The PT session went well and he made a new brace for me while I was there. He put this sheet of plastic or something like it in hot water then cut it and formed it to my arm. I wear a thin stocking thing under it and it velcros in place. After bilateral measurements I did exercises and have print outs to do them at home 4 to 5 times a day. I've done one set so far this morning and I can see my thumb will get less stiff in time. Food was on plan yesterday and my plan is made for today. Dh suggested a new area for Otis's walk today and we drove down the road and did that one. It starts by walking down a side walk along a man made lake and then goes along a golf course. I was afraid he was getting too tired so we cut through an apartment place to go back to the car, but it was gated at the road. Luckily a car was coming along to leave so we could get out without going back the way we came. It was a very pleasant walk and we saw several heron's along the lake and a white egret. No big plans for today except to be sure I do my exercises and order some more masks from Etsy.
Curlyjax I would love to see what the baby turkeys look like. I guess I'll have to google. Good luck with using South Beach to get moving in the direction you want to see. Sometimes we just need something to get us going at least. I don't think we could even get results from a Covid test that would work for your trip. I was thinking about that for us and our road trip to Washington, but the test would be so old by the time we leave that it wouldn't mean much. Bill the darned scale can be so annoying. The strawberries sound delicious though and come to think of it, I have some.
Waving to the rest of you. All of a sudden it feels like breakfast time.
Yesterday was on plan and weight is down a smidge.
Joining Karen in the medical fun, I have an MRI of my shoulder today, then a theraputic injection to the shoulder next Tuesday. My shoulder injury is from all the way back in October when I closed a heavy overhead bin on a flight. I don't like going to the doctor.
My library card issue was just a temporary system down that has resolved, but the phone wait time told me a lot of others are reading their way through pandemic depression too. I finished my 12th book by a romance novel author, and moving on to a vampire/magic series. It's been a minute since I really got into fiction. I'm usually a non-fiction reader.
Karen, CPR still is 30:2 compressions to breaths but, you're right, they do emphasize the compressions more than breaths now, especially if you don't have a pocket mask.
Bill, that is a big jump on the scales for strawberries. The scale is cruel sometimes!
Curly, good luck with the south beach diet. I've used canned jackfruit for the "pulled pork" recipe before and it worked well. Those giant fruits are intimidating. Ha!
Maryann, how did your farm worker's wife do with the virus? I hope she recovered okay.
Joy, mmm you mentioned sourdough and now I want some, but I think it's on my no-no foods right now. I seem to have no control with it.
Penny: I would love to know the name of your romance novel author. I have been known to pass a few days away reading some enjoyable reading candy. The worker's wife is fine and all is well. We are so relieved. Karen: Isn't it great having a new walking path? When I visit my mother, I try to take advantage of her fabulous greenbelt. curleyjax: We are turkey/chicken invested in this county. They have been allowed to propagate and now they are in the supermarket parking lots, movie theaters, etc. . . Very Strange. BBE: Did I ask what college you take your classes through?
Small drumroll . . . . the scale finally dropped the stubborn digit. I went back through my weight records and that number holds the second longest record for number of days stalled. Oh well. It feels like nothing now and of course I am impatient for the next one. Live in the moment, right?
In other exciting news, I have tried a new breakfast which is delish - bananas, yoghurt, walnuts and chocolate balsamic vinegar. It was a risk purchase because I usually only like the fruity balsamics but this works. More explorations today will be chickpea falafels and sauteed summer squash to put on my groats.
Friday - US President John F. Kennedy: "Ich bin ein Berliner" (1963, West Berlin)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Was amused by a delivery guy. Ordered some HP printer ink from Staples (possibly nationwide office supply store) using discount coupons and free delivery. Fine print: the delivery might not be left unless you print and leave this form visible to the delivery guy. Form required ME to fill in the order number as well as my name and address - as if they didn't know where they were delivering the package. Terrible customer interface. But I did, with much annoyance. Put it on the bench on my porch under two polished rocks. Package was left. Delivery guy took the form and carefully placed the two polished rocks aligned atop my package. Like a human communication - despite the pandemic. Alas, I'm easily amused these days.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Lunch was again made from Monday's leftover steak. Again, I only ate a small amount as if I were a sane person on an eating plan. Made me happy. Walk, CREDIT moi, included stopping at the drugstore for an errand. Safe distancing and masks all around. The tiny world visible to me isn't experiencing the near-violent resistance to masks and distancing. We are fulling experiencing the had-enough-already feelings. Talked to a neighbor who just retired from teaching in the Boston Public Schools. Her buddies who are still working are going crazy trying to design a classroom that meets the requirements for reopening this fall. "Would you go back if they called?" "Not in the regular ed; but I'd go back to my special ed kids in a heartbeat," she said with a smile remembering her many years with the disabled kids.
maryann - Congrats on getting your scale to grant you that last digit. Drooling over your collection of balsamic vinegars.
Karen (karenrn) - Herons and an egret are a nice group of birds for one walk. Good to hear that your thumb is progressing.
curlyjax - You make your backyard sound like true wilderness. Turkeys are many around here and universally unwelcome. They dig and dig and dig. Little kids are terrified of them - rightly so. [For whatever reasons, we don't have bugs until after dark here.]
Penny. - Thanks for "I don't like going to the doctor," from a medical professional. I hate to admit that. You make me want to reconsider electronic books.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 1Begin a New Way of Life
The Role of Thinking
That's when you will realize that dieting is worth it - so worth it. That's the moment when you start to get your life back.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 21.
Embracing the animal theme of my backyard, I have started watching the Yorkshire Vet on netflix. It's filmed in the same town as James Herriot's vet practice from All Creatures Great and Small, and one of the vets trained with Herriot. It's just wonderful, and I love the strong accents. "There's nowt like a good cow" indeed!
The young deer is showing up quite frequently now in the furthest part of my yard, so I will never plant anything back there. Hopefully not too many deer ticks are accompanying her/him.It would be great if deers eat poison ivy, but I think i would have to get a goat to do that!
Speaking of poison ivy my poor son has contracted it yet again, we don't know from where, and he gets rashes from prednisone so we tried something else and he's getting a rash from that as well. It is all over him, and seems to finally be slowly getting better, but his body really reacts to it. He's used technu before when he suspects he's been exposed to poison ivy but its tough if you don't know. Bill-yes, it is a relief to see masks everywhere.I spoke with a friend in another state who said about 50% of the people wear them in the store, so they are a few months behind us. Maryann- yay for a dropped digit. Yummy sounding breakfast. Penny-ooh, good luck with the shoulder, that sounds very painful. Karen- your mention of the brace gives me the shudders- in another lifetime i would have to work with splints occasionally and I DREADED it, I was terrible at it. That will be very helpful though for you to stabilize it. I know, its hard enough to get a COVID test, never mind trying to time it accurately.
Yesterday was on plan and weight is down another smidge.
I ended up getting my steroid shot to the shoulder at the same time as my dye for the MRI. I was surprised the whole ordeal made me whoozy and feeling bad, having to lay down all afternoon. No improvement to the shoulder pain just yet.
Bill, good you caught the fine print on the shipping. My 9yo used the kindle recently and, as suspected, now wants all her books on there. It spoils us with the light, making the side lamp unnecessary, and the quick dictionary access with one press of a word. Plus, it eliminates the tossing and turning I used to do when flipping pages.
Curly, I am loving the nature program in your backyard! Just squirrels and birds for me. Sorry about the poison ivy problem.
Maryann, the author is Melissa Brayden. No men are involved in the making of her novels, so twice as much attention to our needs. lol. Congrats on the weightloss!
Food was on plan yesterday, but weight is up .4 this morning from one week ago. Sometimes I think this is just a good weight because it is maintainable, but I know it only maintainable because in fact I'm trying to lose a bit. I shall continue. I have a few things going on this morning. Otis and I walked about 3 miles this morning, which is a very long walk for him. He did fine, but was certainly looking for our car as we got nearer the end. I've done one set of my PT exercises so far today and will do several more before I go to PT at 3:30. I also am going to the tire shop this morning for an 8:30 appointment to get new tires. It's one of the things I want to be sure I do before our trip in 3 weeks. I'm still planning to go although I realize anything could happen these days. Even our backpacking trip is a bit in question. There was an earthquake a couple of days ago very near our exit trail from Mt. Whitney. At this point the campground and trail are closed. There was a big rock slide with a huge boulder ending up in the campground I think. Luckily no one was injured, which may be in part to fewer hikers from COVID.
Penny I hope you're feeling better today and that the shoulder pain diminishes. Curlyjax Poor ds. The poison ivy sounds just miserable. I hope he gets over that soon. Isn't there something that can help him? Bill I sure do hear you on the Had Enough Already feelings. I notice I just kind of go up and down in my feelings. Dh and I were talking about it at dinner last night and we are wondering if in two years we can say it is behind us. I put a note on the calendar on my phone so we can see. Maryann Congratulations on the move down on the scale!
Waving to GardenerJoy!
Okay, time for breakfast and to get ready to head to the tire store after that. Have a great day.
Wow! Down another pound. I see a pattern of losing pounds in twos and then a long stretch. Know thyself, I guess. Credit for nearly 15 pounds down from Christmas and 6 pounds down from this exact day last summer. Mostly I feel a great relief that I have a healthy solution to the weight creep that I know is an effect of the medication I am on. I really value the peace the medication brings to my family but it was a strain to stay on it because of my fears of the weight gain. I know my evolving food program would not be what others find reasonable for a lifetime, I am completely accepting of it (for today) given my physical limitations. It i what it is. I will never be 5'10, look like Cindy Crawford or be able to eat sugar with impunity. At 56, I can live with that.
So today I am meeting my 12 step sponsor to work a step and eat a sandwich. I checked the menu ahead of time and there is a nice choice. I finished my walk and will work outside for a bit.
BBE: We just heard about our school's plan. If I was teaching elementary or middle school, I would retire today. High School is going to be structured like a college lab. Half the students will come one week, half will come the next. I will see one period for three hours one day a week- four periods, four days. I'll be responsible for leading the rest of the learning online. This is not preferable but it is completely doable when compared to elementary students who are being forced to stay in the same room, eat in that room, stay six feet apart and go to a segregated part of the playground with no play equipment. curleyjax: the nature talks remind me I need to get to Tahoe. Penny. I'll look up the author now.
Weight's up today, but it's the first time I've weighed in a week. That's not giving me as much information as a daily weigh-in does. Time to get back to that!
Today, I've had my first direct impact from COVID-19. I'll have new responsibilities at our vigil tomorrow because the person who usually does those things is self-quarantining. She has a housemate whose employer just informed that she was exposed yesterday. The situation was low-risk, but the whole household is staying in until she gets test results.
Exercise: +35, 1190/1400 minutes for June
karenrn: I'm also contemplating that this might be a good maintainable weight for me. But, I'm going to attempt to keep losing, because it's also a good weight for me to re-gain all my recent losses. There's some mental trick I'm trying to learn where I'm happy if I maintain but know that the only way I will maintain is if I attempt to lose -- and somehow not get frustrated by the lack of progress in losing.
Last edited by gardenerjoy; 06-26-2020 at 11:41 AM.
Saturday - New York & Boston linked by telegraph wires (1847)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - For about a year, my family had planned to have a reunion this summer. Naturally that wasn't going to happen in the days of COVID-19. So, the smart young folk decided on a one hour Zoom reunion. It worked fabulously. People who would never have traveled to a physical site for a long weekend were able to join, including two ex-wives who are mothers of members of the tribe. Everyone was on best behavior; all the teens were marvelously comfortable giving a one minute synopsis of their lives. The new sixteen-week-old gurgled and smiled for the camera. Several dogs appeared. An amazing success. Hail to Zoom for making the impossible possible.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner didn't make it out to the patio because we were rushed to get done for the Zoom reunion. The scale continues to refuse to show me love - forcing me to think that it's time to investigate portion sizes if eliminating snacks isn't enough.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Big Ouch for COVID-19 reality hitting your life. Appreciate your mental gymnastics working with losing while staying the same.
maryann - Congrats on your steady weight loss and consistency with your plan. The education plans sound so undoable; I hope some flexible young teacher minds can figure this out.
Karen (karenrn) - Seems like you have enough on your plate without the addition of earthquakes. Wish you well figuring out what is your comfortable maintenance weight.
curlyjax - Ouch for the poison ivy on your DS; hope that clears soon.
Penny. - Neat that your DD has converted to Kindle. Ouch for the woozy after two shots.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 2Experience the Difference
It doesn't matter how many times you have tried to lose excess weight in the past or how many collective pounds you have lost and then regained. This really can be the last time you ever need to lose weight. Ever. This time will be different.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 22.
A short check-in so that I can get a bunch of set-up chores complete for our socially-distanced vigil, including packing extra bandannas to give anyone who shows up without a mask.
Exercise: +50, 1240/1400 minutes for June
BillBlueEyes: Any tips on how to keep the whole family on their best behavior? We're working on a weekly video meet-up for family to support MiL whose social isolation pod consists of herself and some paid help. She's feeling ostracized by the family, even though the various reasons that happened all make logical sense (including our need to keep ourselves healthy in case she has an emergency that can't be handle by paid help). The solution we've come up is to organize these Zoom meetings, but I'm a little worried about family dynamics and I'm hoping to set up some structures and norms that give everyone a chance to talk but keep the mood light and cheerful for MiL. I'm a bit worried that it will turn into some attempt at group therapy that would be better done in a different venue and out of earshot from MiL.
Quick wave everyone. i got up for a walk with an acquaintance at 8:15 which was lovely. We didn't walk very fast but walked for almost an hour. Then i got coffee and bagels to go, and am sitting out in my backyard with the laptop which is lovely. I don't do this enough, I need to get a comfortable chair and sit out here more in the weekend mornings before it gets really hot. They are predicting a big storm at 2 so I need to zip around to get to the dump and get groceries before that. Which means I need to plan my meals now, in a bit more of a hurry than I wanted.
Karen- everything we try for the poison ivy ends up giving him a secondary rash, so i think he'll just have to wait it out.
Bill- that family reunion sounds nice, yay for technology.
Maryann- awesome job on the 15 pounds down!!
Penny-I hope the shoulder is better. I had an injection in my hip prior to surgery and it was so awful, i spent the rest of the day in bed.
Gardenerjoy- good luck at the vigil!
Yesterday, food was OP with the substitution of a sugar free frozen yogurt and a topping of chopped peanuts. This might be a yellow light /red light food if I go to it more often than a couple of times a month. 1. Calories spent on it need to go to adding more fruits and veggies. It is VERY difficult trying to eat all the healthy food I am suppose to add and stay with in a weight loss caloric level. 2 The artificial sweetener used is the not optimal. I have chosen to allow myself erythritol which is a sugar alcohol found in grapes that has been shown to not affect blood insulin levels; is not digested in the colon like other sugar alcohols ( meaning digestive issues aren't a problem); and is an antioxidant. The yogurt uses a different sugar alcohol. So I need to not travel across town to buy it too often. That sounds pretty addictive to me. Besides, I actually enjoy my version of yoghurt very much at home.
Today I am deciding whether to try and figure out how to use the new hedge trimmer or wait for DH. I really want to give it a try and I really want to not end up in an emergency hospital.
gardenerjoy: My family had a bday party for Mom. Everybody is naturally excited in my experience and is on their better behavior.
curleyjax. I splurged and got new pads for the old outdoor furniture and it feels luxurious. Very enjoyable.
Food was on plan yesterday and there were no drinks because dh was golfing. I met my friend to hike Sunrise peak this morning at 4:50 a.m. It was already about 82 degrees and it's got more elevation gain than the hike we've been doing, so I felt it. We're supposed to have a few days this week where our lows are below 80. I will be hiking longer hikes those days for sure. My thumb is doing well and I may only have to go to PT once this next week. I can't start strengthening for another week, so if my ROM is doing well I might just be doing those exercises until the next week when I go back to begin strengthening. It's amazing how stiff my thumb is, but I remember my arm was that stiff too when I broke it and it's as good as new now. I had a Zoom call with my Saturday morning gals and dh and I will go in the pool for a bit later. That about sums up the day.
Maryann Keep yourself out of the emergency room at all costs. Good job on your really great job of incorporating lots of new foods and losing weight like a boss! Curlyjax Sitting outside before it gets too hot sounds wonderful. I was just thinking I need to get outdoors and get things washed. We aren't sitting out there much, but I want it to at least look nice. Penny You have a great day too. GardenerJoy I hope you have some luck setting up a Zoom call with mil. I really feel for older people who are so isolated right now. My mil was with family last week for the first time in ages and she was enjoying it so much. They called us on FaceTime and they were all outside in the yard in Washington. I'm not sure I ever want to live alone after living through this situation. If dh is gone before I am I think I'll need a roommate. Bill I'm glad you were able to get together with family on Zoom. Our younger family members use Houseparty and we have hooked up with them on that ap. I'm hoping the scale will do a nice woosh for you soon. I know portion sizes are about the only thing I can change cause food choices are already darned good.
You all have a great day. I had better get my food plan made.
Friday - US President John F. Kennedy: "Ich bin ein Berliner" (1963, West Berlin)
lol. Congrats on the weightloss!
