Monday, February 22nd

Welcome back Linda,

It sounds like you had a great time, just what the Dr ordered (as they say). Fun times, family and that whole sense of belonging. Good for you on the minimum gain.

I really think this trip has helped me feel better and I hope I'm turning the corner mentally. 

Reading this was the best. Brought a smile to my face! 

Diane, sadly my doggy washing set up is the bathtub in my front bathroom. Nothing special. I bend over the tub while on my knees to get the dogs washed. Gotta say it's a lot easier now than it was when I was MO! 

198.6 today. Down again. It's good to know that I seem to be safely in the 190s and have not floated back up to or above 200. My goal this week is to get a little farther away from 200 and closer to 195 than I am today. 

I am sold on the Instant Pot. Seriously, the yogurt I made is as good as Fage! (Ron says he likes it better than Fage - go figure). I was not expecting that a gallon of milk would make so little yogurt though! Once drained of the whey, I got only about 1.5 or 1.75 quarts of yogurt. I see that I will be making yogurt at least once a week. 

Yesterday was a bit of a bust on the "Devon have a fun Sunday" front. Too bad... Ron's back tire blew out and the lug nuts were on so tight neither one of us could budge them, so had to call AAA. Hey, it was a free tow to the tire place. By the time that was done it was after 4:00 pm. We still went off on our bike ride. About halfway out on our ride Ron shifted into a lower gear and his chain slipped and got jammed up in the gears. Repair was fruitless - even for the hardcore biker who stopped to help us. Ron had to walk the bike back to a park and wait for me to ride back to the car and pick him up. It was dark by the time we made it home. Day shot! 

Consolation was making chicken curry in the IP and the homemade yogurt. Going to try a salsa chicken tonight. 

Brown, keeping calories low is not so hard for me once I go low carb. It's the carbs that pique my hunger. You might try cutting the carbs back for a while and see what happens. It can be nasty for a few days, but stick with it and you'll reap the benefit of sticking with it. 

I have been enjoying IP meals as well.  I either need more little freezer containers (I already have a million and most of them are now filled) or need to start making meals just for 3-4 people to cut back on leftovers.

Last night's beauty was this: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/pre ssure-cooker-beef-stroganoff-recipe.html#!

It turned out more like a full bodied soup. Maybe could have reduced it down more, or used less liquid to start with.  Didn't want to use a thickener.  Plus, we were hungry!  No matter, it was fabulous.

Yes, a lot of whey comes out when making Greek yogurt.  I usually make a batch every 7-10 days --- I think it is a 1/2 gallon. I am getting into a rhythm, tho, so it isn't too much trouble.

Greetings fellow maintainers:

Well I might have to check out this instant pot. At first it sounded like marijuana out of a vending machine!  (imagine that someday).

Sun's out and its supposed to be clear for a week. Thats good because I am taking care of a friend's cats and she lives in a rural dirt road with steep driveway. Little prius sometimes can't make it up there so I need the suv. 

Hubby is coughing a lot. He thinks he has bronchitis and an allergy. I want him to go to the urgent care place to at least get some good cough syrup.

Even in our dink town we have a dog wash place where you can go use their set up. I haven't used it - made sure the backyard has almost no mud spots.  Yay for mulch.

Oh and I am at 128.5 having misplaces a half pound. Must have been all that heavy duty paper sorting and laundry folding. 

Linda glad you are feeling better. Vacations are great.

OMG, just looked out the window and saw a butterfly. Can spring be on the way?     diane s

Diane, I hope your hubby feels better quickly!

Mu husband's Prius, and my XB won't make it up our hill when it snows unless it was recently plowed.  Very frustrating!

Hi everyone!  Just coming up for air - my usual Monday routine.  Feeling good today - weight was down 2.3 lbs.!!  Food today, so far, has been squeaky clean and calories/carbs low.  Dinner is already made for tonight - a low fat chicken chili, so I have a plan.

Diane, I like the "actions and intentions aligned" quote.  So many times, my intentions don't match my actions, which is how the regain happened.  I need to keep this quote in mind!

Lorna, I hate when the scale doesn't reflect my actions, but sounds like you're doing very well, so it's only a blip!

Paula, good luck at work!

Brown, I hate the head stuff.  Whenever I plan to lose weight, especially so much by a certain date/event, I sabotage myself.  I wanted to lose more after I reached my initial goal, but found myself starting to sabotage, so I decided to let it go for awile.  Unfortunately, after a few months, I started the slippery slope of regain, but I am working on it a day at a time, trying to not project.

Shel, what is vinyasa yoga?

Linda, so glad to hear you've turned a corner!  Sounds like your vacation was good for the soul and the mind!

Devon, so jealous that your weather allows for biking.  Now that my knee works again, and I can bike, I'm looking forward to when it gets warmer.

Have a great rest of Monday!   Hugs, Mary

Mary, vinyasa yoga is full of chatarrangas!  I'm sure that makes as much sense as vinyasa :)

Short answer:  it is a more active yoga so heart rate is up more than some other types of yoga.  My other favorite yoga class is Yin and that is basically laying around in stretches for 3-5 minutes a pose.  Yin is much more likely to put me to sleep than raise heart rate.  Yin is delicious.

Much longer answer: The chatarranga is when you drop into plank position, then slowly drop down to belly.  To make it the official vinyasa movement you pretty quickly push back into downdog.  Moving thru vinyasa (chatarranga thru down dog) gets the heart rate up, especially when it is done repeatedly and with odd positioning (like keeping one leg up as you move thru the vinyasa.) 

Anyway, a vinyasa class has a heavy spinkling of vinyasas to help keep the heart pumping.  The vinyasa movement is also good for core/shoulder/back strengthening.

That really doesn't sound appealing, but I like it!

Sounds difficult, but fun!  :)