Good morning!

Yesterday was on plan and weight is holding.

My two teens have the wisdom teeth doing their thing, with one son recommended to have them removed now. I had the awkward interaction with the hygienist where she tells me it's up to me when I want to have that done, and I reply that it is actually up to the owner of the teeth. Then, she retorts that it is not up to him, but up to me, leading to an awkward pause and then tension relieving close to the conversation. Sometimes I really don't know how to people.

Maryann, congrats on the weight moving down!

Joy, the doodle is beautiful! I'm glad the meeting was a success.

Bill, credit for getting things organized. Lol at the image of the whole family lined up for shots. It does feel like an assembly line.

Karen, 12 days is a long stretch of early morning hikes. I am actually not having trouble with maintenance calories. I can eat 1200 to 2000 per day of whole food plant based type foods and never gain. I will have to stay closer to 1200 and even below to lose more.

Curly, fingers crossed the car doesn't need too much. Your day sounds more than full!

Good Morning, Coaches.

Ran into some unexpected feelings of frustration and anxiety yesterday. I journaled and realized some of it was coming from my refusal to go Off Plan and eat Sees candy. I left the mall early to avoid it. It reminds me again that Beck’s promise of tension release immediately after a resiliency muscle flex is quite naive. I overeat for relief. I always have. When I don’t overeat it takes quite awhile sometimes to get back on track as I work through feelings. It might be true that the recovery time will grow shorter. We will see.

The other frustration was not being called on to speak in a meeting. This has always been tough for me. I feel I am invisible if I don’t share. I think this feeling goes way back to being raised by a narcissistic father (god bless him). I feel if I work through this feeling many things will change for me. If I continue OP I will have the opportunity to do so. Overeating really stunts my growth.

All this emotional heavy lifting resulted in a bit of eating while standing during the dreaded 5 - 7 time period. Although it involved a plan change I didn’t go over calories by much.

Today’s focus is a visit to the gym to have it a streak if two days.

Karen: Many of my little hikes in Truckee are closed from snow.
Gardenerjoy: Great doodle.
Penny: interesting how teenagers are not considered adults now. I have to remember that bias when I teach them this fall.
Wave to all.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Exercise was chase the (3.5 yo) DGD day, CREDIT moi. We took her to a reservation with long paved paths and a pond with a wooden pier. She leaned over tossing crumbs from the crusts of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich (that she never eats anyway) to the small fish which darted up to grab them. She never got tired of watching their antics. The pond has two larger Goldfish (Carp) that someone must have dumped in thinking it was a good thing. The Goldfish are bigger than the others and will get bigger yet competing for the food. Some folks seem not to be aware that an ecosystem exists where they thoughtlessly muck about.

Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, with dinner on the patio for a pleasant evening. We spend the time laughing at the antics of the DGD from the day. She climbed stronger than ever with no visible effect of her fractured collarbone. Wish I could heal that rapidly. She asked DW what the moat was around a castle in a book being read, subsequently asking questions until DW was explaining war, fighting, and bows and arrows. Oddly, she didn't know what a bow and arrow were. Thank you YouTube for an easy to find visual that showed a young woman shooting at a balloon on a target.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Sketching would seem to be great benefit for survival in long-winded meeting. Add me to the folks who like yours.

maryann - Emotion driven eating "during the dreaded 5 - 7 time period" is such a challenge. If I get past dinner, I can usually make it through til bedtime.

Karen (karenrn) - Ouch for the difficulty planning when the Sierras are still dealing with their snow. Congrats on your continued loses.

curlyjax - I share that getting the Mass RMV yearly inspection is an event. With my electric vehicle, I'm spared the exhaust test. But they jack up the front wheels to check for play and check the tires for appropriate thread. Don't forget to bring your $35 cash.

Penny. - LOL at, "Sometimes I really don't know how to people." It might be a challenge for some folks to be told that your kids are people - even before they're 18.


Readers -

Turns out my car needs some more work-i’ve been ignoring the noisy muffler, in fact I kind of enjoy it but it won’t pass inspection so I’m taking off friday to bring it in. I love my mechanic but they don’t have a loaner car. I made plans to do lunch with a friend and i’ll enjoy putzing around the house in the am. It will be nice to have an extra day off.
We didn’t get the yard work done since DS went off to hang out with a friend which is fine. I did try out my new vacuum which is light weight and works well. I ate some healthy things and some not so healthy things.
Penny- wow, I would have your reaction too. It is up to the owner of the teeth!
Maryann-It reminds me again that Beck’s promise of tension release immediately after a resiliency muscle flex is quite naive yes, well said!
Karen- Mother nature does get in the way of our plans sometimes! Sounds like a good idea to change it up from hiking.
Bill- sounds like another nice day with DGD.

Good morning!

Yesterday was on plan and weight is holding.

Tonight I'm going to a concert at the zoo: Jim James. I had to buy a third low profile folding chair for our son who is also going, so I bought a wider one to accommodate my pressure relieving cushion. It won't be as carefree on the light rail, carrying the extra stuff, but should be comfy for the show!

Maryann, I eat for relief too, especially when I get home from being gone. The only problem with my Beck CBT is that I keep within my calorie range but eat my meals in a way that still allows me to eat for relief. In that way, I have not really solved the root of the issue.

Bill, I'm glad DGD is all healed up and back to climbing. Interesting about the electric car registration. I hadn't thought about the differences with that part of owning one.

Curly, that's great you can get work off with that short notice. It will feel like a treat! Enjoy!

I echo Penny. OP and weight holding. I never think those two should go together. OP should mean a loss. I reminded myself I am on a long journey of a pound a week. I am on track and I’ll let the numbers take care of themselves.

It is a rare cool morning so I am going for a walk. I will do the bike at the gym this afternoon. It will be a good break from scrapbook and book work I have planned.

I am planning both Greece in January and Arches National Park in spring. The Grand Canyon was all booked up a year in advance. I should have known.

Wave to all.

A morning meeting through my routine out of whack, so I'm checking in just to check in. The day has been mostly reasonable eating with a little extra thrown in for some stress. It didn't help and I'm committing to an on-plan supper and getting the most stressful things done so I can quit fretting about them.

Good afternoon coaches,

Boy can I waste away a day. I hiked this morning because it looks like it might be the last day it is below 80 first thing in the morning. I felt great and it probably did me good to have a day off from hiking. I've been on plan with my food and weight is down a smidge again today. This week we are doing something different each day for a "hunger challenge". Today is to go to a -4 (hungrier that the usual -2 that we strive for) before eating one of our meals. I was planning to do that for lunch and so far I'm not hungry. If it gets too late I'll just skip lunch, but it's 3 1/2 hours until dinner so who knows. I'm feeling very confident with staying on my food plan, but I know from past experience that my mind can flip like a switch and I'll be eating something not on plan, so I'm trying not to be cocky with myself about how easy this feels. I know it won't last.

Oh something that was interesting . . . my hiking pal who I will be with next week and plan to hike with in CA is over in Quincy, CA spending the month with her family. Yesterday she went out hiking on the PCT with her two sisters and who should she run in to but Restless Kiwi. She posted photos on FB and said they ran in to a gal from New Zealand who started the trail 3/23. I looked back at YouTube videos and sure enough that was the date she started. I called my friend and told her how I had been watching this gals progress up the trail and she was very surprised. I'm sure she'll want to watch some of her videos once she is home and has time. She did exclaim how small her backpack is.

Okay I just took a long phone call so I'll wait and do personals tomorrow.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - More time spent organizing stuff in preparation for the arrival of a guests for a week. I'm off to buy snack foods and breakfast foods before they get here and I can find out what they really want. It's going to be a challenge to sane eating for me. My achievement for the day was the quickest install of front windshield wipers on my LEAF ever. I found out how to buy just the rubber part of the wiper; even had to remove the two metal bands that insert in that. Replacement was fast and easy. I've been known to spend an hour trying to figure out the "easy snap connector" when replacing the blade and wiper assembly. And DW didn't complain about how much more junk was added to the trash. Double win.

Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, including dinner on the patio in the cool evening. DW picked a humongous batch of sugar snaps - enough for the whole summer if they weren't organic food. We'll just have to overeat sugar snaps for the week that they're fresh.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Eating didn't relieve stress. Wish I had that tattooed on my forehead.

maryann - Noting that you used the word 'scrapbook' and thinking that that makes you an organized person. DW and I just confronted the several boxes of unlabeled photos in our 'attic'. Do you have any suggestions for coming to grips with them - especially the ones that our kids wouldn't recognize if they just found them on their own.

Karen (karenrn) - Neat that your pal independently discovered Restless Kiwi. Sounds like she makes a big impression on everyone. I never learned the secret of a light pack.

curlyjax - LOL at enjoying the sound of a louder muffler. Is it time to consider buying your Harley? Good sound, that.

Penny. - Your Jim James concert at the Oregon Zoo sounds fun. I listened to some samples of his music here.

Readers -

I ate a lot of chocolate yesterday. I just dumped water over the rest of it and put it in the trash so I won’t eat the rest. Even though its sunshiny and bright out I am down in the dumps AGAIN. I’m getting the basics done like food and laundry (although it then sits in the basket but hey its clean!) and the cars but that is it. I need a mom to yell at me and make me clean up my room A friend of mine just got a job and i’m happy for her because she really needs one and it sounds like a great fit, but i’m a little jealous because i keep getting rejected. I applied for another one a few weeks ago and have heard nothing. Also feeling a bit overwhelmed with the solo parenting thing, some days its much harder than others. And of course all this makes me feel like a big fat loser with no self control.
I need to learn to compartmentalize. I am not going to think about jobs today, just focus on the day and the fact that I plans with two friends, one of whom actually contacted me!
Thanks for letting me vent yet again. It is good to let it out somewhere.
Penny- nice that you can take the train to the zoo, that’s awesome. Pressure relieving cushion is a great idea.
Maryann- Greece in January sounds lovely! Greece is a country on my bucket list.
Gardenerjoy-getting the most stressful things done so I can quit fretting about them: excellent idea!
Karen- good idea to do a hunger challenge. Very cool about your friend!
Bill-I sympathize with the wipers. I had a terrible time trying to figure them out on my Toyota. Sometimes newer ideas aren’t better!

Good morning coaches,

Food on plan and up .2. I am going to take Otis for a walk soon and then I'll go to the gym. I really don't have any plans for the day, so I'll have to remedy that. I think I need to work on my food plan for the hikes. I need about 2500 calories per day available, so I'll have to figure out how much of that I already have and what I need to fill in.

Curlyjax I'm sorry that you're feeling down in the dumps. I hear you and can understand how life can be overwhelming. I know some of the things must be taken care of, like the children. But could you really just let the job search go until you feel a bit more confident in the other areas. Who needs the rejection when you're already feeling low? For me it often works that when my food plan is in order it helps me keep my house in order. For one I seem to have more time. So baby steps, and get that room cleaned up you will feel soooo much better. If I were there I would help you.
Bill I hope you're not buying too many snack foods in preparation for guests. As one who frequently has houseguests I've found that I either buy something they don't like or they don't want those kinds of things either and then at the end of the visit they are thrown away or eaten when we don't want them. I hear you about it being a challenge with guests and normally off plan foods in the house. I guess that's one thing I like about summer. I don't have to worry about having things around that we don't want to have to resist.
Maryann Greece and Arches National Park sound wonderful.
Penny I didn't know Jim James music, but listened using the link BBE inserted. I bet the concert was great.
GardenerJoy Funny how extra food doesn't help, but we keep trying anyway.

Okay time to get out the door with Otis before it gets too warm. Have a great day all of you!

Good morning!

Yesterday was overbudget and weight is holding.

The zoo concert was a bust with lots of rain. We brought ponchos to cover ourselves and the chairs but it was still pretty miserable and we left before the opening band finished.

Tonight is our second planned concert, Dido, and it is indoors, thankfully. Then I have no more concerts on the calendar.

Maryann, the Greece and Arches trips sound exciting. It's good to have travel to look forward to. Have you seen the movie Shirley Valentine? One of my favs and makes me want to travel to Greece.

Joy,sorry about the stress you had to deal with.

Bill, having company is great for getting the house cleaned up, isn't it? I need more company.

Karen, how is the tiny baby doing? You haven't mentioned anything in a while so I assume things are good?

Curly, sorry you're feeling the pull of sadness again. It comes in waves it seems. Hopefully it's not too big of a wave.

Another odd start to the day -- I took a neighbor to the airport. It's nice to, now, have neighbors that we can feel free to ask for a trip to the airport.

I'm checking in before lunch so I can commit to a half sandwich with my salad. I've been finding ways to justify a whole sandwich, again. But that won't get me where I want to go.

Exercise: +45, 980/1100 minutes for June

BillBlueEyes: my mother-in-law divided her photos and gave a big envelope to each of her three children -- neatly shifting the problem of what to do with them to the next generation.

curlyjax: sending hugs. I'm trying the "do the most stressful thing first" method again today. It really does improve my day to have that done.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Dramatic change to the 'stuff' of my life as I clumsily stuck it into the 18-gallon plastic containers so that the guests would have room for their clothes and other traveling gear. My office looks terrific without the stacks of papers. I, on the other hand, feel a dread that I have to dig into those containers to find that which I order by stacks. I like the description given of a messy guy's desk: archeological ordering - you find things by the date of the layer they're in.

Eating was mixed, Ouch. I did well during the day then fell into the very junk food that I've purchased for my guests as I waited up until 1:45 am for their arrival. I don't usually spend midnight sitting around waiting.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - The appeal of a whole sandwich is strong. Good luck getting your mind to know that half is a goodly amount.

Karen (karenrn) - Fun to realize that you'll need 2500 calories a day for the effort you'll be expending. Thanks for the tip that junk food bought for guests can be tempting. I just fell into that.

curlyjax - Super Kudos for getting rid of the extra chocolate. Dramatic thunder and lightning outside right now here. If it's out your way, I doubt you'll be able to sleep through it.

Penny. - Ouch for a rainy outdoor concert. Just tell your kids that no one complained at Woodstock, LOL.

Readers -

Thanks for all the sympathy coaches, I feel better today. I talked to my friend who is working at the agency where I applied for a job, and got the inside scoop. There are other jobs available there and she spoke to her supervisor who would be interested in seeing my resume. It’s tricky because its a different job than the one I first applied for, but they have a lot of jobs now and hey, it shows I want to work there. It would be a hellish commute, but nice place to work and low stress job which means a lot. I’m going to have a commute no matter where I go, and at some point I could apply for another job there where I could work from home half the time.
So that makes me feel better. Also I had two nice outings with friends yesterday and passed on the movie popcorn- saw Rocketman which I really enjoyed.
Car fixing total was 1,000.00! Whew, this car better run for awhile!
Karen- you would be a great life coach if you were here! Yes, I’m not really looking at jobs hard, just things that come up that would be a good fit. But financially I need to do this sooner than later.
Penny- bummer about the rained out concert!
Gardenerjoy- good neighbors are awesome!
Bill- yes, heard some thunder early this am, but no lightning. I am all too familiar with those tubs of papers!