For me declaring a meal over is about knowing where the end point is before I even start. So, my portion is tracked and accounted for, and there's no grey area.

If I still have calories left and I want more, so be it.. but most of the time I'd prefer to defer those calories anyway as I love having something left at the end of the day for a snack.

Basically, I don't eat until it's tracked so I know whether I have the room for it or not.

PW 156
CW 157

Ugh. Sorry! We had pie weekend at work. I was fine on Friday, but I had too much fun yesterday with pizza pie. 😔

@jugar it is interesting that you brought that up this week because I have definitely been struggling with eating larger portions recently and honestly, I am not sure why. Typically, I know my serving size and that is all I take but recently, I am taking seconds or, picking at leftovers. I need to do better at logging because I suspect part of it is that I am not eating enough during the day. I am also consuming more carbs then usual, which leaves me feeling unsatisfied. I am a big believer in balanced macros.

Getting caught up on posts! I had what I am going to call a total depression week the last 6 days. I came home from my mini vacation in NC on Monday evening so grocery shopping didn't happen until Tuesday night. Meals were just off the whole time. I ordered takeout like 4 times or something equally ridiculous and such a waste of money. I tried to break in new running shoes and maybe my feet have gotten slightly fatter than my normal shoe size, because I was in such pain, I had to turn around! Giant blisters on my heels meant pathetic walks in flip flops the rest of the week. Not a workout in sight. Lazy in bed. Total bummer of a week.

SO! Hitting the reset button HARD tonight. Designed a new morning routine for myself. Making some habit changes:
1. leaving the laptop far away from the bed at night (I sleep with my computer most nights and it's just unnecessary)
2. eating my meals at my actual dining table and NOT with any kind of screen - no work, no netflix, etc
3. going to bed at 11pm the latest
4. when my alarm goes off at 7am, GETTING UP! Not sleeping through 12 other alarms.

And some other things but those are the big ones. My birthday is 6 weeks away and I have some really fun ideas planned for it, and I want to be feeling really GOOD by then! Shedding even some of this dead weight will be helpful.

@DD265 I sympathize with an infected cyst on your back SO MUCH! I had that exact situation fall of 2019, and unfortunately for me, the antibiotics were too late to help. No idea how I got through the work week riding the train and sitting at my work desk, honestly, it was so painful. Bras were enemy #1! Had to go to a surgeon and have the horrid thing sliced open. (Ew). I still have quite the scar from it, but at least I can never see it! Hope the meds work expeditiously for you!!!

@kellie_erin so sorry about your feline friend. Our family cat is getting on in years and one of my sister's cats just had to have his tail removed. You're in such a tough spot but sending hugs!

@ashleycarole86 steps & exercise update (bleh week is rather evident)
Sun 9/12: 8,135 + 32min killer HIIT (Epic Day 40)
Mon 9/13: 8,137
Tues 9/14: 9,760
Wed 9/15: 6,934
Thurs 9/16: 8,037
Fri 9/17: 8,006
Sat 9/18: 9,116

**please also increase my step goal to 10K starting this week! was 8k until now.

@DD265 simply amazing photos - what a walk that is - but I am sorry that you weren't able to enjoy it to the fullest.

Evening folks!

@Kali225 Sounds like a rough week you've had but your reset plan sounds solid. Hope you got yourself to bed on time and I've got my fingers crossed that pesky snooze button stays away from your finger tomorrow... by the way my birthday is in six weeks and a day so we are basically birthday twins! Got your step goal up to 10k now - thanks!

@DD265 Sorry to hear about what you're going through, and I'm seriously impressed you managed a walk of that length despite that. Your pictures are absolutely stunning.. my goodness.

Ok @jugar now you've got me digging deeper on some ideas to signal the END of a meal:

1) Put the extras or leftovers away before you even sit down to eat (food temperature is not important to me so this could work for me but if you're concerned about that then I suppose this wouldn't be helpful)

2) Only make enough for that meal... this is something that happens naturally for us at supper time since we use meal kits about 4 nights a week... there are no leftovers! Well, unless the meal is higher calorie and I've purposely decided to split it into two, which happens once in a blue moon. Again, likely not popular for most people... Brad doesn't really like leftovers so we usually cook sometime new for most meals, and I guess while this is more work, it naturally ensures the meal is over.

3) Still really feeling like ensuring you track FIRST is a good strategy here... because sometimes the sheer act of having to get the scale out again, weigh and measure and so on is just not worth the effort.

Today's steps were 11138. We got home around supper time from the lake... house looks like a disaster as we hauled everything in from closing up the trailer but we didn't have the time or energy to put it all away, but that's okay. Our big vacation road trip to the East and back is not happening as it was originally planned, but we are still going to be off and doing a part of the trip, so with some of the newfound free time I plan to be productive at the house with non-work related stuff.

Anyway, two days of work first to get through, and they'll be BUSY!

@Terytha Thinking of you and hoping everything is going okay, I know from your last check-in it sounds like you've been going through some stuff...

[quote="conleywoods;

@EvMakesChanges Hang in there with that shoulder! Remember, you just had surgery on probably the most complex and dynamic joint in the human body. Rotator cuff muscles are small and do big jobs. Keep resting and heal it totally. No reinjury allowed! Rotator cuffs don't generally like 2nd surgeries. Thinking of you! [/quote]

Thank you - you're absolutely right. It's incredible how our arms stay attached for more than a few years of active life! I plan go easy on the added exercise during these early days.

I've been more verbal about food prep the past week or so. I get tired of saying the same thing multiple times and making the same requests/suggestions about measuring the amount of oil that's being used, etc. Anybody suggestions about dealing with a cook/spouse who doesn't listen? Ha! Age-old issue, I know. At least during the work week, I make my own breakfast and lunch so can keep those in more reasonable levels, etc.

More soon. Got to spread out typing, too.

Happy Monday, Friends!

So this morning I had a lovely yoga session (Yoga with Adriene) and it was great! First time I've moved my body in anger in quite a while. But I was so very stiff! Looks like I'm going to have to add Adriane's yoga to my Epic workouts from now on to get my body supple again. I couldn't believe how stiff I was!

Here are my steps for last week @ashleycarole86 :

12/9 - 2,246
13/9 - 1,147
14/9 - 4,569
15/9 - 4,725
16/9 - 4,234
17/9 - 3,606
18/9 - 9,942

I WILL do better next week!

@DD265 - Congratulations on your walk - especially as you were dealing with such pain on your back. And thank you for sharing such glorious photographs.

@Kali225 - This next week will certainly be better than the last. You've set up your resets beautifully!

Enjoy the rest of your day, Friends!

Y x

PW: 78.7
CW: 79

@DD265 you are a "trooper" as my grandma would say! Great pics, too.

@jugar @ashleycarole86 I had Liselyn's voice in my head (or whatever my brain imagines your voice to be) all day, going for "that one perfect day" to get things going again. And if I may say, I totally had a perfect day. I slept well, probably actually passed out by 11:30, woke up to my FIRST ALARM (truly a groundbreaking moment), got out of bed, had some water with fresh lemon, stretched out, got outside for a ~38min walk, and did a meditation ( @YinxFed a Yoga With Adriene fave of mine - 7 min meditation to start your day) all before logging onto work. I got day 41 of Epic done before my walk at lunch. A third walk after work, and a delicious dinner. Only thing of my new routines I didn't ace was eating without a screen - but I forgot that the Packers played tonight so I had a little football going on my phone with dinner.

As for stopping the eating, while there was some afternoon snacking, 1 - I more than made up for it with steps and exercise today, and 2 - I had a built-in reason to stop once dinner was done. My dentist recommended a night guard because I guess I grind my teeth, and I had to fit it tonight, thus, immediately brushed my teeth to get that out of the way.

Another trick for me is picking up my plate and getting the kitchen clean up underway once I am done eating. I love a clean kitchen. You would think I wouldn't let the sink and stove get as out of control as they do every few weeks.

I also used the trick of leaving my biggest window shade mostly up when I went to bed to let some sunlight in, and aid in waking my lazy brain up at that alarm.

I am considering using the habit tracker for my morning things. Haven't tried it previously since I track so many things myself already but I am a sucker for a good check mark.

Both my morning and evening walks had a little bit of crisp in the air.

@ashleycarole86 another note - when is your birthday specifically? Mine is Oct 30 (38 min before Halloween, which I love!)

Tonight will be a good test of my new routine, given that the football won't be over until probably a little after 11. If we can just bury the Lions, I won't have to worry about the end! (It's halftime and we are losing by 3, however, so......Go Pack!)

Today was a good day. Yesterday I did a ton of prep for the week. All laundry done, made all 19 lunches for the family and planned all week night dinners. Ate all my planned meals for the day and had room for a mini ice cream treat while watching the football game too @Kali225 !

#The balanced life challenge update!
Squeezed my pilates workout in while dinner baked. I was surrounded by two little boys and two dogs at all times but I did it! Every once in awhile my chihuahua mix decides that exercise must be hurting me and will not leave. He stands as close as possible. I thought I did all right but apparently I gave off a different vibe! 😆 LOL

I have more to say but not much brain power left. Proud of everyone's efforts 👏 My 4th grader is practicing the recorder for music class so my brain is on a break now.

@KellyBgetsfit hahahaha it's a powerful motivator!

Tuesday Weigh-In
PW: 216.4
CW: 215.0

Happy with the scale this morning, especially considering the week I had of poor eating. I am going to Cape Cod this weekend for the first time with a group of girls at an Airbnb. I'm excited but there are no meals planned and we will probably eat out for Fri dinner, lunch and dinner Sat, and maybe brunch Sunday before leaving. So I won't be too optimistic about a loss by next Tuesday but thankfully my weekends in October are MUCH less busy. And I just ordered some Coleman folding camping chairs to take to the beach and I'm really excited for them to arrive! Should still be nice and hot this weekend so I am looking forward to the sun & sand.

Another good morning for me, too, although I was a little slower to wake up. The game ended right about 11:10pm, so I wasn't fully off to sleep until just after 11:30. Good lesson for tonight. Be strict!

@kellie_erin
so sorry about your cat.

Just a quick check - in

I made it to Maine and it is so good to have rambling, random, sometimes nonsensical conversation with my dad. Can't say it was a good day for food or exercise, but it's ok.

Quick reminders! Due up through Wednesday:
@lovethyneighbor
@TessieMac833
@AshenMoon
@EvMakesChanges
@KellyBgetsFit
@MoStacy

Thanks!