Tried to catch up with posts. Ran out of time. Scale ticked up 🤐 But I did have a smoothie yesterday and today. Walk planned. Back at school with flood threat much less. I hope to get back into a routine.
Food has continued to be on plan. I went out to lunch with cousin Jan and I had a higher calorie choice, chicken and vegetable curry. Not sure how many points to count it as, but I think I'll choose 12. I did hike Bell Pass for 2 hours and 40 minutes and then took Otis for a walk, so although I won't use my exercise points I have burned some extra calories.
Cousin Jan loved Otis. She is allergic to dogs, but came to visit just to see him and took an allergy pill and drove 45 minutes one way. He was pretty darn busy while she was here.
Maryann I hope your routine falls back into place quickly.
Bill Dh would die if we only had a single car garage. Well no actually it would probably be me because it wouldn't be his car that sat outside. I guess in the case of the neighbors they will be glad to have any garage.
All of a sudden I think I need a little rest. More tomorrow.
OP with the exception of one piece of chocolate. I can handle that! Stopped for a rotisserie chicken on the way home, and picked up a few pair of inexpensive capris (yep, chicken and a side of capris from Sams) ... figured I'd go back tomorrow evening and get my money back if they were too small ... but they fit - all size 10. Surprised me, as I just thought one or two styles in that size would fit, not more across the board.
I have a dr. appt. in the morning to try to get something figured out. Nervous as I don't know what to expect.
Two more days until the weekend ... work seems to keep on going until bedtime lately. I know I have been bagging on personals lately...
Good morning Coaches a quick check in. Eating was on plan, exercise on plan but I was disappointed because the weather was so nice I thought I should be out walking just too busy. Credit as two friends were going through major crisis and I did not eat over it while being supportive to them.
Have a great day and I will check in later.
Thursday - W.E.B. DuBois born (1868, Great Barrington, MA)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – It was DGD Wednesday - a weekly thing. I'm assigned to lift her to spare DW's weak elbow so I get my resistance training for the day, CREDIT moi, since she's up and down and up and down all day. She invented the game of turning her bowl over between the few-at-a-time servings of fruit that I'm dishing out. When I frown because I can't put the piece of banana in the upside down bowl, she beams in laughter at her trick on me. Her invention - we could play it for hours, LOL. It does keep the banana, strawberries, blueberries, and Clementine going down for her snack. She does like the other kids at the local playroom we take her to. She likes them as sources of toys to want and then to take away. Not sure when socialization kicks in.
Eating was OKish. DW was pleased that dinner was a stack of leftovers that emptied the fridge. There wasn't enough of each one to split, so we had to divide them whole. I got chili, but had to give her the mac and cheese and the broccoli casserole. We both wanted all three because they're all great when reheated. Trust me; it's a marital challenge to divide leftovers, LOL.
maryann - Great to hear that the flood threat is going down.
nationalparker – LOL at "chicken and a side of capris from Sam's" - what weird stores we've come to have. Hope your doctor's appointment goes well.
Karen (karenrn) - Would think that Bell Pass would take out almost any lunch. Glad that Otis is so entertaining.
Ann (Newlifestyle) - Always Kudos for "and I did not eat over it."
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 9 Psychological Traps
#2: The Self-Criticizer Trap
One or two mistakes in no way negate all the great things you do in a day," I told her. "What do you think would happen if you started paying more attention to all the things you're doing well?"
"I guess I'd have a more balanced picture. Maybe I wouldn't criticize myself so much." She thought for a moment. "You're right. I probably did focus too much on my mistakes. But it's really hard not to!"
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. 205
Hi coaches!
We visited a few colleges with a brief overnight. It makes it all seem very real that DD is a junior and will be leaving the nest soon. College food has really changed for the better, these kids are spoiled! All sorts of healthy choices too which is great. I have decided not to freak out about the expense now, we will figure it all out.
Eating has been pretty bad and I am up to 162 again, sigh. The fact that I can only fit into two pants should tell me something! BACK to planning, tracking and stop eating junk.
Glad the decluttering thread has re-started- thank you onebyone! One of my ongoing projects is to keep getting organized for our trip to England in the summer. We had to update the kids passports (which included DD being very unhappy because her passport picture is “terrible”, sheesh!) so that piece is done, one thing checked off! We are fortunate to have a swap shop at the town dump so I can put things like books there and hope someone else will use them.
I’ve had a few days off- back to the real world! maryann- so glad the weather is getting better for you! nationalparker- I love the little library things- there is one in our town apparently I keep meaning to check out. Karenrn- I hear you about the photos, they are overwhelming!! that was my project a year or two ago and I still haven't done anything with it.
Wave to all- I better get going!
Weight down a pound probably because I fit in two green meals yesterday. That always seems to work. I have two salad meals planned again today. Credit for fitting in a walk while waiting for DS at music lessons.
I looked at MFP records. Five years ago I was two pounds heavier. I have focused on food everyday to some extent for five years and I am two pounds down. That is a sobering thought. I guess I can think of it as maintaining a fifteen pound loss or a forty pound loss if I went back to my twenties. Ok. I'll take it. Still as with curleyjax, I need more than two pair of pants to fit.
Karen congrats on WW loss.
A very strange week, including yesterday with a toddler like BillBlueEyes. That's not a weekly thing for me, but I was happy to fill in as sidekick to my great-nephew when the usual folks were out of town. It was remarkably exhausting! We worked on adding to the repertoire of animals sounds. He has puppy, kitty, and lion (roar!) down pat. Next will be cow or pig. Ducks, apparently, are of no interest.
My eating has not been good at all. It's impacting my sleep which is making me tired in the afternoon and fatigue is my biggest trigger for afternoon treats. A vicious cycle that I'm not sure how to fix.
Posting seems like a tiny first step, but it is a first step.
Quick post . . . food on plan. Exercise today was a walk with a friend and then a walk with Otis. Tomorrow Hiking Suzanne and I will hike Camelback. I'm going to try to do it more regularly. It's short and steep and a great workout.
Tomorrow Otis is going to the groomer again, fingers crossed for no meltdown.
Dr. appt. went OK today - inconclusive. He's not sure what was going on, but said to not be worried. I'll take it.
On plan today - I REALLY wanted to stop and treat myself on the way from the dr. - I wanted to stop at our nice restaurant on the lake and just enjoy a lunch for one, but I couldn't be on plan and do that. I'll be interested to see what tomorrow's weight is - today was down a little bit. This week I added in a LOT of healthy fats (guac and more guac on the weekend). Wondered if it would benefit at all. Dinner was rudimentary but on plan which is my goal on phase 2 (proteins and alkaline veggies). Tomorrow's lunch for me will be homemade chicken salad - I'll put some slivered almonds and raw pumpkin seeds in it in the morning, along with diced apple and celery. I just prepped the rest of it tonight and cut up a few dried cherries that were pretty ancient. Hopefully they'll plump up a bit.
Bill - Have you ever seen the Ms. Food Face plate? I bought this from an art museum for a niece and it was quite fun to think of ways to present her food - prob for a bit older, but ... still fun. They have a guy, as well.
CurlyJax - I remember an old I Love Lucy episode where she was so upset with her passport photo until Ricky said something like you can go with the bad passport photo or stay, and by golly, it wasn't all that bad!
NewLifestyle - I'm with you! I felt too guilty this week being swamped at work and having decent temps! I kept thinking my priorities are all wrong, but ... I guess getting your job done is a priority
Friday - Pope Gregory XIII reforms calendar (1582, Rome)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Walked to class, CREDIT moi, where, one more time, I'll try to understand biological evolution. The course attempts to explain how novelty shows up. It's going to be a challenge. Then walked to the subway to meet with some retired friends to review some old films and photos from work. The company did a great job of saving a zillion photos, but not so great remembering what they were. It was fun to watch old timers looking at 1960's electronics and laughing at how obsolete it now seems.
Third event of the day, the evening event, was a lecture about China - specifically how China is changing its promulgated view of its history away from the great revolution of Mao to its 'forever' ruling over its territory. The notorious 'ghost cities' being built in advance of an arriving population each have a 'ghost museum' - a museum built before anything is collected to go in it. Amazingly grand plans. Dinner came from appetizers offered after the lecture. I sorta restrained myself, but they served top shelf sliced meats that fit nicely on a good roll. FREE food that served as close enough to plan, CREDIT moi.
Joy (gardenerjoy) – LOL at "It was remarkably exhausting!" Have to agree with you. Kudos for recognizing that fatigue is a big issue.
maryann - "Two green meals" sound like a good day.
nationalparker – "guac and more guac" sounds good to me. [Hadn't seen the Face Food Plate - I'll keep that in mind should eating become an issue.]
Karen (karenrn) - So many good walks. Good luck with Otis at the groomer today.
curlyjax - You so remind me of the great tension when they're leaving for college but everyone knows that it's time. Yep, clothes know reality.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 9 Psychological Traps
#2: The Self-Criticizer Trap
"What if your best friend came to you and said, 'I can't believe I left my phone at home. It has my calendar for the day on it. I can't believe I did that. I'm so weak and stupid for letting that happen.' What would you say to her?"
"I would tell her that's ridiculous. She's human. She has to expect to make mistakes. Maybe she needs a better reminder system. And I'd point out to her all the hundreds and hundreds of times she hadn't forgotten her phone."
"Exactly!" I said. And maybe Marisa needed a better reminder system, too.
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. 205
Two salad day but the sweets at work are not helping matters. Plan is to try something g different. I'll get a to go salad at lunch and have a sweet but not on campus. Hopefully this will break the cycle.
Woke up blue today. Boys were at the ranch and I felt DS slipping away. Normal and natural but it doesn't make the feeling less poignant. Also DB has called several times stirring up family stuff. Bless his soul, he is struggling against the bipolar diagnosis and many other family members seem to be treating it as a character flaw rather than an illness. I can do nothing about it except offer him my support. It's very sad to see my family of origin in ruins.
I told DH this has been a hard year. He says they are all hard years. I can see his point. I have today. A disciplined food plan is in my control. I want to give myself that success.
Very much anticipating the weekend ... I always hope to get out of work early on a Friday since we have a substantial number of hours to plug in on Sat/Sun ... but I rarely make it out even on time. We'll see how today shapes up. Super warm this morning, so they're predicting possible severe weather and 40-50 mph gusts which will basically strip our siding even further. Weeks until it can be fixed - the contractors are all gone or swamped, depending on the company reached. Temps will drop by 30-40 degrees tomorrow and snow flurries from the 70s today. 70 in FEBRUARY is nutty here.
Weight two pounds below ticker today - 150.2 ... credit for maintaining in the 150-152 range. Planning "brunch" for dinner tonight with fruit salad, white and sweet potato hash browns combined, scrambled eggs and chicken breakfast sausage. Not a green veggie on the menu for that one meal. Breakfast included green beans today. Decided on chicken tortilla soup with loads of pico (how come I always say that with this soup and black bean soup... but it adds in good veggies) and healthy amounts of guac. The avocados are less than a dollar here, which is amazing. I read that you can freeze the halves and still use them for guac. I'm going to test that out. Has anyone tried it? Said they're not good for just eating slices, but for recipes and guac, sure. Hm.
Bill - My niece was always a pretty hearty and varied eater from the start (never had a special dinner, it was always what everyone else ate and the spicy and strong flavors were among her favorites, well, along with fruit, of course - kalamata olives, spicy hummus, etc.), but she seemed artistic, so she got to style her face plate differently and it was pretty cool what she came up with. Still into art at 12.
Karen - How was Otis at the groomer? Enjoy your hike with your friend!
CurlyJax - Good luck with your renewed focus! I'll join you in a healthy eating week ahead of us!
Posting again because that's the habit that is easiest for me to re-develop. In that vein, I'm going to remind myself that exercise is my foundation and I haven't lost a bit of that. I'm ahead of schedule to meet my goal of 1200 minutes this month. I haven't missed a day of exercise since July 1. My food goes haywire sometimes, but I'm feeling grateful that exercise works so well for me.
I suspect the challenge that I may want to work on next is how to deal with "strange" days. Because "strange" days are becoming my normal--as in, I would classify 5 out of 7 days this week as "strange." That's going to require some more flexible plans and it's going to require some better choices when I'm out and about and have the opportunity to make colossally bad choices.
It's been a good day and food has been on plan. This morning we did hike Camelback and it was good. It is a very strenuous hike with a little scrambling, but it is only about 2 1/2 miles total up and back. There are two hikes and we have never done the Cholla side, which is supposedly easier. We always do the Echo Canyon side. So credit for food plan and exercise and I'll take Otis for a walk as soon as I finish this note.
I just picked Otis up from the groomers. He was better this time, so that's good. When I took him in at noon he was squirming and not wanting to be there and I felt awful leaving, so I was very happy to learn he only needed one bath because he didn't have a meltdown and poop during his bath. He looks beautiful.
The weather is perfect here today. It's clear blue and only 62 degrees. I love the clear blue skies, but I really like the cooler temps.
Gardener Joy I think the exercise habit is the harder one to really stick with, so good for you for making it such an ingrained habit. For me I would rather be a little heavier and exercising regularly than thinner with no exercise.
Nationalparker Great job on the maintaining. Does it seem difficult?
Maryann When I read about the food available, at school, at meetings, at work I am just glad that I seldom have that. I don't know how I would do if I had all those temptations. As it is I struggle at times even though I have so much control. I'm feeling a little more hungry today, but will not give in as tomorrow a.m. is my WW weigh in.
Bill Your China lecture sounds just fascinating. The ghost cities and even ghost museums seem so bizarre. I guess it's like the building we had here at the outskirts of town before the real estate crash, only on a supremely more grand scale.
Curlyjax You let me know when you are doing something about your photos and I'll start mine. Should I hold my breath or not?
Tomorrow after WW I have greeter duty at Tom's Thumb and will have to high tail it up the road to get there on time. I guess if I'm not on time exactly no one will know. I'm not going to miss WW.
Thursday - W.E.B. DuBois born (1868, Great Barrington, MA)
