Just got back from family walk. Now that it has cooled down a bit here other people in house are willing to get out and walk around the block. I always have to walk as I am a dog owner. I am trying to increase my walking and have done so the last couple of days. My DD bought my DGS a trike that has a steering handle in the back so it is easier to take him with me and he loves it. Today I hooked my dog (little but likes to pull) to the front handle and let him pull DGS while I steered. DGS loved it and and it was less frustrating. Did it again this evening.
Because I am working 12 hour shifts at work right now I have more days off and though I like the days off they are not necessarily good for me staying on plan. So much easier at work where I have more structure. I like the idea of "A bit of structure -- even a good to-do list, if it's not too ambitious, is generally my best solution." (gardenjoy) I will try that on my next all day at home with nothing but time on my hands.
BF wants to go to Tupelo the see Elvis' childhood home this week-end. This won't be as long as a trip as he only has Saturday off.
I changed my "Active Response Card"; which I set as a reminder on my phone. I changed the wording from I will... to I am... I will say it is my reality until it is my reality. Hopefully I can get with the girls at work that want to do the zoom study meetings with me set up tomorrow.
Karenrn - I used to live in AZ and loved hiking in the White tank mountains. I miss having mountains to hike in. But I am happy to be back to my original "home" in FL Panhandle.
Wednesday - Marian Anderson 1st black singer hired by NY's Metropolitan Opera (1954)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Was in the checkout line at the supermarket when I suddenly remembered Mayonnaise! Left my cart; ran back and grabbed a jar. Tomato sandwiches can't happen without mayonnaise and I'd just about finished the jar. There are folks who write down what they should buy on the next trip to the supermarket. Unfortunately, I'm not one. I make up my list just before leaving the house. Items thought about two days ago frequently get missed. Seems like I could fix that. Even right here in the middle of COVID, I could make something happen.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. I also marched past the displays of Halloween candy. Still can't figure out whether our town will or won't have an evening of Trick-or-Treating. I just dread the thought of three bags of candy calling for me to make them go away by eating them.
Walked, CREDIT moi, where I discovered a guy parking his brand new white Tesla Model 3 - two weeks old. He had the latest comparisons in his head of all the electric vehicles currently on the market and went for the Tesla. "Love it," he said clearly.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - I agree, "Facebook and the news is counter-productive." Thanks for the reminder that a to-do list has to be not too ambitious.
Karen (karenrn) - The waves of this stuff seem to be happening at different times at different places. Wish we were together enough as a country to use that data to figure out what works.
tokidoki - Have fun at the wedding. It's worked for me to plan to have one small plate of the main served food and to avoid the appetizers that I've had before and will likely have again. Wedding cake is the most useless bang for the calories involved that I know about; I discreetly skip that - or just have one bite from my DW's plate to affirm that missing is was the right choice.
Susan (serendipitous) - Kudos for "changed the wording from I will... to I am" - smart move, that. Look forward to your report about Elvis' home in Tupelo.
Minjun (Seominjun26) - There's a good single paragraph description of the Beck Strategies in the first post of this thread. One chooses their own eating plan.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 3Get Ready to Lose
Before you start, however, I would like you to do the following 10 essential tasks:
task 4 Get a Diet Buddy
When you know you will have to give an honest report to another person, it is easier to respond to the sabotaging thought, I think I'll skip practicing this skill today, or It won't matter if I eat this unplanned food, by telling yourself, No, I'm not going to skip it, or, I'm not going to cheat because I don't want to have to tell my Diet Buddy.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 36.
I got a lot of things done yesterday, including reserving a rental car to go visit my dad in a few weeks. I'm driving it down there, and driving his car back home to give to DS. My dad will be 90 in February and is doing great, and is wise enough to know he isn't comfortable driving any more. The rental car might not have a CD player so I'll have to figure out audiobooks on my phone, to keep me awake on the way down.
I'm done with my two week omeprozole and I'm a little better but the bloating connected to eating hasn't gone away entirely. I will continue to monitor. I really should be keeping a bloating diary but I don't think its any particular food.
On indoor exercise: I find it goes much quicker if I'm watching tv or listening to an audiobook. I did about 25 minutes on the treadmill and another 5 on the bike yesterday. Today is back to weights right before dinner (which DS is making, yay!). Bill-I'm skipping Halloween this year either way and turning off my light. I just can't have all that candy in my house. I have a feeling people may be leaving it at the end of their driveway or something, in my town. Serendipitious-that sounds very fun to have your dog pull your grandson. I would love to get to the panhandle someday.
This week is midterms so I can go a little later into school. Our county is starting to make plans to get the kids back into school. Those plans are producing a great deal of anxiety in many corners of the county. I was just getting into the swing of distance learning and now will have to go through the growing pains of the next hybrid system. I hold onto DH words "If you can't do it, nobody can." That makes me feel more in control. I had my virtual shrink appointment. She says I am thriving with the med plan and the school plan. My only fear is to be put in an unworkable situation similar to two years ago. If that happens, she can write me a note out. I would hate to do it but I have to think of my health.
curleyjax: There will be no Halloween here either for a number of reasons. It will be another thing, though, that makes us feel the absence of DS. I think we will head to Tahoe. TokiDoki: I had to give up desserts (candy, cookies, pies, cake, etc. . . )I have battled with it forever. I have no ability to eat just one of something. I have lost 12 pounds since giving it up six and a half months ago.
Food and no drinks were on plan yesterday. I woke up in the middle of the night and didn't really sleep much after that so I decided to forego the hike this morning and take it a little slower. Otis and I have been out for a walk and I've started a little housework. My little chicken tried to bolt on me when he heard a loud truck, but I carried him for a very short distance and he got over it. I'm glad he's not any bigger than he is (about 23 pounds). I've got a haircut appointment early this afternoon and I'm really looking forward to that. I was thinking about getting it cut quite short to get all the color cut off, but a couple of my friends said they really like it this length and that the transition isn't bad since the blondish and grayish are kind of the same depth of color if that makes sense. So for now I'll keep it about this length and do the shorter if I need a further change.
Maryann I totally agree with your dh, "If you can't do it, nobody can do it." On top of that I would bet you do it twice as well as most at a minimum. Curlyjax I have an ap on my phone called Libby that allows me to borrow audiobooks from the library. I bet ds could fix you up in no time. Of course there is always Audible too. I had it for awhile and then was getting too many unread books so decided I didn't need that monthly cost. I find the audiobooks or podcasts on my hike make the time fly by, so I totally agree with you. Bill We stopped with the trick or treating hand out last year and will have the lights off again this year. It is so tough with Otis going berserk with every knock on the door or doorbell and I also don't like the candy in the house. Usually I wouldn't eat much candy unless it's from Sees or better quality, but it is just easier not to have it around. Serendipitous I hiked in the White Tanks only once. They are about an hour away on the other side of the valley so it's quicker to stay on my side for an in town type hike. I've never been to Florida. I get prickly heat in Hawaii and Thailand, so I'm not sure I'd do well with the humidity, but I know it's beautiful. Tokidoki I laughed at your "eat that frog" suggestion. I think maybe I had better adopt that to get a few things done that I'm procrastinating about.
Structure helped yesterday -- I was sloppy in my adherence, but it turns out that working my to-do list badly is better than not working it at all. Good to know.
Today's adventure is a trip to a lab. DH and I are both six months overdue on follow-up blood tests. We're going to get them today on the theory that infectious diseases, in general, will be more of a problem in the coming months, so this is the time to do medical stuff that can't wait until spring. We've been to this lab before so we're reasonably comfortable with the process, although we will be in closer proximity to other people than is usual for us, these days.
Exercise +55, 215/1400 minutes for October
tokidoki: Thanks for the eat the frog reminder. I'm putting the frog next on my list!
My event plan: load up on the vegetables, eat tiny servings of anything that I want (three bites is plenty for a taste), and focus on the people.
BillBlueEyes: A change that I've made to grocery-shopping during COVID-19 is to keep my grocery lists in a stack that I refer to when I'm making this week's list. If it was on a list four to six weeks ago, it might need to be on the list today. I do keep a bit of scrap paper in the kitchen for things as I think about them, but that's a much shorter list now that I can count on previous grocery lists to remind me of the most common items.
Had a good day eating on plan today. It was easier as I was at work for 12 hours and decided I can eat all my meals at work. At work I don't have choices. I eat what I bring! Not much time tonight, going to put the vp debate on and go to bed. I will watch what I can till I fall asleep. Hopefully it won't give me bad dreams lol.
Thursday - First hospital in Montreal founded by nurse Jeanne Mance (1645)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Exercise was chase the (5 yo) DGD day, CREDIT moi. She climbed up and over some decorative boulders along a path. Since we knew what she'd do, DW had brought her helmet; we felt much safer than we did last visit to the same boulders. We sought out and found her "secret bench" - that's slightly hidden by trees. We sit and whisper as if we were the only people to ever do this. She snuggled with me to read more of Isadora Moon Goes to the Ballet. But, she'd discovered two of the stack of new books that I'd picked up and just had to read those. The best one, Olivia, she had at home but still wanted to read with me. When we read the one about blue hippopotamus in the Nile in ancient Egypt, she knew to go get our miniature hippo, named "William," to hold while we read it: "I'll be careful." I promised I'd take her to Paris someday to see the miniature hippos at the Louvre. Talked about when we took her mother there years ago. And her mom buying a baguette. She eats that up.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. The uneaten, leftover, Gala Apple that I usually eat on the drive home wasn't available; she'd eaten all of it. Good! I got to cut myself a fresh Cosmic Crisp for my evening snack.
I watched the VP debate for about five minutes. I'm just not cut out to listen to politicians talk; my blood pressure shoots up. I'll go down and read about it in this morning's newspapers.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Neat idea to keep your old grocery lists - specially to help remember the things that weren't picked up on previous trips.
maryann - I join the crowd who agrees with your DH, "If you can't do it, nobody can." Wish you well switching back and forth between virtual and in-school teaching. My DD's neighbor had two kids who do virtual learning on Monday and Tuesday while half the class is in school; go into school to switch with those kids for Thursday and Friday. All are virtual learners on Wednesday. Talk about jumping through hoops to plan her own work week.
Karen (karenrn) - Kudos for choosing to only eat Sees or better candy. I hate that I'm willing to eat the bagged stuff of low quality.
curlyjax - Love reading that your dad is almost 90 and "doing great." It's a gift to age well. Kudos for that exercise.
tokidoki - Waving. Thanks for making me look it up: As Mark Twain once said If its your job to eat a frog, its best to do it first thing in the morning. And if its your job to eat two frogs, its best to eat the biggest one first.
Susan (serendipitous) - Neat that you can eat all your meals at work limited to what you bring. Alas, it's kitchens and pantries calling our names that are a problem.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 3Get Ready to Lose
Before you start, however, I would like you to do the following 10 essential tasks:
task 4 Get a Diet Buddy
At a minimum, use your Diet Buddy to help keep you accountable. If you wish, a Diet Buddy can help even more: If you give him/her a copy of this book to read, your buddy can increase your sense of hope and help you give yourself credit for every positive eating behavior you engage in.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 36.
We had a brief bad storm that fortunately didn't affect us, but the power went off in the middle of the night for a few hours. Fortunately I'm working from home this am as I just woke up I'm watching a webinar on covid scams which should be interesting.
Weight has gone down two pounds from last week today, although it seems to change a little depending where I put the scale.I'm still eating way too much cereal after dinner when i'm hungry, I would be better to get it out of the house but DS loves it. At least i'm eating it as a dessert instead of for breakfast.I end up eating less during the day but then hungrier at night. I'm finally doing better with dealing with hunger when i'm busy; the night time is another matter.
I feel undisciplined in many ways, but i'm so proud of myself for consistently doing my hip and back stretches, and incorporating weights in the last few months. I definitely have a nice bicep (if you ignore the bat wings!)
Okay, enough patting myself on the back. Onwards for the day. Bill- I hope I get to have and enjoy grandchildren, I love the secret bench, and the retelling of your daughter's adventures to her. Wonderful part of life. Karen- thanks for the Libby ap, I will look into that for sure. I have a friend with the same greyish blond blend and it looks great.
We didn't make it to the lab, yesterday. DH was unwilling, but I think he's committed for today. I'll also go shopping. So, a big day of outings for me!
Food and no drinks on plan yesterday. I've hiked and taken Otis for a walk this morning. I don't like the haircut I got yesterday. She took the bottom of the back up too short and even shaved my neck a little. I know it will grow, but I feel like I have a bowl cut. I think I will cancel my next appointment and go a bit longer so it will grow out and I will for sure tell her. I'm sure all of you women at least know the feeling of a haircut you weren't crazy about. Okay, well I changed my appt for 2 weeks later, at least by then the bottom will have grown out. I did eat the frog yesterday which was to bring the ladder in so I could do some woodwork washing and dusting that is too high up to get from the foot stool. The good news is the new ladder is very light. Who knew? Good thing I hadn't read that eating the frog meant doing it first thing in the morning. No big plans for today but I'm sure I'll do some housework. I have a plan to get out some things that I would like to get rid of but they are old family treasures that I want to be sure no one else wants. I think I'll bring them out on the kitchen island and take photos. They don't take up that much room, so I'm willing to hold them but I don't feel the need to keep them. I don't think I'll have a home where I display things like them again although I did when we lived in an older Tudor style home with beautiful built in cabinets in the dining room.
GardenerJoy I actually love days with several outings, especially now that it's cooler. Maryann I have the Daily Dozen on my phone, but in looking at it I don't think I come close most days. You're an inspiration. Curlyjax Yay for two pounds down and consistent exercise. My weight loss is very slow, but I'm taking credit for following thru with no drinks except on Friday and Saturday. Bill It's so wonderful that you are able to see dgd regularly again. I hope we can travel again before too long passes. At this point I'm just thankful I've gone to as many places as I have. Serendipitous Yes, it does sound easier to stay on plan when you are gone for a long day at work. I find if I'm busy and away from home it's very helpful.
Well, time to move on and get a few other computer things done before I start me real day.
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Walk, CREDIT moi, gathered three errands in one route. 1) Picked up Bob Woodward's Rage at the local branch of the library that I haven't visited in six months. The librarian was barricaded in the building sitting six feet behind a table that blocked the door. I dropped my card and stepped back. She returned with the book, dropped like it was nuclear, then jumped back immediately. My brain doesn't need more on that subject, but I'm addicted. Besides, I'm so old I was around when Woodward gained his fame reporting on Watergate. 2) Dropped off some mail for a family that had moved a mile away after living next door for years. Got to say hello to both adults and their three kids - all masked and at a distance. He's not convinced that his business will ever reopen in downtown Boston - all his employees are so happy and majorly productive working from home. He thinks that Boston business real estate will never recover. 3) Stopped for a haircut received while holding my mask over my face so that the strings weren't behind my ears. I refused to let her trim my beard because we'd have to expose to each other. Asked how business was doing; "It's about 55%, people are slowly coming back."
Learned a major point about my brain in Zoom class. The neurons from my brain reach only to the gap in the spinal column where they connect by synapses to the nerves (i.e. muscle neurons) headed off to the muscles. That explains what I'd learned years ago: the longest single cell in existence is the neuron from the brain of a giraffe to the base of its spine - not to the base of its foot. (This is true for all giraffes that are taller than Blue Whales are long, LOL.) That means that the gaps between each of the 33 vertebrae of the spinal column host a distribution system composed of a bundle of white matter and gray matter that looks a lot to me like a miniature extension of the brain. Accordingly, be tender with your spinal column; your nerves depend on that gap.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was a frozen concoction from Trader Joe's that DW "cooked" in five minutes. Easy peasy. And, was a modest number of calories.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - You always make me smile when you remind us that normal errands of the olden days are now the major activities these days.
maryann - Ouch for Internet eaten post. Yay for exercising.
Karen (karenrn) - LOL at "bowl cut" - we're so critical of our own looks. I hate trying to get rid of 'treasures.'
curlyjax - Yep, Kudos "for consistently doing my hip and back stretches" - your spinal column gaps thank you.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 3Get Ready to Lose
Before you start, however, I would like you to do the following 10 essential tasks:
task 4 Get a Diet Buddy
A buddy can reduce your shame, reminding you that it's not your fault you had difficulty losing weight or keeping it off in the past.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 36.
Today's challenge is helping a 72 year old client convince Social Security that they have the wrong birthdate- his is the 30th and they think its the 31rst, or vice versa. It hasn't been a problem until someone in a medical place caught it and now his docs aren't being reimbursed by insurance. These days its tough to get things like a birth certificate notarized, especially if you are a wheelchair user without a car, so he's probably going to send his original birth certificate and cross his fingers (his drivers license is expired and they need ID) it comes back, since the SS offices aren't open to the public. I cannot imagine how poorer folks are navigating situations like this, its so essential to have internet access or at least email these days, and some of my clients don't, or they don't want anything to do with computers (some elders). I'm learning a lot of stuff like this on my job which is great.
Tonight I'm finally going to see manfriend again for dinner, which means I won't get my weights done, so i'll try to push that to tomorrow. He's actually been tested for the virus recently and he's in my "circle" or pod or whatever that term is, so I feel comfortable going over there for dinner. Plus I need some hugs etc so i'll risk it Karen- I definitely know about getting a bad haircut! Sometimes mine nails it, and sometimes I remind myself of a chicken with hair piled on top Good for you for limiting the alcohol to the weekend, that's a good idea. Bill-Fascinating stuff you're reading. Yikes on Boston real estate; maybe they'll have to drop the prices and some startups/nonprofits will have a place to land? I think working from home some of the time is great, but a mix of getting out and seeing folks is even better.
Hope Penny and Onebyone are doing okay. Happy friday!
No students today. Professional meetings (meh!) and hopefully correcting midterm projects. I am pleased with how the reform timelines turned out nicely but the rubric definitely needs tweaking for next semester.
Karen: I only checked 11 boxes out of a possible 32 Tweeks on the Greger app. Still, it is a starting place. I want to track for a week and see how I do. curleyjax: I agree that getting out and seeing people is certainly better for my sanity. BBE: DH and I are thinking about a trip to touristy Apple Hill which allegedly has some UPICK farms. DH laughed at the idea of "organic" apples. He says that an apple that hasn't been sprayed with something is mythology. Pears, as well.
Weight is 4 pounds from ticker. Frustrated at the stall.
Wednesday - Marian Anderson 1st black singer hired by NY's Metropolitan Opera (1954)
I'm watching a webinar on covid scams which should be interesting. 