[SuzLen]

Hello All,

Stopped at a local meat store that I rarely go to because it is so expensive, but Thursday is the day they get the fresh salmon in and I splurged. Grilled slowly with a peach glaze. It. Was. Delish.

Scale was up a bit this morning, so I am in a slight panic. Looking forward to BillBB's messages each morning to help me stay on track.

nationalparker, thank you for your thoughts today. I feel a lot of the same when I ponder how I can make healthy lifetime changes and (hopefully) lose weight. I am glad you didn't stress over the fries, and that you are able to enjoy the rare indulgence without feeling guilt.

BillBB, so glad you are feeling better!!

gardenerjoy, are you going with a group or just you and your husband? How long will you be gone?

Trimmed two crepe myrtles after consulting that expert known as "google." They are incredibly tall, and I didn't have a ladder I felt was safe to climb with a chainsaw, but I did the best I could. I will revisit in the spring! Three trees left to work on.

[nationalparker]

Happy to report that I did okay this evening and kitchen is closed. Prepped DH's dinner for tomorrow night and did have two pretzel chips with a bit of hummus as I portioned out his. But ... not a major stray. Yay.

Bill - Glad you were feeling a bit better - hope you still got good rest today. 6 a.m. is an early wake up when not well.

Karen - Looking forward to more details of your Machu Picchu trip. That's on DH's list and we've adjusted from hiking to just GETTING THERE. I'm not sure why but it was never a place I wanted to visit but now that he does, I want to share it with him. Are you hiking the whole way? Dead Woman's Pass scared me too much. I picture everything to be like this.

Joy - Your trip planning sounds like great fun. I love a certain amount of planning and then some good winging it after meeting and talking to folks wherever I'm visiting

SuzLen - Great call in stopping for the fresh salmon, and then doing it up special! Stay on track with me tomorrow! Let's wrap up the workweek strong. A workweek not a workweak

No prepped meals left for tomorrow night, so I'm planning on breakfast for dinner - always a favorite for me. Donut Friday was being planned today and I won't think twice about even checking out the assortment.

CurlyJax - Here's to wrapping up a workweek strong ... any special plans for the weekend as autumn gets rolling solidly? I want to get out my decor and enjoy putting it out, not just rush to empty the bin. I pulled out some cake pedestals and cupcake pedestals and will use those to elevate some decor this year. Never THINK about making it nicer, just kind of go, "Oh I put this here before..." I'm not going to be using those items for desserts right now...

[onebyone]

Coaches

I think it is tomorrow now. Hmmmm. Okay then. Good morning!

I went to work in the ceramic room today. Got a few things done. Envisioned making more money which is unusual for me. Perhaps my latest success with ceramics has me hopeful? Probably. I'm at the market this weekend so we'll see if we still sell a few things.

MIL has oncologist appointment next Wed. Bit of a.mixup as to location.. We're being sent downtown even though she requested the hospital near her. Her only daughter has not visited since the diagnosis and I expected she'd come over Thanksgiving (this weekend here in Canada) but.no. She won't be here until Xmas. Boggles my mind that it is simply not urgent enough for her to come. I think her mother is disappointed. I'd be devastated but SIL is not me. She has to live with her own choices. I am staying out if their relationship as tempted as I am to be very harsh with the SIL.

Other than this my cold is reduced to coughing fits now and again, well actually now because it is late so I'll sign off.

Bye for now.

PS excuse typos or weird punctuation. My phone just does stuff sometimes and I don't notice on this tiny screen!

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Emergence from the dead is a slow process. Again, I did little all day. The brain won't read, so I nap, then putter then repeat.

Food was on plan, CREDIT moi, including breakfast without blueberries - a serious sign that summer is over. DW mentions that we have to get over to the community garden and clean it up before the snow begins. Taking down tomato cages isn't as much fun as putting them up.


onebyone – Hope the coughing fits diminish so that you can have stellar ceramic sales this weekend. Kudos for choosing to keep your opinions to yourself in the family dynamics. (Perhaps Erikson was here in 1000 A.D. Perhaps he got to Cape Cod in Massachusetts or only to Newfoundland. It would have helped history if he'd written something down.)

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Yay for a plan designed to reduce anxiety.

nationalparker – Yep, Kudos for choosing a sane eating path rather than a fanatical one. If an occasional serving of french fries is what it takes, then Yay for french fires. Thanks for the pictures of terrifying climbing trails. Sending strength as you face Donut Friday.

SuzLen - I do love Crepe Myrtles. Kudos for choosing NOT to climb an unsafe ladder with a chain saw. Drooling over salmon grilled with a peach.

Readers -

Chapter 2 Foundation Strategies to Escape Your Traps

Before you start, though, check out what's going through your mind. Are you already having sabotaging thoughts? You might be thinking, "This sounds like a lot of work. I have to lose weight more quickly! I can get by with just reading about the skills. I don't have to practice them."

If you're having these thoughts, we want to pose this question: What would you tell your best friend if she had struggled to lose weight and keep it off and was now asking you, "What should I do? I really want to succeed!"? Would you suggest that she not make any changes? That she continue to do what she has done in the past - even though time and again it hasn't worked in the long run?

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., Deborah Beck Busis, The Diet Trap Solution, Train Your Brain to Lose Weight and Keep It Off for Good (Blue book), pg. 24

[karenrn]

Good morning coaches,

A quick check in before I get up to get ready for an easy hike that is a little further away. My friend tolerates the heat even less than I do, so an early start is imperative.

I would have to say I have been on maintenance at best these last couple of days. Clothes feel okay, but I haven't jumped on the scale. Yesterday we took a cooking class and then ate what we made for lunch. It was Southwest foods including pasole, corn bread, butternut squash, and a cake with lime syrup drizzled in it and strawberries in liquors over top. I thought it all tasted good. Portions were small, but still too much.

Nationalparker We hope to do Machu Picchu with Mountain Lodges of Peru - the Salkantay route. Their website is www.mountainlodgesofperu.com. They have a nice video etc and a couple of different treks. I wouldn't be this extravagant if it were just me, but it is dh's 60th birthday and he rarely gets a nice vacation. Of those hiking pictures you inserted, I have done Angel's Landing and Half Dome. We hope to hike the steep hike up to Huayna Picchu, but we'll see what it looks like when we get there. dh had his blood drawn yesterday to be sure he doesn't have elevated Chromium levels from his two hip prosthesis. This happened once before when he was doing a lot of hiking with me, which is why he stopped. Providing the levels are okay, we will start making the plans. It wasn't really that high on my list either, and I'm not sure why. There isn't much time change which is a real benefit as far as I'm concerned. I hate getting back from trips and being so jet lagged.

Okay I had better get rolling. Have a good day and let's all try to keep it together.

[gardenerjoy]

Yay for a small encouraging loss to counter my disordered thinking that I should overeat on the days I have Asian food because I'll gain either way. Eating lightly can result in a loss, even when we have stir-fry.

Yesterday marked my 9th month of exercising every day. I know from experience that I'll break the streak on my trip, so I won't get it to 10 months. I've worked to be okay with that (Oh well!). It bugged me when I broke a streak last year on a trip, when I'd planned not to. But I just couldn't pull off the plan. The attempt and failure added stress to my trip, so I'm not doing that again. I'm setting a goal right now that I'll start a new streak the day after I get home from our trip to Cuba.

WI: -0.15 kg, Exercise: +40 325/880 minutes for October, Food: 80% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

SuzLen: We're going to Cuba with a bunch of amateur photographers from St. Louis, guided by three professional photographers. The trip price includes workshops after our trip for processing and printing a few of our photos. In December, we're going to have a gallery showing of our prints!

nationalparker: I've become quite nuanced on what treats I do and don't allow myself. And, it's changed over time. I think the thinking through carefully part is what makes the difference. If I can box in a treat carefully enough, I can keep it from generating cravings. So, I only eat ice cream when I return milk bottles, which is only a couple of times a month, and, then, it's one scoop in a cup.

[maryann]

OP Day 4. Despite continued emotional upheaval. Although diagnosed, DB is far From mentally sound still and I fear for his marriage and his safety. I have done what I can by offering to pay for counseling but he will have to come to terms with his mental illness. I am sad which makes me hungry. I also have a kind of survivors guilt about all the love and support I have in my life. I talked to five friends for support and guidance. Guilt makes me hungry as well. Credit for working out and splurging on two books I have been waiting to read. Now I get to sit and enjoy.

[nationalparker]

So thankful to wrap up the workweek, and had the bonus treat of being allowed to leave a bit early. An OP day. Yay. The evening has dissolved into thinking of where we could go for 5-7 days after Christmas. My "rules" are I don't want to drive bc of the snow and don't really want to go where there will be MORE snow. Picky, I know. As much as I LOVE the idea of hunkering down in a log cabin, dog included, getting there would be my version of **** if it was slick driving.

I ate dinner very early today in order to not snack ... and now have had two cups of hot tea to stay away from the pantry. No part of Donut Friday for me today. Yet I still notice when folks enjoy 2-3 of them, with no guilt. Impressive. And they're slender.

Today I took the time to find books on cd at the library for enjoyment while commuting. I will download a few audiobooks to put on an MP3 and have DH show me how to actually LISTEN in my car to that Technology, watch out - here I come. Ten years later.

Maryann - Hang in there and take the time to be with just yourself and your book escape. Sounds like a good plan for some time to "be" this weekend.

[onebyone]

Coaches

Briefly I had a good day today. I tracked and avoided most pitfalls. Credit.

I have my layers of clothes laid out for.the early morning. I'm back at.the market and looking forward to it.

Heard from MIL. She got the oncology appt near to her so she is.as happy as you can.be about that. Next week we'll have new information and new direction with her treatment.

Also heard from sister and she says we (me, DH, MIL) are all welcome in Key West for Xmas. That would be my wish.

My food is getting better. I feel a new resolve. It's good.

Maryann: credit for doing what you can, taking thoughtful.action for your brother and your family. Very happy to read you have some me time tonight. Enjoy.

Have a good.night.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Felt well enough to attend Boston Lyric Opera's La Bohθme last night. It was staged in the student riots of 1968 Paris rather than the 1840s. A good show. The issue on my mind was that I didn't cough or blow or sniffle to make those sitting nearby suffer.

Food was 100 percent on plan, CREDIT moi, with zero snacks. My body resists an instantaneous five pound loss that I think I deserve for my suffering. We're having dinner with friends tonight so I'll get to test my ability to stay the path.


onebyone – Xmas in Key West does sound good. Hope sales go well today. Kudos for celebrating that "food is getting better."

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Super Kudos for exercising daily for nine straight months - that's impressive.

maryann - Sending supportive thoughts for the "continued emotional upheaval." Kudos for seeing those books as a strategy for coping.

nationalparker – One more Kudos for ignoring Donut Friday. Yep, there's always the Sabotaging Thought that slender folks are eating with abandon. (Beck says it just isn't so.)

Karen (karenrn) - That cooking class sounds fun. Don't think I could be a cook and maintain weight.

Readers -

Chapter 2 Foundation Strategies to Escape Your Traps

It's time to try something different - something that will work. But if you're still not convinced, you can try an experiment. Just read the book without making any changes or use only the strategies you feel like using. Give this experiment a few weeks or months. If it works, fine! If, however, at any point you start gaining weight, we hope you'll see the necessity of instituting all these dieting skills if you really want to achieve your goal of lasting weight loss.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., Deborah Beck Busis, The Diet Trap Solution, Train Your Brain to Lose Weight and Keep It Off for Good (Blue book), pg. 25

[curlyjax]

hi coaches!
I have been feeling really depressed so I haven't posted, i don't want to always be negative on here! I work up feeling much better today. I really think some of this is hormonal and i'm experiencing mood swings that are pre-menopausal, yikes!
I feel a lot more motivated to avoid the sugar today, whew! And it is beautiful out here this weekend so exercise will be easier.

thanks for all the support around job! I talked to someone else who is feeling the same as I do, so that was a help. We'll see what happens.

Bill- glad you're feeling better! Everyone is still coughing and hacking here, it lingers!
Gardenerjoy- Congrats on your exercise streak, 9 months is impressive!
Nationalparker- I am always late with technology too! I'm enjoying listening to a book on tape on my phone when it works, somehow the last one just mysteriously disappeared!
Maryann- I'm glad you have so much support! Mental illness is so difficult and still has such a stigma in our society which makes it even more challenging.
Waving to everyone else and hope you enjoy this weekend!

[gardenerjoy]

I never made a food plan yesterday, but ate as if I did -- CREDIT. CREDIT for making a plan for today. I can get away with that for one day, but it gets progressively harder -- I know from experience!

WI: NC kg, Exercise: +40 365/880 minutes for October, Food: NA op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

curlyjax: just in case it helps, you have my permission to post when you're depressed. I think it helps me. I also hate to always be negative, so in posting, I can usually move myself to a slightly more positive place. And, even if that doesn't happen, it's still okay. Where else in my life can explore how downer moods impact my food intake and what my options are to improve the mood, the food, or both?

[maryann]

Good Morning, Coaches.

I feel a little more room to breathe ( in the emotional sense) this morning. DS and I are off to a pumpkin patch tradition with friends I have had for over 30 years. DH is harvesting and we will miss him.

Today at the scale I felt righteously indignant. No weight loss after really doing well for four days. Scale at ticker STILLLLLLL. I had planned to bring pumpkin bars to the patch but now I will not make them. I really want to be below ticker by the end of the weekend. So credit for acting on evidence rather than my feelings of justice

Serenity prayer is this morning:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change (mental health, aging, how many calories to which I am I limited if I really want to lose weight)
The courage to change the things I can (exercise, posting, healthy food)
And the wisdom to know the difference.

[nationalparker]

Not my best food effort today. Every time I reached a difficult (to me) part of my sewing project, I turned to a small snack. Credit - small. Demerit - reached a difficult point many times. Many small snacks. ARGH. Just not focusing on the cumulative damage.

If I stop now, I could possibly resurrect the day. But this is before dinner and I know I'll eat something tonight, though I should just skip it.

On the up side, I did finish one project that seemed insurmountable.

[onebyone]

Coaches

I went to the farmers' market today. Not a good sales day ($5.00 day) but in all other ways it was good and you win some you lose some. But that's not what I want to talk about. So I am sitting in my chair with my market ceramics partner and this guy, Aaron, walks up and starts telling us he is a market sponsor. I didn't clue in that this meant he supports the farmers' market in some small financial way ($25 and up and I think you can be a sponsor) but it entitles you to have your own tent and to hawk your wares at the market. So, Aaron is the owner of a fitness bootcamp type place. He is also an old-fashioned hard sell type of guy. He talked to us about a free month of bootcamp workout and said can I sign you up? What month do you want? Well, he said more than that and I could see he was presenting it with an air of "I know you're not going to do this but I'll try anyway." Or it felt like that. I was waffling as I know that I never know what will work or hook me. I told him I'd do it in January that I can't right now I am up to here with everything and one more commitment is one too many. He said as an entrepreneur (btw I don't feel like an entrepreneur. I feel like an artist which is slightly different in focus. But I digress.) I have no excuse. He says other entrepreneurs do the workouts to get the energy to be more productive. He doesn't know how productive I am though. Could I be more productive? I'm not sure. But I digress again. Basically, in a nutshell, two things happened: 1) I felt singled out for a fitness promotion due to what I look like (to be fair he was approaching everyone but I felt this way anyway) 2) I gave him info (why did I need to "defend" myself and tell him I was doing WW? Like whose business is that? he is a total stranger yet I wanted him to know I know I need to work on the weight and I know I look bad and need to improve like all this crap we are "supposed" to feel and care about in our culture just makes me so mad. What if I didn't care? What if I did? Why do I have to tell a stranger that I am trying to lose weight? That's what really ticks me off.) So... I really wanted to say no to but a small part of me in the back of my brain says don't make a knee-jerk emotional reaction to this.

Think ...

maybe.

I have no other details about his program or the fees after the free month or anything. Writing this here tonight I think I should do the free month in November. If it can work when I am in full production mode, it will work at the other times of the year and I may get a boost to my weightloss efforts before the year end, which would, honestly, make me happy.

I just don't want to be a sucker. I just don't want to get injured. I just don't want it to be too much of a financial strain.

I feel sort of helpless in the face of this. How come?? It's bothering me and I actually feel ashamed or embarrassed to talk to anyone around me about it so I have left it here with you guys. And yes, I did eat over it today. But I also got my 10,000 steps in so *credit* for that. I ate well at the market while I was there, refusing all treats *credit* but fumbled big time at home with snacks DH brought into the house after his walk and also with special treats I got at the market in a weak moment as I was leaving. A combo of deal and money I wanted to spend and something to surprise DH with got me. I did weird behaviour around it and hid it from my market friend because I knew it was the wrong thing to do and I wanted to do it anyway. What a messed up day. Thinking about it, that weird food stashing behaviour could have come from the whole interaction with the fitness club guy. That's the way I "lash out" - self-destructively. Sigh. Thankfully, this kind of thing is quite rare. I'm just always p**sed to discover the feelings/reactions are always there just waiting to be triggered.

Thanks for listening. Good night.