Shari, water weight is so annoying! Hope you see a drop soon. I think all of your prep from your garden is terrific. It is so good to know EXACTLY what is in the food we eat. You are making a supply of healthy organic foods. Nothing beats that in my opinion.

DW, I am thinking of you as your travel home approaches and praying for your safe travels. I look forward to reading more about your trip!

I have weighed in a few times over the past few days. I am amazed to report that I am down 4 pounds and have held that weight as of yesterday. This is very encouraging to me. However, yesterday I went to a meeting of the group I got involved with when at my old church. We are a group of folks from 3 local Orthodox churches (including my old church and my current church). Yesterday was our first meeting since January 2020. There were about 10 of there, meeting at the home of my friend Sandi. Everyone was vaccinated, but I was still a little nervous meeting and eating indoors. The eating part: I watched my portions, took the skin off the fried chicken, avoided the potato salad, enjoyed some shrimp, but indulged in the homemade coleslaw (made with oil & vinegar, not creamy coleslaw). I also had a small piece of birthday cake we had for one of our members and drank 2 delicious glasses of wine. So....as you might guess, I will take a few days before I weigh again and am totally back on track today. I have to admit I had a great time there yesterday! On the Covid issue, our neighborhood elementary school (where DS went to school) had to close this week due to 12 Covid cases across 4 grade levels. It is upsetting especially when it is this close to home, right in our neighborhood school!

Welcome back DW! What a wonderful trip you had! So happy for you and for the memories you made. I just read a little article not long ago about how doing the "normal" every day things with loved ones can mean so much, and then today you affirm that in your post. I bet the AK state fair was terrific too. Like you, I would have indulged in a variety of fair foods. I believe it is worth it on such a special trip.

Shari, are you going in to your office two days a week now?

Today was a fair, but not great, day for me. I felt fine and got a lot done, but once again, my dinner timing was off. I have to be more in tune with when I eat and just stop what I am doing when I am hungry and eat so that I don't get overly hungry and over eat. I know this but there are times when I don't do it! Ugh!

DW…your AK trip sounds like a wonderful combination of quality family time and some sightseeing and added bonus of hiking! My fondest memories of seeing America over the years was through hiking! In later years we did many city walking tours with local guides which allowed me to walk on even ground (most of the time, lol). As Paula said, so many awesome memories you have now!

Shari…sorry your Covid number are getting higher. Stay safe….it’s all we can do. We are masking up everywhere now again. Such a debate here about getting a booster…and not FDA approved yet. Waiting to see what they decide. Unfortunately, I feel it’s media driven and politically driven rather than science…they really just don’t know everything yet, sigh.

Paula..good advice about not getting too hungry! Was definitely important for me on 17dd! This fasting from 7:00 pm to 11:00 a.m does have me feeling hungry some mornings! I try to imagine it is my body burning my fat cells that I am feeling! Other days if I keep busy enough I actually forget to eat until after 12:00! That happened again yesterday and I am down a bit (.2) on scale again today. But this morning my stomach is growling….and I have 1/2 hour before my minimum 11:00 eat time.

I think doing this calorie counting/intermittent fasting (13 days today and -4 lbs) is shrinking my stomach…I seem to get full faster with less volume. Which helps me with my calorie counts for the day too! Last night supper, I had a grilled ham and Swiss cheese sandwich (made at home) and some 17dd veggies on the side. Could not finish the small dish of veggies as I was full. I quit when full. I notice my two egg, peppers scramble fills me up better too. Plus, added good feeling is no big urge to eat mid afternoon snack. (Usually a yogurt). I do try to eat it that once a day but simply forget about half the days. The Lose It app keeps track of my calories eaten daily and weekly and says I am 744 calories less than allowed for the week. Yet I am able to add foods like mashed potatoes and grilled cheese (in moderation) again! 👍😎

Paula, today was my nail day, too. The salon I go to has never stopped requiring masks and I am good with that! I also noticed more folks wearing masks in the grocery store. I am going to a club picnic in Columbus on Saturday. It is outdoors but folks are being asked to wear masks under the shelter unless eating or drinking and out in the open if not socially distanced. I'm sure we'll get some push back on that, but the President of the club is a Dr and feels very strongly about this. Shari, I'm also sorry that covid has become so bad in your area. I often wonder if it is also really bad around here but the government's hands are tied to set new regulations. I know that it has increased by over 300 cases in our county since Monday.
Diane, I kind of do intermittent fasting when I stick to my goal of not eating after 8:00pm. Tonight's last meal was before 6:30 so I'll see how I feel in the morning. When I stick to that goal, I do see results on the scale more frequently than if I give in to temptation and eat something later. Breakfast is usually between 9-9:30. Congrats on your loss!! Everyone have a great Friday!!

Calorie counting with Intermittent Fasting (IF)….Everyone….Feel free to ignore what I’m doing, if you want. Not saying anyone else should try this combined program…but in spirit of all of us trying to lose weight I want to be honest about this new method I am trying. (Thank you to my DD). You can all decide if it might be something you would do?? Day 14 today and down 4 lbs. Not saying it will keep working for me. If I fall off the wagon or my weight loss stalls you all will be the first to know, 😍

DW, It sure feels good to have a manicure, doesn't it? It is my one indulgence even in these pandemic days! We have more Covid concerns here based on local news reports. Pennsylvania added 32,000 cases and 277 deaths this week, as Covid ICU occupancy hit a 7-month high.

Shari, How nice to be able to gather with your friends outdoors! It is good that all of you are vaccinated. It is still summer weather here, but the latest weather forecasts suggest we should be moving to autumn weather just as the seasons change next week.

Diane, I too really like the Lose It app and am very pleased at the amazing variety of foods that are there to add when logging my food. I also like that I can see my progress (slow though it be) with the chart provided. The calories that remain after logging remind me of how the WW points system work. I still toy with doing the new WW program but not yet anyway.

I had a terrific day today....on track and no cravings or deviations. It was also a pretty busyday (for me), and I got a lot done and am not exhausted. Woo hoo! I wish every day could be like this. I still long for a dog. I have been checking the website of the shelter where my friend Kellie volunteers. I know I am not ready and might never be ready due to my physical limitations, but I will continue to look. I saw an adorable 12 year old Maltipoo mix who looks like she would fit right in here. But I am holding off. I just might get in touch with Kellie to discuss my situation with her again (she is a huge dog lover too). Getting another dog is a huge step, and I need to make sure I can handle it.

DW…No, sorry, no social aspect at all to Lose It…it’s just an app you download to tablet or phone. I use an iPad. It’s free in the basic format. Both my daughter and I only use the basic, not the premium. Basic uses your personal info to establish a calorie budget for a day, it has a really complete food tracker, has a weight tracker with goal line graph. Awesome graphics. Easy, peasy to use.