GREEN BANANAS AND A DAY OFF. DAY 193

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

LEARN TO BE CALM AND YOU WILL ALWAYS BE HAPPY!

This weekend I bought green bananas. They were so green they haven't ripened a bit. This morning I thought I would try one on my cereal and I had to actually peel it with a knife, like a potato. That skin just wasn't coming off. It is almost starting to ripen, didn't taste too bad. Do monkey's eat green or ripe bananas? Never thought about it. I do know that monkeys peel the banana from the opposite end that humans do. They hold that stem and the strings come off easily, not like us. We are backward when it comes to bananas. It's a trick to buy bananas that aren't too ripe so that they last a while. I hate mushy bananas. My hubby bought green bananas like this several years ago and they never did get ripe. I've learned my lesson now. They need a little yellow on them before I buy.

Yesterday I took the day off. It was raining and overcast and I just spent the day at home, picking up and cleaning the guest room for our friends to arrive. I have a lot more to do today. I decided not to do any work or bother with calling or seeing clients. I just puttered around the house. I went out in the afternoon to get my glasses adjusted and to go to the kitchen store to buy a scale. They had one but it was $79 and I wasn't into that but I did get a potato peeler and a new cookie sheet. Not that I'll be baking any cookies any time soon. I also worried about my mom-in-law a lot. When I talked with her on the phone, I could hear her wheezing just from the exertion of getting up and walking from her chair to the cupboard. This is a long weekend coming up and I don't want to be in the emergency room with her so I'll have to call the doctor's office again today.

It felt so good to just not worry about anything. This morning the cleaning lady comes so I am going to help her by dumping stuff off the kitchen counter so we can actually see it. Than I have to find a home for all that stuff. Later. I want to get moving before she gets here.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

RORYLYONS 6/30/2010 7:23PM

Great your having a lovely day off.. I definitely relate to the counter~top assortment of essentials as I call them.. I chuckled about your green banana dilemma. I normally shop Costco for them. They were hard as a rock & dark green ..It took 3 days for the bunch to ripen. Oh their bags were without holes.. last month & they were rotting..Can't win for trying.. I hope your mom-in-law will be alright. I'll say a prayer for her...Have a 4th of July weekend. Comment edited on: 6/30/2010 7:25:39 PM Report Inappropriate Comment

BUGGYS 6/30/2010 10:03AM

Boy, it seems that summer is the time to clean and purge! So often if I have a day off, I do nothing but since SP I have so much more energy that I want to clean and organize my house...so glad you are having a nice day off! Report Inappropriate Comment

CAROLJEAN64 6/30/2010 9:45AM

I love to take a day off like this once in a while. I think it lowers our stress levels and gives us more energy. I love the fact that you just let the day flow. A great reward! Report Inappropriate Comment

JUST ANOTHER TUESDAY. DAY 192

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

LEARN TO BE CALM AND YOU WILL ALWAYS BE HAPPY!

I've learned to be calm and relaxed, at least for now. Yesterday afternoon, I suddenly had to drop whatever I was doing and take my mother-in-law to the doctor. After 3 hours, I was finally finished getting her to dinner and updating all her pills. I have 2 more times this week when I have to take her in for tests. She's not going to get any better. She has Conjestive Heart Failure and she fills with fluid and then has a hard time breathing while making any effort at all. They started her on a new medication last night and Thursday I have to get her in for another EKG and then Friday she has to do the 6 min walk to determine if she is a candidate for oxygen. She had a traumatic look on her face when she thought she might have to take an oxygen bottle with her everywhere. But if it makes her feel better. And then next Tuesday she has an appmt with the heart doctor. And then the next week.....
She told my husband last night that she just wished they could find something that would help her feel better.

I'm not going to talk about diet today. Pointless it is. Later.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

SGKAYLOR123 6/29/2010 5:01PM

Sending good vibes your way! Report Inappropriate Comment

ANNINTENNESSEE 6/29/2010 10:00AM

It is so hard to see loved ones go through health struggles! My MIL is pretty much in the same situation. She had CHF and several other medical problems. She is on oxygen but has learned to get around with it. At first, she would not leave the house. Now, we take her on short outings every other week. Hope the doctors find out what to do to make her more comfortable. I am thinking about you and your family! Report Inappropriate Comment

JUST ANOTHER MONDAY! DAY 191

Monday, June 28, 2010

LEARN TO BE CALM AND YOU WILL ALWAYS BE HAPPY!

This is not just another Monday. This is a Monday when I make an effort to eat right and maybe even do a little exercise. I just opened Kathy SMith's Latin Rhythm Workout DVD, maybe, just maybe, I'll put it in the player and see if it works. I was semi-motivated to get on the scale this morning and it moved south a bit so that is good. I have to remember that I really just restarted again last Monday and consideirng the free for all I had Saturday afternoon, that is good. I'm not going to whine today. Rather I am going to be positive.

We awoke with a panting dog and a scary thunderstorm. She just hates storms. With as many as we have had this year, you would think she would realize that nothing bad happened to her. The dachshund is blind and deaf so for him, it is nothing. Maybe it will cool off.

Today and this week I am going to try and shave a few things from my meals. For breakfast I usually have a smoothie with fruit and toast with peanut butter. This morning I had 1/2 c cottage cheese and 1 c cantelope. I'm going to skip the toast with PB and see if maybe I really don't need it. I brought home tilapia and broccoli from Ruby Tuesdays' yesterday so that is lunch and I'll add more fruit. And then find something for dinner. It is hard trying to eat 8 fruits and veggies a day. That is a lot of crunching but if I did that, I can see where I wouldn't have room for anything else.

I'm not giving up. Yesterday was the baptism of our grandson and he was certainly the star of the show. He sat through the whole church service and never made a noise, just smiling and being passed from arm to arm. My daughter-in-law is catholic so we went to the mass. We are Lutheran and it is quite similar. Same words on a lot of things, different tunes. After all Martin Luther broke from the Catholic church when he hammered his 93 theses on the door of the church in Wurttemburg (spelling). Started the Protestant Revolution he did. When we went on a Baltic cruise 2 years ago, I was amazed at how many countries had the lutheran religion as their state religion. Learned a lot of history on that cruise. Have a great day! Later.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

MARSHASTAR 6/28/2010 12:17PM

I admire your determination. Report Inappropriate Comment

KASEYCOFF 6/28/2010 9:30AM

Don't you just love it when different generations can get together for one of the milestones like a baptism! As Besquivel said, it's a special day. Good luck with today. Remember, 'just for today' - worry about tomorrow after tomorrow gets here. (Sez me, lol...) Report Inappropriate Comment

SPUNKYDUCKY 6/28/2010 9:24AM

I hope that you have a good day! Having tilapia for dinner sounds yummy! Report Inappropriate Comment

BESQUIVEL 6/28/2010 9:19AM

Aww, congrats on the baptism of your grandson! That's always a special day. :) Keep up the positive attitude, sounds like you're doing great! Have a fabulous Monday! Report Inappropriate Comment

STRUGGLE, STRUGGLE, TOIL AND TROUBLE. DAY 190

Sunday, June 27, 2010

LEARN TO BE CALM AND YOU WILL ALWAYS BE HAPPY!

Wasn't that title from a Disney movie or something like that. I don't think I am capable of losing this weight on my own. Especially since yesterday was a pig out party of gigantic proportions. I just don't know what I am going to do. Something else besides counting calories has to be tried. I'm getting nowhere and fast. I sat next to a friend at a meeting on Friday and she has just lost 20 lbs by giving up meat. And sweets. I started this week by vowing to eat 8 veg and fruit a day. Do you know how hard that is? Today I've had 2. We had a late lunch at Ruby Tuesday's. I had tilapia, rice pilaf and broccoli. I ate all the broccoli, some of the rice and half the tilapia. The rest I brought home along with my mother-in-laws broccoli. I had to stop eating as I was full. And I drink 2 glasses of water while there.

I studied nutrition in college and my mother always served a balanced meal of meat, veg and starch. I am so tuned into that balanced meal. Maybe I need to rethink that in my case. I briefly tried weight watcher last year but never got into it. My son and daughter-in-law are losing weight with it so I'm thinking I should give that a longer shot. What harm could it do? I can't sign up for any of those strict metabolic weight loss diets as the medications I take prohibit me from being accepted into the program.

Let's face it. I am an exercise slug. It is so hot here, I can't hardly breathe when I go out. And I'm not a gym joiner and I've procrastinated myself into believing that the DVD playeris too complicated to learn how to use. I'm just existing here. I have this vision of myself where the pounds literally drop off. When does this start to happen? When we first moved to Florida and I had just had a baby, I dropped 12 lbs in 2 weeks. It was so hot and we were moving into a new home and I was so busy, it just fell off. That was the last time it just fell off.
Oh, what to do, what to do. That is the question. I'm going to drag out some books and see if there are any hints. Later.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

JANNIEWANNIE 7/4/2010 3:08PM

I understand exactly where you are coming from. My expectations cause me to bail off the health wagon quite often. My best friend has been eating healthy about 80% of the time and she has lost about 40 lbs. since last fall. She builds most of her meals around vegetables and some meat. She only records her blood sugar each day. She said she finally feels like a "normal" person around food. But, she told me that I still have to do it everyday. She is trying to motivate me with some tough love, she said. I have been doing better with food since our talk. I hope her talk and experience help you too. We can do this, eat healthier that is. I don't focus on number expectations anymore. It is all about building a set of healthy habits I can live with. Hugs from Janet Report Inappropriate Comment

KASEYCOFF 6/28/2010 4:50AM

Double, double toil and trouble - Fire burn, and caudron bubble! By the pricking of my thumbs - Something wicked this way comes! ...at which point Macbeth enters the scene. --from 'the Scottish Play' I used to be an English lit major. For what it's worth, when we are in our 20s and 30s, diet alone is enough to do it. As you point out, we are busy so we get exercise 'by default,' as we run around after kids, work, clean, shop, mow the lawn, do the things we do. And then we slow down - and so do our metabolisms, so we get a double-whammy. Once that happens (post-50, thinks me) then diet alone ain't enough. We have to throw exercise into the mix. This journey - losing weight, getting fit, getting healthier, toning up - is hard WORK. Not just the physical work of exercising and doing aerobics and so on, but the work of keeping track, making a plan, drawing up a menu, working out a schedule, and most of all, staying with it. SP helps by giving us the tools, but it's down to us to apply those tools and use them. There are no easy answers (oh, Lord, do I wish there were!) - all you can do is keep doing your best with what you have. To challenge yourself to do just that little bit more than you think you can is a good way to progress and help yourself; to demand more of yourself than you can do at this point is to set yourself up for failure and misery. Thinks me. If you do decide to go to WW, pay for a full year up front. If you join a gym, same thing. Or any other program, for that matter. I don't know about you, but the thought of 'wasting the fee' would motivate me to keep up with it for sure! I like SpunkyDucky's idea about 10 minutes of exercise - even if you do only one a day, if you really focus on that and commit to it for a few weeks until it becomes a habit, you will be on your way. And like Srous, I have salads - I always have a tossed salad with lunch and one with supper, and sometimes we have a big 'main dish' salad with avocado or chickpeas or something with protein in the mix. What if you make your non-eating-out meals salad ones? Again, a small step, but... only takes 21 days to establish a new habit. :-D Report Inappropriate Comment

SPUNKYDUCKY 6/27/2010 9:03PM

It sounds like you are struggling but really want to see some change. If you truly are an exercise slug have you considered just doing 10 minutes of exercise twice a day? As you gain exercise tolerance you may find you like it more. Report Inappropriate Comment

SROUS1340 6/27/2010 4:56PM

I grew up with the same balanced plate that you did and it is hard for me to make a traditional meal without doing that, meat, starch, veg. One thing that really helps me is to make 4-5 meals a week a big salad meal with greens, some beans, a little cheese, whatever veg I have around, left overs or not, a little leftover meat. I still get that same basic meal, but the proportions are different, meat is maybe 1/10 of the meal or not at all, and then the vegies are the rest. You can use seeds or nuts to add to the nutrition and olive oil or salad spray to dress. I can make a really filling tasty meal for about 300 cals doing that. And I do lose weight, when I eat the traditional meals more frequently I don't lose. And being a slug makes it so much harder. I laughed at what you said about the DVR. I feel the same way and really feel like an idiot about it. Walking has been my best bet, along with gardening and housecleaning. I'm starting to do some band exercises for strength. Best of luck, you can do it! Report Inappropriate Comment

ONE DAY AT A TIME! DAY 189

Saturday, June 26, 2010

LEARN TO BE CALM AND YOU WILL ALWAYS BE HAPPY!

I have to take one day at a time and this morning, I posted my breakfast in the tracker. First time in a few days. How do I know what I'm going to eat if I don't know what I've eaten? My idea for having 8 fruits and veggies a day is a good one but I've not accomplished that in a few days, I don't think. I think I only got 3, maybe 4 yesterday.
Today I started with orange juice and cantelope so that is two already and I will be fruity for lunch. At 3:00 we have an end of group party with barbecue, chicken, coleslaw, etc. etc. One woman is bringing a watermelon bowl so I will head for that, the coleslaw and the chicken. I'm stagnant on the weight loss as usualy because I am so not consistant.
And it has been soooo hot here, haven't walked the dog. I did take her this morning at 9:00 and she is still panting even though it was shady, only 1/2 mile and I hosed her down when we got back.
I am such a slug at exercise. If only I would get up at 6:00 and take her then. It is only 15 min and she loves it. Instead, I loll around in bed for 15 min thinking of things. I could think on my walk! Okay, I will try that next week. My grandson is being baptized at 11:00 tomorrow so I could go out early. Later!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

ANNINTENNESSEE 6/26/2010 11:15AM

The only exercise I enjoy and look forward to is swimming! It is hot out there! Report Inappropriate Comment

KASEYCOFF 6/26/2010 11:08AM

That sounds like a good motivator - you can plan your meals, your day, etc. while you go for the early morning walk. And you're probably right: your dog will thank you for it! :-) Report Inappropriate Comment