Saturday - Marie Curie announces radium (Paris, 1903)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Walk, CREDIT moi, included the library to pick up some fun summer reading. DW looked at the book and reminded me that I've already read it. Turns out that she's right - I remember the book but had forgotten the title. Oh Well. Also walked in a different direction and found two more charging stations for my all-electric car. They're near a movie theatre - a good combo.
Eating was OKish. Only 'ish' because we attended a reception at a museum where I ate wisely from the platters of veggies and cheese laid out. I was, however, done in by the walking appetizers. They appeared at just the right number of minutes apart for me to forget that I'd just eaten one. All were delightfully seasoned. The dessert one was a "pop tart" on a stick - never seen that before. DW said that it was hand made because it contained generous fruit inside. Apparently the frozen ones from the store contain just a swipe. But it was a nice evening walk there and back.
maryann - Yep, the noise was deafening out here. Congrats for fitting into a 19 year old shirt. And Double Congrats to your DH for agreeing to wear its match.
nationalparker – Wow, "steak fajita meat" as an office help-yourself is a major bonus. Congrats on "clear the fridge" when needed.
Karen (karenrn) - Waving toward your campsite in the Flagstaff area.
curlyjax - So glad to hear that your DH is "surviving" his chemo. Kudos for the wisdom "taking it day by day." Sending supportive thoughts as you continue.
ennay - Yep, pickles show up on the scale so quickly. Love the thought of cucumbers to solve the problem.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 6 Family Traps
Creating Escape Plans for Family Traps
Consider the following sample escape plan as you brainstorm and craft your own.
Escape Plan: Family Trap . . . Situation #1: Baking cookies with Mom. I will be tempted to eat too much. She will insist that I take lots of cookies home with me and may criticize me if I don't.
Sabotaging thoughts: Mom will be so disappointed if I don't take cookies home. I shouldn't disappoint her.
Reminders: I'm an adult. I need to make decisions that are in line with goals that are important to me.
Strategies: Use Roy as my role model. If she criticizes me, be nice but firm, ask her to stop, then quickly change the subject.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., Deborah Beck Busis, The Diet Trap Solution, Train Your Brain to Lose Weight and Keep It Off for Good (Blue book), pg. 124
Another OP day. The scale does not move but my clothes do feel better. A small win. Exercise is planned.It is hard to not let relatively small aches and pains stop me. I know once I start moving they will go away.
Today's project is my desk. I make my own cards by up-cycling wonderful graphics in previous cards and fancy papers. My supplies are a mess. Once organized, I will turn out en masse some thank you cards. DS has used the last with bday and promotion. Beck talks about distractions from food and this little creativity project is easy go to once set up. It can make an hour pass in a moment. Another distraction is the guitar. Just by buying a stand for it, I can now hop over and play until a craving is gone. Before I had to lug it out of a closet. These little tricks really help me stop the automatic grab for food - not 100% but every little bit helps.
Also a big credit to me for looking into our retirement stuff. I have uncertainty and procrastination around this and I am not sure why. Marrying later in life, our accounts are fragmented. I have wanted to change a Roth IRA account DH set up for me from a bond fund to a growth fund. I have sat on it for about five years now I have educated myself and just had to trust myself. It took footwork over the last month and then two hours yesterday but I did it. This is an import confidence builder for me. I can't emphasize enough how much food calls to me when I am unsure of myself. The more situations I walk through with out food, the more history of success I have.
Nationalparker: Bummer about the eye. Once I was all set for a big project and ended up have a q-tip puncture my ear. So silly and yet it completely derailed me.
BBE: No one alive can be expected to pass up a poptart on a stick.
BBE -I don't think I could have passed up a homemade poptart on a stick. I reread all the time. I love rereading books almost more than I like new ones.
Maryann - kudos on taking control of the finances like that.
I never did get in my cucumber yesterday - will have to today i am still feeling puffy. Cucumbers are such a nice diuretic I may eat two. I should probably check and make sure my BP isn't becoming sodium sensitive. I used to be able to eat an entire jar of pickles and not retain at all. But I never retained for hormones either then, and now I do. Aging Pickles are what I tend to eat if I am just craving eating because they are low in calorie and the strong flavor ruins the taste of most sweet things. It's hard to do too much real damage with pickles and my BP tends to run ~ 95/55 so ... The only danger is if I have sharp cheese in the house because I love those together.
Walked/ran with a friend today. It was so nice. She has never had much endurance and is just cleared to start running again after knee surgery, but she is way more athletic than I am right now so on the run intervals she was killing me. Plus I ended up doing about 0.75 miles more than I meant to because I forgot to include the detour too her house.
Felt like the day has rushed by me today, but all I've accomplished is to finish a photo book. I wanted to do our first five years together and then totally forgot the wedding. So I either have to add more pages or just say, OH well. It wasn't a grand affair, and we cut expenses as much as we could, since both of us preferred spending money on our life than just one day. Funny that it wasn't even in my mind.
DH has been hard at work on the water heater installation this afternoon/evening. Off to the hardware store for something now. I went to start dinner and forgot our water is turned off. D'oh! Like when your lights go out and you go looking for the flashlight and turn on the bedroom light
I did NOT count and did NOT do well today. Food is too much and calories are too high. Was in a "who cares at this point" mentality earlier but now think I need to just rescue the day. Saw my back fat today and just can't say who cares anymore because I must.
Have flatbread thin pizza crusts from World Market that I'll make up with light toppings and veggies and good salad. Even if it's too many calories, it'll be healthier than what I was starting out to make - some homemade pasta au gratin and salad. No water to boil the penne.
Just can't seem to get my act together or even desire to do so. Well, I WANT to but I resent the work to do it. I guess if I was truly giving up, I'd just stop posting and do whatever, but I care more than that and can't always be a failure in this. ARGH. I need biscotti to go with this w[h]ine.
Last edited by nationalparker; 06-25-2016 at 10:20 PM.
Sunday - U.N. Charter signed (San Francisco, 1945)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Continued my crusade to join the ranks of those using smart phones. Found an amazing deal at T-Mobile for a GSM, 64GB, Samsung Edge 6+ phone marked down from $700 to $500. It came as a Buy One Get One deal so I got one for DW also at no extra cost. Then I got FREE bonuses of $430 worth of stuff - 7 inch Samsung tablet ($130), two VR goggles ($200), and $100 credit. It was the best electronics shopping deal I've ever had. CREDIT moi for overcoming my huge aversion to getting into the modern phone era.
Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, including an all vegetarian day. At the evening potluck with friends I only served myself one rational plate of food.
maryann - Kudos for marching into matters that imply that we're getting a year older every twelve months. That takes courage.
nationalparker – Yep, those handyman projects tend to include yet-another trip to the hardware store. LOL at forgetting that you didn't have water - hope that's resolved soon.
ennay - Yay for running with a friend. Congrats for super good blood pressure.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 6 Family Traps
Creating Escape Plans for Family Traps
Consider the following sample escape plan as you brainstorm and craft your own.
Escape Plan: Family Trap . . . Situation #1: Baking cookies with Mom. I will be tempted to eat too much. She will insist that I take lots of cookies home with me and may criticize me if I don't.
Sabotaging thoughts: Mom will criticize me if I tell her I'm not taking cookies home or if I tell her I'm trying to lose weight.
Reminders: It's okay if Mom is disappointed. Her disappointment will be minor and fleeting. If I eat too much, my disappointment will be huge. Mom may criticize me, but so what if she does. I can ask her to stop. Roy would have no problem saying that to her.
Strategies: Set a new standard of not letting Mom push food on me. If I don't want to take any cookies home, that means I'm definitely not taking them home. Give myself lots of credit for sticking up for myself.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., Deborah Beck Busis, The Diet Trap Solution, Train Your Brain to Lose Weight and Keep It Off for Good (Blue book), pg. 124
I got back from northern Arizona last evening. I'm glad we stayed the night before the hike because the campground was at 8800 feet elevation and we were hiking quite a ways up from there. The top of Humphrey's Peak is 12,633. I got to 11,800 and then down to the saddle at 11,600 and still had the oomph to get to the top, but I didn't know how my energy would be hiking the 7 1/2 miles back down and then driving home, which I wanted to do. Since I've been to the top of Humphrey's numerous times in the past, I called it good and turned around. Also, I was by myself, because my friend didn't want to go that far and had turned around already and the rest of the group left a bit after I did. I left earlier so I could do much of the hike in the cooler temps.
Today I'm packing to leave for CA about 5 a.m. tomorrow. I don't need all that much, but I do need to make a trip to REI and a few other things including feed my husband so he remembers he has a wife.
Bill Good job on the new Smartphone. You got a super deal to be sure. I love my phone and all the things it can do. I used the Gaia GPS ap on the hike on airplane mode and I just love that. I just downloaded Photomyne and haven't used it yet, but plan to do a lot of scanning of old photos. Anyway, have fun with it.
Nationalparker I hope you have a new water heater and water today. Maybe you just need to take a break from worrying about food and totally focus on other things for a bit.
Maryann It sounds like a lot of good things are happening with you. Good job on the retirement planning and the dress fitting, not to mention the music room. You are on a big time roll.
Ennay I didn't know that cucumbers were a diuretic, but maybe that's what came into play when I was hiking down the hill yesterday. I had eaten a cucumber the day before. I had to hide in the bushes 4 times in 7 1/2 miles. Luckily no one ever walked by. I was drinking quite a bit of water to stay hydrated especially because of the altitude, but that was ridiculous.
Curlyjax I'm glad you checked in. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Of course losing weight isn't a priority, just trying to maintain your health and energy with all you have to do. Let us know how you're doing when you have the time.
Well, I'd better get ready to head to REI. I'll check in when I can, but no cell coverage when we're camping.
OP Day but still no drop in scale. I will continue to have smart days (as nationalparker's says) despite the lack of number progress. Prepping to head down to LA. I am afraid KarenRN that you are heading to California during our hottest days in years. Sorry about that. It should be 107 degrees driving down Interstate 5 (the lifeline desert road that connects Northern California with Southern California.) When I was a little girl, it was treacherous business with potholes, long empty sections and many overheated cars. Now it is just a quick five hour drive dotted with a million fast food stops. I have bought healthy food and snacks as an alternative. I will not treat this vacation as a vacation from my plan. Nothing tastes as good as abstinence feels.
Ennay: Good tip on the cukes. I love cuke water.
BBE: Enjoy the great new world of smart phones. Mine is a love hate relationship. I have turned off all email functions and denied all notifications because I didn't want to be a slave to it.
Well, today was definitely the worst day since restarting. I couldnt sleep last night. Woke up about 1:30 am and couldnt sleep and by 7 am my stomach was giving me fits from the lack of sleep and I went into full on binge mode. I ate almost my entire days allotment before 8 am. And then just ok at the BBQ. Not as much discipline as i have had, because I couldn't bring myself to care. Hopefully sleep and tomorrow will be a better day, although food will be super tough, I am taking the kids to an amusement park where the food choices are bad and worse (and to top it all off the best fries I have ever had anywhere)
I hope I can get good enough rest to attempt the gym before we leave in the morning. I don't lift well early, but weak lifting is better than no lifting.
karenrn It is a very mild diuretic. They aren't going to flush out pounds and pounds but they do help. And unlike any other method, you can't really overdo cukes . They have so much water in them that you rehydrate and flush out at the same time.
Another Monday on the horizon. Will i slide back into my plan? Yes!! I saw a picture that DH took tonight at my urging of me and well... a promo cutout for a movie. I might as well come clean. A friend jokes with me that I like Dwayne Johnson (she says Colin Firth I can believe, but The Rock?...) and it's a years-long running joke. So I had to snap a funny pic...and the pic that I saw was some fat middle aged lady.
Shock. Denial. Frustration. ... reality.
I'm back in the game.
Last edited by nationalparker; 06-27-2016 at 09:02 AM.
Monday - Helen Keller born (Tuscumbia, Alabama, 1880)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Standard Sunday walk with DW, CREDIT moi, diverted so she could check out a garden that was visible from the street. Exercise was giving my DGD a tour of the yard and sidewalk. She likes to be carried from object to object while I touch and name them.
Food was good enough, CREDIT moi, helped because I was offered some rather uninteresting foods for coffee hour in the morning. Sardines for lunch made me happy since I've forgotten to eat them recently. Having too many Sugar Snaps and too many cherries is so summer to me. A friend has started mourning that the days are already getting shorter - a rather pessimistic view of life.
maryann - Thanks for the description of Interstate 5 which I've never driven - we've always clung to the coast. Yay for healthy snacks to eat along the way.
nationalparker – Super Kudos for ending this sequence with 'reality' "Shock. Denial. Frustration. ... reality." My DD was showing me how to take selfies with my new smart phone. Random pictures are rather unappealing.
Karen (karenrn) - Waving toward California as you're packing. 12,633 feet to Humphrey's Peak is way up there.
ennay - Good morning to "a better day." The amusement park should be good exercise.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 6 Family Traps
Reflect and Recommit: Why I Want to Escape This Trap
You can keep denying your own needs to keep your family happy - but be ready to keep yourself unhappy in the process. You deserve to do what you need to do to lose weight and become healthier. You can learn to make changes that protect your needs, even in moments of conflict or power struggle.
What has happened in the past in your interactions with difficult family members? Have you given in? What's likely to happen in the future if you don't change? Why do you act as if it's more important to fulfill other people's desires instead of taking care of yourself? Why do other people deserve your care, but not you?
Take a long, hard look at some of the family traps you've encountered, so you can have a head start on the next family conflict. Take a few minutes to write one final summary reminder card to help motivate you to make changes and keep making changes.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., Deborah Beck Busis, The Diet Trap Solution, Train Your Brain to Lose Weight and Keep It Off for Good (Blue book), pg. 124
A brief check in before I had to work. Roof is finished scale is up. LOL. Dr. Beck teaches me to get right back on track. I have a food plan for today and I packed a lunch take with me. Credit. I'm hoping for an uneventful week. LOL
Everybody's frustration resonates with me. This journey toward a disciplined food life is so treacherous. Again, after another OP day, the scale does not budge. I shake my fist to the heavens then I looked back in my tracker to prove to the powers that be how UNFAIR this is for me to stay disciplined for endless weeks. Ooops! It has only been two weeks and I have lost two pounds. Has it really only been two weeks? This is really a disease of perception. I remembered that this morning and also remembered my old mantra: By consenting to be bound, I am free. I am not just doing this for a number or an image. I am doing this for freedom and health.
Nationalparker: You are not some fat, middle aged lady. You are suffering from misperception just like all of us. We can never compare photos of us versus photos of movie people. Even Dwayne johnson is photo shopped and, believe me, he is more terrified than any of us about aging. He makes a living on perception. He has a whole team of people that work full time making him look the way he looks. I remember reading years ago that a stunning young Julia Roberts actually was forced to have a body double in Pretty Woman for the naked scene. Even Julia Roberts doesn't look like Julia Roberts.
You just finished a photo book of your life with a man who adores you. Look at the expressions on your two faces over the last five years. Your smiles are beautiful and precious. Many "perfect" actors would kill for that kind of happiness. Remember Marilyn Monroe taking her own life because of the emptiness. The world suffers greatly from believing misperceptions.
I am not preaching. I am writing loud enough for me to get it into my own thick skull because i do the EXACT same thing. I have to practice looking at my legs and saying "Thank You for working" instead of "I hate your ugly, thick ankles." Another true story. My husband and I met on a blind date. Years later, I asked him if he thought I was pretty the first time he saw me. My husband is nothing if not an honest man. His first impression of me concerned my thick ankles. He remembered thinking, "Now that girl is built like a brick house. She would have babies with strong legs." You see my husband had weak ankles, legs and back and was in "Forrest Gump" braces until second grade. What I thought was the ugliest part of me was a treasure to him.
A good day today - lighter dinner and larger lunch, which I like. No extra snacking. Work today was very productive - got a good start on one project and wrapped up a smaller one.
Maryann - Thank you for the thoughts - they've really resonated with me - so strongly. I feel part of my perception comes from working in the athletics field and not wanting to stand out so much. I always smile when I remember, though, a former WW leader telling our group to "eat how athletes eat" and I knew firsthand for years how athletes ate and it wasn't pretty for the most part ... I digress, but "for freedom and health" will be a main focus on my mind, now. Thank you.
Bill - I envy you the see/touch/hear experience with your DGD...how wonderful for you both. Thank you for pointing out that the slide to the winter solstice is a downer way of looking at these next months. That thought fleetingly passes through my mind on the summer solstice! Our temps are dropping by 10 degrees tomorrow and we'll be dining on the patio the rest of the week. DH was excited as one meal was going to be an antipasti platter with his fresh salami, mozzarella, olives and roasted red peppers and who knows what else - I need to find a good recipe.
Lexxiss - I, too, am hoping for an uneventful week for you - but i don't know if your life rolls that way! How's your hubby doing in Alaska? I loved the pic of the solstice evening and showed to my DH. Going there seems like such a long-term goal for us but it's de rigueur (SP?) for you!
Karen -Waving Hi - Hope all goes well for you! A friend at work has a friend who is currently hiking the Camino. So of course, that got me looking up the number of hikers, from where, ages, etc.
Tuesday - Archduke Ferdinand assassinated (Sarajevo, Bosnia, 1914)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Walk, CREDIT moi, to the hardware store for a sink tailpiece washer - arguably the easiest plumbing fix I've ever done. I'm hero for making a leak go away. Naturally I can't help but note that I paid $2.50 for one shrink wrapped when the web offers them at $18 for a box of 100. It was a challenge for me to take a later walk for an errand because I so like driving my electric car. I finally convinced myself that I can't get out of shape just for the joy of driving.
Food was OKish, CREDIT moi, but used all my allocated snacks. Dinner was grilled shrimp on the patio. We futzed about outside and still didn't need to turn on the front porch light at 8:30 pm.
Debbie (Lexxiss) – Congrats for getting the roof fixed so quickly. LOL at "hoping for an uneventful week."
maryann - Love, love, love the thought, "What I thought was the ugliest part of me was a treasure to him."
nationalparker – "No extra snacking" is worth Kudos for the day.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 6 Family Traps
Travel and Eating Out Traps
Eating away from home can be one of life's pleasures, but it presents lots of opportunities for falling into a trap, especially if you tell yourself:
"It's a special meal. I can loosen up."
"I deserve to eat what I want."
"Eating out should be different from eating in."
"It's my vacation! I shouldn't have to limit myself."
Eating out can be challenging for many reasons, whether you're close to home, dining at restaurants or at the homes of family or friends, or traveling for vacation or business. You may have more choices of what to eat and drink and be sorely tempted by the sheer variety of what is available. You might be dining at different hours, with different people, and in new restaurants and settings, all of which can stimulate you to make exceptions that you'll be sorry for later. At the same time, you usually don't have control over how the food is prepared or the size of the portions you're served.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., Deborah Beck Busis, The Diet Trap Solution, Train Your Brain to Lose Weight and Keep It Off for Good (Blue book), pg. 129
nationalparker "eat how athletes eat" hahahahaha Even amongst runners who are among the most skinny of athletes the common saying is "anything can burn if the furnace is hot enough" Pizza and beer are staples.
Spent all day yesterday at the amusement park with the kids. My estimate is 4-5 very hilly miles. Maybe more. I certainly hurt as if it was more. This is a tiny park built on a hillside so you are always going up or down. Food was crap, but probably netted out.
Saturday - Marie Curie announces radium (Paris, 1903)
I have educated myself and just had to trust myself. It took footwork over the last month and then two hours yesterday but I did it. This is an import confidence builder for me. I can't emphasize enough how much food calls to me when I am unsure of myself. The more situations I walk through with out food, the more history of success I have.
Pickles are what I tend to eat if I am just craving eating because they are low in calorie and the strong flavor ruins the taste of most sweet things. It's hard to do too much real damage with pickles and my BP tends to run ~ 95/55 so ... The only danger is if I have sharp cheese in the house because I love those together. 
