[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Visit with the DS, DIL, and (2.5 yo) DFGD was chaos as usual. I got manipulated into giving the DFGD a grape without recognizing that grapes were being held back as a reward for going to potty. I forget that "potty trained" doesn't always mean going without prodding. Good to be reminded that a tiny kid can be a genius at manipulating an adult.

Told my DS that the Internet advertisement placing algorithm had decided that I'm in the market for buying gold. I'm seeing ads for Krugerrands, Canadian Maple Leafs, and other gold coins. Even as small as a single gram bar of gold. Asked his advice where to buy. Turns out that he owns a 1/3 gram bar of gold, "Just bought it on Amazon years ago for something like $20." He's ahead of me; stocking gold for the future. Got reminded that gold is measured in Troy ounces (31.1 grams/oz instead of 28.35, or roughly 10% higher). Troy ounces are also used to weigh precious gems. (Thank you to the 16th century French town of Troyes for establishing the Troy ounce as 480 grains of barley.) Good reminder to buy your gold (and gems) from a reputable dealer. Now I have to work up the patience to count out 480 grains of barley to see if our barley from the bin at Whole Foods is bigger or smaller than 16th century Troyes, France. Also got reminded by DS that opals need to be protected since they're made up of a solution of silicon dioxide and water and are thus subject to drying out and cracking. I'm wandering out of my field here.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Congrats, as always, for your November words written. Such an interesting mystery why your dad had memorized "Remember, remember ...".

maryann - Super Kudos for mending fences with your long-time friend. Love being reminded that a hostess will gladly serve a banana and peanut butter if asked.

Karen (karenrn) - Am so impressed how well you use travel time and hiking time to plow through book after book.

curlyjax - So good to have your brother's support as you deal with your dad having and not-having confusion. Glad that your DD has a calm place for the weekend.

Readers -

Chapter 6 Stage 3 - The Challenging Situations Plan

Special Advice for Buffet Restaurants

When you practice the art of buffet eating, do the following: . . .

• Stick to your usual plan (as you would for any restaurant).

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 149.

[curlyjax]

Very productive day yesterday. Exercise was raking leaves and moving them to the backyard for about an hour. It was quite warm and windy, and I was feeling exhausted and teary by the time I declared myself done. I cleared off the sofa and that portion of the living room, found and returned 17 books to the library, got DD’s laundry done, cooked some salmon for my lunches, filled the tires of one car and drove it around as it hadn’t been driven for awhile, checked in with my dad, brought a friend over to the mechanic to pick up her car (and vented to her which was nice). My widow friend came over for a healthy turkey- salad-pita bread dinner (she doesn’t like salmon) and we munched on grapes instead of dessert. I helped her start make a plan for clearing out her basement; next time she will help me with something.
I did not make a plan for the week yet. Today after work I need to drive DD back to Boston so we’ll see what gets done after that.
Maryann- those mysteries sound good. I’m catching up on Magpie Murder. If you haven’t seen Rosemary and Thyme, I highly recommend, you can get from the library, but you need to start on the first one. And Lewis, who was Morse's sidekick, and then got his own show I love Midsomer murders too.
Gardenerjoy- I still tend to snack when I’m watching tv so I need to work on disassociating the two.
Karen-You do seem to have a very healthy plan, but I can see how snacking can always be worked on. I need reminders about the water too.
Bill-too funny about gold and barley!

[gardenerjoy]

This morning's wordcount went the fastest yet, so I'm pleased with that to start a new week. I stopped mid-sentence which is usually a good way to get going on the next day.

I had a snack that was too much yesterday. I figured out, after, what would have been better -- an apple and a cup of chamomile tea. CREDIT for planting that firmly in mind. That plan should be good for a couple of months any time that I think that I just need one more thing to make my eating day complete.

Exercise +55, 300/1700 minutes for November
Wordcount +1817, 12199/50,000 words for November

[Penny.]

Good afternoon!

I'm home sick from work with a sore throat and lost my voice. Eating has been too much and I'm hoping today is one good day. I'll check in again later to report in.

[karenrn]

Good afternoon coaches,

Food was on plan and I weighed in at 135 this morning. I'll take it and go from there. I think I'll call that the top of my range. I had some jeans on Saturday that I thought would be looser and was worried I had really jumped up in weight. When I hung the jeans back up yesterday I realized they are some really old size 6 Ralph Lauren jeans with no give. Amazing how much better I felt knowing that.

I got out for a 4 mile hike this morning and then walked Otis. I don't know where the day went, but it wasn't the most productive day I've ever had. Good thing there wasn't really anything that needed to be done. Tomorrow I'll go to a class at the gym, take a spit bath there and then meet dh at the doctor to see what might be next to diagnose what is going on with his back. Dh does have the name of a spine surgeon and that might be next. We'll see.

Penny I was just reading today that pharyngitis is one of the main symptoms on the most recent Covid. I hope you don't have it.

GardenerJoy An apple sounds like a great snack. I was so frustrated by something this afternoon I was thinking food might fix it. I had a banana and felt like that was pretty good too. Glad you had an easy day of writing.

Curlyjax You did have a productive day! The yard work alone sounds like a lot of work and a good workout too. I hope the drive with dd is going or went okay.

Bill I bet that little spitfire is a lot of fun to have around. How is she doing with potty training?

Maryann Yes the habits chapters were the best. I do keep my vitamins near my toothbrush and remember them most evenings, so I know those things work.

Well I better get outside and watch Otis retrieve his rubber duck.

[maryann]

Good Evening, Coaches.

Spent a LOT of time working on environment for Target 1 and Target 3 in the Target 100 book. It suggests doing just one but I totally feel ready to plunge in:
Target 1: Breakfast. I have put together a lists of 5 breakfast that work. I have bought the makings. In fact Grocery outlet had a terrific sale on some of the expensive low carb buys that i like.. I am tracking only my breakfast everyday for a week.
Target 3: 100 ounces of water. I bought multiple refillable waters to find what works best. I bought two 1 gallons and 4 50 ounces. My tea I make every morning is already 32 ounces. Everything is filled and I used my wagon to put it all in my classroom this morning. I had met my water requirements by 2:00 pm. I did have to get security to give me a couple of extra bathroom breaks but so what. I don't have to worry about having enough water all week.
I am forestalling mysteries before motion.
I weighed in today and have already dropped to 176. That is amazing considering I didn't monitor calories this week. My body probably really needed hydration to flush some things.

Karen: Wow, a size six is impressive - tight or not.
Joy: There is always a learning curve. Credit for the discipline of writing.
DH: DH showed up with a bar of silver. His dream is to have a full bar of gold and use it as a door stop because no one would ever dream it is real.
Penny: Credit for checking in.

[Penny.]

Second check in to report I have stayed on plan.

Maryann, I grabbed up the book from the digital library. Thanks for the rec.

Karen, I sure hope my covid booster is working hard. Negative so far, but I'll test again tomorrow.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Continue to live in a body that does not accept this Daylight Saving Time shift to Standard Time thing. When my brain says "Ready for bed," it's still on Daylight Saving Time. My "gained hour" by "Falling back" could be spent in my recliner holding a book as if reading. I suppose I'll adjust since the rest of my life is firmly attached to the clocks that now run on Standard Time. I also suppose that I go through this every year; grouse about it; and slowly adjust without noticing. Perhaps I'll move to Arizona where they stopped this silliness long ago.

Eating was on plan for meals, CREDIT moi, but continued to suffer from daytime snacks. My brilliant, spectacular, grand-nerd achievement was to fire up our PBS Passport account. We've donated enough to be Passport members for years and years but never even thought of needing it. I now needed it for a class to watch Toni Morrison's The Pieces I am (PBS Trailer). The confusion is that I have a PBS account with our local station but DW's name and email is recorded as the source of our donations. The grand, low-tech solution is that I log in using her email address. Was surprised that I was mesmerized for two solid hours; Toni Morrison was quite a force. Now I've added all of her novels on my to-be-read list.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - LOL at stopping mid-sentence. I wouldn't be able to sleep wondering how the sentence ended. Has your reading group done any Toni Morrison?

maryann - Love your DH's plan to use a real bar of gold as a doorstop. I'm surprised at the variety of fake gold that's easily purchased on line. Yay for a terrific sale at the Grocery outlet.

Karen (karenrn) - Good luck at your DH's doctor's visit. Yep, the DFGD is potty trained, but needs to be reminded/prodded so that emergencies that require IMMEDIATE access to a bathroom don't happen.

curlyjax - Congrats for 17 books back to the library. Got your resistance exercise in for the day just carrying them. It was a lovely day to drive to Boston.

Penny. - Do hope those symptoms are just passing. Love the thought that your COVID Booster is working hard.

Readers -

Chapter 6 Stage 3 - The Challenging Situations Plan

Special Advice for Buffet Restaurants

When you practice the art of buffet eating, do the following: . . .

• Decide whether you will use Bonus Calories for this meal.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 149.

[curlyjax]

I ended up driving DD back to Boston at 6:00 and the traffic wasn't too bad. She is suffering from the condition where a nursing student starts thinking they have or will get every disease/condition they read about I hope she got some sleep; there was a rat in her bedroom last week (!) and the landlord has been notified. Ugh, city living. While I was sitting in the car waiting for her to haul stuff back to her apt, my dad called stating he was confused, and worried about managing the next day. Hopefully I talked him into feeling better. It is VERY hard to find help these days and the agency is still looking.
Running late, personals tomorrow.

[Penny.]

Good morning,

One day on plan completed and now need to work on a second. Food is planned.

Curly, I hope your dad gets a caregiver quickly.

[gardenerjoy]

I'm feeling a bit drained from the intensity of writing all morning. Voting will be a nice break. So will exercise and preparing for a grocery run tomorrow.

Exercise +60, 360/1700 minutes for November
Wordcount +1999, 16015/50,000 words for November

BillBlueEyes: We have our first Toni Morrison selected for Women's History Month in March. We chose The Bluest Eye because it's been banned in a couple of school districts around here. I've read a couple in the past, but not that one.

Penny: Congrats on your first day! Wishing many more on plan days to come.

curlyjax: Thinking of you and your dad.

maryann: That's inspiring to see a result from hydration.

[karenrn]

Good afternoon coaches,

Food was on plan and weigh stable. I'm working on drinking more water and doing well with that. I took the day off from hiking today and did the class at the gym. I really enjoyed that again and then did a spit bath at the gym and changed clothes and met my dh at the doc. I know the doc cause he was one of the Palliative Care directors at the hospital where I was the Palliative Care nurse. We let him know the steroid injection didn't work and he gave dh a referral to a spine surgeon with Barrow's Neurological Institute which has a really good reputation. I don't know if he'll need surgery but at least we'll learn more and find out. He is simply too young and fit to be debilitated by the back pain.

GardenerJoy I'd be exhausted if I had to write all morning. I'm glad you have the afternoon off with other things to do.

Penny Good for you for getting started. I hope you get a nice roll going like you have in the past.

Curlyjax Glad the drive in to Boston wasn't too bad. What a worry to have your Dad so far away. I'm sure it is difficult to find caregivers.

Bill I'm glad Arizona has the benefit of no daylight savings time and beautiful weather much of the year. But we do have some of the craziest people involved in politics. I've got nothing against being conservative, but I draw the line at election deniers and we've got four running for high offices in our state. I'm not sure you could go for that.

Maryann Good for you on a quick drop in weight. I'm finding drinking the water keeps me busy so I don't think about snacks so much. Yes the size 6 pants were a nice surprise. Really they weren't even tight, just not as loose as the ones I thought I was pulling on.

A friend called and I was on the phone and now dh is home and friends are coming over soon. Better get moving.

[maryann]

Good Evening, Coaches.

Many "Hurray!"s today:

* My followup with the Gyn over the bleeding began with the doc saying we have done due diligence and the nasty is ruled out. Now I have a couple of options based on convenience. I will take the cut in estrogen first to see if that works without throwing me into mood swings again.
* I met my water and breakfast target.
* I did a little prep work on the motion target in three weeks by ordering a pedometer.
* I continue to find ways where Greger and Target 100 fit together. For example I found a recipe with riced cauliflower in a smoothie to add creaminess without carbs. That checks a Greger box as well for cruciferous veggies..
* I parked far away on two errands, forgot something in the car, went back and still didn't drive closer.
* Since I had a long drive I listened to a habit book from Libby by Wendy Wood. It is interesting but not life inspiring. Still it made me remember the things I learn in Ch. 3 Target 100.

I have to spend a little time thinking over the next two days foods. I have a colonoscopy on Friday. Cutting nuts, seeds and fiber is super rough. The last day is a virtual fast. Hmmmmm. For tomorrow I have cheese sticks and yoghurt, chicken apple sausages and avocado dip. I'll do a little research.

Wave to all.

[Penny.]

Second check-in: day two is a success. The carb withdrawal is no joke, and is getting tacked onto an illness but I figure I might as well feel sick when I'm already sick.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Up early to learn the election results only to discover that it may be days - even weeks - before the dust settles. In the olden days, I'd stay up late watching the TV predictions moving forward centimeter by centimeter. Last night I just went to bed thinking that a good night's sleep would help me. Since election results are mixed, I always find something to mourn and to wallow about in before I see the things to celebrate. I wish you all well coming to accept or celebrate the results.

Eating was on plan at meals, CREDIT moi, with less snacking than before. What's left in the house for snacks is healthy although it's all in the trail-mix calorie range. I was able to get dried figs again at the supermarket when I thought that I'd missed out on the season. Still can't figure out why dried figs have a season and raisins appear year-round at the same price when, I suspect, grapes have a season. Without a good reason, I've become focused on the price of fresh turkeys this Thanksgiving even though we're eating with me DD and they're providing the turkey. Fresh turkeys aren't on display yet; guess it makes sense that they don't go out until closer to the day they'll be cooked.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - What's great about voting is that you don't have to invent what anyone is thinking - just make an X without going outside the box. The Bluest Eye is on my list since it's recommended as a "easy" to read Toni Morrison. Beloved is said to be difficult.

maryann - Great news that "the nasty is ruled out." My condolences that the prep for a colonoscopy requires abstaining from all healthy foods.

Karen (karenrn) - Good news that you're getting a stellar referral for your DH's back. Continue to hope it's an easily curable condition. I dread reading this morning's news about elections in Arizona.

curlyjax - Didn't know about the nursing-school dilemma of seeing oneself with each new disease studied. Hope your DD is otherwise thriving in that intense environment.

Penny. - Every day on plan is Kudos worthy. And Kudos for Day 2 also. Is your DS's car still running OK?

Readers -

Chapter 6 Stage 3 - The Challenging Situations Plan

Special Advice for Buffet Restaurants

When you practice the art of buffet eating, do the following: . . .

• Remind yourself that trying to "get your money's worth" will cost you a lot in terms of gaining weight and strengthening your giving-in muscle. Isn't the goal of getting thinner, and all its accompanying advantages, much more important?

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 149.