My Daily "Weighing in"

[squealcat]

I lost 2.3 pounds this week. I was not perfect but did a lot better than the week before. I think preloading before dinner has helped me. I am getting used to the veg soup now and will make more tomorrow. I DO have to add a bit of salt though and will add just a sprinkle to my bowl after heating it up each day.

Exercise today: walked 3 miles outdoors. Pretty cold out today !
Breakfast: a mix of steel cut oats, buckwheat and farro with apple
Lunch: none. I had my cereal so late that it was actually lunch time when I ate it
Dinner: veg soup, starch blaster with a little added brown rice, mushrooms, my cheeze sauce
I also made a shake with frozen banana, cocoa powder, vanilla and plant milk. I try to do this just once a week as a treat.

One more week coming up to report to the MWL group. Not sure I am going to be in that group for December although I still plan to follow MWL (mostly) but may have some things that are healthy but just not following MWL 10 points. I want to keep using my habit checklist though and will report to myself how I adhere to MWL but don't want to throw others off by my reporting. Does that make sense? Really, I want to join a challenge for 3 weeks. that is the truth. I will think about it this week. Maybe I can still report in the MWL group . I have to look at those points and look at the challenge meals and compare the two. Confusing, I know.

Anyway, Have a great week everyone ! I know I will !
-squealcat

[VegSeekingFit]

I I was not perfect but did a lot better than the week before. I think preloading before dinner has helped me. I am getting used to the veg soup now and will make more tomorrow.

Hi Marilyn / Squealcat,

You Go Girl!!! None of us is perfect. Love how you have strategies to improve. One day / meal / bite at a time!!!

Keep on !!!

Cheers,
Stephanie

[squealcat]

thank you Stephanie for stoppin by !!

Exercise today: walked 30 minutes ....cold and a bit windy but ok. The walk was late morning so I kept it short.

Breakfast: oats and various cooked grains along with cooked apple and mango
Lunch: large salad with balsamic vinegar, chickpeas, chopped apple
Dinner: veg soup, brown rice with my cheeze sauce, pear

I was a little hungry after dinner but waited a bit and feel better now. Enjoyed my quiet Sunday. Cooked that veg soup and sauted mushrooms to use this week. that is about it. Looking forward to having the kids and grands over on Thursday !

-squealcat

[deweyswakms]

Congrats on the weight loss; it really does work, over time.

I do miss the accountability of a group. And your veggie soup sounds good to me. Today is a cooking day for me. But 1st, I am off to swim for first time in 2 years.

Marsha

[squealcat]

I see that I haven't been here since before Thanksgiving ! Time flies !

Exercise today: walked 3 miles at the gym followed by stretches.

I haven't weighed myself in a few days. Trying to decide about frequency of weighing myself. If I lose, I worry that I won't lose next time, if I gain, I also worry that I will NEVER get to where I want to be (weight-wise). Is my weight important? It is an indicator of health ( is it?)... I don't really know. Is a certain number important? I have thought about checking my weight once a month but will that keep me from feeling bad? Maybe I just will weigh myself randomly, like every few weeks. I will wait on that decision.

For now, I will concentrate on behaviors. I am so bad about eating at the table. I need to make this a habit. If I am putting importance on food then at least I can eat at the table and notice what I am doing. Let's see how this goes !

Today's food plan:
Breakfast: steel cut oats and mango along with a cup of matcha tea
Lunch: salad made with chopped broccoli and a few raisins, onion and maybe apple followed by black bean soup
Dinner: steamed vegetables and rice

Today I am making that broccoli salad (enough for 3 days) and the black bean soup. I think there is something else too but can't remember what it is...??? Anyway, if there IS something else I wanted to make, I can report next time.

Oh, also: forgot to tell you that my blood pressure remains in the normal zone so my doctor took that blood pressure med off my chart. I am no longer hypertensive !! YAY !! Of course, I know that I need to continue to eat with health in mind in order to keep this up. I want to eat with pleasure too. Nothing wrong with that as long as I don't fall into the trap.

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Marilyn,

Congrats on controlling your BP!! So awesome!!!

Best,
Stephanie

[squealcat]

Thank you Stephanie for stopping by !!

Woke up today for very high winds !! Rain and now snow coming down. Not going out until later when husband and I go to church. I hope tomorrow will be calmer and then I will get out and walk. OK to miss a day once in a while.

I weighed myself twice this week. Not happy with what I was seeing but I did need to see what was going on with myself. I ate at the table today at breakfast and really love those steel cut oats with mango, cinnamon and cardamom !! For lunch is that broccoli salad and a bowl of black bean soup. I made zucchini soup yesterday because I forgot I had bought that summer squash several days ago. I was going to make a recipe with them but now don't want to because it just doesn't sound good to me. I find that I don't follow my plan when I don't like the food. I made that zucchini soup instead. I really like that soup !! What I really want to make (and will make in a few days now) is Hamburgerless Helper. I saw that on Youtube the other day and it sounds delicious ! I love lentils and I love pasta ! Sounds like a good combo for a starch based meal !

Two more weeks before Christmas! I moved all the gifts I bought into our spare bedroom today. I have to arrange it all on the bed so I can see if I have forgotten anything. The visual really helps me calm down. I worry that I have missed someone. In the next few days I have to get myself to the credit union to get some cash and also get a couple of gift cards. A couple more things are in the mail yet and then I am done !

I really don't like the tenseness around the holidays. Every year we try to make it all calmer. I read Wildgoose's post about simple December/Advent and agree with her. We don't put out all our decorations any more, we keep to simple food for Christmas. Everyone just wants to visit anyway . I don't need the stress.

-squealcat

[bunsofaluminum]

Oh I like your food! Black bean soup sounds really good. Do you have a recipe that you follow?

Also, with the high winds you're experiencing, I wonder if you're close to that tornado destruction that swept through and destroyed things in a 200 mile swath? Be careful.

[squealcat]

Thank you Buns for stopping by ! I do like the recipe I use for black bean soup. It is by Vegan8 and it very easy. I am sure you can find it easily. Let me know how you like it !

No, fortunately, we are not by that area where there were those tornados. Just high winds and (also thankfully) no power outage for us ! Windy today but sunny and just wonderful for walking ! I walked 3 miles today !!

Plan for today:
Breakfast: steel cut oats and mango with cinnamon and cardamom and a tablespoon of flax seek
Lunch: finishing up that broccoli salad today with my hummus and balsamic vinegar for dressing. Probably will have that black bean soup afterward
Dinner: steamed veggies, zucchini soup and maybe mashed potatoes since the soup is delicious but will not hold me until morning. Probably will have berries afterward

I will start wrapping gifts today. A couple at a time because it is not my favorite and this is the only way it will not feel like torture .

I weighed myself today too. That number is still too high for me but a bit lower than yesterday. Part of my plan is to stay away from bread.....it just starts everything in the wrong direction and really, I don't feel well after eating it. I get all gassy, bloated, and I retain water like crazy !! So why eat something that my body does not feel good with ??

-squealcat

[squealcat]

I have been struggling so much lately !!! I have been getting down on myself and feeling "blue" and not feeling like doing anything positive for myself. I have been taking my walks but it is a forceful operation I undertake each day !

This last week before Christmas has been especially hard. I worry about what to feed my family when they come over, what to get them all for Christmas and whether they will like it. What will I do if they don't like what I plan or buy for them???

I have been reading books and youtube talks about intuitive eating, compulsive eating.....now I realize that these are making my days worse. There are some concepts that I think are correct but others make me feel like there is something wrong with me or about me. I realize that "yes" it is helpful for me to eat seated at the table, important to like my food and enjoy it, important for me to be proud of what I am eating and eat and not hide what I am eating. But under it all, just reading all of that brings on a feeling of shame in me. I don't know why.

Today I listened to something different. I listened to Dr Jen Howk and Doug Lisle. A breath of fresh air ! I can have success for 4 days and feel better about myself. The worry about holiday food plans and gift plans are ego things.....I worry about what people think about me (even though I know they all love me ) I want to be the perfect parent and grandparent with no flaws. Just listening to the two of them makes me feel like I am normal with normal feelings. I am strengthened and feel better. I will shove those books etc. aside for now and probably get rid of them. So what if people don't like what I serve? They don't eat much anyway because they are too busy talking and enjoying their visit ! So what if they don't like their gift? I have gotten many gifts that I didn't like that much but I still loved the giver knowing that they gave from their heart.

That is all.
2 mile walk today despite the cold wind, for breakfast I had steel cut oats with flax seed, amly, soy milk and chopped pear. For lunch and dinner there is hamburgerless helper that I made yesterday (whole wheat pasta and lentils ) , salad, pea soup and steamed veggies.

Do you have these issues (especially during the holidays? What do you do to get out of this funk?

-squealcat

[Daydream]

Squealcat, yes, I have some of the issues you talked about. I know the holidays can be stressful so I understand how you feel. I wish I had a good solution for you but I don't other than to say that soon the holidays will be over. I have a very dear friend who is sick in the hospital right now. She wishes she could be at home dealing with holiday stress rather than be in the hospital. No matter how bad things are, it could always be worse. I am thankful that I'm not in the hospital!

[deweyswakms]

Hi,

I think we all have had those issues one time or another. I am delighted you listened to Dr. Lisle etc and got talked off the ledge! One thing that has helped me so much in getting over my reactions is to learn to Modulate my feelings.

If the oven is too hot, we turn down the temperature, right? So, use your Adult Brain (don't let feelings drive your reaction), and just decide to 'dial down' those feelings. How? Think about what you are feeling (people won't like your food, your gifts etc); then decide, OK this is really not true and I know you will feel yourself getting calmer and happier.

We put so much stress on ourselves; I bet you have a lovely time.

Marsha

[VegSeekingFit]

Do you have these issues (especially during the holidays? What do you do to get out of this funk?

-squealcat

Hi Marilyn,

Yes, echoing Daydream and Marsha... We can all have these types of issues / stress / mind games... especially during such an emotionally charged season where everyone is trying to make everything perfect.

Hoping that you enjoy the time with your family and don't sweat it all...

As you mentioned, they love you anyway. Maybe think, if what I am thinking were true, what is the worst that could happen? (Thinking they still love you anyway... )

Happy holidays!!!

Best,
Stephanie

[squealcat]

Awwwww....!! Thank you everyone for your kind words and suggestions ! My Christmas ended up to be one of the best ! We just got pre-made lasagna (both meat and veggie) and everyone loved it ! I bought cookies and had a couple (or three) but most of them really didn't taste very good to me. I sent all leftovers home with my kids. We talked and talked ! Such a nice visit !! The weather was nice enough that the grandkids were able to run around outside and play and they had a great time too ! My son who lives in Tennessee will be here on Tuesday for a short time and my son that lives in Illinois visited by phone. The others were all here and all healthy.

Today I made tofu scramble. I had to use up the tofu that was in the fridge. I will then make up a batch of steel cut oats for breakfasts. I plan on going to the health food store to get potatoes and Japanese sweet potatoes, a chunk of ginger and tumeric that is organic. I will follow the MWL plan but will not join that group here as I just don't want to follow some of their MWL points right now. I do most of it but not all.

Must go now. Happy Holidays , Happy New Year !!

-squealcat

[squealcat]

I listened to Esther Loveridge and her friend on Chef AJ's Youtube channel. They just taped it a few days ago. They were all so joyful and thankful for everything they were eating and doing and especially thankful to Dr McDougall ! It capturing for all who listened to it I am sure ! I am energized now. I just cooked 4 days worth of steel cut oats and some brown rice. I want to make bean soup tomorrow. I want to be joyful and thankful too !

-squealcat