LW: 131.4
TW: 131.4

Well, I suppose I should be happy that the scale stayed the same. I am finally feeling close to my normal self, but at the first of this weigh-in week, that was not the case.

At the moment, I am pretty shook up. I went out to buy some groceries and had to go to two different supermarkets and still did not get a lot of items on my list. I have no idea why pretty common items are not available. At the last store, the person in the fish market spoke not one word of English, so it was a difficult to get the type of and quantity of fish I needed. So on the way home, I was frustrated and weary and when folks going straight blocked a turn lane, I tried to edge by rather than sit through another couple of lights. As I did so, I barely scrapped a vehicle to my right. I couldn't stop there as traffic was terrible, so I I just made the left I intended to make and stopped. It was within sight of whoever was in that vehicle. But they did not also turn in and a van that was turning in, honked at me to move. So I did a quick u-turn, went back to where it happened and asked a man who was sitting in his car in a parking space if he saw what happened and where the other vehicle went. He said, no he didn't. So I came home and there's no damage to my car. There was a wide, white scuff mark, which makes no sense since the vehicle was dark, but that dusted right off. But now I don't know quite what to do. My fear, of course, is that someone will try to claim damage that was not due to this incident. (And I know. I am projecting.) Anyway, I feel very pretty shaky, and I thought that the best thing I could do is do something to calm me down. So here I am to report in.

Sheesh, I'm glad that your sister is now able to get out and about. I so wish my sister was more mobile.

Lois, I hope that the food plan is working out better. And it's great that you are making good choices when an occasion calls for you to eat out. Just staying aware and making smart choices goes a long way, at least for me.

Sheesh, you asked about health and low-carbs. I don't have a lot of experience in the field of nutrition, although studied it in college and did a limited amount of work on NIH's clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of obesity a long time ago. But I've just always felt that a healthy diet needs to include the recommended amounts of carbs, protein, fat, etc. After all, fruits, vegetables, and grains contain carbs. And it seems that most diets that restrict carbs are high in protein and fat, which are not good for cardiovascular health.

Hubby just called up the stairs and needs me to do something, so I will be back to post my 7-day averages and goals for the next. Hope that others will also check in soon.

Yesterday was not my day, so I didn't make it back here. Today will hopefully go better. I went to class this morning and have a little time before I have to leave for my 6-month dental check-up and cleaning.

Here are my 7-day averages for last week:

Steps = 10,278
Kcals burned = 1,694
Stairs = 16 floors

I think my goals for the coming week should be to continue trying to get the recommended amount of protein, watch salt, and a biggie--cut back on butter. That last one is so hard for me. The other night we had salmon baked with butter and fresh dill, steamed broccoli with butter, salt and pepper, and rice made with chicken stock and guess what? Yep, butter. Not only is that a lot of calories added to what should be a healthy meal, but it's also extra fat. We just like our food seasoned well, and it's going to be hard to modify that. Salt is also an issue for me. Today I'm up a full pound, and I'm sure it's probably the salt in last night's fish tacos. We followed a new recipe and even salt-loving me found it a bit salty. And I think I should also focus on upping my daily calorie burn. I've noticed that some days, I walk about the same amount but burn more calories than on other days. I need to see if I can determine why and then duplicate that. Yesterday was one of those higher burn days, so I just hope it's not stress! Do not want to duplicate that.

Lois, I'm sorry to hear about your neighbors and I know they really appreciate having you close by. We bought our house 30 years ago, too, and the neighborhood has changed a lot, but there are still three or four households who were here when we moved in. Two of those households are our pool buddies. When we think about relocating we think about how many friends we have here from the neighborhood, volunteer work we do, our involvement in local and national politics, and people we have met through our work. I honestly think that if I really needed something, there's probably 50 people at least that I know I could call and they'd do their best to help. That's what makes it harder to consider moving to a less expensive and less congested place. Our family is very small and growing smaller, so those friends are family for us.

And mentioning the pool, I need to contact the HOA because we have not yet received pool passes and the pool opens next week (it's outdoor but heated). And I want to clean a bit before hubby gets back and I have to get to the dentist. He has decided to participate in another clinical trial for a combined flu/covid vaccine. I'm not all that happy about this one, but he really wants to do it. The covid vaccine trial he participated in was just to the check effectiveness and possible side effects of a vaccine he was taking anyway. In this one, you may get a combined shot or just one of the two. I told him to be sure his doc approves before he does this, but he's gone for an information interview despite my worries.

Hope to hear from Kelly and Katie soon. Have a nice Friday eve!

So glad to hear from you, Katie. You have so many positive things going on in your life! Congratulations on the new job, and I'm happy to hear that your hand is healing welI. I see much better days ahead for you, so don't let the divorce delay get to you, too much. And yes, muscle weighs more than fat, so if you're building muscle and not gaining weight, that means you are losing fat. I'm sure your trainer is telling you that. It's great to have input from a trainer.

I did have to laugh when you asked Lois if she is elderly. She is not a youngster, but she's certainly not elderly and she's younger than either Sheesh or me. In fact, I'm the reigning old person by 2-1/2 months. Good thing is that only the outside ages.

Thanks for supportive words about my car worry. Hubby thinks I'm crazy to worry since he was able to dust off the mark on my car, and even though I stopped in full view, the person didn't bother to stop. The thing that feels worst to me today is that I realize that I no longer trust people like I used to.

Well, just stopped to log my lunch and now I need to go pot some plants we bought last week and that are looking a little worse for wear.

LW: 148.8
TW: 147.8

Sweet. I'm super happy about that. I was creeping up closer to that 150 mark and I'd rather not get back there again.

Sarah - Sorry to hear about your shake up with the car. Although I'm sure nothing will ever come from it, I can totally understand your anxiety about it. I would be the same way. Oh and I also love butter lol

Lois - That's tough news about your neighbours. Life can be so tough sometimes, especially with those kind of changes in your life.

Sheesh - Curious to know if your trainer measured you yet too?

Katie - It sounds like you have a lot of positives in your life right now and are working to stay focused on them. Great job!

Yah, Kelly. A full pound is great! Must be that pound I found! Most of the activity I've gotten in the past few days has been yardwork, which does not show up as steps, so it will be interesting to see how this type of activity affects my weight. The spending on plants, mulch, pots, fertilizer, potting soil, more plants, etc., just keeps happening. It's so hot and humid here in July and August that we don't spend much time outdoors, so I always question the effort and money we put in, but while we can, we're still doing it. I do hope that doing something different will have a positive effect on the scale, but I'm not counting on it. We went out to dinner with a small group of friends last night and both of us felt a little queasy when we woke up this morning. It passed pretty much by midmorning, but I'm not sure what walking will do to my tummy or my toe, which is still talking to me. However, onward I go, and I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.