Monday Check In

Food - Logged & on target
Water - 2l
Exercise - 35 min exercise bike, 15 min cross training

I was still catching up yesterday, but the food prep & food from my mom made meals much easier. My older son said that while I was away, the house looked like it was injured! The boys need to learn more, but my husband has no excuse! It is getting colder here in Toronto and a few cms of snow are in the Thursday forecast. It happens every year that the weather turns just on or after Halloween. I am already starting Christmas shopping as a few things for the boys will sell out if I wait too long.

As for the sleep challenge, I started IF after an early supper, so I had several hours without food before going to bed. I got 8 hours of sleep last night and feel good.

@phoebe112476 - Congratulations on the loss! You are doing great! I really liked your idea of putting an entree on broccoli as an alternative to a starch! I am going to give that a try!

@cyndiesstuff - Great day yesterday! Nice plan for the open house, especially planning to have a special dessert. It is great to put the treat right into the plan. Your post reminds us all that we need to start thinking about those holiday parties and plan for them.

@sleepymom5 - Great job staying on track during your trip and safe travels! Take care with your injury re the exercise. Checking your gait is not a bad idea. What I have learned that with a longer injury, I grew to rely on my stronger leg, and that did not change as my injured leg got better. I like you November goals. I know that it is stressful with the wedding and that is to be expected. Maybe you can make a plan for healthy food at your house for when there are guests. I did that with Cdn Thanksgiving, and served a lot of healthy options since I was the one setting the menu. Maybe another plan for what to eat at the bar too. It is not a bad idea thinking about it like a vacation, and then you can make your plan accordingly.

@tryingaing5 - Great day yesterday, even with the sore back. Hope it is feeling better. Also that was a great idea to take that restorative nap. Our body does a lot of healing & housekeeping while we sleep.

@Mrsbell8well - Way to pull through yesterday day! That sounded like a hard moment and it sounds like Molly is very supportive! Congrats on a well earned NSV!

@ljdanny - Great that you got your Fitbit account back! That theft was so weird. Too bad about your sleep & hope it improves. Also hope that you made it to Zumba! Having a newborn is the house is so lovely (even with the wake ups!).

@amytries22 - No problem with a Saturday weigh in for Sunday (week 2). Your dedication (and weight loss) is so inspiring!

I know it is early, but office and social holiday parties often start in November, @cyndiesstuff reminded us with her upcoming Thanksgiving open house. We may also have additional social events (@sleepymom5, I am thinking of your son’s wedding and you hosting people). Here are a few guides and tips for these upcoming events.

@nstephenson01 I used to live in Berkeley back in 2000. We were neighbors lol. Stay the course Nancy. You can do it!
I would highly recommend finding a way to pull yourselves back from temptation. All those lists that we make...take a walk, call a friend, read a book...they really do help. I also recommend coming on to MFP and posting before you give in. Break the cycle. If you still desperately want to give in...acknowledge that and have yourself a little pity party. But don't give in! When Skylynn was 3 years old she used to say "I don't care" in rather a sassy tone. Molly and I have used that ever since. So your hungry, tired, grumpy and your temptation is calling you...try saying "I don't care". It works for me. Stay the course. Don't fret about losing all those pounds...just focus on one pound. Just one measly little pound. I don't worry about getting to my goal. I just want to color that next star!
My game plan today is to stay on course with food plan. I packed a lot of veggies and fruits today and no carbs. Oh that sounds so sad just writing it. Carbs are so lovely. They play a great part in my diet plan but not today. Today is a focus day. I plan to run after work. Just a short 20 minute run since my thigh muscle is owie. And I plan to skip dinner. I really need to see some movement with tomorrows midweek weigh in. The weekend was lovely but set me slightly off course. Which is exactly why I was so tempted last night. Eating pumpkin donuts, "chicken" and dumplings, a small glass of red wine...oh I really love such wonderful seasonal indulgences. And they definitely have a place in my life. But now I have to do what I have to do to get to where I have to get. I will finish organizing the rest of my closet and my drawers this evening. I will post my dinner picture from last night. I was feeling so grumpy so I made myself an enormous mixed green salad and topped it with a wide variety of roasted farmers market mushrooms. So tasty. I added lots of chopped raw garlic to make sure any cold symptoms get blasted out. Zinc tablet last night also beneficial. Much better today.

@cyndiesstuff I just a chance to read your update. All I can say is WOW! That is so scary, tragic & sad! I feel so bad for all of them! You are an amazing person to put your life on hold to help them out! I will keep them in my prayers!

@cyndiesstuff that's great that your grandson reached out to you! I hope you see him soon!

Hello and happy Tuesday everyone! I'm actually on my computer now rather than my iphone, so its easier to read all of your posts!

@Cafelelia I love that your mom is your inspiration! That's awesome. You might remember I'm a dancer and we have several ladies in their 80's (and one who is 98!!) who still dance with us and show no signs of slowing down!

@cyndiesstuff omg - I can totally relate to the excuse list and I have probably used all of them at one time or another! I like your modification on the list - that is what I need to learn to say to myself when I get in one of my "feeling sorry for myself" moods!

@Mrsbell8well I have used this group to get me through difficult times occasionally! Since I do try to be honest in this group, it becomes a matter of whether I want to admit to eating crap, or do I want to say I had a great day! It feels much better when I get to say I had a great day!!

@ljdanny I didn't even realize someone could hack a Fitbit account!!! And like you said - who would want to - that's crazy! Like you, I just don't sleep well and it's a lifelong thing. I have narcolepsy and even though I have daytime sleepiness, at night I am wide awake! Its kind of a strange phenomenon. It scares me that I don't get enough sleep because I know its not good for my health. Anyways, I didn't mean to get off on my rant - I love to do Zumba but lately I can't find a good instructor. The one that I used to follow around retired from Zumba due to bad knees!! Go figure!

@sleepymom5 I love being able to go on vacation and not gain weight! It shows that this can be a way of life! I think I might steal your November goal of eating more fruits and vegetables. I'm not bad with vegetables, but could be a lot better. And my fruits consist of a daily banana and that's it. I didn't eat one apple so far this fall and I actually live in a town where there are several cider mills and many apple orchards! Isn't that terrible?

As far as my Tuesday is going, eating has been very good and I plan on going line dancing for my workout tonight.

I got my new foster dog last Friday and the poor little thing has had diarrhea every day and doesn't like eating his dog food. I realized that he is probably going through a rough patch here since we don't know where he came from, what he was eating or if he has food allergies. He ate a little dog food the first day but doesn't seem to like it. Whenever he does eat - he has diarrhea so last night I gave him white rice - which I read about online until his stomach settles. He didn't seem to want to have anything to do with oatmeal! He didn't eat much rice and he is so skinny that I can feel his bones. The other day I had given him roaster chicken from the store, but that didn't seem to help his stomach. I just worry about him not eating. He doesn't seem sick at all - he loves to go for walks and he is totally house broken. I'm just trying to give him a clean diet until the situation clears up. The problem is - he stares at me while I am eating my great smelling food - and I am trying to give him plain white rice! It seems so cruel!