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

@trooworld that's a great walk! Looks like a great day. I'm jealous, I used to be able to walk like that.

@fabgeekmom honestly I think I use the stress as an excuse. It’s kind of like- oh I deserve cheesecake bc the week has been hard! So I need to challenge my thinking. Or also I could do better portion control and just have a tiny piece. It’s a work in progress I guess.

@theslightedgeforever thanks for checking in! I’ve been thinking of you after your surgery.

@cbabie I hope you get a chance to sit out at the table. I love peanut butter cups, too lol.

Not sure what I will do today- take it easy. I have tomorrow off, although I may work a couple hours in the afternoon depending how I feel. We have compressed work weeks, so if I work 9 hour days (instead of 8) then every third week I get a day off. So tomorrow is my earned day.

I’m a bit discouraged with calories/eating, and trying not to throw in the towel. Thursday I will make a better plan for Friday so I don’t go off the rails and order take out or something.

@its_cleo Thanks! It was a great day. I hope one day, you can again! That's a nice schedule. Do you like it? I think planning out your weekends will really help you stay on track. Maybe try pretracking your meals on the weekends, that might help.

@fabgeekmom Thank you! I actually cut the walk short because I was afraid my knee would start hurting but also because it was so hot. It was a peaceful walk! I bet you can't wait for spring. I'm glad you got out for a walk. Sounds like a nice celebration for your granddaughter. Good job eating a reasonable amount.

Hi all. I hurt my lower back yesterday while cleaning the floors. It's going to be very uncomfortable at work. If we weren't so short-staffed, I would call off. I usually use our Bissell Crosswave Edge to mop the floors but a piece of it is missing so I had to hand-mop them and that's what caused me to hurt my back. For dinner, I made Chile Colorado using pork tenderloin. It came out really well. I had it with steamed broccoli.

Water yesterday: 30 oz

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

@fabgeekmom Sausage and bean soup sounds really good. I think I might make me some. I'm glad you got to swim.

@trooworld I went for a walk with hubby for an hour. Should have stopped about the 45 min mark. Your hike looked fun

@its_cleo Its so easy to get discouraged. The trick is to just not quit. Then we never win. So is your current plan too big of a jump from where you are to where you want to be? Portion control is always a good thing. I've been working on eating 75% of the foods I like and then leaving some on my plate. Also another plan is to just serve yourself like you normally would, cut off the 25% and put it back in the serving dish away from you and then add a fruit or some veggies. So you still get to eat more food but not as caloric. Works with cheesecake too. You also after a hard week deserve to have a healthy body so it can take you through the next hard week that comes up. Then think up some alternatives to relieve your stress.

@cbabie So what exercises have you been doing this week? Perfection: Then we had kids and transferred that mess to them. Indian food is always spicy to me. Even when they say oh it's mild. Nope don't believe the lie.

As of today I was cleared for weight lifting. So I did 15 min of treadmill and then half of my normal routine for weights. Boy was I winded. So that's my baseline. I can only go up from there. I've tracked all my food so far. Back to making that a habit again.

@cbabie It's been nice here, too. I hope you get outside today. I love Indian food. I can handle a moderate amount of spice, so I would have liked that. I'm glad you liked it. Oh no, poor baby girl! Thanks. I definitely wouldn't have thought that a walk that was over 20 mins was possible, let alone over an hour walk!

@theslightedgeforever Wow, that's great. Did you walk somewhere fun? The hike/walk was fun. There weren't really hills so I guess it was a walk? That's good you are cleared for weightlifting. Great job with the exercise and tracking.

@fabgeekmom Thanks, it's still hurting but hopefully, with work, I will be distracted. I'm glad you had another nice day to get out and about. LOL about the WW joke!

Hi all. Not much going on here, my back still hurts. Yesterday afternoon, I ate a "protein toaster pastry" (aka a protein Pop-Tart) as a snack. It was sugar-free and had 20 g of protein in it. I felt like I used to when I ate too much sugar, it was really weird. I won't be eating those again. I was trying to find more protein-forward snacks but that isn't the one I should have. I had leftover soup from the freezer for dinner.

Water yesterday: 50.3 oz

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

@trooworld I wonder if the artificial sweetener is what made you feel bad. Sometimes that happens to me. I only have found one protein bar that I like, Barebells. Occasionally I will only eat half a bar. Perhaps try a different brand but only eat 1/4 or 1/2 to see if it agrees with you. Sorry about the back. @theslightedgeforever Being tired is a side effect of having surgery. I know from experience. Hi, all. Today I am back to my normal eating routine. I went for a walk after lunch as it was so warm. Dinner is salad and leftovers from Saturday.

@theslightedgeforever Ah I see, that must have been nice. I always think of a hike as including hills lol. Some of these hills we have, in the city but in nature, you wouldn't think it's a walk lol! I hope you took it easy yesterday. Yes, it will pass.

@fabgeekmom I wonder, too. I eat a lot of artificial sweetener products, but maybe this one was a different one than I'm used to. That's a good idea. Thanks. I'm so glad you are having nice weather enough to walk outside.

@its_cleo That's great you didn't get takeout or binge. I'm sorry you had a struggle of a day. I am trying to avoid yogurt because for a period of about 6 months, that's all I ate for breakfast lol: yogurt and blueberries. I got so sick of it. I am thinking of making a snack box with lunch meat, olives, cheeses, and gherkin pickles. I'll come up with something. Definitely do NOT give up; I know you won't! I'm glad you did better.

Hi all. Traffic was bad last night: I ended up sitting in traffic for 1 1/2 hours. It stunk. Then I came home, walked the dogs, and made myself some dinner. I made Thai Chicken Meatballs with Peanut Sauce and served it with some broccoli. I am going to make a list of things I can eat as protein-forward snacks. I don't want to eat any more yogurt as I ate so much of it prior to my surgery for breakfast. But I am playing with the idea of making a snack box of little things. Oh, I found out yesterday I am getting a promotion. I won't be in charge of anyone, it's basically a level up from the title I am in now. It comes with a raise, so that's nice. I've been at the same level for 11 years. I did better with water yesterday.

Water yesterday: 60 oz

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

@fabgeekmom Thanks for the wisdom on surgery. Mentally I'm still not where I was before. I left a candle burning the other day. :yikes: Hubby found it. 1/2 a protein bar. I might be able to get there one day but I don't know. I could eat 1/2 a candy bar though.

@its_cleo What a big NSV you had. Sticking to your calorie limit That is such a big deal. I have a mental block with protein powder. I think of it as the ultimate processed food pretending to be a health food.

@trooworld Woohoo on your promotion. I see your point on the yogurt. I have a problem with smoothies because I went through a period of doing the Shred diet.

@cbabie Yaaay on better choices of food. Just little tweaks here and there is what it takes. Sorry about another sick child. Think of all the immunity she is building up. There'll come a day when she won't always be sick.

I went to my cardiologist for my normal check up. Blood pressure was too high. I forgot my meds last night. Plus the highway was under construction and had to take a detour. That was backed up so long because of the stoplights. So I was 10 min late to my appointment. I'm sure that didn't help my bp. So I need to really get this exercise thing figured out. That will help alot. I've done it twice this week. While that is progress from not doing anything it is not enough to change my body.

@cbabie Drat, I'm sorry about baby girl. I'm glad you are making better choices. Yay you! Thank you! I will never want to manage people lol. Yes, I will find it.

@theslightedgeforever Thank you! Yeah, I'm almost there with smoothies, too: I have a blended protein shake every morning, the same flavor lol. I hope you can get your bp down but I bet it was high because of those other factors. What are you thinking will help with the exercise?

@fabgeekmom Thank you! Yeah, unfortunately, traffic is often like that. Good job with the swim! How is the weather now? That's good your cousin came over.

Hi all. I didn't sleep well last night, I woke up at 3:30 am and just stayed up. Hopefully, I'll sleep better tonight. I'm going to walk on my morning and afternoon breaks at work today. I hope I make it a priority to take those breaks, usually, I just skip them.

Water yesterday: 40 oz

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

@trooworld That’s too bad about the sleep. I hope you sleep better tonight. Now it is 71 degrees and hot but windy. Coker air is coming but in the 40’s so not polar freezing! @cbabie I know you hate that your clothes don’t fit. I’ve been there and it is frustrating. I hope you can find a plan that works for you. Hi, all. I went for a walk today as it is still warm. The weather goes up and down but at least we don’t have the low temperatures we had earlier. DS made tomato soup (America’s Test Kitchen) and it was very good. I had that with a sandwich and I’m good until dinner. My cousin called and said she’s bringing me some split pea soup she made. I’m giving her some tomato soup. I’m not sure exactly how she made it as she really doesn’t follow a recipe. But I looked up a Skinnytaste recipe that is similar and that’s how I’ll count it. Tonight I’m making Milk Street Instant Pot brown rice with ground beef and green beans.

@trooworld That was good that you were able to go on one walk. Good job on the weight loss! I’m glad Daisy is better. I understand how pets are part of the family. I adore my daughter’s cats. Hi, all. Today was a swim day. My cousin came over and gave me some split pea soup. I gave her some tomato soup. Dinner was salad, polenta in the instant pot and salmon in the air fryer. I made a glaze with orange marmalade, orange zest, a few tablespoons orange juice and a grainy Dijon mustard. It was really good!

Hey @gemwolf110 love that picture!

@fabgeekmom that’s great you can enjoy swimming so much, I wish I did. I tried to walk a little bit more one day this week to see if my hip had healed, but still had issues after.

@trooworld congrats on your promotion! I used to manage people and didn’t like it lol.

@cbabie I hope the medicine works. I hate buying new clothes. I was never big on shopping.

@theslightedgeforever my brain is gone most of the time, too. I have to doublecheck everything. Yesterday I left my electric blanket on all day (I was out and left it on when I left). It’s supposed to have an auto shut off feature, but I guess not lol.

Well I made it through yesterday without ordering takeout, I had left over spaghetti. I mostly stuck to calorie goals the last few days. I don’t know about this weekend. I got Hello Fresh this week, so I have a couple meals here, but I don’t know if I’m into it. Well one is chicken and chickpeas and I’m into that, the other is a salmon meal and I’m just not sure I’m into fish lol.

So we will see. It will be a while before I get it again, though sometimes I try the recipes myself.

I’m pretty wiped so I want to have a quiet weekend, though I have some chores and stuff to do, just puttering around though.

@genwolf110 It was good to hear from you. I’m glad things are going well for you. @its_cleo Good job with calorie counting. Hopefully Hello Fresh is helping with your meal planning. Are you able to choose the meals! @trooworld That’s a great feeling to be able to wear something that you couldn’t wear before your surgery. The appetizers looked good. I’m sure you enjoy eating at a restaurant and being able to make good choices. I hope you enjoy the zoo. Hi, all. Today is supposed to be really warm so I’ll go for a walk. Tomorrow it’s supposed to be cold again. I’m making a chuck roast with tomatoes and sweet potatoes in the instant pot tonight. It’s a Milk Street recipe (Fast and Slow).

@trooworld – great pictures! Both at the restaurant and the zoo. And congrats on the pants. You do so much fun stuff. I’m a real hermit, which is kind of a problem tbh lol. But I was looking at gyms and gym classes that I might like to join. I just have to get my hip sorted out first.

I did have the salmon last night, it was a British recipe apparently, kind of like a salmon shepherd’s pie- with dill/lemon spices, carrots, celery, potatoes. It was ok.

I’m seeing a physio again this week, a new guy. So- I’m not very optimistic, but will see what he has to say.

@fabgeekmom – Hello Fresh- yes you can choose the meals, but they have a similar menu a lot. I did it a few years ago every week, and now I just do it once every couple months. A lot of the meals I can pretty much just copy the ingredients and make myself. They do have good spice mixes though, and they don’t tell you what’s in it. So I usually just try to guess based on the meal. They also have good soups usually.

Yesterday I did my taxes, today again just puttering around. About a week ago I tried to walk a bit further- an extra 0.5 km- but it aggravated my hip and still hasn’t recovered. So I’m a bit frustrated. As I said, seeing physio this week but I’m not super optimistic. Still waiting for a consult for an orthopedic surgeon, but probably wont happen til May.

At least I can bike a little bit, so I’m hanging on to that.

ETA one of the Hello Fresh soups I'm trying to make on my own is a halloumi soup w/ sweet potato. I've had it from them before and really liked it. I tried once on my own and it wasn't as good, but I don't think I had the ingredients right. So I'm going to try again today or tomorrow to make it for lunch this week

@its_cleo Thanks! There's a lot to do here, so it's easy to find things to do. I hope you can get the hip sorted out soon. I know it bothers you. Hopefully, the new guy can help you. I'm glad you can at least bike some. That soup sounds good. I hope it comes out for you.

@fabgeekmom Thanks! I'm super happy my knee didn't bother me. And about donating blood: since I can (and I know not everyone can), I figure it doesn't cost anything to do it and it only takes about 30 minutes. Good job with the bike! I'm glad the stew was good.

Hello all. I went and talked to the coordinator of the art show. The theme for the next show is "Cats & Dogs." I came home and worked on a piece for it, it's of a skeleton pug. It's very colorful, and I am happy with how it turned out. I'm not crazy about the process of entering this show: I'm used to submitting images of my work to a show and being told YES or NO you are in. For this show, you have to show up to the current show's hanging and ask what the theme is. Then, you message the coordinator on Instagram and tell her you are interested in participating. She said she would send me the contract after I messaged her, but I haven't heard anything back from her yet. I made Bang Bang Tofu in the air fryer. It came out really well. I used G Hughes Sugar-Free Bang Bang Sauce.

Water yesterday: 40 oz

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

@trooworld I hope things work out for you with the show. The shrimp dish sounds good. @its_cleo Good job on calories. I’m glad the soup was good. Hi, all. Today was a swim day. Got lunch today, I ate the split pea soup my cousin gave me and it was good. Tonight I am making a pasta dish with ground turkey sausage.