happy monday all! just a flyby - i've got a bazillion errands to run before the day ends. did my first long training run yesterday (a whopping 4 miler) which just sucked. it was cold, i was whiny, i miss my old 5 mile loop in cincinnati and need to spend more time planning my runs. and it was cold. did i mention the weather? ugh.

food still good, though my first attempt at bistro-style bbq pork tenderloin came out too rubbery. will have to figure out a cooking method that leaves meat tender after freezing and nuking. this could take a while - very glad i didn't ruin 3 lbs of the stuff.

cheers all!

Coaches/Buddies Today was mostly on plan with the exception of dinner. I was in a major traffic jam behind a train that got stuck, which in turn basically shut down a freeway. Since I was so late, I had DH pick up some relatively healthy fast food, similar to Panda Express. I thought about doing a Cheat Sheet on it, but hey, I think if plans need to include the possibility of a train getting stuck, then perhaps I'm overplanning. The backup meal was right on the calories of the planned one anyway, and was in the same spirit. Any objectors?

I hit my 5 lb goal today and ordered the CD. My next 5 pound goal puts me squarely back in the 100s. Calling it onederland always seems like making it a fairy tale to me, and it's all real. I can't wait to get "home." I also had the most glorious run today!

Heidi I don't remember what a party with no kids is like! Glad you had fun.

Bill Now your kind of party I'm well acquainted with these days. Sometimes I'd like not to take any home with me, LOL.

onebyone Salmon "muffins" just brings to much muffin baggage for me and I was thinking eewwww. But you are really making salmon meatballs, which sounds just fine to me. This startled me into realizing (again) just how much of a difference the language we chose can make. Hmmm...

RobinW Good work on your celery soup, and your 25 minutes. I must keep that pinata idea in mind for my DD's birthday, when she gets old enough to trust with a big ol' whacking stick! We are always looking for non-food treats.

Kay I think you are the only person I've met who has more dogs than we did, four at one time (time has passed and we are down to one). The house was always chaos. Wow, you have border collies too! Hope you have a BIG yard, and agility seems like a real good option for keeping them interested.

Chris Your spinning yarn and doing taekwondo on the same evening made me smile. I like the unpredictability!

Kim Wow. I haven't seen that many broccolis in a long time! Woo HOO!

Jean Sorry to hear about your sucky long run. Which training plan are you following? When is the FPM? I used to want to do that one, just because of the name. I'm hoping to run another in 2010, if I can keep myself uninjured.

Anne

YO!! BECKIES!!!

Quick, loud, shout out to Beckies. So much to say, so little time.

I spent my on-line time tonight on Oprah's web cast with Bob Greene. Nothing new to report.......he advocated alot of strategies that could only be called "Beckian". Imagine that.

Thanks, BillBE for the tips on how to salvage posts...will "try to remember"..and you remeber thoses lyrics, for sure.

As for the spinach pesto, I used spinach instead of basil........and that would be LIBERALLY... since I have basil up the wazoooooo in summer, I use it LIBERALLY.........so for spinach pesto......spinach, lots,(raw) garlic, lots, pine nuts, as you wish, parmesan, as you wish......all in the food processor, with olive oil, to taste.......as I process it all up, I add olive oil for the right consistancy.......a very exact science.......

Kay, just the quickest shout out.....Bear..OMG!!! our dear, dear, Bear, 13 yrs. ..a black lab/chow cross......abandoned as a puppy and ours from about 7 weeks on.....such a family member ..and a member of our whole neighborhood....he died on June 21..and people on both lakes gave their regrets...he was that much a part of the neighborhood.....midsummer's eve.....he was the best! We now have two new dawgs........way cool......dawgs rule.

Regards to all.........single moms.........singles dating.....can relate, believe me........getting control of whatever you can in your life, and for me, what always eluded me was controlling my weight...........getting control of that was sooooooooo big for me...........not to say wait until you get control....not saying that, but saying when you do........it will be great!

I am still going by the first Beck book, but feeling my resistance slipping......I am a total sucker to ALL the diet books, so why shoud I resist??? I ask you.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Another gym session with my trainer. CREDIT moi. He had me do a bunch of one legged stuff because my balance needs work. Well, it does. So the exercises were difficult, but especially because I continue to feel embarrassed when I wobble and tilt. Gotta work on that embarrassment part since it will tend to keep me away from working on the very stuff that I need most.

Substituting oatmeal for my beloved granola on these cold mornings; boy does that stuff stick to the belly for a long time. And not just the belly; at last bite I leap from the table to rinse my bowl in the sink before it hardens into cement, LOL.


maryblu - Thanks for the spinach pesto recipe; raw it is, with "lots" of garlic.

Such a tease, "will "try to remember"..and you remember those lyrics, for sure." I saw Fantasticks Off-Broadway early on during its 17,162 performances.
onebyone - Your salmon muffins look good, particularly when I use the Anne (wndranne) idea to call them meatballs, LOL. Or Robin (RobinW)'s patties. Or, from my childhood, croquettes. You'd think that the Old Bay seasoning would make then tasty - perhaps 2x or 4x the amount is what you're looking for to overcome "bland."

Re: "Any ideas?" - I've moved into a legumes for lunch phase. Pinto beans this week. Red beans with broccoli recently. Legumes fit the bill for tasty, plenty of protein, and easy to fix a big pot on the weekend. Not sure if they count as carbs in the terminology of your plan.


Jean (kuhljeanie) - Yay for the first long run of your marathon training. Ouch for cold, but then you marathon types are tough. Neat that you're so diligent getting your recipes to your taste. Your cook, evaluate, adjust style is so like the Cook's Illustrated crowd.

Robin (RobinW) - Second day of Kudos for ignoring the sticky parts on the pan. Interesting though, ignore understates your accomplishment. You wrestled them to the ground and made then surrender under water, LOL.

Thanks for the salmon patties recipe; it might tempt me since I'm still trying to find a way to incorporate cottage cheese into my life. Despite so many glowing recommendations, it remains an alien food to me.


Anne (wndranne) - Congrats on your 5 pound goal. LOL at your objection to onderland. Perhaps you'd accept a transition to wndrland in the best, Walt Whitman sense of wonder.

Re: "Any objectors?" - My take is that flexible response to reality is core to remaining on plan. You did just right; no Cheat Sheet called for. In fact, Kudos for bailing out the situation at all, especially doing so within your calorie plan.


Chris (Anglemomma210) - Yay for sun. And Yay for spinning and taekwondo. You've got some upbeat stuff in your life. Continuing to send supportive thoughts for your DH's situation.

Kim (bennyhannahmama) - Neat that you've got 119 people in your Wellness Challenge - that's enough to keep you on your plan. And Kudos for working to identify the "voices" of the Sabotaging Thoughts so you can figure out responses. Good insight to go to the heart of the matter.

Kay (AgileK9s) - Kudos for marching on to Day 2. On day 14, you'll start your food plan (aka, diet). Yep, you'll have ample opportunity to start losing during the six week program.

Yay for Aussies; our beloved Black and White Aussie was with us for fourteen years. What a wonderful breed. It took her almost a year to stop circling us trying to get us into a tighter herd, LOL. Your five sound like an ample challenge to increase your agility.


Readers -

Finally made it to the gym yesterday! Starting out slow with a stretch and move class. I love the music and camaraderie of classes. It felt so good to really connect with my body. Before I got there, I kept thinking of the Brain Rules DVD (which is very simplistic). One of the rules is our brains function / learn better with exercise and displayed a drawing of a watering can "fertilizing" a brain. Really proves another of the brain rules: We retain images phenomenally better than text. Maybe this is why the "skinny" suede Levi's on display are so motivating! And the bracelet I wear all the time to remember to give myself credit provides a little jolt of pride every time I notice it. Not that I'm going to stop reading my cards, but maybe I'll illustrate them. Can't hurt!

My friends and i came up with a plan to meet at gym classes during the week. Just knowing someone else is looking for you and will expect an good explanation if you don't show up is enough to get me out the door when I'm wavering. Especially with the weather getting colder. I'm so lucky I have a very friendly Y nearby.

Our lunchtime planning session was also successful in that I only ate half my order and brought the rest home. Even better, usually I would have gobbled that up during the afternoon and still had dinner. Yesterday I actually assessed how my stomach felt and labeled the urge as just a craving. In fact the leftovers (which are delicious) are still in the frig, waiting for a meal when I can really savor and enjoy it. A step in the right direction!

Bill Just fixed spaghetti squash Sunday - love the stuff. Since I'm the only one to eat it in this house, I'm always looking for ways to use it - tomato sauce is delicious but variety will be nice. I've made the raw spinach pesto before, but with pine nuts (mucho caloric), oil, and cheese, I've always put this in the forbidden foods category. maryblue Thanks for reminding me I can leave out or minimize all those high calorie ingredients. I can't wait to experiment!

Kim Kudos on getting to the wellness challenge. Giving yourself credit is a challenge in itself, but such an esteem booster! I wear the same bracelet every day as a reminder and keep a post-it note nearby I can make checks on when I resist, leave food on the plate etc. When I see all those checkmarks at the end of the day, I'm like a kid with an A+ paper!

Robin Made a card with What willpower cannot accomplish, water will - great line! I'll be throwing those forbidden pans in the sink straight from the stove! And for me, a good reminder to drink lots of water, especially during meals. I've become aware how often I'm really just thirsty! Also cuts down on the diet drinks, etc., which is a good thing.

kuhljeanie When I read about your 4 mile run in the cold, I feel like such a ninny stalling about driving to a warm gym. I'll think of you when it's in the 20s Friday and I don't want to go out to class. Thanks for the inspiration!

Anne Interesting point about the language we use. I can testify how helpful a certain word / image (entirely unplanned but extremely effective) was in eliminating meat from my diet. I don't want to gross anybody out so I won't get specific, but I have another word/image I'm working to associate with cheese (so good, so fattening, so hard for me to limit, so I'm better off eliminating!). Diet sodas are another weakness of mine, but I'm having a hard time coming up with a word/image for aspartame! Thanks for bringing that out, it's one more strategy to "rewire" my brain.

Heading for the gym, thanks to all my coaches/buddies for keeping me accountable!

Creamy celery soup

1 onion, chopped, sautee (in butter or olive oil) for a few minutes. Add the following seasonings..
poultry seasoning
onion powder
garlic powder
pepper
salt
Add to your taste....I like the bottom of the pot to look a bit on the heavily spiced side. Then mix with your onion.

Then add...

1 bunch of celery (chop off the bottom and some of the tops) wash/chop and dump into pot with onion and seasonings
1 knorr chicken bouillon cube
5 cups water
....bring to a boil, then let simmer on low for about 20min (until celery is soft)

Set aside
4 whole eggs and 2 whites ...break into a bowl
4 oz ff cream cheese

Take your soup and put all the celery in a food processor (I dont bother putting the soup base in) Puree the celery with the cream cheese until smooth.

By the ladelful add One ladel at a time to your eggs and stir. Do this about 5 times. If you stick your finger in this mixture it should be on the warm side, but not cooked. That is when you can dump it in with all the soup base....mix. Then add your pureed celery back in and mix.

Put back on the stove for about 10-15 min on low and keep stirring with a whisk. Turn off the stove and let it sit. You will have a rather odd looking soup....but very tastey.

Coaches

Yesterday, I woke up at 5 am and did 30 minutes on the elliptical

I only read my ARC once, I completely forgot to read my ARC for the 2nd time (partial broc only)

I ate slowly and mindfully for some of my meals, but not all (partial broc)

I posted here

I don't remember giving myself credit.

Jeanie Congrats on the long run, sorry it was so sucky! Keep at it, it will get better BTW, too bad we don't live closer to each other, we'd probably make good running partners with our limited height!

Oh and how did you cook the BBQ pork? I was thinking a crockpot might be good.

Anne Congrats on making a good choice when forced off of your original plan. I'm glad to hear you didn't do a Cheat Sheet on it, I think that would have been a bit much

Congrats on hitting your goal and a good run!

Mary

I have tried not to let getting in control of my eating, exercising, losing weight, etc. be the be all and end all of my happiness or goals in life. (Does that make any sense?) What I'm trying to say is that I always try not to over-inflate the effect losing weight will have on my life because I think sometimes I have "failed" because as I get closer to my "goals" I find that my life is not as "perfect" as I had imagined (could I use anymore quotation marks?).
So, I try to remind myself that even when I'm at my ideal weight, etc. I will still have days where I don't feel like getting out of bed, when I'm anxious, etc. Just to keep things in perspective. However, it's been hard this time around because the changes in how I feel about myself are so huge! I walk with my head higher, and I just feel more comfortable in my own body...it's wonderful! And I can see how it will effect me once I start to date in real life (as opposed to my cyber boy toys!), I *know* what I deserve and I'm not going to settle for less!
So thanks for your perspective on all of that, it helps.

Bill Kudos for doing things you don't like to do but know you should

Davidette

I know what you mean about the camaraderie and music of classes at the gym... that's why I've so fully been enjoying going! Congrats on taking leftovers home and waiting to eat it until you really can enjoy it.

I like your suggestion for giving yourself credit, I might just have to try that!

Good Evening Coaches.

I spent the day at school, my regular routine now. 9-5 I am downtown. Bus strike still full-on, no end in sight. Very upsetting at times and I can accept it at other times. I shift between the two. I have class in the morning tomorrow and then nothing afterwards so I'll have several hours to myself and I think I'm going to go wander around the national gallery. That's always good for at least 3 hours and it's all walking so good for the body too.

I've been walking way more than 15 minutes everyday, so I continue to keep up the exercise portion of my plan. Credit moi. I've been taking my lunch with me and eating on time so that's good too.

And so far my classes are okay. we're just getting started so not that much to do yet.

Well I'd better go get a bite to eat. I'll try to check in later or in the morning.

Have a good night!

Coaches/Buddies I feel awful today. DS, DH, and I all have the cold DS brought home from day care, and I'm fearful this is the beginning of the back-to-back sicknesses we experienced with DD a few years ago. I'm working the CT skills pretty hard, telling myself it isn't so bad, it will be better this time around since the viruses haven't mutated that much in 3 years, but frankly, I'm pretty discouraged right now. Oh Well. Worst case, a couple more tough months and then things even out. It doesn't help that I had 5 1/2 interrupted hours of sleep last night, and I'm also working to remind myself that makes everything seem so much worse.

I stuck to my plan today, but true to form, I had some bad moments in the afternoon with an "I feel lousy" attack. I found out my distraction box is useless when I'm dealing with small children because my hands are literally full even if I could stuff something in my mouth. I'm not sure how to fix that issue, but am open to ideas. Maybe some books to read to them (assuming they are having it)?? But I resisted anyway.

I hope you all will forgive me if I skip personals tonight. I'm going to sketch out my plan for tomorrow and then try to get some sleep. It's DH's night with DS so things should be better in the morning, unless DS is up for hours again tonight. I feel bad that he feels bad, but we'd all do better with some sleep.

One quick thing: my username, wndranne is short for WunderAnne, and came into being when I needed an 8 character handle for something and threw out some vowels. This springs from WunderBeest, which was the collective nickname for the mass of dogs that once lived with us, as I was the keeper of the WunderBeest. [WunderBeest was always singular, but always carried an "N-legged" modifier where N = 4*n, and n was the number of dogs we had at the time, as in 8-legged WunderBeest.] I always figured the wunder part was good for "Wow, losing that weight and keeping it off was a wonder," as well as "wonder what in the bejebus she's thinking." I liked the contradictions and rich history and kept it. Anyway, I suppose my next goal puts me in wndrland. I can live with that.

Anne

kim, I relate to your divorce issues. I left my husband 11 years ago. I didn't have the self-esteem to handle it well. It sounds like you are doing really well. Beck is a great way to build self-esteem. I lost weight at the time, but it wasn't for for me, it was for a man so I ended up gaining a lot of it back. But not all!

I haven't been reading the posts for a few days, but I came back and read a couple of days posts. This is an impressive group. I've been dealing with finding out today that I have osteopenia. The people in the doctor's office got me really upset. The medical assistant, not the doctor, got on the phone. She said she had the results, and I have "nothing to worry about." When I asked what she meant, she said I have osteopenia. I asked to talk to the doctor and she didn't get him on the phone for me. She passed on his advice--don't fracture anything and don't fall down. I was furious. Anyway I am going to see him Thursday, and will ask about diet, exercise and medications for this illness. My mother had really bad osteoporosis. She lived until 85 but was all bent over, and I'm very afraid of it happening to me. Thanks for letting me vent. As far as the plan goes, I am on plan for parts of days, and I try to give myself credit for that. I made turkey meatloaf and mashed potatoes, had it for dinner one night, made it into spaghetti and meat sauce the next night and begged DBF to finish it tonight! Kudos, moi. I will try to keep up more!

Anne I am so impressed by those of you dealing with small children and still finding time and energy to follow the program. My children are 19 and 22, away at school, and often I get painfully nostalgic remembering when they were little and so adorable. We always forget the frustrating times! The best I could manage was not eating McDonald burgers and fries along with them. Kudos for all your efforts and especially recognizing the best thing you can for everyone, yourself included, is get some sleep!

lily My mother has severe osteoporosis also. Fortunately she was diagnosed early (at least 30 years ago) and has been under treatment all that time. At 96 she has only a very minimal "dowager's hump". I hope that allays your fears somewhat. Also she was on one medication that actually increased her bone density, at 92! That said, you should certainly take it seriously and push your doctor for more information ("don't worry, don't fall, don't fracture anything" is ridiculous -- who sets out to do any of those things?)

Went to spin class and yoga yesterday. I'm satisfyingly sore today. Stretch and move class this morning; I probably wouldn't go on my own today but I feel committed to my meet my friends there. It's an easy class so I'll actually be less sore when I finish. The yoga instructor closed class with a mantra "The way you look at things affects the way they look". This was so on track with some of things we have been discussing it was almost spooky!

Wishing everyone a healthy happy Wednesday!

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Da good: at a morning meeting high quality dark chocolates were passed around. Now this is a meeting where candy is often available, but easier to ignore since it's Halloween handout quality. But this was good stuff. I had the thought that since I'm only maintaining I can take one. Then I thought about taking two. Then I had the slippery slope image and paused. I'd had my morning snack about an hour before; lunch was coming in about an hour. My mind snapped back and I passed. I don't need candy in the morning. It will only make me want more candy. CREDIT moi.

Da bad: bought TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) at Whole Foods to try for the first time. CREDIT moi for that. Then I waddled through the offered samples taking every one. Perhaps the $17/pound cheese fit my "rare or unusual" rule that allows samples. Perhaps, but not really. But the muffin samples certainly didn't. It really annoys me that my brain turns off when facing samples at Whole Foods. Oh Well. Anybody have suggestions?


onebyone - Ouch that the transportation strike continues; Kudos for remaining sane while working around it. When I read, "I think I'm going to go wander around the national gallery.", all I could think of was, "But pleeeeeeeezzzze don't throw me in the brier patch."

Robin (RobinW) - Thanks for the cream of celery soup recipe. I especially like the Julia-Child-like part, "If you stick your finger in this mixture it should be on the warm side...".

Third (and final) Kudos for not eating those sticky parts from the pan. Clearly I'm moved by an act that I've yet to take. I'm burning it into my brain to remember next time I approach the stove and hear sticky parts calling my name.


Anne (wndranne) - Ouch for family colds. LOL at the thought that Beck didn't have two children in her hands when she invented the physical distraction box. Love your playful use of "wonder;" WunderBeest is a hoot. Sending virtual chicken soup for the bunch of you. (Can DS eat that or do I need to puree his?)

Kim (bennyhannahmama) - I do like your (partial broc) concept. It emphasizes acceptance to me.

davidette - Kudos for setting up that gym group - such good Beck thinking. And Kudos for bringing home half your lunch. I especially love restaurant left overs when they carry the taint of having made a wise eating choice.

On the spaghetti squash thread, a poster just recommended using it in place of potatoes in hash browns. Now that sounds good.


Lily (lilyyoung) - Ouch for the diagnosis; Double Ouch for the crude delivery. After you talk to your doctor, you might try to talk to a nutritionist to get fresh ideas for your diet mods. For example, my DW takes a daily dark chocolate laced with her calcium supplement (it reminds me of giving our dog her pill covered in peanut butter, LOL); that works for her because she never forgets to take her dark chocolate.

Readers -

Waving at davidette who posted while I was typing.

thanks for the support on the osteopenia, Bill and davidette! Davidette, you are so fortunate to have your mom still with you! I lost my mom in 2004; it was the hardest thing I'd ever experienced.

happy wednesday all! thanks for the kudos on my stinky training run. this week will be better - we'll be in cincinnati working on the old house (nope, still haven't listed it yet. arg.) and i cleared it with DH that i can go to my old, beloved track for my 5-miler while he works on the kitchen floor.

anne, i'm doing my own training program - cobbled it together from about 4 others i looked at. the flying pig is the first sunday in may - 16 weeks from now (but who's counting?) had a phenomenal speed run yesterday - 11:39 min mile! huzzah! for me, this is beyond speedy. it was miserable while i was doing it, but i feel good now. so sorry everyone's sick! that sucks.

bill, is there a day when there are fewer samples out at whole foods? another option is to find somewhere else to shop. don't know what your other choices are...might be helpful. dunno!

hi kim! wish we did live closer...it would be fun to have a running buddy!

lily, cripes! what a terrible bedside manner. i'm betting there are all kinds of things that are more helpful than "not falling". can't remember the last time i thought to myself, gee, i should fall and try and break something. geesh!

sorry i can't get to everyone - have a Thing that came up at work that needs attending to this week (and possibly next.) will be thinking of you!