Cafelelia
Friday
PW - 150.9
CW - 150.0

Thanks team Weight No More for having me as a new member. What a wonderful time to join with all this possibility in the air as we head into the new decade before us.

Weekly weigh-in
Username: 1theresamcvean
Weigh in week: Week 5
Weigh in day: Friday
Previous weight: 155.0
Today's weight: 152.0

I've been active on MFP for two years straight, starting off at 177.4 and now at 152 lbs. My goal is 142.

I live in Toronto, Canada and have a 30-year-old daughter who lives near me and a 28-year-old son who lives in a lovely town called Uxbridge outside of the city, where they bought an old home. It is the trail capital of Canada, so we get a lot of walks and hikes in when we're there. It's a really pretty place, about an hour or so away depending on traffic. (For context, Toronto rivals LA in terms of traffic jams.)

I have two grandchildren. My granddaughter, Pippa, is two and a half, and my grandson Gilbert is 8 months old. My daughter-in-law started back to work this week and my son started his paternity leave from now until May. So I get to spend one day a week with my granddaughter, which I love so much. My daughter-in-law brings her into the city to me. Pippa loves coming here and I enjoy our adventures so much.

I work for myself now, after having had a career as an advertising and publishing executive. A good friend and I are launching a start-up, which has to do with the genealogy trend that's going on now. I'll tell you more about that when it launches. I'm also a family historian myself.

I love cooking from scratch, mainly soups, pastas (which soup is a good substitute for when losing weight - almost any pasta craving can translate into a healthy soup), fish, lots of international cuisines (I find Vietnamese foods, for example, are delicious and low calorie/high flavor), and not so much baking aside from banana bread, which I usually give away.

I had a setback for a large part of last year when I didn't track or lose weight. Just a warning, this next part is going to cover some sad/negative things, but don't worry good things will follow.

For most of last year, my mother has been in palliative care. My sister lives five hours away and I live an hour or more away depending on traffic. Also, my daughter had a cancer diagnosis, which is in remission now, and I was diagnosed with Meniere's Disease, which is disabling but I'm determined to take a positive attitude.

My sister and I, along with two aunts, did shifts at the hospital for months with my mother, packed up her own home, and moved her into a retirement home where she will stay until she goes to hospice. The home is very nice, the people are wonderful, and she is creating a good quality of life and routines. She requires constant care as she is blind, mostly deaf, and an amputee, but is much happier. This means that my sister and I can now get back to our own routines to a degree and she feels settled.

I used to run marathons, cycle outdoors, go to Spinning, do reformer Pilates, work with a personal trainer, etc. until (as my daughter says) one day, just like Forrest Gump, I stopped. Now I focus on walking the dog and eating well. Depending on how well things go with the Meniere's, which affects my hearing and balance significantly (to the point where I can't lie on my back or turn my head to the right among other motions, like looking at the top shelf at home or the supermarket, or I have vertigo), I will work my way up to a new fitness regime. I can no longer drive because of it too.

One serendipitous thing I should mention here is that my daughter-in-law is a deaf interpreter. Because of this my granddaughter learned sign language from a very young age and I learned right along with her. This is extremely fortuitous with the Meniere's because I lost quite a bit of hearing suddenly in May and in flare-ups lose a little more. But, I'm not afraid because of our exposure to the deaf community and ways around this.

At this point, I want to emphasize that I am a person with a positive disposition. There was just a flurry of real-life situations on our doorstep this year to share with you so you have a full picture of who I am.

My goals for 2020 are to lose the last 10 pounds, tone up, launch the new business, work three days a week and balance family time for the rest.

I know @sleepymom5 from another group that I'm in called Sole Mates. In that group we track our steps each day with very little commentary. She let us know about this group, which came at just the right time for me. Right away I was delighted to meet @Cafelelia, who serendipitously lives just a few short kilometres away, right here in Toronto.

I'm very excited to meet you all and read through the December chat so that I could get to know some of you. If I don't share a comment below, don't worry, I'll meet you over on the January chat next week. Also, if I mix any of you up, I'm so sorry.

Here goes:

@sleepymom5 Thanks so much for posting about this group. I got to know you just a little bit last year in Sole Mates and was so happy to be selected for your team. I loved the picture of you dancing with your son Danny at his wedding. I have one with my son that I cherish. We danced to Can You Feel the Love Tonight from the Lion King. That year I even joined a boot camp to make sure my arms looked good in the dress. Your hair was just beautiful!

@Cafelelia I'm already enjoying your posts and feel for you and your family as your father-in-law passed away just before the holidays. Your son choosing the Christmas tree reminded me so much of my son when he was younger. My favourite age was 10. I'm looking forward to spending more time here getting to know you better.

@kirsten11872 I love your attitude to take this journey day by day. You look absolutely beautiful in your holiday photos. I identify with your big city adventures as I think you said you work in the financial district in NYC, though not sure if you still do Can't wait to learn more about you.

@hope002 I love your before after photos. Hula hooping and skiing are such fun activities and the scenery is outstanding. Congratulations on reaching Onederland! That fasting app looks interesting. I like apps but not sure I would like fasting. I really like ginger tea and soup though, so who knows.

@Mrsbell8well All those loaf pans! Your house looked like Santa's workshop or maybe Mrs. Clause's. What a successful year you've had! I'll try to cheer you on but may end up just seeing you as a mentor. I'd like to do yoga too and hope to find a modified routine that I can do without putting my head back.

@cyndiesstuff I have always been in awe of people who can share the good and the bad that they experience. I tend to clam up. I'm so glad you're open with your therapist and are getting support. Sorry to hear about your mom. Hope you both feel much better in 2020.

@tryingagain5 Wow - night shift, book club, bible study, personal trainer, community walking group. What a busy life you have! About sleeping in the day, my body would definitely rebel. Looking forward to knowing you better.

@DanielleInProgress You asked about IBS and FODMAP. I have Ulcerative Colitis, which has been in remission for years. I recommend CleanseMore and/or psyllium husk, which is counterintuitive, but it led me eventually away from relying on FODMAP to a regular diet. Here's a weird fact too. I don't know if you've ever been a smoker or around second-hand smoke, but there was a Harvard Study done and it showed that adult children of smokers who don't smoke themselves sometimes develop issues like IBS, UC, and CD. So do people who have quit smoking. In those cases, a nicotine patch can work to solve the issues too. It worked for me.

@nstephenson01 I loved your post about New Year's Eve morning and walking in the woods with your dogs turning your mood around. That's one of my favourite things to turn my mood around too. Something else we have in common is that I, too, have curly hair and every day's a surprise as to how it's going to look. The seaside is not my hair's friend but I love it anyway because it can turn my mood around, especially with dogs. My profile picture was taken on a day when the hairdresser blow-dried it. I can't do that myself.

@lburch Hello to another newbie. I especially like that you named your alter ego/conscience, Tina. What fun! With all the habits and things you learned last year, combined with being able to run six miles without stopping, 2020 is going to be that much easier for you. Wednesday was my two-year streak anniversary. I've never been on a team like this and am looking forward to it. Especially since Tina's joining us too!

@Phoebe112476 Your positive attitude shows in your goal setting. I like that you want to eat more things that you love that are within your calorie goal. Thanks for that. I'm sure your positive spin on things helped you overcome some challenges in December. I'm sorry your daughter had pneumonia and that you were both in ICU. I hope she's better now. So scary.

@GingerPwr I thought about your post about having the turkey sandwich at your mom's with no cheese, no chips, and a tangerine instead. After I read it, I ate clementines all through the holidays. Thanks for that. ☺

@Freeglerock I love that you're very competitive in a very polite British way. It's the same with me, in a very Canadian way. The cliché is that we always apologize. I was surprised to see that your vice is coffee and not tea. You'd make a very good Canadian.

@Ljdanny What a handsome family. I love your profile picture. I was sorry to hear that your baby granddaughter was sick just one week into daycare. I really like your idea of putting $1 in an envelope every time you exercised. I think for me a higher amount would work better. And I LOVE the sound of pajama day. I'm going to tell my daughter about this. She'll be all over it.

@Lennoncpa I love your profile picture too. You have such a radiant smile. One day I saw that you had 59,088 steps. OMG. Looking forward to getting to know you better. ☺

@Pacsnc6 Two things I loved the most from your posts are that you walked around the table doing your puzzle and that your family decided you don't need any more "things" but would plan family activities instead. We did something similar this year, we all chose one adult and gave them either our time/service (e.g. my son is very handy and will help my daughter with some built-ins at her place), my DIL knit my daughter's boyfriend a scarf, and daughter's boyfriend wrote lyrics for my son to write music for.

@Zumba_Luvah Congratulations on losing 12 pounds in October and November and then on getting into the 180s! Your goal of 10 pounds by June and another 10 by the end of the year is so realistic and achievable. I'm looking forward to both cheering you on and learning from you.

@amytriesww I hope your surgery on New Year's Eve went well and that you're recovering nicely. Surely those 107 flights of stairs were not in the house!? Congratulations on getting into Onederland and then on your official 100-pound loss! You look so happy in your after picture.

@twyla77 What a liberating thing to stop wearing your Fitbit. I was sorry to see that you were feeling down and in a slump and then happy to see you enjoying the holiday season with treats and drinks as counterintuitive as that is to the premise of this group. It's very important to feel up to it all.

@timibotkin I know a little less about you, so apologize if I get this wrong. I'm sorry you're going through some significant treatments, which I assume have side effects. It's awesome that you're tracking your healthy habits here. I'm inspired.

@jedaschultz It's great that your family participates with you in step challenges and healthy eating. That must help a lot. My oldest is a 30-year-old daughter too. She was a sick kid (we call them that in Toronto because the hospital is Sick Kids and they celebrate all the children) with a heart condition, arthritis at a young age, a pituitary tumor, skin conditions, other syndromes, and most recently cancer (which is in remission). My heart goes out to you and your daughter who needs you for her care even now.

If you've made it this far, I can assure you that this is the longest post you'll see from me. I'm a minimalist at heart.

Happy New Year! See you on the January chat.

Five yoga classes in 5 days since 12/31. Feeling stronger, more motivated to be active, and less hungry. Weight is also down 3 pounds from last Saturday, but most of that is just settling back to my routines after holiday eating.