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Yum cornichons! The garlic ferments are super intriguing, and I can so easily imagine how tasty and healing the honey garlic will be during cold season. Last night after work I was really tired, and used some zinc to nip anything in the bud that might be taking advantage of my sleep deprived, immune-compromised state. I think I'm okay, but being in that place made the honey garlic sound soooo good. I love pickled garlic - there used to be two giant jars of them at the bar of a favorite restaurant, but I've never had homemade. Do you give a lot of food gifts to friends and co-workers? I'll bet they love that! I imagine that your husband being sick means extra work for you to keep up with the garden. Hope he gets better soon! It must be hard to find time to cook with so much to occupy you in the way of harvesting, "putting up" etc. It's a whirlwind!!!

I got up extra early yesterday to make hash, and it was really good, one of the best ones yet. This will get me through with salads and steamed or roasted vegetables until I can get another mini-cook up going. I sympathize with you with your dad's casserole - trial and error, right? And also a tribute to him...is it too late to add some browned ground meat?

The roasted cauli dish sounds so amazing, I am going to try that!! Drool.

Good question about the food flex and how I felt...it was a case of so many variables all at once, it's kind of hard to say. I know on paper it looks really bad. No exercise, only a few hours of sleep each night. No animal protein all week, some cheese, bread (though fermented as you said, yes!), tortillas for wraps...ironically no beans as I was expecting, based on previous experience. I felt hungry a lot, but didn't get headaches, skin outbreaks, or GI issues...the takeaway that is really up for me is the craving. Yesterday did not go very well. I actually ate a croissant, and, OMG. Chips. Yes, chips. But today is a new day. I stretched, and already had a decent breakfast, with a good plan of grilled chicken salad for lunch, and hash and veg for dinner. 

I can't wait to get this week behind me so I can chill and take a little more time for myself.

Loved reading about your visit with your mom! And glad you have more family time coming up! I'm looking at airfares for Christmas since it doesn't really mean that much to my husband, but does quite a lot to my brother and me...I have my hubs' blessing, and I'm looking forward to it. It will be a year anniv since the big December W30 we did...

The ghastly ticking clock is demanding that I move along now....so, see you later!

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How are the cravings? Have you been able to quiet them down with some sleep and good food? I guess it's not surprising that you were hungry and it's great that you had no adverse physical issues. Some things are worth it and the great connections, conversations and healing are definitely some of those things. "Deliriously wonderful" -YES!

It's funny that it's only July and we're looking at our one year anniversary but it will be here in a flash! FLA in August, then October is our friend's music festival where we feed all of the musicians & volunteers and then it's December! I'm with your husband on Christmas but I miss the family connection part of it since we are separated geographically. Since my parents split up when I was 11, holidays were a power struggle between each side and the kids were the prize- not much to celebrate there. Since I'm in health care, there have been lots of holidays that I've had to work and tried to get my husband to spend it with his kids but he refuses to leave me alone. I appreciate the sentiment very much but it would have been fine and it would have made me happy that he was forging relationships with them.

Did you have a chance to read Melissa's email yesterday? I know you're crazy busy and recovering and it was long but it was a good one about not being a Food Freedom Failure. I'm still really struggling with committing to an exercise/workout plan and keep sabotaging myself with wine so I feel like I've totally failed on that level. I've gained and lost the same 2-3 lbs a dozen times since the end of my W60 in Feb and just feel gross. You'd think that would be motivation, wouldn't you? And then I went clothes shopping...

"Food freedom isn’t just about food—it’s about how you think about yourself, and go about your life."

Yes, it is.

 

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Greetings! Wow, I'm having a civilized Sunday. I have never been so happy to have the luxury of time to do ordinary, mundane things like laundry and sorting, and sitting at my desk. Oh boy! Last week was one of unreasonably long hours. But we got through it! The good news is that the new staffer is doing great, and neither the hubs nor I got hurt or sick as a result of fiendish hours...just real tired and worn out. This week will be back to all hands on deck.

Thank you for your presence here, and your last post, too! I would not have read M's email if you hadn't mentioned it. (Maybe I should take a peek more often!) Your summary nailed it. Reading it myself was also helpful. I realize that I am still in the process of re-wiring my brain after so many years of sub-optimal habits. Is it possible that even though we both feel like we're not making a lot of progress, that we actually are, and can't recognize it b/c of a matter of perception? B/c weight loss is not what we want it to be? As for me, I haven't dared to step on the scale since I think the new year, and I did well through April, but since the last 7 weeks I can tell I'm filling out my clothes. Definitely time to recover and not look back.

Thank you for sharing the email, and of yourself so honestly. M. mentioned morning routine, and part of my brain went, "oh yeah!! That's my foundation! I can do that again, get the morning routine going!" How could I have forgotten that? Well, I guess I didn't forget, it's just that everything about the last 7 weeks has been out of routine. A blip. I can do this. Like you, I need to have an exercise routine to keep my self respect, and sense of personal momentum going. What time of day works for you, say, if you were to return to exercise? What would it look like? How long, how many days per week? If you were to form a plan, or return to a former good plan, what would that be? Your wine is my occasional candy. Not even the good stuff. So not worth it. M's email made me realize I could benefit from going back to her books, and really look at what triggers me. That kind of action seems to take the judgment out. What is your trigger when you pour a glass of wine?

Last week was bi-polar...many of my meals were compliant, and I may have even had an entire day of compliance. The ratio coulda/shoulda been higher...and it's so plain for me to see that when I transgressed, the trend avalanched or otherwise veered off road into the ditch. So, there is this week! This week will be "normal hours". It occurs to me that it is more or less a part of my identity that I go from one extreme to the other...and this out of control vacation/indulgences/too busy at work to make good food phase (or that is my excuse) has me so fed up with myself that this week will be a swing back in a better direction. What does that look like? Well, here is my actual plan, more clear and certain than the one I wrote here a week ago ahead of the exhausting week (Whew! I survived! Yay!)

Early to bed, early to rise. 

Morning routine to include movement/exercise/yoga Mon-Fri. MWF to include strength training. 

Food: a solid week that allows only added sugar (such as my coveted orange muscat champagne vinegar for example) and occasional non-compliant condiments.

Main dishes on the menu: bison chili, shrimp patties, blackberry sage breakfast sausages...and plenty of fresh roasted and steamed veg and crisp salads.

That's as far as I've got for food...and I'll be cooking for most of the rest of the day after I send this missive. So keep my honest, Holly!

In order to have dinner at home, I have to be ready to have stuff for hubs to eat, too (otherwise I justify Mexican, and that is just dangerous). So I'll have to have that lined up.

In order to have today as a day of rest, I postponed the store/home (food) shopping until tomorrow, Monday. B/C we'll be properly staffed, I can afford to spend the afternoon shopping...so I'll go in early, and then leave after lunch to shop, and come back to close....this is a test flight of a routine that might work better for me than killing myself doing home shopping after work on Sat., or on our only day off, which is Sunday.

Meanwhile, yes, finally the cravings have quieted down! For me Christmas is also all about the family connection...huge grief trigger. I'm not religious, although I can find meaning in the solstice, and even a kind of cosmic Christ, though I'm not strictly Christian. I can't really name myself in terms of religion or spirituality...paradox of language and all of that...anyway, being away from husband at Xmas, and with bro and kids and all of their sugar traditions will be a complete experiment. Following my heart, see what happens, right?

On 7/11/2018 at 8:07 AM, hollysmokes said:

"Food freedom isn’t just about food—it’s about how you think about yourself, and go about your life."

This is it. Crystalized.

It's a new week. We haven't gone in the ditch yet or missed any opportunities. What kind of week will you have? Feel like pinky swearing on an exercise routine?

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I have a feeling this is going to be a long one so, starting from the top...

I had a very similar Sunday. Funny how we do that! After a very hectic but very fun Saturday, it felt grand to be able to take my time doing laundry, reading and cleaning up the aftermath of Saturday. Our friends that have the music festival in the fall and the picking party in the spring were having a shrimp boil/beer tasting. We brought a couple of dips, some shrimp, corn and potatoes to contribute to the boil and helped out by bringing our boiling set-up and Cajun seasoning to compliment their low-country style boil. Everyone had some really good craft beers to share and a good time was had by all! Since I have a few gallons of pickles at the moment, I made a dill pickle dip that sounded a little weird but tasted really, really good. It had dairy so it's definitely a post-W30 thing but pork rinds made a great dipper and it was a big hit. I'll be making some of that to bring on our Fla trip, for sure. I ate one ear of corn because it was just-picked and all spiced up in the boil so that was my "worth it" choice along with the beer. Can't have a seafood boil without beer!

Wine is my "reward" for everything: tired, good day, bad day, celebration, mourning, whatever. It's a mindless part of my after-work routine that I thought I had broken after my W60. I was careful not to substitute a glass of kombucha or something similar so I could break the wine and too-big serving of nuts that I had every day when I got home. I've managed to stop the snacking but the wine-ing has crept back in. The 4th point M makes in that email about cultivating other behaviors was totally written for me. My entire adult social life has always revolved around a neighborhood watering hole. It's how we met most of our friends here. It's actually how I met my husband; we both sailed and the yacht club was essentially our neighborhood "Cheers". The routine mindlessness of it is almost the trigger, I think. Does that mean that mindfulness is the trigger antidote?  Meadowlily says "Freedom from autopilot takes change"  and what M says about not doing W30 after W30 and expecting it to fix everything in 30 days reinforces the fact that it's a long-term process. Being a little kinder to ourselves is probably in order while we keep working the plan.

Have you ever looked at Rudolph Steiner and anthroposophy? I, also, am not religious and the spiritual philosophy he describes tying the spiritual universe to the spirit of human beings resonates with me far more than any organized religion. So, although our family traditions have revolved around the typical religious holidays, it is more from custom than religion for me. So, yes, finding meaning in the solstice, biodynamic gardening and not hating June 21 have been part of that. I always thought of the longest day of the year as the beginning of the long slide into short, dark, cold days but now I think of winter as the time that the earth is inhaling and preparing for the rebirth and growth that is spring and summer. It's all a matter of perspective, no?

I'm having a hard time coming up with a work-out plan that fits my day but that's because I want it all. I hate sitting in traffic with a passion. I think of it as wasted pieces of my life that I can never get back so I've adjusted my work schedule to avoid it. I get up at 530, am at work for 630 and leave about the time school lets out so I miss the bulk of the afternoon traffic. Ideally, I would prefer to work out in the morning but I just can't make myself get up at 430 or earlier to make that happen. By the time I get home it's usually almost 4 (and that's only if I have to make one stop for something) and it's too easy to make excuses or find other things that "need" to be done. Maybe I need to re-organize my day? Probably re-prioritize? Time for a change, that's for sure. I had a good cook-up yesterday and made a double batch of holy mackerel cakes and a quick breakfast casserole using some sauteed greens I had saved in the freezer. I had plenty of time to get some movement in but it didn't even cross my mind. I think I had mentally written it off but your thoughts and questions have worked up that sense of personal momentum you mentioned. How long are your typical work-outs? I have a hard time committing to anything over an hour; it makes me feel overwhelmed.

You're right, it's a new week filled with opportunities to make some good decisions. I feel more empowered and more optimistic about having the wherewithal to make those decisions. My goal is to play with some different routines, I think. I am going to go home this afternoon and do some stretching and weights. Tomorrow I'm going to see how I do getting up at 5 instead of 530 and have a 20-30 minute yoga session queued up on my computer and ready to go. Maybe splitting things up a bit will make it a little more flexible but, if nothing else, it's a step in the right direction. I guess I'm a little vague on my plan but pinky swear it is! Being the list maker that I am, I always had a to-do list for the weekends but discovered that if I just kept moving and did things as I encountered them (think... "Squirrel!!!) I actually got more done and felt less of a feeling of failure if I didn't accomplish everything on the list. I am going to try to organically let the movement happen with the only rule is that I have to do something everyday and over the course of a week, I'll do three weight sessions and at least three yoga/stretching sessions. How does that sound for a no-plan plan?

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Your crowd sounds like loads of fun, and so well matched with you and your husband. That shrimp boil/beer tasting sounds amazing! Yes, funny the ongoing parallel path we have, and thank God, for the restful Sunday. Dill pickle dip + pork rinds? Yum. 

I like what you wrote about being kinder to ourselves as we keep working the plan. And again, Meadowlily nailing it with that quote. Thank you so much for these insights. It helps me. Having you here has helped me to begin again this week. Reading about your life post W60, I congratulate you for kicking the snacking habit. The equation you came up with of mindfulness being an antidote to mindlessness sounds pretty reasonable! I wonder about the social aspect. It takes such self-dedication in the context of socializing. Assuming that your husband didn't join you in abstaining from adult beverages when you were doing your W60 and after, was that part of it hard? Yet, you did manage it so well. And here you have not re-engaged the snacking habit after work. When I think of mindfulness, I think of a focus. Choosing a focus, and then returning to it without judgment or analysis when the mind wanders. Actually, that is exactly what we're doing, isn't it? How does that apply with wine? How will you apply mindfulness? Is it a promise to self? Awareness of the trigger, and coming back to the commitment to self? I imagine you have your mate's full support. Have you re-read ISWF about alcohol, would that help? I ask because the book I mentioned some time ago, The End of Alzheimer's was similarly motivating, I'd say a companion to ISWF. I've made some big changes since reading it. And for the same reason, I want/need to re-read ISWF and also FFF. To deepen my understanding of why I'm making these choices, to be more conscious.

As for Rudolf Steiner, yes, I know him mainly in the context of Waldorf Schools! I'm glad you lifted him up. I will have to re-visit him. I'm the religious studies minor who never put down her books...and never let go an interest in the religions, I just don't fit into any pigeon holes, or I do all of them, just not outwardly. I like the work of Karen Armstrong, and her point that the best of all of the religions boils down to the Golden Rule. Seems that really religious folks get all tangled up in their own dogma and lose that piece, preferring being right over compassionate towards others.

Well, you are so wise with your no-plan plan! As for me, I pinky swear that I will join you in adding movement! I have already gone bust on my own plan, but am in a groove with your plan! In other words, yesterday, Monday, I did something very reasonable and fun, totally outside of my usual routine-when-I'm-in-a-routine. First, my usual routine is a big sweaty, blissful hike up my local trail. Have I mentioned it's triple digits, yucky air is back now and in any case with the high temps come the stinging, biting insects up the trail? Yeah, horse flies, wasps, and worst of them all, tarantula hawks. Those guys love to kill the tarantula and lay their eggs in them. In the meanwhile, human hikers are up for grabs. Is this natural selection at play? In any case, they're really painful! In a buddy system with a friend I braved the trail last summer early mornings 5x/wk and I was bitten and stung so many times! Ouch! Benzocaine and antihistamines to the rescue. It's very unpleasant. I don't feel like doing that again! So during pleasant months I hike for 40-60 minutes, then come home to stretch. Yoga of course is somewhat strengthening, but probably not so much so with what I do, if I'm honest. Since our W30/W60 experience it's been dawning on me that I can/should be adding real strength work, and I can really lighten up the cardio, anyway. So except for when I'm training for a big hike (as I should be doing now - Aug 5 trip on the near horizon) I'm easing up on cardio. What I'm trying to say, is that I'm creating a new routine. I had a few good weeks of the new deal before all the chaos that started in June. And that is a 10 minute cardio warm up, and 3x/wk weights for upper body, and then floor work for lower body and core, and yoga 5 days per week. Done in an hour, easy, unless I have the luxury of a longer yoga/meditation, which is glorious, but seems unattainable lately. That's what I outlined 2 days ago here....what I actually ended up doing on Monday was to ease into movement again by putting on some music and dancing/stretching and a little calisthenics in the mix. This morning I did the same, with more focus. 20 minutes while the hubs was upstairs listening to the news while he got ready for work. I think I wanted to drown it out, and as a result, I was in a MUCH better mood than he was. As for food, it's been a good week so far, no disasters. This is an improvement. I'm observing how just a couple of days is enough of a self-esteem boost to keep it going. I've got chili in the fridge, and instead of shrimp patties, I had ckn thighs to do something with. So we're set until the weekend.

Somehow, I've managed to never have a long commute, but if I did, I think I would feel exactly the way you do! I can totally understand your motivation to get up extra early, and avoid that nonsense. Good for you. When you started a program with your daughter, were you exercising after work? I can really see your dilemma. There's just not enough hours in the day. When you stopped exercising did you feel your body ache/yearn for movement again? I always feel that when I stop. You're a really wise soul, I know you will figure out how to get what you need. There's no going back now. This is reminding me a little of that quote from Anais Nin, "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk to blossom" Does this speak to you? It's not a perfect metaphor. But for me, having the movement onboard absolutely helps me be more at blossom in the world. My husband has a really good spin cycle in his office, and he works out on it 3-4x/wk, after dinner. I don't know how he does it. He hates it, but he makes himself do it. I have to enjoy my exercise! He calls himself T-Rex, strong, giant lower body, and tiny arms. It's not that bad! Anyway, I've tried it, and I just hate it, which is a deal breaker. I have to feel some joy or pleasure, and outdoor hiking and yoga give me all of that. I am imagining that if you had a little exercise momentum, that wine habit would be much easier to manage...you can do it! We can do this!

Like you, I get up at 530. But I read in bed for quite a while first. It's my only read-the-news time. This is where I need to make a promise to myself to actually get up by 545. And get moving. I'll do my best for the rest of the week! Now...to bed, to sleep per chance to dream.

 

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Holy giant wasp, Batman! I had to look up tarantula hawks and that is the scariest thing I've ever seen! Some entomologist was quoted as saying that their sting is so incredibly painful that his recommendation was to just lie down and scream. We have a wasp problem but nothing like that and, thankfully, only rare horse flies. Triple digit heat, too; I guess I better quit whining about being in the mid 90's, huh? That's where we are today but the humidity has dropped to a glorious 50%. It's been so humid that I've driven to work in the fog most days lately. 

Thanks for the Anais Nin quote; it definitely speaks to me. I've been pondering...is my issue a fear of failure or a fear of success? Maybe a mishmashed combination of the two but now I feel the need/urge to blossom. Working the plan? The plan working me? ;)

15 hours ago, LadyLisbette said:

When I think of mindfulness, I think of a focus. Choosing a focus, and then returning to it without judgment or analysis when the mind wanders.

I think that might be the path out of my commitment dilemma: focus. I was just starting to really feel the benefits of regular movement and strength training when I pooped out on my regular workouts. Actually, I shouldn't call them "workouts" because it's very meditative for me and "workout" makes me think of crowded gyms that are anything but meditative. I like the solitude behind the closed door where I don't have to worry about sucking in my stomach because someone might see me. I can concentrate on my form and how it feels and my breath - ahhhh. So Monday I did a really good upper body routine and yesterday I did about 30 minutes of MovNat floor work. I really want to get into MovNat some more so that was my beginning. Today is lower body/abs and I have it all planned out so I can walk in the house and get to it. The no-plan plan gives me accountability (the plan part) but also some flexibility (the no-plan part). My attempt at getting up at 5 yesterday was a wash-out; I tried to use the 2nd alarm on my clock but I've never used it before and messed it up. That's OK; I'm going to work into it. The goal this week is to move every day. I have a three-day weekend this weekend so I'm going to use that extra day to get myself on the path towards an early morning, greet-the-day routine. I can feel it falling into place in my brain.

T-Rex; that's funny! I have to enjoy my exercise, too. As much as I like the feel of the rowing machine, I hate it! I need to use my mind as well and mindless spinning/rowing/walking doesn't do it for me. My husband puts on the news and he's good with that (he's a news junkie anyway!) but I need something more. He's rubbed off on me a bit and I actually do keep an eye on the news nowadays but I can't do it in the morning. Starting my day with doom & gloom & crises just stresses me out.

The Golden Rule: yes, yes, yes! We're taught is at such a young age but then it seems to get overridden by the dogma. We live in "the buckle of the bible belt" so I tend to keep my religious beliefs/non-beliefs to myself but it's a joy when we go to our friend's farm in the fall for the annual biodynamic conference. I need to read more Steiner. I tend to get overwhelmed by the effort it takes to understand what he's saying and I go in spurts. The last day of the conference always includes readings and discussion of a select lecture and it's always fun to listen to the different perspectives. One year they used two different translations and there were a couple of people there that spoke German so they threw their two cents worth in to lend even more complexity to an already complex subject. 

OK! Yes, we can do this! Thanks for the therapy session:D

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25 minutes ago, hollysmokes said:

Holy giant wasp, Batman! I had to look up tarantula hawks and that is the scariest thing I've ever seen! Some entomologist was quoted as saying that their sting is so incredibly painful that his recommendation was to just lie down and scream.

 

:mellow: :huh: :blink: :wacko: - I cannot bring myself to google that, but "lie down and scream" seems descriptive enough! 

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I feel I need to confess that I have seen numerous tarantula hawks on the nearby BLM land where I hike, and occasionally in my yard but I have not been stung. Just have seen the ghost like faces of friends and acquaintances while recounting the experience. Before I knew how painful their sting was, I really admired the pretty orange wings, and wanted a closer look :lol:Yet the numerous horse flies (ranchers graze their livestock up there which is otherwise enjoyable!) and yellow jackets, and ordinary wasps have caused enough pain for me to avoid just on their own. I didn't know how painful horse fly bites can be!

Have you had a break through over there? I'm feeling like I'm getting a grip. Like you, I'm easing into it. I'm feeling the buddy system benefit, and am so grateful.

22 hours ago, hollysmokes said:

I like the solitude behind the closed door

Me too! With the exception of the hiking...I'm 3 for 4 days this week getting decent movement in, and today was very satisfying. I had another dance party warm up, and then dialed it down for the most focused yoga I've enjoyed since before all the recent chaos. What a relief. Then I received a message from self, "we're you just writing that the yoga you do is not strengthening? Pffft." So I'll keep doing the knee P/T, the core work, the upperbody weights a few times per week, and keep up the dance and yoga. Afterwards, I even made a little time for journal writing. I feel pretty good.

I am a little worried that I'm not hiking to prepare for the big 5-day trip in early August, but I'm just not going up that trail, I'm just not, and I'm sure it will be fine. I'm feeling like the low-fat brainwash happened right along with cardio hype. Humans had to have had a big variety of physical activity along the millenia, right? Nomads sometimes moving, sometimes standing still, relatively speaking? I'm going with that. I'm a decent hiker. I did a big one last year, and I trained my butt off, and did great, and we'll see how this goes. I'll do my best.

I looked up MovNat, that looks all kinds of wonderful! I'll have to spend some time and learn more, thank you for bringing it to my attention! Are you pleasantly sore from your upper body session? I'll do that tomorrow with my weights, or that is what I am loosely planning = )

Does your 3-day weekend start on Friday? 

22 hours ago, hollysmokes said:

I'm going to use that extra day to get myself on the path towards an early morning, greet-the-day routine. I can feel it falling into place in my brain.

I love that!

The buckle of the bible belt gives me a real understanding. We're surrounded here, too, even in our village which is otherwise a blue donut hole (lots of city transplants) of a red district and overall red region of the state. Are the friends who host the biodynamic conference the same friends who host the shrimp boil and the music festival? I'm guessing different folks, but it sounds like an awesome community you have found, a real treasure.

I have to dash, which is probably good as I know I get long-keyboarded here...thank YOU for the therapy session! 

 

 

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Definitely getting a grip!  Monday upper body, Tuesday MovNat, Wednesday lower body/abs, Thursday MovNat-yaaaay! Today I'm planning on leaving work a little early to kick off my 3-day weekend and it'll be upper body time again. Yesterday I HAD to get some stretching in; I was starting to feel like the Tin Man seizing up but felt much better after some floor work and whole body movement. My upper body is still a little sore and I'm really feeling it in my legs and hips but it's just a good reminder of how much I need this. I've been absorbing some of Meadowlily's wisdom again and your comment about yoga not being strength training makes me think of one of her comments about not putting the word "just" in front of your accomplishments. I'm guilty of "I just did yoga yesterday" as if that wasn't an accomplishment in and of itself. Of course when I think about it and realize that at one point my arms were shaking and at another my legs were screaming at me, it wasn't "just" yoga it was good! Your big hike is just a couple of weeks away and my trip is the week after that! Wheeee, time flies. I bet you'll be fine on your hike and without risking giant, freaky, scary wasps.

It's going to be a fabulous weekend! I am SO looking forward to having an extra homebody day. I'll probably do something amazingly exciting like rendering tallow and making beef bone broth. Isn't that what everybody does on their birthday? My hubby says that around our house they do:D We're going to the Ryman for a show Saturday night, too and it's going to be a really good one- Punch Brothers. They're amazing. They're beyond newgrass, more progressive bluegrass maybe? Chris Thile is a mandolin prodigy; the last time we saw him was a solo show of Bach and some classical compositions of his own- unbelievable. I have his Bach CD in my alarm clock and that's what wakes me up in the mornings. I hate to start my day with buzzers and beepers. Bach on a mandolin is more my speed. I'm considering a couple of slices of pizza for dinner before the show. The best pizza place in town just opened a second place fairly close to us and I'm thinking that I might do a little off-roading. I wouldn't consider the actual pizza itself to be about self care but more about a little indulgence on a special occasion. All of the rest of my birthday presents to myself have been about taking care of myself- a new pair of xero sandals, some new stainless steel lunch containers and the best gift of all- movement! I even put a chin-up bar in our Amazon cart- not that I can actually DO a chin up but if I don't work on it I'll never be able to (bucket list item). 

Keep moving!

 

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Happy Birthday, Holly! The best gift of all: movement! Yeah! What an awesome, life-affirming way to launch into birthday celebration, feeling IN your body, and treating yourself with extra homebody time and special outing to the Ryman, and this band! I looked them up, and the Bach material, I'm listening to Thile's Bach Sonata 1 as I type. I love single instrument classical music. Glenn Gould's Goldberg variations are a favorite, and of course the Cello Suites, too. Meanwhile, I have three tabs on my browser with things to follow up on, from you, including MovNat. Anyway, your plan for celebration time this weekend – I love it. Sounds like a formula for a really enjoyable, memorable celebration. Woo hoo! - happy for you :D It will be a fabulous weekend, and an equally fabulous year with all of this momentum. Aaahhh!

Yes, yoga is so powerful! From yesterday's dance and yoga I'm feeling an awakeness in my body - not exactly soreness - a tiny soreness in my core and obliques (oh that's good and encouraging) but I know that's the "easing" into it, and more is coming, as in coming home, to the body, such a relief. Today is upper body. Thanks for the encouragement about the hike...so much of endurance is mental. I really think it will be fine and even wonderful. Looking forward! Soon we'll both be on our trips, and then recovering again, and so it goes, right? Onwards and upwards!

Thanks for the inspiration and showing the way.

Viva! Viva!

 

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Viva indeed! Great birthday weekend (The Punch brothers were amazing) and I kept moving! The first thing I did when I got home Friday was my upper body workout. Saturday I rowed 2.5 miles and Sunday was lower body. I had a really hard time getting motivated on Sunday. I came within an inch of bailing out but finally just sucked it up. Once I got started I was fine but I sure had a hard time getting started. The weather has mellowed out for a few days so yesterday I went down to the garden while it was only 72 degrees (!) to pick tomatoes and cucumbers and wound up spending almost 3 hours picking, weeding and trimming. After I hauled 1/2 bushel each of tomatoes and cukes up the hill I realized I might have overdone it juuust a little on the lower body work:unsure: My hips, quads and butt were screaming after that much time squatting and bending over the day after my workout. I survived, though, and am ready for upper body this afternoon followed by pickling cukes and cooking down tomatoes for sauce.

I have a chicken brining so dinner will be simple roast chicken and some kind of veg. And tomatoes. Tomatoes with every meal! :) We accidentally wound up with yellow tomatoes instead of the heirloom variety we usually plant so I'm trying to figure out what to do with all of them; they make a funny-looking tomato sauce. I made a kinda soupy hash to go with my eggs for breakfast this week and it's so good! I had a zucc that needed to get cooked so I threw that, onions & garlic (from the garden!), cabbage, ground pork and a couple of those yellow tomatoes into a skillet and let it all cook down. Thank goodness for the freezer. I'm having leftover pork gingerbread stew and cauli mash for lunch (and tomatoes!). A three day weekend sounded like so much extra time to do all kinds of things but it went by in a flash and I'm actually less organized for the week than usual. We're reaching that time of year when the food mill stays out on the counter and we have pots of tomatoes simmering and canning. The basement fridge is full of gifts from the garden and there are tomatoes ripening on every counter. Not that I'm complaining or anything...

How goes your program of movement? 

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Do you grow basil to go with those tomatoes? I can smell the tomatoes and hear the buzz of activity from here!

Congrats on keeping up your program amidst celebrations! I sympathize with that trick of time that causes it to go by so fast, and also the magnetic draw to fill up the space with irresistible activity...sounds like it all filled your cup in so many ways. Your new year is off to a grand start!

I'm doing well! I am officially back to routine after that crazy period of travel, and even better. I have long visualized but not materialized this thing of regular exercise in my room and none outdoors...and I'm making it happen finally! After my Friday post I did get my upper body work out in, and I felt good and sore all weekend: arms, also side body and back. I was back at it on Monday. I skipped Tuesday, so today I did upper body and lower body, and tomorrow I will do yoga, and then back to my schedule....I finally made the shrimp patties and the sage blackberry sliders. Will omit the berries next time, and save them for salad. The shrimp patties are delicious on my lunch salads with crunchy yellow bell peppers and cukes, and pepitas. So I'm in a good place!! Just to keep on keepin on now. I'll be dreaming up the next cook up....not a lot in the freezer. There's plenty of canned salmon in the larder, so maybe it's time for Mel's salmon cakes, haven't tried those yet.

 

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Good morning and Happy Friday! After overdoing it a bit I've taken a couple of days off from my workouts but will be back to it today or tomorrow. I need to plan a cook up as well. Nothing has gone as planned this week but it all worked out anyway. I finally got that chicken baked last night and threw a bunch of veggies in the pan with it so those leftovers will get me through today. Lunch yesterday was a herring experiment. I had some canned herring filets, leftover cole slaw and, of course, tomatoes. I put an extra little blob of mayo on the herring and really enjoyed it. Thanks again for turning me on to SMASH; I really want to have some of those fish a minimum of once a week and it helps that it makes for an easy lunch. Those shrimp patties sound so good and I keep buying shrimp to make them but wind up doing something else with the shrimp. I'll have to try one more time- there's no such thing as too many shrimp! One of the bonuses from our trip to FLA will be the seafood we bring back. There's a great seafood market in Pensacola so we'll load up on shrimp and fish on our way home and I'll spend the next day freezing and vacuum-sealing it all.

This year I have Thai basil and the last couple of years I had columnar basil- it's pretty cool looking and tastes almost the same as the Thai. It looks like a shrub and grows in a column. I find regular basil a little overpowering so I like the more subtle, floral flavor of the Thai/ columnar a little more. I usually puree some of it in olive oil and freeze it in an ice cube tray to last through the winter. My wild cucumber vines keep trying to grow over it so it's hidden and I keep forgetting about it. Thankfully the heat is starting to get to the cukes and they are dying off. I had to order more gallon jars and airlocks for pickles because the ones I have are all full. They should be there when I get home so I'll probably get my last batch of pickles going this weekend. There is a 5 gallon bucket outside of the garage that is filled to overflowing with the gigantic cukes that got away from me. I think I'm overtaxing the compost pile:o

571630043_Dr.Seuss.jpg.e5a03686277e344d94b866f1c5abbc23.jpg

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Oh! I love the Dr. Seuss message - thank you!!! When I first read your post on Friday, it appeared as a link that I couldn't open, but now it has appeared and gives me a huge smile = ) Here is our good news/bad news mash-up at present: The nearby fire in the wilderness just near our planned hike, and not that far from home, that started with a lightning strike without rain a couple of Tuesday nights ago (I saw the flashes through the curtains!) was contained at 34 acres, and is allllmost out. Thank you to the awesome, heroic firefighters!!! That's good news. But it's smoky. And there is a ton of smoke in the area because of the fire near Yosemite which takes a long time to drive to, but as the crow flies/smoke travels, is not far at all....and the visibility sucks here at home AND up where we are planning to hike. Today's news is that containment is expected by Friday or the weekend...which means that at best, it will still be this smoky or moreso during our trip. 

I do love these trips with my husband. But for me it defies common sense to breathe that air at all, much less exert myself and live outdoors in it for a week, right?? Well, my husband will not be stopped. I think it's foolish. I asked him if he would be willing to find a coastal alternative so that we could both go, and go together, but he is not so hot on that. I know this sounds like a conflict, but we've been through this before, and I am prepared to let him make his own decisions, and am mulling over my own plan B as we blocked out the time off of work....he is already whining that I won't go with him, but not in seriousness, and I will hold space for him to change his mind...meanwhile, I know he is otherwise a smart, skilled, and conservative (if not a bit clumsy) hiker, and will make good decisions, again, except about the air....which brings me back to I don't get it. Anyway, I wasn't going to start with all of that, but for your darling meme, which I love! 

I feel I've turned a corner! I had such a good week. On Wednesday after work I got my second shingles shot, which made me feel pretty sick. I was ready for it, and pre-loaded with NSAIDS, but at the 24 hour point it was pretty rough. A few times I felt myself considering sugar and otherwise not-optimal things, and I recognized I was after comfort food. I thought about Mel's long lists of non-food things that are comforting. I didn't find a substitute, really, but the awareness helped, and I refrained. A couple of times I chewed Hubs' sugarless gum when I wanted a candy bar. One of the lessons of the June misadventures was observing that even a small coffee candy, hard candy, is really not my friend. So I'm avoiding that. As for exercise, it's time to switch it up and also add some challenge. I've been looking into MovNat and other functional exercise offerings on YouTube that have given me some great ideas, and I'll be spending more time on the floor this week. Thinking about getting a kettle bell.

How's it going with your chin-up bar? I'd like to get one, too. Have you done any in-person MovNat trainings? I really like the offerings I've seen on their website.

I'm learning how to keep the cooking and cook ups simple. Last week's chicken breakfast sausage patties were really tasty. I'm thawing out the left over holy mackerel cakes, and today I oven roasted garlic lemon walnut oil marinated cut-up ckn things for my lunch salads this week, made a tray of yams/brussels, and a fresh batch of mayo. I picked up some pomegranate vinegar for dressings...more ground ckn is thawing in the fridge, and I will make Mel's bora bora fireballs since there's crushed pineapple to use up. Have you ever made those? They were the first balls recipe I made of hers, and remain a favorite. Since the cooking didn't take very long, I will rest and read, and maybe tidy up my really messy house....or maybe put that off some more. I'm starting to get used to it.

So glad you are excited about the SMASH, me too! I still haven't tried herring....will have to get some.

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I was wondering about the proximity of the fires to you. There are so many of them that I have a hard time keeping track but glad to hear y'all are safe and the fire is almost out-hopefully it IS out by now. Is there another hike you could distract him with and reschedule this one? That's such a shame that the hike you've been planning for so long is smoky. That definitely doesn't sound like fun and I couldn't imagine breathing all of that in for days. 

Good for you for recognizing and avoiding less-than-good-for-you stuff. I was having a busy, frustrating day yesterday and the first thing that flashed through my mind was a jelly doughnut- the epitome of everything we try to avoid: sugar, bad fat and wheat! I managed to resist, though. It's not like it was going to make my day any better and then I would have felt worse so good job to both of us! I didn't make it back on the exercise wagon this weekend and felt like I was chasing my tail all weekend. That coupled with a poor night's sleep led to my not so stellar day yesterday but I went home, fired up the grill and got a good dinner together with enough for leftovers tonight. My main motivation for grilling was to cook some eggplant to make baba ganoush. Have you ever made it? I haven't and I love it but I've definitely had some versions that were better then others so when I read Kenji Lopez' article about it (https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/02/the-best-baba-ganoush-recipe.html) I really started craving it. Hopefully I'll get it put together this evening and that will be part of my lunches for the next couple of days. I have my last container of curried chicken salad, fermented slaw and tomatoes today. It's been yummy and I'm glad I got some curry powder made this weekend so I could get it done. 

I haven't ordered the chin-up bar yet. I have a 24 qt pot showing up this afternoon instead. Except for my gigantic 50 qt gumbo pot, my biggest pot is 12 qts and I keep running out of room to cook tomatoes. Kettle bells look like fun! I haven't been to any MovNat workshops. I just watch the videos and try to do what I can with the equipment (or lack of it) that I have. Yeah, messy house. I hear ya! I managed to get laundry done and keep the kitchen under control but there are little black kitty fur tumbleweeds everywhere. I just ignore them and do what I can.

The last day of July! Whew, it flew by. So glad you had a great week and I hope your Plan B works out.

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Oh, the jelly doughnut, you navigated that so well! Boy, do I understand. Someone at work is talking about bringing in doughnuts, and I really hope she doesn't.

The parallel universe we trek through includes the black kitty fur tumbleweeds! LOL. Is your black cat a long haired lovely? Yesterday I found kitty dreadlocks that we usually cut out, and she pulled out herself Eeew. At least she didn't eat them. 

I love baba ganoush, but have never made it. That sounds so good. I love middle eastern food and miss my old bay area haunts where it is plentiful. Like coffee and cigarettes (yes I used to smoke), I wonder if I will get over the pita bread connection...but it would make such a great dip and spread with raw or roasted vegetables. I will have to look into that - thanks!! Garlic....

Yesterday there was a new person at the check out of my local grocer. She asked how I was going to cook my sweet potatoes. After my reply, she suggested deep fried and sprinkled in sugar :o I feigned enthusiasm, and walked out slightly amused and slightly sad.

As for the mountains up there, well, there is a good chance that once we get to 8,500 feet (the trail head is 7,500 or so) the air would be better, for part of the day. But I'm still not going...When do you leave for your mother's birthday celebration?

 

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Eeew on the dreadlocks! We used to have a black Chow and she hated to get brushed (because her daddy- my husband- didn't get her used to it when she was little) so she always had dreads on the back of her hind legs and behind her ears. At least she didn't pull them out and leave them for me! Our kitties are both black domestic short-hairs but the big boy's hair is a little longer than normal short-hairs.

I'll let you know how the great baba ganoush experiment goes. Pita...sigh...warm, soft, fluffy little triangles. Veggies will have to do for dippers but my brother turned me on to pork rinds for dippers and that works, too. Not sure they would be good with everything (like baba ganoush) but they were great with that dill pickle dip I made a couple of weeks ago. I thought everybody at the party would think I was nuts but they dove into them like crazy. 

Kirkor's thing about not judging what other people are eating comes in handy in those situations. I do the same thing. Nod, smile and make a non-judgmental comment. It is SAD and that's the sad part. 

I hope you find something nurturing and fun since your hike got smoked out and maybe it won't be so bad for your hubby at the higher elevations. We leave next Thursday but I'm taking Wednesday off to smoke a pork butt, make dill pickle dip and a few other things to bring. Tomatoes! We're going to bring tomatoes! Out of desperation I threw some on the grill last night:lol: and now I have to figure out what to do with them. The neighbor guy I bought my plants from had them mislabeled so instead of the fabulous Purple Cherokee heirlooms, we have 9 billion yellow tomatoes and they make really funny looking sauce. I've been cooking down the Roma's, another red heirloom called a Beefmaster and trying to sneak in as many yellows as I can without turning it day-glo orange.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, plan B is a work-a-little from home/mostly staycation, and it's been great! I camped out with the hubs on starry Sunday night (in spite of the haze) and saw him on his trekking way on Monday morning. When I got home I tornadoed through the house and by 9pm had things jusssst the way I wanted. Tiger blood! Tuesday's work out was abs and lower body/sitting meditation, then errands and a work appointment, followed by a much-needed massage and dinner with a friend. Shared dessert set me a little off course, but I straightened up by morning. Wednesday was a day to sit with a long-neglected copy editing project when suddenly, I heard hubs' car out front! He came home early!! That was fun. He missed me, said it wasn't as fun without me. Annnnd, the air was crummy. Uh huh. Never one to gloat I told you so, I just plain old welcomed him home, and we've been staycationing together ever since.

I kept my Thursday dinner date with a friend, last night, and really enjoyed the chocolate lava cake with whipped cream. The thing is, I go right back to basics afterwards! Because of this back and forth, I'm not losing weight, but I'm happy, and I'm maintaining, and my self respect is in tact. So this is a win! 

The tropical chicken cakes are gone, and the salmon is gone, and I'm not sure what's next....but for now I'm back to my copy editing since the game plan was happily interrupted, so I'll have to adlib, and still have the weekend to prepare for the week...just enjoying the home time so much!

I'd intended to keep my early to bed-early to rise schedule with daily morning workouts and meditation but somehow I couldn't resist staying up late and sleeping in a little. 

How was your mum's birthday celebration? Did you bring lots of tomatoes? Did you make the baba ganoush? How goes the movement momentum?

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Hello! Hello! Hello! I have so missed our conversations. It sounds like you had a good staycation. It's so nice to have that time at home. Sometimes I come back from vacation and need a vacation. I'm very glad I took the extra day before our trip to cook and after our trip to ease back into reality. The birthday celebration was great and my mom said it was her best birthday ever. The beach was beautiful, the weather was beautiful, the food was great (and mostly compliant) and the company was the best of all. I feel like I've gained a couple of pounds but I'm not going to let it get to me. Trust the program. I had more dairy than usual and I'm starting to think that dairy is not friendly to my weight. Not moving is also not friendly to any part of me. We walked on the beach but only one long walk and swam every day but there were a couple of bites of amazing key lime pie, a couple of bites of sushi, and Popeye's fried chicken was our road tripping food- definitely NOT the best choice but it was a choice and not a fall-off-the-wagon and face plant everything in sight kind of thing. Yep, back to basics. 

My husband had a routine Dr. appointment and got fussed at because he's gained weight since last year. He hasn't mentioned doing a W30 (yet!) but he is going to start eliminating the white stuff. He wants me to go over it with him so I'm going to throw in as much W30 reasoning and direction as I can. I think it really hit home with him that as soon as he started eating whatever he wanted out of the work cafeteria he packed on a few pounds. His daughter kinda hammered it home when she mentioned that even her  kids are eating paleo. After their W30 then continuing paleo, her husband has lost 65 lbs and is biking and feeling great. As my Mom says, "Hope springs eternal." so maybe I'll get him W30-ing. 

I need to get back in a routine. Thankfully I'm only working 3 days this week so I was able to get breakfasts together yesterday and made a mish-mash of leftover stuff for lunch. It had dairy and wasn't very good (that's an understatement!) so I think I'm going to do something I rarely do- toss it. We brought home a bunch of seafood so I'm making crab cakes for dinner tonight with fresh lump crab meat-yummmmm. I usually use a very small amount of bead crumbs to bind them but I'm going to use a tiny bit of coconut flour  instead.

Today is my Dad's birthday so it's been a day for reflecting. Having some good family time is, I think, making it easier.

See ya later alligator!

 

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Hi Holly! So nice to read your words and hear about your mom's celebration and all the news. My mother also always used the expression, "hope springs eternal", and reading that gave me such a warm feeling. Yes, yes, yes. And you and yours gave her the best birthday ever, so awesome, well done! Interesting about the dairy. Do you desire it less these days? Yesterday I cruised through the dairy cases at my grocery store only as a path to the bathroom, and I was noticing the freedom of taking a pass on that section, and so many other areas where I just don't need or want it anymore. Not that I don't still have my temptations, of course. But yeah, dairy just doesn't work for me, either. The other day I had some sour cream on the chili instead of mayo, and I won't be doing that again.

I'm with you on getting back to routine! Have you been able to get back to your movement program since coming home? I won't tell anyone you had to toss something - it happens to all of us! The crabcakes sound delicious and droolworthy. After my last post I made a batch of wonton meatballs and a big pot of chili. Next us is mango meatballs, tomato soup (I'm roasting the tomatoes this time!), and soon afterwards kofta kebobs inspired by iHeartUmami, and my hubs' favorite Asian chicken thighs. I'm experimenting with daily serving of sweet potatoes, which seemed to work last year re weight loss, though it was slow, and otherwise tightening up my game re W30 ways...exactly as you said, trusting the program. I figure, true to W30, more or less true to the exercise schedule, and whether or not I lose the "last 20 lbs" it's in my best interest all the way around. I notice as soon as I make exceptions my fingers and hips hurt in the morning.

Go husband! I love that he is asking your for guidance, and I know he can do it! So great to have so much support in your family, and the role modeling, not to mention a little pressure with his son-in-law losing so much weight!

This is day 3 of no coffee - time to let it go again. The effort to re-establish a caffeine naive state will be worth it, I know, it's just a bit hum drum. = )

Sweet Thursday to you!

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It's been cr-A-zy busy!! All is good, though, just feeling a bit overwhelmed. The next two months are going to fly by leading up to our friends' music festival, Hoedown on the Harpeth. We do the backstage cooking for the musicians and volunteers so we're gearing up for that plus the long awaited construction project is about to begin. New doors get installed Thursday and the new siding starts Monday but will take about 4 WEEKS! I'm not sure how my scaredy little girl cat and I are going to manage. She has a big stranger-danger problem and has been having some digestive issues that I can't seem to resolve. 

I had a major cook-up this weekend that included prepping 6 dozen ears of corn for Hoedown and a half bushel of red jalapenos for hot sauce. I've used 8 lbs of them so far and have another 7 to deal with this afternoon. I'm excited about this second batch. It will be just chopped up peppers and salt then after it ferments for a while it gets a layer of cheesecloth then a couple of inches of salt to seal it up. It can stay that way for a couple of years but I don't think I'll be that patient- one year, maybe. The cool thing is that the salt will absorb some of the liquid coming off of the peppers then you can dry it and use it as a pepper salt. My dorky, nerdy self just couldn't pass that up! Anyway my real cook-up was inspired by your roasted tomato soup idea. How did it come out? I made my meatball soup (tomato soup w kale and tiny meatballs). I needed carrots for my hot sauce and thought I was buying a 5-pound bag but it was 10 pounds. That'll teach me to read the label! Now I'm trying to use up carrots so I made W30's Thai Carrot Soup plus broccoli balls to use up brocc and ham that were about to go bad and I got my breakfast casserole done with some chicken chorizo that my meat guy had. After I did all of that I realized that, except for the meatball soup, I didn't have any proteins to go with everything I cooked :( I did have a big pack of assorted salamis and prosciutto so that's going to be my protein for lunch for a couple of days. Darn! I HAVE to eat salami for lunch :P yum. 

Still caffeine naive? 

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I broke down and did have coffee yesterday, with no ill consequences, but I'm back on a neutral keel now so that I can monitor my actual energy level, which is sort of my "normal", safe zone. I'm psyching to put it to my advantage now that it's time to get back to a movement program. Since that week off three weeks ago I've fallen out of my habit. I'm looking forward to feeling my home-base-place of W30 eating AND exercising AND not high on coffee...I've been there before, so I know I can find it again. Then when I do indulge in a cup, it's a proper drug trip.

Hey, that IS a lot going on Miss Holly! I looked up the festival. It's a beautiful website (and video from last year), and sure looks like a lot of fun. Ooh, the peppers, and the pepper salt sound amazing. If that is dorky and nerdy, well, I say genius, and yes, bring it. Who could resist. You have abundance and mad skills. Do you need a lot of space to dry out the salt?  As for feeding large numbers of people, when you have to time to post I'll have fun riding shotgun, reading about your creations, and probably will drool.

Your soups sound delicious. The best looking tomatoes I could find were cherries, so I roasted them with onions and shallots, and threw some basil and thyme into the blender. It was pretty tasty, but it doesn't last long! Yesterday I made a big pot of bone broth with spoons-full of aromatics such as fennugreek, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon and clove, all the stuff in my "back-up" spice larder...I did this a few months ago, more conservatively, and it was yummy, so I amped it up and we'll see, it's an experiment. Hopefully it tastes as good in a steamy mug as it smelled while simmering.

I sympathize with you all and shy kitty. Our furry feline friend is 19 this year, and has demonstrated that she can still learn. In recent years she has not only gotten over her fear of the vacuum, but she gives it the same contempt as everyone else. When the vacuum approaches her she just gives it the stink eye, and won't budge. No shortage of character. My hope is that your kitty might follow suit when she lives to see another day, every day, over the weeks...as for how you will cope with the noise, well, at least it doesn't disrupt the interior of your home, right? So, you can cook! 

Speaking of that, cilantro needs chopping for the mango balls...= )

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hey Lisbette! Holy cow, how's everything going? Is the smoke still bad where you are? How's your coffee reassessment going? Knees? Movement? Life??

Sorry I fell off the face of the earth for a while there. I feel like I can breathe a little now but the last couple of weeks since we came back from our trip have been a giant whirlwind of projects, deadlines, construction and overwhelm-ed-ness. I've managed a couple of cook-ups in between processing tomatoes and trying out a dozen or so paint samples trying to find the right color for the exterior of the house. Thankfully, the garden is winding down but that gives us a whole different to-do list to get it ready for winter. Construction is going well except for one hiccup that has since been fixed. We even managed to get some actual housework done last weekend. Everything has been such a blur! Now I need to take a deep breath and get our personal stuff under control so we can start gearing up for Hoedown; it's only a month away!

I probably should have joined the September W30 but I just didn't think I could add one more thing to my life at that point. My meals have been good but I've snacked a little more than usual and ate gummy bears, of all things, day before yesterday. I love gummy bears but have been able to avoid them for ages. It was a small pack but that was a big "fall off the wagon". So a couple of cookies one day, a bite or two of mac n cheese another, some grits another and the common thread on all of those things is that none of them were good and I had another bite anyway. Clothes are fitting a bit more snugly instead of going in the other direction but I've stayed off of the scale. No movement except for getting through the day and I can really feel it. I no longer have garlic and onions curing on the basement floor so my workout space is cleared out and I have no excuse except the inertia that has crept it. 

Every time I sat down to write, I got interrupted but this is where I should have prioritized my time because I hated the disconnect with you. You keep me grounded and strong. It's bootstrap time for me!!! I hope everything is going well in your world. I missed you!

 

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Heya Holly! I'm sorry I missed this post, I've been peeking in to see if you've been able to check in, but I missed it. Glad to see you! Gosh, we're in the same boat. I fell off the wagon, kind of got back on, weebled, wobbled, got it under control only to notice the same as you: my clothes are snugger than they were. D'oh! I've still not stepped on the scale except at the doctor, and I wouldn't even look. :ph34r:

I wonder if you're getting big rains from the outer reaches of Florence. Hope all is well!

I know that October will be completely mad with Hoedown and all, so a W30 is out of the question. I've got a big fun bday trip to Portland in Nov., so that is out...how about we do another December W30 or 60? I'm actually thinking about doing one in October notwithstanding Halloween, even. We've got this. We can turn it around, I know it.

Since coffee and I are off again, I'm enjoying tea again. I'm enjoying the feeling of freedom, also monitoring my energy level. The knees are pretty good! The hips are a little stiff...I've been inconsistent with exercise, but am gearing up for a good week after last week when I was awfully sick and stayed home most all the week and did not exercise at all. I  learned a lot from your MovNat! I have been incorporating a lot of new joint mobility into my routine, and I'm so grateful. I thought I had lost my copy of ISWF when the friend I had forgotten I loaned it to returned it along with two tubs of W30 cooking!! That was cool. She leans more towards keto but it's fun to compare notes when we see each other.

I've missed you, too!! I know you're up to your eyebrows, but check in when you can! A bad day doesn't have to be a bad week, let's just start fresh every day. We're still re-wiring our brains.

I'm really focused on keeping the nutrition onboard, because I'm doing some much needed depth work with some childhood issues, with the help of some books my therapist recommended some time ago. I read them, made notes, saw my therapist for a series, but it's been a few years (and she is 3 hours away), and with menopause stuff is up for me and I feel there is no resisting Truth, perspective, and wanting to address the new perspectives...so it's back to the books, and my journal, and I know myself well enough to know that I may be tempted to comfort with carbs and candy, etc....so this is an extra challenge right now. I KNOW that I have enough experience with this new way of eating that I can do it - just keep on keeping on, and keep the tupperware tubs full!

 

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