[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Four boxes of 'stuff' in the basement were attacked. A goodly amount will be given away - by whatever means. A box was filled with stuff declared trash. A group of kitchen under-counter lights that were never installed because we just didn't need them. Now, in addition to not needing them, they're fluorescent and I'm busy only using LED bulbs when possible. This is an example of the worst of that which needs to be dealt with: an unfinished project. I no longer want anything to do with the stuff but it's painful to have to relive that I didn't finish what I set out to do. Less painful was a gallon bottle of Clorox disinfectant and two unopened boxes of disinfectant wipes. I had grabbed those from Costco in a panic when the COVID pandemic first hit and wiping down all surfaces was the recommended prevention. I suspect that they'll go quickly by one path or another since they're unopened containers. It does feel good that a bunch of stuff is gone.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner included potato salad since DW didn't want anything cooked using the stove during the heat of the time just before dinner. So she boiled the potatoes while we were eating breakfast when it was still comparatively cool. Good eating, potato salad. Not low calorie eating, for sure.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Absolutely love your story of buying 10 pounds of potatoes for $1.50 less than a 5 pound bag would have cost. Do hope you compulsively count them to note the exact first potato that's totally FREE. I might steal "We treat our house as if its sole purpose is to store projects in all their various stages," LOL.

Erika (eusebius) – Congrats for continuing to juggle your eating plan to find the sweet spot for you. Hear you that it's painful when your DD goes incommunicado. Thanks for the reminder, "makes me think about how attached we get to our possessions."

Silverbirch - Ouch! rather than LOL at "I don’t recommend lots of liaison and an addled brain." You do seem to have herculean traveling required to make it through the month. As does your DD who can't do it alone until she passes the many miles away driving test.

maryann – You think of such creative alternatives to buying things. Love that you can take a nap in your classroom in the afternoon.

curlyjax - Wish you well dealing with your dad from a distance. Understand, "A challenge to know if something has really changed or if it's his body getting worse" because that's true for all of us. So hard to distinguish when it's just getting older vs. a problem lurking.

Readers -

Chapter 7 Stage 4 - The Think Thin Lifetime Eating Plan

Accepting Your Maintenance Weight
What would you suggest to your best friend if he/she were in this exact situation? Would you offer the following advice?. . .

• Improve your life in other ways. Do all of the things you had put off doing until you lost excess weight.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 183.

[eusebius]

Quick flyby this morning. I spent much of yesterday deep cleaning my bathroom and kitchen. I cannot do this much at a stretch anymore. My entire body was in pain when I woke up. And on top of that, I didn't lose any weight. sigh. Well, back to the "lick and a prayer" approach for me I guess. I'm still a bit traumatized from paying $500 to get my rental house cleaned before I moved out of it and then being told that it was filthy. AFTER they cleaned it.

I refuse to give up and I'm not eating over it but my lower brain is going nuts and I'm feeling super ashamed and sad, and it's completely illogical because I did a lot of work and the bathroom and kitchen look a lot better. I'll be ok in a while I think.

Thanks for listening coaches.

[curlyjax]

Easy day at work yesterday including living a little early to meet the exterminator. He's been here before, a bit of an odd duck, but thorough. No evidence of mice was found and he sealed up some stuff outside and left bait boxes scattered about as a preventative measure. I've signed up for the 4 times check in which also covers things like ants and bees. September seems to be a time for such contracts for me anyhow;the oil guys, and my large auto insurance bill came, which covers 3 of us and 3 cars, and is jacked up because of my 21 year old son. So a good time to not spend on anything else.
I'm SO grateful to finally be feeling better both physically and consequently mentally! I managed to bring 3 boxes of donations to Savers last night which was a great feeling, and then rewarded myself with ice cream which I did not feel badly about at all. And then I swept off the driveway in the dark as best I could; we have these berries all over the place which then get tracked inside and stain everything. They must be coming from the tree but I don't remember this being an issue before.
Today I need to zip to two different banks and get some groceries, get to the dump at some point and then spend the rest of the day puttering about as it threatens rain and possible t-storms. And a nap of course.
Bill-yay for 4 more boxes done! I hear you about those not done projects, I have some too.
Gardenerjoy- (and others!) good to know I'm not alone in the housekeeping issues. I like your quote about a house storing projects.
Silverbirch- I feel you with heat and an addled brain. Goodness, that is a lot coming up this week!
Eusebius-I need to make changes too, I've been eating wayyyy too many sweets again. Great that you are eating such healthy and satisfying meals anyhow.
Maryann-naps are just the best! Great that you've come up with a good solution that is no cost too. When I was pregnant with my first, I worked as a receptionist at a housing site for the elderly, and during my lunch I would take a nap on one of the old couches in a community room. Occasionally the old ladies would check on me to make sure I was okay

[maryann]

Good Morning, Coaches. Very little sleep last nite which was odd. I finally got up about 2 a.m. and cleaned the inside of the car which I was going to do anyway in the morning. Might as well be productive. I am traveling with a great friend to get our hair cut 2 hours each way. It is really a girl's road trip in a mini form. Time flies and we never stop talking.

Credit OP yesterday and the weight drifted down again. September is the month I break maintenance. i have my mantra. I have committed (like Joy) to daily yoga. I am doing the 30 day center challenge. Now with my school mat I can get in at least one session in on Wednesdays. I will dress appropriately.

I have come out of denial and realize I am not really doing that much at work. in terms of active teaching ( comparatively) and I need to get back to physical and mental challenges rather than watch hours of tv at home. I am picking up the gemology dream again after a year of piling up dust. I have decided rather than jump into color stones to start the actual appraisal courses from the trade association. This will really give me a taste of the practical field rather than more theory. I also remind myself that "sitting is the new smoking" and during my less busy school semester I need to be up an moving five minutes every hour. I am thinking of a way I can schedule such a thing.

Erika: I can relate to the shame of not feeling things are clean enough. I have gone through phases of my life I had roommates and I didn't pull my wait which is so weird because I do clean now when people come over. For me it is rooted in "not enough" childhood stuff that reminds me to treated myself with great gentleness and understanding.
BBE: Great job on the decluttering quest.
silverbirch and curly: wave on your active weekends.

[gardenerjoy]

My exercise month got off to a slow start in September but I'm already back on track. I'll allow myself to gradually work back up to the pre-COVID level (I achieved 1800 minutes in July), but I'm happy with where it is right now.

I'll add 100 minutes a month, if all goes well, and be back to 1800 by the end of the year. My desire for more walking and more yoga will make it fun and interesting, as long as I'm careful to avoid the fretting, demanding, and all-or-nothing thinking that showed up earlier this week.

Exercise: 70, 410/1500 minutes for September

silverbirch: That is a big agenda for the week. I still have the set-up to check weather in Northern Ireland, so I can see that it looks like you're at least due for a break in the heat soon.

BillBlueEyes: I bought cough syrup at the beginning of COVID. When I cleared out the linen closet a few months ago, I discovered that it was unopened and expired. Sigh. I didn't replace it on the theory that if I really needed it, some kind soul would pick up a bottle of cough syrup for us. When we finally did get COVID, the cough wasn't bad enough to bother medicating.

eusebius: I'm going with your former landlord was a cheat and bilked you out of $500 because they could. I lost half of my security deposit once that I'm convinced was due to leaving a giant dead cockroach in the middle of the living room floor of an otherwise perfectly clean apartment. The cockroach was meant to convince the landlord of the truth of what we'd been telling him, and he'd been denying. I suppose it backfired, but I still felt some satisfaction.

curlyjax: I like your plan for a day with rain later in the forecast and I'm so glad that you're feeling up to it!

maryann: I did the Center challenge in January and really liked it. Besides the mental aspect, I really did feel stronger in my core at the end!

[silverbirch]

A beautiful day here, not too hot and still feeling like summer despite leaves starting to fall. I woke at 4am and then crammed in another couple of hours from 10-ish. That was good but I’ve been dreaming through the rest of the day, not sure about the time at all. I've just been out in the cool evening to pick over the raspberry canes which are fruiting beautifully. I’ve packed up all the tools needed to take things apart in the DD’s flat and the SO will go over there tomorrow.

Bill, today you’re sounding as though you’re on a roll with the decluttering. Brilliant. I like to think that something is always learnt from projects, unfinished or not. This is what I tell myself and the DD, anyway!

eusebius, credit for deep cleaning! Landlords are always looking for fault when tenants move out, the wretches. The DD is not expecting to get all her deposit back.

curlyjax, hope your dad’s feet are OK. Mine certainly do swell up in the heat. Three boxes out of the house is so good! Very glad no mice in evidence.

maryann, daily yoga sounds very nice. Lovely to hear about your gemology project again.

gardenerjoy, great to be back on the exercise track for September (which I realise makes you sound like a sprinter...). You’re right, the weather is cooling a bit which is so nice. I don’t know whether we’ll have thunder and lightning here tomorrow, forecast for us and for NI.

[eusebius]

Hi folks, another flyby. Thanks for your kind responses. You are all just gems. I didn’t eat too well yesterday but I’m recommitting and batching today. Gotta run as I need to be out of the house by 8 to make my first of two church services. Waving to all!

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner of dahl felt right for a cool evening with active and threatening thundershowers. We're back to daily threats of thundershowers although few arrive. This afternoon has the prediction of possible deluge. That's a problem because a street party is planned and there won't be enough tents to hold the mob that usually attends. My personal issue is that I signed up to bring desserts that I had planned to pick up at Trader Joe's. But I paused; I didn't want a bunch of desserts in my house if the party is rained out. Have planned to go by Trader Joe's on the way to the party this afternoon.

Spent time reading about how the cells of the body age. Kinda depressing to discover how many bad guys are running around our bodies making it difficult for cells to thrive. Then find it exciting to discover how many good guys are running around defeating the problems caused by the bad guys. One of our repair agents is the p53 gene. Helps get rid of oddly growing cells to prevent them from growing to be cancerous. Which brings up the question you've always had on your mind, Why don't elephants get cancer? Elephants have 20 copies of the p53 gene in their genome instead of the mere one that homo sapiens carry. Smart elephants!


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Your expired cough syrup is one more odd-but-interesting COVID story. Neat that your recent bout wasn't severe enough to need medication for its cough.

Erika (eusebius) – Ouch for the story of being ripped off by a landlord who throws out the word "filthy" as the banner under which he can steal deposits. Wish you well fighting back at all the odd thinking the brain can go through. Here's a happy news story about a gig that you would have liked. A pianist played a Steinway outside of Symphony Hall to sell the 65 pianos inside: Boston Globe story.

Silverbirch - Neat to hear that you've packed your tools for the family adventure of dismantling your DD's flat. Glad you've given yourself a bit of time to enjoy picking over the raspberry canes.

maryann – Fun to hear that you're getting back to your gemology dream again. I so easily picture you advising wealthy clients about resetting their precious, heirloom family jewels.

curlyjax - Congrats for those three boxes of stuff gone. And super Kudos for giving yourself credit for being physically and mentally able to do it.

Readers -

Chapter 7 Stage 4 - The Think Thin Lifetime Eating Plan

Accepting Your Maintenance Weight

In short, you wouldn't want your friend to dwell on his/her disappointment. You would want your friend to change to a healthier focus.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 183.

[curlyjax]

I got a lot done yesterday- went to 2 different banks, got groceries, and got rid of a lot of trash and recyclables that had been piling up.I also started working on dealing with my dad's forwarding mail order; everything is forwarded to me but its been almost a year which is the limit. I'm going to call a PO manager where he lives who is supposed to know what I can do; its tricky from afar and I don't plan on driving there for awhile.
I did eat quite healthily-up until DD suggested ice cream at one of the summer stands that will close soon. I was planning to be productive for the rest of the day, then DD came home with a tale of woe about her cracked iphone. Somehow talking about this took up a lot of time and I got cranky and spent the rest of the day watching tv.
So today we have to waste time going to the Apple store and hope it isn't too much money, and hope we don't get stuck in a deluge of rain coming home, when its supposed to be pouring.Deep breath. At least we have an appointment. I might zip off to Trader joe's beforehand and finish my errands before we go.
And I didn't even take a nap yesterday, so i'm definitely feeling better.
Eusebius-sorry that cleaning took such a toll on your body and mind, but huge credit for not eating over it! hope you're feeling better today.
Bill-hope the party wasn't rained out. That was good planning to wait on the desserts. Very interesting reading you're doing.
Gardenerjoy-good plan to get yourself gradually back on track. It's amazing how covid depletes the body's energy.
silverbirch-how lovely to have your own raspberry canes. Good idea to have tools prepared ahead of time, its easy to forget things.
Maryann-I'm impressed you cleaned the car in the middle of the night! your mini break sounds very fun.

[maryann]

Happy Sunday!

My hair looks great and my friends and I had fun, a nice lunch, and real ice cream. DH and I had a lovely date night so all is well this morning. Credit yesterday for non gas station food at our potty break and a healthy salmon salad with no dressing.

I did not do yoga yesterday but I won't let that stop my challenge. I am back at it today. I have thumbed my nose to my perfectionism. Today is all about laundry. I have loads and loads. Day 55 of my food challenge. I have lost an inch or so around my waist and three pounds. I have also saved hundreds of dollars.I have marked my calendar to drop another 3 pounds this month. The big plan is to go to bed a little hungry. The majority of my calories are happen when I get home from school. I eat dinner before DH. The obvious solution is to go for a walk, yoga or the gym before I eat. I have increased my water this week.

BBE: Fascinating about Elephants.
Sllverbirch: i am so ready for the heat to be gone. Being in California, it means the end to dramatic weather because it never gets that cold where I live.
Curly: I also get frustrated when friends and family ( which are good things) derail my food plans. Sometimes I think I would be skinny if I was completely left alone but I tried that for a long time and still wasn't skinny.

Wave to all.

[silverbirch]

Distant thunder today and a very few drops of rain. And much cooler. Let’s see what the week brings. (Edited to add: there’s steady rain now.) The SO has gone off with the tools to help the DD tomorrow. I took him to the station and then bought an ice-cream. Not even very enjoyable and it’s not helped my eating all day. I’ve mapped five possible driving test routes which the DD and I will drive over the next few days. I’ve also done my foot exercises, read my book and am thinking about having a bath and an early night.

eusebius, credit for weekend batching!

Bill, very good thinking to pick up the desserts en route to the street party. I hope it didn’t rain too much or at all. That’s very reminiscent of my childhood summers where posters for events said things like “If wet, in the village hall”. Ah, yes, the elephant question (??). Thanks for bringing it up, and providing some information.

curlyjax, sorry to hear you were also tripped up by ice-cream. My goodness, you got a lot done! And not even a nap either. You really must be on the mend. Good to hear that.

maryann, real ice-cream sounds nice. I fell for UPF. I should have come with you and got my hair cut too. It really needs it. I remember that going to bed a little hungry used to work for me.

Wave to gardenerjoy and all lurkers!

[eusebius]

Hi folks,

Well I have had a couple of really bad food days. I need to reset and go back to my plans and NO CHOICE. I did batch yesterday so I’m prepared for the week. Good start this morning getting out of bed early as I need to be at school by 9:30. My stomach feels like crap from the food but today I will eat some good stuff and drink my water.

But I can share my milestone project - it’s not in the form I’m going to use it in yet but it’s the start of my piano studio site

Erika Reiman, Piano ? Collaborative Pianist & Teacher

BillBlueEyes - yummmmm dahl!! Good dessert workaround plan. Elephants are definitely smarter than us and the p53 gene count just proves it, lol!

curlyjax - ugh, iphones! They have you over a barrel!

maryann - you are just doing so well. I take inspiration from you! And yes, perfectionism can go hang!

silverbirch - well done on mapping the drive test routes and some self care.

Waving to all! Happy Monday!

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi, until the block street party in the late afternoon. It happened despite the rain with three musicians playing under a tent across the street, grills operating in the rain, and the food gathered on tables under several tents. (Despite their protests, I managed to slip a donation to the hosts who'd gone out and bought the tents.) I limited myself to stuff that was really good and still overate. It included my planned indulgence in grilled Italian sausage sub and a small serving of an ambitious dish of pork and beans made by a friend who described it in detail. The handmade dark chocolate almond candies were the best I've ever had. I asked where she got her chocolate. "It's a trade secret." A neat lady generous enough to bring a platter of homemade chocolate candies but keeps her source of chocolate secret. Talked with a woman born in Beijing who things America is the best place in the world to be an immigrant. "Despite the current news," I asked. "Well, yes, at least in some states." She's proud of her home, her American husband, and American daughter who she takes to school each morning on her electric scooter.

Good conversations, all, but I continued on the dessert table with killer-good brownies, creme cake, pie, and even more brownies. I did control myself; I just didn't exert the controls very early in the process.

Excitement was the arrival of a battery tester - a small, simple, easy to use, device that can live in the pantry where we keep spare batteries. We had just gathered six 9-volt batteries of unknown viability. In just a minute with this device, five measure 'Good' and one is 'Weak' - but not in the red 'Replace' zone. We'll let it go; don't feel motivated to put a weak battery in a ceiling device like a smoke detector. It'd be OK for a kids toy to be run down until its last electron was expended.


Erika (eusebius) – Love the opening picture on your web site - caught me by surprise. I'll join you getting back on track from some off plan eating.

Silverbirch - I'm exhausted just trying to keep up with your family's agenda. Need a spreadsheet and a program, LOL. Sounds like you and your DD have a lot of driving ahead of you this week.

maryann – Congrats for continuing with your food challenge. Good news that you like your hair and even enjoyed the pilgrimage to have it done.

curlyjax - Good luck with your challenge with the Apple iPhone screen and with the US Post Office figuring out a way to handle your dad's mail. Talking last night to a neighbor who works in health care, she says the critical shortage of nurses limits services everywhere. Seems that a bunch never came back from the COVID pandemic.

Readers -

Chapter 7 Stage 4 - The Think Thin Lifetime Eating Plan

Accepting Your Maintenance Weight

This is one of those very big "Oh, well" life situations: Oh, well, I had always hoped I would be thinner ... But I can't change my biology, so I may as well not struggle over it ... I may as well accept it and go live my life.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 183.

[curlyjax]

Yesterday I zipped out in the morning to hit Trader Joes for the rest of the groceries. Then DD and I went off to Apple store, where as I expected they stated it would cost 200 to fix the screen, plus her battery would need to be replaced within the year, plus the facial recognition thing would be a lot to fix.....so did it make sense to get a new phone instead. Why yes it did so I shelled out the money for that and it will be her graduation present.
Later at home after a quick nap I made baked salmon, baked zucchini spears and farro for dinner, as well as steel oats in the hotpot which I ladled out into 8 containers and froze half, so I'm set for my breakfasts this week. I also steamed some cauliflower and made my salad. I did get into some treats like cocoa from starbucks-which if you ask for 2 pumps instead of 3 is a good amount of sweet without overdoing it, but ah well.
This morning i'm going to zip off to my insurance before work as they can hopefully save a trip to the DMV for a registration copy.
Eusebius- I love the website, its very impressive! And your E/keyboard logo is very cool.
Wave to all!

[maryann]

Good morning, Coaches.

Credit getting up and out this morning for a forty min walk before work. Yesterday I did yoga, stair stepper and the cold plunge at the club. We have a great club with and indoor out door pool. I love to swim and only remember when I get myself to the club. I baked up a pot of eleven bean soup with nitrate free bacon. That will be dinners and lunches. So three cheers for my team yesterday.

I am taking my mom to the airport to see my sister. She is not confident in navigating it anymore and wants a wheel chair. I have a lot of feelings about her slowing down. Still she is doing great as is my Dad. At 92 he planned on driving into downtown LA to USC where he went to college. He was going to go the Stanford football game. Didn't have a ticket. He thought he would scalp one outside the stadium. His plan was foiled by his car being in the shop. That is the kind of planning I want to do at that age.

Curly: whether your daughter knows it or not, she is very lucky to have you.
BBE: life is too short to not enjoy and great potluck.