The half-hour catnap at the end of the afternoon and the early night are allowing me to get up early and fit in some exercises. I'm still working on it but it could be a way out of the exercise impasse I've been in. I've eaten too much today - which is familiar territory when I start into more exercise. Maybe one day it will all balance out.

ssbbg, good idea to get the habit in place.

gardenerjoy, credit for preparing vegetables.

Welcome, Penny. Glad you like the vibe here.

maryann, indeed, credit for self-improvement efforts.

Bill, my sympathy to the DGD as I have the collywobbles too and I'm not really sure why.

onebyone, fab on plan work! And delighted to hear you've found a productive gold mine.

Beth, hope you're feeling a bit better now.

Must go. I'm in charge of making minestrone for tea. I made the chicken stock last night and have some cooked beans in the freezer so it shouldn't take too long.

So, I've tried to make it easier to be mindful about my food by making a little game. I portioned out a bunch of chicken breast and seasoned each one with a different spice blend. I cooked it sous vide, so each "flavor" is in its own labeled bag. I'm having the same meal for the next few days- chicken & broccoli- and I'm really trying to focus on the flavors of the different spice blends and why I like or don't like them. I'm writing a little note about each meal/ spice mix. And when I'm done, I might be able to throw away a bunch of spice blends I don't like.

I hope everyone has had a great day!

Checking in after a good day.
Bean soup made for the next few lunches and dinners.
7000 steps walked around the neighborhood. Credit to me for working through the desire to skip it since it is so hot out today.

The Beck book exercise of purposefully taking extra food so I can practice not eating it sounds very interesting to me! It will be necessary to get through the meals provided on my train trip. I'm definitely giving that a try during the next few days.

Thanks again for welcoming me into the group! Have a good night.

Hi everyone.

I'm still under the weather today :-( but walked from the train station to meet my daughter for dinner and then we walked to the theater (to see Waitress). So, some minimal walking--I hope to be up to the forest preserve within a few days. Walking a mile twice wasn't too bad but I'm glad I didn't do it in a single stretch. (Being sick is for the birds)

Food was on target, but I ate a little too much dinner. Should have stopped a few bites sooner than I did. Made good choices, though. My stir-fry was veggie-heavy. I weighed and checked my sugar every day even while traveling but stopped recording it--and some of the numbers weren't pretty. <I was about to say I need to start again but decided it was better to just do it, so I just recorded the two>. So, there's a 2 week gap in my data since the first of the year, but I've re-started that. Back on track.

I haven't updated my ticker but I am now at my lowest weight in over 15 years. I'm not sure what my new target/goal weight is, so I'm going to enjoy being under my goal for a little while.

G'night all,

--Beth

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Attended the service for a long-time work colleague. Got to meet some of her family that I'd heard about for years and to tell her adult niece just how smart and productive she had been. Family hadn't heard much about her work. Also got to catch up with a dozen folks from long ago. Ate the contents of a small sub of what I presumed to be lobster. It wasn't. It was, according to the caterer bustling about, "seafood" - whatever that means. It tasted 'fishy' I suppose, but not 'lobstery'. Kudos for skipping the roll portion. Ouch for having a brownie with the deceased's BIL who sought me out since he'd seen my face in the pictures on display. Asked one friend how tall his little boy was now. His little boy is six feet tall, nineteen years old, and a freshman in college. Time passes.

Eating was OK, CREDIT moi, with a most pleasant dinner on the patio. Chatted with a neighbor whose four-year-old was so excited to tell me that they'd borrowed our DGD's plastic swimming pool while we were on our long weekend. It was a big deal to use her pool; kids do seem to understand who owns what.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Yay for prepped veggies.

silverbirch – Adding "collywobbles" to the words to teach my DGD - what a descriptive word. Homemade minestrone is just the best.

maryann - Thanks for your insight, "There is peace to be had with food here."

Beth (bethturnaround) – Waitress sounds fun, though I worry about how I'd react to an evening singing about food, LOL. Congrats on being at your lowest weight in 15 years.

ssbbg - Yep "unitasking" while eating is a challenge. Good luck. Neat way using sous vide cooking to compare spice combinations. Our DIL uses it to make the most tender chicken ever.

Penny. - Two nights on a train could be fun. Are you in a sleeping-car? And walking back to the dining-car for meals? 7000 steps in this heat is a big deal - Kudos.

Readers -

Beth, I hope you feel better soon. The 15 year low must feel great! Congrats!

Bill, the funeral reception sounds like it was nice. It's too bad we have to lose someone to get that kind of family gathering (well, and weddings). The seafood sub sounds like immitation crab? My trin trip will include the sleeping car and walks to the dining car. My 7yo and I are very excited to take this adventure together.

Ssbb, We came about the same time! Are you reading the book as suggested or racing through? I'm kinda racing through but taking notes and will prob go back to the start when I'm finished. I also picked up the newer edition so plan to read it next and compare.

My weigh-in was today. No change in the scale but I've been 100% on plan for 28 days. Today I remembered to eat my breakfast slowly.

I'm packing a lunch for work and plan to still get my walk in after work, even though I'm usually exhausted.

Penny- I read the book quickly six weeks ago (?) and started to work on things. But I found that I was picking and choosing what to do... and probably skipping what I really needed to work on. I picked up the Beck Weightloss Workbook (which seems very similar to the Pink book, just in workbook style) and have been working through it day by day and posting my work here. I'm on Day 5, which is mindful eating. I'm planning on staying on that for several days because I am not good with mindful eating.

I haven't been sticking to a plan in recent days. Mostly, because I haven't been writing a plan in recent days. CREDIT for writing a plan for today that I'm confident that I can implement. Reaching for a bit of determination to make it happen....

Weigh-in: N/A kgs, Exercise: +40, 440/1200 minutes for July

ssbbg: I love your spiced chicken experiment. What a great way to really appreciate the food that you're eating!

Penny.: glad to see you jumping in here! A walk late in the day helps me sleep. I usually find that I have energy enough for it at the end of the day. Even if I'm exhausted, it turns out to be a brain exhaustion -- my body is quite happy to have that bit of movement, once I've convinced my brain to take the first few steps.

Good Morning, Coaches.

90% OP. A stray snack late in the evening was justified by "I need to take medicine." Hmmmm. Always suspicious. I also blew the time limit for dinner starting it with a snack at 2:30. I haven't lost weight even though I have great success taming a few very bad habits like sugar and snacking. I also have reintroduced regular exercise into my life. It has been missing for three years. I need to keep it in perspective and know i am on a successful path. Weight remains three pounds above ticker.

Penny: OP at work is tough. I am a teacher and for long periods of time have achieved "no sweets at work." This idea was given to me by bethturnaround and has really helped.

SSBG: Great idea about the chicken for mindful eating. At some points in my eating, I realized the only time I didn't obsess on food was when I was actually eating. I discovered a need to escape the present whether eating or not eating. I have been working to turn this around.

Silverbirch: I agree that exercise makes me more hungry. Also, there is usually a weight gain. I struggled to convince myself that I should keep it up because of these two factors. It helps me being this age, though. I can easily see by looking in the mirror, It's not about vanity anymore. There is less pressure for a fifty-something than a thirty-something to look a certain way. Therefore, if it is about health and, in that case, exercise is the way to go.

Second day of the collywobbles. As I'm usually a creature of habit, I think that my body is finding the new regime hard. I expect everything will sort itself out. I do hope so. Sleep last night was OK, exercise this morning all right, food not too good. I'll be turning out the light quite soon. We plan a blitz here over the weekend. It's a case of "the cobbler's children have no shoes", that is, all of us have to rationalise and order our belongings because the house can't take much more. The end of a long school year is on the horizon.

maryann, you always sound gorgeous when you post here, whatever your chronological age! I hear what you're saying about health and exercise. Realistically, I have to put in much more time now than I did twenty years ago. Part of my problem is that I don't really have that time - hence my new regime.

gardenerjoy, credit for writing a plan.

ssbbg, credit for taking your time with steps that are challenging.

Penny, credit for remembering to eat your breakfast slowly. I eat my breakfast slowly but tend to speed up with other meals. More work needed!

Bill, credit for reminding us all that "Time passes". maryann, you've been reminding us too. Thank you both. And Bill, I'm also thrilled that the small neighbour borrowed DGD's paddling pool. So good to be able to share.

Night, all. The sun is just going down now. There will be a new day tomorrow.

Hi everyone,

I'm feeling more myself again. I updated my ticker: 242/177/180 (for now). I'm still trying to decide my next 'goal weight'. In January, I put "180 for now" so now that I'm under it I get to pick a new goal. I'm considering 167. That'd be 75 lbs down from my highest weight and wouldn't be the worst place in the world to stabilize. I dream of lower weights :-) but some dreams aren't realistic!

Food today was on plan--3 products plus a dinner out with DH. I had a burger with no bun, salad instead of fries, and only stole two of DH's fries. It was a challenge, though, so I was glad when his plate went away! I decided I was up to walking and if I got too tired/woozy that I could just do one lap of the lake. Well, I ended up doing a 40 minute walk and felt good--I was slower than usual but was moving and enjoying being outside (and killed many mosquitoes for the good of the world). I'm going to get up and walk again in the morning--it'll feel good to be back into that routine.

Exercise for July: 40/300 (given how the month has started, I'm sticking with 300 minutes as a goal) I weighed and checked my sugar--my sugar hasn't recovered from my vacation from good decisions :-( but I know it will--and this has given me a really stark look at how quickly I can undo the incredible progress I've made there.

One of my other tasks for tonight/tomorrow is to plan this week's food and grocery shop. I'll only be preparing one meal per day--I'll be on 3-4 products with one meal per day for at least 2 months. So, minimal planning, but we all know how much easier it is to follow a plan when you actually have one :-)

silverbirch: Sometimes it makes sense to concentrate on one thing at a time--exercise regimen, then fixing the food? Good luck with the organizing blitz!

maryann: Big credit for reintroducing exercise. I think you deserve a lot of credit for reconsidering your Whitney plans and coming to another direction--sometimes adjusting plans is the best thing to do for yourself.

joy: Your exercise consistency is really inspiring. Thanks for the reminder that it's the first few steps that are hardest.

ssbbg: Welcome! I think skipping hard stuff at first is pretty common. I can't tell you how hard I fought planning--didn't want to do it. Didn't do it. Didn't want to. Finally did. Planning is amazingly powerful and makes everything easier. It's what I least wanted to do--and what I needed to do most. I hope mindful eating works that way for you.

penny: Welcome! Congrats for 28 days on plan--that's fantastic!

BillBlueEyes: A dinner on the patio sounds lovely. Wouldn't it be nice if every day weren't such a struggle to make good choices?

G'night all!

--Beth

Quick check in after a long work day.
Ate on plan, and got my walk in even after trying to convince myself I shouldn't have to go after such a long day. The dog's excitement keeps me going.

I'm on the mobile and can't see any of the previous replies now but hopefully I remember correctly...

Gardnerjoy, you are so right about the evening walk. Mental exhaustion has brought me down many times and I am not going to use that as an excuse to limit activity.

Ssbb, good luck making your way through the workbook. Writing things down probably helps cement the thinking better.

More tomorrow. G'night!

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Walked, CREDIT moi, to an evening production in a local park of Shakespeare's Henry IV. 'Prince Hal', Mistress Quickly, Falstaff, Sir Harry Hotspur Of Humblethwaite and the Welsh leader, Glendower - all there in all their humorous glory as the sun went down behind the stage. Appropriate for a play that was FREE, the small cast of actors and actresses changed costumes (usually a different vest or hat) as they crossed the stage and continued as a different character. Women played men freely; color and ethnicity of the actors were hardly Shakespearean. The audience as a whole laughed more often than I caught on to the joke. At least the group of a dozen high-school aged kids did. They responded to quirky lines as if . . . wait for it . . . they had actually read the play in advance, LOL. It was our first time to see it, but did recognize one familiar quote, “The better part of valour, is discretion.”

Eating was OK. Some folks made a picnic of the play so we were surrounded by food going down. In a surprising twist, a young man approached us with sad face holding a bottle of bubbly that needed a bottle opener. Of course we said we had none since we had no picnic but then DW suddenly remembered her backpack. Yep, there was a small bottle opener as part of the straps. He used it most gratefully. I can't believe that my gray-haired DW saved a guy's drinking in the park. Nor can I believe that she remembered that it was there since she'd never used it.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Hope you find your determination.

silverbirch – Ouch for the persistent "collywobbles" - may they quickly slip away.

maryann - Regular exercise can easily slip out of our lives.

Beth (bethturnaround) – Good to be realistic in choosing a goal weight.

ssbbg - I know about that picking and choosing thing. My first read thought the whole CBT stuff was too simplistic to be useful. Until I tried it - simple, but really difficult.

Penny. - Kudos for "100% on plan for 28 days" - that's a big deal. Yay for a dog to serve as Personal Trainer to keep you going.

Readers -

Hi coaches! I’m realizing how much I relied on DH to wake me on time. I keep sleeping through the alarm clock (because I put ear plugs in part way thru the night, otherwise I can’t get back to sleep after getting up to use the bathroom), and then I’m rushing in the morning. I have asked DS to wake me up a few times but need to find a better system. Maybe I’ll try sleeping on DH’s side of the bed close to the alarm, although 21 years of sleeping on the left side is a hard habit to break!
A nice quote from Call the Midwives: “ The hands of the almighty are often found at the ends of our own arms” This from Sister Monica Joan, who struggles with dementia but still offers much wisdom. I love that show!

Silverbirch-thanks for the info on Scotland. I’m not positive we’re going, it depends on health issues and whether the high school organizes a trip to Italy during that break, which DS would love to do. But I’m going to do the research anyhow, that is the fun bit!
Beth- glad you are feeling better. You have done so well, you are an inspiration to me. Major congrats!
Wave to all and happy weekend.

Good Morning, Coaches.

OP day yesterday with a gym visit for bike and stretching. Done. I have a plan for eating that includes three meals on schedule, low sugar and no grains. I can do that for one day certainly. Exercise will be a walk around the neighborhood.

I am having trouble with anxiety. It lurks beneath the surface constantly. I know this might be because I am getting off the anxiety med. I just tell myself, "This is just for today, it is not forever." Sounds like I use the "one day at a time" philosophy in all areas of my life.

Beth: Congratulations on 175. That is really an achievement.
BBE: Live theatre is really a treat. Glad you could enjoy it food and bubbly free. PS I like today's clip on realistic goals.