Daily Check In: Are You On Track Today?

shariletts

Good to hear that you are getting back to some routine DW. It is also good to hear that your daughter is taking steps to move forward. It must be so difficult.

Thankful for the weekend as always. No plans, but I am sure we will manage to fill up our day. I need to clean a bit, but hope to find something fun to do as well.

Paulawilldo

Hope both of you, DW and Shari, had a good Saturday. I got right back on track today and feel good about that. I tackled a few chores which I have been avoiding so progress there too. But today I got some sad news...my organic delivery market is out of business as of today. I am so disappointed by this. I have been with them since they opened 5 years ago. They had the most beautiful produce and other healthy items at what I considered to be reasonable prices. I truly depended on them a great deal. My organic milk delivery service has recently added some produce, meats, and other items so I will increase my purchases with them. I am wondering if the milk service might eventually increase their selection of offerings.

A blessed Sunday friends!

shariletts

That is sad news Paula. It seems like several businesses are struggling to stay open. We drive by many storefronts that are no longer occupied. We haven't personally felt the loss apart from my favorite Vietnamese place. There is still one location operating, but it isn't convenient for me so I haven't been to it.

I am going to enjoy my day of rest. I plan to read and work on a puzzle. That is all I have planned. I may go for a walk if the weather is milder. I haven't checked the temp outside yet.

Paulawilldo

Reading and working on a puzzle sounds like a good way to spend your Sunday, Shari. After our online church service John and I worked on the "assignment" (actually readings and some worksheets) for our Monday online Bible study. We are enjoying this class very much. It is nice to have our "homework" done ahead of time. Most weeks we just do it on Monday right before the class starts.

My scale remains at a standstill. Today was an ok day for my food choices. I was very hungry early in the day but then was ok as the day went on. For supper I made a ground turkey stir fry with some of the last wonderful veggies from my organic delivery. I felt sad that I was using up just about the last of what I got last week. I still have a picture-worthy cauliflower and some nice fruit, but that is it.

shariletts

I fall into the category of getting the reading and assignments done before the class too. If I do it too early, I don't have good recall of what I read and why I thought what I did. It would probably be better to do it ahead of time and then review the material so it is fresh in my mind.

I wonder if the organic company closed it's doors because of how much food prices went up. It would be hard to stay afloat with everything getting so expensive.

Back to work today- which is simply heading to my home office. I am glad for that today. I was really tired all day yesterday and went to bed early. I woke up and set a second alarm as I was still tired. Hopefully once I start moving around I will feel like I have my energy back. If not, it will be another early to bed night. I haven't had stress in a week, so maybe my body is responding to that.

Paulawilldo

Yes the organic delivery was impacted by the inflationary prices. Here is part of what they said in the goodbye email "inflation of prices for product, packaging and fuel has made it so that we can no longer sustain our profit margin without losing our customer base. One of our points of pride was not raising our prices like competitors or taking on excessive customers which would reduce our quality of service so that you could continue to receive quality products at an affordable rate."

You are wise Shari for getting to bed early. I have been making a little progress in that area and notice the positive difference when I do so. Still no progress at the scale, but I am adhering to my plan pretty well so I know I will see some good news at the scale soon. I am staying the same, so not gaining also counts as a win in my book. I am very pleased with the amount of work I did around the house today. My energy was pretty good, and I was very motivated for a few of my tasks, including cleaning out a small section of a closet in the family room. I filled a garbage bag (a small one, maybe 13 gallon) with things we no longer need/want. None of it was anything we could donate so out it all went.

Paulawilldo

shariletts

I went to bed earlier again last night and still didn't want to get up this morning! Maybe one more night. I have no news on the scale either. I am also thankful that I am not going up- I hope that doesn't start up again! I didn't do any housework yesterday apart from watering my plants. That takes awhile as I can't use our well water and reverse osmosis tap is super slow. I almost have too many plants now- so hopefully no more!

We still have to sort our our basement from our old stuff along with DH's old stuff. It will be wonderful to have less clutter.

Paulawilldo

So nice to have so many plants Shari! I pretty much have a black thumb but have been successful growing parsley in a few pots in my kitchen, and also I have a Christmas cactus that is doing well. Hope you are feeling better rested. An early morning text woke me up this morning way before I was planning to get up. I felt very tired today, but at least today I knew why and didn't feel like it was a flare.

I liked my scale this morning because it said I lost 2 pounds....well, we all know how widely my scale fluctuates, but it motivated me to be extra good today in hopes of holding on to that number. We'll see....not sure if I want to weigh in tomorrow or not. I did a grocery pick up today and will do another tomorrow at my other "go-to" supermarket. I have been comparison shopping online and really trying to focus on clean healthy foods, since my organic service closed.

shariletts

This morning I finally feel well rested. I went to bed pretty early again and doing that three nights in a row has finally paid off. Nothing to report with weight loss. I am still stuck. So happy for you Paula!

I have a full going into the office today. I do look forward to Wednesdays now as I get to meet up with my friend over my supper break. We are reading a book called, "It's not Supposed to be This Way." We are both excited to chat about the first two chapters tonight.

I am not sure what my next move will be to encourage weight loss! I am so stuck. Right now I would be content if I only lost four pounds and then held that number.

Paulawilldo

Shari, I love the idea that you and your friend are reading a book and then discussing. I looked at the book on Amazon, and it looks like an excellent book. Please keep me posted on what you think of the book as you progress through the chapters. It looks like something I would enjoy reading.

Unfortunately (as expected) my scale is up by 3 pounds! So not only did I not lose the 2 pounds as registered on my scale yesterday, but I am up another pound based on today's weigh in. It makes no sense based on how faithful I have been to my plan. Ugh! The timing was bad too because today I was pretty hungry and my motivation was down mostly because of the number on the scale. I know that is a poor excuse, but I struggled today and caved more than once. Tomorrow I will strive to be back on track.

shariletts

The first two chapters are very good. Lysa is a very gifted writer. We had a vulnerable and challenging (in a good way) conversation.

I know how frustrating the numbers on the scale can be. I have been weighing daily and I am stuck, stuck, stuck. I know I can be eating better. I do feel deflated after giving up more and more from my diet and then not seeing any results. I hope my body will start to cooperate so I don't lose heart! Even a little bit of loss would really help my motivation to keep trying.

Paulawilldo

I had a reasonably good day today in terms of logging my food and staying on track. I was down about a half pound today but now just take all of these fluctuations with caution. I didn't do a lot today but still accomplished some little things. It was rainy and chilly here so I took advantage of the time to catch up by phone with some friends who I thought would be home in such weather, and that worked out well. I was able to make some plans with a friend from the inter-church group I am involved with. We have a meeting coming up next month, and I was very concerned about some potential problems, but now I feel better about how we will proceed. It gets complicated sometimes depending on the personalities involved in the process, and a dear friend of mine was causing problems that really worried me. It seems to me now though that things will be a little better. Hope I am right!

shariletts

Relationships are my number one stressor in life. Lots of other things happen, but the fix is typically something one can forge ahead with. Relationship takes at least two people to work on.

I now have an upright freezer as we thought our broke. It turns out that the on/off switch on the power bar got bumped. I didn't notice that was the issue until DH had already bought the new freezer- new to us. I am giving it a try and see if I like it better than the chest freezer. If I do, we can sell our old one. I don't think that I need two. I was stressed about how much food we had in the old one and that it was too much for two people. I had to throw 1/3 of the food out since it thawed (the food on the top). If we can keep our freezer food at the amount we have now, I will be super happy.

No weight loss to report. I would welcome a dip, even for a day or two Paula! My scale seems quite firm.

Paulawilldo

Shari, so sorry you lost food from your freezer. That must hurt. I would so love to have an extra freezer! I used to have a 2nd refrigerator that had a small freezer in my basement many many years ago. When that broke I had it removed and never replaced it. Now since I am unable to get to the basement it wouldn't do me any good anyway, but if I had an extra freezer I would love to stock it with sale items and such to have on hand.

I did not stay on track today. I was pretty deflated by my stagnant scale numbers this morning and was feeling quite hungry. So I ate a bit more and had some foods I have been avoiding lately...including some chocolate again. I did track my calories and am above my range of course but not horribly so. I will be back on track tomorrow.

shariletts

I appreciate our basement freezer a lot. We often will buy a quarter beef from our cousins so we need the space to store it. Having a freezer that is a bit smaller makes me happy. We don't need to have as much food on hand as we do and with the upright, it really is easier to see what is inside. The food loss was sad though.

I was not on track yesterday and I didn't track. I am not sure why I can't keep all of the habits that I want to achieve going all at the same time. That must be the key.

Paulawilldo

I tracked ALL of my food today, and it isn't pretty. It was another "hungry" day for me, not sure why. My motivation was lacking today so that could be part of the problem. I really have to focus on portion control for all foods except veggies and fruits. I never seem to go overboard with those because they are so low in calories. I did get a lot of my to do list taken care of today so I am happy about that. The day went by quickly. I am ready for a day of rest on Sunday.

DW2022

Good Morning ! I hope you are both doing well!! We are stumbling along..I am still going between my daughter’s home and ours several times a day. Her heart is broken but she is making small steps forward and I am so proud of her!
Yesterday the two of us drove to a produce market that I love but don’t get to often because it’s 30 miles away in MI. The prices are really great compared to grocery stores but the produce isn’t organic. Also, over time I found out that I need to either eat it or freeze it promptly, so that is how I spent the afternoon.
No real progress in the weight department-up and down the same 3 pounds around the weight I was when we first started the 17DD. I am feeling desperate to make progress because it is impacting me physically but my best intentions disappear for my late night binges.
Today’s a new day …..Happy Sunday!!

shariletts

I feel deeply for your daughter's broken heart. I trust that she will continue to move forward and find a new path to joy while cherishing the love she had with her husband.

I continue to stay at the same weight with slight variations. We went a walk yesterday which was very nice since the weather was mild. Looking forward to a relaxing day and maybe do a bit of cooking.

Paulawilldo

DW, Your daughter is fortunate to have your strong support as she grieves. A mother's love and understanding is always important but most especially at times such as this for your daughter. So good that she is doing things with you like going to the produce market. Praying for both of you.

I had a totally on track day today....not sure why. I made salsa chicken for supper which John loves and which is very low in calories and carbs. I added some brown rice but was cautious with my portion. I didn't have any attacks of the "hungries" today and am grateful for that. Hoping to repeat my on track eating tomorrow and so on!

shariletts

I managed to track almost of what I ate yesterday. I saw that I was at my upper range, so that could explain why I haven't been losing, but maintaining. I will give it my best to track again and see if I can aim to have few calories and hit my macros target.

I am only working a half day today. I am going with my friend to meet the Crown Prosecutor. She is the friend that had the restraining order and it was broken four times so the guy was charged. She is super anxious about this meeting and I hope that I can be a good support for her. I will take notes since we might not remember everything we are told or asked.

Paulawilldo

Shari, congrats on doing so well with your tracking! I think I have done it so much that it is pretty much a solid habit for me now. I tracked today as usual and did ok with most of my choices. I came across a gift card for Olive Garden that I forgot I had. John had a meeting today near an Olive Garden so I ordered online for curbside pick up. I ordered 2 servings of minestrone becauseI remembered reading a long time ago that minestrone is about the most diet friendly item on the OG menu. We ordered 2 chicken marsala entrees in order to use up the gift card amount. John had one for supper today and will have the other tomorrow. I tasted his entree but that was it as I stuck with the minestrone. I was pleased that I didn't use the OG food as an excuse to go far off track.

I hope all went well with your friend's meeting. I haven't heard the term Crown Prosecutor before. It that similar to a lawyer or what in the USA we call something like a district attorney?

shariletts

I didn't manage to track my food yesterday. I was so busy and it was a full day.

I learned yesterday that I do not like our court system. It protects the accused far more than it stands to protect the victim. I believe both people deserve to represented with equal rules. Our Crown Prosecutor would be similar to a district attorney. But it's not like in the shows where they gather evidence and build their case. Our meeting was about procedure and we were told that she couldn't discuss evidence with us, and that if we had things we wanted to submit that we should consult a lawyer and then take anything to the police. She also said what ever we spoke about regarding evidence, would be shared with the defence. The defence lawyer does not have to abide by the same rules. It was a big let down and it's a wonder anyone gets convicted of anything. I think we have a lot more criminals running around free because of rules. We believe that our cousin was murdered by her husband, he had two trials. The first one was a mistrial due to a hung jury, he was convicted in the second one but ended up getting out when he wanted a review of some legal thing. This trial is set for June 1. We left without much hope of a conviction. There is a win. She found her freedom when she was no longer being harassed. That stopped after he was charged when he broke the restraining order. Four months to wait now.

Paulawilldo

So sad that such situations exist in your court system. It seems this is a growing trend as it seems our court system also seems to protect the accused with much less concern/protection for victims. So sorry about your cousin. What a tragic and unthinkable situation! You are so right about your friend's freedom being so important. I pray she stays strong and has a fruitful and peaceful future.

I struggled with eating again today. I tracked everything and looked at my choices closely. I could have done much better today but realize that I am making progress in focusing more and more on increasing healthy choices while having fewer "slips." Definitely a work in progress!

shariletts

I thought I had a good eating day, but the scale didn't agree with me! I am still finding it difficult to track all day. I am getting better. I always track breakfast and I try to pre-record lunch. I forget to track dinner. I know I can do it, I just have to do it. I will work on it today.

Today I am going to wear my step counter. I will try and get those 10,000 steps in today. I think I sneak in a walk at our mall before dinner and youth group tonight.

We have a polar vortex coming on Saturday. I am not looking forward to another super cold week.

DW2022

Hello! Shari, your experience with the justice system sounds discouraging but educational. Are there any victims advocate groups to help people navigate the system? Paula, I am so impressed with your healthy choices at OG!!
My weight was up today and my hips are very painful! I need to get back to doing my PT exercises regularly and do better with my food choices. We are expecting several inches of snow today and it’s off to a good start on that. I went to the grocery yesterday and plan to stay in today.
I wish I could find an eating plan that works and I can stick to it long term. Have a Good Wednesday!

Paulawilldo

Brrrr on that polar vortex headed your way Shari. Hope you won't have to be out in it much if at all! We had snow today, just a few inches, but the most we have had all winter. Then, as the day went on it warmed up and we had heavy rain which washed away all of the snow. Now, that is my kind of snow storm.....pretty and then gone before it needed to be shoveled or cleaned away.

DW, I hear you on trying to find a plan that works and is livable long term. A friend from Spark People (not on the 17DD team) recommended the book The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet: Smart, Simple, Science-Based Strategies for Losing Weight and Keeping It Off, which I refer to from time to time. It is a sensible plan with stuff we already know. My problem is managing that darn portion control and not caving when I crave more than an occasional sweet. I have been still drinking my water along with coffee and tea and still struggling. Today was another one of those days.

shariletts

I struggled yesterday with my eating plan. I can't afford to have any more slip ups. I have a new determination today and will check in as per usual and let you know how today goes.

We do have support from victim services, but just for the day of the trial. We just have to expect the worse case scenario and hope that the man never ever reaches out again. If he does, we will be right back requesting another restraining order. Hopefully the day in court is a serious reminder for this guy.

I need to have a good day today and declare this the start of a streak!

Paulawilldo

Shari, please send some of your determination my way. I had another struggling day, ugh! I started out strong but let myself get too hungry by not having lunch until very late. I had an electrician here today replacing one of our outside motion sensor lights. He was a very nice young man who it turns out lives very close to us. He stayed quite a while just talking which I enjoyed. By the time he left, I was ravenous. I tried to fill up on some grape tomatoes along with a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread. It wasn't enough. I made myself wait well over 20 minutes to allow my body to feel satisfied, but I remained quite hungry and ended up grazing for the rest of the afternoon. I ate my planned healthy supper (lean pork chops, veggies, and some potato), but I know my afternoon choices were quite poor and certainly not conducive to weight loss.

shariletts

I had a good day yesterday and I was down slightly on the scale. Nothing exciting, but a start. I am so hungry though this morning. I will have to see if I can stay strong with my choices of what to eat.

Emotionally I had a hard night. DH and I seem to have conflict a little too often lately. I am pretty tired and drained. I go to the office today and I think it will be good to be away for the day. We are hosting our bible study group tonight, that includes dinner. I am so tired that I wish it wasn't our turn to host. I will have to put on my happy self and just get it done. Saturday and Sunday will be recovery days for me. I cleaned the house last night so I won't have to do any cleaning this weekend. That is the positive side of things.