Happy New Year one day late. Packing to leave Santa Cruz so a quick hello.
I FINALLY figured out to to change my avatar. Had to go to a a website to shrink images. Was I the only one who didn't know how to do that? But I am pleased to start the New Year with the new me.
Having said that, I want to be really honest about posting a picture of myself. When I first saw the picture, I thought, "How happy that girl looks." Then, after a bit, my mind started its diabolical undermining. "You are not thin enough to be at maintenance." "People will think you should lose another 20." "Why do you even try?" Blah! Blah. I know this is my addictive disease trying to isolate me so that it can go back to eating like it use to eat. Drat!
Solutions:
1. Tell (or show the truth): This is me - a beautiful, flawed human - a sister among brothers and sisters who all suffer from the same fears and longings. Rejoice in the community.
2. Shrink my size. I don't mean physical. I mean mental. People don't really think about me that much. I am just one among many. They don't focus on my looks, my struggles, my mistakes. Most people are too focused on themselves to give me a second thought. This is very freeing.
3. The people who love me loved me fat. I freed myself from addiction for peace not for appearance. I have become a better mother, sister, teacher, friend because I don't spend twelve hours a day focusing on food. I focus on life.
Wave to all. Personals when my feet touch home soil.
Living in New Orleans means that every event is accompanied by parades, fireworks and an awful lot of crowds. Normally I'm content to stay home but I have many friends in town so I felt obligated to show them a good time. We ended up in a throng of people in a very crowded club listening to exceptional live jazz and it was quite a way to ring in the new year. The next hour in the pouring rain trying to get a cab was less steller. We got "outbid" on one cab when a group of young men offered him $500! I hope they paid it.
Days off tend to throw such a monkey wrench in my plans. Monday - Friday I can be so on top of reading my ARC and following my steps but then a weekend or day off shows up and I forget to do all of it. I need better reminder systems that aren't tied to my cell phone because I love to turn that off when I'm out of the office.
That being said, I do have some credits for myself:
-I cooked baked cauliflower with hot sauce that was delicious on NYE before going out and managed to not eat excessive amounts of food at bars
-I made "hoppin' john" a traditional good luck food with black eyed peas and greens for NYD and it was delicious and I'm proud of it. I also stuck to eating that and some gluten free cake at the dinner and felt full but not overwhelmed.
-I ate almost everything sitting down and mindfully (the sitting is easy the mindful is challenging, as always)
-This morning I have read my ARC and taken my vitamins
-After eating my breakfast I thought "I'm still hungry" and then I reminded myself that I wasn't hungry, I just wanted to eat and that wasn't acceptable.
Todays' plan:
READ MY ARC THREE TIMES! It's not that difficult, really
Read and meditate on Beck Day 6 - Find a diet coach
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BBE Square dancing sounds delightful! Congratulations on the on plan and on the 42 days of snack control - you know that's the answer to life, the universe and everything right! It must be smooth sailing from here Your resistance muscle can clearly leap tall buildings in a single bound!
onebyone Happy New Year! Congrats on your efficient sleeping and good luck on the IKEA adventure you're about to embark on!
gardenerjoy Kudos on relishising the feelings of accomplishment and being "on top of things" that the new year can bring. !
LoseToAll Congrats on being at our goal and on setting a reasonable, achievable and ambitious goal for this month!
pamatga Kudos for setting expectations for a reluctant partner in something - an excellent way to push them and also hold yourself accountable and able to achieve what you want. Bravo!
ForMyGirls Kudos on the weight milestone! Even bigger kudos for feeling like you want to keep going past it - that's wonderful.
bethfromDayton The best way to get me to do a task I don't want to do is give me something else that is more urgent to complete - never is my house cleaner or my socks better matched then during finals period!
seadwaters I'm so excited someone else uses HabitRPG here! Are you already in a party/on a team or whatever that system is? That's one aspect I haven't explored yet.
nationalparker Kudos for adapting to challenging holiday eating.
CeeJay Kudos on a sugar free day! What an accomplishment.
systemaddict Happy New Year to you too. Isn't it funny how work makes it easier to have set routines?
Snow came last night - five inches so far. I threw in the towel early yesterday, deciding to take today and tomorrow off from work, and now I hear the forecast of -5 for the high on Monday. So my mind is already thinking, hmm... stretch it out even more, but I can't swing that. But now debating work tomorrow and take the miserably cold day off. I could NEVER live further north. My Canadian friends are my heroes. Snow is gorgeous when I'm inside and not driving in it.
Trail walk last night was cold ... but we're planning to do a short one with our pooch, who loves the snow and will have it stuck to her hair (not fur with this dog), and it freezes to her pretty solidly. I figure the treat followed by the **** of a warm bath for her will even it out.
Lazy day, and thoroughly enjoying it. I'm still a paper lover - I tear recipes and don't want to have to turn on a device in order to cook something, but as a result, I have a load of recipes to trim up and put in a book/folder.
Off to eat some lunch as I'm actually hungry. Not because it's nearly 12:30. An important difference in my mind.
Hello! Just logging some credits: second day eating on plan; first day not going to sleep on the sofa at 8.30pm (and yes, those things are related!); stuck to my written-down routines all day including 10 mins planned walk outside (which I was VERY resistant to) and my evening Pilates session.
My daughter helped me cook the meal tonight, she made a big bowl of salad and even ate some of it. She is 5, and has been a very picky vegetable-resistant eater since she turned 2. So seeing her eat lettuce was a big deal, and reinforced another of the benefits for me - if I eat well, the kids eat better too.
maryann I love that freeing yourself up from focusing on food to focus on life. That's where I want to get to as well.
I have not dealt with the Aria scale setup yet. Maybe tonight I'll take a stab at it. I have been enjoying my flex fitbit but don't really like wearing it. But if I don't wear it I won't know how many calories I burn ina day (always curious about this) vs. what I have eaten; all the steps I take and my sleep efficiency, which went up last night to 95% in spite of waking more than the night before.
I made and ate some cookies this afternoon. I fought the thought off for few hours then gave in, made them, and ate half+1 of the batch=10 cookies. I just wanted Sugar. I have been in the grips of Sugar for a few weeks now--ever since I got back from Florida on the 20th. I will have to make a conscious decision to stop eating it again. When I eat sugar I don't eat green things.
My January is starting out well, if a whole lot snowy. We had two forecasts: 1-3" and 2-4". We got about 6". I guess they should have added them together or something.
Today was a prep day in the kitchen--I cooked quite a bit and DD and BFF made and decorated cookies. I didn't nibble on anything while cooking or moving their cookies from the baking try to the cooling tray.
All my meals were OP (although I switched lunch and dinner around, time wise). I had planned on two cookies as my evening snack, knowing it'd be hard watching them being made. As they were being made, I told them myself I could have my two in the evening and that made it okay to wait. I had exactly my two cookies, enjoyed them immensely and feel very proud of myself for waiting to have two, to only having two, and being satisfied with two.
It was interesting to be aware of how much more I ate when preparing for this same party last year--how much I nibbled on all the pieces of each type of food as it was being made. Today, I ate what I intended and didn't nibble on anything while it was being made. In previous years, my binge party eating definitely would have started already--but not this year!
Weight at 198.6 (Correction after wannabehealthy noticed)--178.6--(I did not gain 20 lbs overnight!) again and my recording everything streak is now at 23 days!
I've promised myself a little shopping spree at the office supply store for keeping my streak up during the party!
nationalparker: Sometimes having a two meal rather than a three meal day is what it takes to stay OP for a big food day!
CeeJay: Oh my gosh does that sound cold! Definitely a day that would be better sepnt at home! Credit for all of your credits--and for a no sugar day!
systemsaddict: That's great that you had more energy in the evening--that's wonderful! It's amazing how our children are influenced by our decisions--and that's even true of my college aged ones.
ForMyGirls: Okay, so you didn't want to shortchange yourself--but you did it within plan--that's awesome!
seadwaters: Credit for makng jelly from scratch--that's impressive!
BillBE: Definite credit for going out for a walk to visit the ATM--your evening snack probably didn't require any money!
gardenerjoy: I hope the shoveling wasn't too overwhelming. If it's anything like our house was today, there was a lot of it to do!
maryann: You look gorgeous. You do look incredibly happy and you should--you're amazing. Big credits for responding to those sabataging diabolical thoughts.
veganasaurusrex: Credit for recognizing the difference between hungry and wanting to eat. That's such a hard one for me! (DH is worse than I am about doing tasks that are non-critical when there's a time crunch.)
onebyone: Credit for letting us know what you did with the cookies. It's hard to have sugar calling. {{hugs}}
I don't know how much I'll be able to check in the next few days--I'll post but know I won't have time for personals when I have a house full of people.
Take care, all.
Last edited by bethFromDayton; 01-03-2014 at 08:01 AM.
Back on track after cookie collision. I also have a screwdriver and even a level to continue my Ikea furniture adventure. Made plenty of progress today. I've attached a jpg of my completed chaise lounge. I *love* it even if DH thinks it's only "half a sofa".
My fitbit also lit 5 lights--more than before. I wish I remembered what it was counting though as I know I changed it from the default setting=steps taken. Oh well. I'll check in the morning.
I return to WW meetings on Saturday. This feels right. I'll be back at the gym after tomorrow too. Time to start firing on all cylinders.
maryann You look fit and happy and your backdrop is intriguing! Kudos for posting!
Well, my streak ended today. I would love to try to figure out a way to still pretend that it was legit eating because of 45 minutes of snow shoveling/pushing/flinging, but in all honesty, I just can't claim it as a day on track. ARGH. Can I not keep a streak going here?
So, committing to not beating myself up tomorrrow, and just getting rolling again. Credits today did include getting outside with the wind chill below zero for the shoveling, coming in when my heart felt like it was pounding a bit harder than I thought it should, even though I still had a bit more to do, skipping all cookies in the house, and choosing a grapefruit between meals and some home-popped popcorn tonight (done in a pan with a bit of olive oil). Lunch and dinner seemed light, but I had two slices of biscotti for 200 calories, picking the puniest that are left, but STILL eating them. I need to start tracking again, Beth - I feel silly restarting at MyFitnessPal AGAIN, but clearly need to monitor. Great job on skipping the pre-festivity food. Pulling hard for you to get that shopping spree for sticking on plan during the party time. Even if it is at an office supply store -ha ha!
Typically I never eat standing up, and don't think about it, but today I stood at my back kitchen window with my grapefruit and watched and listened to the hundreds of Canada geese in the field next to us with the snow coming down. So peaceful, though they sounded quite vocal. I might be the lone Canada goose liker; everyone here gripes about their pooh, their noise, etc., but hey - I like 'em. Did you know (well, Bill, I know YOU know) that if one is injured, another one goes down with it to stay with it while it hopefully heals. IF that's not true, don't tell me because I like to think of them as caring, as a wildlife officer told me at a Nat'l Park ha ha. Denial, my DH says. Odd fact (?) of the day.
Maryann - Wonderful picture - thank you for posting that! Love the joy on your face.
Hm - I think I DO need to track because looking back at my food intake, I let the two biscotti take hold of my whole day, thinking I was doing terrible. Lunch was pretty light, and dinner was the comfort food fave of tomato soup with 1% milk and grilled cheese, which came in under 500 for the meal.
Coaches
I have had a busy day getting chores done. I went to IKEA - always challenging but a great way to get my walking done. And I picked up some things to make my environment more organised.
I have been following a primal/paleo diet and trying to incorporate current best wisdom into my diet - and today my jars to begin fermenting food arrived! It will be fun to learn how to ferment foods and make things like sauerkraut, kefir, dill pickles etc. It is quite hard to get unpasturised pickles (salted not vinegared) in Australia at all or for a reasonable price so I am going to prioritise my health and give it a go. Plus a fine distraction to learn a new food related skill.
I am struggling with choices for food tomorrow. I am going out for breakfast and one place we could go has food I need to stay away from. I need to work out how to deal with the options
Credits today for:
Checking in
Weighing in (up again!)
Walking to get my steps in
Looking at all the food on offer in IKEA and sticking with what I had planned
Giving myself credit for making good choices
Keeping my carbohydrates low
No sugar and no wheat
Last edited by GosfordGirl; 01-03-2014 at 05:23 AM.
Diet Coaches/Buddies – When I tried to buy some lower body base layer (long johns if you're not hiking Mt. Everest), the clerk, in her best 'of course' voice, said, "you know that's a seasonal item. You have to buy them when they come out in October." Ouch. So I ordered them on-line with guaranteed delivery yesterday. They didn't because it's 2 degrees Fahrenheit outside with the snow still falling. It's hard for me to imagine a life where I think of buying long johns on the beach on the Fourth of July. Oh Well. Walked, CREDIT moi, to the library to pick up one of the Mary Poppins books and the Walt Disney movie. After seeing Saving Mr. Banks I realize that I've never read the real book. At checkout the librarian called over to the children's librarian to ask if she'd ever read it. Nope. Apparently I'm going to be the first; they had to ship it in from the suburbs.
Eating continued on plan including snacks, CREDIT moi, to increment my streak to 44. Evening snack was, again, half a Florida Navel Orange. It's a pain that DW only wants a half and I feel obligated to have the other half instead of a whole one for myself. But it tweaks my thinking about my relationship to food so perhaps it's a good thing happening.
onebyone – Be aware that you'll be the first person on planet earth to cobble together IKEA furniture using a level, LOL. Ouch for the attack of the cookies. Love the chaise lounge - it looks like it'll provide the same seating space as a couch using much less room. LOL at your DH's "half a sofa."
Joy (gardenerjoy) – I'll be joining you in this snow shoveling thing.
Cheryl (seadwaters) – Keep us posted on your IKEA results - there must be a whole division of YouTube devoted to constructing their stuff. Intrigued by the notion of salted rather than vinegar'd pickles. Good luck with that venture.
maryann - The goal for us all, "I focus on life."
nationalparker – So rare it's worth celebrating, "I'm actually hungry." Kudos for taking your Trail Walk in these temps. When I become Czar, all biscotti will be sent back to Italy where they belong. [Yes, Canada Geese mate for life, fly down with a wounded mate, bury their dead, and read Mary Poppins to their goslings. You're right; I'm not the person to ask, LOL.]
Beth (bethFromDayton) – Yes indeed, Kudos for, "waiting to have two, to only having two, and being satisfied with two."
Jo (veganasaurusrex) – Now you got me drooling for some "hoppin' john". Kudos for recognizing, "I wasn't hungry, I just wanted to eat." [Neat to have someone Geek enough to appreciate the significance of hitting '42'.]
systemsaddict - Yay for getting something green into your 5 yo DD - wonder if she'd get suspicious if you asked her to help cook some spinach, LOL.
Readers -
Quote:
day 9Select an Exercise Plan
Finalize Your Exercise Plans
Also think of all of the different ways you can work spontaneous exercise into each day. Write down your plan so you'll feel accountable.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), pg 110.
It was either warmer than expected or I'm more acclimated than I thought. I had no problem spending more than an hour outside working yesterday. I even unzipped my jacket at one point. I got it cleared off enough to get out. Today's chore will be to get it all off in advance of the next system -- more snow on Sunday and a high of 3 degrees on Monday. We have lots of years when our temperature never dips to 3 degrees as a low, much less a high!
Great to see all the New Year energy on this thread and elsewhere on 3FC! I'm borrowing it for my own purposes to stay on plan and get things done.
WI: -0.2 in kg, Exercise: +70 115/1400 minutes for January, Food: 100%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
maryann: love your picture! You look terrific. No one would look at that picture and see someone who needs to lose 20 pounds. Except, apparently, you. I think that will improve over time, especially with your thoughtful solutions.
veganasaurusrex: yay for making hoppin' john part of your credits for the New Year!
bethfromDayton: impressive restraint around the cookies! Cool that you can compare your actions from last year to this -- and appreciate the improvement and what it's doing for you!
seadwaters: can't wait to hear about your fermenting. I read Cooked by Michael Pollan last year and have been fascinated by the idea, but I haven't taken the plunge yet.
BillBlueEyes: I've never read Mary Poppins either. I started it once and it was so not Julie Andrews that I couldn't continue. I should try again now that the shock factor has worn off. But I'll wait and see if you like it.
*credit* for weighing in at the exact same as 2 days ago. Rare that. I'm about to go tackle the Ikea furniture assembly. I have screwdriver. I have patience. I have instructional graphics that sort of make sense. I also have coffee. Will checkback in. BTW we had frostquakes last night. new to me.
Billblueeyes and gardenerjoy: admittedly, I love cranky old people. I really do. I love it when people say exactly what they mean. So, here's a link to Harlan Ellison, famous sci-fi writer and thought to be erratic, angry and really hard to handle, discussing the movie Saving Mr. Banks and the writer of Mary Poppins. Watch it to the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNIFEHN1_cY
Back on home turf with a big sigh of relief. I had many credits. I weighed everyday (brought my scale); drank all my water everyday; exercised; focused on getting in all my fruits and veggies in between sugar mania. In the five days I was gone I saw the scale go up as high as five pounds. Today I weighed in at just three pounds above maintenance weight. This seems a manageable amount to lose again. I am committing to the first week of the JJ Virgin Diet that I did back in September: off the 7 most common food allergens and two vita mix shakes a day. We'll see how much of the gain was water weight.
So for today, I plan to cook a bunch of grass fed beef to portion out for the next three days; stock up on berries, spinach and chia seeds; and make a Pilates run. As of this moment, I have logged 17 hours of my first day
veganasaurausrex: baked cauliflower is one of my favorite things. I also have a wonderful mock mash potatoes that uses cauliflower.
nationalparker: you are my hero taking a trail walk in 0 degrees. I take my weather for granted. I think tracking does help. My mind is a terrible neighborhood. Better get things down in black and white.
systemsaddict: It is a wonderful feeling to know my kid is seeing a healthy model. He automatically orders sandwiches on wheat bread. He thinks about how many fruits and veggies he has had for the day. Feels good to be a positive influence. Could you tell me what your name means? Are you a techie?
onebyone: I am researching flex fitbit. Thanks. It might be something I am interested in.
bethfromDyaton: You constantly amaze me with your ability to bake. I am no that evolved yet. So proud of you for getting back under 180 when you were struggling just a few short weeks ago. Terrific.
Ceejay: fascinated by fermenting jars. Is this part of the paleo plan? Just read about a new book Cavewoman Don't Get Fat.
BBE: My goal is to see Saving Mr. Banks this weekend, head cold permitting.
gardenerjoy: Thanks for the boost. I think my body image will improve over time as well. It will also decrease in importance.
Your resistance muscle can clearly leap tall buildings in a single bound!
update
I think that will improve over time, especially with your thoughtful solutions.
new to me.
