Missin' summer days

My summer was so wonderful! Sweden, the North Carolina Outer Banks,  and, of course, the beautiful Mt.  Hood. 

Now onto an autumn season full pumpkins, the aroma of rain drenched leaves, girls softball, and lots of birthdays! We'll have a few more sunny mornings and my kitty certainly will make sure to soak up the rays.

Breakfast of Egg Whites

My sister eats lots of egg whites, which I have to admit before I started reading her blog I thought this a bit weird. An egg just wasn't an egg without the yolk!

But since I have to watch my cholesterol I could only have a couple eggs each week which was a bummer.

Then one January when I visited her there in Southern California she fixed me one of her egg white omelets and we stopped by Trader Joes to pick up their egg white salad. Well, I was sold and now - many  mornings I fix myself an egg white sandwich right. Nothing fancy - a little Dash seasoning and a couple of sprinkles of Parmesan cheese added to 3 egg whites fried in a non-stick pan, the folded up in a warm slice of high fiber bread.

Then I'm off to the races...

Friday Reality!

At home workout videos

Just sitting around watching youtube videos when I realized I hadn't exercised last evening.  So I did a search for "easy workouts at home" and found this great channel.  I did one of the short workouts and found I might put this into my evening routine to help relive the stress of the day. Followed this with a quick shower and ended my busy day feeling relaxed.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiP6wD_tYlYLYh3agzbByWQ

Plant Based Protein Powders

I've started using a protein powder as an occasional meal substitute with Garden of Life being my favorite at this time. Here's an interesting video I found to express why I've chosen a Garden of Life product: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr_kc8GlQCw I especially like this fellow's comparison based on scoop sizes.

Finally Connected

Yes! Yesterday I took the time to get my Garmin Vívosmart and MyFitnessPal connected and synced up so I can do some serious tracking now that I must accept "tracking" is part of my 60somethings lifestyle. The first thing I want to look at is the # of steps I do each day - getting as close to 10K as possible. Then next I am curious about my sleep.

I live in a beautiful (!!!) place and belong to a friendly, clean gym so exercise shouldn't be a problem. One of my no-exercise triggers is when I ask someone to join me but they say "no, I can't today" BooYa! I internalize that simple little comment and won't exercise. This has been a life time habit of mine - ask someone to join me in doing "X" but they say "No" so I too say "No" - gardening, crafting, walking, dancing, movies - whatever! So this little thought-demon is one I need to pray out of my head!

I have been reading up on sleep and the diet connection since I tend to overeat when I'm tired. Over at webMD I found an interesting article (More Sleep, Less Weight) that mentioned how Ghrelin, a hormone which tells us to eat, cranks up when we are sleep deprived and another, Leptin, the hormone that tells us to stop eating, plummets.  I thought this was pretty interesting and will be paying a bit more attention to how much I'm really sleeping to see if on days when I don't sleep if I eat more.

On to tracking the track.

Instead...

of blogging, I'm gaining!

New gym membership along with fighting my chocolate and corn chip bindging and upping my water intake - - these are my current strategies. Anything but tracking!

I'll keep you posted

1/2 lb Lose!! How?

Lovely Dinning Tables from Vacation Times

I returned from my vacation to discover that I had actually lost a 1/2 of a pound! So I've spent the last few days trying to figure out how I did this while eating whatever I wanted to ea.  What I've figured out is that I always (!) ate at a table and I ate slowly, carefully monitoring my portions.

Now that I am home…places where I must avoid eating!

I didn't eat at a desk, standing at a kitchen counter or eating in the car while driving! Very little multitasking when it came to eating - yes breakfast time was spent eating while reading.  But all the other times I ate at a table with loved ones.  Such a simple change!  I almost missed this till yesterday when I returned to the office...breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack AT MY DESK!!

Then chips in the car while driving home.
Ice cream while sitting in the living room.



So I need to really watch this over the next few weeks!! Wish me luck.

Vacationing without a Weight Gain

I'm on vacation with some AWESOME cooks/bakers in Sweden and getting home without a weight gain will be a challenge. Despite having great intentions, I have a difficult time.  Here I will share 5 easy strategies that I attempt to use to maintain my weight while vacationing.

Strolling with the Family in Gothenburg

First: I take the time to fit in some physical activities - mostly walking.  I make sure to do my morning stretching and if there is any gym equipment available I make sure to use it whenever I can - usually in the evenings. I always eat breakfast.  It might not be my usual egg whites & corn tortilla but it always includes a good portion of protein and a bit of fat along with coffee. This will sustain me so I don't get anxious about lunch.  Most of the time I'm successful at avoiding fried or creamy foods.

Full fat yogurt and black licorice ice cream are difficult for me to stay away from since I regards these as "vacation treats". That said,  I indulge in moderation! When someone bakes I will taste it! And enjoy every bite completely, without guilt! After all, so much of a vacation or a travel trip is about trying new cuisine.

But probably the most important strategy I employ is paring down my portions and consciously eating slower, both good habits to return home with (souvenirs? lol). The portion control is about weight watching but the slowing down is about prolonging the conversations, which is another wonderful part of vacationing with family and hearing about their lives after a meal.

So...I will return home in a couple of days to find out if I have some weight gain to work on or if I've really messed up.

Resources...

In depth information about vacationing without a weight gain can be found here on the web:

Suzy Carol wrote a great post in mid July on how to travel healthy. 

John Wilson writes over at GetDadFit about surviving the "all inclusive holiday.  I have only tried one "intermittent fast" and that wasn't on a vacation.  I might use the IF a couple times after I return home.

And speaking of retuning home and getting back into the routine, Ellen Stefaine Bradshaw's (over at RunItLikeAMom) reentry sounds like it got off to a great start, which is so inspiring!

Drinking Tap Water

It's my goal to drink tap water as often as possible and not buy any bottled water.  Why? Mainly because I think there is WAY too much plastic out there for us to use once and then throw away. Luckily here in Oregon there is a deposit on water bottles so in a pinch I will buy bottled water.  But most of the time I just drink tap water.

Before I started doing anything about my weight & my health I rarely drank water.  I would drink coffee instead - bad idea since I was already dehydrated as evidenced by the mild headaches I would get toward the end of the day.

Then I became aware of how I often would eat when really I was thirsty and  so once I started paying closer attending to this, of course I found myself drinking more water. I'm drinking about a gallon a day...in the AM while my coffee is brewing I'll have a glass, drink about 24 oz on the way to work, then a couple qts at work through out the day, another 24 oz during the evening commute, and finally a couple glasses in the evening...all but the qts at work are tap water.

But when I'm traveling getting my water in is quite the task! Every time I come to Europe I notice that Europeans don't carry around water bottles like we do in the States. Beautiful Vänern Lake in central Sweden:

Going Fishing

Vacationing with my son's family just as he has been bitten by the Fishing Bug is doing me some good! We have spent some time out on the shores of Vänern Lake in central Sweden these past two days which has meant a good amount of hiking, some thing I really enjoy doing.  Today the hike was a couple of miles in the sunshine and wind after a good hour in the pool with all the boys, racing and diving.

For me being fit means taking the time to be active! No sitting around watching endless movies or playing video games of reading on the smartphone/ipad!

Green Pea Pesto with White Fish

I have recently started eating more varieties of fish. In the past I would simply have a tuna sandwich once or twice a week.  Now I enjoy kippers, sardines, tilapia, salmon, and cod.  Earlier this week we had white fish with Green Pea Pesto and I'm sure I could have easily overeaten!

Then the next day I put the Pesto on a ham and cheese sandwich instead of butter or mayonnaise.  It added some complexity to the sandwich that was a welcome change!

Here is the recipe that makes 2 cups:
1 cup frozen peas, steamed
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Add all but the oil into a blender and while blending,
stream the olive oil into the mixture.

(27 Kcals/1Tbsp)

Move is Complete

I have moved from the city to a small town close to Mt. Hood, Oregon.  I have doubled my living space and have a yard where I can garden.  I've spent time getting a garden space cleared and have one tomato plant in the ground....a simple slow start.  So far the hardest part is the watering instead of the clearing of weeds and digging of the earth....go figure!!

This is what it looked like before I began.  Needless to say I used up a lot of calories on several days cutting and digging this out.  After photos will come later.

Impossible tracking

Lately I can not track when I'm exhausted or when I'm at a women's gathering where I can engage on constant grazing.  That's the truth and all I have to say about it!

Oh wait, one more thing....  Weighing myself theses days is a mixed blessing.  If I've lost, it's like an 'okay' not to track, eat whatever or pay attention. If I've gained, it's an 'oh well'!

I'm between a rock and a hard place these days before my big move.

May 18th

Managed to track my food but didn't walk at all....drove to work instead of taking the bus.

Getting Back on Track

I'm having to really work to maintain the habit of  tracking my food in the LoseIt app and my steps with a wrist pedometer along with doing yoga a couple times a week.  Losing weight is so much more exciting then maintaining a weight lose!

Last Wednesday

135.6
Coffee
Banana, 2 strawberries, a slice of carrot

Coffee....A long day ahead!
Nature Valley granola bar

4 egg whites (not completely hard boiled-ewww)

Tuna salad

Another cup of coffee
Kale quinoa salad
Strawberries
(Ordered a pizza for the dinner meeting but since it wasn't GF I didn't have any! Yes!)

Banana. Muffins with whip cream

Got the results of my blood tests and my cholesterol is all good!

Today's Food Log

Coffee with lactose free milk
2 carrots

Egg whites
Slice of GF toast

1/2 fish sandwich

Faga Greek yogurt
Strawberries w/ a tsp. of sugar
Cup of coffee

And for dinner, gluten-free pizza :-)
2 tiny banana muffins with whip cream

Late night snake: ginger trail mix

Walked 2 miles today

Yesterday's Food Log

Coffee

Greek yogurts
Banana
Coffee

3.5oz pork chop
4 oz rice
BBC sauce & 1st butter
      ( at this point in the day, my sweet tooth started screaming!!)

(gave in) ginger snap cookie
Coffee

Pear

And for dinner, gluten-free pizza :-)
2 tiny banana muffins with whip cream

Today's food log

Coffee w/ 2% lactose free milk
1/6th gluten free pepperoni pizza (left over delivery from last night when M & A stopped by for a visit)

Gluten free energy bar from DragonFly Bakery
Fage yogurt (love this!) and a latte


Bag of Kettle chips (480Kcals)

Homemade gluten free meat sauce pepperoni pizza (yes it is the food of the week!)
4 tiny homemade gluten free banana muffins

Walking: over 3 miles! YES!!

djs