[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Eating was a bit heavy since we went out to dinner. This seems to be becoming a habit. We go out to eat when DW declares, "The kitchen is closed." So off we went to a place that's been on our to-go-list for several years now. A pleasant walk in the chilly air - all the warm air pushed up from Florida by Tropical Storm Nicole has moved along leaving us with season appropriate temperatures. I had a Cuban panini thinking that a sandwich would be modest in size. Wrong. It was generous and the French fries were a large serving. Did get half the panini into a take-home bag. DW's eggplant lasagna that was also yummy. We left with half of hers' also. Walking home after dark is so much fun I don't know why we don't just go out every now and then for an after-dark stroll. One leftover Halloween display has a 15' paper-mache ant in the front yard. Quite realistic with professional level lighting to make it scary. My first time this year to wear my winter jacket.

We had to come home to have the conversation planned for dinner - the restaurant was too noisy for us. DW has gotten to an interesting chapter in Jim Holt's book Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story. A serious discussion about consciousness. The book quotes a zillion sources leaning toward those who believe that all animals are conscious. All plants are conscious. And all matter is conscious. It's a serious point of view but one that requires an adjustment of one's intuitive use of the word "conscious." I've long ago accepted that trees "communicate" since an ailing tree signals other trees that it need nutrients sent over their joined Microrizal. This book also pushes the notion that plants can "hear" - a notion that I avoid because of the image of folks talking to their plants. DW suggests that studies have shown that folks who talk to their plants have healthier plants, although she thinks it's because they get close enough to notice when they need watering. Some confusion between physics and meta-physics; need to go back to something simple like statistics.


maryann - Congrats for taking the time to enjoy what you have - what would be easy to take for granted. I've never seen a "lone pelican" - it's either none or a zillion.

Karen (karenrn) - Well, that salad sounds like a bust. Kudos for recognizing that you wanted a comfortable conversation more than you wanted your salad's promised ingredients.

curlyjax - That bean and barley soup in the crockpot sounds good to me. Kinda hard to plan Thanksgiving when the kids don't announce their plans.

Penny. - So neat that your 11-year-old wants to go on the wetland trails with you.

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: . . .

• Don't go back for seconds. If you feel tempted, read your Response Cards and use Resistance Techniques.

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

[gardenerjoy]

I wrote all day yesterday to pass the half-way point and to get back on a 2000-word-per-day average -- that helps me stay ahead in order to produce less anxiety. Less anxiety = less desire to fix anxiety with food.

Exercise +60, 685/1700 minutes for November
Wordcount +1943, 28,011/50,000 words for November

[karenrn]

Good morning coaches,
Food was on plan yesterday and I have a plan for today. It was 44 degrees here this morning so I walked Otis first and then went for a hike. It was still 44 but felt fine with more clothes than I usually wear. Hopefully by this evening our election results will be pretty much resolved.

GardenerJoy I'm sure it feels good to be back on track with your writing.

Bill Sounds like it worked out well for the cook. One meal out and another from the take out to have at home.

Penny Unless I had a heavier lunch I can't imagine going without dinner.

Maryann Sounds like you had a really nice weekend. Boy if only sleep were not an issue for me. I woke up at 1:30 and thought it said 3:30 and thought "Oh boy I slept well". Then I lay awake for 2 hours and finally got another 20 minutes or so. I'll admit I haven't worked on it as well as I should YET.

I hope you all have a great start to the week. Drink your water.

[maryann]

Good Evening, Coaches.

Continued my research into habits. Sporadic rewards can almost be as effective as consistent rewards. And "almost "wins are addicting. That is why slot machine's have so many near misses. A rat that is sporadically rewarded however inexpertly will stop pulling the level to get the treat. I think of all of us (Penny recently) who do the "healthy habit" and don't get rewarded by the scale. Karen has also mentioned exercise making her gain weight. These are habit killers. I reinforce my new commitment to NSVs. The pedometer is helping tremendously. I had to wait 45 mins in the Dr. office for my skin check. I marched in place the whole time to up my step number (Target #4) I also did strength exercises on the chair, wall pushups and leg lifts. The reward was a smug feeling of being the only one in the waiting room not collapsed on a chair looking at the phone. One of Dave Ramsey's financial advice is to be a "weirdo" with frugality. I am getting rewarded by being a weirdo with health.

I was thinking how nice a three day weekend was and thought about retiring. Then I heard the statistic about increasing longevity for teachers by postponing retirement so I look at working today as a health habit.

I was going to attack 100 carbs a day the same week as 100 mins of exercise. I realized it was too much and the overload would make me throw in the towel. So I will put that to later. I am more carb conscious, just not restricting.

I have been a little nervous about cooking turkey. There will be four of us. I have never cooked before. I ordered an organic breast pre-seasoned in a bag that apparently I have to just throw in the oven. It comes with sausage and cranberry stuffing. Mom will do potatoes and green beans. I'll order pies. Done.

BBE: So neat to have a long term marriage "schedule" the next interesting conversation. I use to think monogamy meant running out of things to say.
Penny: Credit for a second check in.
Joy: congrats on stretching the writing muscles.
Karen: I love hiking in fall weather.

Wave to all

[Penny.]

Good evening!

I was down most of the day with a headache, then ate a carb heavy dinner.

Good to read all of your positive gains, Maryann. I do need some positive rewards to carry on with my healthy habits. I'll have to think about that some more.

Non-food positives are my guitar practice has picked up and I have taught myself how to read music for the first two strings. I can play Ode To Joy with the music instead of tabs now. So much easier, I think. Four strings to go.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi. Small snacking during the day on almonds. I'm stuck with the notion that nuts are so good for me that snacking on them in OK. Unfortunately, that same argument goes for dark chocolate, LOL. Lunch was the leftover Cuban panini from the previous night's restaurant dinner. It was surprisingly good. Microwaving a leftover sandwich isn't prone to success, but this worked. Having a hot dill pickle was a change, LOL.

Excitement was reading this morning's news that the Associated Press announced that the Arizona race for governor has been decided. That interferes with my decision that I'd use the months of the long count to learn to spell "Maricopa County." Even practice typing it: I Maricopa, you Maricopa, he Maricopa. Now, instead, since I don't get my news from TV, I'll research how to pronounce it. I can already pronounce Yoknapatawpha County of Faulkner's novels. Will just keep expanding my mind.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Congrats for making your HemiNaNoWriMo point a day early. And Kudos for the very Beck notion of reducing anxiety to reduce its call to eat.

maryann - Absolutely love the notion of marching about getting exercise in your doctor's waiting room. My last sit in a doctor's waiting room felt like sharing space with zombies. Lifeless zombies. Congrats for taking on a whole Thanksgiving menu for the first time. And thanks for the reinforcement that monogamy doesn't have to be boring.

Karen (karenrn) - Thank you for resolving your election, at least to the satisfaction of one news service. I presume that the recounts will begin shortly. Neat to switch the order and take Otis out for his walk before your hike. Thank goodness he's such a flexible dog.

Penny. - Pretty exciting that you chose Ode to Joy for a learning piece on your guitar. FWIW, I saw a YouTube video of a guy playing an 18 string guitar. Yes, 18! Seemed over the top. He really played the bottom six strings and just strummed the upper dozen strings as their single notes on occasion. Like the three drone tubes of a bagpipe, I suppose.

Readers -

Chapter 6 Stage 3 - The Challenging Situations Plan

Special Advice for Ordering In

Follow the same guidelines for take-out foods as you would for eating out. Don't be afraid to speak up if your entire family or the friends you have over want to order food that doesn't correspond to your plan. Feel entitled to order what is on you plan.

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

[curlyjax]

Quick wave. Now my dad is in the hospital for fluid retention but doing okay. His pcp's office won't speak to us because they don't have a health care proxy on file, but the hospital is fine with just being told that we are, which is kind of funny but there you have it! So i'm going to fax my copy today. I'm still feeling a little woozy but back at work and happy to be there. Its a fun week as we're holding a holiday fair on friday and everyone is buzzing around getting ready for that. I ate chocolate again yesterday but also did my healthy soup and salad which I will continue today.
I bought a new chromebook since my old one is very slow and no longer updating itself. The new one is great but the font is tiny and i haven't figured out how to permanently change it.
Karen- that salad sounds disappointing indeed. Around here the main course salads are priced the same as entrees, like 15, but you get a lot in there. My 70 year old neighbors swear by CBD gummies to help them sleep.I actually tried one yesterday (not theirs) and it didn't do much, but i'm sure each brand is different. Not sure if its legal where you are.
Penny- I love Ode to Joy, and hearing it sung by a big choir is the best.
Maryann- a turkey is just like a really big chicken, just takes awhile. If you have a thermometer you will do fine. The pop up things aren't always accurate but they are a good guide too.
Bill-never had a warmed up pickle, that does not sound good, but the sandwich does.
Gardenerjoy- yay for getting writing done. My son is majoring in creative writing and pushes himself to do some of his own as well as classes, i think.

[gardenerjoy]

Yesterday's eating was much improved. As maryann noted, that doesn't always lead to a better scale reading. It didn't, for me, today. But, I'm more focused on my wordcount this month, anyway, and I have more control of getting the number that I want. The number I wanted today was 30,000 and here we are.

My exercise number is another that I have reasonable control over. I see that I'm a little behind, so I'll work on stepping that up in the next few days to see if can get back on track.

Exercise +35, 720/1700 minutes for November
Wordcount +2014, 30,025/50,000 words for November

[karenrn]

Good afternoon coaches,

I did have one unplanned snack yesterday. When I learned Kari Lake lost the race to become governor I celebrated by having a bowl of berries with soy milk. It was delicious and nutritious. Weight was up a bit this morning. Today I did some housework and then went to the gym for the class that I'm really liking. Dh is home for lunch, will get to personals tomorrow.

Karen

[maryann]

Good Afternoon, Coaches.


Today I subbed for my next door neighbor. Bleh! But The admin was in a bind and I feel bad for kids who hate the chaos of the sub. I will not make it a habit, however ( even though I have subbed one day every week for the last three weeks). Somehow my new pedometer reset itself in the middle of the day. Boo. I will just guestimate. All my other targets are on track. Credit for learning something new today. I tied a scarf in a new way using a youtube. It stayed put and looked great.

Penny: I play the guitar but just chords. I never learned the strings.
KarenRn: Congrats on your victory.

Meeting tonite so I'll cut it short.

Wave to all.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. It's been a while since I wrote that. Avoiding snacks was helped because the stuff that I consider "bad" is all gone. It's easier to avoid real food that's in the house for some purpose. Dinner was grilled salmon with Bok Choy and, because DW insists that every meal have a starch, the eggplant lasagna leftover from her lunch a few days ago - declared to be a "starch." Thank you salmon for always being there. Dinner conversation was a debate whether it can be called "lasagna" when there are no flat noodles - the eggplant plays that role. Perhaps should be called eggplant parmigiana. There was no debate that many calories were included in a small serving.

Excitement was discussing the writings of Angela Davis in my class on Black Words. Every member of the class had had a negative image of Angela Davis when they were in college absorbed from J. Edgar Hoover's FBI poster and information. (After being held a year in prison, she was acquitted of all charges.) Hard to get one's mind to focus on the issues of her ten books: class, race, gender, and prison system when they come with hot button labels such as Marxist, Communist, and Abolish. Useful to me to get reminded that I live in a bubble where information, including criticism, is usually sugar-coated. Definitely not her style. The current national debate includes folks who want to abolish the IRS, or abolish the FBI, or abolish the SEC. But none draw the passion like the young lady with the giant head of hair did in the late 1960's.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Congrats for continuing to meet your word count goals.

maryann - You're a true supporter of those kids by subbing so they don't have to face a cold outsider. I have a friend who teaches in a small private school and he does the same because all the kids already know him. Says that it's a PITA for him but the kids get an orderly class and, sometimes, even learn something.

Karen (karenrn) - Thank you, again, for settling your governor's race - certainly worthy of bowl of berries with soy milk. Now holding my breath waiting for the gracious concession speech.

curlyjax - Thanks for the reminder to get health care proxies on file early. We've executed ours, but they sit, smugly, in our Estate Binder. You remind me that I have to get them into my PCP's file or my medical system's file for the kids to be able to get medical information in case we both are injured simultaneously. I believe it to be the case that a spouse doesn't need an active Proxy - better check that.

Readers -

Chapter 6 Stage 3 - The Challenging Situations Plan

Special Advice for Ordering In

If the leftovers are tempting, put them inside a brown paper bag, staple the bag, and store it in the back of the refrigerator. If they are still too tempting, even with the extra packaging, throw them out.

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

[curlyjax]

Felt nauseous at one point at work and decided it was partly because I hadn't eaten much beyond a banana in the morning. Its not the time to be pushing my hunger clearly. My dad is doing better physically but its hard to plan for when he'll be home, which is frustrating. I've been worrying about getting more care in and the cost, but some of that is down the road. We have some good friends there who are helping us think this through which is great. There is a storm coming up there plus the upcoming holiday which may throw things out of kilter too. I did not sleep well and i'm making myself a healthy bowl of oatmeal with blueberries right now. I am coming home early for an exterminator to deal with the fall mouse problem which will ease my mind. wave to all

[gardenerjoy]

I'm gearing up for an event on Saturday that I thought I delegated to other people. They did do some of the early planning work, but have been less interested in finalizing the details. Then, one of them got COVID. My worst flaw as a leader is a tendency to do everything myself. One of the reasons is that even when I try to let up people step up, they don't.

I've been thinking about doing some more work with an organization that we collaborate with. They're a real non-profit with paid employees. I think I might enjoy doing some work with people who are paid to do it and, thus, more likely to follow through.

I'm thoroughly distracted from my writing, but I got my words done early today, so that's fine.

Exercise will be indoors for the second day in a row. We're committed to walking more this winter, but apparently the temperature needs to be over 35 (today's high is 34) and we're not going to navigate snowy conditions (yesterday we got less than an inch of sloppy wet stuff).

Exercise +60, 780/1700 minutes for November
Wordcount +1989, 32,014/50,000 words for November

[maryann]

Joy: The problem I find working with people ( who are paid) is the incredible amount of inconsistencies that come out of their mouths. "We need to do this." I have no motivation to do this." "We all agreed." "It really doesn't matter to me because it might be too much work." GRRRRR. For the most part I have been master of my fate within the classroom. I don't have to rely on anybody except for the crucial, occasional administration intervention with an outlier child. For a while I was in a leadership position and I used my sheer will and outgoing personality to steer the ship and make real gains. But unless those gains are institutionalized they leave with the leader. Frustrating.
BBE: We'll be coming into the Red Threat next week. I get to show my favorite Twilight Zone The monsters on Maple Street.
Curley: I am so glad you have help navigating this stage n your father's life.

As for me. it is clear that unless I start watching the 100 carb limit, I will not lose. However, I still am focusing on exercise this week. The compromise is to track what I eat. I will not limit but I will be responsible for starting to keep real data.

I don't feel great today. I took a Covid test at school but it was negative. The challenge is to keep to my Motion Before Mysteries Rules when all I want to do is snuggle up to my tv. The compromise: Start yoga and if I am too tired let the rest go.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Some welcomed drizzling rain forced me to travel to class carrying an umbrella. It didn't really get wet; just had to go through the rigamarole of finding a place to stash it in a small classroom. Excitement was getting pointed to a link to a thirty-minute YouTube video about how to write a computer program that solves Wordle using Information Theory - the class I'm taking. Absolutely genius presentation techniques of moving graphs and clearly presented ideas. Hard to believe that such quality teaching tools are out there on the web for FREE. I suspect that I'll eventually donate to the guy's "channel" - just have to figure out if that makes me a member of a cult, LOL. Using this guy's techniques, I'm now qualified to write my own computer program to solve Wordle (and Quordle) without having to life a finger - or neuron. Will be able to take a fun thing and turn it into an engineering task. Think I won't.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Several times I realized that I needed a snack to continue with the task at hand. And several times I tried the old "it's only one hour until lunch" or some such. I can last an hour. Dinner was a black bean soup that was particularly spicy. Just the dish for a cold, rainy day.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Ouch for the arrival of the sloppy wet stuff - the bane of trying to get a fun walk.

maryann - Terrific that you're showing The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street from Twilight Zone. Quote from Wiki: "This is Maple Street on a late Saturday afternoon. Maple Street in the last calm and reflective moment –before the monsters came." I so want to be in your class.

curlyjax - Continue to wish you well finding the right support for your dad so that he can come home. Yep, one banana is not a complete meal plan.

Readers -

Chapter 6 Stage 3 - The Challenging Situations Plan

Special Advice for Ordering In

Remember, the food will go to waste either in you body or in the trash can. I often hear from dieters that they are the only ones who really eat the leftovers anyway. So I suggest that they just go ahead and throw out the leftovers right away if they don't want to end up eating them or if they can't think of when they will plan to eat them.

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