Bad food day yesterday. DD was grumpy with me when I picked her up- she hadn't eaten that am as I suspected!-and got into a long tearful thing on the way home. Boy do I dislike these car rides. then I was obsessing about wasting money to buy lunch when we could have had stuff for "free" at the dining hall (already paid for on the plan) etc. And her turning the heat way up which costs more money. She is right, I react differently to her than I do to DS, and some of it is based on assumptions and prior interactions from the past. So I am working on it, but it is exhausting. We ended up having some good interactions too- but I rewarded myself with homemade brownies with sour cream frosting. hmm, wonder why i'm not losing weight??
The rest of this weekend is- church, eat some healthy stuff, groceries, bills, work on the FAFSA, plan for Thanksgiving, get some exercise, drive DD back on Monday. Exciting stuff!

Good morning!

Yesterday was on plan and weight is down another bit. I'll take it! 21 pounds to go.

Beth, credit for the better day. The updated bathroom must be so satisfying to have it completed!

Pixie, credit for doing so well with exercise. 20 minutes on jump rope is great!

Bill, I'm still PTSD from the 12 years of small children and poor sleep. I hope I'm recovered in time to enjoy the sleepless grandchildren. My 7yo tells me she's never having kids, going to live alone and work in a froyo place, so maybe it won't happen anyway.

Joy, good luck with your salad goals today. I forced myself to have fruit, which I don't have much love for. Maybe sesame sticks are the trick!

Curly, sorry about the stress this weekend.

Hi all,

Today was an okay food day--not stellar, not bad. I'm mentally preparing myself for my real goal through the holidays--to sill be hanging out within 2 lbs of 165. (Sure, I'd take a drop, but if I weigh 165 at NY, I'll consider that a win!)

I need to start walking again--starting with finding somewhere to walk inside at night. Today's exercise was stairs--lots and lots of stairs. No matter where I was, I need to get something or do something somewhere else.

Tomorrow I'm going to a conference--I'm volunteering tomorrow and get to attend as an attendee on Tuesday. I went to this conference last year and it was great so I'm really looking forward to it. Volunteering means that I help at registration (which I enjoy) and then I attend all of the breakout sessions in the same room so I can introduce and thank the speaker. Pretty easy--and it was easier to get my director to agree to making 2 days for a conference than it would have been to get him to agree to pay $1500 for me to attend it!

G'night all!

--Beth

I followed my plan 100%. And, I weighed this morning because the next step is how much less than generous my plan needs to be to get a slow, gradual weight loss.

November word count: 14005/50,000
Daily weighing streak: 1, Weigh-in: +1.1 kgs, Exercise: +25, 365/1200 minutes for November

curlyjax: good job with posting your self-reflection and your plan for the rest of the weekend -- two good stress-relievers, there.

Penny: yay for the progress that comes from staying on plan.

bethturnaround: I need to figure out some alternate exercise, too. Sometimes we walk all winter, but the weather changed so rapidly that we didn't get a chance to get used to it. We're balking at the cold right now and I'm managing only about half the minutes that I want, most of those not aerobic. I have a nice collection of DVDs, but I have a hard time getting myself to do them. Oh, that just gave me an idea. The problem is that I fear they'll be boring because I've seen them so much, I practically have them memorized. If that's true, then I could turn the sound off in the DVD player and listen to something else while following the moves on the screen. I've done that before, but forgot all about it.

BillBlueEyes: Hope all is well with you and you had a great weekend with DGD.

Good morning!

Yesterday was on plan and weight is holding.

Beth, credit for making a plan. Enjoy the conference!

Joy, kudos for hitting every goal. Playing your own music with the exercise DVD sounds WAY more fun. Good idea!

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Same exercise for a second day: chase the (3 yo) DGD, CREDIT moi. Spent a major portion of the day running up and down three floors of the Discovery Museum in Acton MA. Just the best time ever. It was crowded to its limit, but had sufficient discovery areas that we never waited. Helped the DGD make her first electric circuit with batteries, a switch, and a lightbulb. We had to beg for a few wires from the 3 yo boy whose mother kept telling him that he couldn't have all the pieces. Seems that he's a member who comes often to spend hours making circuits at the electric table. The water play area had a stream that lifted a ping-pong-like ball about five feet and held it suspended in the stream. I couldn't get enough of it. Might have to go back without the inconvenience of having to chase the DGD from exhibit to exhibit. My geek was annoyed at the display that dropped balls across an array of pegs where they fell into bins below; if you wait for all the balls to fall, you see a natural Bell curve form. I've seen this exhibit in every science museum I've ever been to. Unfortunately, releasing the balls is done by the kids and almost none were interested in a Bell curve - so they released the balls from the bins to get more to play with before a balanced curve had formed. I tried to convince myself that I was experiencing a demonstration that a small sample does not form a statistically meaningful distribution and that the continued interruptions were to help me develop an inner peace. I tried - but my geek wasn't having it; I WANTED Bell curves because I spent my engineering career working on very large samples that assumed normal distributions to do important work. Yay for those who make such places of amazing quality.

Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, because I had NO CHOICE due to never having access to snacks. Taking credit anyway. Dinner was Papa Gino's pizza from a place near DD's house that isn't one of the ones being closed. Half had to be plain cheese because that's what the DGD eats - no compromise. The other half was veggies for DW and me. First time ever I've ever ordered a pizza online. Site said it would be read in 25 minutes; google maps said it was a 3 minute drive away. I believed both and arrived just as they were removing my pie from the oven. Enough to make me believe in computers, LOL.

I got home near midnight so I slept in this morning. Hope to post before I'm off to a noon lunch meeting.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - A small bribe for a better savings is a good deal.

curlyjax - You sound busy; hope your DD is in the mood for a calm visit.

Beth (bethturnaround) - Neat idea to work at the conference to save the registration fee - with the benefit of professional exposure in front of the room.

Penny. - LOL at a seven year-old already knowing that she wants to be a froyo barista when she grows up. Don't tell her how well she'll live as a barista.

Readers -

Good morning coaches,

I am giving myself big time credit for signing up for the 8:30 a.m. Peak Performance class at the new gym and attending it. I signed up on the ap on my phone since I heard the class is in an area that only accommodates 10 people or so. The Instructor was friendly and helpful and the other folks in the class were great too. Even though I probably need more serious strength training, the class is good with some strength training and some metabolic work. I'll increase the weights on those moves as I feel able. For today I figured I had better just make it manageable. The class is offered 6 days a week, so yahoo for that. Food was pretty good yesterday with just one extra snack and a 4 1/2 mile walk with a friend, plus a walk with Otis.

I don't know if I mentioned that on my Grand Canyon hike a couple of weeks ago the fellow with us struggled the most. He actually did better up hill than down, but anyway I learned yesterday that he hadn't been feeling stellar. He had intermittent dizziness at the gym and then again when he was starting out on a bike ride. He ended up calling the consulting nurse who directed him to the ER based on his blood pressure and pulse. When he got to the ER his pulse was running between 27 and 32. Holy moly, Paul is the proud new owner of a pacemaker. He had a Garmin In Reach device with him on our hike which lets you message for emergency assistance or email to family and friends, but luckily he didn't need that helicopter ride out. I'm wondering how much better he will be feeling with an adequate heart rate.

I'll get back to personals later today or tomorrow.

Karen

Hi everyone,


Both yesterday and today were pretty good for me. I had a conversation with family about my serious fitness journey and how I would like them to show support. Eating was on plan and it’s a 4th-day streak for me! CREDIT to that. On top of my jump rope sessions, I have added some quick ab exercises post jumping rope.


Penny - I am trying to increase my endurance as well and I honestly find jumping rope so much more fun than other forms of cardio. I didn’t believe this until I tried jumping rope. And congrats on the weight loss!

Joy - Great job on following your plan 100%!

Beth - You got this! Walk around a bunch at the conference

Bill - You DESERVE that food on plan credit.

Karen - Absolutely. Great job for signing up and attending the class! I know sometimes I would sign up and back out last minute… so CREDIT to you! Hope Paul is okay now, that’s a scary experience.


Good night

-Pixie

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Even though it was Veteran's Day, I still had two scheduled events that figured themselves too necessary to take a holiday. Made for a busy day which felt good. I had one unusual success. DW asked me to make reservations at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for a member's event that has lovely music played in the rooms with paintings and artifacts that we love to visit. (And, yes, this is the museum whose Rembrandt and other painting were taking one evening in 1990.) I left a voice message on their machine to call me back, thinking I'd encountered yet another bureaucratic wall. However, to our surprise, in less than an hour the tickets arrived by email. Astounding! I love when the mechanics behind the scenes work.

Eating was OKish - despite being busy I found enough time to do my snacks. Snacking happens in those spaces between busy where I haven't yet committed to the next task so declare myself bored. Naturally, a snack is seen as a rational response to boredom.


Karen (karenrn) - Just amazing how close you came to a helicopter evacuation on your Grand Canyon hike. I do recognize the notion that it can be easier to hike uphill than down.

Pixie (pewpewpixie) - Yay for getting your family on board for support. Sometimes our efforts aren't taken seriously since we've tried before and not completed our stated journey.

Readers -

Hi coaches-the ride back to college went way better, except for the end. We had both eaten, I was determined to be calm and we had a very nice chat most of the way. So yay for that! Thanks for your supportive words.
I was listening to Seabiscuit on the way home and was inspired to watch the movie again while I rode the stationary bike. it really does nothing for my heart but is great for my hip. Bad eating day, but today is a new day. My head is obviously not into anything but (barely) maintaining currently.
I ahve found a place to stay in Scotland so we are definitely going in the spring, wahoo!
Bill- I had to laugh at your geek reaction That is a great museum, we have been there years ago. your kids are so lucky to have you babysit for the weekend!
Penny- hope the renovations are moving along. Sounds chaotic but fun.
Joy-Its so cool you do the November writing each year. yes, writing down things here can help me think it out.
Beth- Stairs are always good! hope the conference was interesting.
KAren- yikes on your friend! The new class sounds good.
pixie- I forget about jumping rope, that is fun, and reminds me of being a kid

I followed my plan 100% and got a nice drop on the scale to encourage myself to continue.

Today's challenge is a question mark where my dinner plan is supposed to be. I have a meeting. We'll reheat leftovers or pick up some reasonably healthy carry-out, but I'm not sure which yet.

I still didn't manage very minutes of exercise, but it wasn't due to resistance. I somehow ended up being the person who had to decide whether or not to cancel a meeting due to snow. The discussion took up most of the time that I allotted for exercise. In the end, we had the meeting with a reasonable turn-out.

November word count: 16210/50,000
Daily weighing streak: 2, Weigh-in: -0.5 kgs, Exercise: +15, 380/1200 minutes for November

Good morning!

Yesterday was on plan and weight is holding.

Today is more repairing, cleaning, painting and moving to get our rooms back in order. I am also going to the cardio dance class again tonight.

Bill, the day at the science museum sounds like it was a lot of fun. Kudos for getting through your weekend of grandpa duty.

Pixie, credit for the good day and making your goals official with the family. I think I might try one of those rope jumping group exercise videos with my own music (Joy's great idea).

Karen, that is really lucky that guy came through okay. What a scary story!

Curly, yay for a good day with your daughter! Lol at the synchronized hangry times.

Joy, kudos for the 100% on plan day and the big weight drop.

Good afternoon coaches,

Food was on plan yesterday and today the plan is written and so far followed. I just got back from hiking Sunrise, which is a 4 mile up and down hike that is really pretty. I didn't want to do one that was too long cause I'm going to tomorrow. Tomorrow I'm hiking the Bluff Springs Loop in the Superstitions with the gal who may want to backpack in the Sierras with me in the summer. I'm hoping we can kind of decide whether she is up for that or not. If not I'll make another plan. I am listening to the book "Finish, Give Yourself the Gift of Done" by Jon Acuff. It seems to be mostly about perfectionists who quick something as soon as they aren't perfect. I am certainly not a perfectionist, but there are always hints to keep a person going toward their goals.

Penny Good job on continuing to be on plan and get your exercise. The cleaning and painting sounds like a lot of work, but I bet things are really looking nice.
GardenerJoy Yay on the weight drop. It seems crazy to think about meetings being cancelled for snow already, but then I see the weather reports and see it is happening.
Curlyjax How fun that you have Scotland to look forward to in the spring. It is always good to have things to look forward to.
Bill I continue to be amazed at all the wonderful events you take in. I do realize that doesn't happen without planning (and having a willing spouse who likes some of the same things). Maybe one of these days . . . .
Pixie That's great you were able to let your family know what support you need. I'm fortunate that my husband has similar health goals. He doesn't get the exercise I do since he works full time, but he is really good these
days at watching his weight and not wanting any junk in the house. I did look at the jump rope challenge, but I know it just isn't something I would do. Exercise isn't really my problem area though.

I'm trying a new head trick based on something I learned from the Phit n Phat podcast. I draw four circles each day and write down my longer term goal, goal for one month, goal for one week and goals for the day. They suggest a year, but since I don't have that much weight I want to lose, I just use 3 months for the longer term goal. For the daily goals I am shooting for 2 liters of water, follow my food plan and today it is No alcohol. Yesterday it was trying the hunger scale (which I will admit I didn't do). We'll see how long I can keep it up. I guess like the Finish book says, even if I miss a day I should not quit. Mainly it gets me to focus on my goals each day. I would say I mostly take what I can from the different weight loss sources and then let the rest go.

Okay, this is strange. I thought I posted this hours ago. I went to the site to see if there were any other posts and saw mine wasn't there. I guess I hadn't hit post, but a box came up and said Restore Auto-Saved Content. Yahoo . . . I did it and here is my post.

Karen

Conference was interesting. Food was horrible the last two days--beyond horrible into binging on sweets. I'm going to do 5 products for the next 3 days--and I think I need to find someone to talk to--the behavioral therapist with the program is just too young/inexperienced--I've met with her twice and don't think she's going to be able to help me. But I do need to work through this and as hard as it's going to be, be prepared to treat sweets like an alcoholic treats alcohol--I just can't seem to handle it in moderation :-(

--Beth

Hi everyone,

I went a tiny bit over with my calories today since I went out to dinner but I definitely ate extremely healthy and no junk/sugar. I created a vision board for myself with the fitness goals/bodies/models I would like to achieve and have been feeling so inspired and been making decent food choices. I am teaching my mind and body to want and crave healthy foods and so far the past few days have been pretty good. I did get a bit frustrated with work in the morning but was able to successfully identified voices that gave me permission to “stuff” myself even though I had already eaten 1 hour prior. I ignored them and went for a hot almond latte (plain no syrup or anything), which is my favorite. The drink reminded me of my favorite memories and I enjoyed every sip of it. CREDIT to not giving in. Body feeling a bit weak today so it’s a low activity day for me. I’ll do better tomorrow!

Stats for today:
Jump rope: 1/7
Dance/HITT: 0/2
Weight change since 1st weigh in: -1.5lbs

Bill - that is amazing! I hope you had a wonderful time at the museum

Curly - I think it’s important as long as you are moving around. CREDIT to that! And Scotland! THAT’S VERY EXCITING. How many days are you going to be there? I also realized I have to be semi-focused with jumping rope and I personally think that’s kinda nice. When I run on the treadmill or do the stair master, my mind just wanders and then I think about why this is taking forever while dying from the exercise.

Joy - Congrats on following your plan 100% again!

Penny - Cardio dance classes are amazing. They keep me engaged

Karen - I feel you on the perfectionist part. I frequently have to tell myself that “done is better than perfect.” The type of work I do requires me to ideate, experiment and prototype things in a very short turnaround time, gather feedback, and improve them. Anyway! Credit to a sunrise hike, I always find those so breathtaking. And credit to your new habit trick! You can do it.

Beth - Tomorrow will be better, Beth. We are all here to help. I love sweets too, I try not to overdo them by not restricting them. Personally, I plan them into my days in moderate quantity since considering them as “bad” foods or restricted foods becomes a trigger that leads to a binge.

Good night

-Pixie