Still dealing with back issues. I've been doing so much yoga for it that I feel taller! I'm thinking I may have overdone some of the lengthening exercises. Today, I'm going to try some hip openers on the theory that it will help to balance things out a bit. If nothing else, the yoga gives me a sense of experimentation and control that keeps my mood in a better place.

Speaking of mood-boosting, the humidity is a bunch lower today, so I think I'll get a walk in. Hot is so much more bearable when it isn't also humid.

Exercise 45, 1145/1500 minutes for June

MommaMeli: Loved this: "I'm surprised at how helpful it is to write my strategies like this. I'm feeling like this board could be a key to long term success for me." That's how it worked for me. If I'm going to violate what the book says for my own good reasons, it helps to have an audience to work my way through the issue.

Good morning coaches,

I had some extra snacks yesterday afternoon and it shows on the scale this morning. I did go right back on plan and it wasn't a binge, but enough that I won't lose weight that way. Summer is the most difficult time of the year for me because I'm in the house more until I'm gone for my trip later in the summer. I looked back at Happy Scale and the past couple of years I did gain a little in the summer, however 2019 I lost. At least it told me I don't gain every year. I was going to put off going to Costco until today, but I got out of the house and did that yesterday afternoon. I should have gone sooner and maybe it would have prevented the snacking.

I hiked Sunrise this morning and there was a group of younger adults there who weren't regulars. I don't think they were enjoying hiking in the heat. I loved passing them (isn't that awful). It was 87 to start and 91 when I finished. I listened to a Rich Roll Podcast called A Longevity Masterclass: Emerging Science & Timeless Wisdom of Healthy Aging. It was very interesting and I loved listening to the last guest who is I believe 100 years old. He still runs 5 miles three times a week and ran marathons in his 90s. Now I've got the a/c people here. Since the part is still on backorder they are just replacing the unit. We didn't ask for that, but it will be nice I hope. At least it will mean that the units aren't the same age (we have 2).

GardenerJoy Heat is so much easier to handle with less humidity. I'm sure I couldn't go out and hike if it were humid. I hope you aren't overdoing it trying to help your back. Maybe it just needs a little break.

MrsCalypso Motivation can't be counted on for sure. Wouldn't it be nice if we always had it. Habits seem to be the key for the most part. That said, I need to work on a few of mine.

Nationalparker Have fun meeting your friend. I agree too about finding a restaurant where you don't pay for something that is removed. I don't recall pancreatic cancer ever spreading to the bone, so I would bet the hip issue is not at all related.

Curlyjax Any chance your Dad would move closer to you at such a time that he can't be in his own home. That's what happened with my parents.

MommaMeli That's great that you made a plan for the weekend. I know not arguing with myself about whether I will have a food or not is very helpful when I actually stick to it. I think I should just make a plan that if I need more than the planned snack it has to be carrot sticks. Have a great time at the lake.

Bill What I wouldn't do to have your dw's super power. I'm sure that is true of all of us. I'm glad you share what you're learning about planetary geology. It might be all I learn, but I do find it interesting. Sorry you're missing the dgd. When will she have an overnight with you?

Maryann I just love that Al Green song. I've got it playing now. That must be nice to have all your carpets clean. You must be feeling pretty darned good.

Penny I hope you're doing fine after your work days.

Well I'm going to drag the vacuum out and at least get the wood floors in the main part of the house done. I'm saying that so I'll do it.

Good Morning, Coaches.

Yesterday gave me many "opportunities for growth" with food. I ended up out and about with a mask per local suggestions. I Had my battery replaced on my iphone 8 in prep for my travels. Right next to the place is a Crumbl Cookies. If you don't know what it is, thank your stars. I "vaguely sensed I was being none to smart." when I order two of the huge massive flavors in celebration of testing negative. Hmmmm. The "vaguely sense' quote is from the AA big book when the founder walks into a bar after a short period of sobriety and convinces himself it will be ok if he orders milk with a shot of whisky in it to cushion the effects. Hmmmm. He end into the sanitarium AGAIN. So no, food did not go well yesterday after I ate a red light food. Truth be told I trew over half of everything away but it was a definite binge. I am at ticker which is 2 pounds from a disastrous decade. I say disastrous because my clothes won't fit anymore. So, for today
1. I will stick to my written food plan come heck or high water: groat bowl, smoothie, smoothie.
2. I will close the kitchen at 4:00.

On the Credits for yesterday:
1. I exercised and did my weight ball for arm lifts during two more sessions of colored stones.
2. I boxed up and returned the Hoover Smartwash after it stopped working on the third room. Blast! I got a full refund and chose to look at it positively: I got three rooms cleaned for free.
3. This is a silly one. I am an avid reader of The Prudent Homemaker blog. She is in so many ways the absolute opposite of me - stay at home mom of 8, faithful LDS member, passionate gardener , cook and thrifter. Still I am fascinated. Unlike so many other bloggers, she keeps monetization to a minimum and curates a rather broadminded forum of weekly commenters. Anyway, I wrote a rare comment on purchasing appliances in order to save money in the long run. She didn't publish it and I was more bummed than I let on. So, practicing being solution minded, I sent a gmail asking her how I can rewrite to get published. She Published the next day. The big deal of this is my continuing to listen to my inner voice and confront with non-aggression - allowing myself to be seen and heard even while I invite rejection. The next step is to let go with love and compassion. This is my big stretch for the summer - doing the honest and polite footwork and than letting go of the results. They are in God's hands.

Karen: I am going to listen to that podcast. It sounds great!
BBE: I know exactly how it feels to mourn a tradition with a little one. The Halloween trick or treating was a tough one.
Mama Meli: Good for you for analyzing what went wrong with a particular application of a skill. It is really a balancing act living our life to the fullest and yet not conning oursleves into compulsive over eating.
Gardenrtjoy: I remember reading that back problems often start with tight quads, ironically.

OK I get to obsess with Duotrigordle for 20 minutes trying to best my +2 guesses left record. Then I am going to take my colored stones final.

Good afternoon!

My evenings have involved extra foods still. My quinoa dish is made and pretty good. It seems satisfying so my plan today is a big bowl of it with tofu for a later lunch and then closing the kitchen.

Can I fit some exercise in too?? We shall see. Have a great day, everyone!

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was consumed eating at the kitchen table because it was chilly outside - right now in the middle of summer! Dinner was weather-appropriate reheated chili with broccoli and green salad made with fresh picked garden lettuce. Closest thing I did for sane eating was to put the remainder of the tortilla strips back in the bag instead of just gobbling them down. I take an amount from the bag that's about what I think we'll eat to put in a bowl on the table. Frequently, when there's some left, I eat them. This time I put them back in the bag, CREDIT moi. (Restaurants can't do this, but I can at home.) Such a small step but I'm in need of some small steps now.

Wasted a chunk of the day doing Quordie. I win just under 80% of the time. That's my upper limit because of those sets of letters that make two or more words - with no way to figure which is the secret word. I get really annoyed when I can't figure out a word but consider that a legitimate loss. But, for example, choosing between 'COULD' and 'CLOUD' is just a guess. The good news is that might help me to lose interest and go back to a productive life.

Experienced some crazy fast marketing. Shortly after turning off the TV from watching the Select Committee on Jan 6th, I got a phone call asking for money for the campaign of the candidate running against Liz Cheney in Wyoming! Wyoming is far, far away from Massachusetts. But they had my first name and phone number and were sure that I was disgusted and would want to contribute. As my DS frequently tells me, "They wouldn't do it , Dad, if it didn't make money."


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Yay for the benefits of yoga; first time I've heard of getting taller.

maryann - Ouch for having to return your Hoover Smartwash. Does it seem to you that the reliability of appliances is plummeting? There are Crumbl Cookies bakeries out here - to be avoided, for sure.

nationalparker – Good to hear that your "brother seems well" - hope that continues. Yay for having a SIL who cooks plant based food for you. I, too, feel pain when paying for something to be removed.

Karen (karenrn) - Nice result that your AC is replaced as a whole. With approaching temps in the 100's degrees Fahrenheit, two sounds like a wise strategy. Hard to believe that 100-year-old man is still running 5 miles.

curlyjax - Thanks for "The price of loving someone is losing them." A wise and sad thought. I do wish you well figuring out to help your father from a distance.

Penny. - Sounds like a good eating day; neat that you didn't report pain from working.

MrsCalypso - Neat list of Sabotaging Thoughts. "This little bit won't hurt" is one that gets under my radar.

MommaMeli - Continue to send Kudos for making wise choices about absolutes that don't fit your situation. Wish you well on your camping trip with 4-5 families all with kids all producing their version of what's a good idea to eat. I have a vision of a ton of mac-and-cheese being consumed.

Readers -

Boy am I still tired from my trip. I came home after work and took a long nap. I feel better having some things in place for my dad and hopefully that will translate into my mind and body relaxing into better patterns. I did not do well with food yesterday but onwards.

I bought a book called “declutter your house in 15 minutes a day” by Dawn Madsen and it lays out some good ways of thinking about your stuff and how much you really need. As always, I will take the helpful tips and leave the rest.
Today after work I am meeting one of my favorite little old ladies from church;her husband is getting more frail and she wants to think about the future etc. She was so lovely when my husband was sick and I am glad to return the favor.
Nationalparker- I am surprised Panera hasn’t gotten more vegan food in by this point!
Maryann- I like your #3 credit especially.
Karen- I wouldn’t move my dad because he is happy where he is with a few old faces still there, and my younger brother who has a disability is there too and needs to see him. But that is fine.

This is still taking forever to load, a minor annoyance but still.

Good morning!

Yesterday was good and weight is where it always is. My set point. I did get a 30 minute cycling video done.

This morning's excitement was waking up and making a final payment on our last bit of debt. Now the goal is to build the savings back up. I really wish I could be taking a vacation but that will have to wait.

Bill, putting chips back in the bag seems like some seriously sane eating. It's funny how big these seemingly small notions can be for an overeater.

Have a great day everyone!

Good morning coaches,

Food was on plan yesterday. We're going out for dinner tonight and I've already looked at the menu and found something that will work to stay on plan. I hiked Sunrise this morning, but only to the shoulder not the very top. It was plenty warm, but very windy. I'm going to the movies this morning to see Elvis. I need a distraction for sure.

I'm realizing I need to work on my self discipline if I'm going to reach my goal. I have pretty good habits for the most part, but there are enough times I allow myself to eat off plan that I continue to maintain. It's not a bad weight, but I still have some fat I want to lose and a few items of clothing I want to fit in.

Penny Congratulations for paying off debt and also doing the cycling. I hear you about the set point.

Curlyjax I'm sure the emotional stress contributes to your being tired after the trip. I forgot about your younger brother. What is his living situation?

Bill Yes super kudos for putting the chips away. That is crazy fast marketing. I only wish those who might be influenced by the hearings would listen to them. I think the committee is doing a very good job. Our house has cathedral ceilings in the middle part where the family room, kitchen, living room and dining room are located with flat roof parts of the house on each end, so there is an a/c unit for each end one of which cools the center. Most homes here have at least two units.

Maryann You had a productive day yesterday. We have a Crumbl about two miles from us. A year or so ago I was going there every Saturday evening and buying one for each of us. Then I took a better look at the calories. Holy moly. Your story of the carpet cleaner reminds me of buying a brand new Kirby vacuum 46 years ago. I was married to my first husband and he had a fit about the cost and made me return it. First I vacuumed my whole house and then loaned it to my neighbor (who is still my friend) and she vacuumed her whole house and then I took it back. I remember it was only going to be $14.75 per month for I think the rest of my life.

Waving to the rest of you. Time to get cleaned up and out of here to see the Elvis movie.

Good Morning, Coaches.

Lots of credits:
1. Excellent stick to plan food day. 95% because I substitute the last smoothie for a small amount of dark chocolate which for me is a green light food.
2. Yoga and then I did arm weights and lunges at my stand up desk while taking my Colored stones final exam.
3. Past my colored stones final exam. YEAH!!! Now onto Diamond grading coursework which has to be finished before the in person lab in San Diego. Very excited. I have been checking out GIA stones online at the REAL REAL, Ebay and Poshmark and reading certifications to practice. Fun.

So After DH and I had 'the talk" about investing more in the marriage despite the unbelievable demands of the farm, he is going to try and come to Fort Bragg with me starting Sunday for 4 days. We will lounge in 60degree weather and try out my new SUP in breathtaking coves of Northern California oceans. I bought a new PFD that will only inflate if submerged so it is very comfortable. I am a strong swimmer so I only needed something in case I lost conscious. I am also going to try and plan for only one meal out. I have put together a kitchen box for the hotel. So many great shelf stable foods available now. It has become a GEEK extension of my love to uber small pack when I travel without sacrificing style. So for lunch today I am trying https://miraclenoodle.com/products/love-my-rice and I have a microwave and frig in the hotel. The rice will go with https://glendasfarmhouse.com/product...lnut-crumbles/. The walnut crumbles by the way were handed out at our walnut coop meeting. The sweet potatoes will have single serving spaghetti sauce on them. Amazing the things I have time to think about when school is out.

Penny: That is HUGE no debt. Does that mean you paid off your mortgages? An accomplishment without that to be sure. We have a mortgage on Tahoe but only 20% of its current value. It is hard for me to muster the desire to pay off a 3% loan.
Curley: So much on your plate. You are truly the sandwich generation with aging parents, kids, a disabled brother, widowed. I really admire you.
BBE: You are cracking me up with Quordle. It is a gateway drug to DuoTrigordle. Let me tell you. So I have made a slight adjustment in DuoTrigordle. At first used CRANE and TOILS as my two first words. This accounts for the ten most common letters. However I was coming up with too many high occurring CVCC ( consonant vowel consonant consonant) patterns with many correct solutions. (I was a second grade teacher in lives past. )So now I use Crude and Toils leaving out the A and the N in hopes of forcing more unusual words that aren't a crap shoot. As they say in the drug profession, the first clues are free
Karen: California has heated up again and I was sweating at 9:00. Not great for exercising when I have been waking up at 9:00 So I thought of you because the biggest show in gemology occurs in Tucson every year. This is one of my favorite places to hike. The year after I retire you and I need to plan a series of cool hikes there.

Good afternoon.


We are packed and ready to head to the lake. DH is catching a quick nap before we head out, which has freed a little time for me to pop in.

Credit for eating on plan. These last few days have been good, and I'm gaining confidence. Today I read the day that suggests putting extra on your plate and not eating it. I'm going to do that at the lake. It is a perfect place to try. Last time I did the book, I did that, and it was really hard. Re-reading the chapter, I see that Dr. Beck suggests doing it until it becomes easy. Now I know my new goal! If that ever becomes easy I think I'll be on my way.

I need to check over my food plan before I head out (and make sure it is packed).

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

maryannKudos for investing in your marriage!

karen Self-discipline is on my reasons for losing weight card. I need self-discipline to lose weight, and I want to lose it in order to increase my self-discipline.

penny Congrats on the debt repayment!

curlyjax Wishing you well on helping your father from a distance. May you have peace about what you can do about the situation.

Bill Putting chips back is a big deal. Lots of credit!

In trying to stay positive on a stressful day, food was good and portions were small, and spent good time with my brother. The days here are passing too quickly. Lunch was at a restaurant we have been to before and i ordered sanely. Credit.

I feel bad not posting personal notes but time alone is nil. Three more days here before we head to the beachfront hotel with deal from hotwire.

Penny - many kudos for paying off the last of debt. Hooray!

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Lunch was at a good Chinese restaurant with some long-time friends. One neat guy in his nineties, post stroke, was rolled in by his loyal attendant who ate with us - we all know her from previous encounters. She is comfortably part of the conversation, speaking with her slight 'lilt' from the islands. Conversation was all over the map. I ended up walking out with a book, How the World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We're Going by Vaclav Smil. This guy is a distinguished professor at the University of Manitoba (in Winnipeg), has written forty books, and has jacket blurbs by Bill Gates "One of my favorite authors". And I haven't read any of them. One more time I'm reminded how much more to know is out there.

A neat vignette is that my buddy pulled up to the parking meters in front of the restaurant (this is in the city) with a wallet full of cash and credit cards but no way to pay the meter's demand for a stack of quarters. He needed ten for two hours. He was flummoxed. "Here's what you need," I said as I handed him ten. If you drive in the city and have gray hair, your console always has a role of quarters. He tried to pay me. Of course I wouldn't accept, "They're not money, just meter tokens."

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Lunch, although planned, was far more calories than my normal lunch. There may have been some low-calorie options on the menu, but I went for General Gau's chicken with its bread coating and gloppy sweet sauce. It's embarrassing how many calories can be packed around good, healthy, chicken. And General Gau is a San Francisco recipe; you can't order it in China. I'll get another chance since DW, who wasn't part of this group, suggested that we go back together.


maryann - Congrats for passing your colored stones final. You are so boldly marching forward on this new path. And Congrats to your DH for making the commitment to join you at Fort Brag for four days of some fun time together. It also cracks me up to be discussing Quordl and DuoTrigordle. I haven't even peeked at DuoTrigordle - just assuming that it's more advanced than I'd be able to understand.

nationalparker – So neat that you're getting to spend good time with your brother. And Kudos for ordering sanely at the restaurant.

Karen (karenrn) - Congrats for being able to turn around at the shoulder of Sunrise instead of the top when that's how much hiking you wanted to do.

curlyjax - Neat that you got some things in place for your dad. Know that it's frustrating for you not to live closer so you can be helpful more frequently.

Penny. - Congrats for closing down the debt - that's a major step. Your comment to me reminds me how much I need this group since there's no place in real life where I can say "I put some chips back in the bag" without folks thinking I'd lost it.

MommaMeli - Hope you are reading this from lakeside. Although your trip sounds fun, it's not clear to me that you, yourself, are really on vacation since you still have to produce 21 meals a day. And snacks. And laundry. And band-aids, LOL. Leaving food on the plate is still hard for me.

Readers -

Work was a little stressful yesterday but then I spent some soothing time with my elder friend and that was fun. She is on the ball as she is getting her affairs in order and thinking about changing her living situation at some point. It’s funny that she is working on decluttering too (sneaking things out past her 91 year old husband at times). I didn’t get much else done yesterday. Today I am going with the mindset of “live like the person you want to be” in terms of eating and activity so hopefully that will get me back on track. I’m going to see a show I bought tickets for two years ago pre pandemic, so that will be a nice thing to do in the heat today.
Penny- that is awesome you have paid down your debt!
Karen- so funny about the kirby vacuum! My brother has been living in a group home for years and is all set fortunately.
Maryann- great that DH is investing in the marriage too and that he realizes how amazing you are
Bill-I’m glad to know some meters are still taking coins. I don’t like the system of using a credit card for parking on the street or at a train lot.
MommaMeli-I hope you have a nice time at the lake and actually get to relax!

I tried the new ice cream shop in town that everyone's talking about -- one scoop in a cup as planned. I'm weirdly pleased that it was overpriced and underwhelming. That's not a temptation that I need to think about ever again.

Exercise +45, 1255/1500 minutes for June

BillBlueEyes: In St. Louis, these days, the best solution to the parking situation requires an app. I still carry quarters around, but I'm not sure if there are any meters where they'll work.

Oh no! I wrote a long reflection yesterday and it did not post!

I'm happy to report that my plan to step away from the social event to have my planned meal worked to keep me away from the snack bar 100%. I didn't even go look at what was on it. I didn't leave the party, either, because I got hungry after it wound down a bunch. I just grabbed my planned meal from the fridge and joined some friends. Some of them made comments on me eating my healthy food, but nothing that felt really uncomfortable, it felt like supportive teasing and was ok. It was a good friend who I know loves me.

Today I am going to focus on transition times, as those are big triggers for me, especially returning home after being out of the house, and the hour or so before sleep.

I have stopped eating an hour after I return home from work or shopping. Exceptions need to be for good reason (high hunger level) and consciously chosen. It has been working well.

The hour before sleep is trickier. I might have written about this before.

My evenings often look like this:

Late dinner in front of TV just before bed with DS, sometimes DS and DH. I eat really fast and then want something else 100% of the time.
I then will have my planned dessert and possibly a tea or an alcoholic drink. I go to bed full and wake up feeling bloated.

I don't have a planned bed time, so that is a little complicating.

This kind of cycling from one food item to the next is a common one for me at transition times. Rather than a "no food in front of the TV" rule, which feels like it will be a huge burden at this point -saving that for later -, I think I will chose a moderate portion of dinner and set a timer. No more food for 1 hr after sitting down to my main meal, and I will put away leftovers before starting the show if they are only mine (I am the only vegetarian, so my food is often separate). If I plan to have alcohol, it needs to be part of the meal, because I can really get into "what's next" and alcohol becomes one of those "what's next"? things. I think I'll l hold off on even tea during that magic hour, unless I absolutely need it as a harm reduction measure. I'm going to try to get through without it.

We'll try this.

As far as Beck goes, the daily lessons are feeling too intellectual to me right now. I know it's CBT, but I need a break to let me heart and spirit catch up. It's moving too fast and I want to solidify what I am learning.

Most important: Credit. (Gentle on self, made a food plan change due to time pressures, new choice was on plan). Recognizing sabotaging thoughts (really, recognizing and replacing negative self talk, this is really helpful.)
Having a plan of the day has been super gentle, helpful, and loving-feeling.