Post Number: 33
Review of Yesterday's Progress
Daily Points Left: 33 of 71 (Goal: 15)
Weekly Points Left: 49 of 49 (Goal: 49)
Meetings Attended: Weight Watchers
Exercise Completed: Walked the neighborhood with each kid individually except Quail
My exhaustion has finally beaten my body clock into submission and forced it to update to the end of daylight savings. I slept until 6:30 am. Now I need to find something that will beat my exhaustion into submission so I will feel rested. Wouldn't that be a neat trick?
I looked at the page views earlier for the first time since returning. 350 page views. Wow! That's great. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Right after posting yesterday, I did something I hadn't done in ages. I went and read the comics. I have my favorites bookmarked. And I enjoyed the quick chuckle. If you're interested, you'll find them in the Notes section below. The list hasn't been updated in quite some time. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some comics out there that I'd enjoy. Feel free to recommend your favorites.
I have said many times, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I have lived both the failing and the planning many times in the past, and returned to the failing part again yesterday. I rushed off of my computer with a plan for getting on the road in 30 minutes or less to leave for the Y for my aquatics class with 45 minutes or more of travel time. Well, I had no clothes put away in my closet. No problem. There's a load in the laundry room. I'll wear my stinky clothes from yesterday taking my clean clothes with me and wear clean clothes home carrying my stinky clothes. I charged from my from room, dressed and ready to tackle the day. Except there were no dry clothes for me. And while I found the load of towels properly cared for after Monday's playful wetness, I couldn't locate my swim trunks. And my lock for the lockers was missing. Okay. This was a fail. Change of plans. I'll walk around the neighborhood with each kid. And I will locate and pack up the materials needed for Friday morning's class today. And how did that work out? Well, I did walk the neighborhood with all but the youngest one. I even took my GPS with me. I walked at a steady 2 mph with surges of speed reaching 3 mph. I was winded each time I came home. And the next kid in line was anxious to get out on the walk with me. That kept me motivated to go again and to keep my breather between kids short. I only walked to the end of the block and back. I'll have to work in these walk. My knees weren't happy with me. But I think I'll be walking to keep spending the time I have with the kids before a job intervenes. Eventually, my knees won't be quite so upset. As for the clothing, I have located it all. My swim trunks were in a bucket never used for laundry before. Some shortcut taken by a kid not wanting to search out a laundry basket. I still have the towel. The lock has been returned by the curious kid that was playing with it. And my clothes are clean and dry, although not yet in my closet. I am going to go swimming tomorrow. And my knees will be grateful for it.
Review of Yesterday's Progress
Daily Points Left: 33 of 71 (Goal: 15)
Weekly Points Left: 49 of 49 (Goal: 49)
Meetings Attended: Weight Watchers
Exercise Completed: Walked the neighborhood with each kid individually except Quail
My exhaustion has finally beaten my body clock into submission and forced it to update to the end of daylight savings. I slept until 6:30 am. Now I need to find something that will beat my exhaustion into submission so I will feel rested. Wouldn't that be a neat trick?
I looked at the page views earlier for the first time since returning. 350 page views. Wow! That's great. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Right after posting yesterday, I did something I hadn't done in ages. I went and read the comics. I have my favorites bookmarked. And I enjoyed the quick chuckle. If you're interested, you'll find them in the Notes section below. The list hasn't been updated in quite some time. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some comics out there that I'd enjoy. Feel free to recommend your favorites.
I have said many times, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I have lived both the failing and the planning many times in the past, and returned to the failing part again yesterday. I rushed off of my computer with a plan for getting on the road in 30 minutes or less to leave for the Y for my aquatics class with 45 minutes or more of travel time. Well, I had no clothes put away in my closet. No problem. There's a load in the laundry room. I'll wear my stinky clothes from yesterday taking my clean clothes with me and wear clean clothes home carrying my stinky clothes. I charged from my from room, dressed and ready to tackle the day. Except there were no dry clothes for me. And while I found the load of towels properly cared for after Monday's playful wetness, I couldn't locate my swim trunks. And my lock for the lockers was missing. Okay. This was a fail. Change of plans. I'll walk around the neighborhood with each kid. And I will locate and pack up the materials needed for Friday morning's class today. And how did that work out? Well, I did walk the neighborhood with all but the youngest one. I even took my GPS with me. I walked at a steady 2 mph with surges of speed reaching 3 mph. I was winded each time I came home. And the next kid in line was anxious to get out on the walk with me. That kept me motivated to go again and to keep my breather between kids short. I only walked to the end of the block and back. I'll have to work in these walk. My knees weren't happy with me. But I think I'll be walking to keep spending the time I have with the kids before a job intervenes. Eventually, my knees won't be quite so upset. As for the clothing, I have located it all. My swim trunks were in a bucket never used for laundry before. Some shortcut taken by a kid not wanting to search out a laundry basket. I still have the towel. The lock has been returned by the curious kid that was playing with it. And my clothes are clean and dry, although not yet in my closet. I am going to go swimming tomorrow. And my knees will be grateful for it.
I am also grateful for the success I am have with the Kimkins program still in full swing. I am not missing carbs yet. And I've been able to work my foods into the family's meals. For example, I cooked onions and pork in the crock pot for dinner. I added broccoli, mashed potatoes, and stuffing to the dinner table. I ate the onions, pork, and broccoli while avoiding the potatoes and stuffing. I was curious what the stuffing tasted like because we haven't eaten the Savory flavor in quite some time, but I didn't taste it. Too interested in keeping the carb low. I am looking forward to the next weight in. Even if I didn't hit as low carb as I would have liked, I am definitely below points for Weight Watchers.
Weight Watchers was wonderful. It was nice to see a different dynamic. Still enjoyable, entertaining, and informative. My notes are in the Notes section below. The common recommendation was for soups made from only chicken broth and every imaginable 0 point vegetable. That means no peas. And I suspect that means no corn. Meant to look it up. There was also talk about Power Foods. Those are foods that aid weight loss while being low in points. There are power foods in every category (fruits, veggies, dairy, ...). But the topic really revolved around eating slowly. I slowly in the sense that it takes quite a bit of time to finish my food when the family is eating together only because I eat quickly but with quite a few interruptions.
There was an interesting interruption near the end of the meeting. An older lady came in. She had been a regular. But she had moved into an assisted living home. It's actually one MBWM was hoping to get her parents into. Having given up her car and license, she was dependent on her daughter to transport her one last time. She expressed gratitude for the program, describing her successes. She playful avoided speaking the word fat, using instead, "that word." She had lost 25% of her weight. She needed to run off, but expressed how much she would miss the group and asked for rides. I meant to talk to MBWM to see if she might not join me on Wednesdays at Weight Watchers. Then we could take her to the meeting as well. It's only a little way out of the way.
A long way out of the way was MBWM's running of her parents around to appointments yesterday. She was still run down from her bug and pushing too hard too soon. But, as adults, we have to push ourselves because the grandparents needed attention and the kids will run amok. And the kids did just that yesterday and it took both MBWM and I to move them to action. Just because we are living among goat trails downstairs, doesn't mean those trails need to be littered with that day's debris.
I was clearing debris out of the second drawer of my night stand when I came across an article while sorting, cleaning, and removing items from my presence. I had printed and placed the article in my drawer for transfer to my health files. I have included it in the Notes section. It is entitled , "10 Best Foods for Your Heart". Some of the items, most notably oats, olive oil, legumes, spinach, and flax seed are already a part of our diet. Salmon, nuts, and berries, especially blueberries and strawberries, are a part of our diet when we can afford them. Avocados work their way into our smoothies sometimes, but for the most part, they are not eaten. No one likes them. For my part, it's the texture. And I'm still researching soy. For quite some time, we were drinking soy milk and working tofu into our meal plans. We had already worked cows milk out of our diet and have now worked soy milk out by using almond milk. The problem with soy milk is that there are chemicals naturally found in soy that mimic estrogen. That's fine for MBWM and our girls. And it's not much of a problem for me. But for my growing boys, I was concerned. We may work soy back in once I have completed my research, but my initial findings were enough to push soy out of our diet except in the form of soy beans.
While typing up my thoughts on the article, I remembered something I was hoping to push into our diet. It was discovered at a Farmers Market in Kuna: Golden Raspberries. Quite yummy although no longer in season. And MBWM enjoys them much more than Red Raspberries. The lady that sold them said we might be able to have a cutting next year. Which was great while we were living in our prior home with its garden space. That's not going to work here at our new place. But still, I look forward to their return next spring. They are much too expensive at Fred Meyers, when they carry them. And the Farmers Markets that we've attended in the valley take Food Stamps. Although, admittedly, being back on Food Stamps is a relief while self-employed, I am going to work with the plan of being off of them come spring because I am full employed.
And speaking of food, the kids, except for Asian Red Fox, have all be tromping into my room with concerns related to breakfast. And that has woken MBWM. So I am heading downstairs to not only make my own breakfast, but choral the kids for their breakfasts.
Yours in the joyful exuberance of youth,
Eliot
P.S.:
Good news: Bacon has been found to be good for you.
Bad news: Only if it's boiled.
NOTES
Weight Watchers, Wednesday, 6 November, 2013
Simply Filling Program: Eat power foods and track only the 49 points. Power foods are listed with Green Triangles in food section of the Pocket Guide or the orange section of the Pocket Guide on pg 103.
Put down your fork and sip water between bites. Mindful eating. Slow down.
We tend to eat fast. What problems does that cause?
- Stomach doesn't have time to tell you its full
- Eat more
- Missing out on taste
- Miss out on chewing action for satisfaction and digestion
- Want it to last longer
- Smaller bites
- Small utensils especially chopsticks
- Play with the food
- Conversation
- Don't wait too long to eat
- Sip of water between bites,
- Eat things that requires more chewing like carrots
- Put the fork down between bites
- Make meals and snacks an event (big production)
Best comment: Will power only gets you so far.
10 Best Foods for Your Heart
- Oatmeal - Start your day with a steaming bowl of oats, which are full of omega-3 fatty acids, folate, and potassium. This fiber-rich superfood can lower levels of LDL (or bad) cholesterol and help keep arteries clear. Opt for coarse or steel-cut oats over instant varieties—which contain more fiber—and top your bowl off with a banana for another 4 grams of fiber.
- Salmon - Super-rich in omega-3 fatty acids, salmon can effectively reduce blood pressure and keep clotting at bay. Aim for two servings per week, which may reduce your risk of dying of a heart attack by up to one-third. "Salmon contains the carotenoid astaxanthin, which is a very powerful antioxidant," says cardiologist Stephen T. Sinatra, MD, the author of Lower Your Blood Pressure In Eight Weeks. But be sure to choose wild salmon over farm-raised fish, which can be packed with insecticides, pesticides, and heavy metals. Not a fan of salmon? Other oily fish like mackerel, tuna, herring, and sardines will give your heart the same boost.
- Avocado - Add a bit of avocado to a sandwich or spinach salad to up the amount of heart-healthy fats in your diet. Packed with monounsaturated fat, avocados can help lower LDL levels while raising the amount of HDL cholesterol in your body. "Avocados are awesome," says Dr. Sinatra. "They allow for the absorption of other carotenoids —especially beta-carotene and lycopene—which are essential for heart health."
- Olive oil - Full of monounsaturated fats, olive oil lowers bad LDL cholesterol and reduces your risk of developing heart disease. Results from the Seven Countries Study, which looked at cardiovascular disease incidences across the globe, showed that while men in Crete had a predisposition for high cholesterol levels, relatively few died of heart disease because their diet focused on heart-healthy fats found in olive oil. Look for extra-virgin or virgin varieties—they're the least processed—and use them instead of butter when cooking.
- Nuts - Walnuts are full of omega-3 fatty acids and, along with almonds and macadamia nuts, are loaded with mono- and polyunsaturated fat. Plus, nuts increase fiber in the diet, says Dr. Sinatra. "And like olive oil, they are a great source of healthy fat."
- Berries - Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries—whatever berry you like best—are full of anti-inflammatories, which reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer. "Blackberries and blueberries are especially great," says Sinatra. "But all berries are great for your vascular health."
- Legumes - Fill up on fiber with lentils, chickpeas, and black and kidney beans. They're packed with omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, and soluble fiber.
- Spinach - Spinach can help keep your ticker in top shape thanks to its stores of lutein, folate, potassium, and fiber. But upping your servings of any veggies is sure to give your heart a boost. The Physicians' Health Study examined more than 15,000 men without heart disease for a period of 12 years. Those who ate at least two-and-a-half servings of vegetables each day cut their risk of heart disease by about 25%, compared with those who didn't eat the veggies. Each additional serving reduced risk by another 17%.
- Flaxseed - Full of fiber and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, a little sprinkling of flaxseed can go a long way for your heart. Top a bowl of oatmeal or whole-grain cereal with a smidgen of ground flaxseed for the ultimate heart-healthy breakfast.
- Soy - Soy may lower cholesterol, and since it is low in saturated fat, it's still a great source of lean protein in a heart-healthy diet. Look for natural sources of soy, like edamame, tempeh, or organic silken tofu. And soy milk is a great addition to a bowl of oatmeal or whole-grain cereal. But watch the amount of salt in your soy: some processed varieties like soy dogs can contain added sodium, which boosts blood pressure.
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