Good morning coaches,

Food on plan yesterday and a 90 minutes hike, credit. Today's exercise will be my class at the Y. I've decided not to attend the Holiday Party this evening. It's potluck and I don't know that many people. I was going to force myself to go, but wasn't looking forward to it. Dh returns this afternoon after being gone a few days and I'd rather stay home with him.

Bill i love walking with a destination in mind. Good job getting your walks in around your events and even not having time to really eat. I find if I'm busy enough I eat far less.

Maryann Good job on no sweets at work!

Ani Sounds like you're off to a great start. It feels to good to be on track, doesn't it.

Gardenerjoy Glad you're feeling better. I was wondering if I was getting something yesterday, but I think it was just lack of sleep. After a good night's sleep I feel good. I need to think about getting some humidity in my house too. Even putting a pan of water on the stove would probably help.

Waving to everyone else and here's hoping December is a good month for all of us. I'm feeling hopeful today!

Hi Everyone-
just a quick wave! I'm feeling much better today and am back at work, just a little tired. I got a late start to the morning so am just bopping in to say hi! Dessert free week isn't happening, alas! we are all breaking down.
So far no extra sweets around the house though so that is good!
Happy Thursday and more tomorrow!

CREDIT for going to the dairy and not eating a scoop of ice cream. I can count on one hand how often that has happened. CREDIT for making sure that I didn't drive past the place that sells a Christmas treat that I particularly like. I may forgo that treat completely this year. I know I will want to eat it all at once even though it would need to be spaced out over several days to make any sense in my plan. I can find other ways to make the season festive.

I'm re-planning my day. The first plan had two carry-out meals, but I can do better than that.

WI: -0.55 kg, Exercise: +40 80/1200 minutes for December, Food: 100% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

karenrn: so happy you found your ring!

I lost yesterday's post and didn't want to retype it. Busy day, got a lot accomplished. Finally slowed down around 9 p.m. One more busy evening tonight and looking forward to Friday. Have a financial meeting first thing in the morning and then work. I need to remember to set the alarm an hour earlier.

Love2Garden - I was thinking of you a great deal today - hope you're having a good day. Onward and forward. I wish I'd been as diligent as you with the garden care come fall. I still have some clearing out to do - it'll wait for the weekend. I have a few pots that I wanted to put small boxwood-type in for the winter, just so it doesn't look so barren. I think I missed the boat on anything like that at the nursery. Now it's just poinsettias and birdseed

Listening to a Geneen Roth audiobook this afternoon while inputting information. It got me thinking (and I missed a great deal of the audio) that the last time in my life that my weight wasn't what I thought about when I got up and it wasn't what I thought about a few times a day ... nor was it a huge determiner in my meal choices, was when I was caregiving last summer. It wasn't a focus. I ate, I felt, I moved, I did, I was. I lost 10 pounds. I think there's something in that. I don't know what.

Nationalparker - that's an interesting thought, I can conclude with that, at one of my lowest weights it wasn't a thought either but it was a very different situation, I was going through a breakup and it was the last thing on my mind.

gardenerjoy - good for you in giving yourself credit. this is something I find particularly hard.

Just popping in to say I'm doing much better. I'm officially down seven pounds since I started posting in the forum again, so maybe there's a correlation between feeling good and losing weight. The MOH and I are making a diet bet we started December 1, whoever loses the most inches by April 1 gets a prize. We're both very competitive so this should turn out well. I'm feeling really good about it actually.

Restarting the pink workbook today because I keep getting off track. This time it's going to live in my purse. I've been practicing but I think I really need to do it again. I'm going down to four days a week at work so this should help.

National Parker Agree that when I am super busy I don't even think about what to eat. Especially since DH took over cooking breakfast AND Dinner. I lost weight caregiving, too. Still, I'm enjoying having the time to enjoy other people and read and even listen to Josh Groban.

BillI joined you today with lots of walking with a destination in mind. Second day of such and I was pleased that so many tasks finished and lots of people to socialize with.

Welcome Howyoulose May your competition help you gain good health as the inches and pounds drop away.

Sudden cold weather hit today and according to the weather report, it will be March before we see 50 deg. again after a very warm (and dry) November.

I shopped for fleece leggings.

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Walked, CREDIT moi, to class and back where the exercise was countered because homemade brownies appeared to celebrate someone's 90th birthday. How can you turn down a brownie for a 90th birthday? (The correct answer: because it wasn't on my plan - duh!) I stopped at only one street library where I took no books but did fondle a couple briefly. A package arrived at home and I had no idea what it was - it was a Christmas gift I'd ordered for DW last month and already forgotten about. I've become so used to Amazon Prime delivering in two days that I'd forgotten that other places aren't that efficient.

I finally figured out how to schedule a telephone appointment to finalize the purchase of health insurance for next year. The secret is to click the link asking to speak to a representative (which I had assumed was a request for NOW). Then, you are directed to page that says that you can't - but that you can schedule an appointment. After that, it was easy. To buy the insurance my voice has to be recorded - a new thing for me.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – It's classic Cognitive Behavior to avoid driving by a place with a tempting Christmas treat - thanks for the demonstration.

nationalparker – Such a marvelous living in the present: "I ate, I felt, I moved, I did, I was."

Karen (karenrn) - Kudos for skipping a party to which you weren't looking forward. (Apparently, it's getting to be considered curmudgeonly to work that hard to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition.)

curlyjax - Yep, avoiding extra sweets around the house is good.

Sandy (love2garden) - I'm struck by that report that we won't see 50 degrees again until March. I'm slow at accepting the obvious. Kudos for shopping for leggings that will allow you to get out in the cold.

howyoulose - Congrats on those seven pounds gone forever. Neat idea to take the Pink Book with you.

Readers -

Good morning coaches,
Quick check in this morning. Food was a little over yesterday. Heading out for a hike with Suzanne this morning. She said it will be about 6 miles, so that's good. Yesterday was not a very productive day, ended up having a headache. I did get a hotel booked in Cusco and checking things for Lima.

Karen

I'm pleased with how well I planned yesterday and how well I followed the plan. CREDIT! Today should be even easier, which is good because tomorrow is going to be a challenge. In fact, I probably need to post tonight because I won't have time in the morning.

WI: NC in kg, Exercise: +30 110/1200 minutes for December, Food: 100% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

I thought I was going to enjoy a semi-relaxing afternoon/evening but it's been a bit of a busy one. Dinner was tomato soup and grilled cheese at home ... always easier to lighten it up there. DH's fave comfort food dinner.

My list for the weekend is pretty long ... I want to rewrite and add in read a few chapter of my book, enjoy a hot bath, etc., so I remember that it doesn't all have to get done this weekend.

Snacking - Nope! Credits! Donut Friday - Nope! Credits. Hm. I thought I had more today. At least I murmured a few "no choices" at work ... was bookended with donuts in two areas. Looking forward to taking time in the morning to post early before I get rolling.

Coaches

The whole day I was dogged by intense sugar cravings. Credit I did not relent. I flexed the resistance muscle so much I may have pulled it.

I did eat extra.carbs via homemade nachos but we often have nacho Friday and I think DH made less than usual.

I am feeling like not eating as much meat and wanting more raw vegetables. I will indulge that.

I am completely exhausted. The pressure of trying to get the full info about proceeding with my father's estate, and then relaying it to my angry oldest sister is gnawing at me. I am sure it was the root of my desire to escape into baked goods. I need to get past this part now but won't do it until I talk to the trustee of my father's estate. He was cremated yesterday and my sister and I talked a bit about the in's and outs of that. I found myself just sitting on the loveseat feeling sad. I was thinking I need to visit my mother then remembered how that always makes me feel sad and then I thought of MIL and how we have been instructed not to use the C word (cancer) yet we all know this could be the last Xmas, or maybe not. SIL has been calling to say they will be here for Xmas, her first visit to see her mother since she was diagnosed in August. Yep I am mad about that and say nothing. We'll be stressed out like crazy this Xmas.

Anyway never mind. My last show and sale of 2015 is this coming week.I look forward to other art forms. Cannot wait to get to my studio on a regular basis. Can not wait.

Have a good night.

PS weighed in at WW yesterday and was.the same as last week 269.4 credit.

Diet Coaches/Buddies – When we took a movie from the library last week, DW brought home three; last night we watched Unbroken and were both deeply moved. The reviews on Amazon suggest that reading the 500 page book is required to understand the magnitude of Louie Zamperini's recovery. So, with one click, I just ordered it (Used hardcover, Very Good, $0.01 + $3.99 s&h). It's a tad long to check out of the library for a duration that would allow both of us to read it.

Walk, CREDIT moi, included my dentist's office where I tried to find out what would be covered by the dental insurance I'm considering. The admin there was cheerful and attempted to be helpful, but kept suggesting that detailed reading of the plan was required to understand what was covered. I modified lunch in attempt to compensate for morning snacking. Wasn't a perfect exchange.


onebyone – Sending supportive thoughts as you continue through the period after you father's passing. Kudos for "wanting more raw vegetables."

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Hope today's challenges go well for you.

nationalparker – Kudos for avoiding the evil Donut Friday. LOL at "bookended with donuts."

Karen (karenrn) - Kudos for taking steps toward Machu Picchu.

Readers -

Weird timing (I swear an hour disappeared from my afternoon -- poof!) and an unexpected errand led to a completely inappropriate snack. CREDIT for boxing it in and not letting it affect any other portion of my day.

Today's challenge is an all day workshop with the same group we went to Cuba with. Each of us will print three photographs from the trip that will be in an exhibit later this month. Should be fun and exciting!

Breakfast will be provided. I don't know what but it will almost surely be sweeter than I'm used to. My plan -- grab the least sweet thing and guesstimate how much 400 calories or less will be and eat that portion of it. Lunch will be a boxed lunch from Panera. I don't know exactly what will be in it, but I can guess it will be 3 to 6 times as much carb as I'd normally eat, probably twice the protein, and a fraction of the veggies. So, that plan is pretty obvious: eat all the veggies, half the protein, and try to limit the carbs to no more than twice what I'd normally eat. I'll plan to skip all snacks.

We've got supper cooking -- all I have to do is wash lettuce and make a big salad to go with it when we get home. I'll be hungry, but (as we know) hunger is not an emergency.

WI: +0.15 in kg, Exercise: +40 150/1200 minutes for December, Food: 80% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

Some of you will be interested in today's blog post -- a review of a book about Havana in the 1950s with photos from my trip of 1950s things: http://www.joyweesemoll.com/2015/12/...urdaysnapshot/

BillBlueEyes: added Unbroken to the Netflix queue. Thanks!

Hello Coaches, quick check in. Found myself back to the weight I was when I started this summer - big bummer. Trying to move on - I need to really decide if I am going to ask for my book back or just buy my own copy again. The library doesn't have.

BillBB: I loved the book Unbroken so much more than the movie. It is an amazing story of survival. I honestly don't know how anyone made it out of there alive - period.

dailypractice: thanks for the yoga site - I'm going to try it out.

My shoulder pain has been so bad I finally broke down and went to the doctor for a round of steroids and pain pills. I looked like a contortionist at school trying to put my body in a position that didn't result in sharp stabs of pain. When I am late with the meds I can feel it all still hurting so I don't I didn't "cure" anything, but at least I can function with the reduced pain.

DH is still unemployed, bummer. It is so hard at his age and experience. He has an interview on Tuesday - we will see how it goes.

I am debating on whether to change assignments at school next year. I have been focused on math coaching for the last five years, but am missing literacy and science. Do I want a full-time class?? It has both its benefits and drawbacks. I will keep pondering that......my kind of job is hard to get, I know lots of people would want it. In other words, once I'm out I may not get back in.

So apparently my check in wasn't as quick as I thought...

Have a good night y'all.

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Walk, CREDIT moi, included the library to return the last DVD, a museum shop to attempt to buy a meteorite as a Christmas gift for my DS (failed), and a hardware store to buy a new garlic press for DW (because she asked for it). If anyone has a clue for buying a meteorite, let me know. I did peek into a geology museum that had many large ones - but they had armed guards instead of price tags. DW hopes a better garlic press will help wean herself from the jars of garlic with their low flavor yet spare her the effort of hand chopping the cloves. I do love the smell of garlic heating in oil on the stove.

Eating was partially on plan, partial CREDIT moi. I did avoid the temptation to buy some snacking foods while in stores - so much is visible and set out to be easily for an addict to pick up.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Like the detail planning for your photography workshop day with its two provided meals. The notion of eating only as much carbs as you've planned instead of just taking whatever sized monster roll is offered is just terrific discipline.

SuzLen - Congrats for taking steps to deal with your shoulder pain - it's difficult to imagine how you can teach with that distraction. Sounds like you're facing a difficult choice between two desirable positions for your teaching future; good luck finding your path there.

Readers -