What's on your Tuesday Menu?

Good morning QJB and Menu Folks.

QOTD - I spent a day at my lowest weight of 178, I was a rack of bones. I am 42 lbs heavier right now, wearing same pant size, but moved from a small/medium shirt to a large/XL depending on brand. I would not want to weight 178 now, I am working toward 205 and would be real lean and muscular at 195.

B - 2 scrambled eggs with muenster

ms- raspberries and SF Jello

L - Salami and Pepperjack cheese

s- cukes and ranch

D - grilled ribeye

E - Gym night

Stay Healthy my friends. Mike

Mornin' All!

Well I'm planning to go to a (land) Zumba class at 9:30 and then my senior strength-training class at 11:30. Meeting a friend for lunch at 1:00. She really wants me to rekindle a potluck group we had going about 15 years ago, but I'm not sure I want to do that. It was always at my house, and I'm not wild about the idea of cleaning for it (I know that sounds ridiculous, but....). Plus it's just a lot of work. Although now that i know so many retired people, maybe we could do a brunch instead - or something else on a weekday - and rotate houses. Or do a brunch club that meets at different restaurants each time. Or something. I guess I'd be OK doing something like that if I wasn't the one hosting it all the time. I already have a lot of social outlets, though - so it's not as necessary for me as I think it is for her (she's also retired but hasn't tapped into the community like I have. I actually have a fair amount going on already). Well at any rate, nothing is going to get off the ground until probably March-ish, when we're (hopefully) on the other side of this Omicron surge.

oh - and I was down 1.5 lbs this morning (since yesterday morning), so I'm pretty sure that unexpected uptick in weight was jus****er. Whew.

QOTD: my lowest weight was 138, my current weight is 163 (although until last fall, I'd been in the mid- to high 150s for at least a couple of years). So that's a 25 lb gain if you go by my weight the last few months (about 20 if you go by what I'd been FOREVER). I don't want to get back down to 138. I looked horrible at that weight. A few weeks ago I found a bunch of pictures of myself at 140, 150, and 160 and put them into folders on my computer. I honestly think I look my best at 150 - and I felt great at that weight, too. So that's where I want to be. So in other words, 13 lbs. It should NOT be that difficult to lose 13 lbs, but it is. I'm going to shoot for it this year, but honestly, if I could get back under 160 AND STAY THERE, I'd be OK with that.

B: protein oatmeal topped with Greek yogurt. Coffee with half & half.

MS: protein shake or protein muffin

L: two street tacos

AS: L&F yogurt - or maybe some homemade pumpkin yogurt

D: cauliflower/chickpea curry

have a great day, everyone!

I love that you have to distinguish between land and sea (pool) Zumba. I have yet to find a pool one but will try it some day!

it's always fun to jump and dance around in a pool regardless of the instructor, but since the Zumba organization gives their instructors a lot of leeway in coming up with their own routines (as long as they use music and steps from the Zumba library), there can be a lot of difference between instructors (unlike something like WERQ, where the WERQ organization sends them a pre-set routine that they have to follow exactly). So some Aqua Zumba instructors are OK - some are fantastic. There are two at our gym - the one I prefer puts together much more intense routines. But the best one I ever had was from Colorado (Boulder). She was a grad student at UC-Boulder, and her boyfriend (now husband) was a grad student here at Wisconsin. She was out here staying with him one summer, and she temporarily took over the AZ classes of an instructor who was out on maternity leave. OMG -- best Aqua Zumba instructor I've ever had! I literally sweat in the water!! At the end of the summer, she asked her dept if she could take independent study courses in fall so she could work from here (and continue teaching Aqua Zumba), but they said no. She had to go back to Boulder. Boo. She was so great. She and hubby are long done with grad school now and living in Boulder. I don't know if she's still teaching AZ or not, but if so, those students are LUCKY!!

Good morning, everybody!

JB, I'm glad that your new job went well. I may be in your work town next weekend (the 15th weekend for a wedding).

The first day of CAMAW went well. It was nice to not feel hungry so much. On the way to the gym I bought a bag of no sugar jerky, ate one piece and put it down. Wow!

This morning I have an ultrasound at 10:15, so I am fasting until then.

Work seems to have picked up pretty quickly - I already have a pretty full schedule of calls. Marilyn and my older son are leaving for Colorado on Friday morning and she will fly home on Saturday. DD didn't get home from New Orleans until 1:00 on Sunday, but said it was totally worth it to see the game.

QOTD: I think that I'm in the same boat as Mike, Trish, Hilary and Kelly (Our boat is riding a little bit lower in the water than it would have a couple of years ago). I am 243, my all time low was 206. I revisited that number when I had bactremia and thought I looked bad. That was on the Zoom call last year and Trish very politely asked whether I had lost more and I remember saying "not intentionally". My goal is to maintain at 222-227 with a high fitness level.

Breakfast: Ultrasound

Lunch: Turkey

Dinner: TBD

Have a great day, all!

Good morning! Back in the office today. Lot's going on, so that will help the day move quickly. I owned day 3, 2022. I'm not going to own them all, but I'm trying to make good choices. I only ate what was on my plan, and I only drank zero calorie liquids.

Today is my youngest son's birthday. My Kelly would be 35 today. I'm actually doing ok over here. No tears yet today, but lots of memories slamming around in my head. You just can't help but wonder who he would have been today. That said, we honor his birthday every year at a burger joint that didn't allow any one under 21 in at the time he was alive. He always wanted to go there with us, but it was our place we ran to for a child free night. Since the day he would have turned 21, we have gone there as a family/group and had dinner, told stories and laughed and cried. A toast to him. Tonight, our family is announcing that we are holding one last last fund raiser for the foundation we created in his honor. It will be a casino night in late summer. Then we are going to take all the remaining funds and do a legacy donation at his alma mater High School of something that will last for lots of years and kids and wrap up 15 years of support. We've raised and donated nearly a quarter of a million dollars in these fifteen years. We are proud of our efforts and proud of the impact we have had on all these kids, but it's time to put a bow on it. Our family and friends have been more than generous, but pockets are only so deep.

QoTD: I bottomed out at 103 for a hot minute. I also looked like I was on death's door. I'm short, and apparently small boned (who knew??) so when I added on 4-5 pounds I was fine with that and stayed there for about a year. Last October I woke up with 4-5 more pounds, and it appears I am keeping them too. I'm ok with that. So far, my clothes still fit. My doctor still expects me to put some more pounds on, so I am trying to be realistic (and not buy too many clothes), but I like where I am now. My husband would like me to add a few more pounds...and he'd really like to be able to direct where they go. LOL! Lowest ever weight since I was like 9, 103.5 lbs. Today, 111.6.

Menu:

B: 1/2 slice meatloaf, 1/3 c cottage cheese

L: leftover turkey dumpling soup. So good. I'll be sad when this is gone. But it's calorie dense, so only have 1/2-3/4 cup.

D: Dinner at Johnny B's. That means a bbq bacon cheddar burger and fries. Yum. I will only eat the insides a few fries.

Since I am also doing sober January, my plan is to drink water at the dinner. But this is tough one to get through. But I'm going in strong.

Peace Everybody!

"direct where they go", LOL!

Sending hugs and love your way! You have done so much to honor him, I have no doubt he is proud of y'all....no doubt at all.

Thanks for sharing the story of your son. A mother will never get over a loss of a child. The way you have honored him for the last 15 years has touch so many lives and made improvements. This never would have happened without the Love that your friends and family have for your dear Kelly. May God bless you on this day. Be proud of the things that you were able to do for the past 15 years to Memorialize such a beloved child of yours.