@Cornanda I totally get where you are coming from. I was always busy, and then Covid hit, and suddenly I’m home almost every day with nothing to do. At first, I thought I would do all kinds of things in my house, but instead, I became a jigsaw puzzle enthusiast and spent most of my time sitting. I started feeling really restless a couple of months ago and I think that is why I decided to take the church cleaning job. It gives me a couple of days a week of hard work and gets me off my butt. The funny thing is that with that extra activity, I’m even more motivated now to tackle my house projects. Go figure!

@Katmary71 Sheesh I'm tired just reading all you have going on! That is great that your garden is doing so well. I was thinking of trying to grow a few food items like bell peppers and herbs in my containers on my screened-in porch. Do you think that will work? Hubby thinks they won’t get enough light. Kids are so much fun to tease! I’m with you on wanting some 20 lb. weights and not being able to find them anywhere. I would even settle for one heavy kettlebell!

@dignow96 Holy Moly, you are the winner for the most detailed intro EVER! What an interesting read. I’m sorry that your daughter came back home only to be stuck in front of a computer finishing high school. That must have really bummed her out! That is awesome that she is starting Mercer. What is her dream job when she gets done with college? That Lego city is incredible!! How much space does it take up?

Our plan to lose weight is very much the same and I’m happy to have another IFer and low carb eater on the team! I cook the same type of foods as you do and am always on the hunt for a new low-carb recipe that my hubby and mom will like and will still fit my diet. So, please feel free to share your creations! I’m glad to have you on our team and with your dedication and hard work, it will be fun to watch you reach your goals and of course, help this team's ranking every week.

@vegan4lyfe2012 I’m super happy that you haven’t thrown in the towel! Life gets crazy, and sometimes you need to take a breather, and that is OK. But giving up on yourself is NOT OK! I’m so glad that the Beck book is resonating with you and that you got your own copies. I know that I will be working through it more than once myself. As for that vicious TOM, girl I feel your pain! Mine was awful from 47 to 50 and then it all just magically went away. Truly the best part of aging so far has been saying good-bye to grumpy old TOM.

@TwistedSassette YES, the puzzle is difficult. Mostly because the colors are all so similar and I need really good light when I’m working on it. I will post a picture below of the puzzle and how far I’ve gotten so far, which isn’t very far! Yes, from my understanding PCOS is very much an insulin-resistant illness. I think anything you can do to minimize the sugar and processed carbs is a great thing for us all to do more often.


Hi Team! I’ve had a good day. The scale didn’t budge this morning but at least it didn’t go up! I did a treadmill walk for my workout and will be back to the hard stuff tomorrow. Mom and I went to Walmart and they have almost the entire front switched to self-checkout, so I did it and it went pretty well. At least I was doing something instead of waiting in line. The rest of my day was spent reading my Bible study book for tomorrow night and catching up on the Beck book.

Beck Diet Solution Question of the Day
DAY 26 Recognize Thinking Mistakes
Day 25 was about what to do with sabotaging thoughts. Today is about identifying thinking mistakes go with our thoughts. Or as I like to call it, “stinking thinking.” 😊 The first step in correcting unhealthy behavior is identifying the thoughts behind it. The book has 9 common errors that people who are dieting make. *Beck says: Try not to get self-critical as you identify your errors in thinking.
1) All or Nothing Thinking—you see things in only two categories when there really is a middle ground.
2) Negative Fortune Telling—you predict the future negatively, without considering other possible outcomes.
3) Overly Positive Fortune Telling—you predict the future too positively, without considering other outcomes.
4) Emotional Reasoning—you think your ideas must be true even though objective evidence says not.
5) Mind Reading—you’re sure of what others are thinking, even in the absence of compelling data.
6) Self-Deluding Thinking—you rationalize by telling yourself things you don’t really believe at other times.
7) Unhelpful Rules—You mandate actions without taking circumstances into consideration.
8) Justification—you link two unrelated concepts (to justify your eating)
9) Exaggerated Thinking—you make a situation seem greater or worse than it really is.

Looking at the nine I can certainly see where I have fit into each one over the years of struggling with my weight issues. I would say, I still struggle mostly with self-deluding thinking and justification. Both have gotten me in trouble more often than I like. Something to focus on going forward.

2021 Focus Word: TRANSFORMATION

@Katmary71 - I think you are busier than me and I have a job! Thanks for doing all those great things for your community. The world needs more people like you. Your garden sounds amaze balls! Wow! Your nephew sounds cute and lots of fun.

@dignow96 - You have learned so much about good health and how to take care of your body. Your gardening skills also sound impressive.

@trooworld - I like that---My scale forgot to tell me the good stuff. My pants are lots looser- gonna do some measurements this week. I do like that you lost a tire. That's something to hold onto on those "upwoosh" days.

@vegan4lyfe2012 - lol- your TOM is a man! (how long do I have to put up with HIM?) The answer- who knows? I think I am later than most- 52 and I still get visited periodically. Hang in there! I'm still working on the Beck book, so if you have thoughts, post them and I will too.

@TwistedSassette - 200 hundred needles? Wow. He's definitely worth it. The moldy bread cracked me up. That's quite an unanticipated problem and I would have been starving too.

@TeresaW1020 - I think at first I felt I had all the time in the world to get my projects done, so I was not moving too fast. Now I want to make sure I have something to show for all this time I've had nothing to do. It's a very weird situation all around.

Woo hoo to @Jactop @apple852hk @TeresaW1020 on the board this week!

I was wondering if i can just observe this month. I've missed weigh-ins mostly bc I'm training a new hire at work and it is not going well. I'm stressed and gaining weight so I don't want to drag anyone down. New hire is currently with my supervisor so hopefully I'll be able to check in more frequently and get my weight loss back on track!!!

@vegan4lyfe2012 A loss is a loss, congratulations! I have a list of things comparing my weight loss in my goal ladder (thank you, @AustinRuadhain!). It's fun to compare the weight loss. I have a ton of nail polish-type stuff, too, I used to do my own gel nails to save money. Now, I just leave them bare because I'm lazy lol.

@TeresaW1020 HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! What a gorgeous puzzle.

@Cornanda Taking measurements sound like a great idea for you, sometimes the scale lies to us but measurements don't.

@AustinRuadhain Wow, you are close to goal! Woo hoo!

Hi all. I haven't had the best of weeks thus far. A family member is upset with me and that caused me to be very upset and I didn't handle it well. I overate by a LOT on two days. I'm not giving up on the week but it did throw me into a tailspin for a bit.

My phrase for the year: CHANGE HAPPENS

@trooworld
Good for you for interrupting that tailspin. Upset happens but does does CHANGE! You so often inspire me with your posts, as you are so great about interrupting things like that, and shifting a new perspective. Declaring the breakdown with the family upset and moving on is impressive.


@TeresaW1020
I too think that is one gorgeous puzzle!
I love your post from Beck Diet Solution.

Beck Diet Solution Question of the Day
DAY 26 Recognize Thinking Mistakes
... Beck says: Try not to get self-critical as you identify your errors in thinking.

1)All or Nothing Thinking—you see things in only two categories when there really is a middle ground.
2)Negative Fortune Telling—you predict the future negatively, without considering other possible outcomes.
3)Overly Positive Fortune Telling—you predict the future too positively, without considering other outcomes.
4)Emotional Reasoning—you think your ideas must be true even though objective evidence says not.
5)Mind Reading—you’re sure of what others are thinking, even in the absence of compelling data.
6)Self-Deluding Thinking—you rationalize by telling yourself things you don’t really believe at other times.
7)Unhelpful Rules—You mandate actions without taking circumstances into consideration.
8)Justification—you link two unrelated concepts (to justify your eating)
9)Exaggerated Thinking—you make a situation seem greater or worse than it really is.

This links in nicely with meditation that I have been doing on and off, a practice where you sit with yourself and just notice what is or shows up in your head and label it "thought" or "feeling."

Another nice bit to go with that might be this, from a Psychology Today article:

Once you recognize your thinking errors, you can begin trying to challenge those thoughts. Look for exceptions to the rule and gather evidence that your thoughts aren't 100% true.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/201501/10-thinking-errors-will-crush-your-mental-strength

@bethanie0825
I, too, am sending you well wishes. It's great that you are looking at what you can and can't realistically do this month. Check in when it works for you to do that, and take care of yourself.

* * *

I ended up having had a good day yesterday -- food on track (on plan, weighed, logged), took my supplements, and got in my exercise (45+ min). So I am out to do those things again today. I am playing the game with this week's challenge, focusing on those 3 things and posting in that thread.

I am currently listening to an audiobook that has me thinking about my life and the choices I make:
Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
They have an online class I am thinking about. They also have a bunch of interesting materials on their website:
https://designingyour.life/resources-authorized/

Hi there and welcome to the new members!
I’m Gabi 49yo leaving in Northern VA, with my husband and our 2 girls- one freshman in HS and she’ll start in person school this week and the other is a senior in college, with online graduation in a couple months. New normal is so weird!!!

I had no weight issues until 35 and THEN it caught up with me with a vengeance and I was completely unprepared for it. I was never an athlete, nor did I learn to like exercising so I had no plan, no insight, no understanding.
I lost weight mostly the wrong ways until I found this group last year.
Now I’m at the last 15 lb and March is the month I’ll make friends with the scale again! All I’m asking is slow, how hard can that be 😁?

Happy Birthday Theresa!!
🎈🎈🎉🎉🎁🎁💃💃

@RYcare What a great idea to have a week off from chores and getting served. I’m afraid that if I don’t cook dinner, my husband would try to make some kind of crazy concoction and I’ve already been down that road with this man. He does, however, do the dishes.

@eahrenee WOW what a great weigh-in you had this week!! Keep it up.

@AustinRuadhain Good weigh-in this week! Yes, I agree that we have to be honest with ourselves about how we think and what we say to ourselves. So, often we don’t even realize what we are doing that is setting us up for frustration and struggles. Be true to thy self, huh? 😉 I love how you are always growing and learning about yourself and how to improve your life. The website did look very interesting!

@Jactop Wahoooo on your weight loss this week1!

@GabiV125 Thanks, Gabi!!

@mlhopp93 Wahooooo congratulations on your 80 lbs loss!! That is such a wonderful accomplishment. I’m close to that number myself and look forward to my own celebration.

@TwistedSassette I have never made Pad Thai but would love to give it a try sometime. I know it’s super hard to be strong in the middle of a stressful moment, but at least you did the right thing and adjusted your calories. Maybe next time you will be able to resist and do something else like take a quick walk or punch someone. Kidding!


Hello Team! Well, I have had a great birthday so far. Hubby took me to one of my favorite restaurants where I had the salmon eggs Benedict with one of their famous biscuits with a side of bacon. They are also famous for their chocolate cake and hubby got us slices to take home and enjoy while I opened gifts. My sweet husband had already given me a newly planted azalea bush last week and this morning surprised me with a new puzzle and a gorgeous necklace. My mom gave me kitchen stuff, which I love. Two cast iron skillets, a Food Saver, and a new double steamer. These will be used often!! I have Bible study in an hour and then I’m coming home to a bottle of red wine that I also got from hubby. So, my diet is blown but hey, a girl only turns 55 once and I know that tomorrow I will be back on plan and will get the gain off before Friday’s weigh-in. *fingers crossed*

2021 Focus Word: TRANSFORMATION