Tuesday - International Red Cross founded (1864, Geneva)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Chase the DGD day, CREDIT moi, for our first of three week days this week. We took her to a zoo where she absorbed all the animals quickly, then demanding "More animals." I had taken my own kids to that same zoo some 30 years before when it was tired and housed some poorly treated giraffes and a gorilla. It's no longer tired and the big mammals are long gone.
I used the solar eclipse glasses to enjoy the spectacle - we had 63% coverage - sharing them with DW and my DSIL. He reported that driving was tough because many folks were dawdling along the highway with their smart phones sticking out the window trying to video the eclipse. Dinner on the patio was omelets (mine covered with Lizano sauce) and tomato salad made from one red and one yellow tomato from our garden. Just doesn't get better.
onebyone – Glad that paver printmaking event worked out. Kudos for conceiving it and making it happen. Agree with, "A couple of on plan days will do wonders."
Joy (gardenerjoy) – Yay for good eclipse weather. We were clear and warm for our partial eclipse viewing.
maryann - So neat that your Indian students got to see an American scientist on TV who was also Indian. Kudos for sticking to your plan for a week.
Karen (karenrn) - Gotta love that Otis has his way of giving you orders, LOL. Kudos for recognizing that snacking can come from boredom.
curlyjax - Yay for that "tomato fest" - such joy from a healthy food.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 3 How Thin People Think
characteristic 2 You Have a Low Tolerance for Hunger and Cravings
The Beck Diet Solution
Yet at the moment you feel hungry or experience a craving, you might not be thinking rationally. You might feel that you have to do something about it immediately to satisfy your urge to eat. Perhaps this inaccurate thinking stems, in part, from our hunter-and-gatherer ancestors, who survived only if they developed the ability to focus their attention intently on leaner times when food was scarce. Today, food is plentiful all the time, but our modern brains have not yet caught up to this modern reality.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), pg 35.
Hey coaches! I didn’t see the eclipse, it was pretty cloudy and I didn’t get prepared ahead of time. Sounds like some people made a real party of it!
I ended up making zuchanoes – stuffed zucchini with mushrooms, onions, quinoa, cheese and sour cream- for dinner, which was delicious, but both DH and I felt bloated a few hours later. Healthy food shouldn’t do that, sheesh! I’ve never had a problem eating this before- maybe it was the mushrooms. Maybe it’s a new thing now that I’m 50, hopefully not! Anyhow I avoided all sugar yesterday except for a Kashi granola bar, so credit for that.
One tech problem is fixed. We’ve had trouble with streaming hulu and Netflix on the tv but not on the various computers. My dad suggested it could be the apple tv thing, so I ordered an Amazon fire stick, and it seems to be working great so far, knock wood. The Apple tv thing is only a few years old, electronic things certainly don’t last!
Karenrn- that book sounds good! I always like to hear of a new author. Maryann- good job following your pla for a week! Bill-Nice to have a little kid to take to the zoo again. Animals are always such a hit.
I can't seem to discover an extra hour in the day to get caught up on more stuff... I'm stuck with the same 24. I'm torn because I don't want my life to just be a "to do" list, but don't want to feel that I'm procrastinating on a lot of stuff. Got home from work late due to traffic and in-laws were coming with our dog. They came right in the house and I'm lucky (or they are, depending on point of view) that I wasn't changing - surprised me. Good to have the pooch back. We took them out for a nice dinner and they got on the road, and then I shaved/bathed the dog - she was nipping at her back and I was worried she had fleas. I didn't see any. My whole evening came and went.
I could have done a better job ordering but I did skip the mac and cheese, which sounded so comforting. So a small nod to that, but not a legit credit. I'm struggling to get back on plan and stay there. 75% on plan isn't going to cut it.
Caught a bit of the eclipse yesterday, but while I thought it was cool, it was about three minutes of "neat" and then back to regular programming. DH was excited to see the next one will come right through here. I said you still expect to live here then? Hm.
Bill - Your garden tomatoes sound wonderful. Few things are as wonderful to eat as homegrown warm tomatoes in my book.
A quick hello. I'm starting to flesh out the new routine. Yesterday I did the heavy weights session and the tea was already made (did it on Monday). That left space to discuss education/school things with the DB.
Today there's a short exercise session, followed by a visit to the farm shop for bones, meat and veg. Maybe even some other things (curtain pole, birthday present) sorted out! The SO is planning on making noodle soup most Wednesdays if the bones work out for stock (=broth). I'll work this afternoon (something urgent has just dropped into my lap) and cut the grass if the weather holds. Except I've just remembered that the DB and I have to finish some painting in the sitting room (currently as near to unusable as you can get without it being actually unusable). A bit of flexibility required then.
Thinking of you all.
Last edited by silverbirch; 08-23-2017 at 04:36 AM.
Wednesday - France's King Louis XVI born (1754, Versailles)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Walked, CREDIT moi, the aisles of Home Depot looking for a magic potion to clean the oil stain on our concrete pavers driveway. These guys are a tad fragile; they spoil if salt gets on them. Their best feature is that an individual paver can be replaced with little effort. Home Depot graciously provided some five people who helped me; each sent me to the other's part of the store until one neat guy with a delightful Caribbean lilt took me by the hand to find another guy who found the stuff that I need. It's frightening stuff indeed. The label says to saturate all nearby vegetation with plenty of water before using. DW suggests that I wait until after a rainfall. Hard to believe that I could defoliate the yard just by going after an oil stain.
Eating was OK. Dinner on the patio included swordfish - Whole Foods labeled 'sustainable.' Evening snack was cantaloupe, again. It was sweet enough even though a tad firm. Neither DW nor I know the secret for choosing a perfect melon.
Joy (gardenerjoy) – I'm so jealous that you got a full eclipse without having to travel. Kudos for eating normal on a strange day.
silverbirch – That's one busy list of widely different challenges calling for your time. I like the notion of a farm shop where one can buy bones.
nationalparker – Does this ever capture the feeling of not getting enough done: "My whole evening came and went." Kudos for recognizing the tension even when you acknowledge that you won't be given a 25th hour in the day.
curlyjax - Zuchanoes sounds really good. Yep, Kudos for "avoided all sugar yesterday except for a Kashi granola bar."
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 3 How Thin People Think
characteristic 2 You Have a Low Tolerance for Hunger and Cravings
The Beck Diet Solution
I'm going to teach you how to effectively respond to the voice in your head that tries to convince you, I have to eat right now! You'll learn many techniques to refocus your attention so that hunger and craving lose their persuasive power. You'll learn to tell yourself, I'm just feeling hungry, or I'm just having a craving ... I don't have to pay attention to it ... I can shift my focus to something else ... I don't have to eat impulsively to get rid of this feeling ... In a few minutes, I'm going to be really glad that I didn't eat.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), pg 35.
Hi Coaches!
I have a day off today so I’m treating myself to a massage. My right leg is still bothering me- now i’m wondering if i was doing my stretches too zealously and irritated muscle or whatever that way. Anyhow the massage should help. I really don’t want to go back to PT but won’t let this get out of hand again.
Heard from the laptop dr- the laptop is so old they can’t replace the graphics card, so they offered me a deal of- if we can fix it its 150, if we can’t, its free. So i’m going with that and we’ll see. I would lose a lot of emails and photos if its dead but ah well- next time i’m going to pay attention and back things up. UGH!
I’m investigating the Livestrong program for DH; its a 12 week free strengthening program for cancer survivors at the Y. We have a choice of two Ys and one states online it comes with a free family membership, so if the rest of us could benefit too that would be great.
Silverbirch-you sound busy and productive! Soup every Weds would be lovely, especially with someone else making it. Nationalparker- I chuckled at the image of inlaws walking in on you! Glad you have your dog home. I plan to be ready for the next eclipse in 7 years! It is supposed to be full strength for us in the northeast i think. Gardenerjoy- so nice you got to see the eclipse. Bill- I know what you mean about being sent to 5 different sections of the store!
Yesterday went reasonably well even though I never did write down a food plan. Today, I have my plan written. The only challenge will be if DH doesn't like my supper plan. Then, I'll have to deal with some last-minute changes and a trip to the store....so, I just wrote a Plan B in case that happens. Too often, that will throw me off kilter for no good reason.
I need a restart and a reset. Right now, all I'm thinking is how big a failure I am at this. I have gained and gained and eaten and eaten and now, I'm so far up on the scale and in body size that it's nearly like I'm starting from scratch again. Why? Because it was more fun to eat french fries or chocolate or ice cream? I was working small servings in and maintaining before ... what is it that I did that got me thinking it was OK to stray so far from plan? If one chocolate was innocuous, maybe two or three will be? I was restarting FMD this week and then sidetracked myself last night at dinner with the in-laws. Then I didn't prep food for breakfast but was able to eat an OP breakfast and snack this morning... now we have a staff outing today with lunch afterward. I feel that if I don't stick to my plan today, then I'm just going to be all or nothing and say the heck with it. SO, having viewed the menu, I'll just order as healthy as I can (modern Mexican/limited menu offerings) and then follow through with an on plan dinner and recognize that I'm not dropping 20 pounds in a week.
I'm feeling panicky about this today. Clothes are tighter again. I got rid of many of my larger clothes, keeping a few that I didn't think looked dumpy. But now? I'm having to squat down to stretch stuff out when I put it on - back to the same motions from before. I'm bloated and now I recognize that it's from the wheat and sugar. I never EVER thought that before - it just "was" ... but after stripped those foods out, along with the soy and corn, I can definitely tell a difference in how bloated my abdomen is.
I'm feeling like I'm spinning out of control and we're heading into a busy time at work. I need to step back and get this figured out. I'm going to reweigh on Friday and see where I stand and then modify my signature, up at least 10 more pounds, I'm sure. SERIOUSLY. Failure on that front just hangs like a dark cloud over me this summer. I am frustrated because I don't look at others and see them as failures if they skid, but I do for myself. Wonder why.
I'm trying to allocate my time away from work to do things I want to do, other than meal planning, marketing and meal prep. That's a given and when I do that well, it builds the success and I recognize that more meals at home equate to less weight gain. But right at this moment, I am struggling to find the time to get other things done. My project list keeps growing. I know that with the flooring project that took up July (and we still have another week or two left to finish two rooms) and the trip, that time is limited. But I'm missing the time to check in here regularly and be a supportive member ... the time to journal a bit ... the time to do things other than clean and care for the animals.
Thanks for being here, coaches, to lift each other up (despite me being a downer today).
Joy - I reread your "Fifty and feeling Fabulous" as I'm heading toward my 52nd birthday here soon. I love this line you ended with: "I am thrilled to be fifty years old and entering the next phase of my life healthy, happy, and vibrant." ... and I want to be entering the next phase of my life like that and it's in my control. Thank you for the reminder of that.
It's been a good day here with a walk with Otis, the gym (with Otis at the office) and then a quick shopping trip this afternoon. Otis was asleep within 5 minutes of arriving home, so I knew he wouldn't care if I left. I was looking for a pair of black shorts to go with a new top I have. The shorts I currently have are too big and the legs are two long and big. I was hoping to get a pair on sale and I did for $15. The styles are all so different, a 6 in one style is too big, but way too small in another. The waist is so low on some of them that it feels weird. I tried on the pair I bought and they seemed the best, but there is no growing room in them.
The places where the hardwood floor is being replaced or patched will begin tomorrow and the cabinet installation will begin on Monday. Overall I am doing pretty well here in the condo, but dh is so much more attached to the house than I am and he is really yearning to go home. It will be easier at our house with the dog since we have a walled back yard and a doggie door.
I had a nice phone visit with my brother yesterday. He and some friends had gone to Oregon to camp and view the eclipse in the zone of totality or whatever it was called. He reported they had about a 15 degree temperature drop and could see the stars. Some very knowledgeable amateur astronomers camped near them and provided lots of information the evening before. I didn't have the glasses and so really just looked at the television and photographs provided by others.
Nationalparker I hear ya. Let me just say ditto what you said.
I just looked through a bunch of photos from the steamroller event. My sister said she looked at the pictures and she thought I was smaller "by an order of magnitude". I thought "You mean I was actually bigger than this?" Which I can't imagine as I feel lost in my flesh. I am round and my face is so round and filled in. Like a big water balloon. I hate the pictures. Too bad cause I didn't feel that way that day.
I can't reconcile those two things.
I am unable to string any on plan days together. Stop start stop start. I thought I was getting on track. Not yet. I finally have a clinic appt on Friday where I will face the music. It's almost September and I have been in that program since January. I feel like a complete failure. I have until January to keep going. Maybe I can make good progress between now and then.
DH got a crappy letter at work today. They want him to do better at his job and so he has to meet with HR every two weeks until he is working up to their standards. DH went into that job never having worked in any corporate environment. When he got there, it was sink or swim. No training, just criticism. Now the company has changed hands a few times and it is super corporate and people have come into his department with lots of experience and knowledge about many things that he misses. I told him this is his chance to learn that stuff. To force them to teach him. If he can put his pride aside he'll benefit from it and if they can't do what they say they can then they'll have to make some concessions. I really feel for him.
Otherwise, busy as usual. I'm just moving forward with my work etc.
Long post and now it's late. As of right now, I am on plan. Credit.
Yesterday went pretty well. Food was good and I didn't struggle with it in the late afternoon because the SO was i/c tea and I was painting small, tight, niggly bits of wall.
I painted what was needed and now we can put that part of the house back together. But - and there's always one of those with DIY jobs, as you probably know. The painting was needed because a curtain pole is needed because we have a new glazed front door and now daylight shines and people at the front door can perhaps see into the bedroom. And the bedroom door has to be open for ventilation in an old house. With me so far? But the curtain pole cannot be put on the wall because the wall is not strong enough. It sounds hollow when you tap. So the curtain pole will be attached to the ceiling. And now that has to be painted. I will schedule that but it's not going to be this week.
Today brings wrangling with an educational institution, making a 'big soup' as part of the new routine and doing the 'urgent' work I mentioned yesterday. Perhaps I'll manage to cut the grass. I'm not going to do sprints as I can feel all the work I did yesterday in my back. So I'll just do my flexibility exercises and let my body recover and come back to neutral.
onebyone, those on/off days are a pain but you'll get back to it. Remember you're still in a particular and special place after your mum's death.
karen, no growing room in the shorts? That's a good motivator!
nationalparker, yes, we're here for you.
gardenerjoy, good planning to have a back-up plan.
curlyjax, a massage sounds very nice indeed. Very good in all kinds of ways that the Livestrong program / membership can include the family.
Bill, the aisles of Home Depot are an unknown quantity to me but I've done similar things. The British company B&Q has a policy of employing older people because they've got much more experience of DIY under their belt. That's often very good but it doesn't get round problems of supply. (They also have 10% off on a Wednesday for people over 60.) Melons: you have to pick them up and smell the end, I think, but this is no good if they have been chilled ferociously or are in a cool environment. So I don't buy them from supermarkets. This is no help to you, I'm afraid.
Thursday - Vesuvius erupts (79 C.E., Pompeii and Herculaneum, Italy)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – It was the regular chase-the-DGD day, CREDIT moi. Part of my exercise was carrying jugs of hot water into her 'swimming pool' - a toddler pool less than five feet diameter - to get the temperature warm enough to satisfy DW. The DGD doesn't seem to care if the water is cold. She just fits in fully stretched out. She absolutely loves "swimming" in it. After returning her to her grateful parents, I got a chance to walk to the library. They'd rearranged stuff. I felt lost. Libraries aren't supposed to change. "We now have open hold," the librarian helpfully told me. I had to ask. That means that the book they were holding for me was on a public shelf; I had to go find it myself. Alas, one of the joys of the place had been walking in, being greeted with, "We've got something for you" before I pulled out my card, and having the librarian reach back to fetch it from the sacred space behind the counter. I always felt special; felt taken care of.
Eating was OK. There was little time to snack. Dinner on the patio was a rotisserie chicken ("no energy to prepare anything") along with the normal green salad with garden cherry tomatoes and cuke. We bought three quarts of blueberries at the store - that's THREE QUARTS! The price was so good I just want to overeat blueberries in a last orgy since they won't be around as winter arrives.
onebyone – My take is that hating pictures is just another Sabotaging Thought similar to feeling like a failure; you can get past those to get on track. My experience in the corporate world suggests that your DH take that letter VERY seriously. It's a step in the process of letting someone go 'for cause.' Your suggestion that he determine what he needs to learn and to create a written plan to learn that is the best way to prevent the bad results. He has to get his supervisor on his side that he's going forward. In those meetings every two weeks, HR will be trying to document that he hasn't done what was needed so that they have a record to prevent a complaint against unfair termination. He can win, but he has to proactively work at it. I wish him well.
Joy (gardenerjoy) – Hope you avoid that trip to the store. Your days of gardening in the evening are coming to an end as summer days shorten.
silverbirch – Do I even know about a DIY project finding that each part of the house is connected to another - another that needs to be fixed first. Kudos for making progress in small steps. [Thanks for the melon tip; it's worth trying even in our supermarkets.]
nationalparker – Kudos for recognizing that feeling like a failure is just another Sabotaging Thought. You can get on your path.
Karen (karenrn) - Yay for finding a pair of shorts for $15 - if one has to buy clothes, then super bargains help relieve the pain. I'm jealous that your brother traveled to see the full eclipse. Wish I'd done that.
curlyjax - Yay for a massage to take care of yourself. Even if a laptop is dead, the hard disk might be healthy. It can be removed and all data taken off of it. This isn't a difficult or expensive procedure. Your repair guy can tell you how. I've done this several times.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 3 How Thin People Think
characteristic 3 You Like the Feeling of Being Full
Thin people usually like to eat to the point where they're reasonably full. It doesn't feel right if they've eaten so much they feel a little uncomfortable taking a brisk walk after a meal. Even if there is delicious food left, they don't want to keep eating. They feel no compulsion to empty their plates.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), pg 35.
I ended up with a Plan C yesterday, but it worked. Food and activities are planned today with a good mix of focused work, socializing, errands, and exercise.
nationalparker: I probably need to re-read my Fifty and feeling fabulous post. Except it's kind of depressing because I'm dozens of pounds up from that weight. So, you're definitely not alone in the failing department. I can't undo what I've done, so I'm trying to be forgiving enough to allow myself to move forward from the acceptance of where I am now.
BillBlueEyes: With open holds and self-check-out, I rarely talk to library staff any more when I'm picking up books. On the plus side, my book club now has a librarian assigned to us and we're getting some very cool things to happen for our group and the community at large -- author visits, an exhibit related to our month's book selection, book club kits that we helped curate for other groups to read our favorite books.
Nice hour long walk with Otis early this morning. It rained here last evening, but it had mostly dried up. It was a little cooler, 79 degrees. I'll be heading to the Y in a bit for yoga and whatever else.
They are starting a boot camp session at my gym. I'm not doing it cause they said it is easier than what I'm doing, but I did ask for the food plan portion. Holy moly, if I followed that I would be a twig. I'm going to put the servings in to My Fitness Pal, just to see what the calories are. I'm pretty sure it is not enough, or should I say not enough for me.
Bill I think our library has a similar hold situation. Except that there is a printed slip, in large print, with our names on it that is slipped into the book and hangs out. Then the holds are in alphabetical order based on our last names. Then we go to the self check-out to check out the book.
We used to use a kiddie pool to wash our lab, only we hooked the hose to the laundry sink in order to have warm water for him. Not near as much exercise as hauling buckets of water out.
Onebyone I hear you about the pictures. I got out of as many pictures as I could during heavier periods of my life. I'm not sure how I feel about it now. On the one hand there is no record of me being at many events. On the other hand I didn't like the way I looked and never thought I looked that way either. Lots of stress for you right now, I can imagine it would be difficult to stay on your plan. I hope for the best for dh's position. What a nerve wracking position for him and you.
Silverbirch It seems like that is always the way with projects around the house, one thing leads to another. Sounds like being busy painting helped keep you occupied and not thinking about food.
Nationalparker I have been where you are so many times. And I can't say with any certainty that I won't be there again one day. What I can say is that beating yourself up and feeling like a failure doesn't help. Try to say to yourself what you would say to any of the rest of us. I guess for me it is a life long learning experience. I keep trying to learn what is good nutrition (which seems to change) and what works for me. For me at this time I try to stick with what will work for a lifetime. Let us know how it goes.
GardenerJoy It sounds like you are doing well with your planning.
Curlyjax Was the massage helpful? The Livestrong program with free Y membership for the family sounds great. I go to yoga at the Y and have taken a number of the other classes too.
Do any of you do a big weekly food prep? Some of the WW people on FB accounts do and the diet the gal at the gym proposes also suggests it. I can't see it would be any big benefit for me since I have the time on a daily basis, but who knows.
Tuesday - International Red Cross founded (1864, Geneva)
