Mindful May
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Morning dollies...I love those WHAT I EAT IN A DAY, Austin...I have seen this one, but playing it again. I know there was another one that blew me away... I will have to look for it.
Mihani, I bought TWO more watermelons yesterday. LOL It's stays perfectly crunchy, cold and delicious for work...so I must have it ready to go.
Getting my hair cut today...trying to decide if I should have color done...that will just add to the time I am there. My hair is not THAT gray, and it really looks kinda weaved...it's not the kind of gray that you see the roots. So what it is now, is my color. Last cut was mid January so It is really long...I have short, curly hair. It is just a mess right now...and needs shaping.
Today:
coffee
one or two juices (carrot/orange train right now)
refried beans in a GF vegan tortilla with salsa
salad
potatoes
watermelon
I might add oatmeal again today...no milk made but I might pick up some...or I might just soak some almond right now, and make milk later.
The person that said that oatmeal acts as little pacmen gobbling up cholesterol got my attention just now.
Ok, later, sweet peas!1 -
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Hey Magic, great video suggestion! I passed "Shocking Effects of a Whole Foods Plant Based Vegan Diet" on to a friend who was looking for good stuff to share with her dad! I also passed on the links to nutritionfacts.org and thr PCRM YouTube channel. Hopefully helpful!
I was reminded, while I was looking, of a YouTube channel I love called Great Big Story. They have a lot of life affirming and interesting shorts. Here's a playlist of some of their "Feel Good" stories, if you ever want a dose of that kind of thing:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLMFGVXWuJ1C6PULQBv0jf1v9jn-CpWgIn1 -
Mornin' ... I popped on yesterday evening but I had a really stressful day at the office yesterday and was out of sorts so I didn't post anything. I started to then I thought it sounded whiny.
Today I am going to strive to use mindfulness to keep stress in check.
Hopefully I'll get some time this weekend to check out some of the videos you all have shared.
TGIF!!!
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I am striving to be mindful, too, Mihani. Yesterday, I made a point of not eating quite so much...cuz spinning my wheels "ain't much fun"!
Hope your day is better today...
that stress away!
Austin...I will watch YOUTUBE today at work...when things quiet down, later in the day! Thanks so much for the suggestion!
menu today is really simple...
coffee
carrot/orange juice
a big salad
gf tortilla with black bean refried beans
watermelon
did not get to making almond milk yesterday...but did order a Belgian waffle maker like Jane Esselstyn's (that darn girl, she is always tempting me with new kitchen gadgets)...so I will try her waffles on Sunday, I guess.
Two things I am trying to eliminate in my diet...confession time: (never posted I had these two things on my menu...too embarrassed)
nut pods coffee creamer...have one carton left...will use it up and then be done with it, unless I make almond milk for my coffee...the nut pod one is not that great for me even if it is vegan
and I had been buying french fries....Alexia brand, house cuts with salt...not bad ingredients but there is oil in there...no more in the house. I did order the same french fry cutter that Jane Esselstyn uses...so will make my own. I am not that great with knife skills...and that was always my excuse to buy the processed ones...sooooooooooooooo
I eliminated that excuse and bought a cutter. It arrives Tuesday.
Ok, gotta run for now...love you guys...of course I did get on the scale this morning to see if I lost...IN ONE DAY...lol...nope, no loss. But I feel better that the fries are in my rear view mirror...
Have a great, non-stressful day, my lovelies!
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Hi Magic... I think we all have things here and there that we don't think about. Except maybe Austin, who seems to have a firm handle on this way of life. I've been at it for years and years... and still slide back sometimes. Today I indulged in a handful of TJ's peanut butter pretzels. Ugh. So delicious and so bad for me. My boss knows I like them so he buys them all the time for the office and I'm like STOP! LOL
I will have salad for dinner, and make a skillet full of sauteed kale with onions and garlic. I'm really happy with my lemon tahini dressing. I am enjoying trying different dressings every week and finding new favorites. Keeps my salads from getting boring.
*hugs* (properly socially distant) to all.
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Your post made me feel better, Mihani.
So far all good today...my bean tortilla thing is for after work...no dessert and then bed!
Later, my sweets!1 -
I had some salad and made Dreena Burton's mac oh geeze last night. That stuff is SO good. I made it without oil and used brown rice pasta. I always make my bread crumbs with ezekiel. It was a nice comfort food treat.
I absolutely have to get out and mow the lawn today. It's crazy tall from all the rain we've had. I'll get out there around 9 am.
Plan for today...
B - oats with berries, walnuts, chia seeds, chopped baby spinach
L - leftover mac oh geeze, salad
D - salad, stir-fry veggies and tempeh
And watermelon. Lots of watermelon.
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Oh brother! I did not do so great when I got home last night.
And it shows on my sleep app on my apple watch...my heart rate is very low during the night when I do not eat close to bed time...and last night it was up ...sure sign that my body had work to do since I ate so much at bed time. 
All I can do is try and do better tonight when I get home. That sounds good, Mihani...Dreena's recipe...might look into it over my weekend.
Work food...same as yesterday...thinking I should not even eat when I get home...just watermelon...so I may include my beans and tortilla at work...I am trying to have beans every day...definitely helps things move along.
OK, my sweets, time to go...have a great day. Mihani, enjoy the
...being outside will do you good!
Later, mates.0 -
at work...
brought:
carrot/orange juice
plenty of watermelon
salad
two air fried corn Ezekiel corn tortillas
about a 3/4 cup refried black Amy's beans
goal tonight...go home, love on Lulu a bit...and get into bed and NOT eat. Lord!
I did get on the scale this morning...I was down a tiny bit! Now, had I just gone to bed when I got home from work and NOT eaten...I probably would have been down two pounds...but NOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I had to blow entire day.
Diet gods, give me strength to just not eat when I get home from work!0 -
Hey there, plant-based friends,
I am just back from my first Costco run in ages. They have affordable goji berries, and I was OUT. My little morning of gojis and almond butter is super delicious, and I really wanted more. It may sound silly, but that helping of gojis and almond butter is super delish, my favorite WFPB treat. We all have our things, right?
I got there 1/2 hour after they opened, but I need to not leave this until Saturday, as the place was more crowded than I'd have liked, with lots of people less worried about masks and personal distance and such. I scored T.P. (yay!), frozen blueberries, strawberries, spices and my husband's favorite coconut oil for his morning coffee. Oh, and it may be way off topic, but I splurged on an item of clothing (super unusual for me) -- this skirt, the blue floral version.
Now I am off to eat lunch and then -- bum bah BUMMMM
-- talk to someone about a project I am super behind on.
Magic, your cutter sounds super cool! Hang in there on the diet.
Mihani -- I need to do yard work this weekend, too. And Magic, you are so right about the value of outside time. Maybe I will be a little calmer after some weeding. I have only done my bare minimum this week, and the yard is OUT of control.
P.S. Magic, you have gotten me off on a WFPM YouTube kick. YouTube suggested I watched the first Krocks video. Super interesting! I was a comparable size to her, back when I started (I topped out at about 280 lbs.). So if I seem a little tightly wound about sticking to the diet, it's determination not to end up back there again, especially with all the health problems. My health is not perfect now, but things are a lot better. Biggest thing now is rosacea, which has improved but not gone. Maybe if I ate fewer spices? But I love them, so the heck with that. My current spice obsessions are turmeric and cinnamon. Yum. Nutritional yeast, too.
P.S. Here's a gratuitous happy thing for you. And not a corgi, for a change!
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Awww... kittens are so cute! Austin, I go through a lot of turmeric these days. Seems like it wasn't so popular even 5 years ago but it's in a lot of recipes that I like now. In soups I always seem to go to turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, black pepper. I also like curry and cayenne for a touch of heat. Hope you got all your yard work done and made progress on your project.
Magic, how'd you do after work yesterday? Is business picking up now? I remember you saying a number of people were laid off. I ate up the last of my watermelon last night and now I'm sad! I left my windows open last night in my bedroom and turned on the ceiling fan. Slept so well.
I may try a grocery run this morning. Amazon isn't delivering things like hand soap, kleenex, etc. Sigh.
Today's plan...
B - steel cut oats with greens and berries, walnuts and chia seeds
L - leftover mac oh geeze, salad
D - salad, leftover stir-fry
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Good morning, inspirational friends!
Magic, I hope all is going well for you today!
I am so glad you liked the kittens, Mihani! Sometimes I need a bit iof cheering up, and I just thought I would share. And hey, if you get tired of my adding little images, let me know. I am open to being told "that's off topic!"
Yesterday went pretty well. No yard work progress, but I did get work on one of my 2 projects, which was excellent. And I kept to the WFPB plan. Ooh, and I ate some of my homegrown 🥦 broccoli sprouts. They were tasty, but it seemed like more seeds stayed unsprouted than I'd have hoped. Not sure if I did something wrong? Anyway, they tasted good (and I had been a wee bit worried since they had a pretty strong aroma as they grew).
My next home-growing project will be microgreens (including basil!). Hopefully I get those started today.
Today -- so far, so good! I got a wild hair this morning and emptied out, cleaned, decluttered and reset one of my kitchen cupboards (a small one). Woohoo! I can find some things that were lost!
Even better -- I just finished a good chunk of work on a one of my 2 scary-behind projects, so YAY to that.
Now I am about to go make lunch. I started to do that a minute ago, but my husband was doing things that had our little bird🐦shrieking SO excitedly that I retreated from my office to preserve my hearing! 👂 😞
Okay, off to have lunch!0 -
Oh my goodness, Austin... nothing off topic here. Except politics. This is the one place in the world and on the internet that I can go and not have to be bombarded with political squabbling. Soooo peaceful! LOL
I stuck to plan today. didn't get as much work done as hoped because I took a nap. I am going to spend the evening cleaning. Just need to sweep up all the dog hair and dust, give the bathrooms a once over.
I am going to do some yoga after I clean. I'm getting more consistent but still miss a day or two each week and I feel so much better when I get my yoga in.
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Happy Monday!
Mihani -- oh, am I envious of that nap! And, wow, yes, I am totally good with this as a no politics zone. Yes, phew! As you say, this is such a peaceful corner of the world for me.
So above is my peaceful image for the day!
The rest of yesterday went well. I got another big chunk of work on the Scouts project done. No yard work, as I got so busy with that. I finished off my broccoli sprouts. I did not get microgreens planted, but I did save the bottoms from my romaine and green onions, and am trying to sprout those.
Today we celebrated a bit with a morning nature walk.
Rest of today includes:
- Stick to my WFPB food plan.
- Scouts project work!
- Make up a shopping list for tomorrow so I can go in first thing (stayed away from the store this morning as I thought it would be too crowded for my liking with it being a holiday)
- Take a short nap
- Get in some extra cardio; feeling a bit like I need to move more; do a few arm weights as well
- Some housecleaning (I already did some vacuuming and dusting and door cleaning and a little bit in the garage, so I actually have a good start on this)
Magic - I hope you and Lulu are well and happy today!
Austin0 -
Hi Austin, sounds like a busy day! I meant to mention before, I seem to notice a lot more seeds when I grow sprouts than in store bought as well. I googled it a while back and the answer seems to be making sure you shake or spin off as much water as possible after rinsing. I use an easy sprout container and I thought I was doing fine, but maybe not. I got out of the habit of making them every week and should start again. I got a little spooked by all the food poisoning stories, although it seems like mung bean and alfalfa are the worst offenders there.
Having a good day except the cable company guy was here and while he was quite nice I think he went out of his way to touch everything he came near! I bleach wiped everything after he left, but geeze! He was also wearing a mask covering his mouth but not his nose. I am not overly paranoid (I don't think so anyway) but I am cautious and since I live alone I consider my house a safe zone and that bugged me.
I made a big batch of hummus and enjoying sprouted grain wraps with hummus, pickled onions, cucumber and lettuce today. Yum.
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I need to catch up reading...and will but wanted to post I am doing better...still,not the best night Saturday, when I last reported. But Sunday was better and yesterday was very good. So, I am going to just continue on!
coffee
green juice
oat waffles from Jane Esselstyn
carrot orange juice
soup with ramen and loads of veggies
watermelon
Oh yes, french fry cutter arrives...may try it out...not sure.
Back later sweet peas!
LOVED the kitty video...LOVED that we all know there is no politics allowed here...totally on board with THAT! LOVE you guys!0 -
Hi Magic! Glad to hear your days are steadily improving. Can't wait to hear how your french fry cutter works.
I was sleepy today. I napped too much this weekend and I didn't sleep well last night. Just had my salad and an almond milk yogurt. Now I'm going to read for a few and get to bed early hopefully get back on schedule. I've been all out of routine since covid and need to get back to normal.
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Hope u slept, Mihani...oh, french fry cutter arrived late last night...might use tonight...will let you know. Well, at least, without even using it, it has kept me from buying Alexia french fries.
I made the oat waffles from Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease...good but think I can tweak it to make them crispier...today, I am just reheating two in the air fryer. We'll see how that goes.
For two days now, I have been having celery juice...I think it may be help my pain...have not had to ice during the day at all...will keep u updated.
Menu will probably look like this:
coffee
celery juice
oat waffles with blueberries
carrot orange juice
veggies and hummus
hmmmmmm, not sure...french fries and salad or ultimate burger with the works
watermelon
I think that it's for now. I will say that my sleeping is better the last two nights with the celery juice in me...if that helps anyone.
later sweet peas0 -
Hello y'all. I had a good day. Was in bed at 9:00 last night and fell asleep quickly. Slept clear through to 5 a.m. Felt so much better today.
Had a Dr. McD soup and banana for lunch. Dinner will be a big ol' salad and some baked corn tortilla chips with hummus. It is so much easier for me to eat well when I'm well rested. Fatigue = hunger in my body.
I have to get another watermelon, Magic. Craving it!
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I’m with you...lack of sleep = bad food choices or too much food!
Did not put French fry cutter together...
Dinner was so good...
Mashed potatoes with wilted spinach...side of steamed zucchini and black beans and corn with a drizzle of jalapeño juice...it comes in a jar from Trader Joe’s...they are HOT SWEET JALAPEÑOS ... there is sugar in it. It’s quite tasty ...Hot For Food Lauren uses it is her nacho cheese sauce recipe
All out of creamer for my coffee...black tomorrow. No Alexia French fries in the house either.
Today was day three of celery juice...I think it’s helping my knees.
Austin, meant to tell you...a bit of a fan of Krocks in the kitchen...they’re ok.
Plentiful Kiki is one to check out.
Find her on YouTube, instagram and Facebook
She is starting a challenge June 1st on Instagram, along with High Carb Hannah and someone else..
Should be good....it’s based on McDougall 1/2 plate starch 1/2 plate veggie...calorie density.
Later dollies0 -
Today will look like this:
celery juice
coffee
oat waffles with Simple Fruit Compote
watermelon
refried black beans and corn tortillas over a bed of chopped romaine with tomatoes, cilantro, chopped cukes, onions (not sure how I am putting this together, but those are the ingredients)
carrot/orange juice
mashed potatoes with loads of spinach, black beans-corn-jalapeno juice, roasted zucchini
cherries
Make your day delicious everyone!0 -
Good morning, friends!
Magic, I am hoping your black coffee was okay this morning. I have learned to love black coffee, but there was a bit if a transition. Also, I treat myself sometimes to one of the house blends at our grocery store, but one with more flavor than my standard Cafe Bustelo.
You actually are the person that had me go check out Krocks in the Kitchen, Magic! I am not a huge fan, but I got more interested in them after seeing their 'starting off' video, and getting a sense of their story. I started off, in 2017, at over 270 pounds, so I kinda connected more with them when I got that was the kind of thing they were up to.
Plantiful Kiki is indeed fun (such a pretty set of pics on Instagram), though I don't find myself picking up her recipes much. Just a what works for me thing, as I seem to have to go lighter on starches, and have a couple of oddball things I have to avoid (the big one is bananas... *sigh*). Are you doing that June challenge? It sounds like a great way to get people to try WFPB! (You, of course, are already there!)
It's great that you are sleeping better. I, too, have to be careful about not eating too late. Simplky making sure I get to bed early enough makes a big difference. I heard Dr. Neal Barnard talk about this recently. He goes to bed at 10. I did at least start my bedtime routine a little after 10 last night, so did a little better.
Mihani, speaking of sleep, how great that you got yourself to bed by 9. I.... should likely try that some nights!
My Thursday Menu will be something like:
B-coffee, green smoothie (broccoli, spinach, blueberries, lemon juice, spices), almond butter, goji berries
L-steamed spinach & black beans; zucchini, tomatoes & onion; steamed mushrooms & carrots; acorn squash & jicama for dessert
S-apple slices & brazil nuts
D-big salad incl. raw diced beets; homemade dressing; steamed turnip and butternut
I picked up a papaya and a couple of mangoes, but think I am waiting for all of those to ripen.
Other plans include work on my 2 scary-behind volunteer projects. I am making progress! Still scary behind, but getting better.0 -
Austin... I forgot I suggested Krocks to you! 🤪
I got turned off by them actually by her going on and on about a binge ... which can be a trigger for me. Not her fault I guess...but the whole situation sort of bothered me! Too much detail on food that we no longer eat.
Coffee was ok today...it is good coffee in a French Press .. I WILL adapt! I did miss the creamy frothy goodness but I need better numbers on my blood!
Today was day four of celery juice...it sure makes me more alert and ready to go in the morning. Sets the tone of the day.
Had salad with my oat waffle!
Austin can you deta your journey a bit! 270 to your current weight...short version is ok! What a star you are! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. You might have already posted...sorry!
BBL.
CHEERS!0 -
I haven't got a watermelon yet! I will do that tomorrow for sure.
You all sound like you are doing great. I've had a super busy week at work and not much time to post but I do read everything. Maybe this weekend I can catch up more on responses.
Had a good ETL kind of day. Soup, salad, fruit.0 -
Hello, peeps!
Mihani, like you, I check in more often than I post.
Sometimes it's because I try posting, and it seems to disappear! That happened today!
So here is a retry on a reply to you, Magic!
- Here's a link to some notes on the journey: https://bit.ly/austinsweightlossnotes
- And here's a link to my MFP blog, as I did weekly updates for a long while. I gave up because nobody was reading it. Here's a link (note that the earliest entry is at the bottom of the page): https://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/AustinRuadhain?month=201807
Doing well on my ETL plan for the day! One of my dinner salads (thanks again for suggesting I try raw beet, Mihani!):
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Oh, yes! This will be fun to read at work, Austin...thanks so much for putting up the links.
Day two of no creamer, no no no. To be honest, I feel better (even though it is not as tasty) just knowing I am doing what I can to make me healthier. NO short cuts for sure...darn darn darn.
Day five of celery juice...here's what I am taking to work.
celery juice
carrot/orange
salad with a side of steamed veggies
two corn tortillas with bean/corn salsa I made (added onions, cilantro, celery, jalapeno juice)
W A T E R M E L O N (hope you are able to get one today, Mihani)!
cherries when I get home
Have a super day everyone.
Make it delicious!
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Did not have a chance to make corn tortillas...but brought two cold oat waffles.
Soooooo good! Will do that again.
Also forgot dressing for my salad...think I dump some of my corn bean salsa in there for extra flavor!
Later!1 -
Well, I need to get a LOT more serious about this...spinning my wheels...eat fine but not losing, and since joining you guys in March of 2019, I have gained. NOT good.
I am going to really look over your diary, Austin and see what the heck you are doing that is working so well.
It just so happens today I am very high on non starchy stuff ...so that will be a good start to my new resolve.
Later! 1 -
magic71755 wrote: »Well, I need to get a LOT more serious about this...spinning my wheels...eat fine but not losing, and since joining you guys in March of 2019, I have gained. NOT good.
I am going to really look over your diary, Austin and see what the heck you are doing that is working so well.
It just so happens today I am very high on non starchy stuff ...so that will be a good start to my new resolve.
Later!
Keep in mind that what works for me may not work at all well for you.
We have different genetics, different gut biomes, different personalities.
So the way of eating that works for me I arrived at through measuring, logging, reading up on options, and then trying things out while I logged and looked to see what worked. I still log, and still try little things. The logging is why I eat no bananas, for example. When I was losing weight, eating one banana over the course of a week was enough to cut my weight loss (which was pretty steady week to week) in half. I tried it twice, with a no-banana week in between. The week ion between, weight loss went back to normal. Banana week #2 - half the weight loss again. My conclusion was that I am, still, more sensitive to some very sweet (high glycemic index) foods than many people. I have had a couple of professionals tell me that was the case, and it was interesting to see it at work. So I still skip the banana recipes and eat more raw, high fiber fruit -- apples and berries and jicama and sweetish winter squashes. I eat more veggies than starches, just because I can't get away with it.
All of this to say -- look away, but you are your own science experiment!
And as a reminder -- you seriously inspire me with ow well you do, being on no meds and all! Amazeballs! 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvWeeABtN9U
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