Cannot believe how busy work got this week, flew into overdrive. From now until early June, it'll be hopping. This week is starting out better on plan. A relief. How did I get out of the "No Choice" mindset? Not sure, but it's back. At least for a couple of days. I guess sometimes we just need to be strong for a day or a few days at a time and then the refocus returns. My back is still bothering me but I imagine it's improving slowly. His job is starting out well. I asked him yesterday what the high point of his day was ... he said he always loves coming home to me. Great answer. That made me feel good.
Bill - This is from a note a couple of days ago, but I'm with you on the hot cross buns. I am always tempted by them - they look so much better than they taste (to me). I haven't bought any in a decade or so, but I always want them. My mom used to buy them from a bakery near us at home, and those were good. It's funny how some of the foods we associate with some holidays are just not "all that". My niece was running your marathon again yesterday - she's done it for the past 8-9 years.
Rented a movie for us to watch this evening and my choice was "The Meddler" with Susan Sarandon, despite not knowing anything about it. DH fell asleep about 10 minutes into the movie, but I'm really liking the acting and the story. And the soundtrack. And the lack of war/guns/f-bombs.
Silverbirch - I hope your boundary dispute is able to be resolved without too much upset. I have been so very lucky to have always had neighbors I enjoyed and didn't have to endure issues like that. They make my stomach hurt. ugh. Kudos for not eating over it!
Maryann - Hope your return to school was a smooth one after the time off. Did DH and DS have a great time? What a wonderful memory that will be for them.
Karen - Wow, you should be running a B&B with all your company. Did you get as much when you were working or has it picked up in the past few years? Has Otis recuperated from all the extra attention?
OneByOne - Good luck with finishing up your one-pager. Do you have someone you can run it by for some editing?
Last edited by nationalparker; 04-18-2017 at 10:55 PM.
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Exercise was hauling the metal table and chairs from the basement to the patio, CREDIT moi. To my great joy, the little nuts, bolts, and washers to put it together were, as always, attached to the table in a small plastic pill bottle - where DW always put them. I do like when the little things make me so happy. (For comparison, Monday's marathon winner crossed at 2:09:37.)
Food was on plan, CREDIT moi, with only the evening snack of a half-mango. I did have a few waves of a need for a handful of peanuts that I watched flow over me as I stuck to the notion that I really do want to get better on track. Dinner was shrimp grilled on the patio - just splendid. Whole Foods has them on sale only now and then and DW pounces.
onebyone – Sending good vibes for creating that resume. I do know about a brain that just sits down like a two year old. Kudos for "turned the corner, and my back, on the off-plan fare."
silverbirch – Waving back toward the open road. May the food choices be reasonable on your day of driving.
nationalparker – Congrats for choosing a man who's says the highpoint of his day is coming home to you - made me smile. Kudos for bringing back the "No Choice" mindset. Congrats to your niece for running the Boston Marathon.
Readers -
Quote:
Conclusion Stay Free of Traps - for Life
Using Escape Plans for Life's Varied Traps
Not only had Maxine instituted changes around food, meal preparation, and eating, but she also gradually started asking the children (and to a lesser degree, her husband) to help more around the house. She got the kids to do dishes, make their beds and straighten their clean clothes, and pack their backpacks. These and other changes she made in running the household freed up time for her to exercise more often, visit with friends, and read for pleasure. She really felt her new mind-set had improved her life - and actually benefited her family in giving more responsibility to the children.
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. 222
I have gotten very little exercise the last two days. Yesterday was Otis's snip and chip and he was home by 1:00. He has the Cone of Shame and by today he is getting pretty used to that. He does have trouble navigating his food dish with it on though, mostly because of the way the cone hits the dish and scares him. He is eating okay and I'm also feeding him by hand to be sure he is getting enough. Yesterday while he was at the vet, I went to the big mall and bought a few things for myself. I bought some capri jeans with a cuff that look kind of cute and a summer top. I was pretty happy to be buying the size 8 jeans. I even tried on a 6 because they were on the sale rack. They fit but were a little snugger and they were long and I don't really need another pair of long jeans. Anyway, I spent all of an hour and a half shopping and that was enough for me.
Food yesterday was off plan because for dinner I had 2 beers and pizza. Today right back on plan and so I don't feel bad about it, I've followed the points I am supposed to get pretty darn well for all this time.
Bill Can you believe the times of those marathon runners? Incredible!
Nationalparker Yes, this food plan stuff is mostly in the brain, isn't it? Certainly it helps when the steps we take become habits. Yes Otis got rested from the company just in time for his little surgery. He's doing well now though, I hear him out in the family room squeaking one of his ducks. Do you ever sounds busy. I bet the days are flying by.
Waving to the rest of you. I've got to head out and pick up a prescription for dh. He is leaving for a couple of days and has a sore tooth that will have a root canal next week. The antibiotics start now. Poor him.
Phew. What a couple of days. Food is off track. Weight is way high. Spent a couple days correcting papers then recorrected when I realized there was plagiarizing going on. Half the class got a zero on the first draft. They have a week to pull it together.
Bummer. I told them it was a great lesson to have with me. In college no second chances.
Pretty drained waiting for DS get out of music. Stopping by ranch to kiss DH happy bday. He is still working 24/7.
Who do I want to be tomorrow? Someone with a food plan. Record holds for no sweets at work.
Another on plan day here. I'm finding joy in saying that again and also for the understanding that can still mean 95% on plan. Busy work day but over the hump toward the weekend. Wearing shorts that were too tight last summer and now too loose. So I'm sticking my stomach out to fit the waist. Not wise.
Not a bad trip yesterday and I'm very glad I packed a picnic. There was a little eating when standing when I got home. I tend to think that exhaustion will be helped by food. What's usually better is a drink and some rest.
Today will be busy. I hope to manage to rescue some plants from a building site although the rubble may defeat me. I also intend to plan my food so I don't nibble. Plus all the other things ...
nationalparker, time to invest in a new pair of shorts? Thanks for the boundary dispute encouragement. These neighbours have a lot of form ...
maryann, yes, let's both sort out a food plan for today. It can't be that hard.
karenrn, 'right back on plan' sounds good!
Bill, good work on avoiding peanuts. I like this: 'I really do want to get better on track'. Me too.
onebyone, good luck with getting your application down to one page. A good night's sleep can help.
Thursday - Marie and Pierre Curie isolate radium (1902, Paris)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Chased the DGD around and around, CREDIT moi. Her new thing was to conduct experiments with balls. When rolled down the sloped bulkhead, she demonstrated that the bigger balls rolled farther. The deliberate intensity continues to make me happy. Not all her intensity is that satisfying. She picks up any pair of my shoes and triumphantly brings them to me; "Granddad's shoes," she announces her discovery. We took her for a walk through the local nursery to see all the colorful plants. Gotta start her young knowing that the nursery is part of a gardener's life.
Eating was superb, CREDIT moi, until an evening event produced two-bite brownies. I ate a few then stopped. On the way home, DW and I picked up sushi from Whole Foods to eat, sitting down, at home. It's so nice to have several local places producing fresh sushi. By some calculation, raw salmon might have balanced the brownies, and a half-mango evening snack made it all better, LOL. DW's favorite is still California roll: just avocado in the sticky rice wrapped in seaweed.
silverbirch – Love the image of a stealth visit to a building site to rescue some plants. Congrats for recognizing that the ol' brain touts food as the antidote to exhaustion.
maryann - Big Ouch for massive plagiarism. I do think that the Internet age has kids unaware that copying stuff isn't what life is about. Continued Kudos for "Record holds for no sweets at work."
nationalparker – Yay for the joy of shorts that are too loose - knowing that you made that happen.
Karen (karenrn) - Yay for feeling good about shopping for clothes. Ouch for the Cone of Shame for your personal trainer Otis. Hope he can still take you for a walk.
Readers -
Quote:
Conclusion Stay Free of Traps - for Life
Using Escape Plans for Life's Varied Traps
"For the first time, I truly began to feel like it was okay to take care of myself," she told me, her eyes lighting up. Maxine had dropped forty-seven pounds altogether, and she looked younger and more energetic. She talked about a trip she and Mike were taking that was two weeks away. "I'm going to wear a bathing suit - and even though I'm not a beauty queen, I'm not going to worry about it!" she announced proudly. "I love to swim, and I haven't done it in years!"
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. 222
I think of you all and follow progress. I keep working on my own. In my maintenance range and putting effort every day to keeping it that way. I had a week where I got really loose with food choices but kept working on resisting and seem to have made it back to the land of better choices. I weigh everyday, work on a foodplan and am back to making good choices at work. Resist is the word.
So much happening right now. DH leaves for Alaska May 15 and much to do before. Colorado thinks it's summer and much exciting stuff to do outside. Hummingbirds are already showing up. DH's DD arrives May 5-8 with her American Bulldog (service animal) and there will be much involved with segregating my aging kitty who is most certainly in her final year. I've taken on a mandatory extra day at work since the boss doesn't want to hire until he sees the impact of the road project. Road project in front of our home continues. I think they are hooking up our new gas line today. Moms driveway is blocked for pouring concrete. They were supposed to let us know and didn't. She was a little distressed last eve. She also has a plumbing issue we are working on resolving.
I find the "Just for Today" helps.
Today I have to meet my plumber friend at noon. My helpers totally redid her water lines inside (Monday -Tuesday) as we had to tear out a wall for a leaking pipe between 1st and 2nd floor-decided we might as well do it all while it was open. Unfortunately, joy turned to frustration when we did the final test for leaks Tuesday afternoon-water good but old cast iron sewer pipe cracked and leaking in same location. I had a day to mentally prepare myself....today at noon we meet to cut it out and remove it before installing new plastic pipe. Not easy....many unknowns. Credit for calling a plumbing service specializing in this only to hear our usual. "Sorry we don't service your area." Renting a special tool from HDepot, a Ratchet Soil Pipe Cutter. LOL
The good news is I get a morning in my yard. I'm going to plant Dahlias in pots for the greenhouse to go in beds later on. Also on the list, Zinnias in my sweet pea bed from seed tapes I made a month ago. I will also take my 10 tomato seedlings out to the greenhouse for a few hours and (I think) permanently relocate my potatoes to the greenhouse for better sprouting.
Grateful for weightloss today and every day which enables me to engage in activities I do (and don't) want to do. Live in acceptance and desire to maintain healthy habits. On the home front, I continue to work daily on keeping our home clean and decluttered. It helps with my sanity. Credit for all effort.
Kind of boring around here. Lots of staying home with the pup this week. He is doing well, so I'm glad of that. Dh was supposed to go to Austin for a couple of days, but a tooth acted up, so instead he is at the endodontist having a root canal . . . his first. He's not too happy about the root canal, but he didn't want to go out of town, so that's a plus. For as much as I have been gone, I would always rather he is home, so I'm glad he feels the same way.
Food was on plan yesterday and I have a plan for today, but exercise is very limited. I have had this intermittent pain? on the left side, kind of like what I would call a stitch. I had it for a bit when I got home from Spain and then it disappeared. I'm not sure what it is, a strained muscle or something intestinal. I am a nurse so perhaps I should know, but I can't figure it out. I decided it was reason enough to take it easy. Today it seems much better, in fact gone.
Most of the people I know are telling me I should take the darn cone off of Otis, but my friend who was a vet tech said, just leave it on for a few more days. The consequences of his licking the incision open are not pretty. I will follow her advice. He actually seems fine with it except for eating and we are helping him with that.
Lexxis Glad to hear from you. As usual, you sound incredibly busy.
Bill Those darned two bite brownies. I'm not a huge chocolate lover, but brownies are another thing. I think you did pretty darned well stopping.
Silverbirch I also find it difficult to stay away from food when I'm exhausted. I almost didn't think I could make dinner the other night because I was so tired for some reason. A quick little sit down and some water were the ticket.
Nationalparker I hear you on the too big shorts. Other than hiking shorts, I have one pair that fits well. A couple are denim though and if I throw them in the washer and dryer frequently they work for around the house. I definitely need to get some new ones.
Maryann I guess I didn't realize the problems at the ranch were bad. Sounds like a big job. I hope you've got that plan in place today.
Onebyone I hope you were able to get your resume together. That would be a great job for you. Would it be full time? Good job getting the food plan back on track too.
I guess I'll move on and see what I can do around home today. Probably some cleaning is in order. Have a great day everybody!
OP this week and that feels so good to be able to say "out loud" and not be frustrated at myself for saying I want to but not following up in my actions. Scale today was lower than last Friday, so we'll see how tomorrow goes. Evening was attending community neighborhood meeting for two hours. Busy workweek and tomorrow looks to be just as rushed ... but with eye dr. appt. at noon to cram that in. Weather is just wonderful (despite storms). So nice to feel the warmth. DH is warm blooded and wants the ceiling fan on in the bedroom, which freezes me out, so I'm back in my heavy duty winter jammies.
Finally "weekend eve" - have looked forward to this all week.No weekend plans at the moment - haven't even looked to see what is going on around town.
Have to commit time to do personals. I'm reading your notes and recaps but struggling this week to set time for longer notes.
Friday - Romulus and Remus found Rome (753 B.C.E.)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Out early for a bird walk, CREDIT moi. The only warbler was the Wilson's Warbler - not that usual for me, and easy to recognize with his black beanie. A Tom Turkey was strutting his stuff near four females who were seriously ignoring him. I'm not fond of wild turkeys because of their aggressive activities and just because they take up so much space. Twenty years ago folks would drive all day to see a reported Wild Turkey. Now they're pests. Afternoon activity was pounding in the fences for the Sugar Snaps to grow on. They're peeking their little heads above ground.
After an evening lecture on the state of the oceans, I made myself, with seriously mixed emotions, a tuna fish sandwich for dinner. There was little other food that appealed. To make that seem nutritious, I ate two double bowls of green salad. The greens were still fresh after a full week in the fridge. They don't always last a full week with us. Don't know why this week was different. CREDIT moi for an onplan day with no snacks.
Debbie (Lexxiss) – Good grief, a Ratchet Soil Pipe Cutter, you know about the neatest tools. Thanks for "Live in acceptance and desire to maintain healthy habits."
nationalparker – A whole week of OP is Kudos worthy. And Double Kudos for the patience to spend two hours at a community meeting.
Karen (karenrn) - Ouch for a root canal - a hard way to avoid a business trip. Hope your 'stitch' resolves itself.
Readers -
Quote:
Conclusion Stay Free of Traps - for Life
Using Escape Plans for Life's Varied Traps
You also may recall Marisa, whom you met in the chapter on getting off track. Marisa drove herself very hard and criticized herself harshly whenever she strayed from her eating plan. Then, feeling distressed, she had a hard time getting her eating under control again. I hadn't seen Marisa for several years when she scheduled an appointment.
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. 222
Last edited by BillBlueEyes; 04-21-2017 at 06:58 AM.
Hey Coaches!
I’m back from sunny Florida. The weather was perfect: not a speck of rain, and cooler in the am and pm. I still feel wiped out from traveling etc and am glad I have the weekend to sleep in and put away everything!
I was disappointed we didn’t see any dolphins or manatees. I was glad we didn’t see any snakes or gators We went to a few beaches including Clearwater beach which was just gorgeous and rented one of those shade cabana things-that’s the only way to do the beach!
We also went to Weekiwachee to see the mermaid show. I had wanted to participate in a bit of “old Florida” as they used to have various roadside attractions and this was one of them. It was also nice to leisurely stroll around some of the smaller touristy towns like Tarpon Springs. I was impressed with how many people were out walking and biking in many areas, and there were dedicated bike paths in many places. DH and I were able to use some free bikes at our rented townhouse and bike a little. The bikes were old fashioned with no gears and backward pedaling to stop- haven’t used something like that in MANY years!
So back to real life! I will catch up with personals tomorrow. TGIF!
Food on plan. Exercise today was a walk with Otis. I took his cone off and have left it off as long as I am with him and can watch him 100% of the time. He is in the office with me. We just go room to room together.
Curlyjax Your vacation sounds great. I have never been to Florida. Actually on the East Coast I have only been to mainly the New England states.
Bill The lecture on the state of the oceans sounds really interesting. When I got in to the University of Washington I took an Oceanography class that I really enjoyed. We even had a boat trip out in the Puget Sound. I really didn't need a science class but it was once of the best classes I ever took. I had taken so many classes at community colleges that the huge lecture hall and then the lab classes were something new for me.
Nationalparker Really god job on being on plan so well. I am finding this week a little more difficult because I am home even more than usual. I am not hungry, but that doesn't always matter. I am really going to have to get some things lined up, but didn't want to leave the dog too much especially with a cone too. I think the boredom this week has been my problem and you certainly don't have that.
This afternoon I'm meeting a friend for a movie, so that will be great and then tomorrow a.m. after WW I have greeter duty at the trailhead. In fact I had better make sure it is still at 8 a.m. As it gets hotter greeter duty starts at 7 a.m. and then no greeter duty in the summer since there are so few to greet.
Finally Friday and finally Friday NIGHT. Week wrapped up well - on plan only 75% though today ... back at ticker/maintenance weight, but still want to edge lower in that range. Relief to have the scale drop back down. Didn't move enough today, back is finally feeling much better, only twinging when I get into my car, twisting at the waist. That's a relief, too! No big news from this front. Turned cold again (40s) and I think I'll put in a fire tomorrow if it's still damp and nippy, and prep a few soups.
CurlyJax - Glad to hear that all went wonderful on your trip - great karma to have perfect weather! Are you SO ready for summer now that you've had some warmth?
Lexxiss - Thank you for reminding me I have a few dahlia bulbs to plant, and want to pick up a few more. They look so pretty in my patio pots. I dream of the day when I have a cutting garden. How did the plumbing issue go?
Bill - Had to smile at your reluctance to eat tuna after the oceans lecture. You do seek such a varied awareness! Credit for all those greens and on plan. DH and I voted on which shower door we wanted (it's a democracy at home, after all). That project had been sidelined by work/life. I voted on the one with the soft close feature. He abstained and said whichever one I wanted was fine with him. ... So the new weed whacker will be all his choice (someone came in our garage and stole ours, and our old leaf blower last fall). You've said a few times, I chose well. I agree.
Karen - I agree, it's a tug on our hearts to see the cone, but as my vet niece says, it's a heckuva lot better to feel bad for a few days - they'll survive - than to let them open stitches. Then they'll REALLY be hurting. One of the family dogs had a leg amputated and had the cone for a while and the "mom" kept asking her, "how about TODAY? Can it come off now?"
Wednesday - First Boston Marathon (1897, 2:55:10)
