Monday, April 8, 2019

Weight: 143.0
Macros: Cals - 1,180, Carbs - 105, Fat - 32, Protein - 108, Fiber - 21
Sleep: 6 hours
Veggie/Fruit Servings: 5
Water glasses: 8
Exercise: 11,000 steps
Meditation: Yes

Been home one week and am 7 pounds down. My weight's been holding here for the last 4 days, and I expect the rest of my NOLA pounds will come off much more slowly.

I'll raise my daily calories this week to 1,300/day and if that goes well I'll move to 1,400 next week. Most of the new cals will come from veggies/fruits. I'm proceeding slowly because I know from past experience that my body tends to interpret more food as "party time." And it ain't party time. ;)

Our book club will meet today at Ruby Tuesday for lunch where I'll order grilled chicken and veggies. The meeting should be lively. Having already ranted here about Crawdads, I hope to be more chill during the discussion. BTW, I'm now reading Less, the 2018 Pulitzer novel prize winner and loving both the storyline and the writing! I now have a little crush on the author, Andrew Sean Greer

This week's theme expands a bit: Weigh, water, protein, veggies, walk.

Calories 1342, higher than planned due to granola eaten at 1:30 am when I couldn't sleep. Not the worst slip, but I wish I had kept sleeping! I still haven't weighed but my clothing is fitting better so I've dropped that initial water etc. and am probably also on the slow downturn now like you Ann. I think I am going to weigh weekly perhaps on Wednesday's. We will see...

So nice to see your face posting first Ann! I get very tired of mine, but I'm always up fairly early and I think I'm the furthest east?

Today is walking, then ? It has been quite hot with very little breeze so we have avoided the beach, but maybe we will do that today if there is some air moving. This is SIL's last week so I asked her what she wanted to do which of course she hasn't responded to yet. She asked what I wanted and I deferred to her.

OH... for you shoppers. I have been eyeing jumpsuits and tropical theme Tommy Bahama clothing. A week ago I got two jumpsuits from Old Navy for $12 each. AND I got a long linen/silk blend Tommy Bahama shift (worn once supposedly) from Poshmark for $25. My final score is a brand new shorter wrap dress from an eBay auction for $25. The current years versions of essentially the same dresses are $185 and $145. I figured these would give me more incentive to get more comfortably back into my size.

Have a mindful Monday!

I adore jumpsuits! Good finds!

And then I got some nude suede leather top wedge sandals which will look great with the jumpsuits...

Hi All,

Ann, I read your link while on the tread yesterday and again this morning. Thank you for posting....a couple of things that struck me were

- Today can be the day you turn things around (the title) and

- you can find contentment in life where you are right now

Liz, I love that your clothes are fitting better because I am hoping that is true when I pull on my hiking pants this weekend. I wore stretchy workout pants this weekend so (thankfully) they still fit.

DD is taking a sports nutrition class at school right now. The author of the next is Nancy Clark. I have heard her interviewed recently and she is just a no-nonsense dietician. In the interview, she said that she didn't realize, when first starting, how weird (many) people are about food. Anyway, I am glad that DD will have a resource that isn't a you-tuber spouting off bro science.

Find contentment,

Shel

190.2 I think. But man can I tell I'm swollen from the traveling. Hoping a couple lbs drop off tomorrow or Tuesday.

Initiating soapbox mode

So we went to Las Vegas with friends over the weekend to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday. The women were all so insecure! Perhaps some of it was due to the age thing (we ranged in age from my 31, to several 35-40, and a couple 45-50), but most of it was due to weight insecurities. The "funny" thing is that none of them were as big as I once was. And as an onlooker, they all looked lovely. The women purposefully didn't bring swimsuits so they couldn't be made to swim. And yet there I was, saggy leg skin and cellulite and old stretch mark scars from years of carrying 100+lbs. excess weight, not to mention being 32 weeks pregnant and I was in the pool two days. It just makes me extraordinarily SAD to think of how much they have let weight or their perception of themselves dictate their happiness. They are literally missing out on so much. And it makes me sad I missed out on so much. I have no more time to waste on that nonsense. This is probably the best my body will ever look--and I'm pretty proud of it--stretchmarks, cellulite, baby bump and all. Interestingly enough, their insecurities actually seemed to cause some relationship problems. You see a lot of thing in Las Vegas and one husband got in trouble for a wandering eye towards showgirls walking the strip!! And yet he also got in trouble for making a comment on another woman's flaws, which sounds fair. But what the wife doesn't know is that I'd overhead the husband explaining that he points out other women's flaws in order to make his wife feel more beautiful. Poor guy couldn't win for losing. That's so messed up and yet sweet at the same time. But isn't that kind of the way women are brought up??!! "Tear another woman down, I'll feel bigger and better." So I dunno. I don't think it begins and ends with weight and appearances. But gosh darn it I still feel like we are all beautiful--yes, even our bodies that have been through so much.

In honor of that, a bumpie

Bonnie, what a grandiloquent anthem to living life at all phases and situations of life!

And for Cecily's benefit ... ******' A!

P.S. You and Da Bump are lookin' good, girl. :)

So beautiful and healthy!

As mentioned yesterday, I read the article on Tiny Buddha yesterday that Ann posted. Lordy, did it strike a cord and pinch a nerve!

My big take away from the article is that I MUST ESTABLISH PRIORITIES and also focus on self care as a priority.

When I think of Establishing Priorities I understand how out of focus daily living priorities have become. I am easily enticed to slothfulness in daily chores and habits. I had planned yesterday to get things done that I had been putting off, but after reading the article I approached my chores with unanticipated fervor and slight anxiety. While sorting through mail, some of which went back as far as January, I found myself thinking about prioritizing and how that one NOT SO SIMPLE task could make my life more manageable.

Self care is a loaded gun. I don't find self care an easy or simple thing to manage. I think because left to my natural inclinations I am a person who lives life as it comes. Example: Most days I don't think about what to make for dinner until I am getting hungry for dinner. By that time it is usually 7 or 8 pm and I am tired from the day and don't want to cook an all out meal. So, we have a circuit of places we can order out with relatively healthy choices, but honestly, I can cook a better meal with far fewer calories.I just don't want to exert the effort to make a full blown healthy meal.

I am wary of asking Ron for help with dinner at this juncture for two reasons. The first is he is suffering from some moderate depression due to his medical issues. The second is that he simply doesn't cook easily, quickly, and lacks skill with meat. He's great with recipes, but throwing together a dinner is beyond is scope. He often marvels at my ability to look in the fridge and create a meal. He simply doesn't recognize the components of the meal when he looks in the fridge. He is so creative in music and art and color, that it was hard for me to accept at the beginning of our relationship he did not have the same creative skill with food.

Also, when it comes to self care, I always have worked with the premise that I am strong and can handle a lot. If someone else needs me, I can put my own needs on the back burner because of my strength. It's how I've lived most of my childhood and adult life.

So establishing priorities and fulfilling self care requirements and, eventually, embracing mindfulness are my foci of the week. Hmmm.... Should be a fun session with the shrink today. Thanks, Ann for the great read!

A personal observation: IMO it seems like many of us with weight issues often don't do well at self-care...