On day 7 ... still on track despite going to lunch with our staff today - get this - to a pizza spot. Chose side salad and one thin slice of cheese pizza and was completely satisfied. Had not planned on going, but 10 people saying, "come on" swayed me. (No, had they been saying jump off a bridge, I would NOT have. Eat a slice of pizza? Well ... yup.
DH called. He's heading to laundromat with all our bedding - comforter/blankets/my new super soft throw - after a pet was sick. I need to think of something nice to bring home for him as a thank you for handling that and not leaving it. Not sure what ... not food-related.
Plans changed for dinner and evening as I didn't want to be rushing around before the key Colts/Patriots game tomorrow. Determined to stay on plan by bringing home much of my entree and enjoying a bit of the appetizer and salad and eating until I'm not hungry vs. satisfied. DH is itching for some beef, I think.
Maryann - you keep me motivated and reassured by not stressing about your weight being a bit above ticker. I stressed when in maintenance for months, then realized that it would stick within 131-135 without much rhyme or reason ... then bumped up a bit to 135-141 for a decade and that was okay. Now I'm longing to stick in the 16xs
Maura - Hope the cake is savor-worthy! You are no longer one to "stray into sugar oblivion" - you have different habits now, right?
I can report an OP food day. I brought Fiber One bars on our college campus tour today--one for each of us. DD chose to eat the Buckeye they gave us instead. I ended up eating both bars--I was really hungry and that's about the caloric range of my usual afternoon snack--and this one was about 90 minutes later than my usual snack--which is why I was so hungry. Dinner was a bit lighter since my snack was late.
Exercise was the campus tour--I'm glad it had warmed up from our frigid temps earlier this week!
Today makes Day 31 of recording everything--that's a full month!
Back to zero today! Overeating was my failing today. It is a long time since i overate. First failing was a batch of homemade scones. Then followed by a change of dinner plan because i forgot to put the corned beef on mid afternoon and it wasn"t going to be ready till after kids in bed. I resisted takeaway (which would have been bad for health and budget) so credit for that. But i ate far more than i needed to of the sausage sizzle dinner, in fact i kept eating for the taste even when i new i was full.
When i stwrted typing this i was thinking "why am i so unable to hold it together at the moment?" but as i am typing i realise it is not all bad, yes - i ate more than i should have today BUT i did do all my health activities and i DID go to bed on time last night. And i DID choose a healthy active play activity for my kids during the day. So there are many good things i achieved today and there is every reason to believe thwt tomorrow i will add eating a sensible number of calories to that list. Credit to me for holding most of it together.
In terms of how to not behave like i did today i think the sabotaging thoughts i feel for were "but this is something special" and "f$:k it - i don't care". Tomorrow when i read my response csrds i will pay particular attention to those ones - and also remember the power of "No Choice". I also wonder whether there is an element of "this'll do". I haven't noticed it as such but i wodner, given i am struggling just as i have broken the historically significant 93kg barrier. Actually will go work on a response csrd for that now.
First though:
Team total of 142 now. I won't be doing team totals for the next week or so - we are off on a family holiday day after tomorrow. Staying with family in law i don't know so well so probably won't have much time to check in. I am planning to post briefly each night though as being on family holiday and staying with family will mean lots of challenges to both my new food habits and my new budgetary habits so i will need to be using you all to keep me grounded.
I liked the picture of the walking buddy dog, and today picked up my girls after they were holidaying at my sisters. Coincidentally my cousin had taken photos of them so in honour of walking buddies I have changed my avatar. They are Lily (black) and Sally (tan) who are Pug x Jack Russell (Pugell). I expect they will take me walking tomorrow morning - early
I made kombucha today for the first time and I also made a second milk kefir - my first kefir grains didn't survive the postage. Hopefully this batch is better. I have to wait 10 weeks for my sauerkraut! The kefir is a bit quicker (24 hours) and the kombucha takes 7 to 10 days. Fingers crossed.
Credit for steps - and kilometres
Credit for food - planned for the day and finished on plan
Credit all food is logged
Credit tracking my food for 43 days in a row!
Ok - so here's the response to "This'll do". "Yes - this is an improvement, but you deserve to realise ALL your dreams". That hits the spot - reminds me of the raw longing i have for the things on my ARC that i haven't achieved yet.
Diet Coaches/Buddies – My long walk incorporated delivering a check that was due that day. Last night we joined a folk dance group for its two hour session with training for beginners. CREDIT moi for a good exercise day. The scale jiggled down three pounds in response which gives me great pleasure despite knowing that it'll jiggle back up tomorrow. I'm pretty immune to the up jiggles, but just swoon for the downs. More realistically, today's the day to increment the monthly counters for my journey - they don't jiggle.
Eating was on plan with no snacks, CREDIT moi, moving my streak to 52. The dance offered a table with a homemade chocolate raspberry cake as well as a dozen more normal treats (including dark chocolate covered almonds - a fav). I skipped them all - the hardest being when DW offered me one bite of the special cake from her slice. I didn't want to have some snack when the whole table was right there in my face.
Joy (gardenerjoy) – Getting your sodium tastes to a rational level is Kudos worthy. Love the notion of a blow torch on a wedding registry. [Thanks for the link to the rolling grow light stand; DW hasn't thought of that yet, her grow lights are in a utility room deliberately out of sight.]
Cheryl (seadwaters) – Waving at Lily and Sally - some serious looking dogs there. Sounds like you've got the whole house fermenting.
maryann - My take is that you're in maintenance. It's hardest only when one thinks of it as different from losing and thus go back to mindless habits.
nationalparker – Yep, lunch at a pizza place isn't jumping off a bridge, LOL. Kudos for demonstrating that mindful eating can happen even in a place where over eating is the norm.
Beth (bethFromDayton) – Flexible response for your snack is a good strategy. Hope you didn't mean this Buckeye - never heard of it before; it looks deadly.
ForMyGirls - Love the Helpful Response, "You deserve to realize ALL your dreams" - will steal that one when I'm feeling the urge to cash in. Have a fun family holiday.
Maura (Moebug) - Kudos for making a thoughtful plan.
Readers -
Quote:
day 10Set a Realistic Goal
Setting a goal for yourself can be a great motivator - but you can easily become overwhelmed if you set a goal that seems too daunting or will take too long to achieve. Don't fall into that trap.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), pg 113.
Yesterday was again OP calorie-wise and semi-spontaneous. I had two meals planned and then a few snacks in place of third meal. I had an epiphany that maybe a fifty year old with a relatively sedentary life does not eat three meals a day. Now that is a paradigm shift. Step class yesterday and Pilates today makes a rare two day in a row exercise pattern.
Moebug: Good Luck with the experiment. I have discovered various periods during my time here with food that I can have just one. Then sometimes I am down the rabbit hole at a bite. I am constantly praying for "the wisdom to foretell the difference."
nationalparker: Who are you rooting for, the Colts or the Patriots. I have left Sunday free of "to do lists" in order to enjoy the 9-er game.
bethfromDayton: I thought your DD was already in a college, no? I love those tours. Even though DS is only 11, we try to take him to as many different campuses as possible. This summer we did Dartmouth. Beautiful, but not quite our "Okie" style
ForMyGirls: Good to be reminded that sometimes I keep on eating just for the taste.
seadwaters: Cute Puppies!!!
BBE: You are absolutely right. There really seems little difference between dieting to maintenance. There will never be a day that I can be unmindful of healthy food choices because my body can become addicted again in a heartbeat. One of the posters a couple of weekes ago shared that she still has the same food plan but treats herself to a special meal twice a week. That feels like it makes sense.
I think, in honor of ForMyGirls' vacation, I'm going to quit tracking my streak. She said mid-January originally and we're about there. The streak count served its purpose for me. I already have notes to myself to start tracking a streak of 100% OP days this summer (I've struggled every summer since I started this journey) and when we get back from our big vacation this year. I think that will make a big difference in how well I do this year. Thanks, ForMyGirls! What a terrific tool I now have in my kit.
Finished up a successful Day 7 - stayed on plan solidly by the fortunate occurrence of a mob of people at DH's dinner spot. We moved on and, remembering our decision to have at least ONE Date Night per month at a place neither of us had been before, and at a locally owned spot, we stopped at a Thai restaurant for dinner. Jackpot. Healthy entrees and I ate about 1/3 cup of my rice instead of all of it, and felt rather virtuous by night's end.
We did a late-night marketing run and picked up about 80% of what was on my list ... found a recipe for healthy lettuce cups that will be dinner if I pick up the last few ingredients.
Ordered a clearance-priced winter coat from LLBean and hoping it fits around the hips, always my issue. It will be the first time I've mail ordered a coat. Keeping fingers crossed. I told the powers that be to only have the order go through if it WILL fit, since I hate shipping items back.
Bill - thanks for choosing that goal tip for the day today. I have a terrible habit of setting a goal, then often resetting another goal before I reach the first one. Or setting a non-realistic goal. How you passed up the homemade desserts when likely all around you were indulging/enjoying is mystifying and commendable.
Beth - Credits for avoiding the buckeyes!!! Those are all over here as well, and are dangerous! Even at the register at Cracker Barrel
ForMyGirls - Kudos to you on honestly admitting the excess unplanned dinner and not beating yourself up over it! Do you notice that you stay up later when your partner isn't home? I do.
To join in, I'm going to try to figure out how to do an attachment pic of our walking buddy, Lucy. I'm terrible at anything other than a normal post on here. Got out on the sloppy trail today with DH and pooch for an hour. Not a fast walk, brisk wind kept it in mid-20s with the chill.
Last edited by nationalparker; 01-11-2014 at 03:30 PM.
Hello coaches! Grocery shopping is done for the week. Bought some more of the high credit yummy kale! I've never seen this type before, called flowering kale. The center is completely purple and the stems are sweet. Still having trouble remembering ARC more than once. Credit for tracking all I eat, eating seated, walking more than normal, and positive attitude even though new doggy has yet to sleep through the whole night.
seadwaters Mmmm, dill pickles sound yummy! Are you fermenting them? Seems like we often need a backup plan. I hope a Plan B will be helpful for you .
ForMyGirls Hurray for a good night’s sleep! Our new dog was only up once, so I have hope of a whole night's sleep soon. Relaxed & right direction sounds like the way to go. Great credit for stopping when you were full.
BillBlueEyes LOL on banning Mary Poppins! Will you be czar soon? I like soft serve too, but not when it is below freezing! I thought of you today when I purchased a bag of AZ grown oranges. When your weather warms up, you should order a box of oranges for healthy snacks...we did that when we lived in IN (or brought them back on the plane if we visited!). And food disappears quickly here w/ 3 boys who swim year round and a dh with a metabolism to envy...I've resorted to teaching them to make their own food. Oldest helps grind grain and prep ingredients for the bread maker, since he eats over 2 lbs of raisin bread weekly. WhooHoo for the lost pounds and the fun exercise and resisting the cake.
gardenerjoy Congrats on 10 OP! The tart sounds delish, now I'm craving fennel! LOL for a blowtorch on your friend's wedding gift registry, that will cause a few people to wonder!
maryann I also find it difficult to believe maintaining is harder than losing weight. Good luck with starting exercising, and so glad you are feeling better. Interesting thought about the 3 meals. If you find it doesn't keep the pounds off, then you might try 4 snack size meals instead as research has shown that to increase your metabolism.
Moebug Good luck on the cake treat. It is the habit of eating sugar, or overindulging that is bad, not one piece...you can do it!
nationalparker You have a wonderful dh! Hope you found a good gift idea for him. Great job at the Thai restaurant. I hate shipping items back too, so I hope you LOVE the coat. Looking forward to "meeting" Lucy.
bethFromDayton Sound like you had a good tour and made wise decisions. Congrats on 31 days!
ForMyGirls Congrats for focusing on the many good things you achieved. Hoping you good attitude will help you get back on track. Credit to you for choosing to work on a new response card when you recognized the need. Great job on the response. It is only fair to yourself to treat yourself in such a way to reach your goals.
seadwaters Cute doggies! The walking buddy is being goofy, he's decided when he's done his "duty" that it's time to turn around and go home. I'm hoping that when he's recovered from the surgery and is not as cold that he will like to walk more. But I am getting out more often, for short distances. Hope you had a great walk with your buddies. Kefir is quick! Is it 24 hour for both milk & water?
Well, I am still on track but with meals at odd times. After our walk, I had a bit of a protein snack, counted it, and added in almonds and counted those. Then a couple of hours later we'd decided to just do leftovers for dinner tonight and DH started heating some up. I decided, "Hey, I'd better get in there, too..." and pulled the ham from the old soup and heated that up. I wasn't even HUNGRY. I was maybe hungry of a 3-4 on a scale of 10, but not a 7 or so. Put it in a very small bowl, that I use for a one-cup cereal bowl, and enjoyed every bite. Then had eater's remorse... and felt like a failure - for what? For not waiting another hour? ... we'd gotten in a good hour-long walk in the cold. So I was sitting here, beating myself up for eating early. What is wrong with my mind sometimes with food? I logged it and still have 500 calories or so left for the day (gave up trying to stick at 1,200 and 1,400 will be slower, but at least less sense of daily failure. And even a sense of success if I come in a bit lower...)
*credit* for seeing 265.7 on the scale today, my official weigh-in day.
I have earned my two-movies-in-a-row reward! So exciting. I'll go this week sometime.
My next goal is 5lbs more: 260. Same reward. I want to go to more movies!
Well I have managed to start some ceramics. It looks like a small theme is forming. Ceramic work requires the maker to be happy with it at every stage of production as here is no guarantee it will get to the next stage intact. And with this in mind I'm attaching what I made today. We'll see if it survives the trip to the studio a few days from now. I am committed to making 6 sculptures by Tuesday. I have 2. I'm starting to really get into it though. Very exciting. ( Attached is a jpg of today's work-approx 10" across - clay wall sculpture-she's a dancer wearing bunny slippers)
I've also finalized the details around my printmaking trip to Ottawa a week from Tuesday. It was going to be pierced by a stop at my brother's wife's place to go through his workshop stuff before she throws it all out as she is putting the house up for sale mid-February. The basement is where my brother worked. I considered giving her the green light to just toss everything but I may as well make one effort to see what remains. I was willing to work it into my work trip next week but I am off the hook. She's given me a few more weeks and that's good/better for me. I don't have to get stressed out over it AND try to be creative at the same time. Now I can just focus on my artwork. I'm finally starting to get serious again and it feels good. It is serous though as deadlines for submissions and the pursuit of showing your work in real galleries requires producing series of work and work to a theme. I have come up with my overall theme, which is great surprise and relief, and I can see it will be a good challenge for me. This is all EXACTLY what I hoped would happen. I want to get lost in my artwork this year and really push myself. *credit* for keeping on keeping on.
Foodwise there was gluten free bread on sale so we're trying it. I don't know if for a diabetic (DH) this is any better than regular bread. I suspect NO bread is the best option for us but what the heck. In moderation!
Oh and the best news of the week: my MRI came back negative. All is well. Next physical hurdle will be meeting with my trainer for 30minutes on Monday. She's gonna whip my butt.
Hi guys, I haven't disappeared but it's a lot harder to check in once work hits but I am happy to report 11 days of on plan eating. I have done some planned exercise and some spontaneous - not every day but it's a work in progress. I've been cooking double and triple and starting to build up a freezer full of healthy things for the tough days.
I have downgraded my initial plans for exercising in the evening and am now aiming to start off with just to stay awake in the evening for long enough to get into bed, rather than passing out on the sofa. I am happy to report that despite a really hard day yesterday with the kids fighting, I had enough energy to sit and watch a DVD last night, all the way through, without falling asleep.
I am also reading my advantages card every day and adding to it as I realise more advantages of eating well. They are accumulating daily. If there was a pill that would give me all of these advantages I would pay a fortune for it.
I haven't progressed with the Beck book beyond day 15 yet (the day I went back to work after Christmas ... yes those two things are linked!) but if the kids stay asleep (it's 6.30am here) I'll read another day today.
Last edited by systemsaddict; 01-12-2014 at 01:30 AM.
An OP day. Hooray! I even have room in the plan for a hot chocolate after i finish posting. No choice was an incredibly valuable tool today when faced withe cookies and also home cooked brownies (cooked by the kids so i almost caved on the basis of supporting their adventures but i really needed to exercise the resistance muscle today - and they are familiar enough with my dieting now that i wasn't worried they would be dissappointed (and they didn't appear it). So credit for those efforts. Also resisted going back for seconds at dinner.
Final credit is having thought my way through to a healthy afternoon snack with the kids. One of the real blocks is that my younger daughter doesn't eat fruit (except avocado she would tell you). For me fruit is the simple choice for a healthy arvo snack but i always get a bit paralysed abiut what to prepare for her. So today i just prepped some vegies for her. She was super excited to be allowed to have a whole cob of corn all to herself :-)
OP for the next week will be maintenance calories. I will be writing some special holiday response cards tonight to help me keep to that.
SystemsAddict - well done for being gentle with yourself about doing this program with a job and young kids. Adjusting your exercise expectations to something you can achieve is sheer brilliance!
Food was planned and on-plan today which was a relief. That is three in a row. The dogs look so serious because my cousin (in law) has been taking photos of wildlife in Africa - I think she somehow confused them with stately lions or brooding tigers LOL. I don't even know how she captured them sitting still. THey enjoyed their walk this morning before the heat.
I am doing a lot of fermenting - I have had to rearrange the cupboards in my tiny studio apartment and make room in the fridge - I want to try them all to see what works for me. I think I have made an almost good kefir which I will make a smoothy from in the morning
Exercise today was pruning two hedges and all the other plants in my courtyard - took hours. Then cleaning up afterwards. Sure glad it is done - and it was hot too so feel good about being able to physically deal with it.
My steps were up to 11,620 and nearly 8 km - amazing what a bit of constant gardening can do. All food was logged in MFP and I was under my normal amount and way under what MFP wanted to give me for the extra exercise (an extra 518!!?)
AZtricia - I have been eating a lot of kale because my sister has been growing it. It is particularly nice as kale chips with chilli salt on it! Yep - kefir tends to be about 24 hours - like yoghurt which can be ready in 8-12 hours.
Well I am really tired coaches so will sign out before I pass out.
Last edited by GosfordGirl; 01-12-2014 at 06:24 AM.
Saturday
