Michele, be sure to tell your doctor that you rationed water and didn't collect all your urine. That might skew your results.

If there is ever a next time, ask for a couple of containers just in case?

Still cold here. Yuck! I did make an interesting green salad to go with our holiday dinner. Still not something I'm craving every day. I want some sun!

Dagmar

the backpacking trip was nice - I loved being outside for 3x days. It felt a bit slow though as one of the group was slower than the rest, and a couple of others were carrying far-too-big backpacks which wasn't great for the terrain which involved scrambling up waterfalls, climbing over boulders a lot, and pushing through undergrowth etc, so I felt like I could do with a bit of a work-out when I got home due to waiting for the group to catch up all weekend!
Used the excuse of a camping trip to continue eating crap, but now i'm home I turned over a new leaf (again) and this is Day 2 of my back-to-basics diet which involves only eating moderate portions of foods that have to have some nutritional value... no chocolate/sweets/pastries, no white carbs, no processed foods etc. I"m feeling mentally much better about myself already! My next work trip is Germany in 4 weeks, so I want to spend the next 4 weeks eating well and hopefully losing a kilo by that process (not that I've stepped on the scales for weeks and weeks - i'm plucking up the courage). I am allowed the occasional glass of wine as part of this regime though - a girl's got to live after all

Ange Good that you're back on track. Hope the kilo loss occurs. I found that alcohol was pretty much the gateway to binge eating for me so I eventually gave up the alcohol. Still figuring out the recreational marijuana because you're right - we do need some sort of "life softening" filter occasionally.

Dagmar

you're right that the alcohol can certainly lead to excessive calorie-ing whether from more alcohol or bad food choices, but I've never given myself a blanket ban on it before, so i'm not starting now!
The marijuana alternative isn't an option for me though I) because I can't stand the smell of it and couldn't get anywhere near it for that reason so it doesn't appeal, and 2) it's not permitted in your system at work and we get drug tested all the time so i'd be sacked! I guess it's a great low-calorie relaxant though! I hadn't thought of it that way before!

Oh, I don't know about its being a low-calorie relaxant. Back in the day, we would get stoned, get the mad munchies, and eat the house.

Hungry, horny, and stupid. That's what marijuana seems to do (at least for me).

I remember the munchies back in the day when I was smoking weed. Now I'm taking oil with water. No smoke, no smell, and for some reason no munchies. Helps that the oil doesn't really get me high. Rather it has a calming effect. And I'm taking it before getting into bed to read so I'm not bored and have something to do with my hands.

Dagmar

That's a good point, Dagmar. I keep forgetting CBD oil doesn't get people "high".

alright, plucked up courage to get on the scales (last time was 12th April) and i'm just under 115lb now, so have put on about 2kg (4lb) since my lowest a few months ago, but it's not the disaster I was expecting.
Just the last 4 days of being back on track has really got me energised again, so i'm feeling good again.
Did a big trek yesterday with the walking club, which was off-track with big ups and downs. Left the house at 0520 and got back at 2100, with just a stop for a take-out sandwich from a service station for dinner on the way back, so it was a long day out, and didn't need to face the 'wine or no-wine' dilemma since it was pretty much bed time by the time i'd scrubbed up and settled down!

Navigated my dinner party last night quite well. After the guests had left I did help myself to a couple of handfuls of pita chips and some hummus. Usually I gravitate toward the sweet dessert stuff but I'd had some sort of pot de creme (from Costco and the guests brought it) and a piece of lemon cake. That seemed to be enough sugar.

What did me in was the two diet colas I had before the guests came. Those kept me up very late so not enough sleep. Long day today but at least it's sunny!

Dagmar

Dagmar, hooray for sunshine! We are having very untypical weather this late in the year, but I will take every cool day Mother Nature sends my way. I can't do much work outside when it's hot, and certainly not looking forward to triple digits.

Ange, your backpacking trip sounded "relaxing" I have gone with unprepared groups before and found it annoying. Some of the people could not even go 3 miles. I had to coax them another quarter mile to a suitable camping spot. We got more snow in the Sierras yesterday, but there might be some snowshoeing opportunities next week, which would be fun!

Back in the day, I once carried a 35-pound back 9 miles into the Sierra foothills, camped for two nights, and hiked back out again, with a group of women in the Outdoor Woman's School. I had my knees wrapped the whole time just because I didn't think I could hack it otherwise. But gosh, I was half my age, and we had had some training and preparation beforehand.

I don't think it's right to allow unprepared groups on strenuous hikes without some kind of realistic information and training ahead of time. It's asking for injury, accident, or worse.

We have a fairly rigorous initiation scheme to join the club that involves a year of being a prospective member and having to do a number of 'difficult' walks including overnights and bushcraft/mapping, so no-one was unfit - it's just some weren't used to moving through that sort of terrain. The whole lightweight camping thing takes a little time to optimise, and again if you haven't done it much, you tend to take too much weight and too much stuff, which is what happened. On the other hand there's certainly options for injuries! We had ropes, PLB's, first aid etc (none of which would have been much use if the Death Adder we stood next to for 10 mins without noticing had been cranky!).
The only way to learn this stuff though is to do it really, so credit to our leader to accept the 'learners' - a lot of walk leaders will only take people they know well, which is good for them and the group, but tough if you're wanting to learn.

Sounds like your club has it together Ange. Just curious - if the Death Adder had bitten one of the group what would you do?

Dagmar

Alice I find it hard to picture snow in California. All that media exposure to sun, sand, and beach volleyball as being typical of the state I guess?

Dagmar