Good morning all, I hope you had a good day yesterday.
My day was pretty good
- I managed to stay on track with my plan
- I managed to overcome quite a few sabotaging thoughts that would usually have led me to overeat or break my plan
- I read my response cards at time when I felt my resolve weakening
AZtricia - well done for getting some exercise in nationalparker - well done for keeping yourself busy instead of eating Rosebud170 - well done for planning and sticking with it CeeJay - well done for getting back on it and for making your plan FutureFitChick - I am in Rwanda in a place called Cyangugu (near DRC boarder). I am working with a charity called Tearfund, mainly doing teaching ad training. It's great here and a really life changing experience so far.
I forgot to say in last post that the 2.5 pound upward bleep was down again yesterday so I was back to the lowest weight since surgery. And I was still that weight again this morning so the ticker got changed! Exercise is a bit of a mystery because the battery for the fitbit ran out shortly after it logged my sleep so captured non of my morning stuff or dog walk and since it has been charging since then none of my kitchen cooking antics. The dogs were determined to had a walk even though it was a constant fine drizzle - we got to the park and they were miserable but I did a few rounds and took 2 drowned wet beasties home. Went to the gym although I resisted in the middle of a busy day - I did all my exercises and a few sprints on the bike and feel like I did my duty
I am prepping food for today and the week because as you all say - planning planning planning - it will be a difficult and busy week and I hope to remain on track. I don't mind being busy but hate being rushed and I will be both this week. The first to go out the window is exercise and then food. I have two days of meetings with food supplied which I loathe - it is impossible to know what they will supply but I usually can't eat any of it and would rather go down to the canteen where I know I can get some good Pho or Vietnamese rolls or something safe (without wheat or sugar or rubbish). Will have to think about what to do / take
LadyM - welcome back - Africa sounds so exotic and I notice your later explanation of what you are doing there. It sounds profound. Of course I had to look in Google Maps where it was and it is indeed remote! So kudos for having this lifechanging experience and being on plan!
ForMyGirls - Credit for meeting a minigoal! Great work keeping all your health activities when busy and tired
Debbie (Lexxiss) - Hope the Beck thinking cap helped - water heaters gone wrong are a nightmare. Credit for a streak of 11 on the 3 Ws
Bill(BE) - Congrats on streaking to 87 (in the faceof 8 choices to break the streak) AND getting the "he-remembered" tick - always important. At least tulips seem consistent with really cold weather and snow given where they "come from" but who knows
Joy (gardenerjoy) - hope lunch went well and theat "salad + maybe soup" worked - my favourite meal actually. Hope all the ice melts in the sultry 40F tomorrow
nationalparker - post as many times as you need to to stay on track. Hope the lunch went well - sounds yummy. Credit for chores done and the distraction they offer against "foraging". Great insight that it was probably your "mind that kept (you) hungry" - I need to remember that when I think I am starving. My desk does the job of your dining table and I try to clear it off once a day - on my dailies to-do list
Maryann - Good to believe your blue phase will pass - as it will if you focus on activities that you know will help see it on its way. What works for you usually then (besides illegal foods )? You seem to be doing all the right things.
FutureFitChick - Happy anniversary and I trust your celebrations were stellar? Yay for quality time spent together. There already seem to be some good holiday suggestions - a cruise sounds great! I don't do vacations so can't help a lot
CeeJay - Glad you are back and as usual honest and straightforward. To new beginnings
Rosebud - Welcome back! Credit for still focussing on your eating and exercise with Beck. I am thinking of trying aqua zumba because it looks so good and I like the style - I think I am more likely to survive it in the water than on land at the moment. Credit for finding an alternative when you couldn't do your preferred exercise. MFP is great - I too try to log the day before or at least the meal before to monitor progress - it seems to be working
Tricia (in AZ) - not sure what a rocket launch is but it sounds interesting...Well done to exercise, see a pt, and plan sensible meals, all when busy. Credit!
There was a bit if jumping off the tracks today but i did keep correcting myself so credit for that. Credit also for stopping at only a tiny bit past full in our fortnightly curry feast tonight. Stopping at full would have been better but it could have been heaps worse. And credit for resisting an offered icecream treat tonight.
Food ? <80 % OP; Health activities 100% OP? no ; Drank 2L water? no ; Went to bed on time? no ; Streak count: 0
Been missing my bedtime a bit lately and noticed today i was tired. Was thinking "why am i tired? I slept weel last night?" And then "duh - well, but not for long enough!" That shall be corrected in 10 mins!
Maryann - you explain how "blue" feels so evocatively. Huge kudos to you for being able to step out of it enough to see that it will pass. I hope that the point when it is past arrives soon for you.
Ceejay - welcome back and hooray to you for taking the giant leap of posting.
Rosebud - welcome bakc to you too. It sounds like you are doing really well.
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Had dinner at the home of friends where I ate moderately instead of a more normal dinner party stuffing; CREDIT moi with an extra CREDIT moi for no snacks at all to extend the streak to 88.
Exercise was, again, chipping ice in preparation for the next dump of snow; CREDIT moi. I did some preliminary shoveling before we walked to our friend's home for dinner, then did a brief shoveling at 10:30 last night to get some snow removed before early walkers tramp it down this morning. The wonderful surprise: moonbeam greeted me this morning when I went to make coffee!! Just thrilled because it also meant a clear sky - perhaps the 11 inch dump predicted for today has passed us by.
Joy (gardenerjoy) – I like a plan that faces an uncertain menu.
CeeJay - I, too, am challenged to peek out when I'm not doing well. Kudos for doing so. Let our positives vibes sink into your unconscious.
Cheryl (seadwaters) – Arguably one of the best feelings ever is that of exercise that was resisted. Kudos for fighting the Sabotaging Thoughts and getting it done. One of my favorite achievements at work was to contact the admin who was ordering calzones for a lunchtime meeting to suggest that a few salads be added. "I've never thought of that," then she did. They went first; subsequent meeting had more - then more for the meeting after that. Seems that at least half of us preferred a salad with cold chicken than the heavy duty stuff.
FutureFitChick – I'm so jealous that your DH has all his must-remember days in one month - lucky guy. The Western parks with millions of years of exposed geology are so appealing for hiking about. They might be a pain with limited mobility. We're saving our Alaskan coastal cruise for when our walking becomes limited. Maybe you can do yours a few decades early. [Why, Yes! Peeling off Elmer's white glue is a kick.]
maryann - Absolutely, "the work I do should not be discounted" - we're just as fast to discount our accomplishments as we are to generate Sabotaging Thoughts to justify over eating. Kudos for wrestling the blues.
ladym0208 – Kudos for countering those Sabotaging Thoughts to stay your path. I googled Tearfund - sounds like some solid work being done.
nationalparker – Kudos for splitting a single dinner entree into three servings - a serious reminder of the portion growth of restaurants. Congrats to your sister for those 30 pounds gone using Weight Watchers. Yep, I have places where I gather my clutter while I hope for that inspiration to clear it up.
Rosebud170 – Yes, send some of that Pacific Northwest rain to California - or we'll all be out of food. Terrific mantra, "I can do anything for just 30 minutes!"
ForMyGirls - Kudos for being aware of your state of fullness during your curry feast. Yep, it could have been worse.
AZtricia - Kudos for addressing that injured shoulder - hope that personal trainer helped it along the path to mending.
Readers -
Quote:
day 12Practicing Hunger Tolerance
What to Do
Pick a day this week to practice hunger tolerance. If you think it'll be challenging, choose a day when you know you'll be busy and you predict you won't be faced with difficult eating triggers. Many of the dieters I've counseled initially tried this experiment on a workday. A structured routine helped them refrain from eating until dinnertime.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), pg 122.
3Ws (Weigh, Write a food plan, Write a post) streak: 13 Credit!
Yesterday's plan changed as we headed down to Denver to have V-Day dinner w/my mom and the kids. I ate dessert, which was unplanned, yet give myself credit for a 9 hour shift at the restaurant without 1 bite. It was busy....very busy....too busy, even to eat my tangerine which I brought with me. I'll take it up to the project today.
The good news about my written plan for yesterday is it works for today. Easy.
MaryAnn, sending hugs as you recognize your blues. I'm remembering the daily 12 step meditation book for "Women Who Do Too Much". Thinking it wouldn't hurt for me to get one. I related to lots you said, as to how my life is right now, too. I'm very caught up in the "have to's" even when they are good things.
nationalparker, yes, our dining room table is also a catch all. You aren't alone lol
Must head to the kitchen for smoothie. The project calls early today.
I fell on the ice yesterday. Here's an advantage to losing weight that I never thought of -- taking a fall is a lot easier with 70 fewer pounds! I think my daily exercise helped, too. Especially since my instinct, yesterday, was to still get my workout in. I'm much less stiff than I might have been, just a bit of achiness from the jarring and a slightly swollen wrist that only hurts if I put weight on it. Calling that a win!
3Ws (Weigh, Write a food plan, Write a post) streak: 13 Credit!
WI: +1.0 kg, Exercise: +45 725/1400 minutes for February, Food: 80%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
FutureFitChick: I can come up with lots of non-hiking vacations, harder to come up with non-walking ones, though...I love to plan trips, too!
Here's an idea, and close to you: Columbus, Indiana. A small city with an astounding amount of modern architecture. It's very drivable. We walked a fair amount, too, but not like in Paris or Chicago. You wouldn't have to walk to see things -- you could drive and get out every few blocks to look at the buildings. The bus tour is worth it because it gets you into spaces you might not see inside otherwise. We took cameras and spent four days there and would still like to go back.
Kansas City has lots of cool things to see and we drive more than walk when we're there because the sites are spread apart. Lots of standing, though, since the museums are so fun.
MaryAnn: I had a thought while reading FutureFitChick's response to you. Maybe you need an Artist's Date? Have you read The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron? I'm going through it with a group on-line (let me know if you want info -- we're taking the whole year). This is my third time through, so I know the best things in the whole book are in the introduction -- Morning Pages and the Artist's Date.
Another thing that helps me with feeling blue is doing something, anything, creative that is all mine and has no professional purpose (and, therefore, no pressure attached) -- like planning a trip or writing a slam poem or making a time line in the hallway with post-it notes about a period of history that interests me.
Last edited by gardenerjoy; 02-16-2014 at 10:34 AM.
Thanks for the good and warming thoughts. Many asked how I self-care. What works for me is to stay completely present in the moment. "Now I am sitting matching socks. This feels peaceful." "Now I am sitting in the carwash." Etc. . . I cannot look past the hour or doom will overtake me. My husband calls it my "Global Warming Thinking." I pray for relief from the bondage of self. I set little goals. If I clean 1 quarter of the garage, I can sit and watch a movie series and relax. I look at my son's beautiful face sitting next to me and say, "The blues will not rob me of this moment with him." Then I go to bed exhausted at the effort of this consciousness.
This morning, the danger seems farther away. I sat with my mint green tea (my new favorite) and felt some peace. Food list was maintained (except that darn cornsyrup) but I had no plan. Today's plan is three strict meals and stay out of the kitchen. weight still at maintenance.
FutureFitChick: How about an Alaskan cruise through Glacier Bay. My husband got sick on our honeymoon but we didn't miss a thing because the boat moved him. None of our favorite excursion require much of a knee - kayaking, a helicopter tour to the tundra, wildlife tour on a boat where we saw a mother and baby whale breeching. Fantastic.
nationalparker: In sympathy with your struggle, I am staying OUT of the kitchen except mealtimes today. Boy will that help me. I started at about 162 if I remember correctly. I weighed in at 153 today.
CeeJay: Thanks for the reminder "It takes time for weightloss." I want to get to the lower part of maintenance but that is a slow process.
Rosebud170: What kind of exercises are on the P90x3? I can't do a lot of pushups because I have carpel tunnel syndrome.
ladym0208: So interesting to hear about your life. I am a teacher as well.
seadwaters; Love to see that dancing carrot.
ForMyGirls: I laughed at your post because I could easily stop before I was full with curry. It is one of the few foods I can't seem to like. Now Mac and Cheese . . .
BBE: Smiled at your ice chipping. I have a feeling my husband would just take a blowtorch to it. (That is how he roasts marshmallows.)
Lexxiss: Yesterday I got back to pg. 449 in the big book. "Acceptance is the answer to all my problems." That really broughtt me some relief.
Thanks for all your warm wishes. You gals (and Bill) are awesome. Going to try doing as Lexxiss advised awhile back and post every day or at least every day most of the time (gotta battle that all or nothing thinking )
Yesterday I followed my eating plan right up until bedtime and then I really bombed again sigh...
I've made some pleasant discoveries re: this new cell phone. The grand world of apps!
Dear Lord, it is a vast world full of wonders.
I downloaded a few apps that could be very very helpful: meditation apps, positive thinking/self hypnosis apps. Amazing. Even one that is just nature sounds that you can combine (waves, owls, frogs, birds, rain, fire etc.). I did try an "app for cats" called Flygames. Green background, houseflies buzz then enter screen and will splat when touched. Caesar watched the first four, and tentatively reached toward the small screen on the phone and that was it. He was done with it. I am looking for the "frog one" which is all I know about it and I think it needs a larger screen, but we'll see.
I've been under the weather since Thursday. I have not made it back to the gym since being chastised by the trainer. I have now built that small encounter into "now every time I go t the gym I HAVE TO LOSE WEIGHT". Ugh. Doing this to myself is GUARANTEE I will not only not lose weight, but gain weight. More accurate a statement is "My trainer's goal for me is weightloss. I can choose where I place my focus." My sister, who has had a few trainers and became friends with one of them, told me the reason they really focus on the weightloss is that they know, and have seen, that if the client doesn't *see* any changes, no matter their motivation and focus on other rewards/benefits, if they don't see the changes they will eventually stop going. I guess that's true. My brain is not my friend here. While I was perfectly happy just showing up (I always give it 100% if I get through the door) now it feels "less than" and "nothing to celebrate" cause I haven't been able to get the food to fall in line. Crazy thinking that makes me I believe it. It's all just resistance. It's all just procrastination. I know the more resistance I have the closer I am to real change.
Today's challenge is a work event with DH's work. Work has rented out Reptilia Reptile Zoo & Education Center for their employees and their families. Buffet dinner will be served--which has been posted so I can choose. Nothing amazing so I shouldn't be tempted by the strange, unusual or rare food stuffs. More enticing would be to drown my negative feelings. Outings with his work make me feel very F-A-T as so many of the spouses are very thin and very stylish, all while being parents. I need to add this to my advantages response card I think. I too want to be a thin, fit, stylish spouse at a work event. I can start working toward that with today's event.
Foodplan for buffet:
Gourmet Cheese Salad
Ravioli with Grilled Chicken
no sweets.
Fruit for dessert if available.
Ok will check in later.
BTW I do have the winter blahs still. Very tough to do anything right now. Takes an incredible amount of effort to get going. Luckily I have many people around me to hold me accountable, and that works, kind of like this board.
This is a late post for me this morning, as i was up until about 5:30 AM reading about different positions for my job search. It gets overwhelming, but I have to just focus on one thing at a time, though. My computer was also giving me fits again this morning. Apparently there are hidden files that McAfee "Uninstaller" does not remove. So frustrating, but in the bigger scope of things I am grateful that I could find the answer and remedy the problem on my own in a couple hours.
Food was OK yesterday. After our lunch date, I didn't feel like eating my planned salad, but I did load up on other veggies. I slept through breakfast, so ate that for lunch. I want to keep focusing on meeting my commitments and deadlines better, so I really need to nip this sleep issue in the bud tonight!
Thanks for all of the travel suggestions. You gave us great things to think about. I love the idea of going to Alaska, especially since DH's cousin will probably be working there this summer. But, DH still finds a trip there hard to imagine without lots of hiking. We have some thinking to do.
CeeJay, hugs to you on the occasion that you have not been doing well! I, too, need the reminder that weight loss takes a lot of time, energy, and commitment! Thanks for sharing that. I, too, have a really bad habit of dessert just before bed. With my knee though, I've been going to our bedroom earlier to do PT and it has helped interrupt that pattern for me.
Rosebud170, great mentality of "I can do anything for just 30 minutes"!
NationalParker, a bubble bath sounds AMAZING!!! I can't take a bath until my incisions are healed and I miss them! Hope that was enough to do the trick for you in order to stick to your plan. As for me, I imagine I would be able to walk a few miles on fairly stable (and ideally flat) surfaces. I've never been out to the southwest, so I can't comment on Arizona. We love getting outdoors for hiking, swimming, beaches, etc. I'll have to check out Isle Royale. That's new to me. Canoeing might be feasible. I'll have to give that some thought too.
AZTricia, wow! Only crashing one! I remember when I was a kid hunting for hours in the stupid cornfield near our house trying to recover lost ones. I'm glad you got some help for your shoulder too.
LadyM0208, that must be a really neat and intense experience for you! I've only done mission work for week long stints, so I can't imagine how different that must be. I'm really glad that you were able to overcome the sabotaging thoughts! That is huge!
SeaDWaters, you live in AUSTRALIA and don't take vacation? I'm not sure I would be able to get any work done in a place that that with so much to do and see! I'm glad to see that your weight settled back down. How frustrating that your battery cut out on you, but it sounds like you were really active in any case! How does the FitBit do on your bike activity? The BodyMedia Sync does not do a great job of accounting for biking.
ForMyGirls, credit for catching yourself at just past full. That can be tricky.
BillBlueEyes, how are the LED out door bulbs working? (That's a real question, as we've been investigating them but haven't found a brand reviewers seem to agree on.) Your morning with the snow sounds beautiful! I look forward to the day when I can manage dinner out with such conviction!
Lexxiss, hope all is going well with the project. In spite of the dessert, it sounds like you still managed the rest of the change in plans really well.
GardenerJoy, I hope you are not bruised from your fall. Are you feeling OK now? I laughed out loud when I read your suggestion of Columbus, Indiana. That is where I finished high school. They really are proud of the architecture there. The modern church architecture was so odd to me when we first moved there, but now I understand how iconic it can be. I have spent a little bit of time in Kansas City, but DH really hasn't. That is a good idea too.
MaryAnn, I'm glad you seem to have some strategies for dealing with the "blue". Hang in there! I loved your your description of Alaska; it allows me to imagine myself there!
OnebyOne, hang in there while you are dealing with the all-or-nothing thinking. That can be rough.
I've loved being home and getting things done today - in between doing "work" work ... I'm itching to get to bed early and read a bit, though, too. Roasted onions and carrots and also some sweet potato chunks with both cayenne, garlic powder, salt, and 2 tps of brown sugar for a sweet/spicy flavor. Came out perfectly.
For some reason, while I looked forward to Downton Abbey last year, this year I'm not into it but am dvr-ing it and hope to get caught up and enjoy it. It feels (to me) like they've pushed too hard to stretch out another season. Saw that Grease was on and cannot for the life of me understand HOW, as a kid, I believed that these were high-schoolers. So then I had to look up to see how old Stockard Channing was in the movie (33). Then had to see how old Cha Cha was (30) I was a gullible kid, I suppose. But thanks to the IMDb, I learned that she was pregnant with an ectopic pregnancy and that's why she leaned on the car during the dragracing scene ... then was rushed into surgery. Don't remember that. What a font of information.
GardenerJoy - Yikes on falling on the ice. I HATE that, and hope you're feeling well tomorrow, too, and no new residual pain. Thank you for suggesting Columbus, Indiana - I'm going to put that on our summer idea sheet. DH works four 12-hour days and is off four days, so it works well for trips every other month when they coincide with weekends.
Foraged a bit too much for food today - kind of grazed lightly off and on. Not a lot of calories, but I don't like doing that as I get in my mind that I'm not eating light, because I'm eating more often.
Among our pets is one black longhair cat that DH chose as a kitten from a woman at a farm near him ... she's now nearly five and was given to DH MUCH too young. End result is that she was very aggressive/mean/cranky/touchy/socially inept. I love her to death. I joked that I feel like the alligator showman with his head in the gator's mouth when I'm trying to socialize her. (You can tell a Florida transplant) ... anyway, slowly she's been coming 'round to being a bit more friendly. I keep saying, "I'm going to tame this wild mustang!" and four years or so later, I think I'm finally making progress.
Hello coaches,
Sorry no personals again today. It's been a good day for eating plan and OK for exercise. I'm still sore from my DVD yesterday and only walked pup. Gotta go prep veggies for the week. See y'all tomorrow!
I unfortunately basically took the weekend off from dieting. Not my wisest plan. I ended my recording everything streak when I realized that I didn't even know what I'd eaten for dinner Friday night (double date with friends) and the only response to my 3rd margarita was to fall right asleep.
Got some baking done this weekend. Successful at not snacking Saturday, not so much today.
Almost no exercise all weekend--we hardly left the house.
I'm super consumed with planning for our big party next month--it's only 33 days away. I've also got a party planned here next weekend, then a trip to Florida (Tuesday - Sunday) and then one more party. And tons of planning and organizing before the big party event. I've just learned that our registration numbers are up from last year--and last year was a record breaking year for us.
I have kickboxing tomorrow--I'm looking forward to that. I don't have anything to pack for lunch (didn't grocery shop today) so that's not a good thing--I just texted a friend to see if she wanted to meet for lunch tomorrow. And she just texted back yes--that was quick--and I suggested a place that is really easy for me to eat OP. (Yes, that all happened while writing this paragraph.)
I've got tomorrow planned out, but not yet written down--next step.
- Walked for nearly 4 hours, I live right by lake Kivu and the views are amazing so I took the opportunity yesterday to go out and explore
- Resisted fried food after the walk, I had those thoughts of 'you've earned it' but saying no was more important
bethFromDayton well done for coming back after the weekend off & for making a plan for today AZtricia well done for making time to prep those veggies for this week, I found this really help on days when I was feeling tired just knowing they are already ready makes making a good decision so much easier onebyone Hope you managed to tick to your plan for the buffet. Please don't let the Personal trainer make you feel bad, they are there to work for you and encourage you to meet your goals not to push their goals onto you! CeeJay hope today is a better one for you xx maryann Staying present is so important, it is so easy to get lost in your thoughts and they can often become your worst enemy. Hope today is a good one!
Credits: i couldn't remember whether i had planned a yoghurt snack after dinner so i checked before i ate it. I went out for lunch and didn't even contemplate having a treat.
Food ? 100 % OP; Health activities 100% OP? no ; Drank 2L water? no ; Went to bed on time? no ; Streak count: 0
Gardenerjoy - i am loving the picture in my head of a post it note timeline just for the fun of it!
Maryann - i find your posts about how you manage the blues so profoundly moving and inspiring.
in the middle of a busy day - I did all my exercises and a few sprints on the bike and feel like I did my duty
)? You seem to be doing all the right things. 
Sunday
)
the good. the bad. the meh.
thinking that makes me 
I believe it. It's all just resistance. It's all just procrastination. I know the more resistance I have the closer I am to real change. 
