I am joining Lexxiss on the couch. I am 100% beat. My current job has me in the classrooms some days. Today was one. It seems I had forgotten what "teaching tired" was. Afterwards I taught second language kids English. It reminded me the struggle it is to be a first generation American.
Credit for not making tired an excuse for sugar (my oldest habit) but Ouch for nibbling too much and too often at the boys "allowed" food. Oh well. I still count it a win. I have done a lot worse than overeating chickpea stew.
BethFromDayton: What a victory! Super proud of your fifty pound loss.
BBE: I often "supervise" parents in the movie house or at the supermarket while they are disciplining their kids (or not!) No one has ever ask me for advice.
Best to all. My last brain cell is going to sleep.
Today was an OP day--my only deviation from what I'd pre-entered into MFP was that I didn't realize we were out of turkey sausage so I didn't have any with breakfast. Everything else--just as planned. I had another "don't feel like cooking" evening--but since everything was planned, it was much easier to say to myself "no choice"--and to really not give myself a choice!
No time for personals tonight. Thanks to everyone for the congrats on reaching 50 lbs down--I've been checking in pretty close to daily since January 7th--and all of you have made it easier for me to get to where I am. I have to admit that I'm basking in my achievement!
Diet Coaches/Buddies I growing to like the exercise class at my gym. CREDIT moi for yesterday's session. The leader does the Zumba class before the one I take and ended our session with a brief Zumba routine. 'Twas much fun despite my reservation that gentlemen over 30 look a bit silly thrusting their hips into the air. There were only two of us in class, a semi-private session! Not only is it fun, but feels like I've stolen a session that I should have had to pay for.
Nibbling wasn't so good - Ouch. I did figure some unexpected appetizers after an early evening presentation would constitute dinner so that passes as a legit substitution on my plan. Minor CREDIT moi for avoiding the tray of cupcakes.
Joy (gardenerjoy) Your uber local tabbouli has me drooling. We're still getting cherry tomatoes from the potted plant behind our house.
Debbie (Lexxiss) You could almost make me a smoothie person with your "Ginger/Apple/Fresh Mint smoothie." Kudos for juggling so much at once.
maryann - Thanks for the reminder of the difficulties of being a first generation American. I once complimented a kid on a nice Red Sox jersey. His older friend had to tell me that the kid didn't speak a word of English. Seems that first thing off the boat is to put on a Red Sox jersey to try to fit in. [We 'supervisors' have to remain strong despite the world's failure to ask.]
nationalparker Super Kudos for throwing "No choice" at "frustrations at work." Stress and frustrations both seem to yell, "feed me." LOL at your dad's fireplug story; I hope he called.
Beth (bethFromDayton) Bask away - you made a neat milestone. Kudos for using the old "no choice" when the mind was wandering.
ForMyGirls - Yep, Kudos for stopping with those cashews. And another Kudos for avoiding food as the solution to stress. [Spaghetti squash has the wonderful taste of winter squash; its magic is its shape - you can use it in place of spaghetti. It'll taste like squash, not like pasta - a different kind of fun.]
Readers -
Quote:
day 6Find a Diet Coach
what are you thinking? Are you having sabotaging thoughts about lining up a diet coach? Check to see if any of these thought are familiar and use the helpful responses as guides to creating Response Cards for yourself. . . .
Sabotaging Thought: I strayed from my diet plan, and I think I gained weight. I don't want to call and tell my diet coach. Helpful Response: This is the time I need my diet coach most. In a few minutes, I'll probably be glad I called. My diet coach won't criticize me or think poorly of me. If I call, I'll get the practical help and support I need. The reasons to lose weight that I wrote on my Advantages Response Card are still important to me, so I should go ahead and call now.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), pg 88.
Did well today - 100% OP on food and Wellbeing / exercise. Got through some angst about the stressful stuff that is around at the moment without turning to food (I am loving how much that habit seems to be broken (or at least weakened). Had a celebratory family birthday dinner tonight where I had planned for birthday cake to be one of my weekly indulgences and said no thanks to alcohol and fries because I wanted to be able to enjoy the cake guilt free.
Gardener joy - thanks for sharing your pot luck plan.
National Parker - yay for working out how to be adaptable so that you don't end up overeating when DH is around for dinners
Lexxis - kudos for staying mindful with food with everything you have going on
Maryann - LOL about the chickpea stew. You are making amazing progress on changing your habits.
Beth - your basking in your achievement has put a great big smile on my face
BBE - thanks for the intel on spaghetti squash - will have to ponder it - I am a major pasta nut and am missing eating a lot of it so I think something that looked like spaghetti but didn't taste like it might just be salt in the wound! Though then again mashed sweet potato has been a great discovery and I always thought it would be a sad substitute for the real starch filled thing.
Things didn't go according to plan yesterday, but it was still better to have a plan. When I have no plan, my mind starts considering everything in the world an option. When I have a plan, even if I'm not following it, I'm thinking about what I can eat that is in the spirit of the plan. That thinking narrows my choices to the things that I would write on a plan and eliminates items and quantities that I would never put on a plan.
Today is going to be another problematic one, but I have a plan and it will help.
WI: +0.1kg, Exercise: +30 1180/1400 minutes for September, Food: 80% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
ForMyGirls: good job working in the one treat you planned and avoiding the rest. Spaghetti squash with tomato sauce is fun and actually more flavorful than pasta. It's not the same thing, but a worthy dish to try in its own right.
I can tell that today will be a challenge. I weighed in this morning to get a preview of tomorrow and I'm down a miniscule amount and have REALLY kicked it on program and want that "reward" visible in numerical form between my toes. Last night DH grilled his small steak and as I don't eat beef and didn't really know he was grilling, I didn't have anything thawed out, and so cooked up some beans for protein, and had green beans and sweet potato slices baked in the oven with a slice of cantaloupe for dessert. I thought I did so well We'll see what tomorrow holds, but I need to keep on track today and not think what the heck am I bothering with this for?! I must bring out those advantage cards!!
Diet Coaches/Buddies Got stuff done, but not much else to report. We're facing an election here so all time spent at home is spent answering phone calls seeking election support.
I did get several cardboard boxes knocked down and into the recycle bin, CREDIT moi. Also trying to finally get all our old vinyl records out of the living room since we don't use a record player anymore. And moved several stands around from the living room to our bedroom and another from out bedroom to the dining room to put plants in a window with better sunlight. Tending to plants in a mystical thing that DW does and her answers to any questions I ask seem ethereal to me.
Joy (gardenerjoy) Interesting that a plan can serve as a boundary even if not strictly followed.
nationalparker Kudos for finding yourself a meal without planning. I wish beef wouldn't always show up as the bad guy in large studies of heart disease.
ForMyGirls - Yay for guilt free cake - there shouldn't be any other kind. Congrats for the soccer victory.
Readers -
Quote:
day 7Arrange Your Environment
I find it difficult to have junk food staring me in the face. At home, I make sure it's all on a high shelf in a cupboard or in the freezer. I don't keep food in my office or in my car because i don't always have the mental energy to resist urges to eat - particularly at the end of the workday. The dieters with whom I work also have found this practice to be a valuable strategy for losing weight and maintaining their weight loss.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), pg 90.
Had a higher-calorie and much higher sodium day yesterday and am seeing the same number on the scale this morning so figure it'll be a few more days of plugging away for any visible reward that I perceive I am DUE. I need to get that mentality out and realize it's the data/snapshot but I want to see a different picture so I'm going to have to change the subject.
We went to see Bill Cosby last night and he did not disappoint. Very engaging and the time flew. We stopped for ice cream on the way home and just picked up a half gallon (well, few are that nowadays) of breyers vanilla - the ONLY one I could find with normal ingredients and not one created food. Measured my half cup for 140 calories and enjoyed it. I typically eat my serving of ice cream as SOON as I walk in the door with the container and it's pretty melty. There is no temptation for me with the rest of the ice cream, but I recognize that it is for DH. BUT then stayed up until close to 2 a.m. watching the first Despicable Me movie that neither of us had seen, laughing at the silliness, and had a serving of the Skinny pop popcorn for 155 calories... added it all in my tracker but still was over and kept on going adding to the day's total. Credit for tracking but debit for still chowing.
I skip on beef and pork because when I moved to the midwest and would see the trucks hauling them to the slaughterhouse all the time it hit me so hard. DH asks why I still eat chicken/turkey - they don't commit suicide - I KNOW ... I just haven't seen those trucks yet. And seen their eyes looking out the holes in the metal and me sitting in my car sobbing. I need to find more protein sources that I like besides beans and lowfat dairy before I do run into that truck.
Plans this weekend are all over the place, from deciding between a spoof play (nunsense a.men) or a storytelling on Dillinger - an absolute favorite subject of mine, both the same time on Sunday ... lawnwork, hopefully a hike across town or in the park near here if we're crammed for time, landscaping, trip to Lowe's, marketing, cleaning, laundry, shopping run to Kohls - for our foreign Beckers it's a store that gives out "kohls cash" when you buy things now and then and I have $20 to use that's burning a hole in my pocket - on anything ... and closet organizing. I want two extra days to pop up between today and tomorrow.
Big credit yesterday. I had to pack to meals for an all day conference. I ate only what I brought and saved the box lunch provided for DS today. This is an especially big credit because crowds make me anxious and I tend to compensate by becoming overly boisterous and overly hungry. I did neither.
Today is the last official day of the three week drop 7. Tomorrow I am supposed to reintroduce gluten for one meal for the next four days. I am going to wait, though, because I change my ticker on the 1st and I don't want to change anything until then. Big gratitude for not being "obsessed" with getting back to pasta. My cravings have been remarkably reduce — which is the point of the experiment.
Gardenerjoy, BethFromDayton and ForMyGirls: You are all helpful in reminding me about planning for success. I am impulsive by nature, often at the mercy of my fickle feelings. The commitment of food helps me stay the course.
BBE: Anybody can Zumba. Other cultures no it. It is just us uptight Puritans to need to let go.
nationalparker: fingers crossed for you weigh in today.
Some of you may remember me- I used to be a frequent poster. I am hoping that I can begin to participate again and join you in your efforts to become healthier. I appreciated the support of this group and found that the accountability, advice and support helped me. Unfortunately, I am still on the roller coaster of losing and regaining the same 10-20 pounds over and over. Still trying...sigh.
Diet Coaches/Buddies Walk, CREDIT moi, took me past a place showing "Customer Appreciation Day" by giving out vast quantities of FREE food. I turned down all of it, except for a few tastes, including $26 per pint Balsamic Vinegar which I'd not get to taste otherwise.
Food was OK, except for more nibbling as I worked by to-do list that's too long right now. The great way to avoid one set of obligations is to go get a haircut - so at least that's done. Guys get to pretend that it's OK to let their hair get unruly before fessing up and getting it cut. Clear skies and pleasant fall temperatures made the walk there and back a joy.
Joy (gardenerjoy) Enjoy photography class. I've got to figure out which digital camera with multiple lenses to get my DD for her birthday; she wants full control just like exists on my beloved old Nikkormat EL. Any suggestions, assuming I'm not Bill Gates?
CeeJay Last post that I remember, you were headed to an island for a week where there was no place to go buy extra sugar and salty stuff. I remember thinking that an island would be a terrific control of our environment - our current reading from Beck. Those "roller coaster" pounds are a super challenge to get past. Kudos for choosing the path to use this group for accountability.
maryann - Neat strategy to save your provided box lunch for your DS - so much easier than leaving it knowing that it would be tossed. [My Zumba issue isn't my Puritan side - I'd workout starkers without missing a beat- it's my no-one-over-thirty-should-act-sexy side.]
nationalparker Bill Cosby can make me laugh before he ever opens his mouth. Kudos for parceling out your treats mindfully. Your schedule is daunting - good luck making choices.
Readers -
Quote:
day 7Arrange Your Environment
It's especially important to avoid environmental triggers when you're first starting your diet. "Out of sight, out of mind" is a good policy right now. Although you wont necessarily have to reduce environmental triggers forever, you may decide, as I have, that you prefer to keep certain foods out of sight even after you've lost weight. Today, I'd like you to prepare you home and work environments by putting tempting foods where you won't easily see them - and by putting wholesome foods allowed by your diet in plain view.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), pg 90.
Realised tonight how important the great big long checklist that Beck gives at the end if the book. I tick it off most nights and most times it is a bit of a "yeah yeah" exercise. But tonight I was feeling down on myself for not having managed to get any of my exercise / Wellbeing activities in. But then when I went through the list I realised how many achievements there actually were in today. In my 'old life' there would have been 6 times today when I would have had a 'treat' - which included having to say no 4 times to cake at a birthday party, sticking to my plan to have a salad for lunch in the shopping centre and a habitual eating entertainment environment. So many old habits that didn't replay today.
BBE - hope the plants enjoy their new sunny home. Incidentally "footy" is (for me) AFL (also sometimes called Aussie Rules). Some Aussies would say Rugby League is footy - and some might call Rugby Union footy - though I think most would say Rugby. Soccer is just soccer (unless you're a ex-pat Pom in which case it is football). Who'd have thought we're all talking the same language :-)
Gardener joy - hope you have enjoyed your photography class - what a lovely way to spend a Saturday.
National Parker - I hear ya on needing the extra 2 days if weekend
Maryann - yay to you for being flexible about the date for reintroducing gluten so you can get your ticker reward first!
We swapped out supper for something easier, but still in the spirit of my plan (after briefly discussing pizza delivery -- yikes!). Yesterday's adventure was an all-day street photography workshop that included 3 hours on our feet in a small town hunting out photos. Most folks bought pork burgers and beer at a street festival for lunch. I was very glad that I packed our lunch -- chicken salad sandwiches made from our yummy grilled chicken, tabbouli from leftovers of the book club potluck, and honey crisp apples.
WI: +0.3kg, Exercise: +45 1285/1400 minutes for September, Food: 80% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
nationalparker: I like this recipe for tempeh as a vegetarian protein source: http://www.theppk.com/2008/10/tempeh-sausage-crumbles/ It heats up nicely so I make a double batch and then eat it for lunch most days with a potato or rice or smashed as a sandwich filling. That and a big salad works for me. I buy tempeh at Whole Foods and freeze it until I need it.
CeeJay: terrific to see you! I would love to trade advice and swap stories with you again.
BillBlueEyes: There's an Apple vs PC argument in the camera world -- Canon vs Nikon. We're a Canon family, so I would start someone with an entry level EOS camera: http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consum...as/slr_cameras Sony makes interesting cameras but not necessarily cheaper. Pentax and Olympus do have some less expensive options.
Friday
We'll see what tomorrow holds, but I need to keep on track today and not think what the heck am I bothering with this for?! I must bring out those advantage cards!!
