Day 7 – UK – FD

Good morning everyone

WE’RE BACK …. 🙂

What a fabulous cruise, almost 4 weeks since I posted, taken ‘bimbling’ to a whole new level 😉
Quick call in to jump on todays pocket list, been playing catch-up with things since we got home Friday evening, so not really had much of a chance to call in.

Hope everyone is going along OK, you’ll be pleased to know that despite all the food and drink only need to lose 3 or 4 pounds to be back well inside my buffer zone!

Will call back later, thanks to @funshipfreddie for hosting … I think you could’ve had some fun on board knowing your past association with cruise ships !!!

Take care all.

Pocket list day 7
@malee57
@jaifaim
@i-hate-lettuce

Day 7 – USA/GA – FD

Weigh-in: 214 lbs. Here’s FD #2! The only good thing about a 2nd FD in a row is that I never feel hungry the morning after the first one. I’m thinking I may have to repeat this on Thanksgiving week!

Pocket list day 7
@malee57
@jaifaim
@i-hate-lettuce
@northgeorgia

Day 7 – Rural Nebraska, USA – CD

I didn’t behave as well over the weekend as I would have preferred, but the scale this morning says I behaved worse than I thought: 154.0 I suspect it will be a case of EOEO (check out how fast I learn new terms! 😂😂👍), so I’m going to stare at my printed pocket list all day and work on finding every last bit of my RESOLVE. On the menu for tonight is a white chicken chili and biscuits (think scones, remember) with bacon, cheddar and apple in them…very odd, but intriguing enough to try. That plus milk should be well within 1200 calories and leave me a bit leftover for something to tide me over through lunch.

And for those of you who don’t have printers: a piece of paper and a pen…

@amiya I’m envious that you’re so committed to exercise; I used to be, but have completely lost that plot. Perhaps soon. It’s got little to do with weight loss, but it’s sure a healthy thing for our bodies, and I don’t feel good about being so indifferent to something my body NEEDS.

@gardenlily Yeah, I thought of calling it a decade a half hour after I posted. I’m at the point of sewing together my sweater pieces, and they’re not fitting, probably because I steamed the stitches not only flat but also stretched out, so need to go back to the iron and block them back to the correct size. This is my least favorite part of knitting, the sewing up.

@funshipfreddie So odd that you think of hay fever as a childhood thing–it’s not. My mom had hay fever until she died at 96, and I know several people who suffer terribly. I have seasonal allergies but they’re easily controlled with inexpensive OTC meds. Glad you’ve found something that’s making a big difference for you.

@penz Make me a promise each time you decide to do a FD then post my name where you can’t miss it (on the bottle of wine? 😂) so you keep your promise to me. Will that get your mojo scurrying back with full energy??

@malee57 Yup, being so tired can definitely contribute to overeating. Moreover, studies have shown that getting a little extra sleep can help with weight loss, just as getting too little sleep can contribute to weight gain. So my policy is to sleep as much as possible, LOL!

@funshipfreddie I did NOT see that punchline coming, and laughed out loud. What a lovely way to start the day!

@i-hate-lettuce Welcome back! I’ve thought of you often, enjoying the spa, enjoying your deck walks, and then dancing the night away with Mrs IHL, and I’ve smiled every time at the thought. Now you get the fun of the holidays, and I’m sure your extra few pounds will be dispatched quickly!

@brightonbelle Yup, leftovers can be problematic for FDs, huh? 😜

@northgeorgia You not feeling hungry the morning after a FD makes me wonder if you’re a natural ZBC person. But some mornings you’re ravenous, right? My personal experience is that occasional morning hunger is caused by far too many carbs the night before (and by habit when I was younger and when I was pregnant, when I ate breakfast because I felt browbeaten into doing so). When I don’t have a high carb meal the night before, I’m never hungry in the morning. My solution is to limit carbs–as much as possible–to lunch time so they don’t trouble me the next morning. Perhaps that will help you?

@michelinme Such a lovely feeling when what you’ve baked/made is well received!

So do you all have a change of time as we in the States did yesterday? “Fall back” is far easier than “Spring forward” but it’s still strange to suddenly have it dark at supper and light when I wake up in the morning. And tomorrow is the mid-term election with several important government positions, and the balance in Congress, dependent on the results. A week from now, we should be past the political ads and most of the chatter, WHEW!

DH’s mom got taken to the hospital by ambulance early Sunday with congestive heart failure; she’s much better now…but not well at all as she is now not able to get up out of bed on her own. Could last week; can’t now. So lots of conversations are going on to figure out what the next step should be, made more difficult because her dementia is getting worse–she couldn’t figure out where she was, and couldn’t understand why she needed to be in a hospital. It’s all tough, isn’t it? I’m seeing lots of changes and drama ahead of us in the next few months, and am thankful all the siblings get along so beautifully. DH said privately to me in September that he didn’t think she’d make it to Christmas; it’s looking very possible at this point. We’ll see.

Have a grand one, everyone! And remember, “It’s going to be hard, but hard is not impossible.”

Pocket list day 7
@malee57
@jaifaim
@i-hate-lettuce
@northgeorgia

Day 7 USA/HI 18:6
Still here:)

Day 8, NFD, Aus

Well, I don’t want to call yesterday’s FD a F, so I’ll adopt @funshipfreddie’s helpful renaming – yesterday was an OMAD!

I had an excellent night’s sleep (unusually), took the dogs for an early morning walk, then did a you-tube vid for some weight training. Set me up nicely to start the working day with a great mood. This all helped to solidify my thinking along the following lines. (And synchs in with what you were saying @malee57.)

When I have a bad night’s sleep, I make poor food choices in an effort to stay awake/feel energised. This, of course, leads to thinking ‘oh well, I’ve already stuffed up this day, might as well eat what I want.’ Or, if I have a bad day at work, I may decide to have a glass of wine when I get home. Which leads to thinking ‘oh well, I’ve already stuffed up this day, might as well eat what I want.’ And the cycle repeats in a downward spiral that seems to hard to break.

When I start the day right, I am buoyant and positive in my outlook and thinking and this WOL seems so easy and achievable. This mindset then becomes self-perpetuating as success begets success.

Thank you for the offer of a promise, @stitchincarol – that helps! Hugs re your MIL – hope you all travel well (spiritually and physically).

Welcome back @IHL and well done on only a very slight increase on the scales.

A week in: how goes the bilateral challenge between @northgeorgia and @stitchincarol??

Day 08 – Tuesday – Gold Coast Queensland Australia 🦘🦘🦘 – (NFD) 🥦🍅🥦🥒🥑🥕🍅🍆🥬🥦🍄🌶🍏

Ok, checking in with my report re the daaaaaaaaaaaaate!
First of all Friday night didn’t happen….. he called to beg off because of a sniffle and upset stomach. Uh oh!😲 … very glad he called it off because, whatever he has, I don’t want it! He gets a star⭐ for doing the right thing. Then Saturday, he called again and he had a negative covid test…. but had a gravelly voice, so called off Saturday too. Hmmm……? Spoke on Sunday and he was better but my natural caution thought another day won’t matter, just to be sure he is not infectious with anything. Reschedule for Monday night (last night).

So last night (Monday) was the daaaaaaaaaaate! Movie and dinner. I met him there of course… a gal’s gotta be careful with dating new people, hey? Of course! Movie, you ask? A Rom/com of course… Ticket To Paradise…. with George “is gettin’ old now” Clooney and Julia “has way too many teeth” Roberts. It was filmed right here where I live… so that was fun trying to spot the locations that were pretending to be Bali. The cinema only had a total 5 people (including us) ….we sat away from the other 3 which made me happy so didn’t feel I had to put on a mask. The movie had a few chuckles in it which is just what you want on a date, nothing too serious… just a feel-good type movie.
Dinner was a problem, though, as the movie finished a 8.30pm and, being Monday, there weren’t any local little bistros open nearby (this is definitely NOT Melbourne, hey Penz?) So, there was an eatery next to the cinema ie Grill’d Healthy Burgers, still open… so we dived in there before they shut and had a burger. Hey, they had GF burgers! GF bread-bun and GF meat pattie too… that was such a relief as I hadn’t mentioned to the daaaaaaaaaaate about my coeliac condition ie break ’em in slowly to this peculiarity, don’t want to scare ’em off, hey! So, I’ve now put my toe in the water of this big pond in the online dating universe. arrrgggggh! 🥴😵🤪🥴
Chappie has called this morning and wants to meet-up again. All good but poco a poco – little by little, bit by bit, slowly, gradually.

Well then, that’s me done for today.. I am reading everyone’s posts and happily can see some downward trends⬇⬇⬇ Everyone seems to be very motivated this month which is so good to see.
@stitchincarol… the news re your MIL is worrying and I’m sending some hugs 💐💐for you and your DH….

@funshipfreddie … loving your jokes! I look for them first every day!

@i hate lettuce… you are such a great role-model for us all…. your wonderful cruise and then very little damage to the waistline ….. in Aussie-speak 🦘we say… HOW GOOD IS THAT!

Oh, by the way, FD was Monday… went well and next FD is Thursday… you can almost set your clock to my FD/NFD schedule …😁😁

Ok, enough of this dalliance and back to work now..
cheerie dearies

Thought:
🌟🌟I.F. works WITH your brain instead of AGAINST it so you don’t even think about it anymore!
🌟YOU decide what makes you feel the healthiest. 🌟YOU get to choose the role food plays in your life. 🌟YOU become the captain of your own ship. 🌟YOU decide what a fulfilled life looks like AND YOU finally get to LIVE it…..
(that’s right, isn’t it @i hate lettuce?🤩🤩🤩🤩)

Day 08 – Tuesday – Gold Coast Queensland Australia 🦘🦘🦘 – (NFD) 🥦🍅🥦🥒🥑🥕🍅🍆🥬🥦🍄🌶🍏 —— 2nd post…. just because it’s food for thought…..

Saw this elsewhere and have copied you all in…. well worth the read…

“A few years ago a fellow mom taught me the most incredible trick ever. We were out shopping together with our kids. It was close to the holidays and the marketing machines were doing their best to entice the tykes.

And they were doing a bang up job. With every step I heard “I want…” “I need..”, and “Can I get..” meanwhile, her kids were almost silent. What magical voo-doo or incredible threats had she worked on them? What was her trick??

I asked her and the answer was so freaking SIMPLE! She’d taught her kids to say “I like…” and whatever the item was. There was no pressure to buy anything with that statement but incredibly it naturally forced them to be more mindful. They started considering whether they actually liked something or not.

This was my first experience with seeing a mindset shift in action and it was so cool to see it firsthand!

It’s amazing to see how powerful simply changing our words is. And it doesn’t just work when it comes to kids and their holiday wish list. It works just as well on adults and learning the difference between what we need, what we want, and even what we think we like.

Since that day with my friend I’ve witnessed thousands of mindset shifts in action. Every single time it is like seeing magic take place in front of you. Realizing that we have the option to be mindful, to be in control, and to be intentional is the ultimate power trip.

Talk about the power of the mind!”

For us in IF-land, this type of shift in mindset particularly resonates and I really liked this statement:
It works just as well on adults and learning the difference between what we need, what we want, and even what we think we like. 🎇🎆🎈🎈🎈🎆🎆🎇🎇✨✨✨✨✨
hmmmmm….? 🥰🥰🥰🥰

Day 8 – Ireland 🇮🇪 – NFD

Now that’s strange. I came on at 7.30am yesterday and filed a post and it never posted. It was a good old moan however about how I am feeling pulled in all directions over the past months with work, family and friends, and how tiring I am finding it and how I just need to have ME time for a while.

Guess the universe decided three paragraphs of me moaning was too much and thus the post was lost in the ether 😆

I had the most relaxing weekend, I even got to read the Sunday newspaper, and that’s something that I haven’t had time to do on a Sunday in ages. My DH is off to Milan for three nights tomorrow so more time for ME on the cards.

Hopefully this will pass, as it’s not like me to be totally anti-social, slightly yes, but not wanting to see or talk or meet anyone..no

And now I have just moaned for another post ha ha. Wonder if the universe will allow this?

Day 8-NFD-Brighton, UK

A good FD overall!

@matpi yes also do body strength e.g planks, is that what you mean?
@stitchincarol have got into the routine more for mental health, especially the walking 🙂
@malee57 yes being hypo is a pain, Drs routinely are not interested, and whack you on medication, which is like a sticking plaster as you never find the cause? symptoms are still present on medication really, can’t complain too much as otherwise healthy.
@brightonbelle nice to know you’re nearby, love Brighton and have close family here

Day 8 UK FD

Sorry to hear about your MIL @stitchincarol 🫂Yes we have daylight saving here too, our clocks went back on the last Sunday of October , still trying to get used to it

Sounds promising @linda.b

Right aiming for a good week not stepping on the scales until Friday and there had better be a drop 💪

Pocket List – Day 8 🍏
@jaifaim
@funshipfreddie
@brightonbelle
@michelinme

Day 7 – 16:8

Had a successful FD 800 yesterday, probably closer to 500 than 800 so feeling very good about it. I have been fighting with myself to relax on my fast days, and sometimes losing that battle. Without the need to keep losing weight I am having a harder time keeping good about them. But I saw a weigh-in at 130 last weekend and whether or not that was a high anomaly or not, it frightened me into being good yesterday. I fast again tomorrow and have my plan in hand. Making sure I have a plan for my FD is also a key to keeping me good.

I am very worried about weight creep – that is what has always happened in the past post weight loss and I am trying to keep on top of it. As I have said, mentally, I found weight loss easier than weight maintenance.

That said, I have a wedding to attend in January and the skirt I plan to wear is acting as my guide. It is ‘trumpet’ style (high waist, tightly fitted at hips then flares out just below the knees) and I can’t be carrying any extra weight or it doesn’t look good. So I’ll be trying it on every Thursday a.m. to keep sight on my proper weight.

I have a lot of comments, but need to get out to an appointment so plan a second post this afternoon. Good wishes to all!

Day 8 UK CD?

Yesterday’s CD turned into a comfortable FD800 – possibly lower but I didn’t weigh my seedy bread. After lunchtime scrambled egg and tomato on seedy bread I didn’t eat again until the last of the butternut squash bread with marmite when I got home from event at 11pm! Not enough sleep and long full day with another one tomorrow.

I’m turning today into a CD or FD800 rather than scheduled FD – I’ll count the calories. Been at desk all day – reading then one loooooong zoom meeting followed by emails. In our lunchbreak I had two cups of marmite tea so I’m more than ready for proper food now – baked potato, cauliflower, mushrooms and something followed by stewed apple and pear with ginger. It’s all sitting in the fridge calling my name

@daffodil2010 good to hear from you. V glad you have some Me time coming up while DH away
@stitchincarol good news about your MIL! Hope all goes well with the transition back to her regular home
@linda.b sounds like an excellent first date 🙂

now, away from the desk/laptop and think about food!

Day 8 – USA – CD

This could have been a fD, but I was over 150 cals., so be it!

Day 9 – Ireland – CD 🚫✅🚶🏻‍♀️

Oooh woke with a headache in the middle of the night but I think I can put it down to forgetting to drink enough water yesterday… 🤕
Managed a decent FD but also caught up with friends on good walks around the working day and cycled as well… My Fitness Pal tells me I expended twice what I consumed so surely I should see a miraculous drop… 🤣 if only it worked that way. Today I probably won’t have a chance to get out much and no harm to rest..feeling tired.

@linda.b I agree with you – the language we use when we talk to ourselves is so very important. I am rephrasing a lot at the moment and with new habits I feel it is all working really well for my mind frame.

@amiya this time last year I was working out every week day morning – strength work. It was great for me but I fell out of the habit. Now I’m walking or cycling early but I must incorporate the strength work as it’s vital for our bone density as we age… the problem is finding time to do everything 🙃

@daffodil2010 good to see you. I completely understand that and ME time is vital for me. Take your time out and rebalance 👍 it’s ok to step away to look after you from time to time… and moan away – we all have our moments and this is a safe space. I’m sure you feel better already.

@gardenlily, I would love to be crafty… I try but I’m not… still learning to knit a year on…. 😂
I’m more mechanical I think 🤔
@i-hate-lettuce you’re reminding me of great memories before I got sick this summer straight after the 🚢 …so didn’t really bask in the post holiday memories at the time- thank you! I absolutely enjoyed everything that was on offer on the ship.

@stitchincarol and @northgeorgia don’t give up yet… you’re only out of the blocks… 🏆

Have a lovely day 🐪

Onward and downward ⬇️
We rise by lifting others 💕

Day 9 – Ireland 🇮🇪 – NFD

DH dropped to airport and I have a few days of ME time in the evening, pity I have to go to work which spoils it all ha ha.

By the way, my elderly cat, she is 16 years old, has in the past few weeks developed a meow that sounds exactly like a newborn baby. It’s getting louder ever day. It’s very annoying as it must be enate in us to respond when we hear the new brown cry. It’s usually Missie wanting to get in or out or both. Right now she is wailing, but I have to go to work.

Any of you cat people out there experienced this? Is it old age turning her into a newborn 😆 There is a newborn baby next door, she must have noted how every time he cries he gets responded to!!!!!

Day 9, London UK, FD

Ok, so I have 3 pages to catch up on, but by posting now, I’m in my rightful place with @daffodil2010 & @i-hate-lettuce!!!!

Yes, the wagon travelled far & wide at super sonic speed to get away from me, then at a snails pace to get back around to picking me up again!!! But………….. here I am, back in the fold, I’ll give the full list o excuses for hurling myself off of the wagon later, but for now…………………… IT’S SOOOO GOOD TO BE BACK!!!

Thanks @funshipfreddie, hosting form sunny Sth Africa, whilst I was praying for a boat to get me to work this morning ……………. Yes I AM moaning about the weather!!!

Stay strong folks & keep the faith ……………. Oh, & do some fasting!!!

Day 9 UK CD

Yesterday was a solid CD. I forgot to weigh myself this morning so no idea whether weight is down or up – I’ll weigh myself tomorrow to keep motivated for second FD.

I’m so tired and grumpy today. I was in bed super-early as too tired for a bath then slept like a dead person until 7.30, woke up aching and tired. The full-on-ness of the last few months is taking its toll and learly there’s some good care work to do to get my body to a happier place again. Meanwhile get through the second of today’s two online meetings then get an early night again..

To reset my mind after this morning’s meeting I popped out into the garden to harvest some late tomatoes and chillis. There are now 700g of tomatoes of various varieties and stages of ripeness plus a dozen red chillis sitting in my kitchen. There weren’t many earlier in the year as I was away for 3 weeks during the July heatwave, but this is the second year running of November outdoor tomato crops….strange times.

@flourbaby welcome back! Wherever you have been on your travels you are here now and that’s what counts. Looking forward to travelling with you again

@daffodil2010 I hope you can enjoy your long-awaited Me-time!

@snowflake56 welcome back!

@funshipfreddie thank you for the ongoing jokes – they are lifting my day.

Oops need to open a zoom for 2hr review meeting but it’s been nice to break the day with you. Wishing strength to all today’s fasters – you can do this!

Day 9 – Rural Nebraska, USA – CD

it’s rather a busy day, so I must be very brief, but @flourbaby WELCOME BACK: we have most certainly missed you!

Yesterday’s WF wasn’t. I fought a headache for several hours, despite popping Excedrin and drowning in water, so finally drove through a Burger King and got a Whopper Jr. (no cheese, no mayo, heavy on the onion, lettuce and tomato…yum…sorry, Penz) and a large iced tea, and then remembered I had migraine meds in my purse, and within an hour, my headache was finally gone. Was it the food? The caffeine in the iced tea? The migraine med? Who knows, but it was only 300 calories, so it was still a successful FD even if it wasn’t water only.

And with that, must go. Have a grand one, everyone!

Day 10 Melbourne, Australia NFD 7.30am

Yesterday’s CD went well. Today I have a 70th birthday lunch with a group of friends which I am really looking forward to. Now I have to go do housework – fun fun fun.

Day 10 AUS CD

I am another prodigal faster returning to the fold! The end of the academic semester just wore me right out this year, and my diet has been way too carb-heavy as a result (partly tiredness, partly time-related).

It took a while for the non-fasting/dietary control to catch up with me, but then it did all at once, and for the past two weeks I have been gravitating towards the looser, more forgiving clothes in my wardrobe. Never a good sign!

But I did a FD800 on Tuesday and an accidental FD500 yesterday, so today my goal is to eat for vitamins and vitality: lots of fresh veggies and dark green things in particular. A couple of weeks will get me back on track, and I want to get back to goal weight by the end of the month.

Dy 10 2nd post.

It wasn’t my birthday but one of my friends. But it was a lovely meal and worth adding in a couple of CDs rather NFD to compensate for the extra eating.

Day 10 -Ireland 🇮🇪 – FD

Slept like a log last night, in much better form for the day ahead, I feel prepped and ready to go. I am still suffering from that cold, it’s not Covid, but it’s hanging around….but I am feeling better despite the sinus issues.

Whey hey, welcome back @flourbaby, hope all well with you, your seat on the wagon is always here.

@matpi, hope you feel better, you have been through the wars with the dentist and then extra homework from your course …..gah!

@mariaelena, that sounds like a wonderful time you will have with your Pop, and such a great idea to capture all his stories and memories.

There were a few talking about how they would love to be crafty, but just can’t, and I am one of them. I spent three years doing Domestic Science in school, and we had double sewing every Tuesday. Lord knows what I did in that class for three years (chatting more like), but I started a skirt in 1st year and it was still unfinished three years later 😨
I often feel I have boxing gloves instead of hands, dexterity is not great and I always drop or break things…..so sewing? I tried though 😀

On that note have a good one, it’s an FD800 today. Early to bed with my book. And tomorrow is Fri-Yay ☺️

Day 10 – UK Cam – FD
Going to be a tricky FD today – morning is fine but I am scheduled to do the school run this afternoon which involves getting tea/supper on the table extra quick when we get in – ideal solution – stop for take-out treat for GD on the way home …. OK, I don’t need to share but all the same – gonna be a struggle to resist nibbling with her.

Lovely to see some new names on the forum – welcome everyone!

@snowflake56 – I don’t buy chocolate but with family birthdays throughout October & November it seems to collect in the cupboard and on the dresser. I have asked for bath bombs or nail polish instead of chocolate – GD said they would taste disgusting! I guess it is always the easy gift option and an excellent stocking filler for everyone else.

@daffodil2010 – I had the same school domestic science routine! I think I made a really lumpy apron over a year’s worth of classes. Interestingly once I had children and had to buy clothes (this was back in the 1970s before recycling/charity shops became the norm) I found that making dungarees and pop-tops the easiest and cheapest way to keep the kids clean and tidy. MIL disapproved mightily of dressing little girl in dungarees until she saw her bouncing about (and falling off) her space hopper in the farmyard – all mud and dirt … FIL thought it was a brilliant idea and asked if he could have a colourful set to augment his boring brown utilitarian wardrobe!! (I declined). Since then I have continued sewing but moved more towards quilting and making bags. Who knows, with the cost of fuel these days, I shall soon be back to making quilted jackets!!

Right, time to take the dog out for our morning walk – hope to keep the daily 10K steps average this week – I am sure a brisk walk helps clear the mind as well as body.

Pocketlist for Day 10

@gardenlily
@jaifaim

and anyone else who makes today a FunDay!