Alice I'm finding the same thing. I'm just not willing to weigh and measure and do the math like I did 10 years ago. I did figure out the cals for what I eat every day (except dinner which varies) and am sticking to that on weekdays. One lb. lost so far but that's a step in the right direction.

Dagmar

I hope everyone enjoys their long weekend and celebrates however they like.

We are not religious at all so Easter for us is all about eating chocolate. I am prepared with offerings from the Belgian shop and from a chocolatier in British Columbia.

Dagmar

I think I am all "chocolated" out. I consume less and less each time I get it. Not such a treat any more.

Dagmar

My goal is to have a no-chocolate Easter. Admit, it's easier since the kids have left home, LOL.

But I do miss making those major decisions about which part of a hollow chocolate rabbit to eat first: the ears? the feet? the head?

Eating the bunny and the marshmallow chicks always kind of bothered me, but I ate them anyway. I've been avoiding chocolate too. Except I do like a low calorie hot chocolate drink on a chilly evening. For me, the celebration is more about spring than Easter. The garden plants are coming back to life and I've got some California poppy blooms to enjoy!

The rain has finally given us a break. Now I have to mow all the knee-high foxtail grass that grew this year. Really good exercise and it looks nice when I['m done.

Managed to get through Easter with not a lot of chocolate damage. I wound up freezing about 1/2 of my Belgian chocolate and will enjoy a piece once a week or so. I made a somewhat fancy meal for Sunday but calorically it wasn't too heavy.

Yard work has begun. Raked up all the debris from the beds and pruned off the broken branches from the shrubs. I'm going to leave the lawn repair - we have grass in the backyard only - for when we get back from vacation.

We are away next week and I'm going to read menus online and try to keep the cals in check. I'm finding that no longer drinking alcohol does make a difference. Not so much in total cals but in how much food I eat. I've been "dry" for just over a year now and will continue that.

Dagmar

We are off this morning. I have been checking the online menus for fast food places (road stops and lunches in town probably will be at such places) and know what is healthiest and what comes within my daily calorie allowance. Neither place we are visiting is known for gourmet dining so I'll try to keep dinner a protein and a veggie.

Dagmar

Bon voyage - have a good trip, Dagmar.

We are back! Lots of carbs offered with every meal on vacation but I left a lot of them on the plate and requested "no fries" whenever I could.
First thing I did after getting back was pick up a salad and a veggie lasagna for dinner tonite.

Dagmar

Hi folks! Dagmar, glad you found some time away! And congratulations on a year without alcohol.

We just don't have Easter candy. Most of it is junk and not worth eating. Plus I find something like Peeps to be disgusting.

Howlin', glad to hear that spring has sprung where you are! Are you getting any problems from all the rain, flooding, etc?

Did I see Silverbirch's name?? Sure glad to see she's still around.

It's time for me to go for a swim. Being able to swim only has a few windows because in the summer it's too hot, and in the winter too cold. Today it's 83 F and just right.

Hi everyone!
Dagmar, glad you enjoyed your vacation and are back on track with food!

JayEll, we are still technically under a flood warning, but I don't think we will be impacted. The broken levees have been repaired and are patrolled daily to make sure they hold. Of course, it's impossible to say until the snowpack has melted, but now that the State and Feds are involved, I think they will find a way to spare the communities and flood farmland instead, which is where the water is supposed to go!. Gov Newsom was only 5 miles from us today, visiting the town of Allensworth and the flooded dairies north of us.

I'm still not done with mowing and weeding in my garden, but I am making progress.

Alice Glad to hear the levees have been repaired and that you probably won't have to leave your home.

JayEll Where do you swim? Outdoor pool or ocean? And you did see Silverbirch's name recently.

I am now aware of how much I enjoy birdsong every morning. There was none in the north. I work out in my living room and can now have the sliding doors to the deck open a bit for the dog and cat to go out. The birds are all awake and singing away though it's still dark outside.

Spring is coming I see lots of big leafy salads son my menu in a couple of weeks!.

Dagmar

Got a shock yesterday. Took my measurements since I wanted to buy a pair of summer pants that fit. My waist is now 31 inches. The maximum measurement has been 29 inches until now. Time to get serious about losing the COVID weight. Fat piling up on my middle is very unhealthy.

I'm making the small tweaks that I've been talking about doing starting yesterday. Much less food on my dinner plate and no ice cream bar for dessert. I'll also cut out the second snack in the afternoon or have a mini cheese instead. Making the small cuts and sticking to them should help me drop about 1 lb. per month.

Dagmar

Dagmar, one pound a month is a good rate. That's what I try for, too. If you are in your sixties, the increased waist measurement might just be your body changing shape, not necessarily due to fat. My waist measurement gained a couple of inches over the past 8 or 9 years, despite my weight staying pretty constant and lots of exercise including abs. These days as long as my profile has a flat belly and I don't have much of a jiggle, I'm happy. But I don't want to discourage you from losing fat, so go for it!!

Thanks Alice. I have had a bit of a pot belly since menopause and it's fat. I also have quite a bit of "muffin top" now which is also extra fat. I do ab exercises and have a solid core inside the fat.

My weight is also up to 142.5 lbs. I tried to be careful during the week away but i did gain.

I'm looking at my closet and all the nice clothes in there. That's incentive to lose some of the blubber to fit comfortably into those clothes, now that we can go everywhere again. I dress in tech clothing during the week and am covered in dog hair, dirt, etc. so i really enjoy wearing nice clean clothes on the weekends.

Ready to diet!

Dagmar