124.2 on the scale both on Wed. and this morning. That's 3 pounds less than before I left for Greece. Given that I couldn't lose an ounce on my home diet at 1200 cal/day for over a month, I consider this nothing short of miraculous. The biggest differences? Full-fat yogurt, lots of olive oil on/in everything and no snacks of any kind between meals. Absolutely no formal exercise whatsoever, and truth be told, on many days I didn't even get in a lot of walking (we did a LOT of driving, and took ferries between islands which would take a big chunk out of the day). Not sure what conclusions to draw from this "experiment," but maybe I'll start buying real yogurt and cottage cheese (instead of the fat-free kind) and not be so afraid of buying foods packed in oil.
Okay, this story sounded so familiar that it sent me to a Lyle McDonald article about a woman who couldn't lose weight till she went on vacation and stopped dieting & exercising. Let me hasten to add that I don't think you resemble this woman -- whom McDonald calls "nuts" but I call an eating disorder sufferer. But the situation called the story to mind.
Congrats for your loss, Andrea. (Different losses, of course.)
I'm fumbling. I've not been doing anything different except perhaps adding a few fresh fruits here and there (blueberries in Greek yogurt for breakfast and a nectarine at lunch) and yesterday my shorts were uncomfortably tight. This morning I see that my scale is showing a 3 pound gain. This after nearly 5 days of an inexplicable loss. I don't know what happened.
We're taking somewhat of a four-day weekend. Yesterday was the holiday of course. Today DH did have to go to the office for an hour or so because there were a few of our guys who actually wanted to work, so he took the time to get them organized for the day. I have to go pick up payroll in a little bit, but there's no hurry for that. Afterwards, we'll hit Costco and Plummers where we'll order a new loveseat/chair combination for our family room. Our current set is too worn out. Unbelievable that furniture (leather!) can wear out in less than 10 years, but I guess it's due to us using this stuff daily it can happen. The living room furniture is the same age and except for some damage from the cats, it is like new.
My boss has sent me three emails already this morning, inquiring after various subjects, and I promised I'd get my section of a PowerPoint presentation completed by close of business. So, to me, yesterday's Fourth of July holiday was a cruel tease. I'm struggling mightily with attention deficit today.
Becky. She was 97 (I think you said) but from what you posted I think she enjoyed much of that long, long lifespan. I hope you can relive and enjoy all the good times you spent with her.
When we got home, we found out that both of Paul's parents had had a health crisis while we were gone - his mom caught a nasty viral bug that led to 4 days of hospital stay, followed by his dad, one day after her release, experiencing a side effect of Coumadin that was unusual and serious enough that he was airlifted to U of M again. Two days later, he was out. And on Wednesday, my grandma passed away.
Becky, that was well-hidden in your words, but not in your heart.
I, too, am sorry to hear this. I liked the sound of this woman. We could've used her here on the board as a consultant.
Jen, your plight is calling to mind the way Meghan talks about herself sometimes. She says of these occasions that Fat Meghan somehow broke out of the room where Meghan has locked her. These jail breaks are temporary. They are a reaction to the way we watch ourselves so carefully and live such planned-out lives. When we let ourselves offleash, boy, do we make a run for it. I think you're tired of running and you will come back again and willingly accept the collar & leash.
It's true. Sometimes Fit Megan has to wrestle Fat Megan into submission. It can take a few days. Other times FM comes slinking home. More and more often the return to routine and sanity of lean proteins and plentiful veggies is a welcome relief to both of these crazy creatures running around in my head.
Speaking of schedule and routine, I would love to have that right now. Unpaid overtime stinks. The weather is still terrible and the dog and I once again got poured on when we tried to go for a walk this morning. I was really looking forward to the exercise. Alright, whining concluded.
Megan, you know, when I wrote your name, I **knew** I spelled it wrong, but I couldn't remember if it was Meagan or Meaghan or Meghan. And it was none of those -- it was the simplest spelling possible, nothing so elaborate as I made it in my head. Which is just how I roll -- I don't seem to err on the side of simplicity.
Anyway I am so glad you chimed in about this, because it's such a memorable metaphor for how we're so divided in ourselves about our wants & needs.
I'm feeling slightly cocky this morning, despite the heat wave. I have overcome the disappointment and sorrow caused to me, personally, by the Great Trader Joe's Almond Butter Shortage: The repeated sight of completely empty shelves near the peanut butter and the evil cookie butter where the almond butter should be. The indignity of having to be on a waiting list and being limited to three jars per purchase. Heck with that. I finally poured a bag of roasted unsalted almonds into my food processor and made my own. Turned out great. The only issue was the perennial cake-batter-and-frosting-like problem of scraping it out and doing an awful lot of licking from the processor container and the scraping tool. I'm trying to tell myself that's a natural reaction and not Bad Behavior on My Part.
I read on a blog that people were offering to trade a jar of this for certain "personal favors". I must admit that it made me buy a jar at checkout, and the claerk smiled at me and said, "You'll be back. You should have bought a case!" Well, she was right, I did go back because this is like peanut butter with crushed up ginger snaps mixed in. I ate half a jar at the first sitting, and my wife asked me to hide it. It is that good!
Speculoos - that's the name of small (say, < 1" x 2.5") packaged biscuits you get with cups of coffee in some places. Like Belgium and some places in Britain which think they're smart. I don't like them as they're very industrialised, in my view. I can see how someone saw a opportunity for so-called added value. I think I can body-swerve this cookie butter stuff, should I ever see it.
No, Bargoo, I will never order cookie butter. It's almond butter I want. But every time I went to Trader Joe's, they were completely out and the space allotted to almond butter shrank. Meantime the space for the evil cookie butter grew & grew. Confirming for me that Trader Joe's business model has changed over time to turn it from a purveyor of decently priced healthy foods to a yuppie version of 7-11 for snack foods and microwave dinners.
But I've made my own almond butter and I am free now. I don't care if they discontinue almond butter and even peanut butter and sell only cookie butter forevermore.
. She was 97 (I think you said) but from what you posted I think she enjoyed much of that long, long lifespan. I hope you can relive and enjoy all the good times you spent with her.
