Today was a long day. 7 am train in to the city and the 8:40 train back. That means all 5 of my meal replacements were away from home. I did really well with them and when we went out to a ping pong bar (that's a thing now) I wasn't really tempted by the snacks (sliders, pizza, and some other stuff--I didn't investigate too closely) and I drank lots of water.
I was really open with people at work about what I'm doing and have totally phrased it as "My doctor put me on this meal replacement plan". Nobody pushed at all! The beer and alcohol was flowing (my company parties hard) but I just stuck to my ice water and did fine.
I also played some ping pong and learned that ping pong and progressive lenses don't work well together!
I really do think the complete meal replacement plan is breaking a ton of habits. I don't know how long that will take but it does make it a lot easier to stay on plan when I know in the morning that these are the exact 5 things I will eat today, and nothing else. No decisions, no detailed planning, no shopping, no prep to speak of. I am hoping--no--I'm intending--no--I'm going to use this time to break cravings and get emotionally used to the idea that I'll have some of these limitations forever. I think that dieting in the past has taken so much planning energy that I didn't really do a job of the emotional energy of what I'd need to do post-diet.
Credit--weighed this morning (down slightly), checked sugar (down), ate everything sitting down, stuck with my plan even while out, and was open about what I'm doing.
curlyjax: I am so sorry. I hope you, your husband, and the rest of your family get the support and care you all need as you go through this.
maryann: The kitchen is closed--I learned here that kitchens could be closed.
nationalparker: Fire, movie, and rotisserie chicken. Sounds wonderful!
Joy: Yay for planning the day in the morning.
BillBlueEyes: I love hearing about your DGD. Credit for chasing and shoveling exercise!
Motivating Thoughts
• As I learn to resist, resisting will get easier. Practice resisting!
Friday - Edgar Allan Poe born, "The Raven," (1809, Boston)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – A neighbor dropped by looking for old newspapers to make something with her daughter - a reminder that the increased use of digital news and the slow demise of hard copy newspapers creates a shortage for all their uses. When I was a Boy Scout, we'd go door-to-door collecting newspapers to sell to the recycle center. I'd bring my wagon to carry them all home. We took a stack out of our recycle bin for her; what she doesn't use will go into her recycle bin. Seemed like a logical system.
Eating was good enough, CREDIT moi. I found something to make into an afternoon snack - there's no such thing as an entirely empty house. Dinner was lentils, normally a good thing. However, I went downstairs drooling because DW had told me that she was buying hamburger at the supermarket to make meatloaf. "I am; I'm making it tomorrow," didn't assuage the disappointment. After a zillion years of marriage, we still manage to sometimes miss when we try to tell each other something. I'd of thought that little thing would have been cured by now.
Joy (gardenerjoy) – LOL that your book club closed your "book-ended day" - seems appropriate.
maryann - LOL at two "sippy cups." Kudos for figuring ]out that you were dehydrated and for "I have Beck solutions for those."
nationalparker – Such a neat image of your "pack time" with the dogs. [Just requested Llama Llama Mad at Mama from the library - looks fun.]
curlyjax - Our experiences with hospice have all been uber positive. Sending love and positive thoughts to your whole family. Our friends who at first felt some guilt, came to see how much more comfortable the patient was made to feel.
Beth (bethturnaround) – That's a seriously long day. Kudos for enjoying the ping pong party while avoiding all the bar food.
Readers -
Quote:
day 4Give Yourself Credit
How and When to Give Yourself Credit
As you practice this skill, giving yourself credit will become more and more automatic (as it has for me). Right now, however, you might need a system to help you remember to recognize your positive behaviors. Here are some suggestions to help you get started:
Write down the word credit on a sticky note. Place it on your refrigerator, in your appointment book, on the dashboard of your car, or in other places where you'll see it. Consider turning it into a screen saver for your computer. Whenever you see this word, ask yourself, What positive things did I do (or what unhelpful things did I refrain from doing) today?
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 76.
Nationalparker: I can retire easily in a year and a half. I will have to wait and see. I have a strong calling to teach and would like to get back to when it was easier to manage. Whether it is a function of age or mental health will decide I guess.
First period is my new creative writing class. 21 introverts and the BMOC. Very interesting mix. We write every morning for twenty minutes to start. Maybe that will make my mornings quieter.
Credit for OP and water. I agree Beth that staying OP brings to light all my negative food habits. It is amazing how little I need to eat. I wondered if the world was OP how many restaurants would be left.
It was finally warm enough to walk yesterday -- so, I did it twice!
Book club went well. I read a poetic paragraph about Oklahoma and from two time lines I found on-line, the history of the Osage and the history of the FBI. With that and a few simple questions, we filled more than an hour with discussion on a book that we all found fascinating and shocking, but not as emotionally engaging as one might have expected.
I was hungry after my evening meeting and had a snack. An apple would have been fine, but I didn't have one, so I went with toast. I want to remember, when I'm planning meals, to have fruit in the house when I have evening meetings because that works really well for me.
I'm not sure yet how my energy level is going to be today. I tend to wake up sluggish even on good days, so it takes a while to gauge myself. Tomorrow is also a big day, so I'll try to make today as much about regaining energy as possible.
Weigh-in: NA kg, Exercise: +60, 595/1200 minutes for January
nationalparker: Your evening with the dog, DH, and a movie sounds wonderful.
bethturnaround: I've never heard of a ping pong bar. Alcohol would not improve my game.
BillBlueEyes: We only get a small weekly local newspaper. DH has so many uses for them that they get their own stack rather than going int the recycling bin.
maryann: Starting your day with twenty minutes sounds really good. An excellent habit for your young writers, too.
Wrapped up the week with a busy day ... looking forward to tackling a lot tomorrow, but not on a set schedule. Gave a coworker with a flat tire a ride home tonight, cutting it close to prep some dinner for myself and get to a movie with DH. Threw together a quick yummy salad and ate some chicken. I had a 200 cal bag of popcorn at the movies and, while corn's not "permitted" I'd planned on it. We went to see The Post. As a journalism/communications major years ago, I enjoyed it. Credit - bypassed the Donut Friday again. I met a friend for lunch and I brought mine while she bought hers. Able to stay on plan with no issue.
Hoping for another movie tomorrow - I'm enjoying this MoviePass. I am taking advantage of it, because I figure it's only a year-deal for us. Holiday decor packup, menu planning, marketing, meal prep and connecting with my brother and cousin. Trying to catch up with my neighbor to invite him to dinner with us tomorrow as his wife is out of town. I'll remain on plan through the day and the dinner will be as close to plan as I can make it.
Today was on plan but a little harder for me, somehow. There are multiple times I would have eaten, were I not restricting myself. I wasn't actually hungry any of those times--they were just times I would have eaten. It's interesting to see objective proof that I want to eat when I'm not even hungry.
I did get a bit hungry today, but both times I was really hungry were at eating times, so that seemed reasonable to me.
DH was munching crackers in front of me, though, and I made him stop :-)
DD is sick--came home from work coughing and miserable. I feel something in my throat and am just hoping I'm not following her into sickness!
We meet with our architect tomorrow morning. Spent this evening with DH discussing lighting locations (that's when I made him put the crackers away). We've got lots of it figured out except the great room area. Hopefully we'll have a pricing set put together next week!
This week I seem to be running hard to stay in the same place. Lots of balls in the air, lots of big and little things to do and simply not enough time. Despite lists and achievements, it's all a blur. Things keep coming at me.
I've started a year of Precision Nutrition coaching. Since leaving the gymn several years ago and my trainer/fixer moving away from personal training, I've been feeling the need for personalised attention to help move along. PN is interesting, a 'habit-based' approach which is, of course, just what the Beck Diet Solution is. I think that this is the right approach for me and for long-term success but you all know that Beck and I are not a comfortable fit, and that she rubs me up the wrong way. I don't recognise her voice but I do recognise the PN voice. The vibe feels much more like home and like my experience so that's a good start.
I'll still keep posting here when I can (as I said above, it's alarmingly busy at present). You're all such lovely people to know and chat to!
Beth, I also have something in my throat which is threatening to turn into something. I'm taking more Echinacea drops (I always take them in the morning) to boost my immune system. Keep warm!
nationalparker, well done on bypassing Donut Friday which doesn't sound at all nice to me (I don't like doughnuts at all).
gardenerjoy, two walks! Lovely.
maryann, 'It is amazing how little I need to eat'. Yes, me too.
Bill, congrats on a zillion years of marriage! Enjoy the meat loaf today! [Nice video of Bella, an Ottawa resident aged 6, folding a broadsheet newspaper to line a compost caddy. She also wears it briefly as a hat.]
curlyjax, thinking of you. Hospice care has helped and supported our family too. It made a huge difference.
Last edited by silverbirch; 01-20-2018 at 04:20 AM.
Saturday - LaMarcus A. Thompson patents the roller coaster (1885, Coney Island)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – The major event of my day was the eruption of the volcano Krakatoa. Since this happened in 1833 and I'm just learning (relearning) details because I'm reading the book for next week's book club, I should just get over it. But the author suggests that the physical event of the explosion triggered the events that led to the Dutch being driven from the East Indies. The book has shifted from plate tectonics to social tectonics. This is a new notion for me. Geology begets revolution as well as evolution. It's all tied together. I won my maintenance man credits by repairing the little pump that pumps water from the furnace across the basement to the drain. The float inside had filled with water. I had to drill holes in it, empty the water, and seal with plumber's putty. Seems to work now.
Eating was OK, CREDIT moi. Finally had the meatloaf for dinner that I've been longing for for two days. It was worth the wait. The small purple potatoes served with it that we normally love were off. Don't know why potatoes come to be 'off' - they weren't stored in the root cellar all winter or anything like that. Perhaps it makes more sense to wonder why our food is so often fresh with all the shipping it endures.
Joy (gardenerjoy) – Congrats for a good book club meeting - especially since you were dealing with reality in the history of the Osage and the FBI. Kudos for two walks.
silverbirch – Kudos for taking a fresh path forward with your Precision Nutrition. Super glad that you'll still post with us, despite being alarmingly busy.[What a neat video - thanks.]
maryann - That's quite a challenging mix of students! Perhaps restaurants would discover the notion of sane sized servings if everyone was eating sanely. Or, perhaps not, LOL.
nationalparker – Congrats for making good use of your MoviePass. Super Kudos for pulling off a lunch meeting with both of you bringing your own.
curlyjax - Thinking of you guys.
Beth (bethturnaround) – Yep, this desire to eat when not hungry just doesn't seem to go away. Hope your architect meeting goes well. The range of options for lighting just blows my mind.
Readers -
Quote:
day 4Give Yourself Credit
How and When to Give Yourself Credit
Here are some suggestions to help you get started: . . .
Once or twice a day, pull out your diet notebook. Think about the past few hours and make a list of credit-worthy behaviors.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 76.
Yesterday went almost according to plan. I ended up with carryout for lunch, but there's one acceptable thing I do for that, not too often, and that's what I did.
Today's challenge is a big potluck community event for lunch. My plan -- large servings of veggies, tiny servings of everything else, focus on people. I'm bringing homemade applesauce with no added sugar.
My energy level seemed about normal yesterday, so I'm hoping today's activities won't be too draining. If I come home tired, I've got some easy projects to do while I watch fun videos. There's nothing on my list that can't wait until tomorrow.
Weigh-in: +0.05 kg, Exercise: +40, 635/1200 minutes for January
nationalparker: Cool that you're getting to see so many of the big movies. The Academy Awards are more fun when I've seen all or most of the movies, but that doesn't happen very often for me.
bethturnaround: I'm finding moments when I really want to eat. For me, lately, it's been right after lunch. Sometimes I even feel hungry, but I don't eat and an hour later I feel full, so I can't even trust that sensation all of the time.
silverbirch: That's great that you found a voice that works for you. Let us know what you learn!
One of the benefits of a five day work week is the absolute joy of Saturday morning with only puttering planned. Credit for making my water and exercise goals. I noted that Friday is an easier walk day for me since I don't have to change clothes. Friday's uniform is a school t shirt and jeans. I had already logged 4,000 steps working and I just hopped out of the car, put on some music and took a beautiful late afternoon walk to meet my goal. I know I am lucky because the temps are in the 60s. An exercise plan is forming for spring semester: I have already highlighted two yoga classes I can make on Monday and Thursday after school. With a Friday walk, I'll have three set times for the calendar. Saturday can be weights and gym. Then I can spontaneously choose the fifth day. I finished the book on BiPolar II and the last chapter was on exercise. The author said he made it the final chapter because it was the number one tool to fight the effects of mood stabilizing drugs. I am taking him seriously.
Weight remains two pounds above ticker and I slept well.
Silverbirch: Good luck with your new plan.
beth: Describing your desire to eat without hunger reminded me of how people who have lost a limb feel it is there. It remains a ghost. That is how I feel when i stop compulsive overeating. The ghost of my bad habits follow me around. Something seems missing but I can't put my finger on it. The new habits ( I remember someone here saying years ago) take three weeks to become a set habit. So you and I are waiting to wave those ghosts away.
gardenerjoy: Credit for two walks. Don't you love the seemingly rare occasions when we enjoy good habits enough to double them up?
BBE: Here in California we have a place called Tule Lake. They grow potatoes that are so flavorful when allowed to ripen, no additional fat or seasoning are needed.
Nationalparker: Credit for connecting with cousin and brother. You have talked in the past about nurturing the relationship with your cousin.
A good day on this end. Dinner was close to plan with a non-plan breadstick that was savored and delicious. We invited a neighbor to join us and he was all in, a nice chance to catch up with him. DH and I went to an early afternoon movie, then hit a few markets. Unfortunately, they were sold out of many of the items on my marketing list, so another trip is needed tomorrow, unless I revamp my menu plan.
Credits: took time to journal, brought hummus and orange bell pepper slices to the movie as a snack to be on plan. But snuck it in, I know... Large salad with dinner and 1.5 slices of a small cheese pizza. DH had the other half slice or I'd have continued eating it, I know, but credit for keeping it sane.
Debits: Added a piece of chocolate tonight, and a few quarter-size cocoa cookies to finish them off after the holidays. ARGH. I self-sabotaged. I realize that the sum total of it wasn't a huge part of my meals for the day, but that I didn't follow through.
Last edited by nationalparker; 01-21-2018 at 12:47 AM.
Credit for weighing (barely down), checking my blood sugar (strangely up), doing some light strength training with my resistance bands.
maryann: It does seem like wanting to eat is a ghost that's haunting me. What I'm doing right now is as close as possible to just giving up food, since it's so restricted. I've heard 3 weeks for a new habit, too--I suspect this one will take longer, but addictive behavior is hard to recover from.
Yesterday I finished off a small work project, carved through a list of administrative tasks and did a few exercises. I also worked out a way of finding more hours in the day by arranging to meet the DB in a supermarket car park after school, rather than near the school. I can leave later to get there, fit in some quick shopping if necessary, and go to the health food shop and other places without having to make a special trip. He has an obligatory and easy walk of a mile, chatting with friends, stretching out desk and laboratory muscles and building up an appetite. The down side is that I don't walk in the nature reserve but I've been too busy or not really well enough for this most days recently. We'll be fine-tuning this idea but I'm pleased that I've come up with it. Credit!
Today I plan to do a few exercises, make a crumble and a cake, and plan the week's meals.
Beth, I'll be using resistance bands as part of the Precision Nutrition course. Do you anchor them to a door? If so, which one, where and do you feel OK about this? We only have two strong doors (front and back) so I'm still thinking about it.
nationalparker, good to hear about a large salad! When things are going well for me I eat one of those every day for lunch. I have a spoonful of walnut oil and a smaller spoonful of apple cider vinegar with it. What protein do you like with your salad? I've been having mackerel (great, healthy, oily fish) recently but I also like hard-boiled egg, ham/salami or sometimes nice cheese.
maryann, love how your exercise plan is shaping up. The Friday walk sounds so easy to achieve. Credit! [I had a blinding realisation last week that your 'puttering' is the same as our 'pottering'! Then I realised that we say 'puttering along' for those cars - very old fashioned, I suppose - that go along slowly with the engine misfiring from time to time. English language! I love it. Whatever we call it, it's a great thing to do.]
gardenerjoy, I always like hearing about your plan for social events involving food. Do you find there are always enough vegetables and do you avoid things like coleslaw? Do you ever come away hungry or find that you peg out later on?
Bill, an OK eating day certainly achieves a credit. Well done. I wonder whether those potatoes had been stored before they got to you. Some varieties do store better than others.
curlyjax, onebyone, other readers - call in when you can.
Sunday - Concordes with commercial passengers take flight (1976, Heathrow & Orly)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – A movie came home from the library: Manchester by the Sea. It's long, powerful, and depressing. The movie suggests that some trauma are too much to overcome for the rest of one's life. It's also a reminder that we're not all dealt the best set of cards. I suppose it's worth mentioning that the harbor scenes of that part of Massachusetts are breathtaking - places that I recognized. Boating in the ocean near land is romantic. The movie wasn't.
Eating, again, was only OK, CREDIT moi. Seems I'm stuck in a rut with this. I've got a stack of things to get done and need to better allocate my time so that I take a break even if I'm behind. There are so many distractions with social media and constant news coverage. I'm so old that I can remember when I didn't hang on every five minute announcement about the progress of the U.S. Congress.
Joy (gardenerjoy) – Neat to have a to-do list that isn't urgent.
silverbirch – Figuring out to make such a change in your schedule is just great. Congrats for raising that DB to take a mile long walk in stride.
maryann - Good grief! Google lets me know that Tulelake Potatoes are world famous even though I'd never heard of them before. Kudos for making your exercise high priority.
nationalparker – Yep, Kudos indeed for that half slice of pizza - don't think I've ever done that.
curlyjax - Continuing to send supportive thoughts to you all.
Beth (bethturnaround) – Resistance bands are just great - Kudos.
Readers -
Quote:
day 4Give Yourself Credit
How and When to Give Yourself Credit
Here are some suggestions to help you get started: . . .
Every time you check off an item on your daily to-do list, say something positive to yourself. In fact, instead of making a check mark, you might want to draw a star or a plus sign.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 76.
I always like to see a nice drop on the scale after something like a potluck because it means that I did what I intended to do.
I'm feeling anxious about what I want to do today and this week. A good plan will help with that. Also, a bit of grace for myself. I've had a few weeks focused on my own creative work. The next few weeks are going to be more outer-oriented. I can't expect to get as much done.
Weigh-in: -0.3 kg, Exercise: +25, 660/1200 minutes for January
maryann: Good for you for finding ways to make exercise fit naturally into your life.
nationalparker: I'm glad you enjoyed your day out.
bethturnaround: I forgot about resistance bands. I have one somewhere. That might be a good way to get going on strength training again.
silverbirch: I sometimes come home hungry from events because there weren't enough vegetables. Fortunately, I washed my lettuce when I came home with it (thanks!), so I could have a big salad right away.
BillBlueEyes: I need to declare some social media free time this week if I'm going to make things work the way that I want. It's hard when I'm working at my desk -- requires my resistance muscle.
Friday - Edgar Allan Poe born, "The Raven," (1809, Boston)
