Discouraged about food plan. I had such high hopes for WW but I am only gaining. Slowly but gaining. I know the best plan is the one I’ll do. I just can’t seem to put any abstinent days together. I get so derailed on eating out on the weekends that I can’t get back. I feel like I can’t NOT eat out because it is part of the family and friend life. But yesterday should have been easy because I did everything right including exercise and then I came home late BECAUSE of exercise and was starving.

I have a long school day ahead and maybe I’ll have more perspective tonight. At least I have kept to the rule of no candy for Lent.

Today's challenge is errands, but I'm going to work at making them happen at a time that reduces temptations. I have good food that I like to eat at home, where I like to eat it. So, that's the plan!

Exercise: +45, 105/1300 minutes for March

BillBlueEyes: Here's a description (with pictures) that looks like my Tickler file: https://calyxncorolla.com/2016/08/ge...-tickler-file/ I have a file drawer in my desk, so I implemented it in that. I originally learned the concept from David Allen's Getting Things Done. I have implemented all of his system at various times and in various ways, but only the Tickler file stayed in my life long-term. Here's his description (but no pictures): https://gettingthingsdone.com/wp-con...kler-File-.pdf

I am back. I haven't been here in quite a while. My weight is up and my mood is down. I want to be really good for the next 3 weeks as I will be seeing my primary care doctor for my annual check-up. Getting labs done on the 13th and don't want my cholesterol to be out of whack. So I am back to the very beginning. Credit me - I had a green salad with turkey for lunch instead of making a sub-sandwich with the turkey. I made a breakfast casserole for dinner last night and had leftovers of that for breakfast (Don't have a clue what the calorie content was) I topped it with fresh tomatoes and had a small bunch of red grapes. Need to commit to NO snacking after dinner.

Wednesday - The Louvre Pyramid by I. M. Pei is inaugurated by Mitterrand (1989)
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies - In the evening, we learned about the 69 other proponents of Natural Selection who published that idea before Darwin published "Origin of Species" in 1959. The talk was by Dr. William (“Ned”) Friedman who heads Harvard's Arnold Arboretum, a place charted to collect trees that has to support itself by events like Lilac Sunday. Seems that the good Mr. Darwin was a tad lean in giving credit to those who had influenced him - including his own grandfather, Erasmus Darwin. History of science contains so many little corners.

Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, made easier by a full day of classes and an evening lecture which left little room for snacking. Busy seems to be a good antidote for me.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Thanks for the links for a tickler file. They remind me that creating such a file is actual work and that using it requires discipline. A part of me wishes it to just appear in my brain.

maryann - Yay for the rule of no candy for Lent - what a good way to have Lent help.

Karen (karenrn) - LOL at having to do housework in prep for a contractor's arrival - whatever it takes.

millie56 - Good use of a planned doctor's visit to get your eating plan in order. If I remember, you were last enjoying a "peddler" under your desk for a few minutes of exercise each day. Is that still part of your life?

Readers -

Oh dear, I've gotten into the chocolate again. I was craving it all day, and talked myself out of buying Easter stuff at a drugstore...but I have chocolate chips at home and I got into them. Melted with peanut butter, like a runny Reese bar. I normally don't have it in the house but I'm making a dessert on Saturday night and it uses some. Okay, I have gotten it out of my system and no more!
I get to start today at work with one of my favorite clients and her gorgeous, cranky Maine coon cat, who complains each time I pet her. Some of the animals are perks of the job, although not all- there is one little dog that has bitten my shoes before, she is not trained at all.
I'm so glad I like my job better now, my supervisor is great, and I am much happier being busy and actually helping people. I am tired after working a full day, but no longer depressed and bored like I used to be.
Karen- it's always great to have a reason to clean, it really gets us to get into gear.
Maryann- That is discouraging to gain weight on WW. Staying away from candy for Lent is excellent, keep going!
Millie- welcome back, your food choices sounds great!
Bill-go ahead and covet a new water bottle! They are coming out better and sleeker all the time.
Gardenerjoy- that photo of the tickler file is beautiful. I can see the use for reminder tasks for sure.

Good morning coaches,

The recipe I made for dinner was good. It was kind of a stir fry (more like steam) with a side of marinated tofu. The veggies were kale, red onion, carrot, celery and red bell pepper. The marinade which was also the sauce had peanut butter, tahini, rice vinegar, maple syrup, ginger, curry, water and a little corn starch. The main thing is my husband liked it and is very interested in our good health. I stuck with my food plan yesterday, but did have a planned snack of yogurt with strawberries. Food was healthy, but I know my calories weren't low. Today's plan is made and I'll try to leave a few bites of each meal.

Curlyjax I'm so glad you are enjoying your job.
Bill I wouldn't be spiffing up for any old contractor's visit, but since they are here to photograph our kitchen for their website or brochure, I thought I should have it gleaming.
Millie56 Glad to see you back.
Maryann I feel your frustration. Sometimes I just want to go on a crazy restrictive diet to get this bit of weight off, but mostly I know I just need to reduce my portions sizes and eat the things I plan to eat the rest of my life. Good luck to you.

Today's challenge is lunch out. This is the place from a couple of months ago where I was really excited about the famous vegan cupcakes, but as BillBlueEyes has noted, they are just cupcakes -- not really different from childhood birthday parties. It turned out that the kale salad was awesome. So, today's plan is an entree of the kale salad, and no cupcakes.

Exercise: +40, 145/1300 minutes for March

Good morning!

Yesterday was on plan and I did make it to the zoo with my daughter.

I also went over to inspect the completed bathroom job and make the final payment. Ouch to the expense but they look really nice! That white subway tile all the way up to the ceiling looks very sleek.

Bill, all day classes and then a lecture sounds like a long day. Credit for staying on plan. Have a good day with dgd.

Maryann, I hear your frustration. The thing that snaps me back is finally seeing myself getting visibly heavier again. Ugh.

Curly, the giant bowl of bulk holiday chocolates I sabotaged myself with is finally gone. Good luck with the withdrawls. lol

Karen, I actually have that how not to die cookbook but have only used another one called The Vegan 8 (eight ingredients or less). Let me know if I need to try something.

Joy, have a nice lunch out. The salad sounds good!

Millie, welcome back! Good luck with your plan.

Good Evening, Coaches.

I was a very good teacher the last couple of days which always means I am very beat in the evening. In some ways it is a performance, in it other ways it is being a counselor to dozens of teens. They mostly just want to be seen and heard. That takes focus to not tune out. I am showing my government class Thank You for Smoking. It is an incredible commentary on lobbyists. I edited out the sex scene but am allowing the language because it not only speaks to media's pressure, spin and power politics but it addresses the smoking issue which I am sad to say is making a huge resurgence due to the new vaping technology.

I am struggling like Millie with snacking in the evening after staying OP all day. The first step for me is to get back to fruits and veggies. I have continued to stay away from candy so credit.

Penny: I bet there is a big sigh with the bathrooms done.
Karen: I just picked up America's Test Kitchen Vegetables. All their books are excellent. I am committing to opening it this weekend and trying one recipe.
Curleyjax: I like my job as well. I t makes such a difference. Last year's job convinced me to retire but my new position is filled with young teachers and interesting curriculum. I have a new spring in my step.

Wave to all and here's to this 24 hours being a big success.

Thursday - FDR proclaims 10-day bank holiday (1933)
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Exercise was chase the (4 yo) DGD day, CREDIT moi. In an odd room at the Boston Children's Museum, she announced that she wanted to play checkers with me. Fine. She had to be taught how to set up the board, how the pieces moved, how kings became crowned. She only knew that 'jumping' happened and you got to take the pieces off the board. She played intensely for two games, learning a few more rules every minute. Since this is where we accidently bumped into her uncle while on lunch break last month, I seeded that it happen again. Just like last month, she jumped into his arms when he appeared, hugged him like she hadn't seen him in years. Conned him into an invitation to visit his office where she charmed everyone who should have been working. Then walked out with an apple from their snack room. Her uncle very carefully prevented her from seeing the full array of FREE snacks available; the apple was the only item remotely healthy, LOL.

Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, including no snacks other than my half orange in the evening. Again, busy is a good way to avoid focusing on food and knowing that I'm on a streak of no-snacking helps. My Resistance Muscle is getting into Olympic conditioning.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Thanks for "they are just cupcakes" - need to hear this a thousand times.

maryann - Continued Kudos for taking your job with the teens so seriously. It's such a needy time for them.

Karen (karenrn) - Good job finding a recipe that fits your plan and that your DH likes as well.

curlyjax - Neat that you're liking your job; the pets sound fun (except for that dog who bites your shoes). Ouch for chocolate chips worming themselves into your thinking. Yay for "out of my system and no more!"

Penny. - Good work by a contractor goes a long way toward making the price feel OK. Never 'good', but 'OK'. You remind me that I need to get my DGD to the Philadelphia Zoo so she can see the Galapagos Tortoises.

Readers -

Good morning coaches,

Food was on plan and weight is at the lower end of the range again. My food plan is made for today and I'm hiking with a young friend from my Saturday morning PNP gathering. She is 40 and at her goal weight, so although she isn't a hiker I'm sure she'll do well. We're hiking the Peralta Trail to Fremont Saddle in the Superstitions and it's a very pretty hike. I'm sure she will love it and I will love it too. Yesterday I watched the movie, The Game Changers, about athletes who are on the plant based diet. In the past I have been a person who worried about getting enough protein to sustain muscle mass if not eating beef, chicken, turkey or whatever. I'm learning new things. On another note, I have garbanzo beans soaking and last evening we kept hearing this funny noise from the kitchen area. We even wondered if we had a mouse or something. It was the beans. Even before we at them they were making noise.

Bill Strengthening the resistance muscle really does work and you have been doing so well. How fun to have your dgd see her uncle again.
Maryann Is the American Test Kitchen a magazine or cookbook? You are such a good teacher. I bet your students will never forget you.
Penny I'm so glad the bathroom turned out nicely. Did you do more than one? I'm going to make a recipe from the How Not to Die cookbook tomorrow. It's a rice, black bean and broccoli dish. I'll let you know how we like it. You must be liking The Vegan 8.
GardenerJoy I hope the kale salad was as good as you remembered it.

I enjoyed my kale salad and the reward of a small tick down on the scale this morning.

Today's challenge is low energy -- a combination of some trouble sleeping plus high tree pollen counts in our region. I have a lot of experience with spring allergy malaise. What works best is a list of things to do that walks the thin line between motivating and overwhelming. I get better at making those lists every year.

Exercise: +25, 170/1300 minutes for March

BillBlueEyes: what fun to arrange a 'surprise' encounter between your DGD and her uncle.

Good morning!

Yesterday was on plan. Could it be the end of both my class and the bathroom construction has made it easier for me to abstain from overeating?

I sure wish I could force myself into another source of stress relief.

Bill, another great DGD day in the books!

Maryann, I'm so glad you are liking the new job. It seemed like we were so close to quitting smoking just before vaping took off. :(

Karen, yes, I had to redo the tile in both bathroom showers. Amazing how much hidden damage is caused by the grout wearing out. I'm making a mushroom leek risotto today. It looks pretty good, and not too many ingredients.

Joy, yay for the tick down on the scale!

Karen: American Test Kitchen is a Long running PBS show. They are like Consumer Reports for Kitchen appliances and recipes. They do thorough research and then reccommend how to cook anything and what brand appliance to use. I love it.
BBE: I take for granted I pick our oranges off our many trees.
gardenerjoy: Congrats for paying attention to your body and knowing what works. Why does it take me in my fifties to accept both my limitations and my strengths and then play to them.

Penny: Funny you are talking about wishing your body would respond to stress in a different way. I am now listening to a fascinating book called The Hungry Brain. It answers the question why I don't have any will power or in a larger sense why diets fail because of the lack of ability to sustain the nearly 100% compliance of On Plan decision making in order to create and then maintain weight loss. It is not a matter of will power at all but the brain and it's interaction with specific chemicals coupled with my past experiences. Nothing earth shaking yet but I really understand why I am Sisphus rolling the rock up the hill only to have to have it roll back the minute I get weary.

More later on the book but I did decide to cut my subscription to WW and start logging into My Fit Pal one more time as I work through this new thinking.

Friday - Dmitri Mendeleev presents 1st periodic table of the elements (1869, Russia)
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies - A story popped up on my feed about a FREE Dunkin' Donut. I immediately flexed; that's for me. Duh! I don't need a donut. I don't particularly want a donut. If I want a single donut, I can well afford to just buy it when there isn't a throng of folks jostling to get one FREE. Parts of my brain live far, far away in the past.

Dinner was sushi at our favorite place. One of the reasons that we like it is because the sushi chef is super friendly with us. Chats away for the entire experience. Walked out feeling satisfied after consuming few calories. Just a fun experience. We always get a mochi after the meal. It's a small dollop of ice cream covered in sweet rice dough and they only charge $1. (Whole Foods charges $2.) I wish all deserts were this small. CREDIT moi for a sane meal dining out.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Now that's an encouraging idea, "a list of things to do that walks the thin line between motivating and overwhelming."

maryann - Congrats for taking the step to shift from WW to My Fit Pal - whatever it takes to keep the brain in the game.

Karen (karenrn) - LOL at mice-sounding noises from your garbanzo beans soaking - hadn't heard that before.

Penny. - If bathroom renovation led to reduced eating, it'd be about the most expensive diet on the books, LOL.

Readers -