Amy's Checking In Again

[Amy3010]

Thanks for popping in, Imogen! And thanks for the reminder about being sure to eat enough at lunch to stave off afternoon snacking I actually did have quite a big lunch yesterday and it really made a difference. I have also noticed that making sure I have a good source of protein with my lunch also helps a lot.

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[Ellis]

Hi Amy, good to see you again here! How was your diet over at Tx? It’s good to have an extra motivation like health reasons for changing eating habits other than losing weight!

[Amy3010]

Hi Ellis, thanks for popping in! My diet in Texas... I do my best to stick to healthy choices while I am there, and to my usual habits as much as I can, but it can be challenging because the tendency is to eat out a lot more than we do at home. And everything is big in Texas, including restaurant portions! Vegan options in restaurants are much more common, now, though, which is great - even the traditional German restaurant in Fredericksburg we visited offered a vegan plate with a plant-based sausage.

Yes, same as you, health reasons are a huge motivation for me and always have been on this journey. It can't just be about the number on the scale, or I would get too discouraged!

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[Ellis]

Oh I am so glad to hear there are more vegan options over there! I also remember the huge portions when we were in Florida. My partner and me often shared one portion, haha. What is your favorite vegan meal currently?

[Amy3010]

Hi Ellis! at the moment my favorite meal is a vegan version of "asperges op vlaamse wijze" with a creamy tofu scramble on top of the asparagus

After my good start last week, I have to mark yesterday as red - I had dates and walnuts after dinner, felt super hungry after aquagym. Better today!

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[pinkhippie]

Hi Amy!

That's pretty amazing about more vegan options in Texas! That is great! I live in the south but near a very crunchy town and vegan options are still very sparse, and they tend to go out of business after a while.

I think its good that you ate after aquagym, Im sure that you needed it!

[Amy3010]

Thanks, Pink! What is it about exercising in water that makes you so hungry???

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[Imogen Morley]

Your HabitCal looks really good! I applaud your honesty and marking Monday red - I'd have told myself I legit needed food and marked it green... Do you feel like being strict with HabitCal definitions helps you stay accountable? I'm prone to "WTH effect" and one slip-up often leads me to think that the whole day is ruined anyway, so I can do whatever. Curious if you're struggling with that kind of thinking too.

[pinkhippie]

Hi Amy!

I don't know but I know that I am exhausted and starving after even just playing in the water, so good for you for exercising in it!

I admire your ability to mark your days, too! I tend not to be able to do that, due to what Imogen called the WTH effect. If I feel like a failure, Im not successful, but I bet that is an important mindset shift to make. Maybe marking your days helps you make it?

[Amy3010]

Hi Imogen and Pink! I definitely get sucked into WTH thinking at times, too!

I have been tracking on the HabitCal for years, it is one of the first things I do every morning and I think it has evolved over time to be a kind of reminder to myself to look at each day as a new opportunity to eat well. And I am not what you would call super strict with marking a day red, I do take some things into consideration and give myself wiggle room, but I guess I have my personal boundaries around what constitutes a red day, and if I go over those, then the day was red, and I mark it and move on. Snacking after dinner is one of those things

I think I was just saying on Imogen's thread that this is a personal journey, where we have to figure out what works for us long term, and this seems to work for me. But I can totally understand that marking days might have the opposite effect for someone else.

I won't be on the boards again til Monday - we are going to Paris for the weekend, to visit our son who has been working there for the past few weeks. I am looking forward to spending time with him and my husband, beautiful weather, and some nice meals My intention is to keep Friday green as far as No-S, we shall see how that goes No pressure, right?

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[Imogen Morley]

Your weekend sounds exciting! Enjoy the trip!

[Ellis]

Hi Ellis! at the moment my favorite meal is a vegan version of "asperges op vlaamse wijze" with a creamy tofu scramble on top of the asparagus

That sounds pretty good! I am Dutch myself and I have to look it up! I hope you enjoy your trip to Paris!

[pinkhippie]

Sounds amazing!
I know two people IRL who have sons in Paris right now, that is kind of funny. Have a great trip! It sounds like the way you mark your days is defintely working for you.

[Amy3010]

Thank you! We had a great weekend, walked a ton - the weather was gorgeous. Explored some new-to-us areas of Paris and ate great food! In the end I granted myself an S day for Friday, not that I went overboard, but we shared appetizers with dinner, so not technically a one-plate meal...

Back home now and ready to make the rest of the month as green as can be!

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[pinkhippie]

Sounds amazing! Glad you had a good time!

[Amy3010]

Thanks, Pink! It was a good time.

This week has been a struggle with habits because our roofers started with planned work unexpectedly ahead of schedule and we have been scrambling to get things out of our attic and garage, which has been stressful and thrown my routines for a loop. Sigh. Oh well. I will keep trucking along.

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[pinkhippie]

Oh that does sound stressful! Are they also coming very, very early in the morning? When we got our roof replaced a few summers ago, we woke up to boots clomping on the roof at 6 am. It was a bit alarming. ( I understood why because it was so hot, but we weren't expecting them just yet)

I think the fact that you are still keeping track of your green and non-green days will really help you get through this time. I hope the stress eases soon!

[Ellis]

Oof, as soon as your routine slips, it’s so hard to stick to your eating routine too. Hopefully you’ll be able to get back on track soon!

[Amy3010]

Hi guys, and thanks for the support! I wish I didn't get thrown off so easily by this kind of stuff, but I do... Yes, the roofers were here super early, but they did a great job. They will be back tomorrow and possibly Tuesday but then it will be done and we can start putting stuff back in the attic and garage. We emptied the garage yesterday and took two car loads of crap to the recycling center, which felt great. We are really in a "Swedish death cleaning" phase of our lives

Foodwise, it's funny, the one-plate habit is so strong, I don't even think about having seconds anymore, even on weekends - my empty plate is now the signal that I am done.

My husband is going to be out of town for several days this week, and I always struggle with evening snacking when I am on my own at home, so I am putting it out here that my goal this week while he is gone is to refrain from that. And I will keep on working on my consistency. Ten more opportunities to get green this month!

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[pinkhippie]

Thats awesome that your no seconds habit is so strong! That is one of my hardest habits and it sounds like it is so helpful to have that in place. I always want to snack when its just me in the house alone but my tea really helps.

Im glad the roofers are doing a good job and will be done soon! It does feel good to get rid of stuff! We need to do that again ourselves.

Good luck with no evening snacking. you can do it!

[Amy3010]

Thanks, Pink! Yesterday was a non-weekend S day (book club in the evening) and the roofers are now done, so from today it will be back to normal programming. I am determined to finish the month out green!

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[pinkhippie]

Hi Amy,

you can do it! Yay for the roofers being done!

[Amy3010]

Thanks, Pink! Had my tea in the evening...helps a lot.

[Amy3010]

Getting back on track is the best feeling!

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[pinkhippie]

Yay! It does feel good! And it's even better that you are on track and noticing that good feeling because it makes it easier to do, in my experience.

Keep up the good work!

[Amy3010]

It really does, Pink!

[Ellis]

Being on track does feel good! May I ask, do you still aiming for weight loss or just maintaining?

[Amy3010]

Hi Ellis! I am still aiming for weight loss, I would like to get down about 3 - 4 kg and maintain there. I was in that range in 2022 and I really felt happy there. When I started working at my current job in 2023, my weight started creeping up again - I got sloppy with my habits, stress eating started creeping in, and I wasn't as conscientious about working out as I was before.

Getting better about sticking to my eating habits has helped to halt the upward creep, I have been able to stabilize where I am now for a while, but would still like to get back into my happy range. So yes, still focusing on losing, although I always think maintaining is definitely something to be proud of, too. At my highest weight, I was 10 kg heavier than I am now, and I have kept that off permanently through good lifestyle habits. I just have to be vigilant for the slippery slope...

[pinkhippie]

Hi Amy!

Good for you for keeping the 10 kg off! That is a huge accomplishment! After I looked up kg to pounds because I am an American who doesn't know my metric system... I see that your weight loss goal is not a lot. That's fairly similar to mine. I think it can be harder when it's less weight. I have a happy range also, and I am only about 10 pounds away from it! or 4.5 kg... I think.

[Amy3010]

Thanks, Pink! It really does seem to get harder, the closer you get to your goal weight! Sometimes it does feel like such a struggle - to maintain, I have to be mindful about what I am eating most of the time; to get to that lower weight range I have to be very vigilant pretty much all of the time. I do wonder sometimes if I shouldn't just be happy with where I am and let go of wanting to get lower. But if I were to let go, where would I end up? Probably my weight would keep creeping upward...and that is what I want to avoid.

Today is the last day of the month to get green and I am determined!

[pinkhippie]

Hi Amy! You can do it!

I know exactly what you mean! And yes I don't think letting go is an option, at least not for me. I tried that as an experiement back in february and in six weeks I had gained 12 pounds! And I didn't seem to be leveling out. So for now, I don't want to put tons of work in but I also can't stop being vigilant. That's why No S seems like a good option. I was NOT doing No S for those 6 weeks. I was trying to be happy with myself at every size and I bought bigger clothes and I was ok but eventually I realized I really am just happier with myself and my life and activities at a lower weight. So here I am again!

[Amy3010]

Hi Pink! Same here - and it goes way beyond vanity, I believe. I genuinely feel better in myself at that little bit lower weight range.

Thanks for the encouragement! Had a solid green day yesterday We went to Antwerp for the day to visit the photography museum and some galleries (big modern art festival there this weekend)...and I stuck to our lunch out and then made a healthy dinner for us when we got home. In a way, it's easier being out for the day. Luckily I am not tempted by Belgian waffles which are around every street corner

We passed by a pilates gym there that had a slogan on the window that said: "Persist until you're proud", which I kept thinking about in the context of not giving up until you get to where you really want to be (as long as your desired goal is realistic, I think). So I will keep on chugging along.

[Ellis]

That’s a great goal, Amy! I think we all have a weight range where we feel comfortable, and it’s good to hear that you’re working towards that! I totally get what you mean — compared to others, I don’t have that many kilos to lose either, and it goes incredibly slowly. You really have to pay close attention.

Good to hear your trip to Antwerp was a success! I never tried Belgian waffles when we went to Antwerp several years ago, but I love the fries so much! Love that slogan of the pilates place.