<p>Watch the lower back on that one. The tendency is to lift the lower back off the floor into “lumbar extension” (a reverse curve spine). Some people are really intolerant of that (pain).</p>
<p>When I started doing exercises iike that, it helped to fold up a towel and put it under my lumbar spine to give me some support to press down into.</p>
<p>One Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Take that, Halloween… Somtimes the bear gets you and, sometimes, you get the bear!</p>
<p>Can’t get stop listening to Neko Case. Better than a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup…</p>
<p>[Calling</a> Cards](<a href=“Neko Case - "Calling Cards" (Full Album Stream) - YouTube”>Neko Case - "Calling Cards" (Full Album Stream) - YouTube)</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“Neko Case - "Ragtime" (Full Album Stream) - YouTube”>Neko Case - "Ragtime" (Full Album Stream) - YouTube]Ragtime[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Hmmm. Nice timing. Neko Case spent Halloween recording a Tiny Desk concert at NPR in Washington today:</p>
<p>[Neko</a> Case: Tiny Desk Concert : NPR](<a href=“Neko Case: Tiny Desk Concert : NPR”>Neko Case: Tiny Desk Concert : NPR)</p>
<p>Good morning. Congrats, idad, on the just one. My just one turned into two, but it was deliberate, under budget, and was my way of mourning Halloween, which just doesn’t happen here due to long fast dark country road with houses set far back :)</p>
<p>The rest of the PB cups are going to the office where I predict my lovable baby Huey employee will greet them with gusto. Officially, they’re for his kids :)</p>
<p>Musicprint, kudos on your continued success. Nice summary post too 
and of course, shout out to those laid ack Canucks I can’t prove it, but the first year I moved here from Canada, I immediately put on 30 lbs., and I wholly suspected that fod ingredients were the principal culprit. For example, back home I’d make spagetti, and don’t recall there being so much sugar and salt in my “base” components like tomato paste. First time I made it here, I gagged from the salty sweetness…and I hadn’t added sugar so couldn’t figure out why it tasted so sweet. And the meat…the regular grocery store meat just didn’t seem the same.</p>
<p>I eventually figured out where to find relatively unadulterated food ingredients and found a good butcher who sold good grassfed and organic beef, so after that point, my weight struggles were more about habit, sedentary nature, eating out too much, etc. but the whole first year adjustment led me to believe that food manufacturers use different formulations for different countries/markets, and that somehow the US by attrition was being habituated to “salty- sweet” on just about everything.</p>
<p>Interestingly, my local indie “specialty” grocer adjacent to the organic butcher must think so too, because its unbelievable how many Canadian food products they stock.</p>
<p>BTW, idad, did the soul food place have sweet potato pie? A guy in my writer’s group just finished a book wherein the main character has a thing for sweet potato pie specifically and soul food in general. It made me realize that a) I’ve never had soul food and b) the loving description makes me want to try sweet potato pie :)</p>
<p>Oh my…no sweet potato pie? What about collards? Salt cured country ham? Fried okra? None of it is health food but down home southern food is the best stuff ever. I may be a little prejudiced though…southern girl for life.</p>
<p>Ribs. For me, maybe 1/3 that and hold the BBQ sauce. I like my sugar in the form of dark chocolate.</p>
<p>Great set of kids last night, btw, and lots of them!</p>
<p>Any favorite costumes, Deborah??? </p>
<p>I’ll split the ribs with you. And the dark chocolate.</p>
<p>No sweet potato pie, but yams. And definitely collard greens.</p>
<hr>
<p>An observation about food in general. I can’t believe the carb onslaught in modern fast food. Starbucks is coffee and carbs. I had to work to find stuff to eat that wasn’t just a massive carb fest. It is no wonder that we have an obesity “epidemic”. The collective definition of “healthy eating” is a real mess. The coffee is good, but there isn’t a single “healthy” thing in Starbucks.</p>
<p>Abasket, mostly it was that it felt very much like the coming together of community. It was a good night. :)</p>
<p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p>
<p>4.15 mi treadmill run and inverted rows.</p>
<p>We just had a tailgate party at work for our Q3 earnings celebration/meeting. Piles of food in the parking lot, tents set up etc. Hired outfit grilled burgers and dogs, everyone else brought sides, etc. (i.e. crap). We have over 750 employees at this location, so there was LOTS of food. I hung out with the IT folks who had awesome homemade Indian food and lots of homemade desserts. The legal department (mine) mainly had store bought stuff and chips, etc. (we are lazy) IT welcomes me because they say no one else wants to hang out with them. It was lots of fun. Gorgeous day- 60 and sunny, fall leaves on the ground (and some still in the trees). We get to leave at 2:00 today since senior management lost at Cornhole.</p>
<p>IT, homemade Indian food! Oh yea! I haven’t had good luck at Indian restaurants but homemade is the best. Sounds like a great time. </p>
<p>It’s raining buckets here. Not much fun. The good news is that I only gained a pound on my girls weekend and lost 1/2 already. Declaring it a win. Legs are tired from all the walking and my runs have been terrible. Not complaining though.</p>
<p>If I eat food at Starbucks - which I don’t do often - I usually have one of the sandwiches on whole wheat bread and throw away the top piece of bread. They also have a couple of salads which I think are reasonably healthy. But so many more tempting things that aren’t healthy at all! For a while they were carrying some unhealthy tiny snacks that were under 200 calories, but they mostly seem to be gone.</p>
<p>My Starbucks choice is usually one of the bistro boxes.
[Explore</a> our Menu | Starbucks Coffee Company](<a href=“Starbucks®”>Starbucks®)</p>
<p>Not a coffee drinker so I don’t end up there very often.</p>
<p>I want in on the Indian food!</p>
<p>My solution the first day was to just get coffee and “fast” until a salad lunch at 1:30. Not ideal. The second morning I grabbed a banana with my Starbucks coffee. Not a terribly healthy fruit, but it had to be better than the assortment of nearly-irresistable “healthy” muffins and cakes.</p>
<p>The good news is that there are at least some halfway decent fast food salad places like Cosi and Chop’t.</p>
<hr>
<p>Robert Lustig ruined me. Look at this “healthy” Starbucks muffin:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.starbucks.com/menu/food/bakery/bountiful-blueberry-muffin[/url]”>http://www.starbucks.com/menu/food/bakery/bountiful-blueberry-muffin</a></p>
<p>23% sugar by weight. That’s 7 teaspoons of table sugar, same as 8 ounces of coke.</p>
<p>I get oatmeal at Starbucks.</p>
<p>I applaud Starbucks for putting calorie and nutrition information on their menus and packages in highly visible spots. Not every fast food place is so diligent about disclosing this information. This is what I get at Starbucks for lunch:</p>
<p>[Ham</a> & Swiss Panini | Starbucks Coffee Company](<a href=“Starbucks®”>Starbucks®)</p>
<p>The carbs in it are from the bread that actually tastes good when toasted. Only 1 gram is “sugar” and 23 g of potein, much better than their “protein box”. At 340 calories, plus a cup of drip coffee with 2% milk, it makes a great tasting, under 400 calories lunch.</p>
<p>Be careful on the Bistro Boxes. On WW, if you’re like me you get 26 points a day - the protein one is 10 and the cheese and fruit is 12. Nonetheless, I do still eat them at times because it’s still more “real food” than the sweets. The yogurts are also a decent choice. Oatmeal in the morning. And yeah, yeah, it’s a lot for what’s essentially Quaker instant oatmeal in a cup - but better I pay a bit more for the convenience, than for personal training lessons to lose the weight I gain if I skip breakfast and then binge! </p>
<p>Transferring my venti iced pumpkin soy chai to a venti iced coffee with sweetener has been a lifesaver though! I didn’t really realize how much I was downing in that drink!</p>
<p>PG, my focus is a little different than most humans as I’m built different than most humans. Back when, I initially clicked on this thread due to the exercise part of the title, and I liked the idea that it was oriented around health and wellness, too. I look at the diet part as a reminder that hey, it’s never a bad idea to strive for more healthy eating. If I get a bistro box it would be because I’d like an egg well enough that day, or fruit, or cheese, maybe the veggies with hummus. Not too bad for my purposes, especially since I can’t even remember the last time I went to Starbucks.</p>