Weekly Weight In & Movement (June 13)

Weekly Weigh In & Movement (June 13)

I hit the teens at long last!

Goal Weight:  115

June 13 Weigh In:  119.2

Weight Lost This Week:  .8 pound

Weight Left To Lose:  4.2 pounds

I am so pleased to finally have dropped out of the 120's and into the teens, even if barely! It's such a mental victory!

Keep in mind I have short legs, lol- I’m only 5’3” 😗

Weekly Mileage/Movement

• Fri- None (Left at 7AM for a series of events)
• Sat- None (Left at 7AM for an all day event.)
• Sun- None (Left at 8AM for a series of events)
• Mon - 8.5 mile walk
• Tue- None, though I did 2 hours of heavy gardening at my volunteer job
• Wed- 5 mile walk
• Thur - 2 mile walk + Weight training
• TOTAL FOR WEEK:  15.5 miles

It was a super busy week, so my social interactions went way up even as my mileage went down. But I didn't overeat, so it was still a big win. 

Which reminds me yet again that while the movement is critical for my mental health, along with, of course, all the physical benefits it delivers, at the end of the day it's what I put into my mouth that really drives weight loss.

From Wednesday’s walk- gorgeous public land in the foothills of Irvine.

No Sugar and Less Food Efforts

I'm no longer giving much thought or effort to remaining sugar free, as it's now pretty much a habit.

With regard to food, I'm now in the habit (again!) of having a generous lunch, and very little, if anything, at dinnertime. I would imagine this will be one of the things I can adjust once I hit my goal, in that I can begin to have a modest amount of food again at day's end, which will make my husband happy. Currently we chat while he eats and I sip sparkling water.

Yep, such is my weight loss journey!

Oh, and I/we joined a really nice fitness center! Our old one closed about two years ago, and we've been gym-less since. But, we visited a gym earlier this week that had a great campus of activities, including a small cafe to enjoy coffee or other after working out, and decided to join it. I went yesterday and really, really enjoyed it. Although I tend to do less cardio, time wise, because I get bored doing it indoors, I definitely do it with more intensity, so there is that. I cranked up the treadmill's speed and incline more so than my long walks generally deliver.

And the weight room was welcoming! The machines were all newer, and people chatted as they worked out, which of course my extrovert self loved.

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If you are likewise on a quest to improve some aspect of your dietary or fitness life, please feel free to share here. The more we can work to support and encourage each other the better!

Weekend Wrap Up - Everything Wine!

Weekend Wrap Up - Everything Wine!

It was another wild and crazy fun weekend! What is it about June? I find it second only to December with regard to packed activities.

Anyhow, this is not a complaint - I loved it all!

Friday - Left the house bright and early with my mom to get in line at the DMV for her Real ID card. Which turned out to be a bust when we discovered her US Census Bureau issued birth registration certificate wasn't acceptable. It had to be from the County office in the state she was born in, not the federal government version. Sigh. 

From there, I took her shopping for summer clothes, clothes shopping being one of the things that makes her 8O-something year old self extremely happy. We had a specific dollar amount to adhere to, and we did great! For $350 we bought her 4 pair of flowy summer 3/4 length pants, six tee-style blouses to wear with them, two summer dresses, two over the shoulder scarves for cooler summer nights, and a straw hat. 

Afterward, we enjoyed a shared pulled pork sandwich at a bbq cafe we both enjoy.

Returned home to a sparkling clean house (I love our husband/wife cleaning team and their monthly service visits!). I was pretty exhausted by that point, so after enjoying a glass of wine and some jazz with my husband, I simply heated up leftovers (yummy Mediterranean meatballs with lemon rice) along with some freshly prepared vegetables, for our at-home meal, then went upstairs to read a bit before turning in.

Saturday - Another weekend, another wine competition! This weekend's event, where I did data scoring input all day, was for home winemakers. There were over 200 volunteers from our club, and it was a long but so-fun time. The day started off with breakfast for the volunteers, then we all worked our respective jobs until about 1:00 PM, when we all were served a fabulous lunch - BBQ tri tip, also chicken, and all kinds of delicious side fixings. 

We worked another few hours, including a group effort to wash and dry about 2,000 wine glasses. The wines sampled by the judges' were then opened up to all for tasting. Which of course we did, finding ourselves pretty impressed by some of the home winemaker efforts.

 

No free wine came home with us this time around, even though we could have if we wished because, well, home winemakers. 😊

Anyhow, we did make a quick stop on the way home to load up on some fantastic savory pies from Pop Pie and Company, because we were in the area.

I popped one into the oven when we got home, Curry Vegetable, and placed the rest in the freezer. After eating, then cleaning up, we pretty much poured ourselves into bed. We are definitely not as young as we used to be!

Sunday - Spiritual services followed by annual fiscal meeting. We then headed out to yet another wine club event, this time to taste and compare flawed wines from last weekend's commercial competition against their non-flawed replacement bottles.

We'd previously learned that a small percentage of all wine becomes flawed during the fermentation process. Often times due to a corkage failure, but also for a variety of other reasons. Wine judges are able to detect these flaws, and will ask for a replacement bottle of the same wine when that occurs. So that's what we tasted - small pours from the rejected, flawed bottle against a small pour of the unflawed replacement bottle. So hard to determine which was the flawed pour for many of us, which created so much fun and laughter as we all tried to come to a group consensus. 

From there we met up with a couple of fellow attendees at our favorite Mexican restaurant in all of Orange County, El Farolito. Great food, great conversation, plus we bumped into former neighbors we hadn't seen in eight years.

We returned home to, yet again, pretty much pour ourselves into bed. 

Great day, great weekend, but today, Monday, I'm tired! (Even though I'm leaving shortly to go walking, then to lunch, with a friend. 😊 )

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How was your weekend???

Weekly Weigh In & Movement (June 6)

 Weekly Weigh In & Movement (June 6)

Goal Weight:  115

June 6 Weigh In:  120 

Weight Lost This Week:  1

Weight Left To Lose:  5 pounds

I'm almost embarrassed to share how few calories I can ingest in order to lose weight, even at my current rate of just about a pound a week, So the mental battle is real, but I'm in it until I get there . . . or at least that's the plan at this point!

Weekly Mileage/Movement

• Fri- None
• Sat- 2 mile walk
• Sun- None
• Mon - None
• Tue- 5 mile walk
• Wed- 1 mile walk
• Thur - 4 mile walk 
• TOTAL FOR WEEK:  12 miles

I have to laugh a bit at my low mileage for the week - my husband is temporarily out of walking commission due to a sore back, and my extrovert self really misses him! I can come up with a hundred distractions when left to my own devices, but give me another person to walk/hike/kayak with, and I'm there!

So, now I know that I'm much better off making hard dates with confirmed groups and not just 'me' when my preferred activity partner is laid up, whomp whomp. 😒

No Sugar, now No Food plan

The no-sugar effort is close to being hardwired now, at 10 weeks in. I do still have to occasionally remind myself that, no, actually, I can't have just a smidge, lest I quickly return to where I was 10 weeks ago. But I can say that its a relatively small effort at this point, so I now think its time to focus on my food plan going forward as I continue to fight through the last few pounds.

As in, I'm working daily to be comfortable with feeling slightly hungry in the evening, my biggest pre-weight loss snacking danger time.

I still feel minor compulsions to snack after dinner, but so far a couple of crunchy 5 calorie pickles have worked at getting me over the compulsion hump. As has a small amount of frozen berries.

However, I like the way I look and feel at this lower end of my personal weight bell curve much more than I miss the food, and I look forward to meeting my goal in just a few more weeks. At which point I'm going to go shopping for some of the new wider leg jeans that are trying so hard to push my beloved skinny jeans off to the side, lol.

I like all three of these looks below a lot. I have all of the non-pants components in my closet already, so it's just the pants I'm looking to add to my wardrobe.

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If you are likewise on a quest to improve some aspect of your dietary or fitness life, please feel free to share here. The more we can work to support and encourage each other the better!

Weekend Wrap Up - Ready, Set, Grab!

 Weekend Wrap Up - Ready, Set, Grab!

This was one of those weekends where we were on the go from pretty much morning until night - so today, Monday, I have zero plans save going for a nice, long, leisurely beach walk!

Seriously, our pace this weekend was close to frenetic, but we knew it was coming and prepared as best we could, both mentally and physically.

So, here we go:

Friday - Haircut appointments for us both back in our prior town, about a 45 minute drive, because it continues to be that much cheaper to get our cuts there, in north Orange County, than down here in south Orange County. We pay $80 total for two haircuts, vs closer to $175 or so that it would cost to get them cut down here. 

After returning home, I had time for a quick lunch before heading out to a routine doctor's appointment. After returning home from that, I started setting up for our Sunday wine tasting party here, then made dinner.

Saturday - Out the door bright and early at 7:00 AM to report for volunteer duty at an all day wine competition. We dried hundreds and hundreds of wine glasses as delicately yet quickly as we could (I think each of us volunteers broke at least one glass from handling them a bit to hard, oops, before learning just how much pressure to apply). A lot of chatting occurred as we dried, so that was fun, as was the really nice lunch we were served.

The primary reason we all volunteer for this it must be said, is that we all walk away with a case of wine, the result of about 1,000 bottles being lightly poured out for judges' rating, leaving a good 20 oz or so of quality wine in each bottle.

The volunteer bottle selection that occurs at the end of the day is always a lot of fun. We all select two bottles at a time, each 'round' if you will, until our wine boxes are full, 24 bottles of wine in our case, since there were two of us.

Prepping the work room for all of us volunteers to go 'wine shopping' at the end of the day.

We returned home at about 6PM, I made a couple of quick but tasty grilled turkey cheese sandwiches, plus some fruit, after which we cleaned up, watched one episode of a TV drama, then poured ourselves into bed.

Sunday - Spiritual services followed by a luncheon and presentation to say farewell to one of the longtime members, then home to set out food for our neighborhood wine event. We had 16 folks in total, and it was a blast. I enjoy our new neighborhood so very much!

The wine

The spread

The tasting cards

All departed by about 6PM, with us pressing as much wine and food on them as they were willing to take, 😄. We spent an hour or so cleaning up, then pretty much did a repeat of Saturday evening - a quick bite, one episode of 'whatever,' then off to bed.

We are equal parts exhausted and elated by how well the event went, and we've already committed to holding it again next year.

Today, though, Monday, we have zero commitments, hooray!

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How was your weekend???

Weekly Weigh In & Movement (May 30)

 Weekly Movement & Weigh In

Goal Weight:  115

May 30 Weigh In:  121 

Weight Lost This Week:  0

Weight Left To Lose:  6 pounds

It was a very busy week for a variety of reasons, meaning my activity mileage suffered, plus we had several dine out events, so I'm actually thrilled to be ending the week where I began, weight wise.

Other than after a big evening event involving food, after which I do a semi-fast the next day, I've become accustomed to eating less, and established a routine that I think will work for a good long time to come, beyond reaching my goal weight. 

Once I reach my goal weight, I should be able to enjoy weekend dineouts, while adhering to my food plan otherwise. Because I'm really liking my food plan - it's tasty and it's filling now that I'm used to eating less overall.

Here is my general food plan-

Early Morning - Coffee with a touch of Non Fat 1/2 & 1/2.

Late Morning- One egg, over easy, on one slice of toast - 200 calories.

Lunch - 275 calorie bagel sandwich, comprised of one Trader Joe 240 calorie bagel lightly toasted, one 35 calorie serving of deli meat, generous lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and pickle slices, plus lots of mustard, none of which add any calories but do add lots of bulk, crunch, and flavor. 

Post Lunch Pick Me Up - Iced coffee with a splash of NF 1/2 & 1/2, plus one sliced apple with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon - 100 calories. 

Mid Afternoon Pick Me Up - One small carton of Greek yogurt with 1/2 cup of blueberries from freezer, and 1/4 of a sliced banana for 175 total calories.

Dinner- Whatever is on my menu, capped at 300 calories total for my serving, all in.To achieve this, I generally have a big serving of whatever vegetables I made, including salads, and a small portion of the main entree. So, as an example, last night I had a large serving of sauteed & seasoned vegetables, and a very small serving of the chicken enchiladas I'd made.

Daily total approx 1000 - 1100 calories. I've moved somewhat gradually into this lower food quantity, as a note. I'm sure I would have felt hungry at this calorie count some weeks ago, but it now satisfies me, because eating less - or more - are habits into which we train our bodies to adjust.

Here is a terrific article discussing just this, and which I can now attest to:

Getting Used To Eating Less

Weekly Mileage/Movement:

• Fri- 5 mile walk
• Sat- 2 mile walk
• Sun- None
• Mon - 7 mile walk
• Tue- None
• Wed- None
• Thur - None
• TOTAL FOR WEEK:  14 miles
• TOTAL FOR MONTH SO FAR:  89 miles

Those black dots in the water are surfers, not birds!

No Sugar Progress

Nothing to discuss really, because I've beaten it back, for now at least. I no longer have noticeable cravings, and I accept it will not be a part of my life moving forward. I can now make dessert for my husband and other people, and have more forms of it in the house, without feeling any compulsions to eat it myself. I have developed other ways to treat myself when the mood strikes, my favorite being iced coffee, or if after dinner, a small serving of fruit. 

Total time to get to this point: Approximately two months. 

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If you are likewise on a quest to improve some aspect of your dietary or fitness life, please feel free to share here. The more we can work to support and encourage each other the better!

Weekend Wrap Up & The Week Ahead

Weekend Wrap Up & The Week Ahead

As I've mentioned previously, it's a goal in retirement to plan the type of non-stop weekends that we did not have the energy to create or do during our working years. And this weekend delivered and then some!

But first, I have to give tribute to 84 year old Welsh singer, Tom Jones, who I had the privilege of seeing live this past week. Tom Jones was one of my mother's singing idols, right up there along with Elvis Presley. My early idols were more along the lines of Davey Jones and David Cassidy, but I did/do of course know who Tom Jones is. So, when my girlfriend invited me to see him via a free ticket she had, I said 'Sure,' but without any particular excitement on my side.

Well, I am here to say that I was wrong! He was adorable, delightful, entertaining, and still had his trademark powerhouse voice.

No hip swivels though, just in case you are wondering. He sat on a stool for most of the show, which at almost 85 years, I will not judge him for whatsoever!

Back to our weekend, here's how it flowed:

Friday - Five mile walk around the harbor, picnic lunch enjoying the marine bird life. Home to do a few chores and clean up, then over to one of our favorite coastal venues to enjoy dinner and a country band, during which, yeah, line dancing occurred. We learned the 10 Step - fun, fun, fun!

Saturday - Spent time in the AM on the computer and on the phone with my girlfriend, deciding which of a few organized wilderness trips we were considering doing together was 'the one.' We landed on a one week hiking and kayaking trip in Newfoundland, Canada a little later this year, and we are both so excited as it looks like it's going to be absolutely gorgeous!

After sending in my deposit and completing lots of online paperwork, my husband and I left to attend what turned out to be a great tribute concert to Foreigner and Journey in always-fun Laguna Beach.

Afterward we had dinner at one of our favorite Laguna Beach restaurants, where we were seated alongside a former Real Housewife of Orange County. This has happened to me a few times over the years, and honestly, it's always fun.😄

Sunday - Spiritual services in the AM, then over to the harbor to launch our kayaks and enjoy a concert on the water. 

Dinner back at home afterward.

This upcoming week is packed. In addition to several events, appointments, commitments, and miles of hiking and walking plans, we're also prepping for a wine event we are holding here next weekend.

As my 88 year old father always says, whenever we say goodbye after chatting about his many and ongoing activities, 'I can rest when I'm dead, Tamara!'

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How was your weekend???

Weekly Weigh In & Movement (May 23)

 Weekly Weigh In & Movement (May 23)

Goal Weight:  115

May 23 Weigh In:  121 

Weight Lost This Week:  1 pound

Weight Left To Lose:  6 pounds

I began last Friday's post by saying that the effort to lose these last few pounds has been considerable. And I'm here to repeat that again this week- in spite of the many miles I walk on and hike each week, I must have the metabolism of a sloth, because this is indeed hard! I'm creating a game plan each morning when I wake up, on how I'm going to structure my day with regard to activity exercise, and meals eaten. If we have an evening social event, I skip breakfast, have a small lunch, and ingest a small bag of almonds just prior to leaving for our event, so that I don't arrive starving.

As long as I give myself time to walk through the evening event in my head, I'm more successful than not in sticking to my eating plan.

Conversely, if we have a big multi-mile daytime walk or hike planned, I can enjoy a mini-splurge for lunch, such as a shared carnitas burrito or a shared burger with fries, but I then need to skip dinner. Again, as long as I walk through the evening eating plan (or non eating plan!) in my head, I can stay with it more often than not.

And yes, that is the crazy extent to which I'm having to visualize and cut back my calories in order to effect even a minor weight loss. The primary reason I'm continuing to fight off these last few vanity pounds is that I really do love getting dressed up for our many social activities, and I appreciate the way being on the lower end of my personal weight bell curve leaves me feeling in my clothes. Plus, to be honest, I really like the complements I get when I'm close to my goal weight, generally from women my age, or slightly older - they give my aging ego a boost, which feels nice!

That reminds me of a funny story that happened recently. We were leaving a restaurant, and had to walk through their bar to exit. Inside the bar there was a group of young people singing loudly and having fun, and they invited us to join them as we walked by. As we laughingly said 'No, but thanks!,' a clearly tipsy guy yelled out to me, 'I don't know who you are, but I love you!' I laughed, turned to my husband and said, 'I know he's likely drunk, but damn, at my age I'll take it!' 😅

I enjoy clothes shopping and dressing up in our casual California way, and I'm electing to focus on that more so than on food at this point,
in order to remain motivated to power through the last few pounds.

Weekly Mileage/Movement:

• Fri- 4 mile walk
• Sat- 4 mile walk
• Sun- 5 mile walk
• Mon - 5 mile sand walk
• Tue- 4 mile walk
• Wed- None, but a good number of hours trimming and mulching in the adjacent HOA area, as my property is basically zero maintenance. So I get my yardwork love itch scratched by making the adjacent HOA area on my side as close to pristine as possible. 😄
• Thur - None
• TOTAL FOR WEEK:  22 miles
• TOTAL FOR MONTH SO FAR:  75 miles

No Sugar Progress

I did great this week, week eight, and had virtually no cravings. I'm now very, very comfortable being in the presence of sugar outside of my home. As an example, my husband and I did a long beach walk over the weekend, going out for iced coffee afterward. He ordered a well-earned berry muffin to go with his coffee, and I was 100% fine ordering nothing, and felt zero compulsions to ask for a bite of his treat.

In my head, I now view sugary treats as drugs - they are literally drugs for my brain, and do zero to satisfy genuine hunger.

What a turnaround from my first few days of attempting to break my sugar addiction, when I felt like a caged animal. Fortunately, however, sugar is nothing remotely like 'real' drugs, and thus it only took a few days for the worst of the cravings to quiet. 

This is my umpteenth attempt to break my sugar addiction, but without question, this is the longest stretch I've ever managed and I would say I'm close to 100% at peace with not ingesting it again, because I understand that I will be quickly right back where I started if I do. There is no moderation switch for me to engage when it comes to sugar. Instead, I've pretty much replaced it in my head with treats like a great iced coffee, a nice piece of fruit, a dozen roasted or salted nuts, small amounts of dried fruit atop cheese, or even a bowl of crunchy vegetables.

It feels damn good to be in charge of my life vs being under the control of when my next sugar hit was going to come.**  And again, I am so thankful it was only sugar that I was addicted to, and not something more detrimental to either myself, my loved ones, or my community.

**As a reminder - this is not intended to be an indictment of sugar at all. This is specifically about those of us that are literally addicted to sugar, which is very different from those of you that can simply enjoy it, and then carry on.  😊

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If you are likewise on a quest to improve some aspect of your dietary or fitness life, please feel free to share here. The more we can work to support and encourage each other the better!