Happy Healthy 2025 to all of us!!

DW, So good that your DD had such healthy plans for New Year's Eve with such a close and considerate family. I am sure they are a blessing to your entire family.

My interest in moving away from meat is related to a few influences. Janice, an acquaintance from church is around my age, thin, and seemingly relatively healthy. Recently her doc was concerned about some health issues for her including heart issues and pre-diabetes. Since moving towards a vegetarian diet over the past several months with an eye on vegan (not for me yet for sure) Janice's numbers have improved remarkably. She says she feels amazingly better and her doc is pleased. Since both my dad and his mother had Type II diabetes this has long been a concern of mine. The second influence on my interest in this direction is my concern for the way animals are used in the meat process. I have always had a fondness for pigs and know they are intelligent animals. I have been watching some videos of the inhumane ways the animals are treated in the process of getting them to us for our dinner tables, and it has begun to trouble me more and more. It all sort of stems from my love for animals. I am still in the early stages of considering these changes and could change direction I am sure, but this is the basis for my interest. I will have to do much more research and also look into a WW vegetarian option for direction and ideas.

We had a lovely visit with our neighbors Jane and Blaine (I think it is cute how their names rhyme). Getting everything ready (including cleaning up again) went well. We had good discussions and a pleasant evening. They left before 9 pm. By the time they left I was exhausted. John was a big help to me setting up and cleaning up. I couldn't have done this without him.

Shari, Best wishes as you return to work. Good news is it is a short week! Most likely you will know when it is time to retire I think. With economies the way they are (though admittedly I am not aware of any specifics of the Canadian economy), it seems wise to have a pay check as long as you are up for it.

I had a good day today. Often I use Jan 1 and our pork and sauerkraut with potatoes traditional meal as my reason for delaying a more serious approach to food choices. I wanted to make the most of my recent motivational outlook so I was fairly strict with my choices today. I didn't even cave on any of the many sweets we have on hand. I didn't track my food today but will start tomorrow. I am sure, however, that my choices were well within my point range. Of course, as always for me, the challenge now will be to string together enough good days like today to get rid of more pounds, feel better, and look better.

Ah that extra 1/2 hour of sleep means so much. It is great that you can work from home on some days. I did track my food today and used all my points but didn't go over. Now WW is tracking macros which I know you are familiar with Shari. I am not at all conversant in this area. I got a little info from WW but haven't digested it yet (excuse the pun). I will keep learning and researching this now that it is a part of WW.

Hello! It sounds as if you both have 2025 off to a great start! The Noom ap that I've been using has started tracking protein as well as calories. It also tracks the green, yellow and orange foods and tells where your eating is in comparison to your "ideal" percentage for each color. I typically am too heavy on orange and too light on green foods. Today for lunch a coworker offered me some of her homemade cheeseburger soup and I couldn't resist. It was delicious but my mind went to how I could make it with less fat and calories. I will need to work on that.
I have noticed a change in my body over the past couple of months and can't really label it as good or bad-more something I need to be mindful of and plan for. My body doesn't seem to tolerate having an empty stomach very well and I start feeling like I will be sick to my stomach. I find that I am needing to eat every few hours. I have been planning a healthy morning snack but should consider an afternoon snack as well. I am famished when I get up in the morning and need to eat something like toast fairly soon. This is all very different from how I've been most of my life but I've never heard of it being a symptom of anything so I will try to go with it in the healthiest manner possible-as you mentioned Shari, "planning is key"! Have a great weekend!

DW, is your calorie range and protein etc. info from My Fitness Pal or somewhere else? I still have not delved into the new macro info on WW. I hope it is easy to find. I tried 310 Nutrition protein drinks many years ago as it was recommended by someone on SparkPeople. As I recall they had a variety of flavors and a few tasted ok. I ordered them online, and I think they were meal replacement drinks. Just writing this to you is making me wonder if I shouldn't try them again sometime.

Shari, tough to stay away from treats in the work setting. Mangoes sound like a delicious option, sort of exotic in my view.

I had a mediocre day today. I struggled to stay on track but did log my food. I exceeded my daily allowance but tapped into the extra weekly points allowed. I accomplished one big to do item which took a bit longer than I anticipated but am just relieved that I got it done. Craig is supposed to come tomorrow to take down the Christmas tree and help me take down the other indoor Christmas decorations. It is far too cold here for him to take down the lights and outdoor wreath. Our weather forecast is probably similar to DW's area. At 7 am Thursday, the "real feel" will be 3 degrees while the thermometer will read 18. That is how strong the winds are and will continue to be for a while.

Woo hoo for you Shari advancing your gym activities. It will be interesting to see how long the January newcomers remain there. All went very well with Craig and the undecorating. I got an important phone just before he arrived and was on the calla for quite a while, but I wasn't needed for undecorating as Craig and John knew exactly what to do. I was soooo impressed with both of them. The two of them handled all of the major undecorating without me. Craig also did a grocery pick up for us, and I am now very well stocked with many healthy choices. I did very well today with staying on track and tracking every bite. As I so often say, now to just keep repeating having days like this. I felt good today too. My to do list today was a series of small chores but together added up to make me feel like I accomplished a lot.

So cool that your DH is a good workout partner and encourager. Does he have a gym membership too or is he able to come as your guest? I know some gym's in this area permit members to bring guests at times.

Today was a terrific day for me for getting things done. John and I spent hours cleaning out our family room including a small chest of drawers in there that has accumulated all sorts of items we didn't have another place to put. Well today we cleaned that monster out. I am amazed at some of the things we found and disposed of from that piece of furniture. I am also pleased with how much extra room I now have to store other items as time goes on. There is still a lot of work to do in that room to make it even better but what we accomplished today makes a huge improvement.

My food choices were good again today. I tracked and am in a good range for points. Aiming for more success tomorrow.

Here's to a wonderful weekend for all of us!