I just saw a post of how to add pics and thought I’d try. First pic ever posted to mfp or anywhere, for that matter. My profile pic is one of another dog we had from many years ago; added for me by a mfp tech person.

Cute, yes, and certainly big!

OK, ladies, I thought I would check in, even though I have very little to report.

I joined a challenge here on mfp. It is less a challenge (and not in the Challenge category) and more of a thread that is reinitiated every month. I have to report in every day on 3 things: 1)Did I exercise at least 20 min? (this is always a yes for me), 2)Did I track/log calories? (far less common for me), and 3)Did I stay in calorie budget? (sometimes yes, if I'm tracking, I figure if I get close, it is good, but I'm sticking to the rules now). Tracking is the kicker for me; I don't like to do it. (Substitute kicker for fatal error) (ok, a little much). I thought that I would try this for a month, especially since I am going on a cruise to Alaska in July. My goal is to be less than when I started the cruise that I went on in Jan. (FYI, we always planned travel when we retire before we get too old/infirm to do it; I do know that the frequency of our vacations sounds a bit excessive, but there it is). I am exactly 1.5 lbs away from that goal. Anything extra is a bonus. One and a half pounds sounds beyond easy and yet, it is not. Without calorie counting, I can't seem to do it. I figure that I can accomplish this and then when I am back home, I'll have to work to drop it again (over and over and over). There is always a debate on which needs to get smaller: my bust or stomach. Only dropping weight will do that. Exercise is good, but the visual results are minimal for me.

I once signed up for a monthly thread, reporting on weight each day. Even though I weigh (and record in mfp) my weight every day, this really weirded me out. I keep my diary closed for the same reason. I have no rational reason for either. I dropped out of that weight-reporting thread.

My husband and I have picnicked, but not camped overnight yet this year; it has been atypically cold and rainy here in Colorado. Where we live and camp are no longer in a drought level; this is a first since we moved here four years ago. How wonderful, but the rain is so odd, and this is from someone who has lived in the Midwest for all of my adult life.

Well, like I said, not too much to say. I hope you all are doing well.

Big tall mountains. Sometimes snowy. Truly beyond beautiful here, although there is most definite beauty in newly tilled fields in the Midwest.

Hello! I thought I would check-in again here. I just finished one project (a quick bit of paperwork related to my volunteering) and will start another. The perfect excuse for a cup of coffee!

My next project is pulling together documentation of classes and whatnot, inclusive of CO forms, to renew my counseling license. I've done all of the classes and whatnot, but haven't completed the forms for the licensing board. It will probably take an hour. The most time-consuming part of it is figuring out what they want. This is the second time that I'm doing it; so, in theory, it should be easy. I only have to do this every 2 years. The due date is the end of Aug, but I want to get it done and over with. One less things to think about; I'm sure you all can relate.

So, progress with losing weight before early July...My goal was to be 0.1 lb less than earlier this year. I am now exactly one pound away. My stretch goal is anything more than that. I also have my yearly doctor's appt around the same time and, well, we all know that evil scale in the doctor's office too well. The ultimate 'doctor' goal is to be under 25 BMI; this is right around where my weight fluctuates. I am confident that I will be under 25 (by just a bit), but with clothes, probably not. Why do the nurses not subtract 3 lbs for clothing? They clearly see that we're not naked! And, I am sure they are grateful for that!!!

Reviewing the enduring question...why is it so easy to gain weight quickly and yet, to lose it, it takes so long? It's the same metabolism, whether it is going up the scale or down. I don't think CICO fully explains it, or at least the rate of change. I don't know what other factors could be involved, so I guess it is just CICO. It must be easier for me to slam down some food than it is to restrict the same amount of calories.

Coffee is cooling and those forms are calling my name. Enjoy!

Nothing of importance to report; my son and I had a funny exchange that sent me squirreling on Wikipedia. I sent him a pic from my dining room this morning, over our neighborhood meadow, including the nearby mountain behind it. It has been weirdly rainy and gloomy/overcast off-and-on for weeks now, seemingly more on than off. (Colorado forgot that it is supposed to be as dry as a desert). My caption said, 'Misty mountain, sort-of Bridge-of-Death-y', referencing the movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He sent back a pic of the Alps, also foggy/misty stating, 'I call your Rockies and raise you the Alps'.

I find this funny especially as the WOW! factor of seeing (and living in) the Rockies has yet to wear off, even after four years (I hope it never does). Let's just say the Alps are impressive, too! (He is stationed in Germany).

I had previously Googled the two mountain ranges before, but forgot all, excluding that the Alps are younger (and thus, more sharply pointed). The range of the Rockies is, on the average, longer and wider than the Alps and has a lot more mountains over 13,000'. The Alps, however, have the highest ones (Rockies highest is over 14,000' and the Alps highest is over 15,000'). Most impressively, though, is that most of the Alp mountain base is notably lower than the Rockies, meaning that they rise a greater distance from their base, looking even higher. The Rocky Mountain base, in general, is already a mile high, so the mountains don't seem as tall. As one very familiar with the Smoky, Allegheny, and Appalachian mountains, I think the Rockies and the Alps are scarily big! (Not meaning to get too technical here).

Anyway, this is your mountain update for today!

Btw, I am halfway through my challenge for the month of June. I have exercised, logged my food, and kept within my calorie budget every day, so far. I started at a budget of 1500 cal/day, lowering down to 1465 cal/day, just simply because I can easily eat at the slightly lower budget. I have not had such a high calorie budget before, usually between 1200-1400 calories/day (when I track, of course). Since I don't seem to keep the weight off my usual way, I thought an easier-to-keep approach would be better (yes, which I knew). This has been 16 full days (I actually started on the 31st). Wow! I just figured out how much I lost in this time frame and it is 4.1 lbs. I didn't realize that it was this much. I met my goal of weighing less than earlier in this calendar year, but my stretch goal is anything more than that. If I lose 3 more pounds until my doctor appointment in 3 weeks, I will be at BMI=25, with clothes on. So I may or may not be in the normal range. Such silly goals!

Ladies, I am hoping all is well with you!

@MorticiaAddamsMSFS Great to hear it!

I hear you! This AM I jumped about 1.5 lbs up! Really? I get the up and down, but I refuse to accept it!

OK, ladies, I have a status report...

Today is the day before my summer vacation (I sound like a school kid!). My goal was to be less than I was earlier in the year. I just barely met this goal; I am 1.3 lbs less. My stretch goal was to weigh even less, so although I technically met my stretch goal...well, to say I did would be stretching it!

I had my yearly doctor appointment yesterday and my goal for that was to be below 25 BMI when weighed by the nurse. I was at 25.27. Sadly, the nurse weighed me with my ankle boots on (a very atypical dark, gloomy, and cold day yesterday). Some good news, though. She measured me at 5'4", so I haven't lost any height (I have mild osteopenia). My total cholesterol dropped from 215 (borderline high) to 181 (good); this was also a goal. The only thing I really changed was eating 1-2 eggs pretty much every morning to rarely. They say diet really doesn't affect cholesterol, but seemingly it did, for me. My 'bad' cholesterol changed from 134 (high) to 103 (good). My weight difference for these two dates of lab testing is only one pound less now, so weight wasn't a factor. I am a yo-yo'r, don't be thinking it has held steady!

The nurse asked me what is my health goal for the year; I answered, to lose 10 lbs. I think I can do this, but I think it will take close to a year. I have found that eating at 1500 calories per day is so much more doable than anything less than that. I will start back at it upon return from vacation.

I hope all of you are enjoying your summer!

I have noticed that when I eat is very important with my ability to stay within my calorie budget. If I eat earlier than usual for any of my meal/snack times, then I end up eating more by the end of the day because of hunger. Lately, I’ve been breaking my breakfasts in two (I’ve done this before, First Breakfast and Second Breakfast, like hobbits). Today, at 11:30 AM or so, I was getting really hungry and a bit concerned because lunch isn’t until 12:30 PM or so. Then I remembered! I only ate the first half of my breakfast. I was inordinately happy to discover the second half of my breakfast in the frig. It was one of those moments when you know you’re just a bit odd, weird, choose your word.

I went camping for about 4 days last week (off the grid, mfp is possible, but only with great planning/weighing/logging ahead of time). I pretty much ate what I usually do on the trip, but with the addition of more than a couple s’mores each night, OK 4+ s’mores (without graham crackers—husband is a gluten-free kind of dude and GF graham crackers are nasty and I would never be able to get through a box of regular ones by myself). I didn’t gain any weight, very nice and unexpected.

I have lost all but a couple pounds from our recent vacation, so I’m doing well on the losing front. It has been quicker than losing weight from the vacation before that. I fully attribute it to a group that I have joined. There is a new group each month (same name, different month). This month it is, called: Ultimate Accountability Challenge August 2023. Here is the link, if you are interested:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/145179-ultimate-accountability-challenge-august-2023.

So, it is a ‘challenge’ in mfp-speak, but I don’t believe it is in the Challenge category, maybe Motivation? The ‘rules’ are really simple. You try to do 3 things each day: exercise 20 min (any exercise), log your food, and stay within your calorie budget (totally set by you). In theory, you report in every day, but just so it is at least every three days, which is ok. If you think you may be interested, check it out right away, the challenge for each month (the group) closes after 6 days. I pretty much exercise every day, so I don’t get very wired if I miss a day due to life happening. But, those couple days or so during the month while doing this challenge, I find that I take the effort to fit in exercise because I want to report in that I did my daily exercise. Please note earlier comment about me being odd/weird. I mean, in the big picture, what does it matter? Missing a day here or there of exercise? Like you always hear, consistency is what counts—-every little bit helps. During the summer, I count my ‘sticking’ as my exercise. I’ll get back to the regular during the cold months.

My last vacation was in July and by being in the June challenge, it made me log (not my fav). And, I was able to achieve my goal before the trip (one pound less than earlier in year). I joined for July, even with the vacation and knowing that I wouldn't log or even attempt to keep my calories low, to sort-of force me to go back logging earlier than I would have otherwise once I got home. There is a direct correlation with me of more logging, more weight loss. (dang-it!).

Enough about weight, other updates…

I continue to ‘stick’ (picking up sticks). Today was just dragging big branches (that my husband chainsawed a month or so ago) up from our backyard to our side yard. I want my husband to chainsaw those up in the side yard (too big for my lopper), so I can then dispose of them. This involves carrying/dragging/wagoning a can down to the end of the driveway. The key here, if you didn’t pick up on it, is not dragging/etc a can up a hill before dragging it down. Down is WAYYYY easier (I have great respect for gravity and try to work with it). (One of you have mentioned enjoying hearing some of my engineering stories and just a small comment...when I think of gravity, I always think '9.81 m/sec squared'. Some of the constants used during an engineering career just aren't forgotten, sadly). Approaching our house from all directions except the one side yard is up. We are about 2-3 houses down from the top of our particular mountain. Also, we have a couple acres and with the trees and the slope, our neighbors don't see this wood laying around. I don't want anyone being aghast for us being 'bad' neighbors. In fact, we couldn't even see the downed wood in the backyard. We live in a very wild-looking area. And to further (possibly) blow your minds, many people here (us included) don't mow their yards. Yards are more like woods/meadows here. If we mowed our yard, we wouldn't get the wildflowers growing in it throughout the summer, so pretty! (Weeds, too, let's not pretend. And, our wildflowers are actually weeds, too).

I am also trying to get through at least 1/2” of my stack of (endless) papers. The stack is maybe 4” high (always, 4” is the top of my very pretty, perfectly-sized wooden box that my (late) MIL gave me quite a few years ago. In my defense, some of the papers do get moved out. Unfortunately, more get added.

Other than that, the weather in Colorado is beautiful; I love the summers. I haven’t hiked as much as I usually do, but it is all good. I hope you all are enjoying your summer. I’m going to try to upload a pic from our trip to Alaska and maybe from where we camp on Colorado. If you see them, you'll know I was successful!

Inside Passage, on our way to Vancouver