Tuesday Check-In, Think It Is Week 11

Hey, it's Tuesday! Which is better than Monday. Although since we have a 4 day weekend coming up what with Easter being so early, it is really Wednesday, sort of.

It was beautiful up here yesterday so i walked downtown to the main library, logged in 6 miles on the pedometer. It felt terrific, but I am really tired today, not used to that. And the walk/runs are down the road a few weeks, as we are getting a lot of rain.

Eating is going well. I have my favorite 5-grain oatmeal/etc. mix in, it has barley and rye flakes and some other things, 1/2 cup dry is 130 calories and 5 grams of fiber. Lovely and filling. I am experimenting with a bit more lean protein, a bit less rice/bread. But nothing so extreme that I get all annoyed and defiant and into the granola bars.

Kashi bars are not bad, they are not very sweet (130 calories, 4 grams fiber). Apples, grapefruit, lentils and brown rice. I genuinely like all that stuff. Of course, that is not all I like, which is where things get a little tricky!

Anyway, I do want to look good this summer and as the weather gets better this seems closer in time, so I think I will be more motivated the better the weather gets.

I am going to go see how you all are doing now - hope everyone is having a good week!

Melting Snow and Sunday Blather

That's about what I have today, some blather from me, and the snow melting a bit, though hopefully not into our basement!

Oh thank you Blogger for losing my entire post! That's just fine. And it was really good too! I suppose that's what I get for deleting the whole lot last month, huh? You think I might want to make it disappear, but I didn't!

Anyway. I was trying to say that I was writing down successful meals on notecards, with calorie counts etc, and it is helping. because I go in the kitchen and I just don't know what to make, after I feed everyone else. I am just too damn hungry to think clearly I guess. Which usually means on with the masses-of-toast, unless I am prepared.

And I had better be, as we are going to visit family in the summer and I need to be a sleek streamlined version of me!

I will click old Mr Linky on Tuesday and blather on some more. I had better post this before Blogger gets hungry again and eats my post the way - the way I can eat a granola bar...

Saturday During The Snowstorm

Hi everyone! I am still here, just in a Quaker simplicity mode. It is snowing like crazy here, it has been that kind of winter. I know that exercising outside will make me feel even better, so I am looking forward to that.

I was going to talk about using what works for me - meaning what works for me in the long run. Because this is for life, so I have to be able to stick to things.

That means balancing the fact that I can't overdo the complex carbs, with the fact that I don't really want to be eating loads of meat. I just don't like cooking meat and ideologically I am on the vegetarian side of the equation.

But having said that, I like a hamburger once in a while, and I do like a little Better Than Bacon with my Brussels sprouts - I tried soy salami with them one week and it was awful, though I do like soy salami in a sandwich.

Calorie counting also works for me. Every time I have lost weight it has been the result of calorie counting with a food diary (usually written), plus exercise - but 80% of it has been the calories. I realize that this is purely what works for me - and that's the thing, isn't it, fine-tuning a plan until it works for you. And then actually being able to - wanting to, do it for the long term.

I am thinking about writing out notecards each with the calorie count for a complete meal that I like, which would help me note things in my food diary. I went back to writing it down because I did get a little bored with Daily Plate. I still like it, but I needed a change.

Oh yeah, I will be putting links and things back on here, and pictures and so on. But it might take me a while! And thank you for all the comments, you are all really sweet and I do appreciate it so much. I will comment as much as I can, but if I didn't get to you yet please know that I am thinking of you.

Picture, yay a picture! From Wikimedia Commons, by a fellow called Hermann Kauffmann (never heard of him, but it's a nice picture!) called "Braving the Snowstorm," painted in 1889.

Random Thoughts

Nothing clever to say, which is probably just as well! I have had an uneven week, some eating was quite good, some not so (can we all say biscuit tin and Saturday night?). But I have been walking everyday, I put the pedometer on first thing in the morning, and that is good.

And I think instead of a new eating plan every week I want to write on Tuesday about working out a basic plan - based on my preferences and what has worked for me in the past - that can work for me for the rest of my life. Because I am going to have to be aware of what I eat and how much I move around, well, forever - that's a good thing, but you do get so tired of it sometimes!

So that means I have one treat per week, the dangling carrot on a stick - or maybe that's a chocolate mint on a stick, hee hee...

Less stressed today - last weekend was SO stressful. It also feels good to start a new month. I am really ready for the snow to go away, and the ice and the slush. I really want to walk/run outside, I know it will make me feel better still.

I am going to reorganize my messy desk today I think. Mess = stress for me, but I am lazy too and do not like cleaning it up! We'll see how it goes...