have no plans for the weekend...
Chris I too struggle with that all or nothing thinking. I wonder if it is a follow the rules mentallity.
My food is going well. Portions are a little too much which may be due to stress. Water needs improvement and exercise is nonexistent.
Today my friend is buying me lunch because I lost 10 pounds before she did. (She won the last 2 times.) I am excited but still want to encourage her to be competative because I want us both to be around for a long time.

Good Morning!

I am having a lazy day today. I am having my second cup of coffee and DH is still in bed. He worked late last night then came home and had dinner at 11 pm. I was up early and did my morning chores of putting dishes away, feeding cats, cleaning cat dishes, scooping the litter, garbage detail etc. I will do some laundry and other chores later today.

I am planning a meatless day for meals. I realized that I am having chicken everyday because I just find it easier to have some of what DH is having. I am planning a dinner of beans and for lunch I will have some tofu with veggies.

Does anyone else find themselves grocery shopping often? When eating well I go to buy fruit and vegetables several times a week. And I end up picking up meat for DH a couple of times per week. I think part of the problem is I want to many things. I could easily go to a specialty store and spend a hundred bucks or more on spices, condiments and oils alone. I don't do this but I love adding capers, flavoured bits of oils or pickles to dishes. I focus on food too much even when I eat well. sigh

I hope everyone is having a good day. I will check in later.

Andrea

Larry A fit bit is basically a ridiculously fancy and overpriced pedometer. You wear it on your wrist and it tracks your steps, calculates calories burned and it wireless syncs the information to your computer or phone. You can use the app to track your food too.

I really think I should have bought a good heart rate monitor instead, but my hardest work is in the pool and they don't function well there. Besides, to prevent kidney stones, I'm supposed to be up and moving around more during they day, so the pedometer is a good motivator.

I got back in the pool yesterday, and it felt amazing! I have to keep reminding myself that I feel better and sleep better when I exercise. My eating was horrific yesterday. I caught myself coping with some workplace stress via food - and that's not good. I'm hoping I'm back on track now.

Speaking of stress: we came home to find the windows leaking all over the new (unsealed) hardwood we're laying in the living room. According to the condo association, this is our responsibility. So frustrating because we just replaced the water heater & furnace, and we're saving to build on our acreage. Every little setback that keeps me in this awful condo is so frustrating!

Going to remind myself I'm grateful for a roof over my head and paint the master bedroom this weekend. Then hopefully next weekend I can start ripping out carpet.

Feel like I'm in some sort of haze this morning. Oh wait. We're in our second day of dense fog which will last through tomorrow. It's so thick that I caught Toby trying to taste it when he was outside on his morning yard patrol duties.

Jane -- You handled the windows leaking so much more gracefully (at least on here) than I would have! I'm so sorry you're having to deal with leaking windows and the impact on your new floors. Glad the pool is refreshing you. Good luck with the painting -- what color did you select?

Andrea -- Sounds like you've already gotten a lot done this morning -- good for you. Your meatless day menu sounds good. It also sounds like you're a good and creative cook. Don't stifle it -- use that creativity to write a cookbook even if it just ends up being for you. Of course, sharing some of those recipes with us would be great, too! :hug:

Ubee -- Lunch with a friend who is also watching her diet sounds like the perfect outing. And congratulations on getting 10 pounds off already since your new eating plan. What a treat to have a friend who is going through a lot of the same things.

Sam -- Glad you're thinking through the alternate work site situation -- doesn't sound like the best thing for you and certainly the extra money is not enough to provide much of an incentive. Your grocery shopping and thinking sound right on target and very creative. No recommendations on a bed/mattress. Mine is a pillow top that doesn't need to be flipped. Then I have a memory foam in one guest bedroom, a two sided pillow top in the other one and bunk beds in the grands' room. It is amazing how much of a difference a good mattress does make in your sleeping well.

Larry -- Your experiment will be interesting in terms of adding breakfast back in. I've been on IF for about a year although I will occasionally have breakfast. I actually do better on it, but definitely don't know the science behind it. The volumetrics approach sounds very interesting. I've been eating a large salad at lunch and then a protein and veggie along with a piece of fruit for dinner. I think I'll try switching those to see if it helps with the 8 PM munchies cravings.

Merstopher -- Glad that you were able to get in the pool and that you're watching your shoulder. Congrats on losing the pound even with the little lapse.

Fi -- Glad to see you back posting and glad that the lapse felt different. Sorry your friend's actions have caused you such turmoil. Sounds like you've put it to good use with making collages! Keep posting, please. We miss you.

Haven't heard from Mountain Walker and Time4Me lately. If you're lurking, hope you're doing well.

Lots of "stuff" to do today -- laundry, change the sheets, straighten up the house, make up some dog food for Toby, make a loaf of banana bread to take to the yearly Co-op planning session, install the toilet seat riser for when my BIL is recuperating here, work with Toby on his commands, and whatever else crops up. Saw a great recipe for roasted brussel sprouts -- prep, coat with ghee or coconut oil (melted), season, and roast at 400 degree with 3-4 slices of uncooked, bacon pieces. Drizzle with balsamic after 30-35 minutes. Of course, they'll need to be turned once or twice. It also said to save the outside leaves, do the oil and seasoning thing, spread them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, bake at 350 degrees and have sprout chips. It said that you can sprinkle them with parmesan cheese at the end. OK. I'm officially now ready to do something in the kitchen. Have a great day everyone!