Yes, I'm caught up on health posts and life updates! I came across cute six-year-olds, foggy snow-filled forests, a Protein Panel, and everything in between: all interesting!

I spent yesterday recalculating my body recomposition stats so today was the first time putting it all in action.

To spare you the multicolored spreadsheet, I added another 100 calories/day in an effort to help increase my rate of lean muscle mass gain. But I have to be sure to achieve my net calorie target in MFP more often (I'm generally under). More weight-bearing during my resistance training is also going to be required. Done safely and paying attention to form, of course. Let's see how the rest of the month fares. 🤷🏾‍♀️

@donna25trinity Belated Merry Christmas to your coworkers lol I'd snap a pic of what you eat and then log to the best of your ability once home. Also, that's an automatic pass day for me regardless of how little I eat unless I know the chef's process (ie. they don't go crazy with oils 'n added fats, little to no creamy sauces, etc)

The @SummerSkier method works especially if you know in advance that you won't like the food anyway. Just eat a filling, healthy meal BEFORE the event. Then when you get to the social, you load your plate lightly with non-starchy veggies and otherwise just shift food around while being thoroughly engaged in table banter. If it's table service with multiple courses, just poke at the - you guessed it - non-starchy veggies or fruit in each course.

---|---|---|---
Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? YES | Bret Contreras' Strong Curves "At Home Workout" (35) TOTAL: 35 min
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? YES | Base + 135
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? YES
---|---|---|---

Personal Bonus: Did I meet my protein macro for the day (40%)? NO | 22%
Pass Days Used: --

Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? No.
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? Yes. This is a major victory for me as we eat with my sister and brother-in-law every Friday and serve huge meals with bread and desserts. I tend to eat when I sit at the table too long but did not do it tonight.

Did I track everything that I ate and drank?Yes.

Pass days used: 2/3

Yes, yes, and yes. Another good day.

Pass day 1

Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes?
Yes, went for a run
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day?
Yes, with a little too spare
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank?
Yes

Triple YES day, though barely on the calorie front. 1 pass day used. Happy weekend, everyone!

Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? yes, treadmill 32 mins / 1.81 mi & upper body weights (dumbbells) ... crazy that my treadmill was exactly the same as yesterday but I verified
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? yes, barely
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? yes

Today I got my new Apple Watch (series 6). I'm happy with it so far. My old one was a series 1 from when they first came out so it was kind of old and not behaving very well the last couple of months.

Exercise? yes
Track? yes
Calories? yes

My exercise of choice while I work out some sort of low back/hip injury is a seated elliptical. I don't have to go out in bad weather and I can avoid the gym. It's easy to get an hour in while watching TV and using it, I have been able to walk with less pain. I'm hoping I can get back to hiking in a few months.

Sorry I went AWOL for a couple days. My routine has been totally off track. I hated to admit it, but in the middle of a pandemic, we had 2 granddaughters (ages 3 and 5) for 8 days. My daughter and SIL had to attend a wedding half-way across the country. We kept thinking the wedding would be postponed but as we ticked closer, realized it was full steam ahead and SIL was the best man. So they left the girls with us and drove. They were an absolute delight and it was a treat to spend time with them but I am not used to that! They're up the same time as me, and grandma likes peace and quiet for the first 2 cups of coffee! Then getting everybody dressed, off to preschool, I'd work for 2.5 hours, pick them up, come home, play, eat, etc etc. Twice I bundled them up to play outside in the snow. I told hubby I felt like the mom from "A Christmas Story" bundling up Ralphie's brother. I was honestly exhausted before we ever walked out the door! A couple days I ran on the treadmill while they played. So exercise was not the problem, and even food choices were OK. It was once they went home that everything fell apart! Hubby brought home TWO bottles of wine - and once I start alcohol, the munchies hit. I have to be honest with myself, and claim two pass days already. No one to blame but myself. This is not "the end" - just part of the process.

Also - this morning I did get caught up on all the posts and there is one in particular that I have to comment on. @RangerRickL - you mentioned that Rose kicked you out of the kitchen when you retired and tried to rearrange her kitchen. I almost spit out my coffee when I read that. When my hubby and I had been dating just a month or two, he brought dinner to my house (he's a great cook and I think he wanted to impress me). At some point, I left the room to do something and when I came back into the kitchen, he was standing there with a cabinet door open and very proudly said "ta-da! I fixed your kitchen!" He had moved around some dishes/bowls for what he thought would be more organized. I was FURIOUS because I had been married for 32 years to an extremely manipulative man, was quite happy being single, and thought he was just another man that was going to constantly criticize and tell me what to do. I grabbed all the stuff he had brought, threw it into the box he brought it in, shoved the box into his chest and said "get out" while walking to the door! He had a look of complete shock on his face but walked out. I was still fuming when he very timidly knocked on the door and said that he couldn't leave under such bad circumstances, could we just talk about this? His reason/excuse was that he had worked in quality control for 25 years and he has trouble not looking/evaluating things for how they can be done better. I realized he wasn't a jerk, forgave him, and a year later we were married. We laugh about it now.