Today's a bit less challenging -- it's easy to follow up emails than to initiate conversations.
We're getting delivery tonight to accommodate the weekly family call that seems to have cured MiL's isolation woes (yay!). I want to be careful about portions and sodium. That's been a bit of a downfall the last couple of times.
Exercise +50, 90/1400 minutes for September
maryann: Our society has so many isolated, lonely seniors, right now. And, so many kids who need another adult to pay attention to their schooling. I want to put them together! And, immediately, my idea runs into the need for security. Sigh. On both ends, really. Adults take advantage of kids. Teenagers take advantage of older adults. Of course, the vast majority of these partnerships would be safe and mutually beneficial, but the few that wouldn't sour the whole idea.
Friday - Britain ends policy of penal transport to New South Wales, Australia (1884)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Eating was on plan with no snacks, CREDIT moi. Lunch was, as planned, the last chicken leg from KFC. I made the mistake of warming it in the microwave; made it tough. It does better warmed in the oven. Nevertheless, my arteries got all the fat (lard?) that makes it so crispy. Hopefully I've solved that craving for a few years. Dinner on the patio was Cod. When I first came to New England, Cod was still so plentiful that dried Cod was abundant and cheap. It's now neither, but still delicious. No evening snack because I raced off to Staples to investigate a laser printer.
And I bought one and brought it home. CREDIT moi for just buying something instead of spending a month comparing prices at different stores. Also award myself for being a responsible partner supporting that DW needs some printing for her plant sale next week - not next month. An intelligent techie guy helped me initially, then turned me over to a more informed techie guy who knew every detail of all the printers. The Brother model I walked out with is black ink only - the size of the color option wouldn't fit discreetly on my desk. It has a flat glass for scanning; the more expensive, larger, model adds a feeder so that a stack of paper can be copied. I no longer need that. To my surprise, there was a $120 tiny version for a dorm room with minimal features.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Good news that the family phone call is working as planned.
maryann - Kudos for using your resistance muscle to make a six hour fast in the afternoon. The Boston Globe had an article making the same point that you observed. The kids in western Massachusetts are falling behind because high-speed Internet just isn't there. The barely adequate service they have falls apart when all families try to Zoom at the same time. One teacher even had the police do a welfare check on a fully functioning family because she'd never seen this star pupil miss so many classes.
curlyjax - LOL at "made empathetic noises" - Yep, sometimes all we need is to be heard.
Penny. - Yay for a hike to keep the mind and cardiovascular system working.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 2Experience the Difference
Is This Book for You?
You should also postpone starting this program if your life is just too busy and stressful right now. The program takes a strong commitment from you and initially requires a fair degree of time and energy (though as you master skills, it gets easier and easier). Reduce your stress and then start with a fresh mind and renewed energy.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 31.
A tough day in which I ate emotionally. DD having roommate troubles, me depressed by my job/lack of responses online dating/the pandemic/cloudy day/weight gain.Lots of negative self talk. Plus being physically close to a good chocolate store. I am just CRAVING sugar. I ended up calling a friend at night which helped. I so miss my DH and my mom.
Resolved- weigh once a week only, I can't handle the daily ups and downs now. Stay off online dating until I get some good photos done. Clear off the bedside table and put some affirmations and beck cards there. Don't slide into a pattern of: I ate some junk, might as well keep doing it.
It's friday and its a long weekend thank goodness. Gardenerjoy- I had the same thought but with all the high schoolers and college kids doing online classes (which don't take all day)- that they would be computer savvy and great at tutoring the little kids. But of course impossible to organize in the real world.
Food was too much and driven by compulsion. I didn’t gain but I don’t want to get back into the habit of opening the refrigerator door so many times a day. For today, I will remind myself there is nothing I can eat that will solve the problems of distance learning.
Heard the first monument proposals in classes yesterday and they were great. I need to figure out a couple of fun online games for today.
Mom is coming up for a haircut and dinner. I’m glad she can get out of the house.
BBE: a new printer is very exciting. I bought a $3 scanner app for the phone. I’m excited to see if it works.
curleyjax: I’m sorry it is tough for you right now. I definitely relate to the call of chocolate and just that longing for things to be different.
The scale said that I did no damage with last night's delivery -- yay, for portion control!
Today's adventure is a return to Whole Foods. If I can, I'll get a month's worth of chicken and tempeh. Encountering a shortage on Monday seems to have put me back in hoarding mode. But, I prefer to think of it as more efficient with time and fuel. Weekly shopping at the local supermarket uses less of both.
Exercise +60, 150/1400 minutes for September
curlyjax: We were all feeling a bit down here with too many cloudy days in a row. The sunshine returned yesterday, so I'll work on sending it your way! Even though that's the smallest thing on the list of things to worry about right now, sunshine does seem to be remarkably helpful at raising the spirit.
Portions were too generous at both lunch and dinner yesterday. I went out to dinner with 4 friends to a seafood place with outdoor seating on the Puget Sound with a view of Mt. Rainier. It was a bit windy, but I figure that makes it even safer. Earlier in the day we went for a walk at Pt. Defiance Park. It's a huge park and absolutely beautiful. We saw people kayaking in the Puget Sound and a lot of law enforcement divers going out to dive. I think it was probably just a training thing and figured that was pretty nice for them. Today I'm riding along with my friend to the doctor. It is her first visit with the nephrologist and she is worried. She won't let me come in whether they will or not, but I figure I'll be in the car when she gets back. She is already being very careful about what she eats because her Potassium level has been very high. Tonight we're having a New England Boil from the local upscale store. It's been great to be here and see my close friends and enjoy the beautiful weather. I am waking up in the middle of the night and stewing about my mil for several hours.
GardenerJoy Good luck on your Whole Foods run. MaryAnn I'm so glad your Mom can get out too. I know it must be so frustrating to deal with the distance learning, but I'm sure you are doing an excellent job and I'm glad your students have you. Curlyjax I'd love to send you some sunshine too. It does help for sure. It is such a difficult time. Bill I haven't had KFC for years, but it sounds good. I think I had a lifetime of it when I was helping care for my sister in law who died 15 years ago. I think I was eating it daily. Let us know how you like the new printer. Next time I will purchase a laser printer for sure. The cost of ink is crazy for the one I have.
I'd better get moving. I was awake for about 2 1/2 hours in the night and then went back to sleep and stayed in bed until almost 7:30. Unheard of for me.
I don't know where the days go. I've missed a couple here but have read all the posts so I'm in tune with all of you.
Today I went way over my carb count. Sheer frustration at zero movement in the scale. And sheer sadness at seeing the pic my friend took of me on our outing yesterday. The leggings that didn't fit before but now do, the ones I was so happy to wear I really shouldn't wear them.in public.they looked horrible. Awful. I dont look as good as I feel. How weird is that? So I felt like that then woke up to see scale at 277 and I just threw in the towel for a few hours. I'm over it again but my foodplan needs tweaking. More likely its not the food but the movement. Ive been saying it and trying here and there vut with no consistency the plan to move everyday . I had the idea to find workouts on YouTube and to just try a new one every day forn10 minutes. Doesn't really matter to me what it is. I will try to do it and maybe I'll stumble into something I didn't knkw I'd like. I've found belly dancing and chair yoga and qi gong and.lots of other stuff. 10.minutes seems like fun and not work or a burden. I'm taking a mental from pondering the foodplan tomorrow though. DH and I are going for a car ride. I.suggested heading to Coldwater. You drive past Springwater to get to Coldwater and I think further up the road is Blackwater. A friend of mine does volunteer work at the Coldwater.Mill and Museum. She might be therw tomorrow. Plus there's a farmer's market which is always a draw for me.
Saturday - Sam Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas (1836)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - The new laser printer is up and running. Was easier than expected. The biggest hurdle was finding where I'd written the password for our Cable Modem supplied local WIFI network - not my local WIFI network that sits behind that. Found it in the manilla folder where it was supposed to be. Should have looked there first instead of ruffling through a stack of unorganized papers. The best features are superb detail and fast printing - can do 34 sheets a minute! Since I only do a couple of sheets at a time, that only means that I get to watch the paper zip out rapidly, LOL. Am proud that a sign from the printer is already posted on the end of our driveway for the plant sale next week.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was a spicy, Indian, chick pea dish. I was sent to find a baguette. I returned, instead, with a package of loaves of Injera Bread since there were no baguettes at the corner store. We've never had Injera Bread other than at an Ethiopian restaurant. A mix of culinary cultures, to be sure, but worked quite well. And there's plenty left so we'll be having it with other mixed cuisines until it's gone. An inspired choice.
onebyone - Neat to find what works for you, "10 minutes seems like fun and not work or a burden."
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Yay, indeed, for portion control. Count me in as one who does better with sunshine.
maryann - Love it that you've got your kids proposing monuments. So hard to get kids to own the planet instead of complaining. Thanks for the tip about a phone scanner app - didn't know they existed.
Karen (karenrn) - Your Pt. Defiance Park looks splendid. Puget Sound is one of the most spectacular places I've visited. Wish we'd get back there. Congrats for sleeping so late - assume your body was telling you what it needed.
curlyjax - It's so tough to see our kids having troubles that we can't resolve with a bandaid and a kiss on the knee. Kudos for avoiding "I ate some junk, might as well keep doing it."
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 3Get Ready to Lose
You are almost ready to start the Beck Diet for Life Program. In Stage 1, you will start learning and practicing the skills you will need for lifelong weight loss and maintenance.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 32.
Thanks for the empathy folks! It was beautiful out yesterday and no humidity which really helps. I stayed 75% OP but was so tired I let myself off any type of exercise. I'm not sure if this fasting is working as I end up a lot hungrier around dinner and eat a lot. But it is nice to wait until I am truly hungry to eat breakfast.
I don't have any social plans at all this weekend which is a bummer but hopefully something will turn up. If nothing else I may go peruse around in a bookstore, and buy a new microwave since mine seems a bit rusty. I'm going to hire DS to pull down an old shed so we may get some materials for that too. He was excited to swing an axe at it but I have told him he needs to research how to do this safely without leaving lots of nails etc around. Onebyone- I am with you about throwing in the towel when the scale doesn't cooperate. Taking a mental break from food planning sounds good. Karen- that area sounds so beautiful, Washington state is on my list of places to see. So glad you are able to see friends during this tough time with MIL. Gardenerjoy- thanks for the sunshine, it definitely came our way! Maryann-good reminder that eating doesn't solve anything. I remain so impressed that you have abstained from sugar for so long!! Penny-good luck on your work weekend! Bill-that meal sounds really good. Yay for a fun new printer!
Whole Foods had plenty of chicken, but not necessarily their usual packaging. If you wanted boneless, skinless chicken breasts or whole chickens, there was plenty. I wanted bone-in thighs and settled for about half of what I intended to buy since they didn't have their usual jumbo value packs.
Still no tempeh, but they had something called hempeh, made from hemp seeds. According to the package, this is the world's new miracle food -- high quality protein with production that's sustainable for the environment. I got some of that as an experiment. I'm slightly skeptical since they only come in strong flavorings like pepper steak and miso-ginger. How bad must the bare product taste?
Today's adventure is participating in a contactless voter registration drive. If I understand my role correctly, I'll be given a stack of voter registration packets and addresses of homes to deliver them. Then, I think, there's an app where I'll be able to send a text through a general number and let folks know that there's a packet waiting for them.
I'm reminding myself that this is something new and that it's natural to have some nerves about it. The nerves won't be helped with excess food (and that might make it worse). So, I have a written plan that I'll follow. I'm packing a granola bar, just in case. But, that's in case I'm hungry, not in case I need a break. If I need a break, I'll drink some water and text DH and play a game on my phone.
Exercise +65, 215/1400 minutes for September
onebyone: I love your 10 minutes with YouTube idea!
curlyjax: You're welcome for the sunshine! I would feel like a miracle worker, but I suppose I can't take too much credit for the general west to east weather pattern.
I have decided to head up to Tahoe. Karen’s description of Washington makes me want to go find some clean, cool air. Our air has been nothing but smoke filled and our temps will hit 109 tomorrow.
I tried to relax from school by eating bread. This surprisingly does not work. I am putting bread on my red light list for today. I will have a nice long walk which sounds wonderful and roast some veggies for dinner up in the mountains.
onebyone: enjoy the drive. I know I will.
Gardenerjoy: my friends are doing texts outreach for voting. I have to figure out if my vote by mail thing is in.
I'm enjoying being in Washington with my friends. The weather is still perfect although there is a marine layer this morning, so the sun will come out a little later. We are going walking this morning in about 30 minutes near Chambers Bay golf course. The U. S. Open was played there a few years ago and there was lots of complaining because the greens were not up to snuff. It is a links style course which is not as pretty as the kind with all the flowers and things. Food was a bit too generous yesterday. We couldn't find the pre-made shrimp and sausage dish, so we made our own. It was delicious. Tonight we are going to our other friends for dinner on the deck. Tomorrow I'll drive down to Aberdeen to take a couple of things to mil and then on to camp overnight with my brother, sil and niece and her family. We'll be out the Spirit Lake Highway on the Toutle River. When Mt. St. Helens blew it changed the landscape, but that was years ago.
Maryann Going to Tahoe sounds like a great idea. 109 and smoky sounds awful. Penny I bet it takes a lot of food to feed your family. GardenerJoy Let us know how the new hemp seed food item works out. Curlyjax I'm glad you had a beautiful day. It helps for sure. Bill I'm glad the printer hook up was an easy process. Is that bread soft or more like a cracker? Onebyone The ten minute You Tube videos sound like a good idea. Not overwhelming which is great.
I'm really ready to be home with my dh and my Otis, but I look at the temps and it's so much nicer here. It does look like it will be cooling off in Scottsdale later this week. I head home Thursday morning. Happy Labor Day weekend!
Sunday - Maya/Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar starts (3114 BC per Julian Calendar)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was DW's world famous homemade chili - we love it. Injera bread worked with it quite well since it's spicy. She makes a pot big enough for two additional meals. Injera bread didn't work so well for breakfast. It just doesn't go with a sweet topping. I tried my favorite orange marmalade. CLASH! I tried straight butter. Bland. It's a base for a spicy food. It'll get used with the remaining chili.
DW printed a page from her office on my new laser printer over our home WIFI with no help/cooperation/interference from me. That felt so good since I had secretly set aside some time to make it work from there. The setup was easy enough. The remaining task is to dispose of the old Hewlett Packard inkjet printer with its opened and unopened cartridges. I want to never see it again.
Walk, CREDIT moi, included passing by a favorite bakery to see if they had baguettes for reference. It was sad. I was greeted with a closed door with postings that they would hand my order out the door after I called from my cell phone. I longed to see their shelf of many, many types of breads. That shelf was bare. One more hit from COVID.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Congrats for being active for the November election. Registering voters is so important; our system seems only to place hurdles, not stepping stones. Hempeh is new to me.
maryann - Yay for clean, cool air. 109 degrees F is beyond human habitation in my opinion.
Karen (karenrn) - Congrats for creating your own shrimp and sausage dish. You sound like you're using your Washington state time well. [Injera bread is soft, like a pancake.]
curlyjax - Yay for assigning a destruction job to a teenage boy. My adult son can still describe in vivid detail destroying part of our old porch during our renovation. He was so proud. Kudos for continuing to evaluate what diet plan works for you.
Penny. - Kids will survive. Yay for homemade pizza.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 3Get Ready to Lose
Before you start, however, I would like you to do the following 10 essential tasks:
task 1 Gather Your Supplies
You will use a number of inexpensive, easy-to-find supplies over and over again while on this plan. You probably already have some of them. Gather the following: . . .
A set of 3 x 5 index cards in any color. You will use these to create Response Cards.
A set of blank business-sized cards. You will use these cards to create your Advantages Deck, a special set of Response Cards that you will read daily to remind yourself why weight loss is so worth it. You can find these card - some with decorative backgrounds - at office-supply stores or online.
A Diet Notebook. You will use a bound notebook to write such important information as food plans, results of eating experiments, and notes to remember for the future.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 32.
Friday - Britain ends policy of penal transport to New South Wales, Australia (1884)
but I have told him he needs to research how to do this safely without leaving lots of nails etc around.