Happy Easter! Sunday, March 27th

Happy Easter my slim sisters and buff brother 

Holding steady at 113. A few indulgences this week but was able to say no without regret last evening when DH purchased Krispy Kremes at the door for a neighbourhood fundraiser. Those kinds of surprises often make me anxious but not this time.  I was able to say a firm no without much thought. It was easy to view them as an evil  trigger food and know they just weren't worth the angst.  Rob has already eaten 6 of 12 so they should be gone by the end of the day.  

DD joined us for a few hours last evening. She was feeling quite low, which always worries me, but of course there is no way for me to fix it. 

We will be preparing roast lamb, Greek salad and fingerling potatoes tonight. Yum! I rarely eat potatoes, but it's one of the few carby sides that I still enjoy if I have room for a bite or two.  Rice and pasta are of no interest anymore so I never eat them. 

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Happy Day!

124.3 today but who cares about that.  I hiked yesterday and steps ended up at 22,162 and floors at (drum roll, please) 171!  Those of use that use fitbits know they are aren't perfectly accurate, but still!!!!!   I also attended a yin yoga last night to get stretched out. 

The hike was a personal test for myself. It is one thing to see progression in yoga and personal training, it is quite another to hit the trial with your husband not knowing when you are simply going to poop out.  The 5.6 mile hike was rated as moderate for the first 2/3 and hard for the last 1/3.  

It turned out that my husband pooped out, not me.  This was worrisome because:

   1) I felt bad for him that the hike wouldn't be as enjoyable  

   2) he has really low HDL and hate to see shortness of breath with activity.  I asked some pointed questions about chest pain (none) and then left that alone.

   And, the most worrisome of all 3) He is competitive and the last time I did better than him on a hike (18-20 years ago?) he was really pissy and verbally lashed out.  In a bit of weirdness, I couldn't remember the name of the mountain where that previous hike was and didn't want to remind DH by asking.  Then, as if God was listening, we came around a corner to a clearing with a view to another range.  And there was a placard that named the mountains we were looking at and there it was!  Mount Constance.  My DH turns to me and says, hey! remember that mountain?  I'm thinking AWKWARD!

Anyhoo, he turned around when we got to the hard part.  He seemed ok with letting me try the last part on my own and we planned to meet up at the trail head. 

That part by myself was where I really got to test myself and I will tell you (because I can't tell DH) that it was exhilarating! Occasionally, I was slightly winded and I can see from fitbit records that I had increased heart rate.  But, I didn't feel physically stressed.  My leg muscles handled the elevation climb and big step ups with ease.  

Still, about 20% of me was worried about how DH's mood was going to be so I ruminated on that.  Would 20 years of maturity help? Would he see this more of his issue (overweight, bad food choices, not enough exercise) rather than as something related to me? I pounded down the trail as fast as I could so that he wouldn't be stewing in the parking lot.  I came across him in the last mile of the trail.  He did note that "you are in better shape than I am."  I mumbled that that I had been putting consistent effort the last several months to improve fitness.  And, that was it.  No other comments, good or bad.  He didn't ask about how the rest of the hike was or what the final waterfall looked like.  

So, we will see if he decides to improve his own lifestyle.   For myself, I feel AWESOME today tho there is some clear leg fatigue.  I will hit up a gentle yoga class tonight.

Even if you didn't read this too-long story, I thank you for allowing the space for me to put this out there.  Our weight loss and fitness improvement does change relationships.  The re-balancing process can be painful and reveals other's insecurities.  There are few others that understand.

Ok, need to start Easter food (crustless quiche, spinach/strawberry salad, lemon butter cake) 

Shel

You're awesome. That is all. 

I read every word! I so wish I lived closer.....we could tackle those mountains together - the literal and figurative ones!

195.4  I post my little emoji only because that is how I felt seeing the number today. You see, I was so excited about my number yesterday and I did not want it to be a fleeting number on the scale that I was UBER CONSCIOUS about my food intake and choices yesterday. But such is life. For a moment I tried to second guess the .8 rise, but have decided to let go of it. Not a day for old tapes! 

Had planned a more relaxed food day. Ron likes to have brunch after mass so I suggested we do that either at home or out. He chose out. Then tonight we have plans to celebrate my brother's birthday. The restaurant he suggested has great WL appropriate choices and serves mostly organic and pasture raised food, so that will be a no brainer. 

Cold is still holding on. It certainly is a doozie of a cold. I do wi**** would hurry up and run its course. I'm quite tired of the congestion and feeling run down, but not altogether sick. 

Today I may pull some weeds and clean up the vegetable beds. I have a couple of ornamental grasses that need planting, too. 

Happy Easter! 

You're still sick Kairk, which means the numbers will fluctuate to compensate for that. Keep the path and the rewards will be there.  

I'm also thinking and praying for Grant today. How is he doing?

He was doing better last night, but today again not so well. He's had an endoscopy - negative, colonoscopy this morning - 4 major polyps that need to come out, but no source for the bleed was found. This is good, but also not so good because that means all that in between space now has to be explored. His BP sank again this morning and his hemoglobin went to pot. He's on deck for a third transfusion and most likely a CT scan later today or early tomorrow. At this point there is just no telling what it could be. Anxiety levels are normally high in that small family - our niece and the oldest son have what I consider major anxiety issues, but that's just my opinion, and Grant is a worrier, too. Given that they are all sort of in panic mode right now. Nothing we can do except be there for them. Ron's family is large, so there is a lot of support being given. 

Medical mysteries invite anxiety. I will be thinking of all of you.  I am terrible at applying what medical background to me or family.  I assume the absolute worst and am wrong 99.5% of the time.

 Maybe the "good" (???? really question the use of that word) in this is that there appears to be enough bleeding that one has to believe that they are going to find the source rather than a itsy, bitsy slow ooze that can hide for a long time.  

Hi all you skinny easter bunnies;

Hope everyone has a great day of pleasant company and on plan eating. We go to friends house for a pot luck and i will take a spinach dish plus little cheese crisps from Frisco's recipe. There will be loads of food but I have learned to navigate it and these friends don't push food at us. 

130 today. Down a half. so one fourth of the way to the two pound loss that Dr. Cirangle ordered in a month. Ha! if it were that easy.

Dear Lorna we are sending you prayers and good thoughts. I hope there are many good memories that will comfort you.  Wish we could all be together with you but we are in spirit.

Shel good on you for the  hike.  We got some steps in yesterday by going to our little local zoo. It has red pandas and river otters, among other things. Hadn't been there in several years. It also has a spectacular dahlia garden but those are not up and blooming yet. WE got to see feeding of the red pandas. They eat mostly bamboo leaves. So here are these little cat-like creatures eating bamboo leaves and all I can think about is how many calories are in those bamboo leaves and how can they possibly get enough to eat from them. Bet  if I went on the red panda diet I would be down those two pounds in no time. Of course, they sleep 18 hours a day. So does my husband  LOL.

I am still waiting for puppy pictures but should get some soon.  Can't go visit for a couple of weeks yet.  Diane S