Hi Erin!
Thanks for stopping by! It is always awesome to hear from you and I am so happy for you that you had a few warm months of winter!!! I bet it also feels great to get back to your regular routine… Wishing you excitement and great competition in your upcoming pickleball!!!
Hi Journal!
Posting late this week due to technical difficulties.
Was SO EXCITED to win 1st place in Intermediate Mixed Doubles! My partner and I went 6-1 and only gave up 1 point (11-10) in the tournament. We are now signed up for a league over the summer which I am really looking forward to. Also, still playing in another league with my female partner --- and another which is solo (doubles, but changing partners each game). So, that is a sweet amount of pickleball (for a non-retired peep)!!
Surprise --- OATMEAL!!! Ate this for breakfast 7/7 days this week.
Ate my favorite starchy salad 7/7 days this week. Fruit was different in this one – got a container of strawberries, mango, and pineapple cut up at the grocery. Usually add in 2+ tomatoes, 2+ persian cukes, a bunch of lettuce, 1-2 ears of corn, about a cup of brown rice, and maybe ½ cup of smashed beans. Totally ❤️it. Sometimes I only eat part and save the rest for later, but other times it is demolished in 1 sitting.
Here is one of my grocery hauls. I am really loving honeydew melons right now and eating some almost every day. Sometimes cantaloupe, but it’s not the same…
Happy, Healthy, Strong - 2024 I have decided on my 2025 intention already. It is none of the words that I originally kicked around at the beginning of the year --- but will be bad a$$! Last week I attended a phenomenal lecture for women leaders given by a retired female marine who then got her Ph.D and is teaching about commanding your mindset and building psychological flexibility and mental resiliency. It so motivated me that I am taking bad a$$ from her!
1) Follow MWL checklist (closely)
Yes. 2) Exercise (daily walk, 2-3X/week strength train, pickleball)
Yes to all. I have really been loving jog / walking and have made quite a bit of progress in jogging for longer periods of time in between walking. Not doing any program or measuring pace / distance / heart rate– just going by how I feel. Still doing intervals at the indoor track, but with better weather more outside – doing fartlek - picking start and end targets and then doing anything from a slow jog to a “sprint”. I can’t overemphasize how wonderful I feel after. So, taking it slow and steady and seeing where it may lead.3) Connect with family and friends
Yes. Planning a beach vacation with my girlfriend and a city trip with my hubby. Really looking forward to both! 4) Plan for retirement
Looking to get started here in Q2. Soon!!!! Have started – baby steps. 5) Events – social / exercise
Yes. Did above mentioned tournament, playing with my group, and will be walking a half marathon with my friend next weekend. 6) Get some prime-time sun. Target being out each non-rainy day between 10:30 and 2 for at least 15 minutes.
I basked in the sun one chilly day with shorts on (kind of brr) with an hour walk / jog. Spent about 3 hours outside at this time on the weekend for pickleball, but it was cold and windy so was pretty covered up… A couple of other short walks at lunch (not in shorts). Won’t be able to do this consistently due to meeting conflicts --- but will do as much as I can. Below is behavioral assessment that I posted for week of 4/26.
Hi Team Time & Adherence!!
Hope that everyone had an awesome week of practicing the MWL behaviors! I am feeling very positive and loving the food!
1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Maybe a handful of times for the week. 2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
Yes. 3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes – reduced not eliminated. 4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes. 5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Yes. 6 Eliminate any added oil.
Yes. 7 Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes, puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn, and dried fruit).
Yes. 8 Don’t drink your calories especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages.
Yes. 9 Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Yes – no stuffing or starving. Still being mindful of this! 10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes! Got in some great walk / jogs, strength training, and pickleball this week. Feels wonderful to MOVE!!!Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Mark – You asked me about how I handle food for the pickleball tournaments last week and how they are going.
Last week my partner and I played our first Mixed Doubles tournament. We were outplayed (finished in the middle) but learned a lot about how to better strategize, communicate, and work together as a team. Today we took 1st place in the intermediate level at “Spring Fling”. So, YAY to that and we had a ton of fun in both tournaments.
For food, I like to eat my regular oatmeal with fruit for breakfast before leaving or enroute. I make it the night before and put it in a to-go container in the refrigerator so that I can grab it fast (since many of these events require leaving at the crack of dawn)!!! Then, I pack food similar to what you might take on a plane in case I get hungry during the event (and to avoid eating what is provided which is not compliant). I like to bring food that you can eat without utensils and that will hold up pretty well in my pickleball bag. Usually that would be potatoes, Jeff burgers, and fruit – like banana, apple, pear, or grapes. Sometimes I also bring carrots and /or baby tomatoes. For the past two weeks, I wasn’t hungry so didn’t eat any of the food I brought – but unpacked it when I got home and had it for my next meal. I did have one learning today --- had sprinkled some garlic salt on the potatoes and I won’t do that again because my bag smelled!! HA!
Thanks so much to all fellow group members for being here --- and a big thanks to Mark for all of the positivity and encouragement!!
Cheers,
Stephanie
by Ejeff » Sun Apr 21, 2024 7:45 am 
