Sat, Aug 25th

139.4

And a good Saturday morning to all.

Shel, I too, have one of those doppelgangers- She's always a bit fearful that the day is not filled with goodness sufficient in its self to take care of all her needs- so she tries to self insure against that possibility. I want to remind her that excess is not always good. Some is always enough. She does not always listen.

I want to thank all for the love, support, and well wishes directed in my general direction. I'm feeling it-feeding on it, and it strengthens me. Yah, everything in the now is preparation for meeting tomorrow victoriously. I am sure it is no co-incidence that I was drawn back to this board; there is so much discussed and shared that has more to do with than our food. (Is that where "food for thought" came from?)

Shel, you cannot possibly post too many pictures here- they are often my "hike and sight seeing trek" for the day. I must say that your ability to photo shop those sheep out of --and the beautiful, gentle deer into the pictures was an impressive stunt. I, personally, liked the sheep and am sure they meant no (serious anyway) harm to you. All fun and games in nature, eh?

Not much going today--thunder off in the distance, but donot think it will rain--cloudy days are great for reading, napping, playing in sketch books and putting fingers into clay. (By the way, am way over the moon with the ceramics class- Woop-Woop!)

The deer were not into me but sort of tolerated my stalking and occasional strange noises to try to get their noses out of the grass.

I missed my goat. His stink eye said he cared.

Weight 120.2, calories - who knows? So I thought I'd have a planned food day, but we ended up going out to dinner with friends including going for ice cream afterwards. Boy, this end of summer is wreaking havoc on my eating plans. And today is the wedding. I'm not tracking today either...

Shel, just amazing photos as always. My DH would love to do that hiking with you if he could.

So the wedding.... DS's birthmom and friends are doing ALL the work, including setting up tables and chairs, decorating and all the food for the wedding. And the food choices are pretty extensive. A LOT of work. I helped for a few hours yesterday and was appreciating the value of hiring someone to do that stuff. DS just called and said setup is done and they are happy with how the Hall looks. DS is responsible for most of the food and seems to feel it is under control (he was not happy with the Hall facilities yesterday). We have a full house: DD and new boyfriend as well as DS's cousin and her boyfriend.

Tomorrow would be good to have as a rest day, but we have the neighborhood BBQ (DH is on the association committee). At least it isn't in our yard!

Have a satisfying Saturday!

I am very impressed with your DS as I read this! So much to come together at a specific time. And, taste good, too. That is a special skillset. I see your organization in him.

Also, was a little alarmed when I read "new boyfriend" then realized that he belongs to DD. I am very attached to your son's pastry chef. (I'm hoping they are still together.....)

Weight: 135.0
Macros: Cals - 1,786, Carbs - 181, Fats - 54, Protein - 135, Fiber - 35
Sleep hours: 7.5
Vegetable/Fruit Servings: 8
Exercise: Aquarobics class, walked 10.5K+ steps
Meditation: Yes

Oh, Shel!!!!!!! Sometimes, like today, that's all I can say in response to your posts and hiking pix. And what an amazing smoke eruption event you experienced. Wild!

Quick question: What did you mean by "untethered mind" -- as you used that phrase in your OP above? TIA.

Last night I went to bed very early (6 pm) and then wound up not falling asleep. By 9pm I was hungry again. So I got up and made a toasted cheese sandwich, but was still hungry. Then I made a high-protein chicken salad out of canned (in water) chicken breast, with a little pickle relish and light mayo, which definitely made me not hungry. However, this morning all the sodium (1,040 mg.) in that canned chicken has bitten me in the butt - or at least in my scales' butt. I must figure out now NOT to follow that pattern tonight.

And in my friend's continuing cancer-scare saga, her PET scan showed exactly ZERO TUMORS. Yet the orthopedic surgeon's radiologist who told my friend she either had bone cancer in her hip or had cancer there that had metastasized from another cancer originating elsewhere in her body -- a conclusion he reached after viewing my friend's MRI scan but without reading the MRI radiologist's report/analysis, which said nothing about cancer -- STILL refuses to rule out cancer. Talk about someone who won't even consider being wrong!

BTW, my friend's general practitioner is beside himself at the orthopedic radiologist's apparent (lack of) professional skills and behavior.

In response, my friend has said sayonara to that orthopedic group and is now sending all her scans to Duke University where her daughter is a medical student and where she expects that her hip will finally receive proper attention, diagnosis, and treatment.

I'll admit it's been hard for me not to stay revved up by this medical drama, probably because of my husband's long battle with cancer. But ultimately, it's all good news for my friend, and I need to take peace from that. (Breathing!) Drama is just drama, right?

Today's theme: Begin anew on this new day.

Oh shoot, I should have said Untethered Soul, a book by Michael Singer. Very woo woo. It isn't food focused but certainly can be applied to that.

I listened to the last of it yesterday morning. I will need to repeat.

I think my head changed it to Untethered Mind weeks ago because the first part of it is a lot about the inner dialogue that Doesn't Shut Up.(The audible reader is sometimes very funny in his reading.)

His point is that the inner voice isn't an inner sage.....it is just your inner voice (we all have one) and it has accumulated problems over a long time period of time. It isn't all powerful or an expert.. It isn't even consistent, shifting its angst filled opinion in a moment.

I like the whole idea on neutralizing a voice that has been so negatively powerful on the food front, in particular, for decades.

I really feel for you friend. Even with all the reassurance, I would worry that the surgeon has some sort of gut instinct that might end up being right.

Thanks, Shel. I will check out that book -- my own Inner Voice really needs to STFU. ;)

My friend is indeed allowing for the possibility that something unusual could be going on in her hip. But she's so disgusted by her experience with the current orthopedic surgeon/radiologist crew (including the fact that they diagnosed her with cancer before even ordering or reviewing a PET scan) that she's moving up-market to a better brand (so to speak) of medical care. tl;dr it's time for a second opinion.

Plusses for the week:

1. I prepped food for school each day.
2. Made it through the first week of school with enjoyment and un-exhausted.
3. Got 3 good workouts in after school this week.
4. My new book, Bright Line Eating, recommended by Diane O arrived.

Biggest plus of the week I think came yesterday when new trainer approached me with the idea of personal boot camp training rather than what we are doing right now. I raised my eyebrow. She explained rather than a set being a specific number of repetitions, I would simply be timed and would be expected to do the exercise for 30, 45, or 60 seconds. Then on to the next exercise with very little rest between each one. Her reasoning is that I am strong and my cardio endurance is pretty good. For example, she wanted me to do 16 "jumping planks" (in a plank position and then you do "jumping jacks" in and out with your legs while maintaining a plank position). I did 16 easily the first set, upped it to 20 the second set, and then doubled it to 40 on the third set and could have still done more. So, that made me feel pretty good. I said I think we could work into the "boot camp" style. I'm willing to try.

Have to address the sugar in my life. It's like a little gnat flying around my head pestering me. sigh....

Weight 163. Does anyone else fluctuate 3.2 pounds in a day or is this just my superpower? The unfortunate reverse is that I can gain 3.2 pounds in a day too...

Stuck at home today again. Tomorrow should be better and allow me to leave. We're supposed to go to dinner with friends tonight, but not sure I'll be able to go.

It's rainy here, which I love! Still on my reading kick so it's perfect weather for that.

No other news report except that my cousin and his husband are planning a cruise to Brazil and Argentina in January/February for his husband's 60th birthday and asked me to join! I'm totally going and will need to book by the 31st. Yay! They are two of my favorite people on the planet, so I'm excited.

Enjoy your weekends, everybody!

I fluctuate like that!

that sounds like a fun trip!