Stephanie's Journal - One Bite at a Time...

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi All,

Goals for this week:
1) Eat only the recommended foods Mostly... another occurrence of the NOT recommended 5/7 items - same things... continuing to work on this... Getting better with eating potato first and using positive self-talk instead of becoming discouraged.
Was able to "fight off" two other occurrences with the potato.
2) Exceed steps from this week ... Yes!!! Exceeded step goal by 2K per day.
3) Relax!! Amazingly, yes... Have been feeling pretty calm while work has been a bit stressful. Project I have been on for over 3 years is going live shortly and this is where the rubber hits the road. Had a late night yesterday working through some issues with offshore team - probably more such to come. Eating right, consistent walking, keeping easy meal / shopping routine, getting enough sleep have definitely helped here!!! Also, I have put the "kibosh" on some of my reading material... Resistant (about a deadly virus / used as a bioweapon) and Empire of Pain (about the Sackler family and their profiting from the opioid epidemic) --- both have been returned unfinished. Reading the newest Liane Moriarty (Apples Never Fall) and Vegetable Literacy instead for now.

Favorite foods I have made this week:

Split pea soup is my comfort food. I eat this in ridiculous amounts, but that is ok because I eat when hungry and stop when full. It has a load of carrot / celery / onion / potato and is quite thick. One food that I cannot get sick of. I cook this with garlic, smoked paprika, rosemary ... Super delicious and I can make another pot even if blindfolded... To clarify here, I do try to keep mindful of the 1 c. average legumes / day. Admittedly, I probably always hit that threshold. Maybe I need to find another favorite soup as well that is legume-free....

I made pasta this week. A couple of times I included a smashed up frozen Jeff Burger with the pasta. Also roasted mushrooms and onions. Covered with tomato sauce. I had some salad as well to make this 50/50.

I am super excited that now the weather is ok for my BFF to walk with me. Going tomorrow !!! YAY!!!! We had a great walk & talk session at the forest preserve. Only boo was to the ridiculous amount of mosquitos that were also present...

On my way home, was thrilled to see that Farmers Market was opened (a week earlier than I thought). Scored a bunch of delicious produce that is now mainly eaten!!!

Was DELIGHTED to see my comment on McD 12 Day featured in the email mailing this week... This is it... "This was a life-changing experience for me. The course was phenomenal. I would recommend this to anyone looking to improve their health." Yes, 1000%!!!

Below is weekly Behavioral Assessment that I will post to MWL thread.

Hi Team Time & Adherence!!!

Hope that everyone is having a great week!!! Was super excited last week to find the local Farmers Market open - and scored some great produce - including screaming ripe strawberries and flavorful bell peppers. Also, green leaf lettuce, shitake mushrooms, onions (red, yellow, green), yukon gold potatoes, broccoli, skinny asparagus... lots of delicious stuff!

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes. I consistently preload B/L/D - mainly with salad. Enjoyed many of the same veggies / fruits as prior weeks and also was excited to have a bounty from the Farmers Market! I have not preloaded all snacks (quantifying at 5 times this week had potato slices only).

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 - all meals, not the 5 potato snacks.
Still following similar routine and batch cooking potatoes, rice, beans, split pea soup, sloppy lentils, pasta.
Made a huge Pyrex of roasted veggies from Farmers Market. Cut them super small - skinny asparagus, green onion, red bell pepper, shitake mushrooms... YUM! Will try a different concoction this week.
Keeping ingredients ready to grab in the refrigerator makes it simple to assemble a compliant meal.


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. Used a little seasoned or onion salt on potatoes at times. Also, twice had 1 TB Teriyaki California Balsamic (yes, balsamic crack) on roasted veggies / salad. This is sugar to be used sparingly. I didn't use sugar on anything else this week.

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
YES, of course.

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
There was again one occurrence where I fell short on 5 and 7 (same problem food - or trying to be non-food items).
Getting better with eating potato first and using positive self-talk instead of becoming discouraged.
Was able to "fight off" two other occurrences with the potato.
Considering below questions from Mark to help to nip this in the bud.
Am completing a "mindfulness" web-course in my work health app --- which had a relevant point on the "Thinker" and the "Doer" parts of your brain and how they aren't always working in a synchronized fashion.

Still not sure why I am so attracted to dry, salty, calorie dense foods

I would encourage you to make this a series of questions, (Why am I feeling a desire to eat these specific foods at this particular moment? What am I feeling in my body? What will happen if I do or don't eat them? If I eat something else instead? How would I describe my current context?) that you pose to yourself. What does your intuition reveal to you about this? I think you are doing an exemplary job of working through these challenges in a considered, informed fashion. Keep at it!

Also, I keep trying here... Taking a portion of Jeff's quote from a reply to Cindy on a different food item --- but I think the concept is relevant to me here as well... Thinking that little "cheats" can easily snowball. I have done that experiment before - so aspiring for 100% going forward!

Remember, little indulges turns into big set back over time. That is how it starts.


We can do better!
Jeff

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.
See #5.

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. I didn't stuff or starve.
Again, I snacked about 5 times when hungry on roasted potato that I didn't 50/50 or pre-load. I am not prioritizing changing this yet until I am a bit more secure feeling on #5/7. But, yes -- I do intend to eat the recommended foods in the recommended fashion...

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes.
* 7/7 days walked outside. One of the days was with a hooded sweatshirt, parka, umbrella....
* Exceeded my steps goal by 2K steps / day .
* I still need to prioritize resistance training and becoming at least a bit more active.


Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Thanks, Mark for sharing the Compliance on a Healthy Diet thread. Like others have commented, I found this impactful in many areas and is information that I will continue to reference. Noella mentioned the Self-Efficacy concept / factor in success and I also find this intriguing and wonder how to build skills in this space (or are they inherently present or absent?)... Carol highlighted the larger issue of public health and how change can be introduced. Thinking that it would be lovely if environment was more supportive of healthy eating with more choices of the recommended foods.

Bambi - Congrats on awesome doctor visit!!! You are doing great!!!
Rebecka22 - I so agree with you on it being simpler to put together compliant meal with a blank plate - instead of trying to make a non-MWL dish compliant. You are on fire with 10 / 10!!!
Carol - Your congee sounds really good!! If you are looking for other breakfast ideas, I have found that I do best with a bit of legumes included --- for instance, I will have a salad, fruit, and potato with a bit of smashed Mary McD beans or split pea soup.
CindyD - Hi - I am in IL too!! Wanted to say YAY to you for joining to get on track. Awesome results you have had!!!
Gimmelean - Your food always sounds so delicious!!!! Thanks for sharing these ideas!
Noella - thanks for sharing your travel tips! It sounds like you are doing great!

Huge thank you to Mark, Jeff, Wildgoose and all participants!

Hope that everyone has a wonderful and compliant week!!! I can't believe only 1 more check-in and we are already to JUNE!

Best,
Stephanie

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi,

Goals for this week:
1) Relax YES!!! Has been a pretty hectic week with work stuff that is difficult to plan around. Remaining calm and focused...
2) Plant some flowers - looking for petunias and marigolds - simple Moving this to Memorial Day weekend. Had some rain when I had time to plant... also need to get new hummingbird feeder. Forgot that I disposed of it last year (it was looking pretty sad...). Have seen one hummingbird come around...
3) Eat only the recommended foods - considering the ?s from Mark on Point #5 YES - seriously, yes...

Irises are blooming now! Looks like peonies will be next.

Sad to be "rained out" from Farmers Market today... Thinking of going to the fruit market instead and doing errands today.

Will be staying on top of all errands and household activities (like laundry, etc.) as it may likely become pretty challenging to plan around potential work fire drills. Will continue to not be stressed by these. Was amazed to be the calm one last night --- telling people to take a breath, it will all work out, don't worry, etc... (and double amazed to actually mean those words...)

Below is this week's Behavioral Assessment that I will post to the MWL monthly thread.

Hi All,

Hope that everyone is having a great week!! The weather is excellent here - looking to enjoy the "unofficial" start of summer!!

Mark, Thanks so much for the fantastic post last week on self-efficacy!!!! Excellent information! Have read / browsed the link to the study and am looking to dig a bit deeper - just didn't have time this week. Within the study, there is another section toward the end called "Fostering Initiation and Maintenance of Behavior Change" that was also interesting. Additionally, was saddened by considering the value that our society places on lifestyle interventions vs. pharmaceuticals / surgeries --- this isn't news to me, but it was reinforced by reading this link and considering the monetary aspects of healthcare.

Here was my week...

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes. I consistently preload meals - mainly with salad.

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 - all meals.


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, of course.

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
YES I managed to do this for the week.
Thanks, Mark for this feedback last week.

VegSeekingFit - Your score from the Farmers Market certainly does sound delicious! It appears to me you are continuing to make real progress with your "5/7 project", Stephanie; does it feel like that to you, as well?

Yes, I do feel like I am making progress --- it is slow but moving forward.
Here are things that I have learned (with help from this group!) that I do consistently now.
1) When hungry EAT. I have gotten better at 1 & 2 --- so sometimes I may inadvertently skimp on the starch (especially if eating soup for main meal). If I feel hungry between meals, I grab potato slices or a cup of starchy soup to avoid getting ravenous later.
2) Positive self-talk - try to laugh... This has helped a ton. It is hard to make meaningful forward progress when feeling disappointed in yourself... So, take a step back and reflect on what happened, what could work better, etc. without beating self up!
3) If thinking of the non-compliant "food", EAT instead a recommended food. If I end up still eating the "bad" #5/7, it is a lesser amount. Sometimes it has even allowed a bit of time to reconsider and NOT eat the non-compliant item.

These things have all been "Damage Control" --- even though I am not perfect at avoiding the 2 problem items... Since implementing these approaches, I have been at consistent weight (for roughly 2 months).

I am probably missing the "secret sauce" in a Step 4!! Will get there.


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, I managed to avoid the calorie dense stuff!!!!

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. I didn't stuff or starve.


10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes.
* 7/7 days walked
* Exceeded my steps goal by 2.6K steps / day . Got over 20K steps on one day!!


Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Here are some thoughts with regard to Mark's questions on self-efficacy last week:
1) Whether we do or we don't achieve a goal can be dependent on our thought process. Believe in yourself!!
2) The more days that elapse since adopting the 10 point checklist, the more capable I feel about being able to continue on.
3) Thinking that turning shopping / food preparation into routines makes it easier to do and simple.
4) It is important to like what you are doing... Find the joy in the food and the routines...

Wishing everyone a wonderful week! Onward to June!!

Best,
Stephanie

[VegSeekingFit]

Hello! Happy (almost) Summer...

Here are my goals for the week:
1) Plant flowers & put out hummingbird feeder moving to following week - has been busier than expected...
2) Relax ... finish a fun book... hang out with family & friends Yes! Holiday weekend was lots of fun ...
3) Keep away from 5/7 stuff mostly so... had a different than usual blunder this week...

I made it to the Farmers Market this morning and got some super delicious stuff!!! A lot the same as last time. DId get a couple boxes of blueberries that I just had for lunch. Super yum. Re-reading this now, sounds like I ate all of those blueberries and only those for lunch... they were actually part of lunch for 6 days - delicious! I bought more 6/4...

Looking to go on a hike with my son in a few minutes. The weather is perfect for that! Got in a few hikes with my son - who has been periodically home before summer school starts.


Below is my Assessment that I will post to the weekly MWL thread.

Hi MWL'ers!!!

Happy June!!! It is exciting to see all of the energy here already! Big hello to everyone and welcome to new folks!

Thanks, Mark for sharing a great quote and thanks, Michael for the book recommend. Have placed this on hold.

Appreciate the questions and Mark's explanation on snacking with regard to pre-load and 50/50!!! That helps clarify!!!

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes. I consistently preload meals - mainly with salad (sometimes with fruit).

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 - all meals. I have continued to make the same things (roasted potatoes, pots of rice, Jeff burgers, split pea soup, sloppy lentils, Mexi soup, roasted veggies). I have fresh and frozen produce prepared to easily incorporate into compliant meals very quickly. Have been enjoying Saturday Farmers Market produce selection. When I get home, cutting up the various veggies and roasting them. Slender asparagus is a new to me veggie that I am liking in that mix!


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, of course.

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Except one instance. Was not my usual exception. Meal out (Buddha Bowl) which could have been perfect MWL EXCEPT for about 1/2 cup of edamame (was even 50/50 BROWN rice with raw kale, cabbage, watermelon radish). I was ok with that because this was the closest that I could get and it isn't something that will become a problem, habit, etc. Well, also it had perhaps some oil (in vinaigrette dressing). Next time I will pack fruit, potatoes, veggie --- because there is nothing else even remotely "do-able"...


6 Eliminate any added oil.
See 5 above

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, I managed to avoid the calorie dense stuff!!!!

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. I didn't stuff or starve.


10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes.
* 7/7 days walked


Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Thanks, everyone for sharing your journeys!!! Carol - loving your top behaviors for compliance! Great idea!

Also, so appreciate this group. Thanks - Mark, Jeff, Wildgoose --- and all participants. Thinking this is the best thread on the internet...

Wishing everyone a wonderful and compliant week!

Best,
Stephanie

[VegSeekingFit]

Hello,

For June I am going to focus on the following 3 items. I am separately tracking each day to assess for the month.
1) Eat only the recommended foods - MOSTLY. I had a slip but not a slide with my standard 5/7 items. Have been trying to take on the offense with these and have a compliant snack ready (mug of soup, fruit and potato slices) --- to pick up instead of the EX-food! This has helped and will continue to do so.
2) Average 10K steps for the month --- so 300K for June (this shouldn't be a stretch and is still probably too low, but one step at a time... ) YES! Have trounced this for the week with an average of 11.9K for the week. It has been really nice walking weather and I have been able to take a few 25 minute walks in the AM in addition to my lunch walk.
3) Relax (so will be mindful of this - not a SMART goal, but more of a take action if not relaxed... ) YES. I have spent lots of time outdoors. Watching the birds, squirrels, bunnies, chipmunks... Doing yardwork. Reading on the deck a non-gloomy book or magazine... Have recorded / will continue to record the 1/6 Hearings which I do want to watch but not to ingest all at one time...

On 6/4, went to the Farmers Market and got quite a haul!!! Red onions, yellow onions, baby spinach, red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, cauliflower, blueberries, shitake mushrooms, portabella mushrooms, red and orange bell peppers, slender asparagus, yellow tomatoes, radishes.... Will be making Roasted veggies later today. Made my grocery trip quite quick and easy!!! I got a couple of melons - humungous honey dew and cantaloupe. Also, 10 lbs. of yukon golds. Have been eating through lots of potatoes!! Humungous honey dew was not very tasty! Boo!! This week, I got 2 cantaloupes and passed it by. Have been eating a mind-boggling volume of potatoes. Maybe 15 lbs / week?

Hoping to get in a hike this afternoon and another tomorrow. Taking Monday off except for a meeting in the early AM. I need to take my days off - the year is almost half over.... Yes, if I don't take my days off - will lose them. So, have also scheduled the next few Fridays off. I can't plan much more than a long weekend right now with my current project going live shortly.

Haven't logged food here in awhile... I am still writing down in my journal what I am eating. It helps me, I think. Hasn't really changed much since I was logging here.

Today (so far):
B: Romaine, broccoli, carrots (just piled on plate) - PL
Frozen mango & dragonfruit
Split Pea Soup - 50/50 with above
L: Large bowl of Cold roasted veggies (bell pepper, onion, asparagus, button mushroom, shitake mushroom) - with 1 T. Cal Balsamic Teriyaki (this is sugar, use caution!) - PL
Blueberries & small nectarine
Sloppy red lentils & roasted potato slices - 50/50 with above

Not sure exactly for dinner. Have leftover Mexi soup and will likely add barley to that - along with veggies and fruit. Making a large crock pot of Mushroom Barley Soup for my son - it is his favorite.

For breakfast, have had mainly: Romaine (or other lettuce) + 2 or 3 other raw veggies - PL, Cantaloupe & Honey Dew, Split Pea Soup (5 days) or Mexi Soup (2 days)

Below is weekly Behavioral Assessment that I will post in the MWL thread.

Hi Team Time & Adherence!

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes.

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 - all meals.
I do still continue to make the same things as posted last week.
In this warmish weather, I really love the concept of Mexican 50/50 plate or Mexican salad.
I make a pot of Mary McD crock pot beans (this week was pinto beans) with a lot of extra onions and a bit of hot sauce.
Then, either: 50/50 bean + rice with tomatoes, lettuce, red onion, bell pepper OR same veggies with beans on top and NSA salsa and / or taco sauce. Super delicious and easy!
Also, have been loving Farmers Market blueberries with white fleshed nectarines.


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, of course.

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Mostly. I had one slip (usual suspect) and paired it with #7. Have tweaked a bit my remediation plan here and am now actually plating a night time snack just in case to head this off. For instance, after dinner I decide what would be my snack - usually mug of soup OR potato slices and fruit. I would only eat the snack if hungry. Otherwise, will be part of next day's meal.
This has headed off potential additional non-compliant episodes.

6 Eliminate any added oil.
YES. I do not even like oil.

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.
Mostly. See #5.

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. I didn't stuff or starve.


10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes.
* 6/7 days walked (1 day was a rainout and I had a lunch appointment...)
* Averaged 11.9K steps / day (even with the slothful day...)


Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

I am focusing this month on: 1) Eat only the recommended foods, 2) 10K average steps / day and 3) Relax (and enjoy!!) ... Tracking these 3 items each night to stay focused. One of these days I will be able to do 1) on auto-pilot, but that day hasn't come yet!

Mark, wishing you safe travels and a positive week.

Gimmelean, you cracked me up with... "following this new link must be a secret test..."

Hope that everyone has a wonderful week. Keep going!!!

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow." - Helen Keller

Best,
Stephanie

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi,

Still focusing on my 3 June goals.
1) Eat ONLY the recommended foods. (That means --- steer clear of #5 / 7 problem items). I will continue to pre-plate a snack after dinner in case it is needed. #5 / 7 are forgetting that I broke up with them awhile back. So, I just have to ignore them when they call. YES YES YES, I did this for the week!!!
2) Average 10K steps / day = 300K for June. I am well on track for this. Yes, a bit less steps than less week due to some shorter walks at lunch with temperatures above 95... I did get in more short walks in the early AM to meet goal.
3) Relax. (So, yes, I will continue to read non-gloom & doom books / magazines... Also, I feel great taking a walk in the AM - and getting lots of sunshine.) Evaluating each day and so far so good here. Doing fine here. Also, finally planted my flowers last Sunday.

Went to the Farmers Market this morning (6/11). Another great haul - pretty similar to last weekend. Observation - this is a fairly large market, but only 3 booths are produce. I have been going to the same booth - it is the largest one and has delicious variety. Cucumbers and carrots for the first time this week. Bought 4 bunches of the carrots... Also, bought some green beans. Other purchases: green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, blueberries, red onions, yellow onions, bell peppers, broccoli, heirloom grape tomatoes.

A bit sad as my son is leaving back to school today. For the past few weeks in between semesters, he's spent some time at home (in between short trips). When he is home, we do walk together and he eats the MWL food with me. I continue to try to encourage my husband to join me on walks, but so far hasn't happened. (Note I didn't mention the food... )

Following is weekly Behavioral assessment that I'll post in the MWL forum.

Hi Fellow MWL Travelers,

Another week, another sack of potatoes... (or two or three)...

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes. Still usually salad / raw veggies, but a few times fruit.

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 - all meals.
Favorite simple meals this week were:
1) Roasted pans of veggies from Farmers Market (broccoli, green beans, red onion, bell peppers, shitake mushrooms, portabella mushrooms). These were great in a bowl 50/50 with rice. Used a little bit of rice vinegar, low-sodium (still sodium) tamari, ginger juice (just ginger + citric acid) to dress it.
2) Sloppy lentils (from this website - MWL compliant w/o the sugar and soy sauce) --- doubled the veggies (tomato, onion, pepper) since using a fork and used red lentils. Put these over romaine lettuce, beefsteak tomato, red onions. Ridiculously delicious. Had some potato slices as well to get to 50/50.

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, of course.

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
YES!! No brushes with Mr. Peanut. Each night after dinner I plated a snack (split pea veggie soup or potato slices with fruit). I actually ate the snack 3 times over the week after dinner. Somehow not just identifying "what" the compliant food would be, but also getting it in "eat mode" seems to help me here.

6 Eliminate any added oil.
YES. I do not even like oil.

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. See #5.

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. I didn't stuff or starve.


10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes.
* 7/7 days walked briskly
* Have switched some walking to the AM (instead of lunch) due to 95-100 degree temps at lunch... Sometimes I do both times. Liking 60-75 degree temps the best
* Averaged 11.4K steps / day

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

When looking through my written journal today, realized that I am at 12 weeks of same weight + or - 1 lb. Thrilled and grateful to have the opportunity of this group to learn from and practice the behaviors with. It is comforting to really feel like MWL 10 Point Checklist is a 100% sustainable framework to follow for life-long weight / health management. Big THANK YOU to : JeffN, Mark, Wildgoose --- and also to ALL participants!!

Hope that everyone has an awesome week!!!

Best,
Stephanie

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi,

For this week, continuing to focus on my 3 June goals:
1) Eat ONLY the recommended foods. YES YES YES I did this but it was really HARD this week (mostly 1 stressful day --- before that was getting easier). I think due to stress? Re-thinking motivation? Tired of focus that I need to put here to not cave to my 2 problem items??
2) Average 10K steps / day - 300K total steps for June. Yes, average 12.3K steps / day for the week.
3) Relax. This is important for me to pay attention to. I have been doing just fine here, but .... (ok - now I am worrying about it in thinking about why I need to concentrate on not worrying... boo!) Will be continuing to walk, spend time outside, read fun books, maybe try again meditating... (if I am not successful at it, at least it makes me laugh....) 2 days were tough for me this week. Re-framing this for next week to an action step. I "foreshadowed" my own stress & mini meltdown... I have decided to put a discrete actionable goal in its place for next week goal that will help to get to this relaxed state (which I have been doing fine with for many weeks)... Low hanging fruit for me that I have been ignoring is eliminate coffee. Coffee is not good for stress / anxiety. I started Thursday by limiting coffee to 1 cup - had 1/2 black coffee, 1/2 water twice and did same Friday. Will get it to 0 - have done that before.

Will be going to the Farmers Market tomorrow. Yay! Yes, I did go. Loved juicy fresh peaches, blueberries, "candy" onions (?), purple and orange cauliflower (taste the same as regular but quite pretty), tomatoes on the vine...

Curious if others find that the need for an alarm clock is eliminated in following McD closely? Have been consistently up much earlier than the bell rings... and have had a ton of energy / been productive more in the early AM... Was thinking about this today because I would normally like to "sleep in" a bit when I have a day off - but I got up at 5AM (on PTO day). Had the same experience on my 6/24 PTO day - no real need to get up early as my first plans were at 9... but still up at 5...

For this week, going to continue to make simple things. Have been making roasted potato slices every 2-3 days to keep enough in stock. Reason is that I have the world's smallest oven - circa 1975 I believe. Would totally switch it out, but would require a $$$$$ kitchen redo... I think it is fabulous that this puppy still works. Haven't gotten a new oven.... but have started to make 2X - meaning let the cooked potatoes cool off and then throw new sheet in...

This is on my inner toddler thinking it would be great if I just ate peanuts... (i.e., follow regular plan...) So, will talk about below in Assessment... Was very grateful for this feedback. I was able to carefully consider each perspective and then I wrote out a list of my own Motivations / Rationale and also Non-scale victories with respect to 10 Point MWL. This way I can refer to that in the event that I have a #5 stress meltdown again (hoping not!). Glad that my rational side of my brain was able to shout out the inner toddler in the moment.
Link to answers from WIldgoose, Mark, Jeff on MWL vs. Reg McD --- I will want to refer to this in future.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=62217&p=630960#p630960


Below is weekly behavioral assessment that I'll post in the MWL forum.

Hi Everyone,

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes. Still usually salad / raw veggies, but a few times fruit.

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.
Had a busier than normal week - so kept it even simpler than normal. Mainly soup, salad / veggies, fruit, potato, rice, Jeff burgers. Just plated the 50% starch and 50% veggie / fruit. All was fine with this approach from a taste perspective... Was good practice for preparing meals on autopilot with limited extra time.


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. I did have 1 TB BBQ sauce a couple of times with the potato slices / Jeff burger. SO, that is sugar - but I did measure it and it was the only sugar this week.

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
YES, of course.

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
YES, YES, YES!! I say it so many times because I had a really rough patch one night where I had to crowd out my inner toddler voice that was bargaining that maybe I should just eat my problem item (forever and maybe I could limit it which my rational side knows is not possible for me). I am really trying to get to 90 days of NONE of the problem item - to do the experiment that cravings will be completely extinguished. So far, I have 18 days 100% clean. Except for that instance, this seems to be getting a bit easier --- meaning that I didn't eat it and didn't have to actually plate a compliant snack each night (did do that on first 2 days of week).

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. See #5.

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. I didn't stuff or starve.


10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes.
* 7/7 days walked briskly
* Still walking AM's to avoid the heat and short walks at lunch
* Averaged 12.4K steps / day

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

A million thank you's to Wildgoose, Mark, and Jeff for answering my questions / providing information which really helped me 100% to re-align my thoughts on my own Motivation / Rationale and to develop a list of non-scale victories (that I want to maintain!)... Also, additional progress that I would like to make. My top non-scale victory is that I usually feel energetic, calm, focused, positive...

Rebecka22 - Hope that you and your family all are feeling better and better each day. So sorry to hear that you are dealing with this.

CindyD - I am with you 100% on "the world"... and enough said -- but fellow person here who is trying to carry on in a positive way - given all of the disturbing (to say the least) happenings...

BambiSCongrats on your awesome progress!!!! [/b]

Squealcat - Hope that you are able to be out of town and enjoying!! I 100% found the comments clear and helpful --- just to say, I am happy for all of the folks who follow the Regular plan successfully.... I needed to re-ground myself a bit of which plan that I choose to follow and why.

Keep going, all... We can all have good or not as great weeks, but we know what to do (because we have great help right here!)... I am going to chill out by watching the firefly show that will start around 8:30PM... It is pretty awesome!!! Can't decide whether to listen to some Rage Against the Machine or Aretha Franklin....

Hope that everyone has a wonderful week!!

Best,
Stephanie

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi,

Well, I have deleted what I initially wrote here last week because I came to the realization that my monthly goals were causing non-productive thought patterns resulting in unnecessary stress (and anxiety!)... Enough things to be stressed about --- following the 10 Point MWL Checklist is really simple / uncomplicated. A couple of posts down I summarized "2 Key Learnings" --- which I will keep in mind as I just keep following the Checklist, as written. I will be mostly coasting on the habits that I have built, but will continue learning / practicing with the group in a safe space. Perfection is not required.


Below is Behavioral assessment that I will post to the Time & Adherence Group.

Hi Team Time and Adherence!

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes. Still usually salad / raw veggies, but a few times fruit. Have really been loving cauliflower lately (who knew?)... Also, picked up some new to me ''angelcots" which are white-fleshed apricots.

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.
Was a bit crunched for time - so did a few things to further simplify my routine for the week which helped make adherence easy.
* Used microwave more frequently than usual for potatoes (had a hard time keeping enough oven-batch cooked in refrigerator)
* Encouraged my husband to keep making rice...
* Dug into my stock of NSA cans of beans
* Dug into my stock of frozen corn
* Finished all Jeff Burgers in freezer (will make more this weekend)
* Focused on fruits that require little prep - frozen mango / cherries / berries, angelcots, blueberries, nectarines, bananas
* Focused on veggies that require little prep - baby cucumbers, grape tomatoes, Romaine lettuce
* Chopped massive quantities of only a few other veggies and kept in fridge - carrots, celery, cauliflower, red onion
* No time crunch will keep me from making my split pea veggie soup...

Favorite meals this week were:
1) Smashed beans, rice 50/50 with Romaine, beefsteak tomato, red onions - topped with mango salsa
2) Same as above, but in a salad with frozen corn
3) Smashed beans, potatoes, frozen corn over Romaine, grape tomatoes, red onions topped with NSA salsa and a bit of hot sauce
4) SIMPLE meal = Microwave a few potatoes add in raw veggies 50/50 (and start with fruit)


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, of course.

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. I didn't stuff or starve.
I have found that some nights I do tend to get hungry and it is best if I don't try to ignore this until the morning. I snack on potato slices and either fruit or raw veggies OR a cup of soup (that is part starch, but I am not sure if 50/50). 2 or 3 times this week snacked after dinner.


10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes.
* 7/7 days walked briskly
* Took 2 excellent weekend walks at different forest preserves - wish that I lived closer to do this more frequently!

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Totally connected with Wildgoose's closing post last week on being a myopic tortoise (as Doug Lisle describes) - just concentrating straight ahead and moving forward slowly but surely. This is a very calming approach to me that seems super helpful for the long-term. Spent a bit of time going through various reading materials on this forum (many from Mark's initial post in the thread) which helped to reground me a bit.

I reached today what I had estimated as my goal weight back in May of last year. I better understand now why - per the Orientation materials - it isn't even recommended to choose a goal weight, but just to keep going (assuming that you are not underweight). Coming to the realization that it is how you feel (FABULOUS) --- that will be motivating to just keep moving on. So, celebrating with soup, salad, fruit, potato...

Hope that everyone in US has an excellent 4th of July and Happy Weekend to everyone else!

Cheers,
Stephanie

[Lizzy_F]

Hi Stephanie! I love how you are tracking your monthly goals and MWL accountability. I need to take some ideas from this to enhance the way I approach accountability for myself. I’m thinking ahead to the time when the weekly support specialist check ins will drop in frequency, and making sure I shore up my group support and self support to bridge the gap.

If the invite is still open to join your zoom support group on Mondays I would love to do that! I could start this coming Monday if the option is still open. Just let me know!

I am so with you on the 1000% recommendation for the 12-day program. It has quite literally changed my life already, and I can see that changes will probably continue forever with “time and adherence!”

I too am a huge split pea soup lover! How do you make yours? If you follow a recipe and can share it, that would be awesome. I was intrigued by your mention of smoked paprika!

Hope you are having a fantastic potato strong weekend!

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Stephanie! I love how you are tracking your monthly goals and MWL accountability. I need to take some ideas from this to enhance the way I approach accountability for myself. I’m thinking ahead to the time when the weekly support specialist check ins will drop in frequency, and making sure I shore up my group support and self support to bridge the gap.

If the invite is still open to join your zoom support group on Mondays I would love to do that! I could start this coming Monday if the option is still open. Just let me know!

I am so with you on the 1000% recommendation for the 12-day program. It has quite literally changed my life already, and I can see that changes will probably continue forever with “time and adherence!”

I too am a huge split pea soup lover! How do you make yours? If you follow a recipe and can share it, that would be awesome. I was intrigued by your mention of smoked paprika!

Hope you are having a fantastic potato strong weekend!

Hi Beth!

Thanks for stopping by and your kind comments.

Yes, you are absolutely welcome to join the Zoom - we'd love to have you. I THINK (if I did this correctly) that I just PM'd you my email address. If you can just send me an email (using the email account you want the invite to come to), I'll make sure we get you added to the invite before Monday meeting.

I agree that it is great idea to think of support when your sessions with Tiffany get less frequent. I am not sure if you are aware that there is an opportunity to schedule more frequent sessions, if you would benefit. I know a few folks who have done this - and it has been super helpful for them. You could ask Tiffany about this --- or I think that she brings this up when the sessions are moving to monthly.

Glad that you are doing so well and enthusiastic!!! Love that!!! Keep going -- POTATO Strong!!! I can totally lock in motivation to continue (even when it isn't the best of weeks) --- with a desire to feel terrific vs. a 5 minute encounter with an off-plan food....

My split pea soup recipe is for a 2 qt. crockpot (so you can adjust it to size you want)... Sorry, I don't have exact measurements for everything.
1 c. split peas
Spoonful of minced garlic (about 1 T)
Smoked paprika (about 1 T)
Rosemary (about 1 T)
3.5 c. water
A few handfuls of chopped onions
A few handfuls of chopped celery
A few handfuls of chopped carrots
Then, fill up the pot to the top with chopped potatoes
Cooktime in the crock pot is flexible... I usually put it on high for about 8 hours (I like it mushy). It can go longer and is still fine.

Hope you enjoy your weekend.

Best,
Stephanie

[Ruff]

Hi Stephanie,

I have just been reading through and catching up on your journal. It seems you are doing great and I just wanted to cheer you on.

Early waking. I now wake early regularly and get up at 5am. This suits me down to the ground and I am now a serious morning person. In the summer I love to run at this time, and in the winter I get the log fire going and catch up on my emails and plan my day. I am heaps more productive when I get an early start both summer and winter. I wonder if other McD people find themselves turning into morning people? Mind you I am in bed by 9.30pm most nights!

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Stephanie,

I have just been reading through and catching up on your journal. It seems you are doing great and I just wanted to cheer you on.

Early waking. I now wake early regularly and get up at 5am. This suits me down to the ground and I am now a serious morning person. In the summer I love to run at this time, and in the winter I get the log fire going and catch up on my emails and plan my day. I am heaps more productive when I get an early start both summer and winter. I wonder if other McD people find themselves turning into morning people? Mind you I am in bed by 9.30pm most nights!

Hi Katie,

Thank you for stopping by! Appreciate the support!

Reminds me of that Mother Goose poem.... Like "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise" ...

Glad to not be the only one getting up at the crack of dawn and falling asleep before the news...

Best,
Stephanie

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi,

I am again feeling TERRIFIC!! (YAY!)... Feeling very lucky to be part of this forum's MWL group and very appreciative of the excellent moderators!! Feedback and learnings (that may sometimes take me a bit of time to assimilate) has helped me tremendously in 2 key things that I think will help me to continue on for the long haul (instead of crash and burn). This makes me feel calm and competent to just carry on with what I have been doing for over a year... Just follow the 10 Point MWL checklist and learn from "non-compliant" episodes without beating yourself up. Rinse and repeat.

#1 - Be kind to yourself, mistake is not a value judgment, etc. from Mark Cooper (he consistently communicates this to group members facing challenges). Took me a LONG time to really understand this and then to also think that not only does this apply to me, but in fact it applies to me in spades. Once I was able to change my self-talk, I felt 100% better about being able to get back on-track (and stopped losing ground and feeling terrible by being disappointed in myself).

#2 - (NEW!!) - Unwritten rule #11 - don't overcomplicate this... I am still processing why I was super-stressed last week... (Made me crazy like when I spent a few days analyzing my sodium intake last July... ) However, I do think that I was self-imposing stress by adding monthly goals (at a time when I should really just be coasting on the habits that I have ingrained and working on those which aren't "perfect")... especially when job-stress is high at this time...

What was I thinking? Well, probably too many years in Corporate America where each year we "raise the bar". So, maybe in my head I am thinking that there is another level of compliance (or Jeff has an Intermediate checklist... like eating collard greens and quinoa and running wind-sprints and doing pull-up's... ) No, in fact ... the Checklist remains the same and it would normally become easier after practice. Easier sounds pretty sweet...

So, I am setting a new goal of "coast" and just follow the Checklist. I will become this myopic tortoise that Doug Lisle describes!! Feeling it!!!

I appreciate all of the information / clarification / background, etc. on how to actually execute on the MWL Checklist (which is unbelievably great!), Except for one thing (which shall remain nameless), my persistent struggles have been with effectively addressing "psychological aspects" which enable both course correction and ability to continue on for the long-haul.. I would suspect that truly understanding these 2 things will help me over the long-term. I am a pretty driven person when I am motivated to achieve a goal which can be both a strength and a weakness (I have been reminded to BREATHE before when pursuing a goal...).

Here are is some information that has really helped me to re-align my thinking and that I will refer to in future. There are probably more things - Wildgoose's post helped me to initially make a connection...

The reports were a combination of successes and struggles, which is a good definition of life in general. It's a crazy time for many of us. I take my cue from my duck cousins -- live my life paddling like crazy under the water but keep my feathers smooth and calm on the surface (as much as possible -- ruffled feathers are unavoidable!). Eat well, sleep well, move enough, try to stay in balance. Do as well as I can, aim to do better, don't obsess or get upset that it's not enough. It is enough for now. Next week is always there, with more opportunities.

Dr. Doug Lisle likes to advise being a myopic tortoise in the process of losing weight and regaining health. The tortoise never looks past the end of its nose, concentrates just on what's in front of it, and moves forward slowly and steadily. The tortoise doesn't look months or years ahead. Goals are fine to have, sub-goals can be useful, but day to day it's a matter of sticking to the checklist as well as possible, checking off the day, and moving on.

Following I am not rightly using quote function - from Orientation info from JeffN - "Just to repeat from the orientation — we don't expect perfection, because making these changes in behavior is extremely difficult; however, the intent of participation for the group is important - are you willing to make an honest attempt to follow the guidelines as intended, and keep trying to work toward improvements when you are struggling? If so, you are in the right place, no matter what your starting point is, and how much (or little) success you may feel you're having at the moment. Intentionally planning NOT to follow the guidelines, or not attempting to make changes in the appropriate behaviors when needed, however, doesn't serve the individual participant well, nor is it good for the group as a whole."

Jeff post reminds me that it is ok to not be perfect...

Here Comes the Sun!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKdl-GCsNJ0

Cheers,
Stephanie

[Trinity]

Wow, Stephanie, you are doing great! I was wondering if you’ve heard one of Doug Lisle’s analogies about this WOE. You probably have: it’s something like we’re in a submarine or boat (gosh, now that I think about it I’m not going to get this right but I don’t know where to look)…let’s say a boat because it’s less claustrophobic…we’re in a boat that is taking water all the time and we’re constantly bailing it out to stay afloat. That’s what doing McD is like in our current environment where non-McD food is around all the time and constantly in commercials and we’re wired to eat the richest food which is the easiest to get etc. etc. So if that’s the case then MWL even more so.

I love early mornings but I absolutely can’t fall asleep at night if my husband is still awake and I unfortunately just need a lot of sleep. 5 am would be my ideal wake-up time. The summer before I got married I would wake up at 5 am and go for a 6-mile run and fall asleep at 8 pm before it was even dark…those were the days!

[Ruff]

This got me thinking about habit v goals. Corporates would have you set GOALS because they are simple to assess. Did you reach your goal..yes, good employee, here is a bonus. No..bad employee, no bonus for you. And as you say each year they raise the bar until when exactly? You all do a years work in a day? At my daughters work they used to trade goals..."has anyone done an achievable goal they does involve x or doesn't involve y?" Or "I did this goal last year and it was great because...who wants it for this year?" etc. It was a box ticking exercise and changed absolutely nothing.

Meanwhile if you want to change something or improve something you need HABITS. Say you want to be able to do 50 situps and you can only do 4 and a half, you make a habit....like... 'Every day when I make a cup of tea I will do situps whilst the kettle boils'. You dont worry about the goal of 50 situps, you just do them every day while the kettle is boiling. Inevitably you will get much better at situps, because you are doing them all the time. After a few weeks of this you see how many you can do in one go...and you surprise yourself.

This works for everything. start a habit...every morning I will leave the house in my running clothes....once you are out there you might as well go for a run, but if you dont, no worries...come back in again and get on with your day. You haven't failed anything, you went outside in your running clothes, which was the habit.

Every morning, over my cup of coffee I will check my banks accounts/do 5 minutes of Duolingo/read the McDougall forums and post on my journal.
Or Every night before I go to bed I will plan tomorrows meals. etc etc.

Ignore your goals, set up you MWL habits and there you go.

This is NOT my wisdom, it comes from a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear. A real 'change your life' book in my opinion.

[VegSeekingFit]

This got me thinking about habit v goals. Corporates would have you set GOALS because they are simple to assess. Did you reach your goal..yes, good employee, here is a bonus. No..bad employee, no bonus for you. And as you say each year they raise the bar until when exactly? You all do a years work in a day? At my daughters work they used to trade goals..."has anyone done an achievable goal they does involve x or doesn't involve y?" Or "I did this goal last year and it was great because...who wants it for this year?" etc. It was a box ticking exercise and changed absolutely nothing.

Meanwhile if you want to change something or improve something you need HABITS. Say you want to be able to do 50 situps and you can only do 4 and a half, you make a habit....like... 'Every day when I make a cup of tea I will do situps whilst the kettle boils'. You dont worry about the goal of 50 situps, you just do them every day while the kettle is boiling. Inevitably you will get much better at situps, because you are doing them all the time. After a few weeks of this you see how many you can do in one go...and you surprise yourself.

This works for everything. start a habit...every morning I will leave the house in my running clothes....once you are out there you might as well go for a run, but if you dont, no worries...come back in again and get on with your day. You haven't failed anything, you went outside in your running clothes, which was the habit.

Every morning, over my cup of coffee I will check my banks accounts/do 5 minutes of Duolingo/read the McDougall forums and post on my journal.
Or Every night before I go to bed I will plan tomorrows meals. etc etc.

Ignore your goals, set up you MWL habits and there you go.

This is NOT my wisdom, it comes from a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear. A real 'change your life' book in my opinion.

Awesome post, Katie!!! Thank you for this!!! Sorry that you typed so much with a bum typing arm!!!

I was LOL at your description of corporate world... Yes, best believe this is true....

My new goal is "coast" and habits sound like they may be fun to form - or not, in a coasting way... I did do a few joggings on Sunday AM walk... kind of like I already have the walk habit and I have been jogging across streets - so I can pick a tree to jog to -- no pace, no time --- just the "fartlek" concept.... this was good!!!

Best,
Stephanie