Yesterday was fine. Practiced my perseverance muscle and the “fake it till you make it” muscle. I was cheerful for the kids and that made the day pass.
i have deliberately put off grocery shopping because there are no flour tortillas or breadd in the house but plenty of fruits and veggies. I have noticed when I go prowling the kitchen I am looking for flour. Today’s lunch is baked potato and cottage cheese.
Gardenerjoy: DH dr appt resulted in a scheduled biopsy. I am anxious but it is better to move toward a solution.
One more cloudy, rainy day -- tomorrow we expect sunshine! This had gone on a bit long for even my powers of embracing coziness. DH and his mom have both been struggling. So, we'll all be in a better place tomorrow.
Yesterday, I took my longest walk since twisting my ankle. And, it seems no worse for wear this morning. It's still not back to normal, but I tolerate disfunction better when I can measure improvement.
Exercise +50, 1260/1400 minutes for October
maryann: My DH has also been told to get a biopsy. Given the current COVID numbers, though, I think we're going to take the opposite approach -- move it to the back or our minds and put it off as long as possible. We're pretty confident that we can eliminate an aggressive cancer as the cause, given that we've been putting it off so long already and nothing has developed.
Food was off plan yesterday due to a sweet that I whipped up in the afternoon. No excuses for why except for the usual that are ongoing. We didn't see the movie yesterday because my friends knee was bothering her and she saw the doctor instead, which also resulted in our trip to Sedona to be rescheduled until next week. So we'll see the movie this afternoon. I am heading out to hike shortly, but there was no hurry since it is quite cool here. Our temps are going back up to more our normal beginning tomorrow. I'll be listening to American Dirt which I'm enjoying. I like hiking with friends, but it is hard to get my books listened to when I can't listen while hiking.
GardenerJoy I do think the sunshine helps the current situation. I like a cozy day now and then, but not day after day. Maryann Good job faking it until . . As much as I usually like being retired, I think it is harder to bring my mood around when I don't have to fake it. I'm sure I've said it before, but my dh had the prostate biopsy and ended up having surgery. He was in his early 50's and just didn't want to do the wait and watch thing. He had the robotic surgery with a very good surgeon and has been fine since. I know they also say most men will die with prostate cancer rather than due to prostate cancer, so it is a very individual choice. Curlyjax I'm sorry about your bad work day. I know that can be very distressing. Glad to hear you only have a week until your procedure. Bill There are so many places that are suffering due to the coronavirus. It would be so nice if there were an easy answer, but there sure doesn't seem to be.
Well, time to get dressed and out the door before I change my mind. Otis will wait for his walk until I get home.
After 18 days of not touching the pink book, today I finally read day 20, fittingly entitled "Get Back on Track".
The last two weeks haven't been good. Last week I was completely burnt out from work, and this week finally I am on vacation (no travel, just staying at home). It took me 6 days of doing basically nothing to get back on track, and these days involved multiple binges and ignored food plans. I haven't weighed myself since last Sunday, tomorrow I will see the extent of the damage. I did restart my exercise plan, which was good. Since it's started to rain often, I switched to exercise videos I can do indoors. I'm trying a plan based on animal movements, they look deceptively simple, but to me they're quite challenging (and they're fun!).
Today's eating is finally on plan. A crustless quiche is already on the oven for dinner. I already planned both my eating and my work for tomorrow, since I need to use these last few days at home to catch up on some work. I am not looking forward to work next week. I work at a hospital, and COVID-19 numbers here are breaking records every day. I didn't have time today to catch up with everyone's posts, but I will be sure to read them tomorrow!
Friday - The Bosphorus Bridge connects Europe and Asia (1973, Istanbul)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was previously grilled salmon - quite fortunately because it was raining heavily. We're in for a few days of wet, including predicted snow. It'll be slushy, slushy snow. Will feel good to be inside and warm. Evening snack was the standard Cosmic Crisp Apple.
Excitement was learning how the brain forms two different ideas: what something is and where it is. The what is by detecting edges and their orientation, then putting that together to form a thing - like a cube. We each develop a list of 'things' that we recognize. After the edges, the surfaces are identified. We assign color to surfaces. In the most astounding thing ever, we assign color to a surface from its edges. Make a tiny change to the edge of a surface and our eye/brain changes the color of the entire surface. Dr. Edwin Land of Polaroid fame developed this notion. Edwin Land certainly understood color.
Exercise was lowering the storm windows. Exercise because they're, themselves, now old, cranky, and in need of strenuous effort to move them twice each year. Our house is old; without the storm windows the outside air freely flows through all the nooks and crannies. This house is supposed to have a roaring fire in the living room with everyone crowded around. It was never designed for someone to sit way up here on the second floor in a warm office.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Yay for sunshine and a long walk. One can only benefit from so much coziness.
maryann - Kudos for using your “fake it till you make it” muscle. Whatever it takes.
Karen (karenrn) - Yep, there's a conflict between the joy of friends and the joy of listening to an audio book. Sorry you missed out on Sedona.
curlyjax - Ouch for the reality of the limits of human communication - even by a professional. Kudos for consulting with your former mentor.
tokidoki - Kudos for facing "Get Back on Track" - as we've all had to do now and again. Portugal was in the news that reached us due to a 65 foot wave being ridden by daredevil surfers. Is that you in the picture?
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 3Get Ready to Lose
Before you start, however, I would like you to do the following 10 essential tasks:
task 6 Make a memory Box
You will soon start collecting memories of diet-related experiences that are particularly meaningful to you - experiences that have a positive emotional charge.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 37.
Work was better yesterday, and my supervisor was supportive of me when I discussed the event of the prior day, which was great. I was hungry during the day and I got myself an extremely caloric chocolate chip muffin. I'm probably bringing leftover turkey meatloaf for lunch so that should fill me up. I did get my weights done and 20 minutes on the treadmill, so credit for that.
DS is being given the opportunity to be on campus for spring term and he's going to do it. It sounds like he may have the room to himself which he is quite psyched about; unless too many other frosh want to come, which I doubt. Although he's an introvert he has great social skills and I'm sure he will find some ways to meet people. He's doing fine with the online classes which continue. Most of the parents on the FB page are talking about the isolation/loneliness issues that need to be addressed, so hopefully the school will find some ways for kids to interact safely- this is a challenge for all colleges these days but clearly some are doing a better job than others.
Personals tomorrow, wave to all!
Good Morning, Coaches. Friday is always a treat for me. I do look forward to the weekend.
Food is maintenance and I seem unwilling to do anything about it. For today I will exercise and do weights. That will make two days in a row. I ate a simpler breakfast. I need to go to sleep a little hungry.
I finally got to compare the hempeh that I've been buying to the tempeh that I intend to buy. Ounce to ounce, hempeh has nearly 10 times the fat and 3 times the calories. But, it only has about 20% more protein.
Now, I know why the scale has been less kind in recent weeks. I expect it to be kinder in the next few weeks. I still have a couple of packages of the hempeh -- I'll save them for when I'm at the lower end of my current range rather than the higher end.
Today was one of those rare days where everything goes according to plan. Weight was up 3 pounds, but that was to be expected. I record my weight in an app that gives me a trend value, and the trend is not even 1 pound higher, which to me feels less demoralizing. Food was all on plan, and I finished all the work I had planned for the day. In the afternoon I went for a *very* long walk with my dog: I initially walked him for 30min, but then met a childhood friend who lives nearby, and ended up walking the dog with him for another 90min!
BillBlueEyes the surfers in Nazaré were also in the news here, because the hundreds that gathered to watch did not respect any distancing measures, and a significant proportion was not wearing a mask. curlyjax it's great that your supervisor was supportive. Even without formal training, I'm sure you next time you will be able to approach that kind of interaction in a different way maryann eating at maintenance with increased exercise sounds like progress gardenerjoy sounds like the ankle is almost back to normal, I hope it heals completely karenrn hiking alone with an audiobook sounds wonderful. Since I usually take my dog along my ears (and eyes) are always on alert. Sometimes there are dogs wandering freely around here, and I've had to break up at least two serious dog fights.
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Exercise was shoveling snow, CREDIT moi. OK, wasn't much snow; wasn't much exercise. But it didn't seem inclined to remove itself. Just wanted to stay on the sidewalk until someone stepped on it so that it became an ice patch. Then slipped and fell. Hurt themselves. Sued us. Lose my home. Go to the poor house. Gain wait eating gruel. Yes, Dr. Beck has a chapter on negative thinking, LOL.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. The green salad that I made for dinner included raw Button Mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus fungus for those of you who frequent botanical gardens). Got reminded by my DS how good they are and how much nutrition they carry. There is no way I can consume the whole pint box of them before they become undesirable. DW said she'd saute some with the next veggie that she cooks for a dinner. I like cooked mushrooms more than raw and absolutely adore grilled Portobello mushrooms.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Thanks for the hempeh - tempeh comparison. Ten times is a lot.
maryann - Yes, welcome to the weekend. Thanks for the reminder that we can go to bed a little hungry.
curlyjax - Congrats to your DS for making a decision to move forward in college. I wish them well figuring out how to do it during the pandemic. Kudos to you for working through the prior day's work issue.
tokidoki - Neat to use a bit of technology to keep your perspective about weight. Great to have a friend who can convert a 30 minute walk into a 2 hour walk. Sad to be reminded that you have the same problems with some folks not social distancing and not masking.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 3Get Ready to Lose
Before you start, however, I would like you to do the following 10 essential tasks:
task 6 Make a memory Box
For example, the first time you feel triumphant because you successfully rode out a craving, you'll write down this accomplishment on an index card and insert it into your Memory Box.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 38.
Last edited by BillBlueEyes; 10-31-2020 at 11:14 AM.
We got hit with quite a bit of snow and its coooold today, quite unseasonable weather. My backyard looks like its in the 5-6 inch range. I feel sorry for all the little kiddos, the snow is covering all the decorations and its going to be one of the coldest Halloweens ever. Supposedly its 24 degrees out right now although my thermometer is reading 18 degrees. So glad to have power and heat! I was going to go for a walk with people but I bailed, i'm not ready to deal with this type of weather yet, and possible black ice. I have to get out to two different banks but i'm waiting until it warms up a bit.
Last night was planned calzone and unplanned ice cream. I got back into the mindset of deserving a treat because of the snow. Today I need to do groceries and will stock up on healthy stuff again. I have nothing planned for the weekend and have a lot of time to putter about which I need.
I keep waking up with my "good" hip aching, I must either be sleeping on my side or bending it up too long. Maryann- I look forward to the weekend too. the good part of working indeed. Gardenerjoy- very interesting hempeh vs tempeh. tokidoki- yay for a day where everything goes on plan. Karen-I know all about whipping up an unplanned sweet. Bill-yes, cooked mushrooms are much better than raw in my mind, and can be a great addition to an omelette.
Unlike BillBlueEyes and curlyjax, we have perfect weather for Halloween. There seems to be no consensus in our community about how or if people will be trick-or-treating tonight. I'm glad that we gave that up a few years ago when the next-door-neighbor kids grew out of the practice. We rarely had any other visitors since we're down a dark and spooky dead-end street and, then, up a dark and steep driveway.
I have walked just after sunset in recent years, just to see what's up in the neighborhood. Given the healing ankle and the pandemic, I'll probably skip that this year. The best view of the rising full moon is from my deck, so I don't need to take a walk for that.
Yesterday's plan to go to bed hungry was a bust. Today is a new day. Step one is to keep an accurate food log. I fell out of the habit and it is really hampering my goals. The next habit is exercise. I have to think through why I didn't go to the gym yesterday. I worked really hard at school. I pushed enough to not take correcting home. But that means I am not taking a lunch. If I think through this maybe I can agree that two or three times a week I walk the track at lunch. What happens many days is I have errands after school and don't get home until later and by then I don't want to do leave again. So for next week I will pick two school days to walk the track. That would mean I get a 30 minutes walk credit. Then I just have to get to the gym for a day or two. The weekends I can usually exercise. This plan means I won't feel so far behind. Also I don't feel so guilty about eating my lunch at my desk which is a no no. OK . That sounds good.
The larger triumph is this will be my first Halloween with no candy!!!!! It has been 7 months and 14 days since I have had sugary desserts. That is a big deal.
TokiDoki:I track my weight on an app., too. I manually entered weight from twenty years ago (pre-baby). I am only up 7 lbs in 20 years. that makes me proud of myself for keeping a watchful eye. The trick has always been to hop back on track as soon as possible. It also tells me the last ten pounds is nearly impossible to lose and keep off. BBE: I love mushrooms as well but am constantly throwing them away. I have found that putting them in a paper bag when I get home helps but then I can't see them so they still go bad. Sautéing is the best. curleyjax and gardenerjoy: We are a little glum that DS is not here for Halloween. We will be turning out the light and watching a movie.
Lots to do today. Yardwork, clean my old car to sell, weights. One more cup of coffee and I'll get started.
I didn't even realize that I didn't post yesterday until this morning. Food was close to plan yesterday. My hike was 2 1/2 hours so I swapped out a protein bar for yogurt. More calories to be sure, but I felt okay about it. We did a hike in the northern part of the preserve and I was surprised that my friend hadn't done it before. Her knee is bothering her just a little so I chose a hike without much elevation gain. It's really beautiful with huge rocks and lots of cactus. Today I met my young friends for an outdoor distanced gathering. There were just 4 of us and it was nice to get together. Dh and I may take a drive when he gets home from his workout. He is such a homebody that unless we are actually traveling I have a hard time getting him to go places. His mother is like that (of course she is now 90) and I just don't want to live that way. But if he's acting pissy I may not want to insist or encourage it as it would be worse than not going. That's my tale of woe.
Maryann Sounds like a busy day for you and I think I need one more cup of coffee too. GardenerJoy We have perfect Halloween weather too and have also quit giving out candy. It's just too hard with Otis. A real two person job every time the door bell rings. Curlyjax Wow, that's a lot of snow and boy is that ever cold too. Interesting that ds will be leaving for college after all. When will that happen, January? Bill I had to lol at your negative thinking story of the snow. I actually have friends that I think probably do catastrophize that much. Tokidoki Oh it's nice to have a completely on plan day. Seems like it's been awhile for me. I don't usually wear the earbuds when I take my dog out for a walk either, but sometimes.
I kind of feel like I'm just going to make very doable plans that are probably just maintenance at best for the next few days. It's about all I have in me just now. My friend and I did set Tuesday as hopefully the day we head to Sedona. It would be great just to be away from the news anyway.
Another great day today, with everything on plan (food, exercise, work, play). The scale continues to show 140 pounds, same as yesterday, so I'm putting the "Oh, well" technique I just read about in practice. I felt this chapter (day 22) was very useful to put dieting in perspective - I do hard tasks I don't particularly enjoy on a daily basis, mainly related to work responsabilities, and I will now try to apply the same mindset to dieting.
BillBlueEyes oh I can't wait for that chapter on negative thinking
I love cooked mushrooms (I don't think I've ever eaten them raw?), this week I saw maitake mushrooms on sale for the first time, and was very tempted. I ended up being reasonable and left them in the supermarket, since I have absolutely no idea how to cook them. curlyjax oh the feeling of deserving a treat because it's cold and raining (unfortunately no snow over here). Fall and rainy weather makes me think of apple pie and baked quince with wine, sugar and cinnamon...better to plan for the treats though. gardenerjoy Halloween costumes seem to lend themselves to the use of masks, but I suppose the hand washing would be difficult to enforce with little kids maryann are those 7lbs the difference from your current to your goal weight? That's incredible, I don't have any comparison like that. I've been on the upper end of the normal weight range since I was a teen, so I don't remember being thin. That's one of my main goals, to experience what it feels like to be thin in adulthood. karenrn the protein bar was definitely okay after a 2 1/2 hours walk. Your husband is lucky, I'd love to have somebody pushing me to get out of the house (not right now though, post-pandemic).
Tomorrow is my last vacation day...I must admit right now I'm a bit jealous of people who can work remotely.
Friday - The Bosphorus Bridge connects Europe and Asia (1973, Istanbul)
