Sundove, I hope you're going well today. Thinking of you because it took me a long time to get over my parents deaths. They both passed away within a few short months. I think I had delayed grief because I was fine at first, but then it hit me hard and took me about 1-1/2 years to start feeling like myself again. Prayers for you today.

I'm happy to be back on 3FC. The 7 days of formal mourning prescribed by my Jewish religion are over. It's time to resume normalcy, little by little. Liz46 thank-you for your kind words. I'm sorry it was so difficult for you to get over the loss of your parents. I'm glad you did eventually start to feel like yourself.

I got out of my eating routine long enough that I must go through withdrawal to get back to what I was doing. I tried today but I wasn't really motivated. I'm heading back home and will see if that helps. My home is like a tornado hit it--haven't slept in my bed for 2 weeks, and just stopping by occasionally to get clean clothes and check mail. I am not ready to face the mental task of organizing and addressing my own infrastructure. I am sort of living my mom's life right now, still contacting her friends and people in her orbit, like hair and manicurist, merchants. She was a warm & charismatic person and it is touching to hear people's stories about her, even when she was in her late 80s/early 90s.

My retirement countdown almost got derailed when my paperwork was lost in the mail. Assuming no more glitches, I have 52 more days in the work force.

I won't force the issue with dieting tomorrow, but I will spend some time tonight thinking about why I want to be fit.

Slept in my own bed. We'll see how today goes.

Edit: got back to workout with weight trainer. I think this will bring me back to earth with food, step by step. Today my goal is to let go of prepared food. It's hard to eat well when I am used to things like mayo. My go-tos are bland by comparison. Once I get used to them again, they taste fine to me. Convenience is an issue right now as I am still back and forth between my mom's and my home, going to work, and a slew of must-do appointments. I'll do the best I can with food because I feel so much better when I eat healthfully.

Still wavering in my motivation. I had coffee & protein shake in the morning, did a time-consuming errand and became really hungry. Over compensated by eating to over-fullness in a breakfast diner ("I'm gonna be good to myself" ). A protein bar for dessert. I will aim for a healthy dinner, and call it progress if I succeed. Baby steps work well to get myself back on track.

EDIT Another protein bar & protein chips, salad with chicken breast, 1000 Isl. dsg-store bought. Progress. Exhausting day of going through papers, but worth it to make a dent.

Hi SunDove; there must be so much going on, it's indeed hard to normalize the eating patterns at a time like this. I get you on the living my mom's life right now with tending to all the issues and people who were in her orbit. It's truly remarkable when we hear others talk about our parent ... see our parent through their eyes and realize how much they meant to others. I found that really uplifting. Oh no! Retirement papers got lost. What a bunch of dotards! Hope that's all sorted now. Way to go on keeping up with your exercise, you're amazing!!

Prepared food ... yeah I'm trying to focus on that too
Aside from steel cut oats in the morning, with my hemp hearts, almond milk, berries and walnuts, my lunches are often prepared salads from restaurants or delis near the office. And often I'll pick up deli food from grocery store on the way home for supper
So I'm trying to cook way more fish with a veggie at supper time.

Good luck getting through the copious paper work
Delegate some to those truant siblings.
Glad to see you on here

Follena Thanks for your spot on comments and support Truly humbling to hear about my mom.
Your breakfast sounds so good! Adding in the fish and veggie for dinner are getting to an enviably healthy WOE. Hopefully the deli offers things you really love,over and above convenient fuel.

I'll start back to work Monday. Getting into my normal routine is good. The cherrypickers are starting to pitch in, well mostly one. Bro is taking care of the estate and for that I am ever so grateful.

I'm coming to realize that I don't want to live in my place anymore--it is an aging building and I don't want to spend my time going through repairs and HOA interaction. I won't be able to afford another place here, so need to figure out where I want to live and get my place ready to sell. I feel a sense of urgency to get out of my place, but what with everything else incl. work, there is only so much I can do. Someday it will all settle down. I'm at least getting some good sleep--I can tell without having to rely on Fitbit

Eating is what it is. I'm avoiding sugar--except store-bought salad dressing. Bread is only what is added to store-bought chicken tenders. But still eating too much, most of it store-prepared. Today I have 3 meals out with friends. I have an upcoming birthday with at least one dinner out. I'll keep on doing my best, not throwing caution to the wind. I'll get to my workout today, too.

I will keep in mind how great that feeling of strength and fitness is.

Breakfast:
Omelet and sliced tomatos, no toast or potatoes
Lunch:
no bread, will study menu beforehand. This is not a diet friendly place, but the portions are reasonable, so I'm not worried. my friend will have a dessert and bug me to order one too. I need to avoid that--an espresso will do the trick.
Evening will be a challenge because my friends put out snacky finger foods and wine. If I stick to a glass of water, I'll be fine. I may eat something before so I don't go there hungry. A glass of wine would be nice, but it will lower my inhibition. This is a weekly event, so I'm not going to miss out on anything by not eating.

Sunday
My head is not into dieting yet. I look forward to that time soon. So I will work on realistic goals. Today is 2L water. No bread, no sugar. At the store today I got an impulse to cook a brisket. My mom did not make that very often and I did not learn how to do it from her. But cooking it all day today will bring back memories of Brooklyn and the Brooklyn that she brought with her to California.

I fell last night . I am ok. So.......today started with a 270 calorie salad. Will stay on the bright lines for my compulsive overeating. and try to not change diet plans every week . I must stop getting my favorite magazine Women's World. I love it but they do highlight a new diet every week. Good luck to us all. Karen

Hi Karen, I hope you aren't sore from your fall, and that your day's food choices were better than mine.

Tues
There was too much randomness to list my Monday foods. It was my first day back at work and I felt exhausted most of the day. There's nothing to do but try again today. I have 25 more days of working. Not much time to get in shape, but plenty of time to get back to feeling alert and fit.

Plan for the Tues...hmmmm, tomorrow is my birthday, with a restaurant dinner. If I eat well today and tomorrow, I can enjoy dinner and then resume the Medifast diet on Thursday. There are a lot of challenges now, a food pusher on Sunday, Sat cocktail hour friends, etc, my own diluted commitment. On the other hand, my body feels uncomfortable at this size.

Today's goals are:
Skip the cafeteria omelet.
No sugar--(yesterday ate some leftover Easter candy in the lounge)

B protein shake/coffee
L salad with HB eggs, cheese, store bought dressing
D store-bought cole salw w HB eggs
S protein things if physically hungry; broccoli
Water 1 L+

No I only started out good. lol I have to go back to a Ideal Protein diet very similar to medifast low carb

Don't I know starting out strong and finishing not so strong. I do think that persistence pays off, but it sure can take a lot of false starts. I had success with Ideal Protein, but I like Medifast/Optavia better now.

Only 43 days to go until retirement.
I made definite progress today, stuck to my plan with a few bumps--a McDonalds sausage burrito, and 4 protein bars in addition to what I listed above. Little by little. Tomorrow starts with a weight training session. Dinner at a nice restaurant. I'm feeling the pull of wanting to be fit vs. eating at will.

Tuesday
Weight training in the books. Still working back to where I was a few weeks ago. Not feeling motivated for dieting today, thought I'm glad I don't feel like sweets. Lots to do. I've made it to full retirement age, as defined by the government. Next up is shepherd my workplace retirement, get my home ready to sell, find a new temporary place while I work on permanent place to settle. Say good bye to my colleagues. My mother's friends and all of the other things are there too, incl. sibling tensions. Weaning wild birds from my feeders--thankful for the rainy year and good planting by my HOA and a volunteer Calif Live Oak that shot up right by my balcony, once the diseased exotics were removed.

The underpinning is eating healthy. i must write that every day. It keeps me alert and optimistic, helps me to accomplish the many tasks that are piling up. Onward!

Birthday indulgence is in the books. I wasn't at home today so no Medifast products and no plan.
Coffee with a little protein shake, cafeteria eggs, salsa, 2 sausage links, some pea protein snack that was 200 cals--noticed after the fact. For dinner, a salad with cheddar cheese, evoo, coco aminos, 2 protein bars.