Monday, Monday, Monday, October 24

Good Monday morning everyone

hope that we are all ready to start a brand new week.  A new opportunity to have new experiences and put bad ones behind us.   

We are keeping on!!!!

Good food day and should have been out to cut the grass one last time bit spent it with friends.   The grass will forever grow.

127 OTD. Had a fun camping weekend albeit a little cold at night and in the mornings. Food eating was terrible - just ate what the boys prepared which is never very healthy. Lots of exercise though. Biked Saturday morning and hiked in the afternoon plus just general increased activity of camping all weekend. Raked leaves when I got home yesterday - the downside of having 3.5 acres of a tree filled lot now! Sure is pretty though!

I wasn't able to get internet while away so sorry no personalized messages today. Know that I love and appreciate each and every one of you!

Paula

No weight today due to logistical issues.   

Any of you tea drinkers?  I am enjoying Queen Mary's lemon chiffon rooibos this morning.  Sort of expensive but worth it to me.  queenmarytea.com but we have a store locally.

LOVE tea! I have been drinking a chai blend from Teavana - also expensive but oh so yummy!

Teavana's pumpkin spice/brulee blend is pretty terrific, too!

Weight stable. Same as yesterday. 

Stress level up. Ella is truly in season and I had to decide whether it was the right time to breed or if I should wait. Weighing things carefully, I decided to breed her. So she got one night at home to be a pillow princess and went back with the handler because the handler has Ella's betrothed. I will pick her up in two weeks. 

The challenge I now face is something that has come up before: handling everyday stress along with additional puppy stress without relying on food to get me through. Linda's words echoed in my brain last night. Her thought was not lightly taken or easily dismissed. I went to bed praying for strength and discipline. 

Sitting outside the courtroom. Today will be the final day of selection. Fingers crossed! 

Hope we all have a wonderfully focused and successful day and week. 

If it were me, I would use this time to develop a plan to meet the challenge and then the plan would become my security blanket over time.  However, I think for you that plans themselves are a huge trigger?  I understand that type of triggering as well.....difficult situation.  Much learning to come, I am sure.

It is not so much that a PLAN will trigger me, but if the plan contains "noes" that are too restrictive over the long haul, I will rebel. I need to devise a plan that will allow me enough freedom of choice, but at the same time keep me "safe" from my worst food triggers (baked goods, chocolate candies and real ice cream - the no added sugar kind does not seem to trigger me). It sounds straight forward and simple and it is, only my head insists on getting in the way. For me, more than anything, it's getting around and past the mind games and "addict talk" that goes on in my head - you know the, "F*&k this, I don't care!" that allows one to eat the giant cookie with the cup of coffee, or the chocolate staring you in the face after the kids leave the room, or.... LOL! 

Before my troubles, delay used to work for me.  If I had a craving or was faced with something that I really wanted, I was free to have it during the weekend.  By the weekend, it usually no longer had any power.  If it did, then I'd go with it.  Seeing as how it sounds like your biggest temptations are at school, it could work.  I would be nervous about taking the goodies home to eat during the weekend, but comparable big cookies, candies, chocolate etc. can usually be found to buy...by me anyway.

I am an ice cream addict.  Hello, my name is JoeyJo...  Never could I keep it in the house.  My son and I would finish a half gallon container in one sitting.  Sad but true.  Now I buy Blue Bunny no sugar added mint chocolate chip and make us each a small ice cream cone after dinner if we really, really want it, which amazingly is not very often.  Knowing it's there is helpful, which is weird, and the cone keeps the amount under control.  It is hard and crumbly ice cream, so I have not been able to pile much ice cream on the cone.  :)

Also thick smoothies made with frozen bananas do the trick for me.  I used to add some avocado to make it creamier, but stopped that early on.  My friend reviewed my diet early on and kaboshed the avocado till I lost all that I wanted.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm really appreciative that you mentioned the delay strategy. That works very well for me, too (when I remember to employ it!)