Category: health

Wednesday Diet Wisdom: Patience dear heart

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It takes time to drop excess weight

I have been really working hard at focusing on my weight reduction.

I got myself a Galaxy 4 watch.

The app called Samsung Health tracks so many aspects of my weightloss plan.

It tracks everything from body fat to steps taken.

New Android Galaxy 4 “Healthy” Watch

Most of all it records and analyzes my sleep.

It even records me snoring, if and when I snore!

I highly suggest you weigh yourself daily.

But, be forewarned.

To permanently keep off weight you need to have a lot of patience. Good things take time.

Obviously, one’s weight fluctuates. In fact, it can swing anywhere from 1-3 lbs or more in a day.

But, if you’ve been a good person sticking to the plan of eating less calories and burning more fat through exercise and activity, you are pretty well guaranteed that eventually you will get trimmer and slimmer!

Black coffee helps cut appetite
Move it!

P.S. All diet advice by me is my opinion and does not reflect on any professional advice. Lose weight at your own risk.

Hubby and his Radishes

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Hubby brought me in a handful of fresh home-grown radishes from our backyard garden.

So I grabbed one and ate it.

Tender and delicious. 😋

Not bittter at all.

Lovely young radishes

Springtime is a lovely time of year.

Young radishes growing underground

I recently bought myself a Galaxy 4 watch and I thought there is no better photo to put on my new watch-face than hubby and his radishes!

Radish Time!!!

We did OK with No Mow May!

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Plants and weeds run riot

So we decided to do No Mow May, a movement to help pollinators as they come out of hibernation.

Our intentions were good. Nevertheless, there are rules in town. By the latter part of May we wound up mowing our front lawn to avoid a fine.

The backyard is a different story.

Yesterday we started cutting the grass in the backyard

I could hardly believe how quickly grass grows!

The grass and weeds seemed to take over at such a pace! It was wild!

The rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks just loved it!

When grass grows too long it is quite a chore to try and cut it down.

Using grass as mulch for the apple trees

We will continue to trim our backyard grass and weeds.

We do not spray our plants or lawn with pesticides nor do we harm the ecological environment with noxious chemicals to keep the bugs at bay.

It was good to do No Mow May for a couple of reasons.

We gave the pollinators a break so they could enjoy the long grasses, and we didn’t mow the backyard for a month!

I’ve seen some bumble bees in our garden.

That’s another good sign that we did OK with No Mow May!

P.S. We saw a hummingbird bird in our backyard for the 1st time. Even though we don’t put out hummingbird feeders we have flowers for them!

Wednesday Diet Wisdom: Lessons in the struggle

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Sticking to it

I am on a weight reduction program I created, and I decided I will check in once a week with a post to let you know how it is going and any tips I might have learned along the way.

I am grateful to say I have stuck to my weightloss plan faithfully since I began on May 13th.

But it hasn’t been easy.

For example last night I had to work from 430 until 9 PM skipping supper. Suddenly I had a terrible craving for food.

This apple rescued me.

Instead of going for junk food I was happy to discover I still had an apple in my work bag.

Another thing that I turn to if I’m not drinking black coffee for a beverage is this.

Club soda and a maraschino cherry

Club soda has zero calories. A maraschino cherry has about 10 calories.

But there are not all those diet soda chemicals in a simple drink such as club soda with maraschino cherry.

One day I came home from work and I was famished.

The quickest thing I could think about was making a miso soup.

I sliced up the tofu, the mushrooms, garlic and grated some carrot and got some green onions from the garden. I boiled up the miso broth and threw in the vegetables that I had fried a little bit in Pam cooking spray. I let everything simmer for about 10 minutes and found the delicious soup so satisfying and delicious! 😋

My steamer is always producing a good hot meal whenever I need something filling and hot like this Field Roast vegetarian sausage, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes dish with Herdez Avocado hot sauce.

Sometimes I will sautée the steamed veggies in a cast-iron pan with a small amount of oil, or cooking spray to brown them and make them crunchier.😋

Delicious hot and filling vegetarian fare

So it’s been over 16 days since I began my weight reduction plan.

I was delighted to see I have dropped 7 pounds already.

I did not subscribe to any weight company except counting calories and exercising daily.

I still have a very long way to go but I decided that this would be a healthy lifestyle from now on.

We all need to set boundaries in our life and counting calories works for me.

P.S. All diet advice by me is my opinion and does not reflect on any professional advice. Lose weight at your own risk.

Time has come today

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Starting 11 days ago, I began counting my calories.

True, I took an hiatus from the scale all winter long.

https://zentsmusicstudio.com/2022/04/28/less-self-loathing/

To quote the song by the Chamber Brothers, “Time has Come Today.”

https://youtu.be/hIqwzQ7g-Cc

The time has come to quit too much unlimited fun eating and boozing. Mind you, I do allow for a few treats each day, but they are planned and oh so appreciated!

It seems restrictions heighten enjoyments.

I use my smartphone app, Samsung Health, to track my physical progress, including steps, food, sleep and weight.

Now I do not avoid the scale. I get on that sucker every morning and follow my calorie budget of 1450 a day.

I will stick to the plan for I heartily believe that a diet is like a marriage, it doesn’t work if you cheat.

Change of scenery

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The sun peeking through the trees

There is so much to enjoy when the weather turns warmer.

Walks up the street enjoying the blue sky, the trees, and homes brings fun and a bit of stress relief from the crazy news.

To feel better, take time to take in nature.

Lush trees

A blood draw and Springtime beauty

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This morning I had to have a blood draw for a glucose test.

The results were great!

It’s helpful to know your blood sugar or glucose levels.

Blood draw

I found getting needles (and/or shots) really bother me.

It hurts me so much!

But, sometimes it is necessary for health reasons.

I learned the hard way that it’s important to relax your arm every time you get a blood draw.

A couple years ago. I suffered a terrible strain in my forearm muscle tendon that was painful, and lasted for months.

Today, I exhaled to feel better, all the while shocked at the hurtful jab.

I forgot how much it hurt to get jabbed.

Today driving to the clinic everything was so beautiful. The sun was out and the grass was a lush dark green!

Glorious Spring colors!

I’m done with my annual physical, but it’s good to get an annual check-up from top to toe.

Keep calm and carry on.

Less self-loathing

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Soy bacon, chili, egg, Sriracha, Poblano pepper & chedder for breakfast this morning

Yesterday I had to go to the doctor for my ankle.

I had a sprain a long time ago that never healed properly.

I had to get on the dreaded scale.

For most of my adult life I have been anxious about my weight.

There was a period when I was in college, when I was very slim and I never even thought twice about what I was eating and drinking.

I had enough movement and exercise in my life that my weight was not an issue.

I was a non-traditional student in my thirties and I had to park far, far away from my main college, the performing arts center.

After things settled down and I had some issues with car accidents and such, I put some pounds on.

From then it was terrible and I weighed too much, way more than I do now.

Me, today.

About six months ago, after a great amount of effort working on dropping 10 pounds, I decided to give it up.

I realized that although I wish I were tiny like before, unless I quit eating the way I do, I won’t be skinny.

I was plagued with guilt and self-disgust night and day.

Finally, I said to myself, I need a break from this emotional tumult.

So for the past 6 months I stayed away from the scale.

Yesterday I had to get on the scale at the clinic. It had been 6 months of freedom from worry about weight.

I really thought I’d gained too much weight and that I was way heavier than before.

To my surprise, that was not the case.

It seems all those years of anxiety were futile.

The conclusion I came to was this.

You can either get away with being fat and forget about it, or you can get on with losing weight.

Every day is a new choice and a new beginning.

Go ahead and be active and eat healthy, and try your best.

But let go of the guilt and suffering because it’s not worth it.

A Tantalizing World

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Fresh delicious Apple Pie

Everywhere we look, people look for happiness.

They seek it online and in person. They are full of dissatisfaction.

They can’t get very much done because they are distracted.

Life is meant to be fun.

Life is meant to be enjoyed.

Here is a story I never heard of before, but it is the origin of the word tantalize.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantalus

If you ever feel like you are missing out on all the fun, you are not alone.

Most people feel that way and that’s why many seek temptations and escape from the drudge of work.

Nevertheless, if you want to be a better person, the key is to plan your work and work your plan. The joys are hidden behind and in between your efforts in the daily service of others.

Yet, you need to also take time for yourself and live with balance and gratitude.