Successful date night last night! Altered my plan a little by adding in a small cup of wonton soup. I got the steamed chicken and veggies with sauce on the side and then I added enough to give it some flavor. This was awesome, and I had no idea you could order this way. I will probably do this everytime now, because my meal wasn't swimming in sauce.
Thank you, Mother Nature, for this glorious day. I just took a walk at work and it is gorgeous. Tonight I have water aerobics, which I love.
Credits aplenty: weighed in, promoted positive self esteem, exercised, eating on plan, checking in here and with my friend who is also doing Beck, read some of the pink book last night, made some more cards.
I am trying to convince my husband to adopt the Beck ideas in his weight loss too, but he's a little unsure. He still wants everything to be easy.
A phrase from the pink book struck me last night, something like "thoughts are just ideas, they are not necessarily true." This was in the section about dealing with sabotaging thoughts. I have to filter through what I am thinking, because a lot of negative stuff goes through my head. I am getting better since learning about self esteem and errors in thinking and how to deal with them.
MaryContrary - yay for your new low! That is fantastic.
Waving to everyone else! Enjoy this beautiful day.
Hello Coaches:
Tired at the end of the day, but was on programme and one of my Pilates Masters told me I have done something to my rotator cuff and gave me some exericses for it. Just booked in an extra P. session for Saturday to keep me cheerful even though I won't be swimming this weekend. BillieBlueEyes Actually I think Oliver Twist wanted more 'gruel' not porridge. Though 'gruel' is a watered down and thin version of porridge -- yes usually it was made from oats, but 'gruel' was more frequently made with millet or barley. The furthest down the food chain from oatmeal porridge. My porridge is from steel cut oats which I soak the night before and then cook in the am. Very filling.
Hope everyone is living well today. RubyJan
Well, California finally got the weather you all have been talking about. I was heading up to Tahoe to ski but the roads are closed. I must say, I had a fine day as a result. Hanging, taking a nap, tidying up some book work.
OP today. Yesterday was a different story. OP until the school potluck (watch out CEEJay) when I decided to take seconds of healthy, decided that meant I "blew it" and scraped the frosting off two pieces of cake. Is my mind tricky or what? The rest of the afternoon and evening was spotty - some mini candies but an OP dinner and then I sat and reread my cards. I realized that if I stopped at that moment I could still wake up with that lovely empty feeling in a flat stomach that I have grown to love ( as opposed to the bloated, swollen feeling of the past) . I did. Credit. And when I weighed this morning, unbelieveably, I had lost a .5 lb. Credit to the program. My off days seem to really have become not tragic - rather, a part of life. This could be the best gift ever from Beck. MaryContrary - I love the milestones. They give such a concrete feeling of success. FFChick: Goodluck on your exam. Lexxiss: I am with you on the importance of a planned treat. Seadwaters: Credit for the organic salad and a brand new day. BBE: Tibet? Wow. How was the food there? Pagamata: I don't know about anyone else but I am not going anywhere. Posting and Beck in combination have been my solution. To quit either would be silly and destructive. RubyJan: Yeah OP.
Still having a rough time with the randomness of salt cravings. I've never experienced this before. Headed off to bed. Test went well, which I am grateful for. Haven't been able to sit down to make a food plan for days, much less follow one.
I've decided I need to increase my protein intake and lower my fat intake. The obvious modifications should take care of it, but I need to ask myself if I am willing to commit to a change like this. It really is about time I grow up and live my life like it is the only one I've got!
I will be out of town to celebrate my birthday this weekend with my handsome nephews (ages 2 & 8) with some skiing in Wisconsin followed up by the Great Wolf Lodge water park. I'm choosing to overlook the massive financial and environmental resources that go into the maintenance and creation of these luxuries... I am most looking forward to the silliness of two little boys!
Hello all...well we had some very bad news tonight. The best man from our wedding was in an auto accident in Virginia. My husband's very best friend. News is sketchy and the outlook is not good for recovery.
I am going to sign off for a few days while we process and wait for information. I was working on a new tracking/accountability log and I will continue on that.
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Eating OP, CREDIT moi, including half my pork chop at dinner so I'll have the other half for lunch today. Used my walk (CREDIT moi) to go buy a 100 watt light bulb - which exposed a problem.
Seems we have two large boxes of light bulbs in the basement: a box of the new florescent ones which I couldn't use because this light is on a dimmer, and a box of incandescent ones of various sizes, mostly 40 watts!!! "Because we use the 100 watts," DW answered my question. So, we have accumulated a large box of light bulbs that we don't use and will keep until the end of time consuming the space devoted to light bulbs. I don't know anywhere in our house where we use 40 watt bulbs. There is no solution. They are too old to return, even if I remembered where they were bought and found the receipt. Good Will doesn't accept light bulbs, even if I swear they're new. I suppose I could rent a storage unit for $200 a month for light bulbs I never intend to use.
FutureFitChick - Happy Birthday this weekend. Thanks for the thought, "live my life like it is the only one I've got."
Cheryl (seadwaters) - You guys are certainly getting the worst of weather this year. "a once in a 500yr event" is just amazing. Kudos for using the organic truck stop to tide you over until you can get to the market.
Debbie (Lexxiss) - Sending supportive thoughts as you deal with the accident of your friend.
maryann - Weather too foul to drive to skiing is some bad weather. Kudos for having a "fine day" anyway instead of eating your way out of disappointment. [Food in T i b e t included Yak butter tea - yummy, closer to mushroom soup than Western tea. But the Buddhist culture isn't specially food centric. We did have lots of good Chinese food, include green veggies for breakfast.]
Ruby (RubyJan) - You break my heart that dear Oliver Twist was only given 'gruel' not porridge. It was tough to be poor in England in the days of Dickens. I've had steel cut oats on my list - even have a bag of them - but haven't cooked them yet. Gotta go do that.
Andrea (masondixonmama) - It thwacked my brain when I encountered, "thoughts are just ideas, they are not necessarily true." What a useful insight. The same goes for memories; some of them happened.
pamatga - Lovely thought, "...embracing the thin self that was always there but never given credit for." Kudos for charging forth with painting your new exercise room and having a set schedule for working out. I suspect that there will continue to be a Beck thread on 3FC for some time even as the denizens change. For example, maryblu has been here since the first thread started nearly four years ago right when the first Beck book was published. Some leave for a spell and then return, but the Diet Buddy / Diet Coach support remains.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 2 Experience the Difference
You may not have known this before, but successful dieting requires a set of skills, and it takes instruction and practice to master them and use them consistently. No one expects to be able to sit behind the wheel of a car for the very first time and drive perfectly. No one expects to pick up a musical instrument and play it well before taking lessons and practicing. Yet nearly everyone expects to be able to follow a diet immediately, without learning anything new and certainly without practicing dieting skills. One of the reasons this time will be different is because I am going to teach you these skills, and I'm going to teach you how to get yourself to practice them day after day.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D, The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), pg 22.
Hi Beck Folks - Home Sweet Home. We had a wonderful time at Disney World. It truely is a magical place. It seems...if you can dream it - they can make it happen. It was so fun to spend the week with my DS, DIL, GS, neice, SIL and DIL's sister & parents. I am so glad I was able to go. I used the scooter and it made all things possible. I am quite grateful for that.
Everyday I had oatmeal for breakfast. I had healthy meals, some not so healthy meals, lots of fruit, & a few goodies along the way. I am glad to be back in my 'food comfort zone'. I got up today and took out my journal and made a plan. Now, I am hoping for the willingness.
It was very odd to be off line for a week. At first I really missed it - then, I didn't really miss it so much.
I hope you are all doing well. Let's make it a great day.
FutureFitChick : Lexxiss: my prayers will go out to your good friend. We have a strong prayer community at our church and we will add him to our prayer intentions. Beverlyjoy Welcome back and I guess it is true that you are never too old to enjoy "DisneyWorld". My parents chose to go there for their 25th wedding anniversary present to themselves. Knowing them, especially my late Mom, it was true to their character. Lots of great photos of Dad with Cinderella, Snow White, etc.
Credit moi:
Taking care of myself by going to bed when I need to not when I want to.
Logging everything I eat and do. Accountability to my BLC group and here.
Seeing my "part" in whatever current "problem" and taking "ownership". Stand like an oak here. However, also not allowing someone else to shirk their ownership of their "part". If you haven't noticed yet I am direct and, yes, at times it can seem blunt but, at least, you know I am who I say I am.
Kept my "indoor" voice in a situation that could have easily escalated to my my "outdoor" voice. Credit for keeping my cool but steely reserve. My last word, "Have a blessed day!"
I upped my strength training to Intermediate today. I am so looking forward to reawakening these "sleepy" muscles of mine. I used to be an amateur body builder so long ago it doesn't "count". I loved how I felt back then. I don't know if an "old lady" like me can feel that way again but I'm going to give it my best effforts.
Some pain (especially my left shoulder and through my forearm)( all that reaching overhead with the paint roller) is back after pushing myself yesterday but I am really in tune with what my body is saying and last night my back didn't hurt at all the whole four hours I was in class. It felt "wonderful" to not fidget because I couldn't get comfortable in these absolutely horrible chairs.
I feel blessed to be here, to have pushed myself this past week and seen some real progress where it needed to be accomplished. A woman of purpose!
BBE
If you are the one who is decluttering, . A few years ago I began to really declutter my life, on all levels. I have about 10% left to do. I had a storage unit which we ended up spendingover $5300 over several years on stuff I rarely used! So, two years ago I brought it back to our spacious apartment and stuffed it wherever I could. My dear, sweet and patient husband only occasionally "griped" (and he had reason to).
I don't know if you are familiar with Peter Walsh and the work he has been doing in teaching people to "let go" but after seeing how this stuff was "owning me" instead of me "owning it", I took a deep breathe and began "letting go". Some of it was easier than others. Some I stepped up to the plate and then turned away. Eventually, I got rid of brand new items I had neither ever worn or used, among other things I was holding onto just like I was holding onto a "life" that didn't exist or "work" any more for me.
It is a very freeing thing to do. As I said, I have about 10% left to do but I am so happy and relieved that I have the 90% behind me.
PS I too hang onto old computers, books, clothes, etc. I keep reminding myself if there is someone else who can use this then that is what I am allowing to happen. To put what I once "loved" in the hands of its next owner. It was a gift I gave to myself.
Thanks for all the 'well wishes' on my DH's foot surgery. He is recovering nicely but will need to use cruches for a few weeks, so I will be at his 'beck and call' for a bit .
Things are going very well so far, diet-wise. I also have my exercise plan in place. Today I'm going to try skipping my afternoon snack in preparation for skipping lunch next week (as per the book). This will be an important step for me as I'm always trying to be prepared with having food around in case I get too hungry. I think experiencing hunger, tolerating it, and realizing it's not the end of the world will be very important for me!
Lexxis: So sorry to hear about your friend. How devastating
pamatga: Kudos on the strenght training! "I loved how I felt back then."
I also love how it makes me feel (when I do it regularly, that is!).
I also watch Peter Walsh. I've never had a real problem with letting most things go and don't have a clutter problem, but I do relate to emotional clutter regarding things from my son's childhood. I'm starting to realize that he's not interested in the stuff I'm keeping and it's just sitting around (albeit packed away) taking up more 'emotional' space than real space. Whenever I see it, I think to myself that I need to go through it. And when I do, I get bogged down and just re-pack it up. Something I need to work on because now I see that it's just providing negative energy and no positive energy at this point.
Beverlyjoy: Welcome back! Disney sounds like it was fun.
BBE: (hope you don't mind the abbreviation!) We still use 40 watt bulbs in the lights over our bathroom vanities. A little less harsh in the morning . Too bad Goodwill doesn't want them. Maybe post them on Craigslist as a freebie.
RubyJan: I also have a box of steel cut oats in my pantry and haven't yet tried to cook them - I hear the slow cooker is a good method, though.
FutureFitChick: Have a great Birthday!
maryann: Kudos for re-reading your cards when you needed to. "My off days seem to really have become not tragic - rather, a part of life. This could be the best gift ever from Beck."
This is what I'm also hoping to feel - that I can take things as they come and not resort to just throwing in the towel.
Happy Friday. Puttering. Today I am trying out my new Blind Cleaner. I am going slowly through the house, taking lots of break to do this and that. My plan is to be done by 4:00. Way so lackadaisical? Usually I am a "bat out of ****" with any project. I don't know. Depressed? I don't know. Perhaps I am working through the feelings about school this week. In any case, I am allowing myself to be slow and to get done just one thing without judgment. It is ironic that this is my task, to move slower. As for clutter, I listen with compassion to you folks but I am a thrower. That has its own inherent problems. What was Buddha's philosophy on the search for moderation? BBE: List the light bulbs on Craig's list or free stuff. They will be gone in a heartbeat. FFChick: Luxuries indeed. I often think of how much there is in my life. It is unproductive for me to dwell on it. I am trying to make the most of the beautiful life I have been given. Lexxiss: Thoughts are with you. Beverleyjoy: Welcome back. It is nice to visit a place where anything is possible. JMAF: Congrats on the five pounds lost. The hunger experiment was critical for me as well. Beck in the beginning was about uncovering all the "rules" I had been living by and didn't even know it like "hunger is an emergency."
Today has hovered around 95 and really humid. I got to shop this evening so am stocked up with food. I had an on plan day but the plan was developed on the run as circumstances changed. Work is not a happy place - the world is changing and the faculty has changed (this is my 26th year and I have been in every role) and the people in charge really don't care about the core business of the faculty (courses and students). They need it to get done but they don't care about how it gets done and provide no support (in any form). The courses are the cash cows but we are treated like livestock unfortunately. I am going to have to do something and it is making me anxious. And I want to eat badly. I need to keep to plans and organisation to get me through. A very few personals
BeverlyJoy - I am so pleased to see you back and to learn that you had a great time. Not checking in can become easy to get used to! So glad you did it.
Lexxiss - sorry to hear about you friend. A difficult time. Sending hugs and support your way if you are checking in occasionally FutureFitChick - Have a great birthday . Glad the test was OK. I too am increasing protein but also lowering fats. I have already reduced carbs. I do forget that this life is not a rehearsal - it is the only one we have (that we will remember!). And I persist in not taking charge of it. So wish you luck with that.
BillBlueEyes - love the light bulb dilemma. Does beg the question of why they were ever purchased but we won't go there. I have been involved in Tibetan Buddhism for some time and so want to go to Tibet - memories worth revisiting I am sure. Every time I move house I spend a lot of time reading stuff from the past so sympathise
Have a great Saturday Beckies
Last edited by GosfordGirl; 02-19-2011 at 04:19 AM.
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Enjoyed my left over half pork chop for lunch; CREDIT moi for on plan all day - until dinner.
Went out to an upscale French restaurant - each item superb, even if rather pricey. I had Prince Edward Island mussels in white wine sauce that were better than I'd ever had - stunningly good. I just haven't reached the stage of mindfulness where I can leave food on my plate that costs that much. And I don't like to walk out of a snazzy place with a doggy bag instead of hands free so we window shop and strut about as if we were on the Left Bank. Ouch, but it was only one meal. And DW wanted a treat and we both felt that it was a good choice. We had dressed presuming a drop in temperature, but instead walked home in rain with thunder and lightning - kinda cool.
Beverlyjoy - Welcome back from your visit to the magic place. Glad to hear no mention of DGS's pending sickness. Kudos for accepting your scooter so you could enjoy the whole event.
Cheryl (seadwaters) - Kudos for making time to be "stocked up with food." I do like that feeling that I have what I need in the pantry. Ouch for the difficulties of a faculty job and for having to deal with an administration that can allow teachers to feel unappreciated. Good luck finding your path through that. [I was amazed at the complexity of T i b e t a n Buddhism, it's one rich culture.]
maryann - Yay for the lackadaisical use of a new Blind Cleaner. Sometimes puttering is good. Just like kids need a good dose of unstructured play time, adults need some puttering time.
pamatga - Kudos for taking "ownership" - it's so easy to blame instead. [Thanks for the pointer to Peter Walsh. I haven't read his books, but might. I'm accumulating books on clutter and none so far have touched me usefully. So far, they all seem to address how to organize if you don't have emotional attachments to your stuff. We're planning to rent a storage unit short term during our repainting, and your $5300 experience usefully reminds me that keeping the thing isn't a good idea.]
Jan (jmaf) - Yay for facing hunger. I'm one of the many who were shocked that it wasn't an emergency. [Dimmer light over the bathroom vanity might be a good idea - I look a bit grumpy in the early morning, LOL. "BBE" is fine.]
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 2 Experience the Difference
This time is going to be different because the Beck Diet for Life Program is different. Here is how:
It teaches you how to satisfy your hunger. Did you know that some foods decrease hunger and cravings and other foods actually increase them? To achieve sustained weight loss, it is not just a matter of calories in, energy out. It's what makes up those calories, because the composition of those calories makes a big difference. Many diets let you select foods that don't allow you to eat in a healthful, well-balanced way. The Think Think Eating Plans teach you the formula that maximizes fullness and sound nutrition. . . .
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D, The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), pg 23.
Finally I am
a) back
b) have a place to move to
c) am back here posting
d) can reach over and pat the cat
e) can cook from scratch and eat on plan
f) can get going for real on the packing
What an ordeal. DH andI almost killed each other this weel. One day in particular was EXTREMELY stressful this past week. I got stuck, again, at DH's mom's place for a whole week. It too all week to find out we HAVE A PLACE TO LIVE!
OMG that was so hard!
We have a 2 bedroom apartment waiting or us. Move-in date is March 1st. Our new rent is less than we pay here plus 35% of the utilities or the whole place (a two storey house split into 3 units) paid at the end of each month with one cheque. Easy. The place isn't as near to DH's work as we wanted but I do believe it is near the local Y and my beloved water aerobics. It's clean and bright and... small. It's about 1/3 the size of what we have now.l Realistically, I will need a storage locker, if only for my art/craft show stuff: the canopy, the tables, the display stuff, storage of stock made and I think we'll have to keep the winter tires in there too.
SO GLAD I can finally move forward. I will be SO HAPPY to start my life already. I've been on pause for a good year pretty much.
Food was lousy. I had zero willingness to curb my appetite or to even try. One night DH's mom talked me into seconds "Sure you've had enough? I have more!" "It does look good...""Okay I'll get you more." DOn't remember what the food was now but it was sooooooo easy to talk me into it. No resistance.
So (credit) I weighed in this morning at 286-again. My go-to-been-away-from-home-and-didn't-try weigh-in weight. As per my plan, the goal is to be under 280 at the end of the month on the morning of the 28th.
I'm not discouraged as the stress of feeling homeless is over.
Billblueeyes List your lightbulbs here http://groups.freecycle.org/freecycleboston/posts/all I'm planning to use freecycle to get rid of lots of stuff that I can't get charities to take or I am just stumped by. Just don't peruse the site to pick up more stuff for you!
I watched a program on OWN about a 650 lb young man who lost 430 lb by dieting and exercising alone. It was graphic in that it showed what his body looked like naked afterwards. Without sounding disrespectful, he looked like a candle that had been burning for a long time, you know how the wax drips down haplessly down the sides and puddles at the bottom. He did have a lot of extra skin removed, a face lift and his teeth redone (because of years of drinking regular soda). The plastic surgeron did an amazing job because even without his shirt he did not look bad at all. You would not believe it was the same person. Seriously. If you saw this young man on the street you would have thought he was always trim. His story was inspirational. You will see more of them because he and his peronal trainer are launching a program called "Reshaping a Nation" and we all know who that is---all of us.
Immediately, after watching that program (I dvr everything so I don't even know when it was originally shown) I went to my online food log and I did a serious analysis of what I have been eating recently. I do this periodically anyway (including our financial budget).There is a tab where I log My Favorite Foods (foods that I eat frequently) and I decided that I was going to delete any thing that I had logged as more than one serving except vegetables. It gets back to re-establishing portion control and re-training my eyes to see one serving sizes. Period!
I moved up to the Intermediate level for my Core Stabilization strength exercises. So, now I am doing 8 total strength exercises. One set of 15-20 of the new ones and 2 sets (of 15-20) of the three I had been doing the past three weeks. It felt like the right time to move up. I watched the demos again (good thing) and realized I was doing one of the ones for my upper back wrong. OY! Review is a "good thing". I'll be doing this every other day-which within 8 days will mean 4 days.
From now on, I am going to up my physical exercising. I added another day to cardio so I will be doing cardio 6x a week from now on. The first 30 lbs came off relatively easily but this past week has shown me that from now on I need to take my efforts "full throttle" as much as I can physically push myself. It's going to be a fight to the finish and I plan on winning. Mentally and physically from now I am a "person in training"
What has really been my incentive is a lot of these weight lose programs. I also watch "Heavy" and, of course, Biggest Loser. I am always amazed at how none of these large people are ever coddled. It is get off the couch and "just do it". I find that is a good way for me to look at what I need to do. "No excuses, just do it. Don't try, just do!"
The message that I hear from these programs is it doesn't matter where you were yesterday because today you are going to move and sweat and then do some more. I like that---A LOT!! It resonates with me.
Credit moi:
For finding the motivation wherever I can and then saturating myself with it.
Logging all foods, yes, even the whole bag of Nature Valley granola nut clusters. A well meaning elderly aunt sent them in a "care package" (Warning: although these may seem healthy they are addicting because they have cane sugar in them!)
Drinking my 64+ oz of plain water daily first thing right through to bedtime.
Listening to my body. Last night I went to bed at 11:30 pm and the night before I went to bed at 11 pm. Tonight, I plan on going to bed around that time.
The weather is amazingly beautiful here which also motivates me to get with the "Program" because when the real spring comes I want to feel good about being outdoors and in less clothes.
masondixonmama- kuddos on eating healthy on date night. Great list of credits. I am working on identifying sabotaging thoughts this week. I just reread the chapter and am going to try to write them down as they occur over the next week and see what is there.
RubyJan-ouch- hope your rotator cuff is OK- they can cause nasty pain.
FutureFitChick- glad your test went well. Happy birthday. Skiing sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate.
Lexxiss- so sorry about your friend.
Beverlyjoy-welcome back and glad you had a wonderful time. Your ability to keep your food sane while you are travelling is fantastic.
jmaf-glad to read your positive report on your diet and exercise. It is very satisfying feeling to do what you plan to do.
maryann- waving hello to you as I also putter about the house. I love what you said: "My off days seem to really have become not tragic - rather, a part of life." What a wonderful approach. A day off does not mean the start of a free-fall.
seadwaters- yay for having an on plan day that was planned along the way and not letting that derail you. I have been reading a lot about Buddhism lately and it is really helping me with what I am trying to do for my health.
BillBlueEyes- your meals out always sound so wonderful. I think really expensive food has less calories, n'est ce pas?
onebyone- well finally good news on finding a home. Since it is smaller that should help with the motivation to de-clutter. Hoping this settles things and lets you get into your groove.
pamatga- credit for logging your food, drinking lots of water, going to bed earlier and finding motivation. You said in your post that you are further away from all of us on reaching our goal. I am in the same boat as you so hopefully we will both still be here 100 pounds (DOWN ) or so from now.
For me- I did OK at the potluck lunch- not perfect but stuck to my decision not to eat sugar and did have a second plate- but it was all salad so that's much better than the other choices. I am finding that talking myself through these things ahead of time really is making a difference, imagine that. The night at the hotel did not occur as we had a blizzard and everything got cancelled. So I got to come home instead, which was a fantastic treat for the end of the week.
I am so happy that this is the 6th day I have been on-plan with my eating. I exercised every day by walking, except the night of the blizzard.
Credit today for:
weighing myself eating healthy and on plan so far doing my weights riding exercise bike for 30 minutes planning dinners for the upcoming week reading cards reading Pink Book checking in with my coaches
Friday
in a situation that could have easily escalated to my my "outdoor" voice. 
Credit for keeping my cool but steely reserve. My last word, "Have a blessed day!" 
I am so looking forward to reawakening these "sleepy" muscles of mine. I used to be an amateur body builder so long ago it doesn't "count". I loved how I felt back then. I don't know if an "old lady" like me can feel that way again but I'm going to give it my best effforts.
. A few years ago I began to really declutter my life, on all levels. I have about 10% left to do. I had a storage unit which we ended up spendingover $5300 over several years on stuff I rarely used! 
So, two years ago I brought it back to our spacious apartment and stuffed it wherever I could. My dear, sweet and patient husband only occasionally "griped" (and he had reason to). 
and support your way if you are checking in occasionally
. Glad the test was OK. I too am increasing protein but also lowering fats. I have already reduced carbs. I do forget that this life is not a rehearsal - it is the only one we have (that we will remember!). And I persist in not taking charge of it. So wish you luck with that. 
Review is a "good thing". I'll be doing this every other day-which within 8 days will mean 4 days.
