NON WW & WW NEWBIES, OUR NEW LIFE, THE START OF SOMETHING WONDERFUL

@fabgeekmom It’s lunch time for me and you made me hungry. LOL. We have a bike downstairs in our work out room but I prefer to walk upstairs. My husband works out several times a week but I do walking mostly. I could do the treadmill but it’s just boring - well unless I watch the tv

@trooworld Now I am really intrigued with your Ninja Creami. Looking forward to hearing the results. I have definitely been wanting to buy one. Glad you did. Your book club sounds good. I do a Zoom bookclub with some ladies I met thru WW connect. When COVID came along we were looking for something to do. I might be the only active WW member now, LOL. Love our book club. It’s fun. I very seldom have coffee myself. But Ed and I have started going out for coffee or tea almost everyday. We used to do that lot before COVID and it feels really good.

@theslightedgeforever Thanks for the welcome. You guys are a great group. My goal is to track everything and most days I do. I am using MyFitness Pal as well WW just to see which I like the best. If I am not a goal in WW I am paying $23 a month. I’m not a goal as I started a medication last summer that caused weight gain. I am trying very hard to get back to goal, as once I am at goal it is free as I am a Lifetime Member. I’m thinking of stopping WW until I get back to goal.

Fingers crossed.

Nasty cold day today and yesterday. It was -4F here yesterday. A little warmer today but not much. I am feeling a little better today, thank goodness. I did stretches first thing this morning and I have given in and started to take Voltaren. (It can bother my stomach). I have an appointment with a physiotherapist on Tuesday.

Enough, enough. Going on and on. Have a wonderful day everyone.

Jeri in cold Calgary, Alberta

@fancyladyJeri I missed your post when I replied. That’s hard when you take a medication that causes weight gain. I have a hard time, too, due to some health issues and being 73. I could not take the cold that you are experiencing but I guess you can get used to anything. That must be fun to have a reading group on Connect. I miss Connect but am not willing to pay for it. I hope the PT helps you.

That sounds like a cool book club @trooworld . And an interesting book, I'll make a note of it.

@fabgeekmom I'm a coffee addict too, although the older I get I find it makes me a bit nauseous sometimes. But I'm determined not to give it up lol. Butter chicken is good.

@fancyladyJeri good to see what works. I tried WW once and it was ok, but ultimately I found counting calories worked more. It is more effort though.

Not a lot of time today, it's my in office day. I had a nice relaxing weekend. I indulged a bit Sat night and was over calories a bit, but fine yesterday.

Have a busy week- at least the next few days. Going to a basketball game tomorrow and dinner out, so trying to be good on calories today!

@its_cleo I love that book club! And the book was really good. I'm glad you had a relaxing weekend. Enjoy the game and dinner out!

@fabgeekmom Yeah it's a lot of fun. lol, I know what you mean about being too cold to think about ice cream, I have a hard time being in the mood for ice cream when it is cold out. Even here! But I'm going to try it. I'm glad you liked the butter chicken.

Hi all. My day off yesterday was very productive: we have these shelving units in our spare room and over the 5 years since we've lived here, the shelves have become very disorganized. Yesterday, I decluttered 2 large shelves of one of the shelving units. I also organized the stuff on the top of our refrigerator. I went to Dollar Tree and got some baskets to organize the stuff. It came out really nice. I'll work on more of it this next weekend. It took 2 hours to do that much. I also read a bit and made some split pea soup. I also took a nice nap. Today, I am working from home.

Water yesterday: 45.3 oz

My phrase for the year: "A new era of me."

@fancyladyJeri Did you track yesterday? I did not. But I have so far today. Have you tried the Voltaren gel? What book did you read for your bookclub. We had to switch to Zoom during covid. My hubby and I have teatime everyday. Then on Saturdays we go out for coffee. My son went to Bali on his honeymoon and brought me back some different kinds of tea. (I basically like plain black tea) But I was gracious and did try one with him and it was good. We'll see about the other two. lol

@fabgeekmom Glad you got to go swimming and the bonus was not looking for parking. I love butter chicken. I was actually looking at that recipe today deciding if I should make it this weekend. My son and his new wife are coming over for dinner.

@trooworld When will they clear you for exercise post-surgery? That book about the cat sounds interesting. I sent it to my daughter. She loves cats. I might make that my bookclub book with my son when we are finished with our current selection.

@its_cleo I only like iced coffees and have been drinking them for 2 years now. Someone wants me to try hot lattes and I don't know. I'm trying to step out of my closed box.

@cbabie Yaaay you stepped into the gray. I knew you could. I have an easy butter chicken recipe for you. How will you keep yourself accountable to doing the at home PT exercises? I have good intentions to stretch everyday and a lot of the time I don't. My body is feeling it right now. How can we help each other? Time to replace those "voices" with new ones. You are in charge now. You don't have to listen to anyone but yourself. It's hard to let go of the people pleasing mode but it's necessary if it's toxic to you. By the way, what are your memories surrounding vegetables. You've mentioned before you don't like them.

I'm currently reading a book called Thin from Within by Joseph Luciani His premise is that we change our diets but if we don't change our mindset then permanent weight loss is off the table. So the book is about how to do that. Not just tracking what we eat or how much we exercise, etc. it's the thoughts surrounding those things that he has a strategy for.

My current non-working strategy is I'll start tomorrow with exercise. So far I've tracked my food. I've done the journaling about unplanned food that I ate as suggested in the book.

@its_cleo Interesting job! My work is very big on privacy. We get a lot of training on it. You would be someone that comes to our workplace! I know what you mean, I have gotten rid of things I regret as well. I still regret throwing away my 1st Kindle (the first Kindle version!). I would love to have that back! How was the game with your uncle? And dinner? I'm glad you got out.

@cbabie Protein is a great idea. That's good protein shakes help you. I've been cold here, too, even though it's not that cold outside...it's just cold inside lol. I have been wearing my puffy jacket in the house! I hope you keep up with the PT exercises. Sorry about your car. I always wanted a Jeep, the kind with no top. LOL maybe you should get one if you drive it better! I agree, it's very satisfying to declutter...as long as you don't get rid of something you regret. We do love the book clubs! I'll tell about the ice cream below but it was good.

@fabgeekmom I agree! That's good your DH will help, sometimes it's overwhelming to do it alone...that's how I felt, I had to break it down into smaller steps. That's good your cousin makes you split pea soup sometimes. I like it but only once in a while. 27F! Wow, that's cold! Good job with the bike.

@theslightedgeforever I'm cleared already. I did some Pilates but haven't been doing anything lately. I have put it on my calendar with a reminder (doesn't work). I have pre-watched workout videos to do. Nothing works. One of the problems is that I am only motivated to work out in the morning but my DH works out in the morning and there is no room for both of us to work out at that time. I was trying to work out on my lunch hour but that's not working out. I'm going on a birding adventure on Saturday so that will be some exercise. I think my best bet is to workout on the weekends. I would be fine with that but I need to add one more day during the week to that. Fridays would be the best day since I work from home on those days. The book about the cat was really good. A bit sad but good. That's cool that you and your son have a book club! What are you guys reading now? I think Luciani is right about changing our mindset. Please share any insights you get! Keep trying.

@fancyladyJeri Sounds like you are busy! That photo project sounds like a big project. The decluttering is so good for my mind as well as my house. I feel so much chaos going into that room that I don't like to go in there. Yeah it needs done every once in a while.

Hi all. I made my first Ninja Creami last night. It took about 3 minutes to process the mix that I had made the day before and froze for 24 hours. I made Mocha Chocolate Chip Protein Ice Cream, I added Lily's Sugar-Free Caramel Chocolate Chips to it. It came out very good, creamy and delicious. Very ice cream-like. It made a full pint. I had only a small portion of it. There's about 10 g of protein, 104 cals, in a full serving (I decided the pint makes 4 servings although I had about 1/2 a serving). It will be good to make these protein ice creams in the summer.

Water yesterday: 73.6 oz

My phrase for the year: "A new era of me."

@fancyladyJeri That’s a big project with pictures! And yes, I am hibernating but I’m doing stuff inside. I’m retired so I don’t have to go anywhere. @trooworld When I was unable to exercise after surgery, I did seated exercises on YouTube. They don’t take up much space and I could get my heart rate up doing upper body exercises. @theslightedgeforever There are a lot of yoga exercises I can’t do because of my arthritis. Chair exercises are good and don’t stress the joints. Good job on closing your rings. Hi, all. We got snow last night and everything looks so pretty. Probably about 4 inches which might not sound like a lot, but we get snow so seldom the city doesn’t clear the roads. It still below freezing. We had some snow flurries an hour ago but no added accumulation. It was pretty to watch.

@trooworld good for you trying water aerobics. But the people talking- one reason I don't like group classes is bc of stuff like that for sure. Maybe a different instructor/class would be better?

@fabgeekmom I've looked at some chair exercises, it's always good to do what you can. Still cold here, but not as bad as the last few days.

@theslightedgeforever bird dog exercise is really tough to do properly. I used to do it a lot with my trainer. I don't do it much myself bc I know my hips wont stay level and I need someone to correct me lol.

@fancyladyJeri my colleague just went skiing in Alberta for a week. Beautiful pictures. I'm not sure where they were exactly. I'm in the Six, as the kids say. Do they know that saying in Alberta? Toronto.

Ah the game was fun, the Raptors won which was a surprise lol. Dinner was good, but ya I am over calories the last couple days. Gotta get back to it today.

The last week has been busy I'm wiped today and ready for the weekend. I need to make some meals. I also decided I might shop for some new clothes? Lol. Not sure. I wish I could find some comfortable pants to wear that are not jeans but are ok to wear out, like to work or other places. All the legging stuff seems too casual. Although my office is pretty casual. Also everything is so expensive. But still I might splurge.

@trooworld Good job on water aerobics even though you were distracted by the talking. I’m not a fan of outdoor pools but the water was warmer than the outdoor temperature so that makes it more comfortable. @its_cleo I had to look up “in the six”. I learned something new. Good luck with shopping. Do the stores have sales this time of year? @theslightedgeforever Good job on stretching and not getting up to fix DH’s breakfast. Hi, all. Today is another day inside. The temperature are gradually getting warmer. Now it’s 33. In a few days we are getting more normal temperatures, highs in 40-50’s. DH and I did some decluttering in the kitchen this morning. We finally tackled that turnstile!Tonight’s dinner is leftovers from last week: turkey sausage marinara over bucatini.

@trooworld that is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for! I will check it out. I'm not a very good shopper, I don't really know good stores and options. I did end up buying a pair of jeans- I only had one pair, so I got another. I worked from home since 2017 and have just started going in to the office, so I need more clothes lol.

@fabgeekmom yeah- the six- is a nickname for Toronto. There are a lot of different theories about where it came from. Drake likes to take credit for it, but it was around before him. Just lesser known. ....no good sales right now lol. But I just one pair of jeans.

@theslightedgeforever lol about training your husband.

Calories good yesterday. I think I have burned off my Swiss Chalet dinner lol. I'm glad it's Friday. Should be a quiet day. But i think it's warm enough and dry enough I can get a bike ride in. I can bike a little bit - like 30 mins- and walk 3 km a day.

@its_cleo I love those pants. They look nice and people can't tell they are yoga pants (and they are sooo comfy!). That's good you got another pair of jeans, those always come in handy. I'm sure working from home vs in the office is a totally different wardrobe! Good job with your calories. I'm glad it's the weekend, too. I hope you got to ride your bike.

@fabgeekmom Yes, I love water aerobics! I just wish it were warmer outside lol. I am looking forward to getting back and seeing everyone. You have a good point about overdoing things. I will try to take it easy. Good job with the swim! That must have felt nice to get out. I hope your steaks turned out well.

Hi all. I have a busy day ahead of me: at 8 am, we are going bird-watching with the Audubon Society. I don't know how long I will last, it's a 3-hour event and it's a lot of walking, some of it uphill. I don't know if my knee will last. I will bring my cane. We also have to go get groceries and then at 3, I have to take the car in for routine maintenance. We started watching a movie called "Thelma" last night: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23778968/ It's a comedy about a 93-year-old woman who gets scammed so she seeks revenge. It's enjoyable so far. We will probably finish it tonight.

Water yesterday: 63.1 oz

My phrase for the year: "A new era of me."

@trooworld I like that saying. For me, I've been trying to stay consistent even if I'm off my goal. Like normall if I was off calories I would just stop tracking. So I'm trying to still track at least, even if I'm off calories.

Or today was windy, so I went biking just a shorter amount rather than skipping it.

I was on track with calories yesterday. It was tough lol. Weekends are harder for me. Tonight I'm having a couple drinks, so I will be over, but as noted above- I'm trying to not let that derail me completely.

@fabgeekmom I used to hate cooking steaks bc of that! I moved a few years ago and this oven seems better. I wish I could BBQ but no outdoor space.

@its_cleo That's a good plan. I like that you are doing that. Good job with the calories. Weekends have always been the hardest for me, too.

@fabgeekmom Thank you. That's great that you are trying to stop eating when satisfied. I hope you enjoyed dinner.

Hi all. I am going to keep this pretty short. I am getting sick with something (there is a bad flu going around, I hope it's not that)...I have mild congestion and a sore throat, feeling tired/weak. Bird watching was fun but we only stayed an hour (I didn't want to overdo it with my knee).

Water yesterday: 63.1 oz

My phrase for the year: "A new era of me."

@trooworld I’m sorry you are feeling bad. I hope start feeling better. You were wise to cut the bird watching to an hour. @theslightedgeforever Good job on the weight loss. I had to laugh when you said your DH wanted to know why you didn’t prepare those meals more often. Hi, all. Dinner was good last night and DH and I had it for lunch today. He had rice and I didn’t. I’m trying to eat more protein. I rode the bike and DH and I went for a short walk. The temperature was in the low 50’s. Tonight we are eating at my daughter’s house tonight.