Day 18 – Ireland 🇮🇪 – NFD

Late check in as we had our Grandaughter for the weekend and had to get her ready for school this morning so no time to post.

Think I am just going to coast now for the rest of September as the holiday looms and things to do so not going to weigh myself and get unhappy. My clothes fit so that should do for now.

@funshipfreddie, we will be in onboard the ferry over the Bay of Biscay on Saturday night and we will be gutted if Brittany Ferries are not showing the big rugby match between South Africa and Ireland 😱 This is the big one for Ireland for sure.

Day 19 – Ireland 🇮🇪 -NFD

Horrendously rainy windy day today, urgh, but I still went for my morning walk so patting myself on the back for that.

Very distinct Autumnal smell in the air, and here I am getting ready for my summer vacation ha ha. Sure I will be only home and it’s Halloween!!

Glad you had a good trip @jaifaim, you have been so mindful it will be no time before that weekend bob up will be gone. 👍

Still three days to work. Busy times as I try to get all tasks done and not leave any crises for the team, but only three days and then RELAX

Oh@merryapple all those baking treats sound divine, at 7am on a Tuesday morning with rain and wind outside. Those hot buttered ginger gems….mmmmmmm

Have a great Tuesday all

Day 19 – USA/GA – NFD

Weigh-in: 217 lbs! Lowest of the month so far, matching my lowest in August. Honestly, will probably be the lowest of September, knowing the crazy week and a half left. Maybe I’ll start seeing 217 as normal and then, as in March, not at all (216 was my high weight then). Got to be honest…probably not going to see the 200s this year, at least not on a permanent basis, but I can get into the 210s.

About to spend the day with my mom. I know she’s having a hard time with this being my dad’s first birthday after his death.

Day 19 UK FD800
Day 18 FD
Day 17 NFD
Day 16 NFD

Sorry to go quiet – it’s a full on week here again, slightly unexpectedly. Am ploughing on and keeping my head down in the hope that events will go smoothly and eventually I’ll come up for air. Quite proud of myself for keeping on top and doing well, but boy am I in need of a rest. Looking forward to 3 days off next week and a week away at the end of October.

Meanwhile I’m pretty much on the waggon – a couple of unwise decisions at the weekend but not too off piste. Still determined not to go backwards and aiming to lose at least 4lbs/month for the rest of the year. I’m currently 7lbs up on this time last year and I plan to end the year lighter than I began!!

I’ve caught up with posts from the last few days.Sorry not to be chatty but loving keeping up with what everyone is up to.

Tomorrow morning I’m off to train 30 people in workshop without my lovely colleague who is still recovering from recent covid infection. First time I’ve tried to do our double act solo and it’s for a pretty challenging group – fingers crossed!

Off to bathe and zzz xx

Day 20 NFD 83.3kg NZ

I’m up a bit but I had rice and beans last night and I always find beans weigh a little more for a couple of days!
We went to see the Vet today. Apart from pacing around the room Mr Mac did a poo🫢 confirming that he is on the slippery slope. I have some Valium to trial (for him not me!) in the hopes of producing a decent night’s sleep. On the plus side at least he is not barking in the middle of the night. He is now very dependent on me and we need to keep his routine going. This means that my social life is going to be a bit curtailed for a couple of months. He might make it to summer but not to the other side because it will be too hot for him… He was my 50th birthday present from Billy and has been such a darling. I couldn’t have asked for a better natured dog.
@penz Take it easy if you can… I still have a cough 4 weeks later…
@michelinme I’m sure you’ll do a great job!
@northgeorgia 217 Go you!
@stitchincarol Gazing at recipes is really a form of window shopping! We all have ups and downs on this journey. Maybe you should have week off then do a reset? I think it’s quite tough always trying to rein ourselves in…
@funshipfreddie My grandmother kept her driving gloves in the glove box. It was in the days before power steering, cars were built like tanks and you needed a good grip on the wheel. She bought her driving licence at the post office in Scotland when she was 16 and ended up driving for more than 70 years! I just worked out I have had my licence for only 50 years! I sat the test a day after my 15th birthday.
@jaifaim Hope your not too busy and can enjoy yourself too.

Take care everyone!

Good morning all, I’m hoping to join you all for the October challenge but wanted to check-in here to explain my absence and why I’m almost ready to re-join the fold.
Unfortunately, my beautiful and gentle mum passed away at the beginning of September after a short stay in hospital. I did everything I could over the last couple of years to ensure she stayed in her home and had the best care possible, this meant my own health and needs took a backseat, including fasting and to paraphrase one of my favourite quotes, ………………… I knew it would be hard to make the necessary sacrifices and care for mum, but hard is not impossible!! So, that’s what I did & I’m truly blessed to have been able to spend that time with her. If my memory serves me correctly, I know those of you who remember me will be offering your condolences, so rather than put a downer on the positivity I/we expect at the start of October’s challenge, I thought I might stick it in the middle of Septembers’ (Sorry @penz) 🙏🏽
Of course I miss her terribly, so I hope a month will dull the pain and I may join y’all in a much better place than I am today. Stay strong for the rest of September and I’ll see you in October🙏🏽🙏🏽

Day 20 – USA/GA – FD

Weigh-in: 221 lbs. Still trending at least a pound lighter each day over last week. Next week, I have a three day conference, so I don’t know how that will affect things. Yesterday was difficult, but my mom did appreciate us spending the day together.

@flourbaby I am so sorry for your loss, but am glad you were able to spend so much time with your mother. I’ll be remembering you and your family.

Pocket List – Day 20 🍄
@funshipfreddie
@northgeorgia

Day 20 UK NFD

I remembered to weigh myself first thing today and I was back to last week’s PFD 80kg so the weekend puff has gone down well! NOW I’ll try to lose another lb or two by the end of the month. Training was absolutely fine – phew! Thank you @merryapple @stitchincarol for your lovely encouragement 🙂

Annoyingly I was awake half the night with toothache which has morphed to trigeminal neuralgia so the day has been all about eating enough to take plenty of codeine & paracetamol and trying to get a dental appt. I think it’s either an infection or my impacted wisdom tooth nudging the one above. Fingers crossed for the 2pm cancellation tomorrow or my dentist fitting me in as an emergency.

Relaxed eating today has been a vegan wrap and crisps for late lunch, potatoes, corn and vegan kiev this evening followed by chocolate rice pudding (raw cacao, brown rice, raisins, cinnamon & oat milk with a splosh of maple syrup).

@flourbaby Lovely to hear from you. I’m so sorry for the loss of your lovely Mum. And so glad you were able to spend time being close and ensuring she was able to live as she wanted for the last couple of years. Thinking of you xxx

Day 21 – South Africa 🇿🇦 – NFD – 70.1 kg

@flourbaby – so sorry for your loss 🤗 but good to know you’ll be back with us next month.

@merryapple – I passed my test the week after my 19th birthday. I failed my first test though. And I thought I’d failed the second, after the examiner gave me a lecture for being ‘too cautious’ when I was hesitant to make a right turn. But he then added, ‘I think we can just scrape a pass’, phew! Good to know Mr Mac is finally getting some peace.

@penz – that’s downright rebellious?! Having gloves in the car and then not even using the compartment? How do you put up with that? 🤣 Now I think back, my next-door neighbour occasionally gave me a lift to school when I was in my teens, & he always wore gloves. I only knew him as ‘Mr Taylor’, & even in the ’70’s he seemed very old-fashioned. I think he’d learned to drive quite late in life. He had an entire ritual of getting on his leather gloves & checking every mirror, etc & I sometimes thought it would’ve been quicker for me to walk.

@daffodil2010 – you’re welcome. May the best team win! 🇿🇦 🏆 🇮🇪 ¡Buen viaje! 🇪🇸

The Mediterranean diet & dementia:-
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12536575/Mediterranean-diet-slashes-dementia-risk-QUARTER-study-suggests.html

Pocket List – Day 21 🍏
@merry🍎

Day 21 – Rural Nebraska, USA – WFD

Today is my baby’s 27th birthday…not much of a baby anymore, eh? I was supposed to play for a couple’s wedding on this day, but told them when they asked several months earilier that this was roughly when I was due, so it wasn’t wise to plan on me. So she got a different organist and asked DH and me to read Scripture, which we did for the four o’clock wedding. I gave birth at 9:20 that night! Talk about cutting it close, LOL!

I’m only up a few ounces this morning, and feel quite smug at my stellar behavior yesterday. I was thinking about it last night, basking in my control, when it hit me that I’d had 1500 calories for the day. I was thinking I was feeling smug at all the control and minimal eating I’d done, when I actually had eaten exactly what I should only ever eat, since that’s my TDEE. That was a true reality check for me. So my plan is to continue what I was doing in early August when everything was going well:

1. Eat mimimally, deny whenever possible, and remember it’s only through the end of the year that I need to be so strict–I can do this for such a short time.

2. Enjoy the journey down; while I am using the “deny” language where food consumption is concerned, I’m actually improving my body image and feel, and that’s worthy of joy and delight.

3. Enter my food daily into MFP, preferably in the morning before I even eat it.

4. Focus on the plan, not on the results: don’t let excellent results after a WF make me complacent, and don’t sweat the ugly results that pop up out of nowhere. If I’ve eaten to plan, then I’m doing excellently, regardless of what the scale says.

@michelinme Oh, I’m so sorry to hear about your toothache; I’m hopeful that you’re seeing the dentist even as I type, which is roughly 2pm your time. ❤️

@merryapple You’re reacting to Mr Mac the way new parents do to a sleeping baby, LOL! At least you truly got to sleep and not get out of bed, right?

@penz Funny how calendars can suddenly confuse us, huh? Hopefully you got a lot done on your “bonus day”!

@daffodil2010 Actually, please DO talk about Spanish tapas and wines by the Mediterranean: it’ll be the cheapest vacation in Spain I’ll ever take, and one entirely without caloric results (for us, at least). 😂 Seriously, as much as you’re willing to talk about will be absolutely lovely to read. ❤️

@funshipfreddie My mom marched me to the DMV on my 16th birthday at 7:00 in the morning before we went to school; I’d already had the driving test, and the written test, so simply had to go in when I turned 16 so I could get my license and Mom could finally not have to drive me to all the things I was doing as a teenager! 😂😂😂 Not sure if she also felt apprehension that her teenager was being turned loose on the roadways, but I KNOW she felt relief and joy, LOL!

@northgeorgia You do have early starts some days, don’t you? So glad I don’t have to follow your schedule!

Both boys work on Thursdays, so we’re celebrating on Sunday, and the birthday boy chose to celebrate by putting on his figurative chef toque and cooking a plated dinner for the four of us and our dear friends, so there’ll be 8 of us for dinner that evening. Lots to do to have the house perfectly tidy, lawn mowed, table set, etc., etc., and still do the other things in life, but it’s the kind of preparation I adore, so it’s all good.

Have a grand one, everyone!

Boy, @merryapple, it’s an unusually short list today!

Pocket List – Day 21 🍏
@merry🍎
@stitchincarol WFD

Day 22 NFD NZ 83.3kg

And after a FD??? I will have to concentrate on what I’m eating over the next few days to take the step down into the 82s and October… More vegetables, less CHO especially in the evening. Just when I was thinking about making a Friday night pizza! May still go ahead with it and make sure the base is thin but it has to have cheese😁. I was going to ‘unwrap’ a Cumberland sausage that needs to be eaten up. Every way I look at it, the calories are going ka-ching ka-ching! I could have a very light lunch! Decisions, decisions!
@stitchincarol I’m not sure there’s much difference between caring for the very young and the very old!
I agree with you for @daffodil2010. I definitely want to hear about Spanish tapas. I haven’t been to Spain but have a lovely Spanish recipe book by Robert Carrier. DH knew Robert in London in the early 60s. He gave Billy a recipe book about what to do with apples!

Everyone – Steely Resolve and Strong!
9 days to go.

Day 22 – Rural Nebraska, USA – NFD

Yesterday’s WF went fine. Today is a salad kit for lunch–we’ll split it, as it’s supposedly 5 servings, but they are obviously very small servings–and then our weekly date is tonight. Haven’t figured out yet where we’re going…perhaps somewhere lovely, or perhaps we’ll split a large Guatemalen pork burrito at a brew pub that has wonderful beer.

Golly, @michelinme, I do hope the penicillin does the trick and you’re far better already. Have a lovely time in Portsmouth, and I’m sure your time speaking at the conference will go wonderfully.

@penz Excellent tip about breaking triggers. I used to sit down to watch Jeopardy at 4:30 every afternoon, and would often pop a beer to enjoy during the show. (This is MANY years ago.) Eventually, I’d hear the start of Jeopardy and immediately want a beer. I don’t remember how I broke that habit, but recognized it was not a healthy one. I’ll keep my eyes open for other triggers that have crept into my life.

@northgeorgia And, actually, after all that yesterday entailed, it’s impressive that you’re only up one pound, don’t you think?

SO quiet on the board today! Even @funshipfreddie is silent! Perhaps I’m simply too early for everyone to have posted; I woke up a bit at 5 this morning, and before I managed to fall back to sleep, I instead woke up the rest of the way. 😦 So I’m up, and trying to tackle that long list of piddly things to get done. Time to go pour my first cup of coffee!

Day 23 NFD NZ 83.7kg😳🤐

My numbers are going in the wrong direction and I need a serious vegetable day. I ended up having quite salty bean soup and a sausage on sourdough last night. Also ate a sourdough cheese toasty for lunch. I have discovered if I use the cast iron grill plate and weight the sourdough down with another cast iron pan I get a perfect stripey grilled sandwich like you get at a cafe! I also think when I make sourdough bread I should halve it and freeze one half so I don’t get to the point where it needs to be eaten up… or use it when it’s getting to it’s use by date to thicken soups etc.
You got it @penz CHO is the official abbreviation for carbs. You made me laugh describing how you moved from one end of the sofa to the other to break your drinking habit! I assume your drinking arm was no longer the closest to the wine table!
@stitchincarol I think your jeopardy scenario is hilarious and the perfect example of a Pavlov’s dogs experiment!
@michelinme I do hope your tooth pain is on the mend or at least is tolerable to get you through the week.
@northgeorgia You are exposed to so many eating out opportunities through your working life. May be this would be a good area to focus your attention on. Remember the Queen. She was served a small plate of food and never went back for seconds!

I hope everyone is doing well out there. It is a wee bit quiet.

Day 23 – USA/GA – NFD

Weigh-in: 224 lbs. Silly carbs! Anyway, tomorrow will be my FD.

Day 24 – South Africa 🇿🇦 – FD

Well done Ireland 🇮🇪 🥳️ 🏈 South Africa down, but definitely not out. @daffodil2010 – maybe we’ll see you in the final. It could happen! 🤔

@stitchincarol – enjoy the birthday get-together 🥂

Nasty weather here, over much of the country, I think. Perfect day for a FD, as I won’t be going anywhere.

Happy S🌞nday!

Pocket List – Day 24 🍓
@funshipfreddie
@northgeorgia

Day 25- Ireland – FD 🚫🚶‍♂️✅

Hello all, checking in to say hello. FD badly needed after work trip last week and into this weekend.
Will catch up on last week’s posts later… in the meantime I hope you are all well.

Onward and downward ⬇️
We rise by lifting others 💕

Day 25 – USA/GA – NFD

Weigh-in: 220 lbs (well, I did wake up at 5 am and didn’t sleep too well, because of anticipation of the next few days). Anyway, I’ll check in again on Thursday!

Day 25 – Rural Nebraska, USA – CD

Ate and drank WAY too much yesterday and the scale is up, but Saturday was extremely well-behaved, and I’m hopeful today’s good behavior will help compensate for yesterday’s over-indulgence. However it shakes out, it was a lovely day with a lovely meal; DS27 outdid himself!

Happy birthday to my mom who was born 105 years ago today! I have one picture from when my grandma was pregnant with Mom, and she’s wearing the kind of maternity dress called a “Mother Hubbard.” Is that a style known elsewhere in the world, or is it only an American thing? It’s basically a night-gown shaped dress (floor-length), and I’ve no idea why it has that name, but it makes me smile any time I see the picture.

@funshipfreddie The idea of not looking at the clock when waking up in the night is very foreign to me; I’ve looked at the time for decades, and my clock is positioned so that if I happen to be facing that way when I wake–which I usually am–I can’t escape seeing the time. I don’t actually usually stay awake in the middle of the night, however, instead seeing the time, being glad to know how much more sleep I get, and closing my eyes and going right back to sleep. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Apparently that’s something I can be very thankful for, right?

@northgeorgia Well done to be down a pound after an NFD! You are absolutely on the right track to start going down again. If you can find the determination and stubbornness, you could easily be 209 by Christmas–you have a man’s metabolism, after all, lucky you! 😂😂😂 (Can you hear the envy in my words??)

@penz Plate chargers are those “platters” that go on the table before soup bowls, salad plates, and dinner plates are put down (they do get removed when dessert is served). I have mixed emotions about whether I love them or not–the original idea was to catch any spilled food to protect your tablecloth–but I have some that are woven-basket types, and looked lovely with the fall theme I had going on the table, so I dug them off the top shelf of the cupboard where they’re tucked away. In fact, I’ve used them so seldom, DH thought they were new, and asked where I bought them, LOL!

I went to bed immediately after everyone left, as I was tired; when I got up this morning, I discovered DH had washed and dried all the china and crystal! So that leaves the utensils still to wash, and that’s where I’m headed now. I’m still stuffed from yesterday, so behaving today ought to be quite easy!

Have a grand one, everyone!

Day 26 – Rural Nebraska, USA – WFD or something

I ate very well yesterday, both in terms of glorious food (leftovers from Sunday) and also in terms of restraint, with the result that I was down two pounds this morning…very much EOEO weight, right? The rest of this week is looking excellent for being temptation free, so perhaps I’ll even manage to hit 152 on Friday morning.

The last of today’s morning lessons cancelled yesterday, and it hit me just now that, as a result, I actually have time to give blood at our local blood drive (the one I used to coordinate, before I started teaching lessons in Omaha). But I can’t skip eating and do my usual WF; that’s a sure road to dizzy and incapable of functioning. So my intention is to do a WF mostly, but with some sort of protein in me…perhaps a single piece of bread with generous PB on it for the protein?

I can’t believe we’re down to 4 posters for today. WHERE IS EVERYONE????

💞💞💞💞💞😘 We miss you all.

@penz I have a friend who is just like you; no matter how late we all leave dinner at her house, she goes in and washes up everything. I’m completely happy to face it in the morning, and just enjoy the second chance to think over the evening before and enjoy the gathering all over again!

Have a grand one, everyone!

Pocket List – Day 26 🥚
@funshipfreddie
@stitchincarol