Pine Needle Brushes, Bagged Leaves, and Rice and Beans

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Natalie is with me all day today. She is even spending the night while her mom goes to a professional meeting tonight and her dad is working. It is a gorgeous day and we enjoyed hours outside this morning. It had rained and the water ran down one side of the road. There wasn't enough water to float the egg carton like there was last time, but there was enough to pull off little bits of carton and watch them float. The pine needles floated into big dam-like piles. We straightened up a bunch of them, tied them together, and used them like paint brushes, "painting" the mail box with rain water.

We bagged up fallen leaves and proudly showed Old Dad. I made salad and she ate a little. She ate some rice and beans like I did, too. We shared a delicious apple. She did some of my strengthening exercises with me, too. Good day. Good, healthy day.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

MYMONSTERSX3 11/20/2009 11:33AM

Sounds like you are having a great day. What a wonderful you get to spend with your grandaughter. Enjoy. Report Inappropriate Comment

GOALIEGRANDMA3 11/19/2009 3:42PM

That is a very nice way to spend a day....sharing with your granddaughter. Wish mine was closer, but will see her Christmas. She is 18 months old. Report Inappropriate Comment

My Middle Finger May Get Me In Trouble!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

These days my middle finger is used in a way it never has been before - it displays my wedding ring. My ring finger is just too small. Yes, I know I should go get it re-sized. I will eventually. So far, my husband hasn't noticed, but I'm pretty sure he will.... and then I undoubtedly will be in trouble!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

AMBUDMAN 11/21/2009 10:34AM

I just had my Mother's wedding ring sized to fit me. My knuckles are my problem, my rings flop all over but at least they don't fall off. Report Inappropriate Comment

MONGO2TEN 11/20/2009 5:33AM

I lost my wedding ring a couple of years ago, but thankfully found it again. I took it straight to the jewelers and had it resized. Now if I gain my weight back, I'll have to pay to resize my ring again. ~Nancy Report Inappropriate Comment

GOALIEGRANDMA3 11/19/2009 3:44PM

When I clicked on your blog, this is not the story I expected to hear..... Glad to have heard it though... You can get a ring guard added to it. Mine is called a horseshoe and is soldered to the inside. Works very nicely. Report Inappropriate Comment

DFOLKARD 11/19/2009 8:29AM

I could not resist seeing what this blog was about lol. Glad to see it's about your progress. WTG! Report Inappropriate Comment

WATERMELLEN 11/18/2009 6:58PM

Kind of a nice problem to have!! A real sign of progress!! Report Inappropriate Comment

AQUAGIRL08 11/18/2009 6:19PM

Maybe he'll be so happy that you're getting healthy that he'll not only re-size your rings but he may buy you a new one for Christmas! As long as you're wearing them, he can't complain! Congratulations on all of your progress! Report Inappropriate Comment

RAYLINSTEPHENS 11/18/2009 4:28PM

No, he won't get upset. But I am happy for you! I still have trouble wearing my wedding ring for being too tight, and I am 30+ lbs lighter than the day I married. Who ever thought this could go in reverse and your ring would become too loose! WooHoo!! Report Inappropriate Comment

The Scale is Up!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

I'm still not used to the scale going up. I was up two tenths of a pound from yesterday to 133.4. I suspect that is a good thing. At 5'6" I was happy to reach 165. Even thought about making that my goal weight. Then I hit 155 then 145 and then 135. My doctor says 145 is my ideal weight. My husband asked if I wasn't getting too thin when I hit 138.

It is exciting to lose weight, but all good things must come to an end. Although truly I am not at the end. I can still gain Spark Points, improve my fitness, and even improve my eating.

I need to work toward gaining muscle and lowering my percentage of body fat. I need to increase folate, iron, and magnesium and reduce potassium while contining to meet all the nutrient benchmarks I have been.

I guess the biggest thing for me to work on is making maintaining my weight second nature to me. That includes accepting that some days the scale will go up a bit.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

MYMONSTERSX3 11/17/2009 4:44PM

Good for you. You seem to know where you want to be and have a great plan to keep on track. The rest will get you there with what you are already doing. Report Inappropriate Comment

GOALIEGRANDMA3 11/17/2009 1:48PM

You certainly have it all together, and know the right things about this weight issue we all have. I like your new goals, am feel sure you will achieve them. Keep sparkin, because you have so much to share with others, and are a wonderful motivator for so many. Report Inappropriate Comment

AQUAGIRL08 11/17/2009 8:21AM

You are doing such a great job! I wouldn't worry too much about the slight fluctuations in the scale. Much of that is fluid and can vary from day to day. As long as the .2 doesn't turn into 5-10 pounds, you'll be fine. Keep up the good work!!! Report Inappropriate Comment

JMONTIE 11/17/2009 7:42AM

Good insight. We've spent so much time trying to lose the weight. I, too, am below my goal weight set by Weight Watchers. Maintenance kind of scares me. I have lost a large amount of weight before...twice before, actually. But I'm praying this time will be different. Maybe SparkPeople will make the difference! Best wishes to you! Report Inappropriate Comment

Baby Steps in Planning

Monday, November 16, 2009

This morning I planned and entered my whole day of eating. This is the first time I thought ahead farther than the next meal since I've been on SparkPeople. My goal is to eventually have a full month of healthy meals planned with weekly shopping lists. Of course, I intend to be flexible enough to take advantage of produce in season, meats on sale, and special events. But I think having a plan and then deviating prudently will give me a big leg up toward my goal of maintaining a healthy weight forever.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

MSNINALOVE 11/16/2009 9:50PM

This is inspiring! In O.A. (I'm not in the program anymore, so I'm not doing anything that goes against me being anonymous)... they encourage that you plan your food daily. I have had the hardest time with it, and now that I'm not in the program, I don't plan. I just record...I wonder if this is hindering my progress? Report Inappropriate Comment

AQUAGIRL08 11/16/2009 5:39PM

Hi Marsha, You are awesome! I'd love to be able to plan that far in advance but hubby is too picky and doesn't know what he wants to eat from one day to the next. I find that if I keep mainly healthy stuff in the house, I can usually have the makings for many different dishes. At least he's willing to be a good sport about testing my healthy meals. So far, he's liked all of them so I can't complain (not that it would do me any good if I did ) I know that you're going to be a great success with the lifelong effort! Hugs, Cyndi Report Inappropriate Comment

MYMONSTERSX3 11/16/2009 12:26PM

This too is going to be my new approach. I haven't started it yet, I'm not a great cook and a very busy mom, but I am hoping if I can have meals planned and even made ahead of time, then I know to eat right even better than I was. Good luck to you in this endevor. Report Inappropriate Comment

Regrets, I Have a Few, but then Again.....

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Eating healthy feels so right now. How I wish I had found this lifestyle years ago. How would my life have been different?

Oh, who knows. With more confidence I might have made more mistakes! LOL None of us can go back. So let's go forward, smarter and wiser....

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

1AVERY 11/15/2009 5:47PM

You are all so right. We can't go back that has been my motto for the last few weeks with everything that is going on in my life. My family keeps saying if you did this, if you did that you wouldn't be where you are now. That is right but what is wrong with where I am now. Everything happens for a reason and if we get see the future would our lives be any better/different etc. Who knows but lets enjoy the ride getting to where we are going. The healthy lifestyle we are now adapting will help us in all aspects of our lives and YES we enjoyed the getting here so let's enjoy the getting there!!! NOW. Report Inappropriate Comment

AQUAGIRL08 11/15/2009 1:03PM

You're right, you can't go back to what used to be, you can only go forward. I believe there is always a lesson in what happened yesterday. You have to learn from it and apply the knowledge to where you are today. That makes the lesson learned from being overweight a very valuable one for all of us. We have to value the gift of our bodies and get them healthy in the here and now. We also have to achieve a balance between mind, body and spirit to be totally healthy. I may have been thinner for most of my life, but the balance that I've achieved as this point in time is so much better. The trick is to get everything to come together at the same time! Report Inappropriate Comment

RAYLINSTEPHENS 11/15/2009 10:57AM

Speaking for myself, I am not sorry for the choices made earlier in my life. I have no regrets for enjoying life to the extent of reaching 210 lbs, but I do regret reaching that weight. Why you might ask? As I am fond of saying,when I get to heaven and God asks me what I thought of chocolate I am going to give Him the 2 thumbs up, for all the goodies I was able to eat the first 56 years of my life! And I am going to say, "thank you very much!" That said, I am equally not sorry for learning self-control in my new lifestyle at 120 lbs - a weight I never was on the way up. It feels great being thinner! Report Inappropriate Comment