[Penny.]

Good morning!

Eating has been on plan and weight is down a little. Pain is much better and I'm getting by without the desperate feeling. So, yay for that! I'm still mostly laying down with periods of being up sprinkled in.

Two kids had worrisome symptoms at different occasions so the Covid tests have been getting used. So far, so good but that would be very bad, so I hope we can avoid that. My muscles will not support a cough yet. Yikes!

Have a great day everyone! Nice to see you Onebyone.

[nationalparker]

A hot day here - 87 - (stop laughing at me, Karen! ) ... I'm glad it wasn't this hot at 11 this morning when my friend and I met up to walk. Day 7, wrapping up my first week of my challenge/focus. I got on the scale today and was honestly disappointed because I have stayed on plan, have been more active, and the scale is barely down much at all. I don't have a particular "weigh in day" - I just want to see it trending down. But I was hoping for a bit more. This is where I have difficulty staying the course - if I feel I should be "rewarded" with something visible on the scale vs. better health. I need to be smart about it and not just fixate on that. But after a lifetime of doing so, it's hard.

I was planning to make tortilla soup for dinner a few nights here lately, but it keeps getting changed out in favor of something quicker, cooler, lighter, whatever. Tonight it's getting nixed for veggie fajitas instead. I have peppers that need to be used tout de suite. I found this recipe for zucchini & corn fritters that uses chickpea flour and just saw that at TJ Maxx last week on a clearance rack. I might aim to make these at some point. I don't care for zucchini - apparently I'm the only person this side of the Mississippi who doesn't. But, this might be the avenue where I don't notice it as much. (one that's not a baked good). I guess it's ok when in small pieces. Summers when I had a major abundance of fresh corn on the cob kernels, I'd make corn fritters as a treat - they had a great sweet heat (with cayenne in the recipe) - I will try to modify that recipe to be vegan and prep once a summer.

Penny - Keep taking care of you - i didn't even think of that pain of coughing. Yikes! Fingers crossed covid stays far from your home.
Joy - The smell of fresh baked bread is such a trigger for me, that I couldn't bake my own like you! I'd go through way too much.
Karen - That's a good way to think about it - even though DH will not be working, we will have our own things to do, while overlapping on others. I hope I'm concerned for nothing. Oh, I remember Harley. If people ever come back as animals too, I hope someone I love comes back as one of your dogs.
CurlyJax - Will you be hiking down into the canyon when you go to GCNP? On one of my trips there, we hiked a ways, but not to Phantom Ranch - nowhere near. But those donkeys who passed us by as we moved to the side got me so so nervous as their footing just didn't seem as sure as I'd want it to be if I were on one. The guide said they never lost a donkey yet. I took that to mean that they knew where it fell.
Bill - I love that you appreciate so much of DW's cooking. That is very kind and I'm sure is noticed. What a cool Zoom call/group. That must be one you really look forward to.
Maryann - Your classes must be the most like college classes those students get! I'm loving that boys are getting more of the norm of periods, too, to mention it and learn. (from that link: When physicist and astronaut Sally Ride headed into space for a seven-day mission, NASA’s male scientists asked her how many tampons they should pack for her: “Is 100 the right number?” A hundred tampons? For seven days? “That would not be the right number,” she told them. And these were scientists.) I had to Snopes check that!

[onebyone]

Hi Coaches

Scale number.dropped this morning. excellent
I was on plan all day. Even more excellent.
I didn't get my car unpacked from the weekend's printmaking workshop. My giant sheet of glass and all my tools and inks are still in these. I need to drop that at my storage locker. In the morning I have to pick up my ceramic.workshop stuff from the makerspace to go teach my seniors (55+ = senior!) class tomorrow afternoon. and before that I have to get to the potters'guild to meet a friend and to set up the Burr House for the jurying of our pots for the upcoming Spring Sale at the end of the month. Some of my pots came.out of the kiln today and I loathe all of them. I'm not happy with them and don't want to put them in the sale. Maybe I'll feel differently tomorrow.

Time for bed.
Going to bed feeling st peace with 2 onplan days behind me. Yay.

Goodnight Becksters.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was baked cod fish - baked because cod is too fragile to survive on the outside grill. Happened to be the same day that a newspaper article lamented that New England's abundant cod just aren't abundant anymore. Whole Foods had labeled these fillets "Sustainable" with a blue sticker. I suppose. Have to trust your fishmonger. Hard to imagine a world where we don't have fresh fish to eat.

Excitement was a trip to the supermarket. The tortilla strips that we buy were on sale, apparently because they changed the writing on the package. I studied it intensely; found no difference. I fully expected to see a weight reduction but the bag was still marked 8 ozs. The great failure was to come home without a spiral ham. We'd decided to host a spiral ham dinner with the kids; we all love it and the two guys absolutely love taking home huge portions the ham we don't eat and I love buying the biggest one that I can lift. Alas, the supermarket only had a few five-pound versions of boneless spiral hams. We like the bulk of the bone-in ham and then battle over which household gets the bone for soup or red beans. Need to get my awareness sharpened that ham is sold at Easter. I'm out of sync. However, the Red Bell Peppers were even bigger, redder, and firmer than before. Might be moving away from greenhouse grown.


onebyone - Yes, indeed, Kudos for "2 on plan days behind me." Sometimes I think that 55 is the new 75 because folks are ready to retire earlier, and sometimes I think that 75 is the new 55 because folks stay healthier as they grow older. Hope your 55+ group is alert and lively.

Joy (gardenerjoy) - Super Kudos for walking past the fresh smells from a bakery - that's a hard one for me.

nationalparker – Those zucchini & corn fritters look terrific. Count me as one who really likes zucchini - except at the peak of the season when everyone we know offers us a few overgrown specimen.

Karen (karenrn) - Neat that your old shoulder injury isn't a sticking problem. Thanks for the reminder that it's good for a couple to continue to have separate parts of their lives after both are retired.

curlyjax - LOL at "DS eats a lot" - Yep, I remember those days. I remember the absolute shock after my DS moved out when I discovered left over pizza still in the fridge the next morning. So great to have a goal to improve your endurance to do a Grand Canyon trip.

Penny. - So happy to hear you're getting a little relief from the pain. Hope COVID stays away from your household.

Readers -

Chapter 5 Stage 2 - The Think Thin Initial Eating Plan

Before You Move On

When you find yourself railing against the program, notice the thoughts that are running through your mind.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 126.

[curlyjax]

Excitement yesterday was an unplanned trip out to pick up a lot of DD’s stuff- 3 hours roundtrip. Apparently we are picking up the rest Saturday and it will be more than two carloads. As a planner, this off the cuff stuff makes me crazy and I was very crabby to come home at 11pm and then unload a car. This morning I continue to be crabby and sleep deprived, and I ate too much junk on the way home because I didn’t have time to get a decent dinner in. I can’t wait until June when she is moved in and everything is figured out!
Nationalparker-I’m not interested in hiking down into the canyon, just staring at a safe distance from the edge sounds good to me! Maybe the fall of 2023.
Gardenerjoy- happy birthday! That cake sounds hard to resist.
I’m running really late here, more tomorrow.

[gardenerjoy]

We're expecting a record high temperature today. The current record is 91 degrees and we may see 92. We walked in the morning, yesterday, to beat the heat. That won't happen today because DH is going in for his first haircut in more than two years. I think he's going to keep his pony tail but get the ends trimmed up and talk through styling options. I'll plan for indoor exercise.

Exercise +50, 515/1500 minutes for May

BillBlueEyes: We have a Honey-Baked store near us -- not that I've ever been since it arrived after DH developed his red meat allergy. Looking at that, I realized that they do mail-order hams: Honey Baked Ham® - Bone-In Half | Prepared Meals

[Penny.]

Good morning!

Staying on plan and weight has been coming down 2 pounds per day the last few days. I guess some inflammation is coming down but it's nice to be solidly in the next decade. That leaves just one more to my happy place.

Joy, happy birthday to you! Those are some hot temps.

Bill, good luck with your bone-in ham shopping. For a second I was wondering if Easter was still coming up.

Onbyone, congrats on the two days on plan. You're getting through the most dificult days.

Curly, I hope you get some better sleep tonight and all is right again.

Nationalparker, the tortilla soup sounds good. I hope you were able to make it and use up those bell peppers.

waving at Maryann and Karen. Have a good day, everyone.

[karenrn]

Good afternoon coaches,

Just a quick check in. Dh just left for the OR and I ran home to have some lunch and be here for 90 minutes or so before I head back. His hip revision surgery is scheduled for 3 hours. I'll feed Otis while I'm home even though it will be early. I figure that is better than really late. Luckily we only live about a mile from the hospital.

More tomorrow.

[nationalparker]

Hello, coaches! Whew, it's been a long time since it was 90 degrees and I'm melting. They said it's close to 50% humidity today and if I wasn't going out tonight, I'd throw the hose in the kiddie pool. That sounds like a plan for tomorrow afternoon - work on the flowerpots and then cool off. DH bought this kiddie pool a few years ago and it's too small, I complain. I want one that I can get into without bending my knees ... usually when we set it up for the grandkids, they run around with the hose and pool toys and squirt me and each other, and I'm the one in the pool If I don't get IN the pool, they ask the whole time, "Nana, you get IN???" DH remains a dry observer at all times while I'm the one banging on the sliding glass door and calling for another dry towel haha. It's wasteful to dump a too-small pool. I'm like we'll be a two-pool family house- when stored, this one can just sit in a new one. I'd better get started on my debate prep for this summer and see if I can win.

Dinner is at DH's oldest daughter's house, and we get to see the oldest DGS (4.5). I checked to see what I could bring and she said garlic bread, she's making spaghetti. I said I had plenty for a salad, could I bring that too, and she said sure, so I will eat my salad first.

Starting week #2 on my challenge as this is now Day 8 ... and this morning was a true challenge for me. I weighed and am down a WHOPPING POUND and a smidge. Now, this is when I typically declare, forget it. My weight always fluctuates a fair amount and while it could be due to Hashimoto's and water retention due to that (less than two weeks for that appt and hopeful more knowledge), or whatever reason, I did want a better ROI. But texts with my buddy confirmed that I'm doing for more than just weight - for health, strength, flexibility, etc. I got on the bike and went 45 minutes and also did a 30-min beginning yoga session, and have eaten very well today. SO ... the scale showed little reward but I actually feel pretty dang good for sticking with it.

Joy - Happy birthday - is it today? I only knew that it was this week from an earlier post.
Bill - Too funny, like Penny, I associate ham only with Easter from my childhood. Good luck in your search. You switched up Salmon Tuesday on us. I guess it's Things from the sea Tuesday.
Karen - Good luck to your DH on his surgery!! You are in a whirlwind of hospital activity. Good thing you are very familiar with how things roll!
CurlyJax - Someone not respecting my time is an absolute trigger for me, so I applaud you handling it better than I would on the multi-trip expectation.
OneByOne - Kudos for back-to-back days! It seems to be some days it's just getting through the next meal or activity. I hope you like your pottery more today. I imagine it's wonderful!
Maryann - Hope you have good evening time planned with DH and DS!

[maryann]

Good Afternoon, Coaches.

I am happy top finally be home. It has been a crazy few days. My neighbor teacher, a young gal with two kids) was put on leave of absences because there were accusations of being drunk at work.nThis is her second time. I know she has been trying to get sober because I met her in my meetings. So i went over to her house for the afternoon and evening to help with a plan to get sober. Quite involved and emotional. I talked to her family, called the union head, and got her hooked up with a gal who I knows does addiction counseling. I took her to the assessment this afternoon. Now I am out of the loop but it has been emotionally draining. I was questioned by my admin. I spoked to my sponsor and she agree I did not have to offer up info I know from outside of school. Enjoying my little office right now, post toe surgery. DS has taken over the main room with a friend. that is fine, just give me the office for a couple hours.

All that is left is to microwave burgers for the boys, soak my toe for `10 mins in epsom and hit the sack. Phew.

Wave to all.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Got a text photo from DW showing that the local supermarket was having a super sale on their top-shelf, bone-in, spiral hams for $0.69 per pound - reduced from $3.99 per pound. Whazza! Just what I was looking for and at a super price. Guessing it was so low because the "Sell By" date is only two weeks in the future. And because Easter is just so over now - hams join jelly beans in the discount bin to get ready for the next holiday. Good enough for us; we'll send the kids some choices of dates and have a family dinner real soon now. It came with an odd event: I took my one item, a 12-pound ham, through the self-checkout line. The scanning device reweighed the ham (?), then announced that it was normally $572.06, but on sale for $8.36. Huh? The final price was within fifteen cents of the price marked on the ham according to its net weight (without all the wrappings). So, good enough. The register locked my order and called for assistance. Apparently, I was to be investigated for attempting to get a 99% discount! The clerk rolled her young eyes, typed in her magic code, and I was off. She didn't think I looked like a ham thief, LOL. Shudder at the thought of typing this from jail for trying to buy a ham on sale.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was chill made with Impossible Burger - part of the ongoing quest to reduce red meat (due to its environment impact). Really good chili. DW claimed that it tasted much better than when she makes it with ground turkey. It tasted different than ground turkey - maybe about the same as when made with beef hamburger. But the overwhelming taste for me is just good chili; if you didn't ask me until after dinner what protein was in it, I'd just shrug. She made enough for two more meals. Drooling already.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - A haircut every two years certainly appeals to me. I'm jealous; I miss the day when my hair was long enough to gather into a ponytail. Thanks for the link to mail-order Honey-Baked hams. Their site does show attractive hams; I'll keep them in mind for a future date when I'm not struck by a super sale.

maryann - Your friend is lucky to be put on leave of absence instead of being fired - gives you some wiggle room to help her out and continue to work as a teacher. You're generous to immediately go to her side to help her find a path. Glad that you can find a small space to exist when two large young men are taking up most of the remainder.

nationalparker – Kudos indeed; you deserve to "feel pretty dang good for sticking with it." Love the story of playing with the grands and you're the one in the pool. Yes, Tuesday is "Something from the Whole Foods fishmonger" day. Occasionally, when on sale, it'll be scallops. And more rarely, when they (arbitrarily?) mark it "Sustainable", swordfish.

Karen (karenrn) - Wish your DH well with his surgery. Hope he can soon get up to golf and walk Otis.

curlyjax - Congrats for surviving a three-hour trip to fill your house with your DD's stuff. Being a little crabby seems earned.

Penny. - Neat that your inflammation is coming down and that your post doesn't mention nausea. May the healing continue.

Readers -

Chapter 5 Stage 2 - The Think Thin Initial Eating Plan

Before You Move On

If you have that voice that says, I don't care ... I'm going to eat it anyway, remind yourself that this streak of rebelliousness is probably what has hampered you every time in the past.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 126.

[karenrn]

Good morning coaches,

Food was on plan yesterday and I'm feeling great that dh's surgery is behind him. I went back to the hospital at 2:30 yesterday and our friend relieved the scrub person in dh's surgery so she was able to text me just after 4:30 to let me know they were starting to close the incision. It's good to know people in the right places. Apparently it wasn't easy getting the previous ball off his hip, but she says this doctor is very careful and good and takes his time. He is young and I have only heard glowing reports. She brought the stainless steel looking ball out to me when the case was over.

Later I got a call from the nurse in the recovery room who I knew from when I worked there. We had a nice phone visit and then I went up to Ron's room to wait for him at about 5:45. He was a tiny bit rummy but good. I ordered some dinner for him and only stayed half an hour or so. I've talked to him already this morning and he was up to the bathroom at 9 p.m. using the walker and is good this morning with no pain. They did put a local anesthetic into the hip. Anyway, what a blessing.

I'm going to hold off hiking today because Otis has his nose out of joint a bit and also I have this crazy fear of hurting myself at a most inopportune time and it being a problem.

Bill Funny story about the ham. That is one meat that does sound good and maybe it always will. I think dh can putt soon but no real golfing for 3 months. We'll see how long it is until he is walking Otis again.

Maryann Bless your heart for helping the young teacher. I hope she is able to follow the plan and get sober. Emotional things like that are so exhausting.

Nationalparker Heat and humidity together are hard to tolerate. I get prickly heat when it's humid, so I'm lucky we have mostly dry heat here. You know my weight loss has been slow and lots of times I'm just maintaining, but I am down getting close to twenty pounds since September. A pound and a smidge a week really adds up. Stay the course!

Penny So is your pain reduced a lot by now? I hope so. Are you able to be up and around? How long will you be off work? I hope long enough to enjoy some of the time.

GardenerJoy I think you had higher temps than we did yesterday. I couldn't believe how cool it was here; under 90. How did dh's haircut turn out?

Curlyjax I sure don't blame you for being crabby at an unexpected 3 hour trip and very little sleep. That would be a long trip even without having to get up and go to work the next day. I'm sure you will be relieved when she is moved in to her new place. Hopefully she'll take most of her things.

Waving to Onebyone and hoping your plan is going well.

[onebyone]

If you have that voice that says, I don't care ... I'm going to eat it anyway, remind yourself that this streak of rebelliousness is probably what has hampered you every time in the past.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D

Yes, Dr. Beck and Coaches, I do have that voice and yes, it has derailed me in the past inclusing the last time I went AWOL on plan. In the coming days she will offer up a solution to try. I will remain on plan and keep visiting here to get the full scoop.

Meanwhile I am on plan and happy to be visiting here to let you know this. Yesterday was full of potters guild business and today will.be half full.with a seniors pottery class at.the local library. We are.making bowls for our pets. Sometimes this.morphs into.Bowls for Me but that's ok. I am only there to facilitate their creativity and proper clay construction.

This afternoon it's "gather up to 40 pots and inventory them.and give.them a.price sticker with your guild code" day. Pots in, when we submit work for.our Juror ( a jury of one!) to look at and officially accept into the sale, starts.tomorrow through Sunday for a couple of hours each day. I want my work in tomorrow. Lots of fiddly things to do then today. I may work outside. the weather.is fantastic if super hot superfast.

Getting late. Must go. Bye!
FYI Guild early bird sale if you want to see what we.make...

[gardenerjoy]

I'm 60! I woke up feeling wiser and wilier.

We have a new takeout place that we're using on Thursdays due to the family Zoom call on those evenings. They have desserts and I was going to try one for my birthday. But I've decided not to. Too much risk that I'll like it and then have to resist the temptation every darn time!

I have a truly unique treat coming in the mail. I hope to get it today. That's good enough for a celebration and it won't open up any dangerous precedents for my future.

Exercise +30, 545/1500 minutes for May

[Penny.]

Good morning!

Yesterday was on plan and weight is holding.

My husband has been doing all the cooking and since we started alternating weeks on cooking duty, he is no longer asking me how to do stuff or what recipe I use, and is now coming up with stuff on his own. He's loving the crock pot right now, and made an amazing vegetarian layered enchilada. It turned out so good!

I'm so glad the kids are seeing the cooking is not "a woman's job" before it's too late. My parents example had me living that same narrative until only this last year.

Post-op recovery continues. I'm trying to be up more and find that more than an hour and my pelvic floor feels weak and sore, and I need to lay down. I only have 5 more weeks off, so I hope it improves quickly.

Joy, happy 60th! I love that you have a weekly family Zoom meeting.

Bill, that is an amazing deal on ham! I just learned on Instagram that Thursdays in Sweden are for pea soup and pancakes. My son turns 21 next Thursday and will not pick out a birthday meal- I told him pea soup and crepes? Pea soup always makes me think of ham. Mmm. Not sure why I shared all of that but there ya go. Lol

Karen, good idea to not tempt fate with a hike on your husband's surgery day. I'm glad it went well. I'm hoping I can be up more and enjoy some of my time off. Pain is much better but still hits me. I ordered a seatbelt cusion with an ice pack pocket and some hysterectomy friendly underwear (granny panties lol), preparing to eventually leave the house. Right now the thought of the seatbelt hitting my incision sounds bad. Good luck with DH's transition home.

Maryann, wonderful that you helped out your neighbor like that. What a different world we would live in if the response is to help instead of just blame/accuse/punish.

Nationalparker, love the image of grandma in the kiddie pool! Grandma goals, for sure.

Onebyone, such great pieces! Of course I was drawn to the little wall decor, was it an owl and cat? So cute.