Chat room - what's on your mind?

Marilynsretired
Marilynsretired Posts: 5,544 Member
edited September 2023 in Social Groups
I hope you dont mind but thought it would be nice if we had a chat room where we could post rather than always using the announcement threads that have been started. If you don't care to have this, then please delete this thread - otherwise could we share here please
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Replies

  • henridw2095
    henridw2095 Posts: 1,179 Member
    Great idea! Thank you for starting our first discussion thread!! 🥳 Please feel free to post about any topic you are interested in. Hopefully more members will join in soon, I just started this group, but groups are really driven by members.
  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,544 Member
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  • Maya440
    Maya440 Posts: 1,044 Member
    Oh I am sorry you lost a guinea pig 😢
    I don’t have pets in my adult life but I had dogs and cats when I was a child and I was so attached to them.

    I’m only awake for about half an hour. I have slept 10 hours ! that should help me have a good day today. I intend to do house chores in the morning. Then I have a meeting for my job and I want to stretch and maybe I’ll cook some cookies for the kids. Tonight I have a swim training with my triathlon club.
  • henridw2095
    henridw2095 Posts: 1,179 Member
    Thank you 🙏…it sounds like an awesome day!
    I would love to do a triathlon one day, but am not a good swimmer (can only do breast stroke)…I’ve run a few races in the past and may eventually do that again, or I’ll learn how to swim properly 😂.
  • Maya440
    Maya440 Posts: 1,044 Member
    It is never too late to learn something new !
    Why not swimming. It is a great sport, easy on the articulations.
    I feel awesome in the water, it is not at all as demanding as running or biking.
  • henridw2095
    henridw2095 Posts: 1,179 Member
    edited September 2023
    agreed! I had once started learning and should pick it back up...my gym even has a pool...maybe next weekend I'll take the plunge :smile:
  • Maya440
    Maya440 Posts: 1,044 Member
    ahah great, let me know if you went.

    Again a great night sleep for me and I started the day with a 10' meditation.
    This morning I work at home and in the afternoon I am free. I have a lot of apples so I will make apple puree and sterilize it for the winter months. I hope I can do this chore partially in the sun. We have a little bit of Indian summer here. Tonight I have a run training and then a meeting with my triathlon club (for a triathlon we organize in May 2024 but it takes a lot of preparation). I will be home quite late probably.
    I have planned my day into 4 meals, hope I can stick to it:
    - banana chocolate omelette (I have my own happy chicken so I eat eggs from time to time)
    - steamed potatoes, brocoli, green peas with homemade red pepper hummus
    - chocolate soja drink and cereals
    - savoury oats with kale, green peas, seeds and lots of gember !
  • henridw2095
    henridw2095 Posts: 1,179 Member
    sounds like a great day and a great meal plan. I love that you have your own chicken, I bet they’re fun to have around! I have heard of savory oats, but never dared to try making them.

    I‘m going to be busy at work today, writing for a deadline and squeezing in other tasks. It’s a gym day as well. I too have my meals ready and prepped. Freshly made scrambled tofu and avocado toast for breakfast, green goddess salad bowl from yesterday for lunch, kala farro salad from Sunday for dinner - but have to make more vegan parmesan.
  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,544 Member
    My exercise is walking on the treadmill - I understand about the swimming but not everyone is a swimmer- I haven't swam for 60 years and don't think I would start now especially at the weight I am but think it is good if a person enjoys it

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  • Maya440
    Maya440 Posts: 1,044 Member
    I prepare vegan parmesan by the kilo ahah.
    I don't like naming a food after something that isn't, so in our house we decided to call the vegan parmesan "fairy dust" :)
    I love salads but I often find that it's too much work for a simple lunch, I usually make steamed potatoes and vegetables, there's nothing to prepare...

    I did 2 hours of apple peeling yesterday for the apple puree and my wrist hurts! :D

    @Marilynsretired Walking on the treadmill is great. Do you listen to music or watch TV?

    For today
    - savoury oats
    - steamed potatoes and vegetables with homemade tomato chutney
    - soy chocolate milk and cereals
    - vegan poke bowl (which I'll probably buy ready-made!)

    and of course feel my emotions instead of eating them!
  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,544 Member
    Walking on the treadmill - I have it set up so I can see the tv and it works for me - also have it beside a window so I can have a look outside while walking - am starting to enjoy it though still finding 'exercise' time consuming and would much rather do something else.

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  • Maya440
    Maya440 Posts: 1,044 Member
    I guess it can be felt as time consuming I get it.
    But maybe that thought doesn’t serve you.
    Do you find it time consuming to sleep?
    You also need it to be healthy.
  • henridw2095
    henridw2095 Posts: 1,179 Member
    @Maya440 "Fairy Dust" - I love it and will steal the name!

    Also learning to make exercise and healthy eating a priority - even if it means cutting down on other things that are important to me (in my case work and family time). My mental and physical health are both better since I started being serious about this.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,620 Member
    edited September 2023
    Today, I rowed (a boat, specifically a double, a 2 person sculling (2 oars per person) boat), with my friend J. in the stroke seat. (We row opposite the direction we're looking. Stroke is the person other rowers can see, and they set the rhythm.) I rowed bow. (Bow rowers in sculling boats are responsible for steering, since they have the best view in the direction of travel (to our backs).) J. is 78 y/o (and a physical marvel), I'm 67. We rowed for around an hour.

    Ovo-lacto veg breakfast before rowing was kefir, hot milk with vanilla, Ezekiel pita with crunchy natural peanut butter. Post-row snack, skim latte at the local coffee shop with 5 rowing buddies.

    Lunch was oatmeal with amendments (yogurt, mixed berries, peanut butter powder, Ceylon cinnamon, blackstrap molasses, hemp hearts, ground flax seed, plain nonfat Greek yogurt), and coffee/skim milk plus iced matcha with a citrus wedge.

    After lunch, a few home chores, and some coordination tasks for a race coming up this weekend. (I'm not racing, but the race is here. Some of my rowing buddies will race, plus I and others will be volunteer workers at the event.)

    In the evening, I went back to the rowing club to supervise an open rowing session for newer rowers. During that, once I got our folks launched, I helped out the collegiate rowing club next door by coaching one of their new rowers on the rowing machine. After that, I helped our club rowers get boats back in the boathouse and close things up, in - by then - a fairly heavy rain.

    Home again, dinner was stir-fried veg with tamari, some freeze-dried wasabi soybeans, a bit of Cambozola black label and aged gouda cheeses, some nice red wine, a heap of tomatoes with aged balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of coarse sea salt, an Engish cucumber with herb salt. I still have 85 calories left, and all nutritional goals in, so maybe a little chocolate? (ETA: Some prunes sounded nicer than chocolate, so I ate those.)

    That's a pretty typical - and pretty pleasant - day for me. (I'm a happy retiree ;) , and also generally in weight-maintenance mode post-loss).


  • Maya440
    Maya440 Posts: 1,044 Member
    edited September 2023
    Oh, I am also a volunteer at a club sport that’s true that it takes time but socially so rewarding and fun.

    Today is not an easy day for me. I have weighed myself this morning and it was not pleasant and since then my primary brain tries to take me to “all or nothing” thoughts. I let it talk or at least I try to. I will let you know how I did this evening.
  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,544 Member
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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,620 Member
    Maya440 wrote: »
    Oh, I am also a volunteer at a club sport that’s true that it takes time but socially so rewarding and fun.

    Today is not an easy day for me. I have weighed myself this morning and it was not pleasant and since then my primary brain tries to take me to “all or nothing” thoughts. I let it talk or at least I try to. I will let you know how I did this evening.

    @Maya440, what sport, if you're willing to say?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,620 Member
    Can I whine a minute here?

    I have the perception that faux meat keeps getting more popular and more options are available in many stores, as well as in restaurants (which is a good thing, in the abstract).

    However, it seems to me that here those things are taking over space (on shelves & menus) from traditional plant-based protein sources, like varied types of tofu, non-pseudo-meat tempeh, etc.

    I can still find those things in stores, in part because we do have a couple good pan-Asian grocery stores, but it would be more convenient if I could reliably keep getting the old favorites I prefer from the stores where I've bought them previously (and where I buy other groceries - usually healthy-food-centric stores).

    In standard restaurants with diverse menus here - where I may be eating with non-veg friends - it's more common that the vegetarian option is their standard burgers with an Impossible patty instead of beef, and more veg-centric options are slowly disappearing (not that there were many to start with). I can eat these, but don't find them enjoyable at all.

    This is not a general diss of faux meat, but personally I prefer the traditional not-faux-anything options, and wish they would stay more available alongside the new choices.
  • Maya440
    Maya440 Posts: 1,044 Member
    Thank you for the quote <3
    In the end I ate more than foreseen, but still within the maintenance calories so it’s like you say it is OK.

    @AnnPT77 triathlon ! 🏊🏼‍♀️🚴🏼‍♀️🏃🏽‍♀️

    I agree with the faux-meat. I like to use a soy burger from time to time and I sometimes do homemade bean’s patties but overall don’t like all the processed vegan burgers. It’s a shame because then people think they eat healthy but it’s not at all healthy to eat such burgers every day. Where I live in Belgium there’s really no much choice for vegans in restaurants. Only in asiatic restaurant can you find something. It is very like French food, the plate is centred around the meat or the fish and sometimes the vegetables are optional!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,620 Member
    Maya440 wrote: »
    Thank you for the quote <3
    In the end I ate more than foreseen, but still within the maintenance calories so it’s like you say it is OK.

    @AnnPT77 triathlon ! 🏊🏼‍♀️🚴🏼‍♀️🏃🏽‍♀️

    I agree with the faux-meat. I like to use a soy burger from time to time and I sometimes do homemade bean’s patties but overall don’t like all the processed vegan burgers. It’s a shame because then people think they eat healthy but it’s not at all healthy to eat such burgers every day. Where I live in Belgium there’s really no much choice for vegans in restaurants. Only in asiatic restaurant can you find something. It is very like French food, the plate is centred around the meat or the fish and sometimes the vegetables are optional!

    Cool - triathlon sounds/looks really fun. Some of my friends do or have done it.

    It's not on my personal to-do list because I dislike swimming (I know, weird), and my knees are already seriously compromised (arthritis and torn meniscus) so I don't run unless someone is in danger and I totally must. I do row lots, though - boats when I can, machines when I must; and bike casually - also outdoors on trails when weather permits, stationary during our cold/snowy Winters.
  • enlightenme3
    enlightenme3 Posts: 2,618 Member
    @AnnPT77 - agree on the faux meat sentiment/issue. We don't go out to eat that much unless traveling. As a vegetarian, going to Mediterranean, Italian or Indian restaurants gets us away from having a fake burger as one of the limited options. My extended family and friends however love going to the local breweries wherever we travel to, so sigh, I've eaten my fair share of Impossible burgers and cheese pizzas.
  • henridw2095
    henridw2095 Posts: 1,179 Member
    edited September 2023
    Some of the recent faux options are also loaded with saturated fat….

    I admit that I love certain older options, including gardein, lightlife fake bacon, and fieldroast vegan sausages. Impossible brand is too realistic for me and does not taste good to me. More recently I’ve completely cut out faux products, since they’re easy to overeat on and not that healthy…

    Tofu is easy to get here, but good tempeh has become hard to find and there are few options for seitan…
  • Maya440
    Maya440 Posts: 1,044 Member
    I have never tried the “impossible” brand. Heard about it of course.
    I am not sure it is available in Belgium. In any case it would certainly be strange to eat something that really tastes like meat 🤢
  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,544 Member
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  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,544 Member
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  • henridw2095
    henridw2095 Posts: 1,179 Member
    I love the shower meditation! A few years ago I did a mindfulness-based stress reduction class and one of the exercises was to just stay present in the shower instead of letting the thoughts go where they want to @Marilynsretired

    It’s the end of the month. One benefit of eating less and cooking more is that I’m saving quite a bit of money on food. So I decided to buy myself a reward at the end of each month. Last month I splurged on a food processor. This month I ordered custom Chuck Taylor’s for weight training at the gym and a storage box for the food processor blades (already managed to cut myself)…

    Do you do anything to reward yourself?
  • Maya440
    Maya440 Posts: 1,044 Member
    edited October 2023
    Hello, I’m back from the trip with my friends
    it was really great and I am tired after 2 evenings partying.

    I ate too much, but not surprising. I’m not so good with refraining when enjoying social life.
    I am around 67 kg and I’d like to keep within a range 64-67 so I will use October to try to go back near 66. I’ll probably go for a small calorie deficit but I have to count what I ate on average in September to decide.
    in the summer, it was around 2400 and maintaining or even losing a little bit of weight, but I was really really super active which is not possible in the coming winter months.

    @henridw2095 I don’t usually reward with myself. just thinking that I’m doing this for myself, but this is a little bit different from you because you are in the weight lost mindset while I’m in maintenance of course.
    By the way congratulation for being a winner in September!!! wonderful achievement. for me it seems really difficult and I have an easier goal of going under 5 pass days for October.
  • Marilynsretired
    Marilynsretired Posts: 5,544 Member
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