Monday, February 1, 2021

February already! Unbelievable. I am working on booking a visit by DD here, and possibly both DDs (from Massachusetts and Florida) in a couple of weeks.

Today Mike is going back to his place, so Justice and I will be on our own for a few days. The temperature is supposed to drop low for Florida due to the front coming through the Northeast causing significant snow there. At least we just have the cool weather!

Not much else going on.

Have a safe and healthy day!

155.6

Liz-so glad the friends were so welcoming!

Peps-does the testing make you feel more confident?

Cecily-I'm scared for retinol. I bought some in Mexico and applied it and my skin looked eaten away. My derm told me she could prescirbe it and start smaller but I'm freaked now. Good luck. I'll be listening to your reviews

DD-glad you got some much needed rest. The weather in OK can be pretty erratic up through May. We can have nice weather in the 60s, followed by a day in the 30s. But as a rule of thumb, I'd say things are nicer in March (with freak snow etc. thrown in) and more predictably in April. Trouble with April is always the rain and wind. But we really enjoyed lots of walking during quarantine. ONly 4 more weeks to March so here's hoping. Unfortunately next week most days are in 20s or 30s for highs. Eek. (but nothing like you all up north!!)

Diane O.-your new sewing machine sounds great and very therapeutic. Once upon a time I wanted a sewing machine. Because...what else would I do as a SAHM but make all my kids clothes? (HA HA!)

I've been thinking a lot about my weight loss strategy. A lot of it has to do with not wanting to lose ground/rock the boat. But at the same time something needs to change. I've contemplated Weigh****chers. I like it because it's nothing fad-ish like Keto or intermittent fasting which I don't think could be long term for me. But it is gimmicky. And I'm trying to decide if that's what I need right now or not. A couple of things worry me about WW. Firstly, I tried it multiple times years ago and just never could be successful! But maybe trying to lose a few pounds versus 100+ makes the difference. Back then the points values were almost a way of simplifying calories. But now I'm super confused by points values. I'm afraid it would be very hard to learn and I'd be about the eat dinner with no points left. Or something like that. Also, making anything "free" makes me extremely nervous. I know we talked before about the unlikelihood of binging on hardboiled eggs or chicken breasts. And I think that's true for me. HOwever it's not so much about "binging" for me as simply eating more than I need. I think I've been really good about trying to only eat half. My current struggle is that sometimes I now snack and supplement with foods that are much more "calorie dense" aka not the healthiest foods. Not only do those foods tend to slide more easily, it's also true that half of a hamburger and fries meal contains many more calories than half of a grilled chicken and vegetable meal. And I do want to eat healthier. But I also think at the end of the day calories are calories.

Why is it so much harder for me to eat healthy when it's cold?!

No, the frequent testing doesn't make me feel more confident. What it does do is help me stick to my routine and validate that the precautions I continue to take are helping me stay well.

Ever since I had Covid last March, I have episodes of suddenly feeling like I'm getting sick. It will last an hour, maybe two and then go away. The frequent testing does help me relax over those episodes and help me know it is simply a lasting side effect of COVID. I don't think everyone understands that it's not a one and done deal. It can have some lingering effects. Some people, like Liz, are pretty lucky. Others get moderate cases like mine and have some residual side effects. Then there are the two other groups that get super, super sick.

I think we will discover in the future that the people who get so sick are genetically predisposed to a hyper immune response to the COVID virus and that is why they get so sick - kind of like Lupus. Sadly, one group gets well. The other doesn't.

Weight 193.2 bouncing up darn it. Maybe salt? For my Monday stats, I'm down 0.4 for the week, 29.2 overall.

BB, I went with over the counter 1% retinol (Skinceuticals) instead of prescription strength and it's plenty strong! Lots of peeling, but not much sensitivity past the first time. A little stinging when I put on moisturizer, but it fades quickly. I waited a week between the first and second time, 4 days to the third, and I'll use it again tomorrow (3 days) and keep working towards every day eventually. I like the way my skin feels and looks (minus the peeling).

I walked last night, but was pretty sedentary the rest of the day. Eating was fine, but I made boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the air fryer and overdid it on the seasoning. Tasted good, but probably too much salt.

Because it's always something, my fountain has sprung a leak. It's built like a tiny pool (has pool equipment and I have a pool guy), so I contacted him and got a recommendation for someone to find and fix the leak. It's coming through the wall. It's always something!

My neighbors to the south got their hedge/trees trimmed between our houses this morning. Maybe 30+ feet along the boundary worth? It's a very cloudy morning and my house is so much brighter now!

Off to call the leak guy... have good days, everyone!

BB, What I like about WW is that it encourages fruits and vegetables and legumes. A meatless chili could be 0 points depending on the recipe. Tracking with the app on the phone is super easy, it's easier than MFP for me. I like being able to scan barcodes and getting the point total. What I don't like, not knowing my macros. Also, It pushes you towards low fat, which doesn't always work well for me. I get super hungry on low fat. On WW, I shift using my points to fats, and add them to free foods. My guess is that you would do well on it to drop a few pounds and you might like eating more fruits and veggies.

That being said, today when I weighed, my 3 pound weight loss had almost disappeared. I don't know what is going on. Did I actually even lose any weight this month, or has this all been just normal fluctuations? I did lose weight with WW this spring/summer. It wasn't fast, but it was measurable. Is the stress of my cancer treatment messing up my body's ability to let go of fat? Do I need to go hardcore keto for awhile to flip the fat burning switch? Do I need to stop counting calories for awhile, and eat more of the free foods (foods I regard as nutritious, healthy fuel, that I do enjoy, not a general free for all with all foods). When I actually ate fruit as I wanted, I didn't lose weight, so I limit it to 3 servings a day. But I'm not losing weight anyhow ... I could do better with regular exercise. I've never had to exercise to lose weight, exercise has always been for stress relief, health, or, like kayaking, recreation. Maybe winter and working from home has cut down on my activity more than I know. I can't give up, but good grief, I can't eat any less than I do. I guess one consolation is I stopped the weight gain, but I do not want to weigh what I weigh now. I don't need to be at my lowest weight to be happy, but this weight is too high. Sigh. But as I said, I'm not giving up.

I think you might be onto something about your movement working from home versus at the school. Yesterday, I got to 5:30pm and realized I'd been on the couch all day! I had a measly 789 steps on my Apple watch. Practically nothing. I went for a 2 mile walk and ended the day with 6000. I bet getting to your classroom, moving around in class, moving between kids, to the teachers lounge, the school office, to and from your car, any errands you stop for... I bet it adds up to a lot in a day that you aren't getting now.

When I added a 2-3 mile walk every day in late December, my losses went from .4 a week to 1.4+ (Though not this week). Moving makes a huge difference. If you can't get it through normal daily activity (ie working from home and not walking a school and classroom all day), you may need to add in intentional exercise to make up the deficit.

You make a very good point. I do walk a lot at school, it's a big building and I have to cross from one end to the other several times a day. And walking around around the classroom helping students. I also am not doing as much of the grocery shopping, which really can be a good amount of exercise, bagging, loading, unloading, putting away 6-8 bags.

Once I'm vaccinated, DH and I agree I should start working with a personal trainer. When I do physical therapy I do my exercises (still hoping the teacher will give me an A), so I think I would be more consistent if I had a trainer.

Your weather warming up will help too. You could comfortably take walks with your husband or daughter or even by yourself with a good audiobook or podcast or just your own thoughts!

I guess what I'm worried about is the planning. Maybe it's just a steep learning curve? But I'm so used to cooking certain foods, or going out to eat. And I have a decently good guess of the calories. But the points are so hard to figure now. I'm worried I would eat something and not be able to eat preplanned dinner. I need both flexibility and structure. And I just really need to do something.

Oh, boy!!!! What thought provoking posts today. I find that some of what was discussed is triggering old tapes and some newer information.

My NUT is pretty blunt about WW. She is very clear that it is a program that works on the principle of portion control and calorie counting. It is well marketed, too. However, if someone really needs more than basic portion control WW may be a short term solution. Because of my dysfunctional eating and compulsive eating disorder, WW won't work long term for me without other "help". I need that extra therapeutic piece which the NUT offers. Also, WW is a "diet" which for me is not a good approach right now.

I think I may be a little more active than some of you. I can attest that the only way I lose weight is by reducing calories - specifically fat and carbs. Being active is great! It does so much for you in so many ways, but unless you are running marathons or engaging in hours of daily exercise, exercise itself won't burn off the extra weight. There is a lot of science behind that. There is a lot of science behind exercise helping to keep weight off, though. And there is plenty of science that shows exercise while losing weight helps to keep the metabolism higher during a calorie deficit.

My grand total for weight loss last week during my "Let's Design a Weight Loss Program for Peps" attempt was 2 pounds. I can't shirk that, but I won't lie - I am not used to starting a "diet" with such a slow start. But, what I noticed was that I was not as hungry as a "normal" diet might make me feel; I was able to incorporate sweets on a daily basis; I kept my calories at a higher level that I would not have ever done before when trying to lose weight - 2300-2500 calories daily; I felt less like I was trying to lose weight and more like I was concentrating on eating healthily. I also noticed that I have a lot of trouble consuming 48 oz of water per day. Used to be I had no issues with getting in 72 oz a day.

I think we are all aware that there is no one size fits all approach to weight loss and healthy eating. But certain rules apply to everyone: To lose weight you must burn more calories than you consume; There is no person born who is built to live a low fat, low carb lifestyle long term. That style of eating goes against our biological condition. You must incorporate one or the other, or both in moderation. If you deny your body both of those macros over time, your body will revolt.

My school district's superintendent announced today that we should be prepared to return to the classroom in a hybrid model on February 16th. It was also announced that beginning next Monday every employee will be required to COVID test each week. However, only TK-5th grades will return to school. 6-8 grades will not until infection rates go down. Um... Hello???? Guess the teachers don't count? LOL..... I am a little nervous because I have a student in my class who had an active case of Covid in her home and her parents let her go to a friend's house for a playdate. Yeah, that's what I'm up against - that kind of behavior and thinking. A lot of people either just don't get it, or just don't care. No plans for CA to inoculate teachers any time soon, either. Oh, well....

C'est la vie!