My Daily "Weighing in"

[squealcat]

Today's BP: 114/79 Still haven't taken my blood pressure med. Last one was 6 days ago. I will continue to monitor.

Breakfast: oat groats, peach
Lunch: large salad, steamed broccoli, sweet potato then had a banana a while later. I also grabbed a couple of snacks about an hour later but stopped myself
Dinner: large salad, steamed veggies, brown rice and beans. Only the slighted bit of salt on this dinner. It was still a bit bland but I did not add more salt

I was thinking about why I started snacking. I was alone watching my little grandson at my daughter's place. The fact that I was alone is a big part of it. When I go off and eat what I really don't want to eat , it is frequently when I am alone in the house. I wasn't hungry. I should have just sat there and observed myself and how I was feeling and let it be. Not that easy, I know. At least I stopped.

Will see how tomorrow goes. I will take some extra white potatoes in case I get that urge again. Potatoes usually work pretty well to keep me happy.

-squealcat

[bunsofaluminum]

Today's BP: 114/79 Still haven't taken my blood pressure med. Last one was 6 days ago. I will continue to monitor.

Breakfast: oat groats, peach
Lunch: large salad, steamed broccoli, sweet potato then had a banana a while later. I also grabbed a couple of snacks about an hour later but stopped myself
Dinner: large salad, steamed veggies, brown rice and beans. Only the slighted bit of salt on this dinner. It was still a bit bland but I did not add more salt

I was thinking about why I started snacking. I was alone watching my little grandson at my daughter's place. The fact that I was alone is a big part of it. When I go off and eat what I really don't want to eat , it is frequently when I am alone in the house. I wasn't hungry. I should have just sat there and observed myself and how I was feeling and let it be. Not that easy, I know. At least I stopped.

Will see how tomorrow goes. I will take some extra white potatoes in case I get that urge again. Potatoes usually work pretty well to keep me happy.

-squealcat

Good for you, stopping with the snacks. I also love the wisdom of pausing to observe yourself and "feel it" and let it be. Very zen! That detachment will get you far.

[squealcat]

Blood pressure today: 120/76 ! Still doing well with NO meds ! All I have been taking is a vitamin B12.

Thank you "Buns" for stopping by ! Observing myself and how that urge is feeling in my body is a new thing I have been doing. Sometimes successfully and sometimes not. Today was a little tougher. What also works is eating whenever hungry.....even if you just THINK you are hungry. That feeling of fullness really helps somehow to stop me in my tracks and KNOWING that there is food I can have and plenty of it ! Potatoes are my go-to food for that.

Today I walked for 30 minutes then packed my bag and went to watch my little grandson. I had the last of the oat groats for breakfast and two peaches (they are SO good right now !) Lunch is a large salad with chick peas on top and balsamic vinegar for dressing. I also had a sweet potato chopped on top of it. Dinner will probably be the rest of a large salad, steamed veggies and bean soup with brown rice. I need to freeze the rest of that bean soup if I cannot finish it in the next day. I will need something different ....cannot eat the same thing all week. I just can't !

I weighed myself this morning....curious. In the last 3 days I lost 4.5 pounds. All water weight, I am sure ! Eating out guarantees a lot more salt than I am used to. I came home from vacation with 5# gain and I was hoping for it to be all water. Will see on Friday for the official weigh in.

-squealcat

[squealcat]

BP : 120/73 I went for a 2 mile walk today and afterwards my blood pressure (systolic) was even lower but diastolic was 82 or 83. I will have to watch that bottom number.

Anyway, a nice 2 mile walk before the heat sets in. Went out for lunch with my friend at the Blue Water Grille in Grand Rapids. It is a beautiful day ! I had a big salad (not as big as the one I fix at home) that was chopped and had barley in it (I would have added more barley . I told them to omit the feta cheese. We had bruschetta that we split and had dessert after. It felt like a light lunch and was enjoyable. I could have skipped dessert but that was MY choice.

I am watching 2 grandkids tonight so their parents can go out for dinner. I will take along my usual big salad and sweet potato. I made up a dressing this morning and will take it along. It contains plain tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar , some water, white beans and a pear cut into chunks. All was blended up together . It comes from another dressing recipe that includes almond butter and pumpkin seeds instead of the beans. It tasted pretty good after I made it. Will see if I like it this evening. I can always go back to my balsamic vinegar and hummus !

That's about all for today ! I will weigh in tomorrow and make a few changes for next week.

-squealcat

[squealcat]

BP this morning : 120/78 !! I walked for two miles before it go too hot and after the walk my BP was 116/76 ! YAY !

Still not taking my blood pressure pill. Another week and I will send a message to my doctor to tell him what I am doing. Pretty happy that is looks like I can get off this med.

I weighed myself this morning. My weight was higher than a couple of days ago. I hate that feeling of shame every time my weight goes up. I don't want to report it. I know it is water weight from yesterday. I just want to see what this week brings as far as eating goes. Not going to do MWL but will do Starch solution. I still really like my oats and fruit in the morning and big salad in the afternoon. I tried making a SNAP meal and really did not like it. I know many really do and it is easy but I just cannot eat it. I have plenty of other things I like, even just plain potatoes .

I am going to the store today and will get plenty of greens....love them ! Also have a good amount of peaches which are in season right now. Zucchini steamed is good and also made into a soup ! I like to make a veggie sandwich once in a while. Maybe I will just follow starch solution for a bit and see what my weight does. I will still read MWL board .

Breakfast today: steel cut oats and chopped up mango with cinnamon and cardamom on top (yum!!)

-squealcat

[squealcat]

Blood pressure this morning was 130/83 (higher than I want) but later and after my 2 mile walk it was 117/77. Much better !

Not hungry yet but my eating plan for today is:
Breakfast: mango and steel cut oats (I also had a pear before my walk)
Lunch: large salad with balsamic vinegar . chickpeas on top
Dinner: steamed veggies, sweet potato and a peach for dessert

I may also add my take on nice cream. I don't have a fancy blender so I have to add more almond milk so it is like a thick shake. 1and 1/2 frozen banana, 30 cal almond milk, a little vanilla, 1 Tbl of cocoa powder. Very satisfying to me and curbs cravings. If I know I will have this then I can stop myself from having other things. If I am feeling full and satisfied then I don't have it.

I have been wondering if I should buy some bread (without oil) but right now I won't. Bread is a tough thing for me and I can eat a half loaf if I am in the mood. I would like to have a veggie sandwich once in a while but for now I will pass.

Tomorrow I plan to make some mashed potatoes (I may add cauliflower to the mash). I have loved mashed potatoes my whole life and I can eat them plain without toppings.

No other thoughts this morning. I am drinking my macha tea and planning my day. Sheets are in the wash, mango is cut up waiting for hunger. Feeling pretty good today !

-squealcat

[squealcat]

Blood pressure: 120/80

exercise today? none (sometimes Sunday is my lazy day )

Breakfast: steel cut oats and peaches
Lunch: large salad with chick peas, balsamic vinegar and my hummus and a lot of greens, peppers, cukes, and other things
Dinner: mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, a cut up tomato followed by a chocolate shake made with just bananas, almond milk, vanilla, cocoa. That's it !

I cooked up some quinoa for future salads and also made mashed potatoes today.

Also made up a cleaner for my kitchen sink mainly with baking soda and essential oils. I want to get in the habit of cleaning that sink at the end of the day.

My salad for tomorrow and my breakfast are already made. I didn't want to do it but NOW I am glad I did. My morning will be so much easier ! I plan to walk tomorrow before going to watch my grandson and before it gets too hot. Trying not to complain about the heat. It is beautiful out and I DO like it warm and I do appreciate the weather here in Michigan. So many others are suffering from rain, worse heat and power outages. I feel blessed !

-squealcat

[squealcat]

My blood pressure is still doing well. It was up a little today but not still in the near normal zone. After my walk is was really in the normal zone.

Breakfast: over night oats with zucchini chopped up and apple too with cinnamon and a little vanilla. It has been yummy! This was the third day eating this. I was going to make it again but I think I will have it cooked instead. Seems like I could just cook it and maybe use steel cut oats? Not sure what the zucchini will do when cooked with oats but I think it will be ok.
Lunch: very large salad with a dressing I made using tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar and some other "stuff". I used that for a few days but will probably go back to my hummus/balsamic dressing tomorrow. I put about a half cup of navy beans in that salad
Dinner: tofu scramble with sliced potatoes is the plan along with steamed veggies. Probably some fruit afterward.

I have been doing well and really feeling well this week ! Today I was feeling energized although tired after grocery shopping, laundry and a little kitchen prep work and cooking. I still feel the energy mentally but am ready to be done doing standing-up things. Maybe time to read or something. I am encouraged feeling this way. I want to really notice how I feel and hope for continued improvement.

Have a great evening !
-squealcat

[squealcat]

Blood pressure 112/75 today. I like those numbers !

Also lost some weight this week. I haven't calculated it but I am happy my weight is going down. I am trying not to obsess about those numbers, just the blood pressure numbers.

I went to pick up 20 pounds of blueberries today. I went home with JUST 20 pounds of blueberries ! That is a very good thing because those berry farms also have donuts, cake, jam, and single pieces of blueberry pie (with plastic forks !! ) and even ice cream ! I was so tempted to see those pieces of pie with the forks....I could have eaten it in the car and no one would know. That is my problem. When no one is around, my mind starts thinking of ways to pile in the food. It hasn't been so bad lately because I have stayed away from all that food for a week or so. The little voice inside me is quieter now. Today I thought about how I would feel a little while after I hate that pie and donut. I would feel bad and ashamed of myself. I would think about it first thing in the morning when I woke up and it would affect me that next day. Nope ! I just got blueberries !

exercise today: went to the gym and walked 2 miles and did stretches

breakfast: steel cut oats cooked with chopped up zucchini, added a cut up peach for a topping, cinnamon and a little vanilla and 1 tablespoon of chopped walnut
lunch: a very large salad with balsamic vinegar as dressing and also some of my hummus. I added quinoa (maybe a half cup) and a cup of blueberries to that salad
Dinner: steamed mixed veggies, mashed potatoes, scrambled tofu on corn tortillas (little mini ones) and mushrooms. I followed this with watermelon and a banana with some sunflower butter on top.

I know, dinner sounds a little calorie heavy. It feels like just the right amount in my tummy but tomorrow I will have to figure out how to change it up a little. I will be eating almost the same foods tomorrow but I can tweak it. Probably no banana with sunflower butter. I will see.

that is it for today. Stay cool everyone ! We have had air conditioning on constantly for two weeks or more. Next week it is suppose to cool down a bit. That will be good.

-squealcat

[squealcat]

Blood pressure today was in the area of 120/70. Don't remember exactly and don't want to go get the paper I wrote it on but am happy it was good !

I just put all my food in the chronometer app just for fun. It was very interesting ! I have eaten almost 50 gms of fiber today ! I always wondered how much fiber I was getting. I was happy with that. Calories were pretty good. Maybe 120 cals more than I wanted but still good. I don't pay much attention to that as long as I don't binge and eat crazy things.

Exercise: walked at the gym . About 2 miles followed by arm free weights and stretches

Breakfast: steel cut oats with zucchini , a sliced peach and 1 Tbl of flax seed
Lunch: very large salad, dressing made with balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard. It had navy beans on top and a cup of blueberries
Dinner: 3 little corn tortillas, tofu scramble, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, plum

That was it. I just realized I forgot to put the corn on the chronometer app. Oh well !

Tomorrow I have to plan my food for the next three or four days. Almost always oatmeal of some kind and a large salad for lunch. I will have to make some more hummus to put on my salads or just add chick peas. Well, I will figure it out. I have plenty of food in the house. I pretty much eat the same kinds of things all the time.

Yesterday I saw a couple of errors in what I typed and went to fix it and there was no "button" to use to fix or add to my entry. I will have to ask about that. If anyone knows anything, please let me know. maybe I am missing something.

-squealcat

[squealcat]

Today's blood pressure: 113/76

I filled in all my food on the chronometer and I can see that it can be both enlightening/encouraging and also discouraging. I can see that whole foods really are low in calories and I see that eating just those foods is a good thing. But what if I had a little sunflower seed butter? What if I had flax seed? What if I made a dressing out of cashews? I did all three of these and went over my calorie allotment by (I don't remember how much but just enough to make me think my weight would be stable and not show a loss). It was eye opening for me ! I may use this as a tool once in a while to see clearly just what I am doing. I really like to see just how much fiber I am getting. I get a kick out of seeing 50 grams or more when most people on a SAD diet get far below that amount.

No exercise today

Breakfast: steel cut oats cooked with zucchini , 1 Tbl of flax seed, a cut up peach over all
Lunch: very large salad with 1/2 cup of garbanzo beans and some corn on top (and lots of other veggies and greens). The dressing was made with cashews, garlic, water, balsamic vinegar....don't remember what else
Dinner: mixed veggies with some corn, 2 small yellow potatoes, mushrooms, a bowl of sweet potato soup (a new recipe for me....a little spicy hot but good...I may cut down on the cayenne next time ) I had a peach after dinner.
Snack: a banana with 1 Tbl of sunbutter

I really wanted some bread/toast with stuff on top but decided that I really didn't want it and distracted myself. I had that peach instead. (better choice)

Now I want to have a day with no fats and see what that chronometer has to say. An experiment !

-squealcat

[deweyswakms]

I like using Cronometer; so much information about the foods we eat. Plus helps me tweak certain things, as well as plan my meals. I have created custom meals for the things I have most of the time (veggie chili, the Mexican quinoa skillet, my oatmeal meal, etc).

You are doing great! Marsha

[squealcat]

Blood pressure :116/75 I think I will message my doctor soon to tell him that I am off my BP med now. I will be seeing him in November and he can have it checked in the office and we can talk about it then. I will also let him know the numbers I have been getting this past few weeks. I want to keep checking it because , I guess, I am afraid this is all a hoax !

Exercise: I walked 3 miles, did some arm resistance exercises and stretches

Breakfast: steel cut oats with zucchini and blueberries
Lunch: Very large salad with my homemade dressing topped with chickpeas
Dinner: Peach, cucumber, tomato, corn on the cob, sweet potato soup

Thanks Marsha for your encouragement ! I am rather enjoying entering all my food into the chronometer and seeing what numbers it comes up with ! Yesterday I was over a bit (calorie wise) but today I was under. Pretty sure that is the way it normally goes in the real world. So easy to get your fiber eating this way and all the other nutrients too ! Not sure I will keep it up forever or every day. If I watch my grandson tomorrow I may not enter it all. Depends on how I feel. Today I did not watch him. My daughter was staying home....not feeling well. The first thing I thought was "on no ! Hope she doesn't have covid !" She is vaccinated but could have break through. I will text her pretty soon and see how she is doing.

Yes, Marsha. I just discovered that I can enter frequent meals and also enter recipes. I had to look it up and there it was, right in front of me !

Well, have to go. I need to make my salad for tomorrow.

-squealcat

[squealcat]

My blood pressure was good again today and breakfast and lunch went well then all of a sudden out of the blue I got the strongest craving ! I wanted something sweet ! I wish I could tell you I didn't cave but I cannot tell you that. It is dinner time and I am not even hungry. My food is made for tomorrow's breakfast and lunch. I am ready for tomorrow. I am done with today.

Wish I would remember how I feel after eating all that junk BEFORE I eat it ! I will keep working on it.

Anyway, my goal is lifetime health. My two meals today were healthy meals full of veggies and fruit and I walked a mile this morning. That's my positive for the day. End of story.

-squealcat

[squealcat]

Blood pressure today: 123/77, after my walk it was 121/76 my pulse is always around 60

Exercise: walked 2 miles today. I was not in "the mood" today but managed to walk the 2 miles with a little mental pressure from ME. Yesterday I walked 3 miles.

Breakfast: steel cut oats, peach (I had a plum before my walk as I was hungry )
Lunch: large salad with my hummus and balsamic vinegar for dressing, also a large bowl of sweet potato soup
Dinner: broccoli, a cup of brown rice, a large-ish yellow potato that I roasted yesterday, a pear (pears are not tasting very good right now. I will just stick with peaches and blueberries after I eat that last pear this week.

That's all ! I am getting back in the MWL groove and will re-assess at the end of the month. Not joining the MWL board here on this site. I will just post here most days and see how it goes. I DO love Mark's encouraging words so will read each week what he has to say.

My knee is feeling a little wonky this afternoon. I may have stepped wrong or something. I think I will walk at the gym tomorrow. It has a more flat feel where my street slants one way and has bumps and dips.

Have a nice weekend everyone !

-squealcat