NON WW & WW NEWBIES, OUR NEW LIFE, THE START OF SOMETHING WONDERFUL

@joannadavison How was the hair appointment? I hope you feel refreshed

@Its_cleo Sorry to hear about your wrist, I'm glad you were able to fit physical activity back in. And as my partner reminds me, you deserve a life too, it doesn't always have to be around the fur babies. You only live once, its only two weeks, she will be fine, and you will regret it if you don't go. Enjoy that vacation!

@Nighthazel01 It is hard to be stuck at home around so much tempting food, way to go!

@theslightedgeforever How did the brunch go? And I agree, serving containers are the best for portion control!

@cbabie Oh my goodness, 3 hours a sleep per night?! No wonder you're struggling! I'd be a complete zombie

@trooworld That bath invention sounds like a great idea! How relaxing!

@TeresaW1020 Definitely don't ignore that knee pain! Maybe a different lower impact program might be a better fit?

Happy Monday all! I have the day off, so I am, you guessed it, still working through these piles upon piles of homework and dissertation prep-work. My brain feels like mush and I miss human interaction! But I definitely need today to get some stuff done for the week ahead so I'm glad I have it. I forgot to weigh in this morning (I think my weigh in day needs to be Tuesday since my Monday brain just isn't on top of things!) so I'll take a look tomorrow. I went a bit off the rails Saturday but otherwise I haven't been doing too bad. I'm meal prepping wraps to bring to work and roasted pork, broccoli, and squash for dinners (yum!). Hope all of your weekends went well!

@cbabie Yaaay on more sleep for you. That's the path to health. Each day it's the little choices that will help keep you on the right path. Now my voice sounds bad. Let's hope this is temporary.

@teresaw1020 I love quesadillas and had one before the movie the other night. Then dh says you're STILL going to eat popcorn. Well, yes. It was the first thing planned on my food tracker. I was working the other food around it. He is funny now that when we want to go out to eat the first thing he will say is we need to go where you want to go because of your diet. (which I hate that word and keep telling him that ) I'm thinking you are supposed to be on a DIET too for cholesterol purposes. I just tell him that I can eat anything because I planned for it and he's the one that should be planning. Although he didn't help today when he decided to buy a loaf of brioche bread. Yeah, that' s like crack to me but I did figure out how to eat 3 slices and stay OP. Just reduce and cancel the rest of the dinner meal items that were planned like sweet potatoes and corn. I think I'm going to have to freeze the rest. I've done well with the banana bread sitting there. This is a hard one though.

@TeresaW1020 glad your knees are getting better. Definitely good to go slow and take care of them.

@cbabie Tzaziki is awesome! Yes- I hope you can work at setting the schedule for the baby so you can sleep! It may help her to go to bed earlier too.

@theslightedgeforever yeah you have a lot of social events, I don’t have enough lol. It is hard to cut calories to make them fit in. Do you take your own popcorn to the movies?

My hiking club is meeting this Friday but I’m not going, bc they will be going to a bar Friday and I don’t feel like sitting in a bar and drinking- unusual for me! But partly it’s a lot of calories.

This weekend I will be having my semi-regular brunch with my uncle and that is when I will splurge a bit with a food treat.

@joannadavison I don’t know if they have Quorn here, I had never heard of it before. Have you always been a vegetarian?

@trooworld those Greek quesadillas look yummy. Sometimes I make them with chicken.

Everyone- I know you’re right about my cat Monkey and going on vacation. I had some spare time today and did some internet surfing of tour companies in Iceland. I got a bit more excited. I think August looks feasible. Yeah I like hiking, would like to do a glacier hike, see puffins, and you can snorkel in one spot. Lots of waterfalls to see. I requested a couple books from the library. I would like to hop over to Greenland to but will have to see how the cost/time shakes out. Of course this is assuming I can get it together to book lol. Bc I don't use tour companies I have to research and arrange everything myself so sometimes I am slow with it.

Today- tired but will try to do my stair circuit though they're a bit snowy.

Hi all--
@its_cleo Wow, Iceland sounds exciting. Our cousin went there last summer & really liked it. It was on a Hallmark movie the other night..at least it was supposed to be Iceland, lol. Looked pretty.

@TeresaW1020 I am impressed with all the exercises you are doing.

@trooworld Yay for getting more water. I don't do that well with it either, but am trying to only drink it at meals, so that helps a little. Your recipes sound so good. I am a pretty simple cook, lol. My Fitbit has a rubber (maybe silicon?) with air holes that I got pretty cheap from Amazon. Doesn't bother me at all at night, other than when I move & the light flashes, lol. (Charge 2)

@cbabie Glad your cold is doing better. Hope you can keep improving your sleep. As a kid, I seemed to have to go to bed earlier than anyone else, my Mom always said that I needed a lot of sleep. Guess I still do. My dd gave me a diffuser for Christmas, so have been diffusing an oil blend for immunity. Has a lot of cloves in it & some other spices. Trying to avoid all the influenza that they say is around. DH had to get a second round of antibiotics for his sinus infection, hope it is getting better.

@joannadavison Wow, 3# is great!! I like mushrooms, but your description made me think I would not want to try Quark (can't remember exactly what you said, but can't go back or I'll lose all this, lol.) I think I have seen it around somewhere.

@theslightedgeforever It's great you can keep with your plan with all your social activities. & it sounds like your dh is being pretty supportive.

@mswatson I am sure you are looking forward to your cruise to get a break from all your school stuff. Where are you going? My weigh in day is still Monday, but I actually weigh everyday & average it & that's my weigh in weight.

I haave been doing pretty well getting my steps in & slowly getting my calories in line. My average stayed the same this week, but that's better than gaining any more.

@its_cleo, going to Iceland and Greenland sounds amazing! You should totally start your planning and go! I’m the same when I travel and like to plan and research every little detail. Not sure if we will get a vacation this year at all with all the expenses we have with bringing my mom here and finishing our backyard. Maybe a weekend getaway later this fall when my mom gets used to the dog and can watch her for us.

@mswatson0777, bummer about the scale but you will get it to go back down! Hang that new swimsuit in your kitchen to keep you mindful of your food choices.

@RetiredAndLovingIt, yes staying the same over gaining is preferable. I used to go to TOPS (have you heard of it) and when we stayed the same weight, we would say that we turtled. I still say that. Good for you for getting your steps in!

@theslightedgeforever, food pushers are such a pain and you handled your friend beautifully! I so admire that you could have a tiny taste of brownie and not dive into the rest of it.

@trooworld, I think this week is speeding by! Glad, you liked your book. Hubby went to the library and is constantly reading this giant novel and making me jealous that I don’t have my own. I told him that I want to go with. Of course, the question is would I really sit down to read. Hmm??

Good morning! My pulled pork and coleslaw dinner was so yummy last night that we will have it again tonight! I finally found a black coffee that I can stand so I can stop using heavy cream in my coffee and do a clean fast for IF. Everything I’ve read says that clean fasting is the way to go so that is what I’m doing even if I don’t love it. I will save my yummy cup of coffee and cream for the afternoon. I’m off to workout. Today is shoulders and then I will walk on my treadmill.

@theslightedgeforever at least Quorn looks more like meat than mushrooms!!!! UK supermarket chain cafe changed it's vegetarian breakfast- "shroomdogs" 😢 instead of soya sausage!

@cbabie I'm trying to get my DH to use MFP! Since retiring from teaching he's working for a supermarket chain but hours not great for health- good for us but not conducive to healthy mealtimes! Trying to get him to track so he can see that!

@trooworld brilliant thanks. We'll have to look out for those. Target is on our "todo" list. Wish it was in UK! Must try Greek Quesadillas

@TeresaW1020 good news on the knees. Enjoy rest day.

@its_cleo DH & I started cutting out red meat (when I discovered high famial cholesterol), we then cut right back on pork then chicken. Started veggie one New Years Day- although we kept fish for a while. Eventually dropped it but went back to eating it, by chance, when I was pregnant. Must be about 25 years-ish.

@mswatson0777 we ended up watching a missed TV program on catch up!!

@RetiredAndLovingIt Quark is sort of cream cheese. Quorn is the veggie protein! It's alright! LOL!

Feeling very energised after 1.5hours in gym incl 1hour training. Got some new protein flavours- the coconut & vanilla one is gorgeous.
Starbucks trip tonight to do school planning whilst youngest at Police Cadets.
Have a good day all.

@trooworld I'm glad you enjoyed your book. We're reading Educated by Tara Westover. I have until the 30th. Yes 1/2 teaspoon. I have a brownie in my freezer that I may or may not indulge in tomorrow. Still haven't decided yet. I have to plan it if I want to eat it.

@teresaw1020 "Turtled" lol Love it. I feel like I turtle all the time cause I'm so slow at this but still moving in the right direction. I'm really working hard to stick with my boundaries. I could have given up the mashed potatoes and gravy and had the brownie instead but I just had brownies last week. So I said I can save them for another time. My question is the opposite of yours Would I sit down to read? Mine would be would I get up and get stuff done?

@retiredandlovingit I feel like saying Elizabeth this is the big one. The young gals on here probably won't get that reference. I need to get a schedule for water. I drink 24 oz of hot tea when I wake up and that carries over to breakfast. Sometimes I have lunch and sometimes I don't. Then another 24 oz of hot tea from about 4-7 pm. Which includes dinner but I'm making a conscious effort to drink a 12 oz mug of water with dinner. If I go to the gym I fill up my water bottle but lately most of my exercise has been walking at the mall and I never think about taking my bottle with me. So I need to work on that too. I'm the same with Diet Coke. I like it with meals outside but I buy 2 a week for home. Sometimes that's my lunch. I used to have a 3 Diet Coke a day habit. I prefer dh to do my planning or my dd. Just tell me when to show up. Good for you for getting in an early morning walk. Plus trying out other new things. I also need to do that too. It's on my list. lol So was decluttering but then company showed up and here it is January is almost over. So onto February.

@joannadavison I can't eat too much soy because of breast cancer risk. I do like edamame though. I set my dh up on MFP too. He used it for about first 3 days and then nothing. He says I know what to eat. Yeah right. lol I can see that. Sounds like you had a great workout. Good for you.

@mswatson0777 I'm living vicariously through you. Enjoy the cruise. One of my 100 day books for 2019 had food pushers in it and how we were to learn the skills of how to push back. So that's a work in progress. I'm glad you are feeling calmer now. I think it helps making good food choices.

Red Day- Stayed OP 93/100 carbs Exercise - 30 min walking club

So another successful social event. Another skill in my book was learning to say No not yet, I'll have some later, thank you and then I determine when "later" is.

Hi all--
@joannadavison I was on MFP for a long time before dh decided he wanted to try it. So I set him up & put a lot of foods in My foods for him. He "puts his food in" himself now & if its something new, I put it in mine & transfer to his. He lost about 40# doing it, but has put back on at least half of that. Keeps saying he needs to take it back off, but not sure he is really ready to buckle down again. He doesn't like the treadmill, so until it warms back up so we can walk out side, it probably won't be done. Hope your DH will try it.

@theslightedgeforever That was Sanford & Son, wasn't it? I think tea is as good as water, so you are doing good. I picked up some Diet Peach tea that I had at my brother's, so am going to substitute it for fizzy water at supper. I understand about the decluttering--I have said that's my job for winter, but it still needs to be done & like you said, its almost Feb. We are thinking of trying to go to Arizona for a week to visit dh's cousin who snowbirds there, and that will use up more of my decluttering time, lol.

@mswatson0777 Laughing with friends is perfect!

Walked on treadmill again this morning. Then went grocery shopping & will be leaving soon to pick up gs from school for an appt.

@trooworld I just got a new Fire Table from Amazon and it will read me my kindle books. But I can't listen because I don't follow. My mind just wanders and I have no idea what the sentence was just about. Funny how I can do this with podcasts though. I wonder what the difference is? I might suggest that book for next year's book club choice. My choice this year at the end of February is The Gown. I hope it turns out to be a good one. I have willpower on some things. I can seem to say no to certain things but can't get myself to say yes to others. Water-Decluttering. So I need to think about the opposite of those two things. I'm saying no to a dehyrated body. I'm saying no to a more relaxing environment. Naaah, those two things don't motivate me. lol So this needs more thought.

@mswatson0777 Life was so much simpler when they didn't add in the additives, chemicals, etc and we ate more whole foods. With this lifestyle there are more allergies because our bodies aren't built this way. Who profits? Big pharma and the medical staff. They are getting rich keeping us sick. Ok, I'll step down now. I'm so glad you decided to go out and enjoy a laugh with your friend. Laughter is the best medicine.

@trooworld, ohhh my goodness! I am so sorry to hear about all you have going on. I hope your family member will be well soon. I have Audible on Prime and need to spend more time looking at the books that I can get. I could listen while playing with my jigsaw puzzles.

@mswatson0777, glad you had a good time with your friend! Laughter is often exactly what we need to get us through the stress of our lives.

@theslightedgeforever, I would also not get much done if I got all wrapped up in a book. I usually carry around my phone with Hulu playing in the background while I’m at work or doing housework. I can listen or not, but with a book, I would also lose focus if I wasn’t concentrating. Good job on learning such an important skill and saying, not yet but later. That is truly a key to your success!

Good morning! Well, yesterday we had quite a scare when I got a call that my pastor/boss had a mini-stroke and was in the hospital. The doctors are hopeful that no permanent damage has been done and he has an MRI this morning and we are praying he will go home today. The man works wayyyy to hard and needs to slow down. Maybe this is God’s slap upside his head to get his attention. On a happier note, I lost a little bit of weight this week.

@mswatson0777 glad you enjoyed your class. You are so right it’s when we don’t feel like that it helps the most. I hope you enjoy your trip.

@trooworld I’m going to check out an audiobook as I still can’t find a podcast I like. I’m really fussy I guess.

@theslightedgeforever do you count your 24oz of tea in your water allotment? It should count….I’m not sure I could drink a bunch of water on top of that.

@joannadavison I tried to be vegetarian a few years ago but I just couldn’t do it. It wasn’t will power- I just felt like I was starving all the time, and it didn’t matter how much cheese, beans, or tofu I ate. Plus I did get tired of just eating the same stuff all the time. So I gave it up, also as I said it was making me anemic. But that’s great it has been working for you for so long.

@RetiredandLovingIt glad when you can pop in. It takes time. I can only do it a couple times a week myself. More on the weekends.

@TeresaW1020 glad you found coffee you like. I don’t mind black coffee but I do like cream. No sugar for me.
I’m in a very foul mood. I just feel like the New Year is just continuing to be crappy, things going wrong. I will spare you the details. I’ve done a lot of working out this week, and have been on calories so my weight was down a couple pounds today.

This week is the end of my 3 month goal cycle, so I will post later my accomplishments and set some new goals for the next 3 months.

Hope everyone is having a nice day.

@theslightedgeforever "No. Not yet. I'll have some later, thank you.' Love it!

@mswatson0777 to be fair it was my only gym session this week as had bloods appt on Thurs. Next week same but dentist!
Re:the funk. I blame the time of year. We set new goals etc with such enthusiasm at start of January. It's then a long month, often Christmas bills, short daylight (certainly here), and a long time 'til our next break- work & things in general feel a slog. So yes- do some nice stuff for you. For me it was my scrapbooking day & booking a holiday I thought would never happen. Those parts of your course will soon pass. Is there a better bit you can focus on?

@RetiredAndLovingIt I just need DH to actually do it & monitor what he's eating. Like me, he comes from family who easily pile weight on. He was seriously fit & at times ripped when we were younger but kids, less time for his sports, knee replacement but halt to that. Lost loads on WW with me a few years ago & potentially saved his life when he had heart 'episode' (thought heart attack but on investigation results suggested not , angiogram revealed birth anatomical defect). Now, like me, it's creeping up & I blame not eating properly due to odd shift pattern or Male menopause in sympathy with me?🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

@1Whitewolf12 Hi & welcome. I lost between my babies & after with WW. Been a bit on & off but then joined seriously 10 years ago to shed for surgery required once diagnosed 4 years after 2nd child. Worked. Never actually got to goal as had other incidents where lost plot & gained but only in recent years have I seriously gained & that's due to hormone changes & therefore different diet of macros required. The "free" food just doesn't work for me at all.
Trainer at gym put me onto MFP & in the 1st instance suggested I just log everything. Initially looking over 1st month I was low enough of calories but needed to up protein. For my age GP said I need more protein than carbs & suggested % so I'm working on that & it's working. I would suggest monitoring for 2-4 weeks. Look at weight loss & the re-evaluate from there- more protein/less fat/less carbs/ less calories/more exercise & keep checking.

@trooworld hope things get better for you. Big hugs xox. How quick do banks resolve issues like that? I would imagine loan company not too concerned- we've had to fight to get overpayments back but they'requick to sort when it's the other way.

@TeresaW1020 hope your pastor is ok.

@its_cleo becoming veggie does take a bit of adjustment. Our 1st summer was hot (for UK) so we ate loads of salads & felt ill. Turned out we were missing a lot of protein in root veg & pulses that we'd had in winter recipes. IKWYM about eating same stuff- I'm like that with quick to cook "diet" recipes on week nights. Made it one of my goals, this year, to build up huge bank of quick recipes so we're not getting sick of same things.

@nighthazel01 lol re: Pinch of Nom! I've just been adding some of their new recipes to my planner!

Friday was yuk at work- too many kids not behaving well on a Friday afternoon. But now weekend & I'm having lazy morning reading then now planning meals. Youngest at sleepover & eldest doing homework. DH working all weekend so it's up to me. Church Anniversary service tomorrow so hoping I can it fit in sleepover pick up.
Dreading next week at work- moving into new- prefab lab as our split site/campus school goes single site. I have to pack up my stuff all again!!

@joannadavison you’re right about how we start the new year with enthusiasm. I did and then yep it flagged about half way through. I’m trying to regroup and start fresh.

Everyone earlier was talking about mottoes- I think mine for this year is Choose Health. So I’m hanging on to that. Instead of like last night I wanted to Choose Pizza 😊 But I didn’t.