Thursday, April 7th

TPLO surgery scheduled for 05/02/16.  The ortho vet comes right to Sadie's Vet's office, where she is familiar and loved.  She'll have to stay overnight.

Poor Sadie. Sending her love. And you too, Supah Sistah!  I'm always impressed with your capacity to take information/feedback and integrate them so honestly. That's an incredible sign of strength that many people don't have. 

Paula, nothing like turning lemons into lemonade!  I hope it all works out for option 2 and you save some money on the augmentation.  Keep us posted!

Scale was at 204.1 this morning - down 1.3 lbs.  I desperately need a new battery for my scale, as it's getting harder and harder for the '0.0' to display, instead of 'Lo'.  I keep forgetting to check which battery it takes so, when I'm at a store that sells them, I can just pick it up.

Had a couple of those moments last night when I needed to listen instead of just act.  I made nachos for the family and thought I'd just have those instead of doing the work to make my portion into a taco salad.  I listened, giving myself permission to have 4-5 chips with the salad, and made the salad.  I didn't finish my portion, and stayed within the limit I'd set.  Though I do have to confess, while spreading the chips on the baking sheet, I popped a small broken off piece of a chip into my mouth without thinking.  I realized what happended and stopped, luckily.  The other moment was after I had sf popsicles and wanted something else.  I wasn't hungry, so I just went into the bathroom to do my evening routine, including brushing my teeth.  By the time I was done, the urge was gone.

Devon, I did a gratitude list in my head before falling asleep and felt peaceful as I drifted off.  Great suggestion!

Lorna, if you're reading these posts, you're in my thoughts and prayers!

Have a great Thursday all!

Hugs, Mary

Damn nachos are so addictive. Stopping is even harder than not starting to eat them, so good catch. 

Thanks!  You're right that it's hard to stop.  Should have not started, but luckily was able to this time.

Paula I'm rooting for option 2!!!  You're so damn skinny now!

Well, here we are and it's a new day. Sadly, the weather is turning away from spring here today. Yesterday the high was 80ish and just lovely. Today the projected high is in the upper 60s, but overcast and rain coming tomorrow. Not bad compared to poor Paula, but I was getting spoiled wearing shorts the past few days! 

I enjoyed the conversation yesterday, too. Lots of good stuff floating around. I do think that one of the hardest things for us to learn is a treat is a treat and not a staple. It's not a lesson just we the obese need to learn, but it's young people, too. I don't know if it's the same in Canada, but in the US treats (cookies, candy, ice cream, etc...) are pushed as daily staples. Through 80 years of successful ad campaigns we have become a culture in which daily indulgences are the norm. Personally, I have not yet been successful getting away from my daily "treat" habit, but the treat has changed into a healthy, satisfying alternative - my Greek yogurt "parfait" every evening. It's ritual and it satisfies. Mildly sweet, creamy, crunchy, full of protein and "healthy" carbs and fats. 

Had another kick workout yesterday getting my arms and chest to failure. Getting to muscle failure is such an odd feeling. It's only a momentary thing and there is no pain involved, just intense fatigue at that moment. The minute you stop trying to lift, the muscle is just fine. Followed the workout with a half hour of cardio - 2.5 miles, 3500+ strides. I also kept track of heart rate yesterday. The workout really jacked up the heart rate, so the cardio rate stayed up in the 150s for a full 20-25 minutes. I got down to 130 during the cool down. Spent a good deal of time rolling out afterwards (which helps bring down the heart rate too) before heading home. 

Food was on point with the exception of a bit of grazing while doing bills and balancing accounts. (I HATE bills and reconciling - it always stresses me out. I finished the left over chocolate Drost coins over the course of 2 hours - an extra 200 calories I didn't need.) I stuck with the freedom of no measuring or tracking yesterday. However, I think I'm back on the WL track. I will test the waters today, but I think my head is in the game. I'd like to be in the 193s or 194s by next Thursday. I am 195.6 today.

EPIC YOGURT FAIL CORRECTED! I had my first yogurt fail in the IP. I heated and cooled the milk, mixed in the starter and turned on the IP to make the yogurt. Hit the wrong button! I hit the keep warm button, not the yogurt button. I thought it was odd how the timer came up with 10 hours, not 8, but didn't really think too much about it. Opened the lid to the IP yesterday morning and the milk was steaming and just like hot milk. I made Ron a hot chocolate and was going to dump the rest. Then it occurred to me to cool the milk again, add more starter and see what would happen. Yesterday evening I had a beautiful batch of yogurt! I drained it over night and put it in containers this morning. It tastes great and you'd never know that it had been a fail on the first go around.  

Good morning!  It is our last morning in BC so no scale.  The pronounced bulging bags under my eyes suggest excess salt in my diet!  How attractive! Getting in lots and lots of steps and utilizing my yoga mat in the evening. 

Love the idea about villain MFP categories.   Maybe I will just take out the usual meal times and go with three categories:  fuel, excess and eating-while-tired.   Just switching up the tracking process is appealing on its own.

I honestly don't get into typical junk foods very often.  My excess is almost entirely from overeating seemingly innocuous foods, foods that naive normies don't think as abusable. (Silly normies!)  There is something about volume that makes me want more volume.  Always has.  That is my kryptonite. Eating-while-tired is a more on and off thing but explicitly calling it out might give me pause before dipping into something on the way to bed. 

Paula, so glad you are getting that defibrillator moved!  Yikes!  How totally weird to have it moving around like that.   And, if it promotes ease of PS then so much the better!  (fingers crossed)

Diane O, you are a good mom to Sadie!  Also, nice to have things like Bod-pod to help objectively access where we are at in our journey.  I tried to channel your swimming skills in the hotel pool this morning!   

Mary, you are doing so well!  BB, enjoy your days off with your hubby!  Lorna, sending you hugs!  Diane S, I will get those cute puppies posted by this evening!

Off to enjoy Vancouver BC for a few more hours.  

Shel

Supah Sistahs and Badass Bro! We are all that, for sure. The level of commitment and brutal honesty is really something here and I'm glad to be included in this incredible group. 

Scale remains at 111 so I'll start doing an informal mental tally of my calories today.  Based on earlier experiences in maintenance, I do find 110 a bit on the low side so not sure I want to end up down there again. But realistically, I've never held there long, so may not do so now either. I'm 3.5 years post op now, so feel like I know my 'physical' self well. And if I need to make a calorie correction, it's easy to add back a daily hunk of Brie or a handful of nuts. 

Sad to say my DH and I went to bed angry with each other last night. It's rare for us to have a 'fundamental' disagreement where we both feel invested in holding a position/making a point. Fortunately, we're both the type to be rather restrained when we're angry so we watch our words carefully.  So no angry words for either of us to apologize for, but a remaining disagreement about a decision taken without consultation when it was known it would not go over well. I'm not happy with him - nor is he with me - but I know I will have to let it go and move on. I'm really feeling that discomfort today and I hate these times. As I said, fortunately they are rare.  

ADD - important to remember Lorna's situation and put that in perspective for me today, isn't it. 

I'm sorry you're in disagreement with the hubby.  Hugs!  Hoping things return to normal soon!