Pinkhippies daily check in

[pinkhippie]

Thanks Jen! I am sooo happy about being able to finally get my walks in. I love walking. I am learning to love biking but walking/running are what I really love.

Today, as I came out to the kitchen in my biking clothes, my husband told me he wanted me to know that although I am sexy and attractive now, that I was sexy and attractive before I lost weight and started exercising and getting healthier and that he loves how I look either way. I do feel very grateful to have a husband like that, especially for me who has battled disordered eating for so many years. My first forays into the serious relationship world were not so lucky and I tended to date men who were critical of my body and subtly would suggest I work out or not eat that or ogle super skinny women in front of me.

June 20, 2020

155.2

B: oatmeal coffee with half and half


D: 1 burger with fries(ate about half) and a Mcflurry. (ate 3/4)
I was beyond hungry because we rode through lunch. I had brought trail mix because we left a little before lunch, but I was never hungry during the ride. I was surprised by how much I was able/had to eat before I felt satisfied. But I did eat to satisfaction.

Exercise:
A bike ride with my husband is planned. We will see, we are supposed to get rain, like LOTS Of rain.

Edit to add: we did go for a 17-mile bike ride(it took about 2 hours) ! It rained lightly almost the entire time but it felt good and kept us cool. I worked hard! I am much stronger than I was 2 weeks ago and I was able to do so much more. We have a lot of hills around here.

[automatedeating]

Yay for supportive husbands!
Have fun on the bike ride!! It's rainy here, too.

[lpearlmom]

Your bike ride sounds wonderful. I hated running for a long time but am starting to enjoy it in small doses. I think the key for me is to not overdo it and work up slowly to longer distances.

Your hubby sounds amazing! I love that he said that to you. As much as most of us love hearing how good we look after losing weight, there’s always that nagging feeling of “so did you not like how i looked before”? That adds a lot of pressure to trying to maintain a certain weight too that we don’t need. My husband tends to not mention my appearance much at all. Which is annoying but ive come to accept. Thank goodness for other women in my life that are free with the compliments!

Happy Sunday!

[pinkhippie]

Auto thanks! It was a great ride!

Linda, thank you! I have always been really appreciative of my husband and how supportive he is of all body types. You are right, it really helps with the pressure. Honestly, many times I have regained my weight after someone else comments on my weight loss. Like my dad, or an inlaw or something. Maybe by the time I actually see anyone, I will be solidly enough in my habits that if they comment it will not matter. I am glad you have women in your life who can notice and appreciate your appearance!

Yesterday's bike ride was great! I couldn't believe how far and how fast and how I was able to just keep pedaling I was able to do. I woke up in the night because my legs hurt so bad but when I woke up this morning I felt fine.

June 21, 2020

154.4

B: chopped apple and peanut butter oatmeal, coffee with half and half
Ate breakfast pretty late today, wasn't hungry at all for a while

L chickpea curry over roasted broccoli
I can't even explain how amazing this was. I didn't feel like making rice and I was in the mood for broccoli. So delicious

S handful of trail mix
Although lunch was delicious, I guess it wasn't quite enough because I was hungry two hours later

D: Vegetarian lentil tortilla soup with sour cream and cheese and crushed corn chips
Man this was amazing! We had dinner late and I was hungry. I am trying to expand my repertoire of vegetarian meals that are tasty.

Dessert half a scoop of vanilla ice cream
I haven' had straight-up ice cream in over a month, if not longer. I couldn't believe how rich it was. I think I like frozen yogurt and soft-serve better most of the time. felt full and satisfied after dinner and dessert

Exercise:

20 min laid back walk

[Jen1974]

Pink: Your husband sounds amazing!! Mine is pretty great that way too, makes me feel loved no matter how I’m feeling about myself

[pinkhippie]

Jen thank you! That is awesome that your husband is that way too. I think we all deserve a significant other that makes us feel good about ourselves.

I am really tired and a little on the extra hungry side today. Not sure if its hormonal or all the exercise or what.

June 22 2020

154.6

B: peanut butter toast
One piece wasn't enough. Hungry hungry

L: 1 big bowl of lentil tortilla soup with chips, plain yogurt, and cheese
I had to eat a lot to feel satisfied. I am just having an extra hungry day today I guess. It could be related to the lower weight as well too. edit
After waking up from a mid-afternoon nap, and feeling much better, I think it was being tired. I lost a lot of sleep over the weekend

D: 8 chick fil a nuggets, honey mustard a few waffle fries, small bowl of cheerios with whole milk
In- laws dropped off chick fil a for us. Which was such a great thing! I was CRAVING meat and fat.Ate to satisfaction

I wsa craving protein, meat and fat today. I could feel it like a physical thing. So crazy! But in looking over my menu the past few days, it has been pretty low fat and vegetarian minus the day I got a burger and fries and had a few nuggets on Friday. I need fat to feel good in my diet. Low fat diets make me insanely hungry and shaky and hangry. So, the 90's were full of those moments since that was the prevailing diet wisdom of the time. I am so glad I finally figured it out and fat was devillianized.

20-minute vigorous walk. Now regularly hitting 6k steps every day, sometimes 7 or 8k.

[pinkhippie]

Today was my grocery trip. It's getting better? More used to the new normal? Either way its a little less stressful but there is a huge spike in cases in my town and in my neighborhood so I can't relax my vigilance. I go first thing in the morning to get it over with. Before coffee or anything just out of bed and hopefully there by 8 to 815 am.

Things I am working on regarding No S. Serving myself bigger portions. Often times I serve myself small portions and sometimes it works out, but sometimes I get hungry and either have seconds, or don't and then am hungry for the rest of the night, or the afternoon or whatever and have to snack. Today, my goal is larger portions and if I don't want to eat them all, it's ok to save it for later or even throw it away.
June 23, 2020

154.6

B: 2 pieces of toast with butter and a dot of honey, 2 over medium eggs coffee with half and half
I was still pretty hungry this morning. I ate and felt like I could eat more, but I decided to wait for 30 minutes and if I was still hungry I would eat.
10 minutes later I felt fine.

L: 1 big bowl of lentil tortilla soup with sour cream and cheese, handful of cherries
Was hungry, ate to satisfaction, which left about 1/4 of it, but then was hungry about 2 hours later and had the rest of it then

D: parmesan chicken breast, steamed broccoli, and egg noodles
This was really good and I served myself a full plate of food. More noodles and broccoli than I thought I would eat. I ate almost the whole thing. I was satisfied and a little full


Exercise:
30 minutes stationary bike high resistance

[pinkhippie]

Had a virtual interview for a web development internship this morning. Big desire to eat! I know I am not hungry, its just nerve-wracking. Don't see anyone but your family for 3 months and then do an interview. I think it went well. I had a few moments where I felt I said something stupid, but I think that is the nature of interviews. I also had a few moments where they seemed to like what I said. I am glad that is over with! Now I feel so anxious and restless. argh!

June 24 2020

154.4

B: a bowl of bran cereal with cherries, banana, milk, and almonds. Coffee with half and half
Had to eat earlier than normal because of my interview wasn't very hungry

L: 1/4 banana while I heated up my lunch as I realized hunger snuck up on me. I will call it virtual plating. Parmesan chicken breast, noodles and broccoli
Early lunch. I forgot I ate breakfast about an hour early so I suddenly realized I was lightheaded and shaky with hunger. I could have waited but I am trying to take care of myself and not let myself get to that level of hunger. I may need a snack since I had such an early lunch. We will see.

D: 1 bean burrito, some corn with butter, greek yogurt with banana
Didn't end up snacking, but my planned snack if I needed it was yogurt with banana so I put it on my plate for dinner. It fit. Ate to not hungry, satisfied but not full. Oh well, breakfast is coming soon!

Exercise

20-minute walk

[automatedeating]

Don't see anyone but your family for 3 months and then do an interview.

This made me laugh!

Interviews are always good experience for us, despite not being very relaxing!

You might get a kick out of Creator (my 11 year old) - he has requested admin privileges on my website and declares I have a lot of coding errors that he would like to fix - and he wants to add captions in many languages to all my videos. LOL. I guess I need a web developer.

[pinkhippie]

Auto, I know, that is what I always tell myself. Interviews are great practice no matter the outcome. It's just hard when I spend the rest of the day reliving cringe worthy moments in the interview. Ahh well growing and learning. Your 11 year old sounds awesome! Maybe he could be your web developer down the road. My 11 year old is getting into coding but she has just started learning.

I finally finished re reading Reinhards No S book yesterday and I am re-inspired. His points about the fence around the law and why we avoid snacks all the time no matter what makes a lot of sense to me. Same with seconds. No sweets is usually not an issue for me, but seconds and snacks are. This is usually because I have misjudged my hunger, so like I said earlier, I'm going to work on really getting those habits down and make sure my meals are plenty big, even if I don't finish them. I am also going to specifically track those habits as well for a while.

Also, now that I am at maintenance, I am not going to post my weight every day. I will still keep track of it for myself for now, but only post it if it changes. Right now I am still 154ish, and staying there or 155 works great for me.




June 25, 2020

B: a bowl of bran cereal with milk, cherries, banana, almonds. 1 piece of whole-grain toast with butter, coffee with half and half

L: parmesan chicken, spinach, noodles, half a cup of plain yogurt mixed with peanut butter and banana, 3 apple slices
This all barely fit on one plate. the yogurt was in a ramekin on my plate. I was quite hungry, especially after my vigorous elliptical workout. However, I should have started eating the yogurt first because I got too full to finish, but wanted to keep eating the yogurt, therefore I ate a little past fullness. I wasn't able to finish all the noodles, chicken, and spinach.

D: Bean burrito, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, avocado, salsa, cherries
Definitely overshot lunch. I wasn't even mildly hungry until about 5:30. Ate around 6pm. I tried to remember my lesson from this afternoon and eat the cherries first since that is what I was craving, but I still ate a wee bit too much. Better than this afternoon though. Didn't eat much of the carrots, most of the tomatoes, most of the cherries, and almost all the burrito. It all fit on one plate.Felt a little uncomfortably full for about 10 minutes after the meal, then it faded


No Sweets ✔
No Snacks ✔
No Seconds ✔



Exercise:

30 minutes on the elliptical

[automatedeating]

His points about the fence around the law and why we avoid snacks all the time no matter what makes a lot of sense to me.

Isn't it cool how great Reinhard's book is after all these years?

[pinkhippie]

Auto, it really is amazing! I think that is why people continually come back to this way of eating and living, and this forum still has active members after years and years, despite the advent of social media.

My goals for today: Continue to provide myself with larger amounts of food on my plates, but slow down my eating, chew more thoroughly, and check-in halfway through eating. finish each meal feeling comfortable but not stomach stretched even if it means leaving some or a lot of food behind.

I was re-reading my check-in and dizziness really was a huge problem! I know my glasses helped a lot, but I was still prone to it at other times. I wonder why it went away, and I hope it doesn't come back. I don't know if maybe IF helped me balance my blood sugars or what. I did notice that I was eating a lot more food back then, but it was to keep the dizziness away. I have also cut down on my amount of sugar by quite a bit. I don't know, but that was such an awful helpless feeling, and I do feel lightheaded if I am really really really hungry. But now that is the only time.

June 26, 2020

B: cereal with milk, cherries, bananas, almonds. Coffee with half and half, 1 piece of toast with butter.
I was hungry this morning and whenever I have fresh cherries, I crave them with milk and cereal. I will probably go back to oatmeal after I am done with the cherries. I also craved a piece of crunchy toast.

L: 1 bean burrito, yogurt with a drizzle of honey and cinnamon, apples for dipping.
been really into yogurt lately for some reason. Just plain with either fruit or like half a teaspoon of honey. Ate to neutral. I didn't feel full, but I didnt feel hungry. Despite my best efforts, the meal only took 12 minutes. I set a timer for 20 minutes after I was done to see how I would feel at that point. After 20 minutes I felt fine. Not hungry, not too full. Now to see what time I get hungry.

D: 5 chicken nuggets, roasted broccoli, honey mustard, frozen yogurt
Everything worked out really well today. I started thinking about food about an hour before dinner and getting hungry about 30 minutes before dinner, which is my best timing. Ate to the same as lunch. Not hungry, not full.

A 20-minute walk/jog! Ok, like maybe 2 minutes of jogging broken up by walking but its a start! I am very happy about that. Everything feels good.

Also, my recent habits have got my steps up by quite a bit. Now almost every night I reach 7K steps. One habit that has helped is anytime I talk to my husband on the phone I go in our backyard and just walk around.

For the first part of my Day the N part

No Sweets ✔
No Snacks ✔
No Seconds ✔

[automatedeating]

My husband has started taking more walks and he schedules phone dates with his brothers or parents. It's so nice for them all to talk more (and walk more!) Win-win.

Pinkie - I totally remember your multiple entries about dizziness. Fascinating that the spells are less frequent now. I would love for you to figure out specifically the triggers for that. Keeping track in this forum is helpful for those sorts of investigations. I can go back months and even years and see what I was eating, feeling, etc. and correlate times of solid habits with times off the wagon, etc.

[Jen1974]

I’m a fast eater too!! Love the timer idea! To slow myself down I eat in shifts pausing to make each thing as I go for breakfast & lunch but that only works because I’m a virtual player (: at dinner I can be done before others even sit down (we do our dinners buffet style where everyone plates their own)

[pinkhippie]

Auto, yeah that dizziness was weird. I would love to figure it out too. It still happens every once in a great while. I will try to record it when it does. I love being able to go back in my food journal here and see patterns. I have even used it for making sure leftovers are still good. Like, when did I make that chicken? Oh I see the first time I had it was 3 nights ago. So handy!

Jen, yes eating in shifts would definitely slow things down. I have pondered the virtual plating idea as well. Today I took my bean burrito and cooked it in the oven until it was crispy, then ate it with a fork instead of my hands. That REALLY slowed things down!

June 27 2020

B:(10am) 1 bowl of fiber cereal, cherries, banana, milk, almonds coffee with half and half
I wasn't craving crunchy toast today and I ate breakfast late because I slept in. I was hungry when I ate.

L: ( 1pm)1 bean burrito with peppers, onions, salsa and sour cream
I knew there was pizza for dinner tonight so I had a smaller lunch with some extra veggies. I was hungry when I ate, satisfied when I was done

S: (4pm)half an apple with 1/4 plain yogurt and cinnamon
Yum yum this was delicious! I started feeling pretty hungry and dinner was going to be late. I was glad I had this snack after the pizza order was wrong and my husband had to go get the correct order

D:(6 15 pm) 2 pieces small bbq chicken pizza. 1 cookie brownie with half a cup of vanilla bean frozen yogurt.
I ate this pizza very slowly. It didn't seem like a lot of food but I realized that after I ate those two pieces that I was pleasantly satisfied. OH my that cookie brownie hit the spot! I don't normally like them, but today it was just what I wanted and perfect with the frozen yogurt. I was pleasantly full (stomach didn't feel stretched but I felt satisfied)l and content, but didn't feel overfull or like I ate too much. I think that pre-dinner snack really helped as I didn't wolf down my food and ate more leisurely.


Exercise:

30 minutes elliptical, higher intensity than last time. This was a good work out. I was able to push myself harder as my cardio fitness increases.

[lpearlmom]

So happy to see you still doing so,well. I love that you are really tuning into your body to try to meet it’s needs. It’s kind of like combining intuitive eating with nos shich is kind of brilliant!

[Jen1974]

I agree with Linda!! I love how you have used No S that way!!

I also agree on sometimes a snack helping!! There are times when allowing a small snack keeps me from getting to the too hungry point that always leads to too much food The brownie/cookie thing sounds awesome!!! Sounds like you mastered the perfect S day

[pinkhippie]

So happy to see you still doing so,well. I love that you are really tuning into your body to try to meet it’s needs. It’s kind of like combining intuitive eating with nos which is kind of brilliant!

Thank you Linda, YES! That is exactly what I am trying to do! It's definitely a tricky dance because I have to organize my hunger to come pretty consistently in a consistent level at consistent times. But, I think it is pretty doable with some flexibility.

June 28 2020

Jen thanks! I really feel like I do better with a snack in between lunch and dinner. It prevents preventative eating and it really helps me not eat so much at dinner. I think I will start planning it as a regular thing. I can't deny I just feel better with a small snack before dinner.

B: 1 waffle with banan, yogurt syrup, 2 pieces of bacon
Our twice monthly waffle breakfast. Don't remember being super hungry, but I felt good when I was done and hungry for lunch around normal time

L: 1 container of lentil vegetable soup with toast and butter
Was hungry and wolfed this down because I had a scheduled phone call in 10 minutes

S: half an apple

D: 2 pieces bbq chicken pizza, roasted broccoli
Was hungry, I feel like my snack needed to be a bit more substantial. I was hungry last night around bedtime.


Exercise:

Not much, Sunday is my day off. Just tried to get my steps in.


Monday June 29 2020

B: 1 bowl cereal with cherries, banana, almonds, milk. Cofee with half and half, Toast with butter

L: whole grain bagel sandwich with banana and peanut butter

S: none! Wasn't hungry.

D: weird vegetarian egg taco things, corn, rice

Exercise:

20 minute walk ( so hard to get back into it after a day off!) But I did and I am glad.

Ugh had HUGE emotional talk with teenager after dinner. I wanted to eat SO BADLY. I was rationalizing it like well I didn't have my afternoon snack so this will be fine. But this is where no S habits saved me. I don't eat after dinner. It's not about my weight, or anything external. It is just a habit I have been cultivating for several years. I recognized that I needed some self care so I made myself some hot tea with a little milk and honey. I really enjoyed it and about 20 minutes later that burning urge to eat had passed. It was completely emotional.

This is why I love No S so much. Putting my eating on habit and structure really helps me identify emotional hunger.

[Jen1974]

Great job not giving into the urge!! I too can have SUCH strong urges at times to eat for reasons that have NOTHING to do with hunger!! I love the idea of having tea instead!!

And if it makes you feel any better my 18 year old has been a bit of a pill lately. I keep thinking it’s preparing me for him to leave for college

[pinkhippie]

Hah hah thanks Jen! Now, I just know that eating actually doesn't make me feel better AND it starts to create that habit of feel strong emotions eat something and I don't want to go down that road again. But the tea has to be yummy! no just plain herbal tea... unless you like that sort of thing.

Yeah, teenagers can be tough! My teen is stereotypically "good". she doesn't go out or get in trouble, she listens to what I say, she tries to be a good big sister and member of the family... but it doesn't even seem to matter. Emotionally, she is a LOT to deal with. Her emotional needs seem ever-mounting and impossible to meet sometimes. I know it doesn't help with the blended family aspect either. She has a lot to deal with between us, her dad and his girlfriend, and her stepmom and her boyfriend. Lots of shifting and adjustment there.


June 30- 2020

B: 1 bowl of fiber cereal with cherries, milk, almonds, coffee with half and half
I was not hungry until really late this morning! About 11 30. And even then, not starving. I ate a small breakfast so I would be hungry for lunch

L: 1 fried egg sandwich
after another emotional talk with my teenager... Lunch was a little bit late, but it worked out because of late breakfast.

OS(Optional snack)

D: tortellini alfredo with garlic bread and broccoli


Exercise:

30 minutes Stationary bike.

[lpearlmom]

Oh dear, you know I can relate. That emotional stuff can be so difficult to deal with at this age. It’s exhausting & draining. Be kind to yourself. We will get through this, right??

[Larkspur]

Hi Pinkhippy! I too had a late start to eating-- I should have had your lunch! Too late, too hungry, too many carbs ===> wiped.

It is hard to deal with other adult humans, and the stakes are high for teenagers-- they've never done this before, and everything has more weight. Personally I struggle to let my daughter be upset or angry. It's hard to let her have her feelings because of course I want her to be happy all the time.

[pinkhippie]

Thank you Linda, I know you can! It does help me to feel a little less alone.
Hi Larkspur! Thanks for visiting! I like fried egg sandwiches because they are like a lazy egg salad.

Yes teenagers are tough because they are basically like adults... but not. My mom was MIA when I was this age too so I don't have that experience to draw on. I struggle with letting my teen be upset too. Especially because they have so much going on with their mental health. It is hard.

Yesterday I was in the middle of making dinner when suddenly I just needed to get away. The younger girls were bickering, I had had that big talk with my 17-year-old, and I felt trapped. So I stopped chopping veggies, turned off the stove, took my headphones and my phone and listened to music while pacing in the back yard on the side of the house where no one could see me. I felt sad, and then mad and then I started to feel better. I really needed that tiny run away. I came back in 20 minutes later feeling much better and ready to continue on with my evening.

July 1, 2020 ( What happened to June!?)

B: 1 bowl of fiber cereal with cherries, almonds, milk and coffee with half and half

L: 1 fried egg sandwich
I was pretty hungry, had a late small breakfast. I like having a late breakfast lately. It lets me be actually hungry for breakfast and if it's not too big I am hungry in time for lunch, and I can eat yummy stuff without worrying about protein content and all that. Ate lunch to satisfaction

Os: half an apple with some peanut butter

D: 1 homemade hamburger with sweet potato
This was soooo good! Homemade burgers are pretty amazing and I don't make them very often. It was hard to stop eating and I may have eaten a teensy bit too much, but not too bad. the slightly stuffed feeling went away in about 5 minutes.

Exercise

about 40 minutes of walking broken up into 20 minutes chunks

[automatedeating]

I'm so proud of you for recognizing that trapped feeling and heading to the backyard! Wonderful self-care.

[Octavia]

...I’m impressed too, pinkhippie! When the noise mounts up in our house I can get furious, and then I start to feel frightened that I’m going mad. Eg. DD (17) likes to watch grim, macabre unsolved real life mysteries on TV, and will try to get me involved in speculating what happened to the girl who disappeared etc...or the Kardashians will be blaring out and I can see her IQ dropping by the minute....meanwhile DH is fixated on his phone or iPad or playing slightly-too-loud experimental music. ARGHHHH!

Sometimes DD will ask me which is my favourite Kardashian. How do I answer this?

We all need to get away...

[lpearlmom]

It’s awesome that you were able to recognize what you needed in that moment and find a way to meet that need. It really makes such a difference. I have such a hard time with boundaries which means i tend to put everyone else's needs before my own. I also tend to forget im not responsible for everyone else's feelings. All i can do is make sure im acting appropriately, the rest is up to them. Easier said then done of course.

Anyway, hang in there. You’re doing great.

[Jen1974]

Great job on taking a moment for yourself!! I have such a hard time & feel so much guilt for having any negative parenting feelings but when I just take a time out & let myself feel the negative feelings they fade & I’m back to myself so much sooner!!

My teen is a pretty great kid too & in some ways it can leave me feeling like I’m not allowed to feel frustrated with him
I think that teens have to be “on” with all the other people in their lives to be liked & they need us to be a soft place to land. I try to remind myself of that when I’m feeling frustrated with his moodiness

[pinkhippie]

Thank you auto! I was happy with myself too. Not so long ago, I know those feelings would have been hiding in the pantry eating secret cookies.

Hi Octavia! You have a 17 year old daughter too! I know that feeling of needing to get away because the noise is overwhelming so well. My blue tooth noise-canceling headphones are some of the best money I have ever spent on myself. I pop those on whenever I start getting overwhelmed. It is so helpful!

Edit I just saw your response Jen! Not sure how I missed it.

Yeah I know what you mean by feeling a bit guilty because your teen is a great kid. That is a great reminder about being a soft place to land! I also try to remind myself of that. I always tell my teen that its ok to be mad at me/us and her feelings are valid and all that. I know they are practicing being adults too. I had heard since I became a parent how difficult the teen years would be, but I just assumed it was because they might be rebellious and go out and get in trouble. hah! No, that is not it. They are such complex creatures and parenting is like walking a tightrope all the time. Especially with the teenagers.

I got word yesterday that I have been chosen for the internship that I interviewed for! I am excited because its a graduation requirement but also nervous. I am basically redesigning and updating a company's website. There has been a lot of confusion about my start date. My adviser keeps telling them I can start early. I keep telling them I can't start until fall, they say they are ok with fall and then my adviser says I can start early. It's getting a bit stressful. I hate having to constantly correct my adviser. Hopefully today I sent my last email about it. My adviser has so much going on, I think she is just missing some vital details. It is really hard for me to set boundaries and it was hard enough to tell this company in the interview that I couldn't start until fall. I guess the universe is just providing me with practice. Lots of practice. Thanks, universe!

It just always amazes me how stressed out I get telling people I can't do something or I need to not do something right now. It also makes me want to eat when I do declare boundaries. I feel uncomfortable all day like I have done something wrong. My husband has absolutely no trouble setting boundaries or telling people he can't do something. It is truly amazing to me.

July 2, 2020

B:1 bowl of grape nuts with cherries, milk, coffee with half and half
Yum! Been craving grape nuts, actually ordered them online. Felt full and satisfied after this meal

L:

D: 5 chicken nuggets cup of frozen yogurt, broccoli
I was strangely not hungry for lunch today. Breakfast was late and I realized I felt a lot of stress and wanted to eat but not for physical hunger. We also were having an early dinner so I just waited and never got super hungry. Dinner was good and I didn't feel like I overate.

Exercise:

Walk with jogging surges 20 minutes ( also it feels like 103 here today with almost 80% humidity... So this was harder than normal)

[Strawberry Roan]

Hi pinkhippie and all - good to see some long time posting friends on this thread and always happy to make new friends as well.

I was talking to my husband this morning about this forum (he is concentrating hard on losing ten pounds and I was explaining plateaus, etc., luckily he understands and said he is in no rush - if it takes months to lose the weight the months would have passed anyway.) He has been a working cowboy/horse trainer most of his life and, due to a misdiagnosis, ended up with his left leg being amputated above the knee. It is, therefore, very difficult for him to get in the aerobic activity he was used before the multiple surgeries. He is, emotionally, fine and grateful to be alive but having to adjust to a new lifestyle of course.


So, I said - Hey I haven't read/posted on my No S board in quite a while. Saw this thread and have spent most of the day reading every single post and reply. Loved it all. It is so interesting to watch the progress that you have made by just making wise decisions along the way. And I love reading about your family.

I live in the Missouri Ozarks, am 71 years old , work from home as a legal assistant but have spent a lifetime being interested in health and nutrition. Have been on this board a couple years longer than my date shows due to some glitch. I will say, without a doubt, this is the most supportive group of people I have ever encountered in this sometime scary place called Cyberville.

My best to you and yours. Stay the course - you can't go wrong when doing right.

(now off to catch up with some other threads)

[alene1]

Congrats on getting the internship! You will do great, and I'm sure it will be fine if you wait till fall. Just stand firm. Have a great Friday!

[pinkhippie]

Hi Berry! Thank you for coming to visit my thread. I remember you! I am flattered you found it interesting enough to read. I do that too with these check in threads, it is so interesting to see people's progress and get to know them a little bit. And of course, it is great to have these to come back to and read to sometimes see your own decisions more objectively over time.

I am in the Ozarks too! Just in Arkansas. I am sorry to hear about your husband. It sounds like a big adjustment for you and him especially since he had such an active lifestyle before his leg was amputated. That is great that you can talk to him about this forum.

Law is another area I was really interested in and I batted around the idea of being a paralegal legal assistant but I ultimately decided to go with web development. I don't' think I am organized enough to be a legal assistant.

Thanks again for coming to say Hi!

Thanks, Alene! I am nervous about the internship but happy as well. I felt weird most of the day but it finally wore off and now I feel ok about it. I think setting boundaries is just pretty foreign to me.

July 3 2020

Today our holiday started. So I guess it was an S day. Husband had the day off of work and we saw the In-laws.

B: Early lunch of steak, macaroni salad, and broccoli salad
Didn't eat breakfast because I had an early lunch at about 11 with the In-laws. Another social distancing event.

L: technically a giant bottle of Gatorade and some peanuts.
This was in the middle of our bike ride and I was barely making it due to the heat. My husband got some Gatorade at a gas station. Best Gatorade on the planet! I was really needing it.

D: chicken bacon tomato sub sandwich with fries and ranch (half) 1.5 cinnamon sticks
I was so hungry! I ate all that and didn't even feel full, but I felt satisfied.

Exercise:

2-hour bike ride with husband in feels like 103-degree heat
Not heat exhaustion but I got very close. I just didn't want to give up, so we took lots of rests and got some emergency gatorade. I am totally wiped out though.

[Jen1974]

Congrats on the internship Pink!!

Way to go for the bike ride in extreme heat!! I can’t do exercise & heat. It is just so hard!!

Sounds like a great start to the 4th weekend eating wise!! Love “Satisfied but not full“. That’s exactly what I want out if my meals!!

[pinkhippie]

Thank you Jen!

Yeah, I don't know how good I do in the extreme heat and exercise either. It's so annoying because my husband thrives in heat and he is constantly trying to figure out why I am having such a hard time. Did I not eat enough, did I eat too much, did I not drink enough water, did I eat the wrong thing and Im like "DUDE! Its the 80% humidity and the heat! There is a heat advisory today! My body is working to cool myself more, my muscles aren't getting as much blood as they normally get so I am weaker in the heat!" All said in gasps as I hang over my handlebars.

Anyway, maybe one of these days he will get it.

It doesn't feel like a typical fourth of July today. We don't have any special plans, but I feel ok with that. We are going to get takeout. No one wants to go see fireworks. I spent last night holding my Shih Tzu in my lap all evening long because of our neighbors who set off fireworks. I imagine that I will be doing the same thing this evening. She gets scared by thunder and fireworks. She doesn't lose her mind like some dogs do but I feel bad for her that she needs comfort.

July 4 2020

B: grape nuts with cherries, milk coffee with half and half
Today for fun, I decided to wait until I felt hungry to eat breakfast no matter how late it got. I had eaten a lot of food yesterday and I just wasn't hungry all day. It took until 3 pm and suddenly I was hungry and ready to eat. It was like a switch flipped. Normally I need honey with my grape nuts but not today. It was plenty sweet at that level of hunger

L:

D:Chicken Sandwich, Fries, Mcflurry
Ate to satisfaction. Debated finishing the mcflurry because they gave me a bigger size than I asked for, but I decided to finish it. I probably ate about 3 more bites than I needed as the last 3 bites were just cloyingly sweet and then I got a little lightheaded. But it wasn't bad and it faded quickly.

Exercise:

20 minute walk, weights

[lpearlmom]

Congratulations on the internship!

My shih tzu has a really hard time with fireworks and other loud noises. I think they’ve got very sensitive ears. We give her meds on the 4th, NYE etc and it helps tremendously. So far the puppy seems fine with it though—yay!!

[alene1]

I don't do well with heat at all either! My daughter is the same way, so I think it's just genetic. My husband is really good about understanding I can't usually hike in the middle of a hot day. If it's shaded I do okay though. Ooh, Grape Nuts are yummy! I haven't thought about those in a while.

[automatedeating]

HappyHerder doesn't mind the fireworks but I was watching Flowerpup carefully to see how she was doing. Amazingly, she wasn't bothered. When we all went out to watch the fireworks in our neighborhood, I left them in the quietest room with the fan on high and some music on.

I don't suffer too much in the heat but my face does get stingy from the sweat/sun and I don't appreciate that part of it!

[pinkhippie]

Thanks Linda!

Yeah my Shih Tzu had a real problem on the fourth. Now, I don't know about you guys but here everyone was freaking out and we had more home fireworks than I think we ever have because of firework show cancellations and they went on forever. It sounded and looked like a war zone. Everyone was commenting on it. So that did not help. She spent the night in my lap panting heavily and shaking. Poor baby. Next year I will get her meds from the vet.

Alene yes! I think it's genetic too. My mom has a lot of trouble in the heat. I keep telling my husband its because my family heritage is from Norway.

Auto, I am glad the fireworks didn't bother your pups. Yeah I don't like the sweat either, although I don't sweat much and I think that is part of my problem. My husband on the other hand drips sweat at the slightest heat increase. I think that is one reason he handles the heat better. The heavy humidity down here is what really gets you and affects your cooling systems. I better get used to it though because it looks like we are in for a hot summer!

Sunday July 5 2020 Another S day

B:

L: half a chicken sub with fries and ranch
My eating schedule is so messed up right now. I went for an early bike ride and had an early lunch when I got back. I didn't eat because last time I did the heat made me feel a bit nauseous.I felt fine but was hungry around 12.

S: a handful of trail mix


D: SLow cooker chicken burrito bowl 2 chocolate chip cookies with half a cup of ice cream.
Ok, that is it for me and holiday eating! Man, those cookies were really good though. I actually didn't eat the whole second cookie or all the ice cream because those last few bites started to taste too sweet and I remembered what happened with the mcflurry so I stopped and didn't get light headed. However about 30 minutes later I just wanted to take a nap, I was SOOO tired. Must remember that for the future too. It was a little too much sugar all at once and in a row.

Exercise: 10-mile bike ride in the morning so the heat didn't hurt too bad.

July 6 2020

This holiday weekend had a lot of treats and fast food. I feel like I didn't overeat too much, but I haven't had sweets 4 days in a row in a long time. Unless something happens today, which it could( my husband is off work today and its a vacay day.)I don't plan to eat fast food or sweets. We will see

B: grape nuts, cherries and milk coffee with half and half

L: 1 cup of chicken noodle soup with roasted broccoli, 1 piece of toast
I was pretty hungry and ate to satisfaction

D:Slow cooker chicken taco bowl, 1 cup of decaf coffee with milk and cream sprinkled with cinnamon
Determined not to have dessert but feeling the burn so I made myself some decaf to top off the day's eating. Especially because my husband ate dessert and moaned about how good it was right in front of me. As far as food goes, I ate to fullness and satisfaction

I managed to eat nothing but homecooked food and no sweets. A green day. Despite people around me eating chick fil a and desserts.

Exercise:

None really. Decided to rest for today after my super active weekend

[pinkhippie]

July 7 2020

B: grape nuts with cherries, milk coffee with half and half

L: 1 bowl of chicken noodle soup, 1 piece of toast, some broccoli with ranch

D: 2 bagel pizzas with baby carrots and ranch

I had an upsetting conversation with my 17 year old right around dinner. It's just ex-husband drama. He is going through a divorce with his current wife right now and I think it could be bringing up old feelings from him and I's divorce when my daughter was almost 2. Anyway, he was mad when we divorced. He didn't want me to leave but he was emotionally abusive and sometimes physically violent(towards inanimate objects around me) in a scary way. Anyway... he bad mouthed me to all our mutual friends, telling his version of our split which wasn't true. And apparently he told my 17-year-old the same thing this weekend. I have found out recently from my daughter that he has talked badly about me to our daughter ever since our divorce about 16 years ago. Just constant scornful comments and discouraging her from saying anything positive about me or my husband. I don't as much care if my daughter thinks I am a bad wife or person, but I do care about my ex-husband putting our child in that kind of position. I don't ever talk badly about him and I just told her there were two sides to every story, but it wasn't really appropriate to talk about the details of me and her dad's relationship with her, and that mistakes were made by him and I and I left it at that.

Anyway, I really really really wanted to eat after all that. My brain wanted to eat. I thought of No S briefly but I was like I could just have a failure, who cares. However, the reason I didn't eat was because my body wasn't hungry and I recognized that food wasn't going to help or make me feel better. That was it. I have gotten out of the habit of eating when I am not physically hungry and it didn't feel right to eat. I recognize that this is an amazing victory in my ongoing relationship with food. However, I still feel upset. Sigh... I think this might take a while to get over. I am so disappointed in her dad right now.

Exercise:

25 minutes stationary bike high resistance

[automatedeating]

Lots and lots of hugs for you, Pinkie. This sounds so heart-breakingly frustrating!

[alene1]

Oh man, that sounds really hard! There are so many layers of emotion around a past marriage and all that entails. Sending big hugs to you. You handled that so very well. I'm sorry that he has been doing that.

[pinkhippie]

Thank you auto and Alene! I really appreciate the support and hugs. It is a very hard situation. Feels like walking a tightrope with snapping sharks below. I don't want to say the wrong thing and make my daughter feel like she has to choose between me and her dad. At the same time, I hate that he is choosing to talk this way about me to her. Blah.

I actually do feel better about everything today though. I talked with my husband last night and things always seem brighter in the morning.

Today I went grocery shopping and they had single-serving smashed avocado! I was so excited. Also... I bought Oreos which used to be my nemesis. Not sure why I did that except my 17 yo expressed a desire to have them and I thought it would make her happy. Ahh well... It will be interesting to see what happens with those. When I was legalizing foods I had like 4 packages at all times and ate them constantly. Maybe I felt like I needed more challenge!

B: grape nuts cherries milk coffee with half and half

L: slow cooker taco bowl with smashed avocado and a tortilla. Half an apple
I was really hungry. Today has been tough, lots of brain hunger so I have been waiting a bit before I eat even though I *think* I am hungry

D: plan Barbecue kielbasa with cornbread, rice and green beans
Don't even know if I was hungry or not, but ate my plate of food

Today has been tough. I have had pretty much all day brain hunger. I have been very grateful for the structure of No S today. I was able to fall back onto the system of 3 meals, 3 plates without worrying or wondering if I was really hungry. Since my brain wanted to eat all day, it was harder to get in touch with my body hunger.

Exercise:

Walk/jog 20 minutes

[Jen1974]

Pink you handled that situation with your daughter SO WELL!! That is just so hard, especially when it must be so tempting to tell your side of the story but it’s just awful for the kid in that situation & you put her first which is just awesome & not many people do!!! My son’s girlfriend had such a similar situation with her parents & I could always tell that she respected her mom more for not bashing the dad!!

And great job with not emotionally eating!! I think that is one of the good thing that comes with getting in touch with hunger/fullness & how food makes you feel. It really shines a light on how emotional eating never really helps. It’s just funny how our brains can still be so tempted to go there though

[alene1]

I'm sorry yesterday was so tough. You handled it beautifully though. Well done. I hope today is a better day for you. Sending hugs.

[pinkhippie]

Thank you Jen! That makes me feel better. I have been feeling like I live in a Danielle Steel novel lately. You know, where the ex-husband makes the mom look like this terrible person and all the kids side with dad and mom won't defend herself because she doesn't want the kids to be mad at their dad and then later(like near the end of the book) the kids discover dad is a rat? My daughter is really easily influenced by her dad and it is concerning but there is nothing I can really do except being myself and being positive and aware and continuing to work on my self-growth as a person.

Thank you for the hugs Alene! Today was better, thank you.


When I was re-reading my journal entries from last fall, I realized that my daughter being hospitalized for mental health issues really derailed me. I stopped doing No S, I stopped checking in here, I gained a lot of weight, I had a really hard time maintaining my grades and getting my school work done. Obviously daughter stuff really affects me. Feeling hungry all day yesterday and completely out of touch with my body really pointed to how easily that can happen.

It was interesting. I felt much more in touch with my body today and I was grateful.

B: grape nuts with milk, cherries, banana coffee with half and half

L: bbq kielbasa with rice and green beans
I was hungry for this meal and didn't finish it all because I was able to tune into satisfaction. yay!

D: 2 veggie burgers, a snack bag of chips
Once again, really hungry, I didn't finish eating it but I still think I ate too much. However, I was happy to be able to feel that I was full.

Exercise: 30 minutes on stationary bike

[Jen1974]

I was thinking about how much I’m affected by my kids. I take their bad/sad moods personally, as if they are my fault, where my husband never does that. He puts the responsibility on them. I think there is so much pressure when you are a mom because there’s so much pressure to be the perfect mom & this feeling that good moms have perfect happy kids.

My son went though a phase where he was super depressed. We even had a teacher comment that she was concerned, it was awful. I thought he should talk to someone, he DID NOT want to yet nothing me or my husband said helped at all. He is really affected by romantic relationships. He’s so much stronger now, I do think the hard stuff they go through makes them so much more able to deal in life, but it’s just awful to watch as their moms!! Teenagers are hard!! You’re not alone!! Hang in there

[pinkhippie]

Jen, I think that is really true. Being a mom is really a huge part of my identity. Being the best mom I can be is also a huge part of my identity. I have been striving to allow my kids and especially my teen to be upset if they want to and it's tough but I don't want them feeling like they are responsible for my emotions and perpetuate the cycle.

I am glad your son came through his depression and came out a stronger person! I know that all my trials and tribulations also made me a stronger person so I try to hold onto that with my teen. Teenagers are definitely hard! Thank you for your empathy and support.

Foodwise I have been doing some timing experimentation and I have discovered that I need to eat when I am truly hungry. If I start off my day eating breakfast when I am not really hungry for it, then I feel extra hungry for the rest of the day and end up eating way more than I really need. It's interesting. Since I started eating breakfast only around 3rd hunger, (the stronger hunger that comes around on the third wave of hunger) I find that I am more in touch with my fullness and satiety signals and I don't feel hungry all the time. Probably because I am eating every 2-3 hours! But it works for me. I guess its a form of IF, but I am not only having 2 big meals a day, I still am having breakfast so I feel like I get enough food and most important I don't feel deprived. Breakfast is typically around 11: 30 lunch is 2-3ish and Dinner is 5ish. I am taking advantage of not having to leave the house and eating when I am actually hungry. Also, I love being able to just have cereal for breakfast because I love it so, and not have to worry about protein or needing it to hold me for 5 hours.

B: grape nuts, cherries, banana, milk, coffee with half and half
obviously this is my new favorite breakfast and I am not tired of it yet

L: 1 veggie burger, a plum

D: 4 chicken nuggets, broccoli with parm cheese, honey mustard, frozen yogurt with a chocolate chip cookie, and 2 Oreos
I felt a little rubber bandy with dessert today. Like I had been holding myself back all week and I just had to have more than normal. I didn't go nuts on the Oreos though, and I actually didn't feel overfull after dinner, so I guess that is still doing well. I will see how tomorrow is with my S's

Exercise:

20-minute walk

[automatedeating]

I enjoy broccoli w/parmesan cheese too!

I love that you were able to read through your journal from last fall and that it helped you process some of your emotions around the difficult time with your daughter.

[alene1]

It sounds like you are getting in touch with your body's preferred eating schedule, and are being very intuitive about it. I think you've struck gold! Feeling good and in the flow are what we're really after I'd say.

[pinkhippie]

Thanks auto! I have been a journal keeper of some kind most of my life off and on and it is so helpful to be able to look back regarding my relationship with food and my emotions. This is the only place I write about that.

Thanks Alene! I really feel like I have too. It's so hard for me to get into a good eating groove when I have a busy daily life because I have to eat around all my schedule and obligations, and it is really nice to be able to just follow my body's cues. I hope I can continue to make it work when life outside the house resumes again.

I realized yesterday that I do get a little too wrapped up in my teen's emotions. I appreciate the gentle reminders from all the ladies here to let these things go. I am going to try to take a step back. I realized that I *do* feel responsible for others' emotions, something I have been working on a lot, and now that my teen is almost an adult I have trouble feeling responsible for her emotions as well. The stuff with her dad obviously doesn't help, adds a whole past/trigger layer to it, but still. I am going to work on that aspect of myself. I talked to my husband about it, and he realized he has been doing that as well so we are both going to take a step back and try not to get sucked in. I am glad I have his support.

July 11 2020

B: grape nuts, cherries, banana, milk, coffee with half and half

L: 1 bowl of vegetable soup with roasted parmesan broccoli as a garnish and half a bagel with cream cheese
This was sooooo good! It hit the spot for my craving

D: cheese burger with fries, SIX oreos with vanilla frozen yogurt
So yeah... I emotionally overate at dinner. I didn't realize it as I was eating, I was just like I am going to have oreos and eat my whole burger! But I definitely ate past fullness

Today I realized that I need some ALONE TIME. After I overate and stuffed myself at dinner I went into the backyard with my headphones to just walk off some of that dinner and the sugar rush lightheadedness and I realized that I had been upset when I sat down for dinner. Then I realized that I had been REALLY annoyed with my husband all afternoon and morning. I paced around trying to figure out why I was so irritated with him. Calendar wise, no hormonal mood swings should be happening. I was slightly annoyed that he took off for a mountain bike ride but he always does and I had a nice morning while he was gone. I was annoyed he hadn't gotten gas before the whole family drove to get dinner. I was annoyed that he wouldn't stop talking. I was annoyed when he appeared on the back porch to wonder when I was coming in. Still I couldn't figure it out. I am really slow for some reason to realize when I just desperately need recharge time. But finally I did. I need ALONE TIME. I finally reached the bottom of the battery pack. And it's weird because yes I stay home with the girls every day all day but they leave me alone for hours at a time. I am always on call of course, but I get time to myself during the day. However, that is what it is. When my husband starts irritating me for no real reason, its either PMS or I need time to myself. Maybe its been the additional emotional hit of dealing with daughter and ex-husband stuff.

I usually take a break in the evening but it has been getting cut shorter and shorter and I just keep going along with it. Tonight I am in my room by myself for a full hour. My husband is a somewhat needy extrovert and although that is great most of the time, wow does it not work when I need time to recharge. Looking back I can see how this has been building slowly. I just don't know why it's so hard for me to see every single time. This always happens. I don't realize I need alone time until I am irritated at everything, everybody, and can't stand for my husband to talk to me.

So, I hope I can remember that in the future. Eating too much doesn't give me time to myself and only makes me feel physically bad.

Exercise:

Weights

30-minute stationary bike ride

15 minute walk

[pinkhippie]

Doing better today. I have been re-reading some of my old books that deal with some of the issues I got from my childhood that I try not to pass down to my kids and it is a good reminder about healthy families and some interactions that I have fallen into that I want to be more aware of and get out of.

I am really noticing how responsible I feel for my teen's emotions. ACK! I am glad I am aware but I feel bad that I had fallen into such an unconscious pattern/habit of interaction.

I always feel better when I see how I am contributing because I know this is something I can work on and change. And, I am going to start taking breaks in the day where the kids know not to bother me for about an hour. They are old enough to handle that I think.

Brunch: 1.5 waffle with butter, syrup 2 pieces of bacon, coffee with half and half
I was actually surprisingly hungry this morning. MIght have been my sugar extravaganza from the night before. We ate around 11, and I ate to satisfaction

S: 1 plum
around 4:30 I noticed my stomach growling and remembered that I hadn't had lunch. Since dinner was in an hour, I just ate a plum. It was delicious.

D: beef burrito bowl
This was good and SOOO filling! I had one helping that I did not completely finish. My brain was saying "hey you didn't eat lunch, you should eat more!" But my body was saying "wow, I am so satisfied right now and if you eat any more, I will be overfull". So I listened to my body, not my brain, and I am happy I did. It is so nice to finish up dinner without that stuffed feeling.

Exercise:

Just steps, no formal exercise. Today is my day off.

[alene1]

It's so good that you're able to stop before the plate is empty. That is a difficult skill! Have you always been able to do that or is it something you learned to do?

[pinkhippie]

Thanks Alene! Actually, it was something I had to learn and I learned it way back in my early twenties when my roommate and I would go out to eat. She would eat slowly and always leave food on her plate. It was really helpful to have someone around who modeled that kind of eating behavior and that is how I ate all throughout my thin twenties. So, I have to refresh my skills a bit but I have had lots of practice. Noticing how I feel after eating too much and that I don't like it definitely helps me to have the motivation to stop eating regardless if there is still food on the plate.

Today I want to talk about hair! I am really contemplating a hair cut to my shoulders(cutting it myself as I always do). But I am so torn. Speaking of perimenopause as in autos thread I feel like my hair has really thinned out as I have aged. It is not thick like it was in my youth. My entire family has long hair including my husband. My little girls have waist-length hair, my husband has mid-back hair, and my teenager has a little shorter than that. My hair was mid-back length but I trimmed about 4 inches off last week. Maybe it seems silly to agonize over, but I have been growing out my hair for two years now and I worry I will regret cutting it. I still like how long hair looks on others but I feel like for me, because of my thinning hair it just doesn't look as good as it used to. It's a bit of a hard pill to swallow when my hair used to be one of my best physical features. Plus I have really wavy hair that looks wavier when it's shorter. Yep, this has been what has been plaguing my thoughts for the past couple of weeks. You know, when I am not thinking about stressful things.

July 13 2020

B: grape nuts, cherries, milk, coffee with half and half

L: Burrito bowl, plum
was satisfied after this meal. Felt just right. Not too full and not too empty

D: 4 fish sticks, broccoli cheese rice, frozen strawberries, 1/4 frozen banana
I tried something new today with dinner. I ate my portion, leaving room on my plate for fruit if I needed it. After I ate, I felt like I was still a little hungry and I ate fruit slowly until I felt the level of full and satisfied that I like to feel at dinner. I felt great and not overstuffed the way I do sometimes if I have seconds, yet I also didn't feel unsatisfied or slightly hungry like I do if I don't have seconds when I feel unsatisfied from my one portion. I am definitely going to try this again for dinner. I have a huge stock of frozen bananas in the freezer and all the girls were happy to munch on frozen fruit too so its a health win there too.
Exercise:

20 minute walk jog

Weights

[automatedeating]

Doesn't the frozen fruit hurt your front teeth (like that cold sting?)

And hey girl, I get the hair anxieties.

[pinkhippie]

Auto, no my front teeth don't feel it, but my molars with my many fillings do a little bit. It's so good though!

I think I have come to a hair decision... I am leaning towards a collarbone length cut. Long enough to pull back but short enough for my hair to look thicker and wave easier. Still going to ponder it for a few days. It's dangerous to cut your own hair because no need to wait for an appointment! Just pop into the bathroom with some hair cutting scissors and boom! All done. That is why I usually try to wait and make sure its what I want.

Good morning all! I am feeling pretty good for the past few days. I think I worked through some stuff and hopefully will be better equipped to deal with the next challenges that come my way. I think I actually feel better than I did before I started having a hard time. I think taking longer breaks in the evening and a small break in the day is really helpful. For this introvert, being surrounded by people all waking hours has been hard. It's easy to just be like "this is my life now" and not realize how taxing it is.

I had a great conversation with my best friend yesterday. She lives in NY and we have been friends since we were 12 and 13 respectively. She just turned 43. It is always helpful to talk to her. Also, Auto, she is getting an Australian Shepard puppy! I am excited for her. She will be a great owner for an Aussie. She is super active and runs/walks every day and is a huge dog lover who takes great care of her dogs.

July 14, 2020

B: grape nuts, milk, cherries coffee with half and half

L: 1 burrito bowl as a taco with fresh red pepper and avocado
I couldn't finish lunch today, I was too full but it was so good!

D: bow tie pasta with peas and frozen fruit
I did the same thing as I did last night and it worked great. It's easier for me to stay in touch with hunger and satiety eating fruit than eating dinner. Maybe because of the density, it just takes longer to reach so it's easier to tell when satisfaction is reached

Exercise

30 minutes stationary bike, reached a new harder resistance today

[pinkhippie]

Not a lot going on here lately, which I guess is a good thing.

Oh! I cut my hair but I may cut more. It's long enough(still a few inches past shoulders) that no one seems to have noticed in my family, yet short enough that I think it looks much better. It just looks so much more bouncy and healthy now and the waves look so much better! I think I may cut a few more inches off but I am letting it settle and see how it looks after its washed and all that. I have a bad habit of cutting my hair too short. Case in point my current bangs... definite baby bangs. I think they look cute, but they are high maintenance if I don't want them sticking off my head when I get up in the morning. I cut those about 2 weeks ago so it's just a waiting game. It's a great time for hair experimentation! I am wondering if I will ever see anyone again.

The pure irony of losing a lot of weight, exercising regularly, and looking really good to myself and no one will see it, yet if this( COVID quarantine) hadn't happened I don't think I would have been as successful with my weight loss and exercise. It took being at home for months with no other obligations to make myself a priority. Today I was thinking I finally would feel pretty good at my kids' soccer game on the sidelines with all the other fit moms. But soccer has been canceled for the foreseeable future. Ah well... At least I am reaping the benefits of my healthier lifestyle in how I feel and all the cool things I can do now, regardless if anyone can see it. And hopefully cementing these habits so when I go back out into life I can maintain them. I was thinking how amazing it is that now it's just habit for me to exercise a minimum of 30 minutes a day 6 days a week. WHO AM I? And I worry that I won't be able to keep it up, and then I am like but its 30 minutes. That is barely any time at all. It's amazing how hard it is to get in that habit of giving 30 minutes to myself every day.

July 15 2020

B: grape nuts cherries milk coffee
This is soon to be the end for the grape nuts. I am starting to want oatmeal. I just want to finish my grapenuts box because it seems they get stale quickly

L: broccoli, cheese, rice with a fried egg
This was good, leftovers with a fried egg on top. Ate to satisfaction


D: 2.5 pieces of homemade veggie pizza with frozen fruit
yum! Ate to satisfaction

Exercise:

20 minute walk

20 minute weights

[pinkhippie]

Today, I got the kids on the path to virtual schooling. Our district has a charter school that already has the infrastructure in place for virtual schooling and they are extending it to k-12 from every school if that is your choice. I am glad to finally make a decision and move towards something instead of standing still. The nice thing is, they go on a semester by semester basis, so if we feel good about sending them back to in-person school in the spring, we can do that. So, I filled out a large portion of the paperwork today.

July 16 2020 ( If I didn't enter these entries every day, I would probably have no idea what day it was anymore)

B: grape nuts, cherries, milk, coffee

L: 2 pieces of veggie pizza

D: 1 big bowl of cheesy rice broccoli, with tomato soup
Exercise:

43 minutes on stationary bike

[Octavia]

Well done for getting that paperwork done. I’m very bad at getting round to that sort of thing.
Ive also done much better with exercise since lockdown. I so hope I can keep it up when life goes back to normal. Never before have I made a daily habit of it. Why has it been so hard? This is a great mystery!

Your haircut sounds great - I love baby bangs but haven’t got the courage to have them done - well actually I have what we call a ‘cowlick’ - my hair goes strongly to the side, so fringes/bangs don’t work well on me. But if you google ‘Joanne Woodward baby bangs‘ you see the hairstyle I most covet!

[automatedeating]

Octavia, my mom (in her day) rocked that baby bang look!

Pinkie, great news that you have got the kids set up for fall and have a plan in place.

[pinkhippie]

Thanks Octavia! The school keeps pelting me with more paperwork, but I am working on keeping up.

I did google Joanne woodward baby bangs! My bangs are really close to that short when I don't flat iron them to my forehead. Today I decided to let them dry wavy and although they are VERY short, I think it looks cute. enough. I have a cowlick too but its far enough on the side of my head that I can kind of ignore it. But eventually its why every bang I ever cut becomes side bangs.

I have never made a daily habit of exercise either! This is pretty amazing isn't it?

Auto, thanks, I am glad to have that decision made for now. It also helps us get the kids used to the idea of how it will be in the fall.

Today is just get stuff around the house done day. Tommorow is supposed to be another bike ride with the husband in the blazing heat and humidity. I hope I do ok.

July 17 2020

B: bowl of grape nuts with cherries milk, coffee
This was it! I used the last of the grape nuts today

L: 1.5 bowls of Vegetarian tortilla soup, crushed corn chips
This was much better than the last vegetarian tortilla soup I made. It might have been using fire roasted tomatoes this time

D: 2 very small baked potatoes with burrito bowl filling, green onions, and salsa. 1 frozen banana with peanut butter and a drizzle of reeses shell
That frozen banana with peanut butter and chocolate was sooooo good! I felt good and satisfied but not overfull after this meal.

Exercise: 20 minute walk/jog
20 minutes weights

[Jen1974]

It sounds do nice to have a solid plan in place for the school year by going online!! I feel like we’re at the mercy of what the schools decide in the moment & that when schools went online it didn’t go well at all!! Teachers just didn’t have the experience to do it well. My daughter doesn’t do well never getting out through so we’re sticking with it. She’s too social & it seems like her mental health starts to suffer & she gets REALLY grouchy

[alene1]

PH, I think you are very wise in your education decision. The year is ahead is going to be very tumultuous for schools. You are going to be ahead of the game. It will be interesting to hear about your kids' experience with it. Your day of eating sounded delish!! I love that you are enjoying your food so much and feel so satisfied.

[pinkhippie]

Jen yeah it will be an adventure! Our schools didn't even go online, we just got paper packets sent home. No matter what decision we end up making, it's a tough call. I'm glad you figured it out for your daughter!

Alene thanks! I am interested to see how my kids do. They are always surprising me, so I have no idea what to expect. I have been loving my food lately too! I feel like I am settling into what I like to eat and what makes me feel good.

Today the younger girls are seeing their grandparents(the grandparents are in our "pod") and my oldest is at her dad's. So my husband and I are as free as birds! We got up early and went on an 8-mile bike ride on a trail about 30 minutes away, and then came home, left for errands, came home again, ate lunch and then went on a 5-mile bike ride close to the house. My husband is MILES ahead of me in strength and bike fitness and I feel bad sometimes because I know he isn't getting the work out he would like when we bike together. But he says he likes to bike with me.


B: a packet of trail mix and Gatorade
It was too early to eat this morning before my ride. I think it was OK. I was hungry afterward and ate my snack I brought

L: 1.5 bowls of vegetarian tortilla soup with blue corn chips and half an apple
Ate to fullness and satisfaction. Then we went on another bike ride

S: half an apple
We are getting pizza so I don't want to eat too much before dinner. But, I was hungry after my ride.

D: 4 slices of thin crust Veggie pizza, 1 frozen banana with peanut butter and chocolate sauce.
I was pretty hungry after all the biking and craving the frozen banana again. So good! Ate to satisfaction and did not feel stuffed but felt satisfied.

Exercise: 1 8mile bike ride, 1 5 mile bike ride

[pinkhippie]

Not a lot going on today. I finally cut my hair just a teensy bit more( I have been cutting an inch or so every few days) and I reached a length I am happy with. It's about shoulder length when dry and wavy, a little longer when brushed more straight. I am SOOO happy with it! I didn't realize it but I am really done with long hair for now. It was fun while I had it, but I guess I was really ready for a change. I am glad I had the courage to make it. I hate getting stuck in hair ruts, and when you grow out your hair for a long time, I feel like that can happen because you get so invested in the time and work it took to grow. At least, that happens for me.

My 17-year-old is going to her step-moms for a week this week, and then to her dad's for a week and I plan to go nuts with recipe experimentation. Also to eat a lot of the same things because one meal will last me almost all week. I will make the younger girls their usual grilled cheese, quesadillas, pigs in a blanket, etc and I plan to experiment with some stuff they would never eat. I am excited!

B: Oatmeal with raisins, mashed banana and applesauce

L: 4 pieces of Veggie pizza
Ordinarily 4 pieces would be too much for me, but thin crust, light cheese and veggies only as topping means I needed more to feel satisfied.

D: 1 small bowl of veg tortilla soup, 1 peanut butter jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread.
I was so craving peanut butter and jelly on bread . Also wanted something a little savory and substantial so a small bowl of soup. Ate to satisfaction.


Exercise:

None really, today is my day off. My hamstrings are SO sore from yesterday's biking excursions. I plan to stretch a little bit as usual.

[Octavia]

Have fun with the recipe experiments! Hope you have a fun, liberating couple of weeks.

[automatedeating]

You have some fun plans for the next few weeks!

[alene1]

I'm so glad you're pleased with your haircut! It sounds really cute. How nice that you're able to cut your own hair so well and experiment. Have fun experimenting with new recipes. I'll look forward to hearing about them!

[pinkhippie]

Thanks auto!

Thanks Octavia! It is very liberating to be able to cook what I want to cook.

Alene thanks! I have been cutting my own hair for years and not always with great results! I have even cut a few pixies. I have given myself some total hair disasters but gotten lucky a few times. Luckily a blunt one length cut that is not too short is not too tough. Having wavy hair hides a multitude of sins.

Today has been pretty laid back, just getting the teenager ready to go. She leaves today. More paperwork for the virtual schooling, it seems endless. And grocery list and menu planning for my adventurous week.

B: oatmeal with applesauce and raisins

L: Experimental elbow pasta with kidney beans, tomatoes, and herbs. Spinach and 1 apple
Let the experimentation begin! This was surprisingly delicious. Good thing because it made a HUGE pot of pasta. I will be eating this for weeks.

S: 1 packet of trail mix
I was really hungry. Either because lunch was low fat/low calorie or hormonal. I just felt like I needed something more. Felt satisfied after this

D:4 chick fil a nuggets, half a cup of vegetarian tortilla soup, 1 frozen banana with peanut butter
I was really hungry and craving peanut butter again

Today is first day of my period and I have noticed that I tend to be extra hungry on that day, and sometimes for a day before or after as well. Since I knew that, I just went ahead and ate more and didn't try to not have a snack.

Exercise

20 minutes walk/jog

20 minutes weights

[clarinetgal]

That’s great that you can cut your own hair! Have fun experimenting with recipes!

[Octavia]

Pink, this is another sign that we are twins! I too cut my own hair and find that waves hide a multitude of sins! I also colour my own, do highlights, the lot! I can do ombré, balayage (like, you lighten some bits and not others, it’s not rocket science...) AND extensions! It’s such fun! The times I’ve been to the hairdressers I usually feel they rely on the blow dry to make you look good. Of course the cut is neater, but with wavy hair like mine, you can’t tell anyway!

I did cut my hair a couple of times early on in lockdown, but now, I’m focusing on an experiment to see how long I can go without any heat styling/blow drying or permanent colour. This is because my hair is very thin and breaks easily so the sides never seem to get very long. So my barnet is a bit of a mess right now but no-one’s really seeing it...

Hope you have a good day.

[pinkhippie]

Thank you Clarinetgal! I went shopping today and am armed with ingredients for experimentation!

Yes Octavia! I think we must be twins! I have also done highlights and color at home. Actually, almost every time I have gotten my hair cut in a salon or colored, I am unhappy with it and end up redoing it myself and being much happier. Except for the first time I highlighted my hair... That was hilarious! I had a hard time pulling my hair through the cap so the holes got widened and I ended up with little bleached sunbursts all over my head. My hair was dark red at the time so I thought it looked pretty cool. But definitely not the effect I was going for! I have not done extensions though! How fun! Also, at the salon they never know what to do with my wavy hair! They either scrunch it weird and give me tons of volume and hair spray (making me look about 10 years older) or they blow it out( I almost never use a hair dryer) and it never looks like that again.

I stopped dying my hair maybe 4 years ago because my hair was thinning and damaged as well. However, my hair doesn't have a lot of gray so I don't feel the urge yet. Maybe eventually I will. Have you ever done henna? I did that one time (Body art quality) And that was it. My hair was dark red/orange forever until I cut it off. Good luck with your hair experiment! My hair health significantly improved with out blow drying or permanent color.

Today I was grocery shopping and I saw that Hanes is making masks now. I guess I should have expected that. Yes I bought a package just to see how they are. Not too bad, they have a wire for glasses,they are a little loose but that makes them not slide down when I talk. I got to test one out when my dad dropped something off. A lovely 95 degree farenheit 6 foot apart garage conversation.

July 21 2020

B: oatmeal with raisins, applesauce, cherries and bananas
Yum

L: 1 bowl of Red kidney bean pasta with some roasted green beans with red wine vinegar.1 apple
This was actually pretty good. I liked the green beans with the red wine vinegar and kosher salt. It was the only seasoning I used.

D: 2 Black bean and corn fajitas on corn tortillas with mushrooms, avocado, salsa, 1/2 glass of cranberry grape juice
This was good and FILLING. I actually ate too much. After yesterday I just assumed I would need at least a regular amount for dinner but I was definitely overfull. Yesterday I felt like I couldn't eat enough to feel satisfied and today I could barely eat a normal-sized dinner. Hormones are crazy. I need to remember this for the future and be aware enough that maybe I don't need a regular-sized dinner every day. Just kind of ate it on autopilot


I served the kids pigs in a blanket and had the thought that back in my diet days if I was eating black bean fajitas because I was on a diet, I would be resentful and craving pigs in a blanket. Because I am not on a diet and I could eat pigs in a blanket if I wanted to, I felt no desire or resentment. If I want pigs in a blanket for a meal, I will have them.

Exercise:

30 minutes stationary bike

[Octavia]

...really interesting to hear of your hair experiences, pinkhippie. I’m sure my hair is already in much better condition without the permanent colour and heat styling. Luckily I’m fair and can disguise greys with coloured mousse or temporary dyes - I’m not quite ready to embrace the silver look yet, but I’d be sort of mousy anyway, rather than a good grey. Your bleach cap experience sounds a bit like some of my early experiments...

[alene1]

Thanks for the info on the masks. I'm always on the lookout for good ones! Your dinner sounds very good. I remember how hungry I used to get the day before and the first day of my period. And grumpy! I'm so glad those days are behind me.

[pinkhippie]

Octavia, yes hair experiments can have some interesting results... I am fair too and I think I could probably disguise my silver hair, but its pretty mild right now. Just some threads of it. When I cut my bangs, I kept thinking I had a piece of lint in my bangs though because I had a hair that was only white in one part of the strand! haha I think that hair eventually fell out. ( Or maybe I just got used to it)

Alene sure! I fell down the rabbit hole of mask shopping yesterday. There are so many! The one my dad was wearing was supposedly one of the best you can buy right now with a filter and all that. It's made by Outdoor Research and has adjustable ear pieces, and they are out of stock. It looked really comfortable and well fitting though. I definitely want to get one at some point. I also found some by Athleta and they have cool colors and a band that can go across your head to reduce the pulling on your ears. I think those look good too.

Yeah perimenopause period stuff just seems to be more intense than it used to be. I am looking forward to the day when I don't have to worry about those. I think my husband is too!

Today I wasn't feeling 100% because of period stuff. This is typical for me, and I really didn't want to do my workout. I dragged myself out for my walk and shuffled along. Probably at about 15 minutes I started feeling a little better. Then after my walk I REALLY didn't want to do my weights but I did them anyway and afterwards, felt a LOT better. The power of habit is just an amazing thing. I am pretty sure habit is the only thing that got me out the door this morning.

Also, I used to have really bad restless legs at night but since I got more active and do some piriformis and leg stretches before bed, it has almost gone away completely. (knock on wood). Of course, I don't like having to be a slave to the stretching routine at night but I am grateful that I can sleep comfortably because of it.

July 22 2020

B: oatmeal with raisins, applesauce, cherries, bananas, cinnamon

L: kidney bean pasta with green beans, red onion, 1/4 peach half a banana
time to liven this leftover up a bit. I'm going to make a pasta salad type dressing and add a bunch of veggies to it tommorow. Ate to satisfaction. Had to share the peach with my girls.

D: Mediterranean couscous bowl with tahini sauce. 1 apple
this was pretty good. It was really different than what I normally eat, and I had never made couscous before. I was not hungry when I was done. Yet my head felt hungry. It was a weird feeling. I ate an apple and still felt that way but after that I just stopped eating for the night. Since I'm not physically hungry I think it will be fine.




Exercise:

20-minute walk

30 minutes weights and stretching

[pinkhippie]

I realized on thinking about it that last night at dinner we were having a discussion that was not necessarily unpleasant... but stressful. Things are coming more into focus on the virtual schooling front and one of the requirements is that every child have a workspace in the living area where they can be supervised with a computer. We have 3 kids that will be virtual schooling and that requirement will be tricky. We were just brainstorming ideas on furniture, computers, etc but I do remember thinking I wasn't able to focus on my dinner with this conversation. So, it would make sense that my head would be hungry.

July 23 2020

Today's weight was 149.8 BMI 22.4

I haven't seen a weight that low since before I got pregnant with my second child. And usually, my weight in high school and my twenties was between 150/155. My weight has been pretty steadily hovering between 150 and 151 for the past few weeks. I don't feel like I am doing anything too difficult... keeping the exercise habit has been a challenge. Every morning I wake up and my mind tries to talk me out of exercising, but I do it anyway, and sometimes I get hungry in the evening and fantasize about things like oreos. But the next morning, I am not hungry. Anyway, its just a data point. It will be interesting to see what happens as I continue to work on my habits.

B: whole wheat English muffin with jam and banana

L: 1 big bowl of leftover kidney bean pasta transformed into a pasta salad with olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and green beans
Yum yum! This definitely revitalized my leftovers. I think I can eat it one more time tomorrow and then I have to dump the rest. Oh well, lesson learned, I knew I should have halved the initial recipe

D: leftover black bean fajita filling in a whole wheat tortilla.1 piece garlic bread 1 bowl of cherries
this was yummy. Garlic bread was for the kids and it looked really good so I had a piece. I was glad I did. Ate to fullness and satisfaction

Exercise:

30 minutes elliptical

15 minute walk

[alene1]

Good realization about your dinner time. Our bodies and minds are SO connected, aren't they? Garlic bread is so good! Wow on the weight! That must have been pretty exciting to see the 140's. Are you feeling pretty good about where your body is now?

[pinkhippie]

Alene, yes our minds and bodies really are connected. It amazes me how long it took me to start looking for the mind body connection when it came to eating though.

I feel pretty good about where my body is now. I don't feel like I look overly thin, but I feel like I look healthy and like I am supposed to look. I tried on all my old bathing suits the other day and with the exception of one which is WAY too big in the bust area, I would feel ok wearing them in public now. Not like I would want to prance around, but just that I don't feel self-conscious anymore. I guess that is the biggest difference. I don't feel self-conscious. I just feel like me. I think I will hopefully continue to stay around 150 as long as I continue my habits. My pair of size 8 shorts fit, but so do my size 10's.

I always perceived myself as Amazonian and big-boned but the people around me told me I was nuts. I have broad shoulders and I am tall and athletic-looking so I think that is where that came from. I was always trying to lose weight when I was this weight and now I am really happy to be here and I don't think I look big and hulking like I used to. Perception is a funny thing. I also have looked back at pictures and videos of me at my highest weight and although there is a difference, I don't think I looked bad, just a little different. I know I am healthier now though, so I am grateful for that.

My main goal today is mattress research. My 11-year-old has a HUGE dent in her mattress where she sits on it all the time. I am completely overwhelmed. The world of mattresses has gotten insane. We have to order her a new one hopefully by tonight though.

July 24 2020

B: 1.5 breakfast cookies, coffee
So, I am reading this series about a baker that solves murders and there is constant cookie talk! And people are always eating their cookies with coffee and breakfast. So I found a breakfast cookie recipe that is really more like a bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter, raisins, banana and maple syrup. These were delicious, but not sweet and very filling. I woke up hungry, and ate around 10 30, a little early for me.

L: 1 big bowl of leftover kidney bean pasta salad with cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes(from our tomato plant)
This was still delicious, and I may have eaten a teensy bit too much. I was reading and eating because the kids were driving me nuts. I will be more aware at dinner time

D: 4 chicken nuggets, broccoli, 3 oreos and vanilla ice cream mixed with orange sherbet
Yum, ate to satisfaction

Exercise:

20 minute walk jog ( 1 minute jog/30 seconds walking interval)

20 minutes weights ( I was so wiped out by the heat and humidity from my walk jog I could barely finish) Its hot out there today.

[pinkhippie]

Today has been such a great day so far!

I got to see my dad at the park for a 6 foot apart outside bring your own coffee date. I haven't gotten to hang out and have a conversation like that with him since March. It was shady, the weather held off being really hot, and it was lovely.

Then I went and picked up my teen at her stepmoms and her stepmom gave me a bunch of squash from her garden! yay it fits perfectly into my recipe experimentations. My daughter had a great time and came home happy and positive for the first time in a long time so I think it was really great for her to see her stepmom and her stepsisters.

Then I came home and my husband had dismantled the bunk beds and we are all ready to get the girls their new beds set up in their room and make their room a lot more spacious for them.(we ordered a new mattress last night and are picking it up today)

After lunch, plan to work on the girl's room more, vacuuming cleaning out the corners, etc, get the beds set up, and pizza for dinner with a movie tonight. (It's my pick! yay!)

I am not sure if I am going to get formal exercise today, but I am not worried about it, as getting the girl's room set up is a lot of physical work and I need to devote my time and energy to that.

B: 2 Breakfast cookies, iced coffee
I was pretty hungry when I ate these at around 11:45. They are so good but really hardly sweet at all. Almost like the fruit juice cookies of yore my dad used to make, but they taste better.

L: Mediterranean couscous salad, 1 bowl of cherries
This was much more enjoyable when it wasn't being eaten during a stressful conversation. Ate to satisfaction, didn't finish all of it.

D: 2.5 pieces of pepperoni/canadian bacon pizza, 2 cinnasquares, 3 oreos, a ramekin of ice cream
I felt like I went a little nuts on dessert but I was really craving everything I had. It was a little S'y. Like, I can't have this again until next week so better have it now. But, I didn't finish my ice cream or my oreos because there came a point when I felt good and like I had had enough. So, I think I was still listening to my body.

Today was more of an S day than normal but I also think that is because I have been eating so healthily this week. No processed foods, lots of whole grains beans, veggies, etc... I think it made me rubber band a bit more on an S day. I *think* that is still ok, but I need to keep an eye out for feelings of deprivation. I really enjoyed all my treats.

[automatedeating]

Pinkie, you sound like you are in such a great place! I enjoyed catching up on your thread.

[Jen1974]

I agree with Auto!! I love reading your thread & seeing what a great job you’ve done creating a peaceful/happy relationship with food & weight!! It’s motivating to see how you try but too hard

[pinkhippie]

Thanks for popping in ladies! I do feel like I am in a pretty good place. I am still tweaking my meal times to achieve the hunger that I like when I sit down for a meal, but I am getting there.

Sunday

July 26

B: 1 waffle with peaches and syrup, 1 piece of bacon, glass of juice, coffee

L: 1 whole wheat burrito with black bean corn and mushroom filling

D: 2 pieces of pizza, a handful of cherries, a tiny cinnasquare
This pizza was so filling, I couldn't' finish it. My husbands order was messed up where they gave him light sauce versus double sauce so I traded pizzas with him. However, he also ordered thick crust... tooo much!

Monday July 27 2020

This morning our new roof is being put on. They got started at 6:15 am. Me and the kids are staggering around like zombies. We don't normally get up until 8. But, I am glad they are getting an early start. We had really bad hail damage and pretty much our entire neighborhood is getting new roofs through their insurance companies. We have had a lot of roofing going on!

Got the girls rooms worked on this weekend to a good extent. We are waiting for the bed frames, the storage bins, and the curtains. I think when it is all done it will look really nice, and hopefully be a lot more useable for them. Their bunk bed had been blocking their window and they were so excited to have a window accessible in their room again.

B: oatmeal with cherries ,raisins, sliced almonds and applesauce. coffee with soy milk ( So I accidentally bought WAY too much soy milk for my teenager when I ordered some online. The quantity button can be so pesky. I have been using soy milk for everything and its quite good in coffee)

L: 1.5 pita breads with hummus, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and lettuce 1 peach
I felt like I ate too much at lunch. I probably could have been fine with just 1 pita bread. I just was worried because we had lunch early because we all had breakfast early and its going to be more hours than usual to dinner. Plus with vegetable heavy meals, often I get hungry a couple hours later. I am going to see how long it takes me to get hungry after feeling so stuffed.

D: 2 Veggie dogs, steamed broccoli with ranch, 1 breakfast cookie, handful of cherries.
I started to get hungry around 4 pm and we ate around 5ish so I guess my amount of food I ate at lunch really ended up being perfect. I was craving broccoli with ranch and a breakfast cookie. It was all delicious and I ate until I was full. Then my family tried to get me to have sherbet but I held firm.

We have our new roof, but now we have no A/C. ( Apparently they accidentally put a nail through the freon line )It is 85 degrees and rising in our house right now. This is changing my dinner plans of course. I was going to do a baked sweet potato, but now I think I will do something I can microwave quickly. Fingers crossed they get it fixed tonight! Its 97 degrees outside right now


Exercise: 25 minutes walk/jog
20 minutes weights

I was not motivated today because I was so tired but I started feeling antsy after I had been up for a couple of hours and found myself doing my work out. I was glad I did it.

[pinkhippie]

Thank goodness the AC was able to be fixed last night! Living without AC in the south in July is not fun for any amount of time. After yesterday I am just taking it easy today. Only 5 hours of sleep the night before was pretty hard on me. I am interested to see if I eat less today because I have noticed when I am sleep deprived I usually want to eat more.

I liked eating breakfast so early yesterday though. My current schedule works better with a later dinner, if I am going to wait til I am hungry for breakfast. So I am going to try that today since I do not want to get up that early on a regular basis to have breakfast early.


July 28, 2020

B: oatmeal with cherries, 1 cup coffee with soy milk

L: 1 pita(2 pockets) with hummus and veggies, an apple
I didn't want to feel as full as I did yesterday so I put a little extra hummus in my pita and I have decided to make myself a decaf latte if I get really hungry between lunch and dinner

D: baked sweet potato with black bean filling and avocado, broccoli, one piece of whole Grain bread toasted with Cinnamon.
I was hungry around 4 and very hungry around 4:45. I ate around 5:15 when I was hungry again. I thought about fruit but I really wanted a piece of bread. It hit the spot perfectly and I ate to fullness and satisfaction. Good level of fullness.


Exercise:

30 minutes stationary bike at a high resistance

and putting together 2 bed frames, and uninstalling shelves by hand with a screw driver.

And hanging curtains.

[alene1]

PH, so glad you got your AC fixed! That is just miserable. I know I am always more hungry when I'm tired, and that's scientifically proven due to hormonal changes. How nice that you got to have a visit with your dad. Your girls will really enjoy their new room setup I bet!

[automatedeating]

How fun to work on the girls' bedroom! I have the paints ready to go, but haven't tackled the boys' rooms yet.

How terrible about the AC! That would be a big deal! Here our hottest day this summer has been 84, without humidity, so it's so much cooler. Nevertheless, the upstairs gets HOT by evening (not many of us have AC here - no real need!). Last night, the boys and I slept in the backyard for fun. And the air was so cool and the stars were so nice.

[pinkhippie]

Alene thank you! I did notice I ate less yesterday when I had 9 hours of sleep under my belt!

Auto, the hottest day being 84 sounds amazing! I wish my husband would move north, but he never will.

It has been lots of fun working on the girls room and a challenge! Its a 10 x 12 room and the 8 year old and 11 year old share it. Our goal was to get rid of the bunk beds and make it where they could each have their own half of the room. We have to put one bed against the closet, which means we have to take off the doors and put a curtain in place so it can be easily accessed. We are looking at room dividers so they can fold one out and have their own private space. I got bed frames with a 13 inch clearance and bins to go under the beds to store most of their stuff. They have a dresser they share that goes against the wall, but it should be ok. And we have to figure out where to put their individual wall shelves. The room has a huge window which is nice but takes away valuable wall space. Maybe after I finish their room I will figure out how to post a picture on here.

I went a little nuts with my hair and cut some more off. But I love it! It is basically a french bob now. It is so cute! It comes to about my jaw and my hair has gotten so much curlier and has so much more body with the loss of length. Honestly, I was pretty tired of my hair and eyeing buzz cuts with interest before I did this. I still haven't ruled that out yet either but for now this hair is amazing. I just wake up and it looks good. The bangs need to be a tiny bit longer but with the straightening iron I manage to gain a few more cm's.

B: Oatmeal with cherries, coffee w/soy milk
Another earlier breakfast, but I was hungry for it

L: pita chips with hummus, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers 1 apple with peanut butter
I realized i needed to add that peanut butter in to feel full and satisfied. I left room for it as a possibility on my plate. I was full and satisfied.


D: 2 Mexican English muffin pizzas with refried beans, salsa, veggies, avacado and shredded lettuce. 3/4 breakfast cookie, handful of cherries
Well, that was the last breakfast cookie. I was actually still a little hungry 30 minutes after dinner and so I made a decaf coffee. That helped but I want to be less hungry after dinner tomorrow. It's such a tough balance at dinner for me.

Decaf coffee with soy milk

Exercise: walk 1 mile

Weights

[automatedeating]

Love that you are enjoying your hair!

Also, the challenge of the girls room seems like a fun project - I’m sure when they grow up they’ll appreciate your efforts. . (Maybe they are so mature that they already do, haha).

[pinkhippie]

Thanks auto, hair can be so fun!

I think the girls appreciate what we are doing, but also take for granted that we go out of our way to help them be comfortable and make their room better for them. I guess that is probably good.

I am exhausted! I have spent all day organizing, cleaning out dressers, doing laundry, putting things in bins, etc... my organizing brain hurts. I can't figure out where one more LOL doll and homemade couch for the doll out of cardboard can go. I am all tapped out.

B: 1 bowl oatmeal with cherries, almonds, raisins, coffee with soymilk

L: 1 container of lentil soup, pita chips, a little bit of hummus, half an apple and some almond butter
My almond butter came into today and I was really craving it. Also craving the lentil soup. ate to satisfaction but didn't feel TOO full

D: sweet potato stuffed with black beans, sour cream and broccoli. 1 Tbsp raw cashews, half a frozen banana with almond butter.
cashews came in today too. I was craving almond butter again. I notice when my eating gets low fat I start craving nuts and nut butter. Ate to satisfaction


Exercise:

30 minutes stationary bike

Lots of organizing and cleaning

[Octavia]

Your haircut sounds lovely! So chic.

Oh my goodness, the air con! I’m not surprised you didn’t sleep. It’s been really hot in the UK and sleep is a major challenge. Here’s to air con and staying cool.

[automatedeating]

I can't figure out where one more LOL doll and homemade couch for the doll out of cardboard can go. I am all tapped out.

Octavia - do you have air conditioning? I thought you Brits were like we U.S. Northwesterners - most don't have A.C.

Pinkie - I often think of life in the South before air conditioning (I can't remember if I told you we lived in North Carolina for about 6 years - my grad work and then some teaching there). The southern summer mornings and evenings are lovely, actually - but I bet not many people slept in upstairs bedrooms during the summer..

[pinkhippie]

Thank you Octavia! My husband can't seem to get over it. I think I mentioned he is a long hair person but he seems to really like it. Not that that matters, but its nice that he likes it. I know the UK got a heatwave last year, hopefully you dont' get one this year!

Auto, I know ALL about no AC in the south! My parents were hippies who did not believe in AC. Bad for the environment you know! I was raised here in Arkansas with no AC until I was about 13. Then we moved to NY with no AC but at least it was NY! There were some hot hot nights in NY in the upstairs bedrooms though. I didn't know you lived in North Carolina! I bet it is way more humid over there. Urk.

Today I tricked myself into exercising and getting my stuff done. The girls went with their grandparents this morning and the grandparents brought donuts. So, I was like ok I will eat this donut but only if I go to the bank and do my errands. So I ate the donut. Then I was like, I really don't want to work out today. If I go to the bank and do my errands, I don't have to work out. (it was raining outside) But then when I got home I was feeling productive, and it felt wrong to not work out. So I was like, OK, I will do my jog/walk but not the weights. But then after I did my walk jog I felt good so I was like, I will only do the upper body weights, but then after I did that i was like well might as well do the lower body. And so, I did my whole workout and my errands. It's still a struggle sometimes to get my exercise in, but hopefully the consistency will continue to build the habit.

B: 1 bowl oatmeal coffee with soy milk and 1 chocolate glazed donut
I had been craving donuts lately and the in laws brought some. I had one, and it was delicious.

L: refried bean and rice bowl with roasted sweet potato, corn, lettuce, pepper and avocado
I have a bunch of refried beans i need to use up and I didn't want to make a burrito this time around.This was yummy. We are doing takeout for dinner so I wanted something healthy yet filling

D: spicy chicken sandwich, small fry, 1.5 chocolate glazed donuts.


Exercise

25 minutes walk jog (I downloaded a C25K app today to make it more fun. I just jog in the running bits)

20 minutes weights

10k steps somehow! I almost never get that many.

[pinkhippie]

Busy but relaxing day today. I ate A LOT. But, we rode 21 miles today and I was just hungry.

B: 1 bowl oatmeal, raisins, frozen berries, almonds coffee with soy milk
breakfast before my ride.

S: some Gatorade and a handful of trail mix
In the middle of our ride, I was worn out and hungry

S: half a chocolate glazed donut
Got home late was hungry and craving a donut

L: 3 pieces bbq chicken pizza, 1 chocolate lava cake with frozen yogurt
Lunch wasn't until about 3 30 pm. I was VERY hungry, ate to satisfaction, didn't feel super full

D: 1 piece bbq chicken pizza, half a chocolate glazed donut
Ate to satisfaction, once again didn't feel super full but felt like I got enough food

No veggies today, pretty unhealthy day, but it was all tasty and very good after our big ride. My husband mapped it out and it was supposed to be 17 miles of riding which was big, but it ended up being 21 miles. However, we are having unseasonably cool weather down here and it was amazing weather for riding. In the 70's.

After that, we just laid around and played video games and watched a movie while the kids weren't here.

Tommorow I have more work to do on the kids room so I am glad to just relax and not get a lot done. I definitely plan to have a vegetable tomorrow! I got peaches, cucumbers, and peppers from the farmers market today. I was so excited! They made it where you can order online and pick it up in your car so that was awesome. I got squash from my daughters step mom garden as well. I need to make some vegetable dishes very soon.

Exercise:

bike ride 21 miles, 2 hours.

[lpearlmom]

21 miles—wow! Your food sounds delicious and the important thing is that you enjoyed it. That’s exactly what S days are for, right? So cool about the farmers market. We have one that offers that too. It’s a drive but such a treat and I love supporting anything locally grown.


Squash sounds good. I’m making stir fry next week with yellow squash, broccoli, snap peas and scallops. Yum!

[Jen1974]

Nice job on the 21 miles!! One of my favorite things about exercise is how amazing food tastes after I have eaten hardly any fruits & veggies at all lately!! The thing that surprises me about it is that I’m not overeating or eating terribly unhealthy either so I’m not necessarily craving them. IE always made it seem as if you always crave the perfect balance of food but it seems to me if I don’t make a point of including fruits & veggies my entire family forgets to eat them

[alene1]

PH, I love getting fruits and veggies from the farmers' market!!! I've really been enjoying having zucchini and yellow squash out of our garden too. Wow on your 21 mile ride! Well done.

[automatedeating]

Today I tricked myself into exercising and getting my stuff done.

Smart Lady! You made me laugh with how you "outsmarted" yourself.

[pinkhippie]

Thanks ladies! I didn't intend to go 21 miles, but it was a lot of fun. I love getting stronger and being able to do more. 21 miles is a record for me with bike riding so far.

Hi Linda! Yes the joy of S days is that that is what its supposed to be all about, and I really did. The nice thing is, today I find myself craving my less rich meals that I eat during the week and I don't feel deprived either. It seems a very sustainable way to live.

Jen, yes food after exercise tastes amazing! I notice after heavy exercise Im not craving veggies or fruits but things like fries and pizza. So I just go with it. I also love the hot shower and the feeling of slipping into clean dry clothes afterward too. I was telling my husband that yesterday. I don't know why, but that is a good feeling too.

Yes I don't seem to automatically crave fruits and veggies. I have to consciously include them. I really feel the lack though, and seem to want them again soon if I don't. I have noticed every time I go off any kind of restrictive diet I don't want vegetables for a loooooong time. That is great that you are not overeating or eating unhealthily! Sounds like you are listening to your body.

Alene I was so glad to discover the order online option. They are sooooo delicious!

Auto, hah yes we must all trick ourselves sometimes to get stuff done I think.

Today is the day to get things done. Sigh... Here is hoping that it will be fun!

Aug 2 2020

B: Oatmeal with peaches, cinnamon and almonds

L: Rice refried beans, veggies

S: half a pack of trail mix

D: a few pieces of thin crust pizza, some roasted veggies and 2 ramekins of vanilla ice cream with peanut butter
The whole family was eating ice cream, and in hindsight, I think I was just hungry and would have been better served by having a piece of bread with peanut butter. Also a little emotional eating. T he teenager came home from her dad's and brought drama with her. le sigh...


Exercise:

Cleaning out the girls closets and organizing all their stuff. Day off from formal exercise today.

Aug 3 2020

I have been so busy today! I finally finished the girls room and it is awesome and a great space for them now. I had to do a bunch of paperwork for virtual school, it seems like it is never ending. I made my menu plan and grocery list and then placed my order for any dry goods that i needed. Tommorow is the store trip.

B: oatmeal with peaches

L: Vegetable soup, an English muffin with 2 fried eggs

D:4 chick fil a nuggets, a few waffle fries, half a black bean burger, 1 frozen banana with peanutbutter

Exercise:

20 minute walk/jog

[Octavia]

Thanks for telling me about Chris Mole! What an original he is! So much interesting stuff - have you read his post about drinking too much water? Radical! Personally I’ve always felt ghastly if I force myself to chug down as much water as we’re supposed to! He is my new favourite, and is sort of dad-like...

21 miles! Brilliant work! I too love that post-exercise fresh clothes feeling. Is it a throwback to when we were tots on the beach, running around in increasingly cold, wet clothes, till we were towelled down by the grown-ups and wrapped in nice warm things? The best feeling!

[pinkhippie]

Hi Octavia! I am so glad you are finding useful things from Chris Mole! Yes, he is sort of dad-like, isn't he? I did read his post about water. I have read similar sentiments from a few other nutrition writers but you don't find that point of view too often. I think you are onto something with being wrapped in warm things after cold wet clothes, it is definitely like that!

All right, my about 2-week experiment is over. I tried to greatly increase my vegetable intake, almost eliminate my animal product intake and greatly reduce my fat intake to see how it made me feel. I don't think that is the way for me to eat. I notice that I have a lot more rubber band eating that extends past the weekend, and the weekend rubber band eating is more intense. I also had a lot of trouble feeling satisfied. I really think for me it is better to just eat in moderation. And that includes everything. Fat, vegetables, animal product etc...

And all my food experimentation is no judgment on anyone's eating. I REALLY believe that we are all different and our bodies need different things. I am just trying to find my optimum healthy eating and still give my body what it needs without feeling restricted and feeling good. .

I have found lots of good and yummy recipes and I will continue to experiment with vegetable-based recipes, but I am going to add some animal products back in. More experimentation yay!

I did buy crazy expensive grass fed no hormones added beef for meatballs for spaghetti tonight that I am looking forward to.

Aug 4 2020

B: Fiber one cereal with soy milk, cherries, almonds, half a banana, 1 whole-wheat English muffin with jam. coffee with oat milk
I just got back from the store, and I was hungry after unloading. However, I couldn't finish this breakfast completely. I was too full.

L: 1 bowl of vegetable soup with roasted squash on top, 1 veggie burger with tomato from the garden, and 1 peach greek yogurt with fresh peaches.
Yum! This was such a great lunch. It was just the right amount of food and I felt mentally satisfied as well.

D: spaghetti with roasted squash and broccoli, 2 meatballs and sauce, a salad and a piece of garlic bread
this was completely delicious and satisfying. I actually wasn't able to finish all of dinner and I felt content after dinner for the first time in a while.

Bedtime :Chamomile tea with milk and honey

Exercise:

No formal exercise today. My ankle was hurting last night and today and I am staying off it. I feel relieved to have an excuse (not disappointed) so I might need to dial my exercise down a tiny bit. Might have been getting burned out.

[lpearlmom]

I think its important to experiment with food and see what works best. I do best with basically everything in moderation. I dont eat meat but do eat fish and everything else is fair game. Do what feels good. No explanations needed.

Hope ypur ankle feels better soon!

[Jen1974]

I’m “all things in moderation” too!! I can easily skip meat but feel like I need the iron so I don’t but could never skip dairy!! Dairy is probably my favorite food group I love your experiments!! I like doing them too!!

[automatedeating]

Octavia said -

Is it a throwback to when we were tots on the beach, running around in increasingly cold, wet clothes, till we were towelled down by the grown-ups and wrapped in nice warm things? The best feeling!

Yes!!! We would play in our (cold) ocean until I literally couldn't feel my feet.

And Jen - I think dairy is my favorite food group. That and pesto.

Pinkie - I really enjoy seeing how you make your meal plan and then do your shopping - so organized. I do this sometimes, but some weeks are just a crapshoot for the kids' dinners. Bravo to you!