What's On Your Mind Today?
Mrs_Hoffer
Posts: 5,194 Member
This is where you can share what's on your mind. Recipes, ideas, workouts, anything that you think might be helpful to others.
Maybe, you've tried something that has worked for you in the past and would like to share it with the group. Maybe, you have a NSV (Non Scale Victory) that you would like to share with the group. Anything that you feel comfortable sharing or anything that you feel comfortable asking the group for help....this is the place to come.
The GOOD!! What NSV did you have this week!!
The BAD!! So what....you ate the whole thing!!
The UGLY!! That darn scale went through the window this week....it deserved it too!!
So, what's on your mind today??
Maybe, you've tried something that has worked for you in the past and would like to share it with the group. Maybe, you have a NSV (Non Scale Victory) that you would like to share with the group. Anything that you feel comfortable sharing or anything that you feel comfortable asking the group for help....this is the place to come.
The GOOD!! What NSV did you have this week!!
The BAD!! So what....you ate the whole thing!!
The UGLY!! That darn scale went through the window this week....it deserved it too!!
So, what's on your mind today??
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Replies
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I noticed that several of you are either very close to retirement, or newly retired (and "waves to all other members too!" and every age / career stage out there - not ignoring you-all!)
I am two years away from retirement, and almost 18 months into "work 100% from home". My position is probably going to stay being "work off-site" (or telecomute or whatever you wish to call it) either 100% or mostly so from now till The Last Day.
Anyone else in a similar situation? What strategies have you put into play to make up for "no longer being able to use trips to the photocopier to get extra steps in"?
With the ( North American ) second "work from home winter" close on the horizon, I am looking for encouraging "keep moving" strategies.
I want to make them embedded positive habits, as I am practically "acting as if retired" already (in the sense of lack of office environment or regular commute, or needing to be packing a lunch to take with me )3 -
Hello @BMcC9 !! We've transitioned into WFH 2 days/week (Mondays & Fridays) and being in the office the other 3 days. I def get more steps when I'm in the office (farther to walk to the restroom, break room, etc). But I've found that even at home, I do SO much better when I strive to have 3k steps (fitbit) by 10am..... 6k steps by 2pm, and 9k steps by 6pm. This helps me to "stay on target" throughout the day, and I'm not struggling to play catch up later in the evening. (I shoot for 10k/day). I also try to take a short walk outside if/when I can for the vitamin D! If not outside, then I'll do 20-30 mins on the treadmill instead. Good to see you back!!
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Hello @BMcC9 - I was working from home full time prior to retirement because of the pandemic. Honestly, it made the transition to retirement much easier since my commute was the same and as you said the lunches and coffee were the same. I think it really depends on the type of person you are - I'm fine not having a specific plan for the day other than a loose weekly schedule. On the other hand, I have a friend that makes snide comments about how he couldn't be happy not having a "purpose" and not having a daily schedule that is filled all day long.
As far as incorporating good habits to transition, it has taken me a full year to get to the realization that I was replacing doing work for my employer to making ME (and my family) my job. So that means setting goals for my health, creating a project plan, using metrics to see if I'm on track, rewarding myself for a job well done, gently coaching myself when things aren't on track, etc. MFP has been a great tool and community to assist with my project. You all are my co-workers!
So my daily routine is to exercise around 9 am everyday for an hour and I'm just starting to figure ways to incorporate another 250-300 calories of NEAT before noon. After exercise, I plan my calories for the day so that I know if I'm hungry or need a snack, I can decide what I want to do about it (does it fit within calorie/macro range?, should I eat and not have my evening treat?). I haven't yet gotten burned-out from my new "job", but I'm keeping an eye open and will adjust my focus areas after meeting my goals.
Sorry for being long-winded about this, but as I said, it has taken me a bit to reach this realization.8 -
Thanks for sharing @enlightenme3 . That's very helpful for me, and I'm not even retired yet! (Although I've got less than 1 year until I quit my FT job). It is a major life change and I'm sure that it takes a while to get used to all the changes! Your comment about So that means setting goals for my health, creating a project plan, using metrics to see if I'm on track, rewarding myself for a job well done, gently coaching myself when things aren't on track, etc. is something I can be working on RIGHT NOW! Again, thanks!5
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@MMcC9
I too follow a hybrid work model M-F I do about 8-12 hrs/wk in office rest from home. I get my steps by walking while talking on work cell, I consciously make sure to take dogs out in yard about every 2 hrs or so and do a lunch time walk. Sometimes I stand up and work in kitchen or take a walk outside of course my cell always with me to be reachable.1 -
There is a fair bit of chatter in Nov. 1 about "monkey brains" and "getting a new sheriff in town" that has resonated with many many others. It put me in mind of a TedTalk that I was originally introduced to here several years ago
Tim Urban - Inside the mind of a master procrastinator
There are two version on YouTube -
full length (14 mins) https://google.ca/search?q=youtube+ted+talks+procrastination&source=hp&ei=0iSBYcaJH4rOwbkPmLazgAU&iflsig=ALs-wAMAAAAAYYEy4n5oxp-GY0L2haBdBwspLRLV4JQp&oq=youtube+&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADIECAAQQzIFCAAQkQIyBQgAEJECMgUIABCABDIICAAQgAQQsQMyCAgAEIAEELEDMgcIABCxAxBDMggIABCABBCxAzIICAAQgAQQsQMyCAgAEIAEELEDOgoIABDqAhC0AhBDOhEIABCPARDqAhCMAxDlAhCLAzoXCC4QjwEQ6gIQjAMQ5QIQiwMQnQMQqAM6GgguEI8BEOoCEIwDEOUCEIsDEJoDEJsDEKgDOhEILhCPARDqAhCMAxDlAhCLAzoQCC4QsQMQgwEQxwEQ0QMQQzoRCC4QgAQQsQMQgwEQxwEQ0QM6CwgAEIAEELEDEIMBOgsILhCABBCxAxCDAToOCC4QgAQQsQMQxwEQrwE6BAguEEM6CgguELEDEIMBEENQ6BlYiEJgj1toAXAAeACAAaIBiAGGB5IBAzIuNpgBAKABAbABCrgBAg&sclient=gws-wiz
and Short version (3 minutes) https://youtube.com/watch?v=LgDlrl7L2fE3 -
IGM (Immediate Gratification Monkey) gets bored with "grown-up have-to-do" stuff and just likes to "play".
It will very much depend on your own personality, but I do find for myself that redirection and "turn it into a game if you can" works well too. Like dealing with a young child.
I even started inventing an internal comic strip with these guys in the early days of lock-down. (eg. "time to go for a walk" "IGM is excited and runs for his mask ... he LIKES playing Darth Vader" ; a mere 5 minutes on the exercise bike doing the 30 sec Hi / Lo earns 60 cals burned (and a bigger piece of BarkThin chocolate for evening snack - a controllable treat for me but substitute your own "workable pleasure of choice")
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While I was waiting for Nov to start, I poked around in the counterpart Oct thread, and found a recipe for a Faux Wendy's Frosty. Tried it today at lunch (very nice ... for a snack (as it was intended to me) I have decided to call the original recipe "the Skinny Version" and also try out a Greek Yoghurt-added version that would be thicker, have actual protein, and make more of a "meal, with a slice of toast" as "Version 2" ... maybe up the chocolate a bit too ...
It was helpful that Loblwas President's Choice (store brand) packages pre-sliced and frozen banana slices. ( I am sure other chains do too)
My question to whoever has tried this themselves ....- how big a 'serving of icecubes' to use to get the texture right (mine seemed a bit liquidy but maybe I just didn't have enough ice in it)
- how "big" (in weight and on average) a frozen banana did you use? I used 140 gms / 130 calories worth (again, a question of getting proportions right)
Would anyone tend to add something like protein powder to it? Make any other kinds of variations? If asked, I will re-post the recipe as originally written here.1 -
@BMcC9 I made this for the 1st time just a cpl days ago. I used a large banana (sorry, didn't weigh it) and no ice cubes. I too thought it was a bit liquidy, and will start with 5 ice cubes the next time I make it. I also used 1 T. Dark cocoa powder. I thought about using some protein powder, but for the 1st try, I wanted to make the original recipe (before doctoring it!)0
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@Mrs_Hoffer what brand / where did you buy the DARK cocoa powder?0
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@Mrs_Hoffer what brand / where did you buy the DARK cocoa powder?
just at the grocery store. It's the Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder. I think it's 10 cals per tablespoon. (I
dark chocolate!!!) Lol. 1 -
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I noticed that several of you are either very close to retirement, or newly retired (and "waves to all other members too!" and every age / career stage out there - not ignoring you-all!)
I am two years away from retirement, and almost 18 months into "work 100% from home". My position is probably going to stay being "work off-site" (or telecomute or whatever you wish to call it) either 100% or mostly so from now till The Last Day.
Anyone else in a similar situation? What strategies have you put into play to make up for "no longer being able to use trips to the photocopier to get extra steps in"?
With the ( North American ) second "work from home winter" close on the horizon, I am looking for encouraging "keep moving" strategies.
I want to make them embedded positive habits, as I am practically "acting as if retired" already (in the sense of lack of office environment or regular commute, or needing to be packing a lunch to take with me )
Before retirement, my husband worked from home. He would always take a walk down the driveway and back on his breaks, and when he got done at the end of the day. Our drive is 1/3 mile down hill, and then same but up. It takes 10 minutes. We still walk the drive at least once or twice a day. We do live where it gets cold and snowy try to get it in everyday anyway.5 -
It is pretty thick for me; I eat it wth a spoon. Are you using frozen banana? I just use what ever banana size I grab, 1 cup of almond milk and then stuff as much ice in as I can fit in the bullet container.
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@bradkcrew I probably just didn't have nearly enough ice in it. Next time I will put in much more.0
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What worked for me yesterday was half accident, and half deliberate. I didn't MEAN to skip lunch (just One Of THOSE days at work). We decided to have home-assembled pizza for supper (so i looked up the crust-kit stats for the crust and sauce - made a note of total-package=onhand grams beforehand for cheese; mushrooms; pepperoni - told hubby to assemble as usual, but just make a note of what each package weighed after ; NOT TO TRY FOR ANY SPECIFIC, AMMOUNT of anything ... JUST ASSEMBLE. (i was prepared for it to be whatever it turned out to be - first time assembling since restarting logging Nov 1)
Then I went and peddled my stationary Bike for 35 minutes (the Deliberate part) so that at least I would be minimizing the potential uptick ...
Between the food calories NOT eaten and lunch and the biking calories PURPOSEFULLY burned ahead of time, I ended up with enough wiggle room to not only have a relatively high (for me) calorie supper, but also a planned snack later so that my day didn't feel like I hadn't had enough.
And a VERY realistic ball-park figure for what home-assembled pizza will tend to "cost" in terms of calories.3 -
I have two user names. Does anyone know how to get rid of one ?0
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juffelman49 wrote: »I have two user names. Does anyone know how to get rid of one ?
You'll have to delete one account that you no longer want. Make sure that you're in the account that you want to delete, then go into Settings, and at the bottom left you'll see DELETE ACCOUNT. (This is from the laptop, I'm not sure what it looks like from the phone app, but it should be somewhat similar.)
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I deleted that account on the laptop and logged out and back in on the app. I need to get into the habit of using my laptop at night to report my daily results. Thank you for your help.4
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what's your favourite hearty autumn / winter soup recipe? Looking for ideas ....1
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@BMcC9 I am going to try a soup today I found on Thriving Home Blog. I also used the recipe tool to copy and paste the recipe URL. It worked great. I had to change the serving size. I am going to add chicken because my husband needs meat in his soup. https://thrivinghomeblog.com/instant-pot-vegetarian-tortilla-soup/
Enjoy1 -
I made an amazing 'Unstuffed Cabbage Roll' recipe last night. I had one last head of cabbage from the garden that I needed to use up, but hate how long it takes to make cabbage rolls. I googled cabbage recipes and found this one. It turned out really good! It's def not a 'soup' though....
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/235997/unstuffed-cabbage-roll/1 -
We love soups in our house! One of our favorites is Winter Vegetable and Bean Soup with Pesto (https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/winter-vegetable-and-bean-soup-with-pesto-105969) - I take the easy route and use onions instead of leeks.
Just had another pantry-friendly soup last night, Black Bean Soup with Cumin and Jalapeño (https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/black-bean-soup-with-cumin-and-jalapeno-109772) that we really like. I add the juice of several limes at the end.
I never really was a tomato soup fan until I went to a friend's house and she served this recipe (https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/classic-tomato-soup) paired with Open-Face Brie, Apple, and Arugula Sandwiches (https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/open-face-brie-apple-and-arugula-sandwiches). Wow - just like eating at a french bistro.
Super easy and delicious is the Ina Garten's Butternut Squash and Apple Soup (https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/butternut-squash-and-apple-soup).
Last one - when in the mood for Indian, I've done my own riff on dal that is very adaptable. I have all the spices on hand, so this is a pantry meal for me. For others that don't have a good supply of Indian spices, it might look like too many ingredients (https://www.copymethat.com/r/QCvt8qwYS/marisas-dal/).2 -
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A weight watchers recipe for ginger apple squash soup has been a fall requirement since I did weight watchers 20 years ago. https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/recipe/ginger-scented-apple-squash-soup-1/5626a5ec3d92b3c10eb89e80
It's on our menu for this week. So fall.1 -
Thanks everyone for the recipes so far! We love soups in our house, and I make at least one a week September through May. I always have lunch portion pre-prepared options in the freezer (and our daughter “shops” there when home and declares each her favourite). (ST = stovetop; IP = Instant Pot; CP = Crock Pot)
Napa Cabbage Egg Drop (ST) — the best Chinese egg drop soup we’ve ever tasted, and we make it at home in 20 minutes. Fast & deceptively filling.
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/cabbage-egg-drop-soup/
Split pea soup (ST/IP/CP options) — made this last week and it is “stick to your ribs delicious”. Husband doesn’t like pea soup but loves this soup. I use chopped leftover ham if I have it (have never used or missed the ham bone).
https://thecozycook.com/moms-best-ever-split-pea-soup/
Our favourite (of many) lentil soups. Fast, easy, and filling. (ST/IP/CP options)
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/lemony-lentil-soup/
Scottish Tattie Leek soup (ST)
My dad made this soup and the smell of it cooking in my kitchen, never mind the taste of it, brings back wonderful memories. Lots of leeks here right now and at a decent price. Recently made a batch and sent some over to my (also Scottish) neighbour Sheila and she called after they had it in tears. Good memories of growing up poor with loving parents and grannies.
https://somethingsweetsomethingsavoury.com/tattie-soup/
Chicken Pot Pie soup (ST)
This and the next creamy (skinny) chicken noodle soup are my daughter’s favourites. I use fat free evaporated milk in place of the cream or milk. I do this with most soups that suggest cream (and even some calling for coconut milk) — evaporated milk is freezer stable, low fat, and never curdles.
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/chicken-pot-pie-soup-recipe/
Creamy (skinny) chicken noodle soup (ST)
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/skinny-creamy-chicken-noodle-soup-recipe/
Szechwan Carrot Soup (ST)
A local caterer used to make this and it was always on the menu at our Faculty Club. Don’t let the peanut butter turn you off — the soup is delicious.
https://relishingit.com/2012/01/16/szechwan-carrot-soup/
Thai sweet potato lentil soup (ST/IP options)
A hug in your belly. Super satisfying and filling.
https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/thai-curry-lentil-sweet-potato-soup/
Keep sharing your soup recipes? Always looking for recommendations 🥰
Julie2 -
I truly hate the changes MFP has made to the web (app seems less troublesome but I don't enjoy apps ... i need a big screen for my aging eyes. Why so much white space?0
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what's your favourite hearty autumn / winter soup recipe? Looking for ideas ....
I do one based on the Portuguese caldo verde. If you can get a hold of linguiça that's preferable but otherwise bacon is fine. Portuguese/spanish style chorizo would also work.
Cook up some onions (and cubed bacon or uncooked linguiça) in a pan. Add water, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Cube up some potatoes and add to broth. Once the potatoes are done add a bunch of kale and simmer until it's soft. I remove the stems as they don't get soft enough. Proportions are up to you. I usually use white/new potatoes and lacinato kale but I've also used baby kale. If you have already cooked inguiça then slice it up and add it with the kale isntead. I make it so that it's not super brothy. The potato tends to thicken the water a bit.
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I have yet to see a single improvement from these changes. All they did was radically change the way things are displayed, and took out some info (like number of new posts in a thread). So almost seems to be a net negative but figure I'll get used to it and maybe find something appealing with more time.
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Maybe they haven't finished yet? I am looking for the improvements for when we post pictures and spoilers but I can't seem to find them. Seems like less options at the moment.
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