<p>NBC is messing up my running schedule - the Olympics are on at the time when I’m supposed to run, but our dreadmill is in the “exercise room”, and our TV is down the hall in the living room. Now I know what I want for my birthday. Today I discovered that I can surf CC on my iPhone if I run slowly (about 6 mph), but I cannot type! A device with a bigger screen, such as an iPad, would work much better. Maybe that’s what I want for my birthday :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I did not give in to my cravings or deviate from program by even a smidgeon yesterday and my weight is up a pound this morning. This is so unfair. I swear there is some diet deity that likes to mess with people’s heads. I was 2.5 pounds from goal last Friday and am now 3.5 pounds from goal. It may not seem like much but when I thought I would be within a pound of goal by Friday and on the home stretch, this feels like a huge swing. I made a soup last night that included cabbage and black beans. It was maybe too filling.</p>
<p>I had never heard of kinklings or krapfen before. I will have to ask H if he has had those.</p>
<p>“Kinklings” & “Krapfen” - never heard of them! But, I think a regional grocery store here in southern new england (Big Y) refers to them as “Poonch-keys” (I don’t know how to spell it but that’s the pronunciation I’ve seen)</p>
<p>TheAnalyst,
Looks like you are getting into stress mode. Keep in mind that the goal of losing weight is to get healthier, not sicker. Also, keep in mind that it is winter season and we are part of animal kingdom and all animals are naturally gaining weight in a winter. I stoppe paying attention to my seasonal weight swings few years ago when I realised that my weight deviate about 7 pounds every year from summer to winter without any special efforts with the lighest being September (after summer). I believe it is natural. It might be a difference in exercise on my part ( I exercise less in summer, though, but I swim (very slow) instead of other types of exercises ). On the other hand I do not believe in any diet, each person is so different what is best for one might not work for another and recently I found supporting material about it. It is important to consume what you personally like, otherwise you are not going to stick to it, it is just going to be too stressful. I do not eat what my H. eats, we like different foods (with some overlapping). Do not pressure yourself too much, good luck!</p>
<p>theAnalyst…hang in there. I think it’s helpful to remind ourselves that getting in better shape is a long term goal. If I got upset with short term weight fluctuations, I would spend a LOT of time being upset. Hormonal shifts, salt, and other factors can affect your weight each day. The last time I was successful in losing significant weight, it took a LONG time. Slow and steady. </p>
<p>I made the veggie soup yesterday with a small amount of grass fed beef. Yummie. H liked it too. I worked out at the gym, avoided sweetener in my tea, drank lots of water and ate very little chocolate. A good day!</p>
<p>Well, here in the German part of PA, they are called Fausnauts and are made for Shrove Tuesday. </p>
<p>Analyst - I have kept track of my weight for a very long time, and honestly, you cannot be discouraged by a slight blip. As I have said before, all it takes is a salty meal to push you up a pound. One of the reasons I like to weigh myself everyday is because I can watch the trend, and if one day is out of whack and I know I have been staying on track (literally and figuratively) then it doesn’t bother me. </p>
<p>You are doing great - hang in there.</p>
<p>On another topic - I have noticed that as I commit to eating at home more than going out to eat with DH, I have more money at the end of the week. When we go out, we usually head to some type of ethnic restaurant - Thai, Vietnamese, Ethiopian. While I don’t consider the meals expensive, it does add up. I just might head over to TJ Maxx and see if that cute little purse is still there!</p>
<p>toneranger, “avoided sweetener in my tea, drank lots of water and ate very little chocolate” </p>
<p>-Lots of chocolate and honey every day - makes me happy and do not affect weight anyhow (have been consuming lots for several years). If you want to do well lifting weights and aerobic activity (walking for me) - I have discovered that Coffee in a morning is a great helper. Unfortunately, I am extremely sensitive to cofein and can have one cup only every other day (but I will not give up my chocolate). So, I have good “coffee” days and not so good “non-coffee” days as far as gym / walking routine are concerned.</p>
<p>“On another topic - I have noticed that as I commit to eating at home more than going out to eat with DH, I have more money at the end of the week.”</p>
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<li>I cannot commit time to go out. We do not eat out for this reason. I am not sure if ppl realize that it takes ton of time to go out. We do it only on very special ocasion and almost exclusively go for sushi - our family favorite treat.</li>
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<p>I just bought cauliflower for the soup. Recently a friend served sushi from Costco. It was very good so I bought that yesterday.</p>
<p>I do not eat sushi from any store. I am glad you liked it. I will have it only in Japanese restaurant freshly prepared, it is not cheap, but we go maybe 1 or 2 times / year. Otherwise, everything that I ever bought at Costco, I absolutely love, my favorite store with lots of specialty foods and some of them are higher quality than our local restaurants (Hommus, falafel, tabuli, exceptional europian cheeses, the best smoked salmon (lox) in town, great whole grain bread, the best and cheapest nuts, very good beef / lamb and lots of other foods)</p>
<p>Ah, Miami, the one joy of the empty nest is that in the evenings, DH and I do have more time these days. When our younger DD went off to school it was a little odd not having evening activities. I think it was one of the reasons we started going out more. Oh, and the no planning on my part. But you are right, it does take time and $$. We will continue to go out and enjoy our little dates, but I wasn’t really aware of how much money we were spending.</p>
<p>^worknprogress,
I am busier than ever. I found new hobby, taking classes and actually have been accepted to professional guild as active member. I got hooked so badly that I am afraid I got addicted to activity (if it is possible). My H. supports it, no problem. I thought that I would travel more or something like that , but now I do not want to leave a house.</p>
<p>On going out, my doc has warned me for years about the hidden fat and salt in restaurant meals. So we did slowly cut back and now we’re down to once per week…usually sushi. I have used some of the money to fund better meals every night. For example, Monday, we had seared scallops served over mixed greens with roasted red peppers, portabella mushrooms and feta crumbles. Yummie. Scallops…the good kind (dry) are NOT cheap. But boy were they good!</p>
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<p>I spend a fair amount of time preparing food and cooking and then cleaning up, so the time it takes to go out isn’t really an issue for me. I have a few meetings at night for volunteer activities, but other than that, I’m not going anywhere and not responsible for kids. I’ve committed to eating out less because I don’t have as many choices and it’s harder to limit calories and know exactly what one is getting.</p>
<p>My D went on a school field trip yesterday and they were served pizza for lunch. No options. I made stir fry for dinner, so she felt better about that. Today she made a turkey wrap on a whole wheat tortilla to take to lunch. She’s never brought her lunch to school before. She must be serious about fitting into that dress!</p>
<p>We do not cook most of the time, sometime we do something quick, cooking meat does not require time. But if H fried mushrooms, I will do mushroom soup (5-10 min, just add water, barley and carrots, yummm, I have it for lunch with me). I am lucky because my H. does not mind to clean or it stays not cleaned and neither of us mind I do not care, once in 2 weeks we need to pick up any way, since cleanning lady is coming. So, our house is pretty clean especially that it is only 2 of us and my staff is organized and out of way. The way we do it, cooking at home / or having food from Costco is much less time consuming than going out.</p>
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<p>So do I, I think that is the other reason I was enjoying our little dates. Although DH usually does a lot of the cleanup. Because of the types of recipes I make, planning takes effort as well and with all that I do during the day, it is nice to just be waited on, so I am not swearing off going out :)</p>
<p>Missypie - I think you may recall that DH has some heart issues, family history of extremely high cholesterol. When younger D was tested in 2nd grade, her cholesterol was well over 200 - this in a family where we were already adhering to AHA diet and then some. I took a look at her school lunch menu (choice pizza or chicken nuggets) and started packing her lunch. Her cholesterol went down 60 points in a month.</p>
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<p>Hey, Miami - I am assuming that was a typo - otherwise we really know why it is faster to eat at home :)</p>
<p>^Yep, I would love to have staff, but no, I have only cleanning lady who comes every other week, very helpful though.
I meant my hobby things.</p>
<p>TheAnalyst - Not sure how to put this. But perhaps after a “visit to the restroom” your weight will go down.</p>