[onebyone]

Coaches

Another OP day of following my bare bones plan. I didn't get started on my to-do list until a couple of hours ago. I ended up falling asleep on the couch for a few hours. I guess I'm worn out. I'm burning the candle on both ends. More a mental candle but there is the physical part of the boxing up of stuff and moving things around. I "feel" like it "should be nothing" but that's not true. I'm truly dismayed by how full my dining room is getting again. However this time the items and boxes are from all over the apartment and spaces are really empty for the first time since we moved in. I'm not going to be at peace with this until I complete it and I won't complete it for DH's July 3rd birthday.But what I will complete is that every space *other than* the dining-room-temporary-holding-area will be clean and clear.

Foodwise I want to best myself up over not removing the carbs and for holding at 273 +/- a few pounds. Honestly I am very hard on myself. It's not (my gut says) the time to try to add that and it is better for me to stay with my single plan of action until the end of the month.

Thanks for the continuing support and comments about my decluttering. I know Its related to my food and to feeling better and worthy of a good life. Everything is connected.

[bethturnaround]

Hi everyone!

Today was a rainy morning so I absolutely did not enjoy the walk from the train station to my office. One of the guys took an Uber and he said it was $20 because of the rain (it's usually about $5). Others took a cab from the Happy Hour bar back to the station. I had a lovely walk (wasn't raining). Exercise for June +24 434/300

I was really hungry this morning only an hour or two after my morning shake. I decided to drink my entire sippy cup of water and if I was still hungry after that, have a bar. I ended up having 4 products today (because I was still hungry) and then happy hour food. For happy hour, I did well, though--I had 3 meatballs w/cheese (didn't eat the buns from the sliders), a lot of celery and carrot, and one piece of flatbread with cheese. Stayed reasonably low carb and didn't overeat. (And drank water) I also proved yet again how lousy I am at darts.

A couple of people at work who haven't seen me in a month or more commented on how much I've changed. I think so, too, and then I saw some replay video of our dart playing and then think I still look way too big :-(.

onebyone: You are really doing well, both with following your plan and the decluttering. Decluttering is so hard, but it can get addictive, since those cleared spaces feel like a weight off the shoulders. I think that your month of intermittent fasting may make it easier to decrease the carbs. (For what it's worth, my weight loss doctor pushes "fewer than 100g carb per day)

maryann: Do you have a new food plan in mind? I think paying for a personal trainer is a great use of money--perhaps a week or two of simple written plans that you rotate through would work? I know decisions are always the hard part.

curlyjax: Big credit for 2 days without dessert--the first 3 days or so are the hardest, I've found, then it gets easier. Especially big credit at such a difficult time. Hope DD is continuing on the mend.

BillBlueEyes: Your DGD should like adventures. I still like adventures, too :-). It's great that there was a potluck supper that actually let you eat on plan!

joy: Credit for not eating out of the house. It's amazing how much better choices we can make when we're eating at home :-)

silverbirch: I admire how you exercise in the mornings--and then follow it with gardening which is a bit of exercise all on its own.

G'night all!

--Beth

[silverbirch]

Yesterday's decluttering with one of the clients included finding a lawnmower and two hedge trimmers in a loft. A bit startling. We’ve only just started up there and there’s some way to go, unless it’s mostly empty cardboard boxes. I felt quite shattered after the day's work. I packed my lunch but it wasn’t enough so I had to make an emergency pit stop at home to have something filling. Today I've got a snack as well. (And I managed to pack the lunches and prepare my breakfast last night so there should be time for a bit more focused exercise this morning. I have to do this to keep it all moving smoothly.)

Beth, on a good day I manage to do focused exercise (and I'm setting up a routine to make this a habit - always used to do it and then things changed).

onebyone, you are doing so well! Given what we know about decluttering possessions and fat, surely big weight loss is on the cards for you. With my new decluttering and organising business, I am falling asleep on the couch too. It's more work than you'd think. But when you get your eye in it all seems to follow. I'm decluttering things at home as well as at my clients'.

maryann, how exciting that you've hired a personal trainer! It makes all the difference.

curlyjax, well done getting through the anniversary. Big hugs.

Bill, carrying those small and wriggling humans is hard work. I sometimes wonder if that's how I messed up my lower back. Well done on the 'satisfying meal well within my calorie and healthy foods bounds'. We should all aim for this. (That book sounds good.)

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Walked, CREDIT moi, in the evening to a lecture about the history of the local area going back to its "purchase" from the "squaw" of a nearby chief. "The Puritans were persistent in getting a record of their theft of land." The whole development of Boston and surrounding towns is a good tale worth hearing again from a fresh perspective. We were reminded that the Pilgrims landed to find fields and villages abandoned due to the smallpox that arrived before them. Our history is grim reading.

Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, including lunch with friends from work. I had a (planned) Reuben sandwich - not a low calorie meal, but justified because I substituted a green salad for the fried onion rings. I do love fried onion rings but it's hard to pretend that they're healthy or low calories. It was a new topic of conversation that one of my friends had moved into a retirement community. The list of events and entertainment were all first class and most interesting. Only complaint, "They're a lot of old people there." Duh!


onebyone – I join the chorus in awe of your decluttering success. It is physical work to haul that stuff around.

silverbirch – I love hearing of your professional decluttering success. There's always the chance of finding an original Magna Charta abandoned in a loft.

maryann - Kudos for making the decision to cancel BISTRO MD rather than just suffer and find reason to drift. Love thinking about your preparations for Mt. Whitney.

curlyjax - Kudos for living through your anniversary without resorting to the solace of food. Hope your DD continues to heal.

Beth (bethturnaround) – Yay for the joy of knowing that your walk saved you $20 on Uber. Kudos for surviving happy hour food.

Readers -

day 9 Select an Exercise Plan

Solve Common Exercise Problems
Here are a few: . . .

Problem: I have physical limitations.
Solutions: Many people can swim or take a water fitness class. Others need to start with physical therapy. Consult your health-care provider for a referral to an appropriate program.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 109.

[curlyjax]

Quick wave! I did some emotional eating yesterday after a looooong day with DD and driving in/around Boston, not my favorite thing. She is getting better slowly but continues to be quite rude to me at times.
Onthe good side, I woke up somewhat hungry. Joining some of you in decluttering, I got rid of some of DH's clothes- the ones that did not spark joy. I am also making plans in my head to get some landscaping done, and plant flowers in a week or 2. Better late than never!!

[bethturnaround]

Hi everyone.

Successes and failures today. I didn't drink enough water today. I could tell that some of my 'hunger' was really just that I wasn't hydrated. I did better this evening but hardly any liquid during the day. Have to do better with that tomorrow!

Food wise, I stuck with 5 products even though I wanted another--not surprising considering.

I went out to the car with the hope of going to the forest preserve for my walk, but it was raining, and I had no confidence that the drizzle wouldn't turn into full fledged rain. So, I headed to the park district building and walked laps around the gym track. June exercise +34 468/300. (I had it in my head that '4' would even out my count, but it was that my count was already at 4--tomorrow I'll even it out :-)

DH comes home tomorrow after a week away--it'll be good to have him home again.

DD has a friend visiting this weekend. Her friend thanked me for letting her stay and she brought me a plant. She doesn't know that keeping inside plants alive is not one of my strong points. It's a good thing my kids aren't plants--I've never kept a plant alive for more than a year or two, and a month is more common. Fortunately, kids cry when they're hungry or thirsty. Plants just sit there and expect you to read their minds.

curlyjax: It sounds hard when your DD is rude to you--do you know why she is? Credit for decluttering--that has to be difficult, too.

BillBlueEyes: Sounds like you balanced your Reuben with a salad--that's part of the trade off that we all do to enjoy food we love without giving ourselves reason to regret it, I suppose.

silverbirch: A lawnmower in a loft? That would be a bit startling. It must feel magical to transform space by clearing things out.

G'night all!

--Beth

[silverbirch]

Another busy day. Highlight: pouring 130+ bottles of homemade wine down the sink. Client did not want to make anyone ill (as at least one bottle had in the past). We set up a production line: he opened and passed the bottle to me, I poured it away, rinsed the bottle if necessary and placed in box for recycling. In between times I cleaned the sink and that area of the kitchen. Shattered at the end of the day. And ate too much when I got in.

I packed a snack but I forgot part of my lunch. I'm trying but it's hard to get everything going together at present. There doesn't seem to be enough time in the day. I did the basic exercises, for example, but not the more focused ones.

Off to visit a university tomorrow. It's a long drive and we'll be there on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Back by Thursday for something else university-related. So busy at the moment.

No personals today. All too hectic.

If I can't post over the next few days I'll be with you in spirit.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Left the supermarket with no food that could be interpreted as snack food during a moment of weakness on my part, CREDIT moi. I also left with four pints of blueberries - enough to make breakfast a real treat. I do love blueberry season.

Walked, CREDIT moi, on an evening "Summer Solstice" birdwalk. We had three pre-school kids all enjoying the outdoors, the bugs, the fish in the pond, and even the birds. After about an hour of shyness, the blond, blue eyed, uber Scandinavian girl and the black haired, dark eyed, Indian girl become buddies chasing butterflies and giggling in unison. Kids make friends fast. After the walk I didn't indulge in cookies as we prepared our list of birds - a usual temptation.


silverbirch – LOL at the image of you as Carrie Nation - the lady in U. S. history who led the temperance movement. Will think of you and the DB hunting universities.

curlyjax - Yep, planting late is still good. Good to hear that your DD is improving.

Beth (bethturnaround) – LOL at the comparison of tending your kids vs. your house plants. Kudos for recognizing that your "want" of another product didn't mean that you had to have one.

Readers -

day 9 Select an Exercise Plan

Solve Common Exercise Problems
Here are a few: . . .

Problem: I don't have enough time.
Solutions: Schedule exercise into your appointment calendar. Consider which daily activities you can decrease or eliminate to make time for exercise. Consider getting up earlier and starting your day with exercise. Make exercise an essential activity, not an optional one.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 110.

[silverbirch]

Leaving early in the morning so calling in quickly now. Have packed a salad and a snack (orange & peanut butter) for me. I am the sole driver. The others will have to do what they can. All being well we should be there by early afternoon.

Bill, my gran signed the pledge and both sides of the family have been fairly abstemious although that's changing. The SO's family know how to put it away but one or two don't drink at all. I'm TT now as it really doesn't agree with me. Am on phone now so can't see her name but will look up the lady you mentioned.

curlyjax, yes, I saw you were talking about 'sparking joy'! I haven't dared to read/watch any of M. Kondo! But you prompted me to put a flashy jacket in the charity bag. Thanks! I bought it in a charity shop when I thought I was going to be lecturing in a large hall and needed to be seen. It didn't work out like that and the shape isn't flattering and, anyway, life has taken a different turn.

Must sleep now. Might see you tomorrow.

[bethturnaround]

Hi everyone!

I got up this morning and took a lovely walk at the forest preserve. I was aiming for 42 minutes and it turned into 48, so I guess I'm staying uneven. June exercise: +48 516/300. I'm going to have to decide on July's goal. joy had suggested increasing my 10% per month, but I think my July goal will have to be at least 500. I'm really pleased with how it feels to be walking--now that I've started I'm really enjoying the movement. I like the forest preserve better than the gym, but even walking at the gym on Friday felt good.

Products were on plan and my evening snack was closer to a meal at our Mensa gathering tonight. I made good protein and veggie choices, and my carbs were grapes. The cookies looked very tempting and part of me was trying to talk me into having one. I told myself that I needed to exercise my resistance muscle. So I had one more grape and went home. Major credit.

I just finished converting the crew neck to a v-neck on the shirt I'm going to wear tomorrow. A group of us are walking in the Pride Parade (we all have matching t-shirts, except that mine is now a v-neck). That'll be my exercise for the day--the 2.5 mile parade watch. I'm a little uncertain about how to get down there, but a friend of ours lives nearby and we're going to caravan to the train station and take public transportation together. I've never been to Pride and am looking forward to it. I'm gong to start the day with a morning shake and bring bars for the rest of the day.

In other huge news, we re-opened negotiations on the house we liked and came to a deal today! We now have a lot to sell but it's very exciting!

silverbirch: Credit for packing your food for today. Packing food is somehow much harder than it seems like it ought to be. Safe driving!

BillBlueEyes: The summer solstice bird walk sounds wonderful--and the kids sound amazing. I need to figure out a way to get more kids in my life. Credit for cookie avoidance!

G'night all.

--Beth

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Maneuvered through four eating occasions, CREDIT moi, more or less OK. Standard breakfast, then I had an abbreviated lunch at home to keep me from arriving at the afternoon affair starving. That worked. I did OK in the afternoon, avoiding a dessert table with five homemade attractions. Then proceeded to a potluck dinner where I had only one plate of mostly salad of my making. It was just Boston Lettuce from DW's garden and a full pint of blueberries - so good and appropriate for a summer evening. My standard potluck salad also includes tomatoes, cukes, roasted pecans, and generous Gorgonzola cheese. As a chef, I frequently miss the point that fewer ingredients highlight those flavors to great benefit.

Got a lesson in gratitude. I'd been feeling annoyed that the DGD isn't interested in using the potty despite her high verbal skills. Was talking to a friend with a five-year-old DD with Downs Syndrome when she casually mentioned that the child still wore diapers. Ouch! Felt reminded to keep my perspective.


silverbirch – Have a safe journey. I love when someone peels an orange in a car - can savor the smell for miles.

Beth (bethturnaround) – Happy marching today. Yay for extra walking - so lucky to have a nearby forest preserve.

Readers -

day 9 Select an Exercise Plan

Solve Common Exercise Problems
Here are a few: . . .

Problem: I'm embarrassed to exercise where others will see me.
Solutions: Exercise at home to a fitness video or with a close friend who can provide moral support. Best of all, develop a more helpful mindset. Besides, who cares what others think? I've found that most exercisers are only concerned with their own activities. If they notice you at all, it'll be for only a brief moment then they'll return their attention to what they are doing.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 110.

[curlyjax]

Hi coaches- I indulged wayyyy too much friday on sweets. Once i got started, it was hard to stop. Yesterday I got back on track. And I resisted candy twice in 2 stores, yay.

It was a lovely cool, rainy day which is nice to have in summer once in awhile, because you can really get stuff done at home. I opened a bank account for the “estate” of my husband, so I feel like i’m finally getting some of the paperwork started. I also dealt with a lot of my clothes. I do have an extra closet and bureau now without DH’s stuff so I can really spread out and see what is there.


Beth- congrats on the house, that is so exciting!! I know that has been a long ordeal for you about what to do.

Silverbirch- glad I inspired you I find Kondo somewhat ridiculous and i’m not a fan of this extreme minimalism that is going on, but I found a few ideas of hers helpful.

Bill-good job on the potluck, they are always full of temptations.

Onebyone- more cheers for your decluttering! It definitely helps my frame of mind when I do some.

[bethturnaround]

Hi everyone,

Exercise was the Pride parade. We had a float but DH and I walked (although with most of our group). I'm claiming 44 minutes, which is less than half the time but we walked slowly, so for June: +44 560/300.

I drank lots of water today (my bag kept getting lighter as the day went on), and did fine with my products. DH and I went out to dinner tonight, though, to celebrate our anniversary and I definitely overate. We're home now and I'm still uncomfortably full--and it is uncomfortable. That's a valuable reminder--it's not a pleasant feeling at all and it's one I haven't felt for months. Lesson learned. I also ate more carbs than I have been--the crispy onions on my chopped sirloin were really tasty (if quite salty).

In other topics, I actually like Marie Kondo, if you take what is valuable and leave the rest. So, I do think about if something sparks joy, if I have multiples of something, that if someone has given me a gift, I don't have to keep it if it no longer makes sense. I use many of her folding techniques. Her advice has really helped me decrease the quantity of stuff we have. However, I do not talk to my socks. I don't thank my clothes. And I still haven't gotten to pictures and other paper memorabilia.

Tomorrow with be 3 products and leftovers and also a walk at the forest preserve. I'll continue with the water improvement!

G'night all!

--Beth

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Was good to take standard Sunday walk with DW, CREDIT moi. Felt sneaky when we returned a book to a sidewalk mini-library that the DGD had glommed onto that was way too old and scary for her - a witch eating children with enough text for an eight-year-old. I skipped snacks at Community Hour go get home to prepare for our Father's Day celebration with my DD, spouse, and the DGD. I'd promised BBQ from our best local place.

I picked up the Grand Family order - just way too much food. But, I knew that in advance and had texted the DD to bring a bag of plastic containers. It was a glorious occasion on the patio. The SIL ate THREE ribs - unbelievable! To my great credit, I had one. That's 1.0 only! CREDIT moi for restraint. The good news is that I sent them home with six ribs, nearly half a BBQ chicken, pulled pork, beans, coleslaw, and buns yet retain some of each of that for meals this week. Again, I covered my plate with garden fresh salad containing blueberries. The DGD (2.5 yo) ditched her dress and mucked about in the pan we call a pool. Minor snippets of adult conversation happened but the DGD easily managed to be the center of all activity cumulating with her in the buff with three adults trying to dry her and into a clean diaper (pull-up) after she declared, "I'm a bit wet".


curlyjax - Sending support for taking the steps to settle the estate of your late DH - acknowledging how difficult these steps are. And Kudos for twice skipping candy in stores.

Beth (bethturnaround) – Neat Pride Parade exercise - Kudos. Am encouraged by you decluttering successes.

Readers -

day 9 Select an Exercise Plan

tip!If you struggle to motivate yourself to exercise, ask a friend or official exercise coach (such as a personal trainer) to meet you for your exercise sessions. It's easy to let yourself down by skipping exercise, but it's much harder to let down a friend or trainer. Your coach can also work with you to help you overcome your physical and attitudinal difficulties.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 110.

[maryann]

Good Morning, Coaches.

I have been offline - in Reno with a girls' spa and then hiking. Eager to try out my new equipment I headed up the mountain by myself for an overnight. 2.2 miles with a 1,000 elevation gain and a full pack. The goal was to reach Five Lakes and I did. Beautiful. Boy, am I rusty at over ights. I haven't been in the sport since DS (16 yo) was born. Note to self: Bring ALL parts of the cook stove. Raw ramen noodles for dinner will help me remember. So the exercise and personal trainer part of my healthy world are terrific. The food - meh. I am 5 pounds above ticker although I may fall a little with elevation change.

Beth: Great question. What is my plan? I have a week left of Bistro meals so i will give myself a deadline of next Monday to decide while following that program.

onebyone and curleyjax: Cheers as the decluttering continues.

BBE: Credit for that One Rib. Your reward was focusing on the DGD and not the food.