[va1erie]

report: didn't read my cards, weighed (down 1.8), ate slowly and mindfully and left a bite. Ended up skipping breakfast because my crepes guy didn't show at the fm, and there's nothing else at market I'd want to eat for breakfast. Everything's sweet, and besides never having been a big sweets-for-breakfast person, I also know that if I do eat sugar and carbs for breakfast I'll be hungry all day. Got lots of exercise at the fm, but forgot my pedometer. Contacted my diet buddy.

Made a really promising veggie lasagna last night for dinner, though I need to tweak it a bit so I'll make it again before I share.

Debbie -- Credit you for getting through a buffet on plan! I posted the recipe over on the recipe thread.

Beverlyjoy -- Credit for having your plan ready for the next day!

MaryContrary -- Good for you for realizing that inches matter MORE than pounds! If you're losing inches but staying the same weight, it absolutely means you're gaining muscle and losing fat. Which is the ultimate goal for everyone. LOL at the are of Permeable Blinders!

Robin -- Yay on the semester being half over! And you'll no doubt get a nice break over the holidays? Bummer on being up early despite being exhausted. I hate that. I took a short nap yesterday afternoon, as as always it resulted in not falling asleep until 3, and here I am up at 7:30 anyway.

maryann -- Changing behavior sounds like it ought to be simple, doesn't it? :::sigh:::

Pam -- I don't think we can really ever say anything to anyone about their food choices unless they've asked for our advice. All we can do is be a good example. Which reminds me of the quote: If you can't be a good example, you'll just have to serve as a horrible warning.

BBE -- I love cumin, too! That's actually one of the things I added to this recipe, which if you can believe it contained no instructions for seasoning in its original form. Sounded incredibly bland with only a bit of salsa to add flavor to tortillas, beans, and chicken.

[Lexxiss]

Hello Coaches/Buddies/Friends!

It was a good Beck day! I marched up the back stairs at 7am w/pup and my kitchen timer which has a string to wear around my neck. I set it for 15 min. and when it went off I turned around and came home. Simple. I will go again this morning. (Now DH wants to go, too!)
I had a major success after my walk. I was trying to incorporate new nuts with old nuts in the freezer. I counted out 10 (acceptable to eat), had one, put 9 back and made a "light" green smoothie. The thought that I could skip my morning smoothie to "save" calories for lunch, yet think that I could eat 10 nuts made no sense. I chose to get my morning green nutrition instead. *credit* As I returned the nuts I actually stopped for a moment in awe that I had made a better choice in favor of nutrition.
Food was OP with my alternate diet (sane eating) as I enjoyed dim sum in moderation. *credit*I did check off most of my P4 Success Skills checklist.*credit*

I'll be back for shoutouts-I would like to get my walk in BEFORE the rest of the town wakes up.

ETA-
Our walk was brisk and beautiful. We saw a gorgeous red fox that my Cocker Spaniel missed.
I got in touch with my OCD self as I tried to clean house today. I had to stop, refocus and come up with a new plan as I wasn't getting anything accomplished. I acknowledge that for me, going in circles and not making progress is an accepted trigger for eating. After putting on my favorite music I was able to accomplish lots, get some spontaneous exercise and end with a healthy lunch at the table with my DH. I do hear a Sunday nap calling but wanted to touch base here.

BillBlueEyes, yep, pumpkin ice cream would be on my list for a sample. My freezer is stocked with pumpkin from my own patch if you ever run low.lol

Beverlyjoy, *credit* for having a plan, especially after a 'sloppy' day. I can relate. Are they rescheduling the potluck?

MaryContrary, *credit* for revisiting your food planning/tracking. Great job sticking to your plan when evening snacking reared it's head.

Robin(4EverLearning), at the gas pump...I do those alternating "butt kicks" that come out of years of aerobics and also practice balancing on one foot, then the other, then back….that's one that is never noticed even in the grocery line and it's very beneficial. *credit* for remembering your bite for the kitty AND for posting even though you're still exhausted

MaryAnn, thanks, again, for the very powerful statement (I've written it down). "If I am serious about changing my behavior than I must CHANGE MY BEHAVIOR (Duh!)" *credit* for taking care of yourself this weekend as well as being a mom and wife.

Pam(atga), in my opinion, as long as you receive benefit from the Challenge which you so lovingly create-it's all that matters.Period. *credit* going to such great lengths to make it both beneficial and fun. *credit* for your new movie snack. It sounds great! (crunch crunch) I am glad you are happy and smiled as I read your post today.

Val(va1erie), great job skipping breakfast when your planned food wasn't there and you did not have an acceptable substitute. If I had a sugar hit for breakfast I'd be in for a miserable day, either hungry or eating stuff not on my plan. Thx for the recipe!

[Tazzy]

Hello Everyone!

I've had a few good days OP. Ended up going to the office on Sat morning to try and catch up on some work. Took my breakfast and snack with me and grabbed a WW smart one meal at Safeway so lunch was covered as well. When I got home I had a dispute with the others in my family and choose to work out my anger at the time on my bicycle instead of in the pantry. Credit for the response, not really proud of what caused the whole situation.

Have been weighing daily and am down another 1.2. Won't update my ticker until the end of this week on my WI day. Did get to Zumba class this morning so can update that tracker time. We planned to go out for lunch today to a Dutch pancake house (crepes etc) and I was prepared for that. Not prepared for a 50 minute wait at the restaurant so back in the car for another destination. We ended up at a BBQ place and decided to order a platter from their menu that included brisket, pulled pork, ribs, chicken, beans, fries, cornbread, coleslaw and more that I cannot remember right now. My strategy then became have just a taste of each thing. And I don't remember having more than 3 bites of any one thing besides the coleslaw (and that was the vegetable portion of the meal!). I left feeling comfortable and we have enough left for my husband to take for lunch tomorrow.

Busy week ahead with plans for Mon, Tues & Thurs night so I need to prepare some things for dinners before so we're not grabbing whatever is within reach. Was not planning on going back out today but looks like a quick trip to the grocery store today will make my life easier.

Lexxiss Love your idea with the kitchen timer to get your 30 minutes of exercise in.

va1erie Have to check out your recipe. Not sure I could get my family to try that or not.

BBE Pumpkin ice cream does sound interesting. I'm not a pumpkin pie fan and maybe that's more of a texture thing. I do like pumpkin in other recipes. I just found out yesterday that I can freeze canned pumpkin as I had opened a big can and then did not have plans for the rest. I froze it in 5 oz bags so it will be easy to add to smoothies. I'll probably have the frozen pumpkin instead of the frozen banana!

pamatga You are doing a great job on your challenges for the other group. I think as long as you are happy with the challenge others will decide to follow suit or not. You are setting a really good example for everyone. I also agree on the situation with trying to educate people on eating habits, I guess it's all in the context we use. And as stated maybe we can be a good example of choices made.

maryann Credit for realizing you need a break and are entitled to take one. Zoning out in front of the TV is good for that.

Okay I better get that grocery list and head over to the store. Then maybe I'll sit in front of the TV for awhile! Happy Sunday.

PS - had typed out my whole post and got a feeling I should copy it, good thing as the site had kicked me out! You should always listen to your gut instincts!

[pamatga]

Sorry I am late again but I had to do some preliminary work and instructions for the other team leader of the buddy Challenge I am hosting starting tomorrow. I am psyched!!

Paul and I spend Sunday afternoons doing our weekly Bible reading. I am also so thrilled that on December 31st we will have read the entire Bible from the first page to the last. It has been a personal goal of mine for over 25 years and I have tried and stopped multiple times until I picked up this Bible 4 years ago. It has the entire Bible broken up into 3 different ways you can study it. I started it on my own and, unfortunately, I quit. However, as a New Year's resolution of 2009, I asked Paul if he would be my partner and he said Yes. I chose the two-year study plan because I thought that was doable and it has been. We read the Old Testament and the Proverbs Year 1(2010) and Year 2 (2011) we read the New Testament and the Psalms. We do 7 days in about 90 minutes. We discuss as we feel we need to and finish it by usually praying a Rosary for all the sick people we know and/or are in our weekly church bulletin. I began doing the "sick list" 4 years ago when my mom was first diagnosed with cancer and I just never stopped. Next year, I am getting even more ambitious. I want to read all of the Bible (OT/NT & PR/PS) next year (2012). It has been an exciting spiritual journey and I look forward to these Sunday afternoons.

Tazzy So are you in the part of Canada that has cattle ranchers and cowboys? Is that why you were able to find a barbeque meal like you described? BTW, what is considered Canadian "cuisine"? Are you more influenced by the English ancestry, the French ancestry or, god forbid, (some of) our awful American fare?

Yes, I am very pleased with the initial response. I am also going to post the exercises on the general thread for the non-participants as well although the challenge (like the sock one) I won't post until after we have done it because we are going to do some "game play" regarding that and I don't want the other team to know what is up our sleeve during the challenge.

My whole purpose of this challenge to get the message across that even those of us with some limited physical capabilities can find something we can do that will work up a sweat, build some muscle and lose weight. It does get back to echoing what that "Elephant and the Rope" story says: our biggest obstacle is what is between our two ears. It always has been and it probably always will be.

Val I did share with the rest of the "Food Challenge" group what foods they can find fiber in (since someone had asked what they were and was struggling doing so) but also I posted what I had eaten the day before to show how you can (quite easily I might add) get 25+ grams of fiber in a day. I was thanked by one person who was struggling with how to do that. She said it helped her to see my daily food plan and how I worked that in. Job done.

This "Food Challenge" (as many of the challenges over on the BLC site) are just that: in your face, let's cut the crap and just do it!--much like the show. The people who do the best "over there" are ones who are competitive, just need a spark to ignite them and are "sleeping giant" athletes. Many of the former contestants on "Biggest Loser", the program, are now personal trainers, own their own fitness centers or are motivational speakers. All they needed was a "match to be lit".

I knew I needed some additional accountability regarding my food plan since I was losing during the last Buddy Challenge but I was putting all of the emphasis on working out and much less on a balanced meal plan. All I had to do was look at my daily food log to see that. I knew what I needed help with and I went to where I could get it.

Bill I used to make homemade pumpkin ice cream. The piece de resistance was the topping. Maple syrup, a little vanilla and some toasted pecans hot sauce made right before and drizzled over the pumpkin ice cream which I served in phyllo shells. It was a big hit!

Speaking of pumpkin, someone on here(Taz, was that you dear?) made a smoothie with pure pumpkin puree so I bought some yesterday and I have the "nanas" so I am going to save some of that pumpkin (after I make pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting for Bible study next Friday) for a pumpkin/nana smoothie. Yum! Yum! Do I have this recipe right or am I mixed up again??

Val thanks for the recipe. I know I'll eat it. It looked good enough to eat from the pictures so I know it has to be good. I bought some extra dry beans yesterday when I was out.

maryann you have the right attitude so nothing is going to stop you now!

Like just about everyone who chimed in here about "sweet treats" for breakfast, I say "NO WAY!" Never have, never will be and I just plain shun them. I convinced my sweetheart, Mr. Paul, to foregoe his iced cinnamon roll and coffee 13 years ago to get on the morning egg wagon and he has been ever since. He has thanked me many times too. It just plain "lasts longer".

beverlyjoy love those butt kicks. I can't do them because of shortened hamstrings from years of bad knees but Paul kicks his own butt all the time. I am with envy. It gives you such a nice behind too. Paul says that he doesn't have buns, he has biscuits. With the price of gas these past few months, people are looking more at the pump and then anywhere else, right?

Lexxiss Great Job with the commitment to walking. I love that idea of the timer and I am going to borrow it for Paul when he goes on his walk. I always tell him to time himself so he doesn't "over train" and then he will return and tell me he walked 8 miles when his coach specifically tells him he needs to build and start small, like 3 miles. I'm getting him a clock like Flavo Flav to wear around his neck. Maybe, that will remind him!

Robin Hope you have turned a corner on your exhaustion. Keep your B vitamins up during this time since they are the first to go under times of excessive stress. What I do is: take Emergen-C. It is a powder and can be added to plain water or juice. Don't add to any milk though (it won't mix). It has a concentrated level of vitamin C (fights infection) and B vitamins. I got Paul onto it and he now takes it every morning.

See everyone tomorrow. Hope your weekend went well.

Pam

[MaryContrary]

I figured if I was going to procrastinate on grading papers -- you know, by searching the job listings, working on my materials, etc. etc. -- I might as well spend some time with my Beck skills. So I'm checking in here.

The FP helped with the snacking last night, although it was very hard to resist when my DP was snacking right next to me! I stuck to the late-night snack I had planned and kept thinking "resistance muscle! resistance muscle!" I tried not to be grumpy with my DP. I mostly succeeded.

I'm going to make another plan right now, and then give up on school work for the day. I'm going to head home and cook for the week, and get ready to hit the ground running tomorrow!

Weekly credits:

* exercised 5 times
* started checking in here again
* started my Food Planning/Tracking again
* prioritized my health and stress-level (over school and teaching)
* prioritized my dissertation and job search (over teaching)

As always, thanks.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Had to walk (CREDIT moi) back to Trader Joe's because I forgot raisins which I love buying from them not only because their California Golden's are super good, but because they ALWAYS come in one pound packages. I'm not a fan of the constantly reducing package sizing - presumably to keep me from noticing price increases.

But my tale is that I diverted off plan. They were offering a chocolate covered potato chip!!! Now, this definitely meets my rare and unusual criteria for a taste of something off plan, but it fails all my criteria for a rational snack. Nevertheless, I had one anyway. Ouch - what a waste. It was standard milk chocolate on a greasy, salty potato chip. Punishment enough that I ate it. When I walked back to toss my serving cup in the trash the guy offered me a second one - with a smirk. By now I was rational enough to refuse, belated CREDIT moi. There's a lesson in here for me but I'm currently too annoyed with myself to see it.


Debbie (Lexxiss) – Honking Kudos for several sane food choices in one day. I needed you on my Trader Joe's trip. [Noting where there's a stash of pumpkin in case it's a harsh winter.]

Mary (MaryContrary) – Yay for food plans; Double Yay for food plans that work. Good luck handling your long list of high priority responsibilities to be juggled.

pamaga – Congrats for sticking with your two year Bible reading challenge. I'm a big fan of meeting challenges - it makes me feel great. [Thank goodness I wasn't on your guest list with that pumpkin ice cream dessert - it sounds super yummy and super caloric both.]

Tazzy - Kudos for resolving anger with a bicycle work out instead of a pig out. Neat trick to limit yourself to max of three bites of anything.

Val (va1erie) – Neat that you're so aware that sweets for breakfast wears off before lunch. [I hate, hate, hate recipes that state "season to taste." If I could do that, I'd write recipe books instead of reading them, LOL.]

Readers -

chapter 4 Stage 1 The Success Skills Plan
Success Skill 6 Overcome Hunger, Cravings, and Emotional Eating
experiment 2 Prove to yourself that hunger isn't an emergency.
Most diet programs encourage you to avoid hunger. Some tell you to eat when you feel hungry and to stop eating when you feel full. The problem with that is you are likely to confuse hunger and non-hunger, at least sometimes. Also, since it can take up to 20 minutes for a sense of fullness to kick in, you are likely to overeat at meals because your stomach hasn't had a chance to catch up.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), pg 76.

[va1erie]

report: didn't read my cards, weighed (no change), ate slowly and mindfully and left a bite, didn't get any exercise. Contacted my diet buddy.

Debbie -- good for you for realizing that "saving" your breakfast calories for lunch is counterproductive to losing weight! We had a red fox hunting around here for a while, but I haven't seen it in a couple of months. I hope it's okay.

Tazzy -- hooray for working out your anger on the bicycle instead of in the pantry! Love that phrase! Re: the black bean casserole -- it's got chicken, too, plus tortillas and cheese and lots of bell peppers. I would definitely consider it "Not Diet Food" with regard to the rest of the family. No one else would have to know it's only got 350 calories in a serving size that ought to satisfy anyone but a teenage boy!

Pam -- I actually used canned black beans in the recipe, but starting wtih dry beans is always best!

MaryContrary -- good for you for planning ahead! That's half the battle for me!

BBE -- I can think of some lessons you took away from your chocolate-covered potato chip decision! That dipping something in chocolate doesn't necessarily make it better. (Which can be generalized to battering and frying it -- I do not understand the fried twinkies thing at all.) That something that perhaps MIGHT have seemed delicious to you seven years ago now tastes mediocre at best and actually kind of disgusting at worst. That just because something meets the rare and unusual criteria (a criteria I also use for off plan eating) doesn't necessarily mean it's worth the calories.

LOL on not liking recipes to tell you to season to taste, because I write recipe instructions with those words all the time. Maybe I should instead use something like, "I added (x amount) of salt and (y amount) of ground pepper to this recipe to correct the seasonings before serving, but taste first to see if it already tastes right to you, then add half that amount first and taste again before adding the second half." Would that be an instruction that would be helpful, or is that still too nebulous? The problem for me is that I like things saltier than a lot of people do, so I don't like to use exact salt measurements, have people follow them without tasting first, and have them end up with a dish that is too salty for their tastes. You can't correct for too much salt.

[Beverlyjoy]

Checking in HI friends... I was missing here yesterday. I had the stomach flu all day yesterday and feel wrung out. Today it's been some saltines and banana. My 'crazy mind' was thinking, "At least I am not eating." Kinda nuts.

I will come back a little later.

[pamatga]

Val and Bill: Val I am agree with you about seasoning to taste. I recently made the "famous" black bean brownies and as soon as I had the first bite I knew what I would change. I agree that all of us have both taste and texture preferences that don't always gell with the rest of the populace. So, what I do is make a recipe as it is for the first time. Then, after I have eaten it, sometimes even the first serving, I return to the saved recipe and pencil in what I would change the next time that I make it.

I don't know if you have ever seen this program (it airs here on PBS-affiliated stations on late Saturday mornings or early Saturday afternoons) but I just love it. It is called "America's Test Kitchens....". What they do is take a "popular" recipe and then they decide to tweak it to re-make it so that certain flaws are corrected. One aspect of the program that I have really liked about it is that they also sometimes explain the actual chemistry behind the elements of cooking; why you need to use certain ingredients and what their properties are and how they influence the final outcome of the dish; much like the roux mentioned the other day. How that has helped me as a cook is I now feel more confident about omitting certain ingredients (say extra baking powder or soda, flour) if I want to achieve the same end result but without added sodium or if I want to do it in a more "healthified" way.

For example, the black bean brownies I mentioned above: I rewrote the recipe to how I like a brownie to taste and how I want the "mouth texture" to be like. The recipe I made used dark chocolate and natural coffee. It gave the brownies a stronger taste, which I so happen liked but the texture was "flimsy". In spite of the "forewarning" to put it in the refrigerator to firm up overnight, it didn't. I figured there were two different ways to go about "firming it up"; reducing the amount of butter to chocolate ratio (that should have been a tip off since it was too runny I felt) and/or adding some whole wheat flour. Now, this was a vegan recipe so it had no flour but since I am not a practicing vegan, I will try doing both above and see how it turns out.

I plan on making your black bean casserole. It looked heavenly.
[you can tell I like to talk about cooking ]

Bill greasy chocolate covered potato chips sounds awful. I love both but not double-dipped grease. Blech! It is not like "you dipped your chocolate in my peanut butter/you dipped your peanut butter in my chocolate" paradigm commercial a few years back! The only way that I could see that working is if you used dark chocolate and baked chips and dipped half of the chip in that soon-to-be hardened chocolate (y'know like strawberries or a Milano cookie). Getting back to the "Test Kitchen...." show, if they ever do this (and they might) I am sure they would seek out a baked chip with dark chocolate. Now, that might work. The concept is interesting but just needed some tweaking. I might try that at home and I'll get back to you on how I would "approach" this.

Well, I spent time into the wee hours of the morning last night (went to sleep around 4:30 a.m.) doing last minute prep work for this Challenge. The response so far has been quite low, I think, although I am trying to not allow that to divert my attention on my primary and original goal: to show people who have some inabilities to do some working out, how they can improve their strength and musculature.

I have devised a strength building workout routines of 20 exercises that can be done either laying in bed or sitting in a chair. One person is an amputee with an (previously injured-survivor of 9/11) bad back. I have convinced him he can get back in shape and I have spent a lot of time working on this exercise program so that is something he can do. He trusted me enough to not let him down and I don't plan on it.

I guess, whenever I feel hyper-enthused about something, I expect everyone will be on board along with me. I realize that is foolishness but it is who I am. I have reminded myself that even though I have 6 people interested in doing this (which is about 1/3 of the people from the last challenge) I am going to make sure they walk away from this Challenge glad they did it. So, having said that, I need to go "practice what I preach" and get that work out done myself.

Taz, mary and Debbie WTG with "knocking the ball out into the outfield" with planned actions that do work. Triple-hitter!!

Pam

[BelovedK]

I have been so horrid about keeping up with posting. I just wanted to say hello and that I am thinking about you all and your successes. xoxo

Oh, I lost 2 pounds this past week. I had gone a couple of days without weighing, and then magically 2 pounds were gone.

[maryann]

Written Food Plan - a few additional sweets foraged at school. Oh Well. Weekend wasn't as quiet as hoped. Weight up a pound and a half. DH is gone, gone with harvest and business. I am doing the minimum and resting where I can so I don't get overwhelmed because I still don't feel up to snuff.
Favorite quote from an Eighth grader today "I'm glad you're here. You are the only teacher that likes me."
Lexxiss: You crack me up. A kitchen timer on a string. That is good old fashioned gumption.
Shout out to Beloved K, Mary Contrary,
Beverleyjoy: feel better
]Tazzy:Congrats for planning the day. It works so well for me.
Pamtaga, BBE, Val: Intersting discussion on taste. For years, I considered myself a garbage eater. I would eat anything if it was there and in abundance. The garbage part comes from having thrown food away and picked it out of the garbage. I have slowly been developing taste. Choosing what I will eat rather than compulsively eating it. I have simultaneously been developing cooking skills. What a joy. I thought if I really cooked, I would gain even more weight. Nope. Just gained an appreciation of food. What a wonderful new world. PS I am a salt monster but have extremely low blood pressure so I often indulge myself.

[gardenerjoy]

The weekend trip went pretty well food-wise until late yesterday. This was the first trip since I started losing weight where we had a full kitchen. We used to travel that way all the time, but hadn't recently. Having a kitchen and my own food should have made the eating easier but I had not prepared for a sabotaging thought that occurs late on such trips "It's easier to eat it then pack it!" Unfortunately, that also blossomed into a fair amount of "I don't care" which I've never had a particularly good response to and "Well, I've blown it, I might as well just give it up for today and start anew tomorrow" which I have excellent and effective responses to but I wasn't willing to use them today.

So, credit for reporting here, for getting a decent amount of exercise including a 90 minute hike, for being willing to put this train back on its track starting now.

WI: NAkgs, Exercise: +20 525/1000 minutes for October, Food: 50%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: no

pamatga: I'm a big fan of yogurt cheese. I use it instead of sour cream. I lighten up peanut butter and mayo with it (I made the change gradually, but now my "peanut butter" is really 2/3 yogurt cheese and 1/3 peanut butter and the same for "mayo"). I use it instead of milk with my cereal because the cereal stays crunchy.

[4EverLearning]

MaryContrary, I grinned when I saw your post saying you were posting to procrastinate on grading papers, because I am now doing exactly the same thing!! I am not letting myself go to bed until I get two more term papers graded, but I desperately need a break. (Many of the students write a formal paper exactly the way they would write a text message, with minimal punctuation, capitalization, or grammar, and it is driving me crazy to try to decipher and correct!) So this is my break--AND I get to take credit for honoring my commitment to post daily, too!

My report: My weight was up .8 yesterday and down 1 today. Ate slowly and mindfully, sitting down, both days. Remembered to save a bite of just about everything for my kitty. Read my cards yesterday but not today. Got spontaneous exercise both days. Spent 30 minutes on my treadmill this evening (another break from grading ), alternating 1 minute of jogging with 2 minutes of brisk walking, all at 4 mph (and burned 220 calories--WOO HOO!). Tolerated a fair amount of hunger. Actually I am quite hungry right now, but I responded by brushing my teeth, which acts as a good signal that the kitchen is closed until breakfast!

Maryann, you are certainly right that I need to make preserving myself and my energy a higher priority, although I'm not sure about the "good work" I will accomplish on all of those committees! I wish sometimes that I didn't do such good work, because the reward for it is to be put on yet MORE committees. In fact, I just got appointed to another major committee (the group that sets all of the policies relating to undergraduate education, for the entire university), an honor to be sure, but one that is making me want to scream ENOUGH ALREADY. This committee meets at the main campus on the ONE Monday each month on which I had no meetings--which means that, for the rest of this academic year, EVERY single Monday will be a 15-hour marathon day for me, with back-to-back commitments that require me to eat at least one meal in the car. Oh, well, I guess that's why they pay me the big bucks.

Pamatga, I think the question you raised--what do we owe our friends when we see them making unhealthy choices?--is a really good one. In the case of my former BFF, I can guarantee that her answer would be that I owe her not to do or say ANYTHING! And I never did. But sometimes it does seem like speaking out would be the true act of friendship--kinda like, friends don't let friends drive drunk, or, in this case, friends don't let friends eat themselves into an early grave. But that particular act of "friendship" is often unwanted and unappreciated! And thanks for the advice re: vitamins.

Val, CREDIT for not eating a high carb breakfast when your usual meal was unavailable. I know what you mean; I'm hungrier soon after eating lots of carbs at breakfast time than I would be if I just ate nothing at all. And, yes, I do get a three-week break at Christmas, and I am eagerly looking forward to the time off. But I am dreading Christmas itself. For the last 5 years (ever since my mother died), I have spent Christmas at my former BFF's house--I mean, she even had a Christmas stocking with my name on it, and treated me as a member of her family--so I will be at loose ends and will definitely be grieving the loss.

Lexxiss (Debbie), I LOVE your exercise-at-the-gas-pump-and-in-the-grocery-line tricks!! May I steal them?

Tazzy, whatever may have caused that dispute in the first place, you deserve MAJOR credit for working out your anger in exercise instead of eating! That's HUGE!

OK, I need to grade those two last papers so I can go to bed. I have to get up early for a personal training session. I think tomorrow he's going to start working my upper body again, if I can tolerate it. I don't want to lose so much strength that I have to start all over again. I think my incision is starting to heal, because it is itching me like mad, which is a good sign!

Good night, everyone, and have a great OP day tomorrow!

Oh, and I forgot to add that I am intrigued by all these pumpkin recipes. I hardly cook at all (although Val has done an excellent job of trying to teach me!) and, like I said before, am a ridiculously picky eater (which I hate about myself, but it's not going to change, so I accept it). But I LOVE pumpkin in any shape or form. Pumpkin pie is, without a doubt, the world's most perfect food. Pumpkin ice cream is a close second. I would love to try to make something diet-friendly out of pumpkin.

Robin

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Made a strong commitment to stick to my plan yesterday - and did, CREDIT moi. The big moment came after dinner when I remembered the left over pumpkin ice cream. Seemed like a good idea to have a small serving. On second thought, it seemed like a good idea to have a LARGE serving. That thought caught my attention that it was also a good idea to have none - as was my plan. So I had none, Extra CREDIT moi.

Joy (gardenerjoy) – That one’s deadly, "It's easier to eat it then pack it!" Kudos for unraveling yourself from it.

Beverlyjoy – LOL that stomach flu means "At least I am not eating." Yep, kinda nuts.

BelovedK - Congrats on those two pounds gone - I suspect it wasn't "magically," LOL.

pamaga – Just love it that you took my milk chocolate dipped potato chip and immediately started to Test-Kitchen it, LOL. If it was dark chocolate and a baked potato chip, I'd be in for a rough time. I don't think I've ever had anything covered with good dark chocolate that I didn't like.

maryann - Poignant thought that a kid feels that only one teacher likes them. I have mixed feelings about my own low blood pressure and salt. I still minimize salt because its method of raising blood pressure seems to be to damage the walls of the arteries. Think I'll ask my doctor about that one. It makes me feel more secure that your DH is assuring the walnut crop. There is no real substitute for walnuts.

Val (va1erie) – Yep, one of life's key lessons, "You can't correct for too much salt." Shows up in other places, too.

Robin (4EverLearning) - Super Kudos for responding to hunger by brushing your teeth - signaling "that the kitchen is closed until breakfast!" I need to be repeatedly reminded that hunger can be tolerated.

Readers -

chapter 4 Stage 1 The Success Skills Plan
Success Skill 6 Overcome Hunger, Cravings, and Emotional Eating
experiment 2 Prove to yourself that hunger isn't an emergency.
Some diet programs encourage you to full up on such "free foods" as raw vegetables to avoid hunger. The problem with that advice is that you never learn to tolerate the very normal sensation of hunger. And when free foods aren't easily available, you are likely to fill up on other foods.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), pg 76.

[Lexxiss]

Hello Coaches/Buddies/Friends!

Yesterday was a mixed up day. I stuck to my plan with my meals, but snacked (unplanned) between lunch and dinner. Identified-emotional. *Credit* for not carrying it any further. I did weigh, walk and read my cards but did not sit down with my St.4 Success Skills worksheet. I will do that today. I have already weighed (same), read my cards and have a food plan for today.
I decided it was time for a continuation of my painting project, since I seemed to have time to sit on the couch and eat. I've started already but will head up the back stairs to walk with the group.

BillBlueEyes, super credit for recognizing that sometimes small leads to large which then needs to lead to NO CHOICE.

gardenerjoy, interesting how one indiscretion leads to another. Credit for getting back on track.

Pam(atga), I enjoy "Test Kitchen", too. Yay for 6 who are ready to take your challenge.

BelovedK, kudos for 2 pounds gone!

maryann, such an important reminder, from the mouth of a babe, of what a difference you make in others' lives. Credit for taking those extra steps and for continuing your self-care acknowledging your personal vulnerability.

Val(va1erie), I personally like, "season to taste". It's very easy for things to get way too complicated! I'll take your casserole to our next potluck.

Robin(4EverLearning), I saved several bites for both kitty and the pup. Thx for the reminder . Great job fitting everything into your work life and still making room for dieting.

Beverlyjoy, hope you're feeling better!