Sorry-- I am running out for the afternoon so very quick. Steady with the 1lb loss earlier in the week. Lots of activity this weekend but no exercise per se.

Hope this is the start of a great week for all of us!

Thanks for keeping this up funky much appreciated!

My effort for this week will be on to the bicycle and ride it as far as I can tolerate along the dike. Hopefully I don't get too nervous. I fell and broke my arm when young on a bike and sometimes I get a little bit apprehensive. But I don't let that stop me mostly. :-). I have to fix the tire that has a slow leak first though. 🤷☺️

Last week was a bust calorie-wise but did not garner any weight gain; so far. :-). Best luck to everyone this week.

I had an unpleasant but eye opening experience last night. i havent eaten sweets in ages except for a single lemon ginger scone a few weeks ago (made a batch, DH and I each had one then i gave the rest away) until last night. Dh’s appetite has been practically non existent lately so I made a blueberry buckle as we had a lot of berries on hand. I cut it into small pieces of 225 calories each and could not resist eating one myself when they cooled, at about 10:30 pm. At 3 am this morning I was awakened by acid reflux! I ate about five tums and took an omeprazole and got a couple more hours of sleep but I still feel terrible with nausea and an upset stomach this morning. It occurs to me that I have not had anything made with both butter and cream for months as I was losing the pandemic pounds. It’s another reminder that what we eat matters just as much as how much we eat!

the culprit 🙁

So true…I have woken up with hangover-style headaches after overdoing sugar.

But that does look delicious!

@Kswl Wow -that does look delicious! I'm sorry it didn't agree with you.

SO, I was actually up three pounds last week:) Not good, but also not possible to gain that much fat weight, so it must be something else. I think the culprit is too much salt, I played a ton of pickleball last week and so I used that LMNT electrolyte powder in my water. I'm thinking it was more salt than I needed and this is water retention, Fingers crossed. So, I'll up my plain water intake the next few days and see where that gets me.

I'm also putting my CGM back on today - I do think I took some liberties last week I don't normally do, so I need to see how those are affecting my levels.

On the plus side, I had 17 hours of exercise last week and that included one hour of resistance training. That didn't meet my 75 minute goal for resistance training for the week, but it was better than before. I also ordered some new bands to use this week. I probably should do more weight training and not as much cardio, but I love my daily walk and we're having a blast playing pickleball. Weight gain could also be some sort of inflammation from all that exercise. I'll see how this week goes and recalibrate going forward if necessary.

Staying focused over the last few weeks seems to be helping. I am down .5-1lb again and getting close to my goal weight. Swam 5x last week and ran 2x. I swapped an extra swim for a run because it was the last week for the outdoor pool I can walk to in the summer. This morning I had to switch to the pool I have to drive to and had a great swim. I was really relieved that there were enough lanes. I think this schedule will last until Labor Day and then I'll have to see what's available.

Blood work came back and it's improved, but not quite as good as I'd hoped. It's a little frustrating feeling like I'm exercising a lot (7 days / week, some days 1-1.5hrs) and doing both cardio and weight lifting. I am also really focused on eating a lot of vegetables and reducing sugar, grains, and alcohol. I'd hoped for better results, but maybe it takes time.

I am working on my 3+ weeks gluten free and now worried that my usual oatmeal breakfast is potentially contaminated because they are just regular oats not gluten free oats and apparently there can be contamination in production. I don't know how critical it is but I already have a stockpile and am annoyed if I have to go buy a whole new brand and dump what I have. I ate out on Friday night with friends and was able to find something gluten free and vegetarian: a salad. Guess that's my new life. I can come up with lots of creative gluten free meals at home, but socializing is going to be tricky. My husband returns home after 6 weeks of training tonight and I'm excited to have him home, but he is going to be somewhat unsupportive of this gluten free thing. He already gets a bit frustrated with my vegetarianism and now I'm going to be even more "difficult".

I guess on a positive note, some of my new jeans and shorts that I bought in May are a little big now and even more of my jeans in my closet are huge. So I ordered a second pair of the same shorts in a smaller size and a new pair of jeans on sale that are a size down.

Legomom23, which bands did you order? I recently ordered the Arena Strength ones but haven't taken them out of the package yet LOL. You know what they say about roads and intentions :)

Lost 1/2 pound. I was good with that considering my week. Scheduled my overdue mammogram and my pre-colonoscopy appointment with gastro. Finally catching up with my preventive care.

Excercise is still an area I need to improve upon. Did some but not near as much as I should. Will start walking once the heat lessens.

My 59 y.o. brother was diagnosed with macular degeneration, this is not good. I feel just horrible for him, he is at great risk for becoming legally blind. My brother warned me it might be genetic. I knew that my dad had eye issues but I thought that they were were related to his diabetes My dad passed away 5 years ago, so I called my stepmom to see if she remembered and found out that my dad did have macular degeneration. Neither of my dad’s parents had this problem. I will be discussing this new risk with with my GP at an appointment later this week.

Wishing everyone a week of good health and contentment.

I am sorry I only scanned posts today-- I had a long work day and honestly I can barely see at the moment. I am sitting here squinting at the screen. Ive been at the computer with few breaks since 6am. Time to rest my eyes.

I think my entire week is going to be like this.. so know I am sending positive vibes and cheering everyone on even if not posting!

Good day for me exercise wise. I went for two walks, one for 2 hours and one just 30 minutes long. The walk replaced my bicycle trip as I found out that I need a completely new tire tube. Shrug.

Of course I went through my exercise routine as well. I am following that video that I linked in terms of trying to get strong while leaning on account or a higher bench to do my push-ups. On my toes. Yes it is tough.

Tomorrow it's back to work which is dog walking so the exercise is built in and that's what I had to do in order to exercise enough.

I wish I could say that I were good at keeping up exercise. Unfortunately for me boredom does set in so I'm always nervous that I will allow boredom to stop me. I'm trying not to this time. When I'm doing my squats or lunges every so often I will jump up from the position and clap my hands. It just gives me a little smile and a little bit of motivation and fun to continue.

The other thing I do throw on some tunes and dance like nobody's watching. Which I hope no one is.

I am so sorry for people with illness in their family. So tough. You never want to see someone ill whom you love. Hugs to you.

I ate out twice this past weekend and chose not to weight myself Sunday and Monday. I got on the scale this morning and was down 1.2 lb -- so not such a bad way to start the day! Funny, I spent each day of the weekend with a different niece. One was so excited to take me to a restaurant she loves with a Veggie "Charcuterie" Board she thought would be perfect for me. Well, it was delicious for sure-- but it consisted of Hummus (ok there), fried and breaded Nashville Hot Cauliflower and fried Brussels Sprouts with a honey gojuchang sauce! Again-- delicious but not calorie friendly! LOL

I am also energized to start exercise even if small. I forgot how grueling long workdays are-- it would be so great to just pop outside and jump rope or hula hoop for 15 min. I do need to move some things around and clear a semi-private area (so the neighbors see me bouncing and twirling my stuff!) but i will make it happen this week!

@jill302 I am so very sorry about your brother's diagnosis and the possibility that it might be genetic. {{{hugs}}}

@yeonassky I love your creative ideas for exercise. I am definitely prone to dancing when no one is watching. Dog walking sounds like a wonderful way to stay active. I need to try "burpies" again soon. I'm doing great with pushups but you do a similar thing to your squat and jump where you do a pushup, jump up (clap optional ;) ) and then back down. They're kind of fun (but also tough).

@Funkyart congrats on the weight loss despite eating out! Sounds like you've been doing well in other ways to compensate since your weight is still going down.

Well, fried cauliflower is better than fried potatoes or twinkies!

Today marks my official losing of 25 lbs. I waited until I could regularly hit 137 on my daily weigh ins. Today I saw 136 for the first time, 136.8. So rounding up, I can pretty much say I lost 25 lbs since January.

I've started doing 15 min. of the exercise bike on the porch every day and listening to podcasts has really helped motivate me.

I'm not going totally gluten or meat free, but trying to limit myself to one wheat product per day, one dairy per day and no meat if possible or just one serving. So not quite vegan, but more and more. Got some vegan mayo at the store yesterday, Whoa! Healthy prepared and pre-packaged food is so darn expensive!

My gut is doing much better, but it is slow going and requires constant vigilance, as KSWL mentioned. I have to keep feeding my gut microbiota the good stuff, and stay away from the bad. That includes daily capsules of herbs and probiotics, as well as food. And a daily fiber drink. Spending a lot of dosh on the fancy greens to keep mixing it up. Before this we were basically lettuce and cabbage people due to trying to keep costs down. What we spend in greens I guess we make up for by not spending on alcohol.

Congratulations @l pinkmountain!! That's such a fantastic accomplishment! I bet the extra daily exercise is helping. It is really shocking how expensive food is right now, especially health food.

The only meat we buy is chicken and fish with occasional beef and pork. It's mostly the chicken that has risen sharply in price. But it really bugs me that the healthy items are so difficult to find locally and the selection is few. Just not the market for it. Unfortunately, I'm not really into making my own seitan or nut cheese products, baking my own tofu, etc., or fermenting or baking my own artisnal breads. I don't enjoy it and really don't have the time nor patience nor skill set.

Wow, pink, kudos!

Pink, that's great! Congratulations to you.

Let me add to the praise and congratulations, Pink! Well done and i love that you've made the exercise bike part of your daily routine!

Jill, I don't think I voiced that I was sorry to hear of your brother's diagnosis and that it may be genetic. I have a different set of vision issues but I know they are a lot to face. Sneding positive wishes to you both!

Pricklypear - how are you doing? I am sure it is great to have your husband home for a bit-- have you seen any changes since cutting gluten?

Yeonassy, great job keeping up the exercises and working to keep them fun and interesting!

As for the cost of food--The speciality foods have always been more expensive-- particularly gluten free products... and prices are only increasing! It is a little crazy but since I am only shopping for one, i don't notice it so much. This weekend I sent healthy grocery deliveries to two of my nieces and whoa! The orders weren't huge... just some meat, veggies and fruits-- but they were each about $200. There were a few semi-splurgy items like scallops and my new favorite, Pink Glow Pineapples (!!) but nothing crazy. I'll need to do this a little more regularly. Eating healthy has to be hard on young families!

@Funkyart I'm 2 weeks into gluten free (conveniently hadn't eaten any gluten for about 5 days before my doctors appointment) and my stomach does feel better in general. I will avoid any graphic detail, but some of the issues I was experiencing seem improved. No other positive benefits to report so far (same energy level, etc). It is really nice to have my husband home, even though it's only been for a day and a half so far. I really do miss him when he's away. I do think when I first moved out around age 18 that I ate much worse in part because that was all I could afford. I do feel very privileged right now that although food cost takes a toll on me, I am lucky that I can make it work and I don't have to put things back. Both for health reasons and financial reasons, I have cut back on how much I eat out over the last year or so.

Just for fun, I want to share a few recipes I'm excited about. I haven't made any of these yet, but here are a couple of recipes that recently caught my eye. Hope this inspires some of you to share any recipes you're excited about.

Healthy Recipes

• https://rainbowplantlife.com/vegan-red-lentil-curry/
• https://www.feastingathome.com/fig-arugula-salad/
• https://www.readyseteat.com/recipes-Blackened-Mahi-Mahi-with-Mango-Salsa-4338 (not vegetarian for my husband)

Gluten Free Baking (probably not healthy)

• https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-artisan-bread/
• https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-irish-soda-bread/
• https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/flourless-chocolate-cake-recipe/

I copied that red lentil curry recipe. It's actually on my "to do" list of dishes to make. I was planning on adding squash or sweet potatoes, and carrots and a handful of greens. But the spice mix sounds amazing. Trying to add more tumeric to my diet. I took tumeric capsules once in an attempt to curb inflammation, did not have any noticeable effect, but it can't hurt to eat it on a regular basis anyway. I just don't do the capsules anymore because they are expensive and you have to take a lot of them.

Ok, I just had a really exciting non-scale-victory (NSV) that I have to share with someone. I mentioned above that I ordered a new pair of jeans 1 size down from the pair I ordered in May, which is 2 sizes down from the size in my closet from before I started this diet. All three jeans are the same brand: Paige. So the new jeans arrived last night that I ordered 2 sizes smaller than the original pair in my closet, same cut (Manhattan bootcut mid-rise). I put them on and I was thinking "oh the waist is a little bit more snug than I was expecting, but they fit!". I just took a closer look at the fabric tag inside the jeans and I just realized, they are 1 size smaller than I ordered. That means these jeans, which are a little snug but absolutely fit are 3 sizes smaller than the jeans in my closet (exactly the same brand and cut) that were snug when I started this most recent weight loss journey! 3 sizes!! I honestly cannot say when I last fit into this size, possibly high school.

@l pinkmountain I think I happen to have all the ingredients for that curry in my pantry so I'm really tempted to make it tomorrow night. I think I might serve over a little brown rice and some roasted cauliflower.

WOW! @pricklypearcactus That is great! Kudos to you! 3 sizes is quite an accomplishment. Good for you.

@l pinkmountain - 25 pounds - Amazing!

@straitlover - i just ordered a couple sample boxes that were highly rated on Amazon and not too expensive. If I like them and need more, then maybe I'll trade up. But for now, mine too are still in the boxes!

@Funkyart - eating out and making consistent progress, yay! That is quite an accomplishment. Good luck finding an exercise solution as you go back to work. One note on that from a blood glucose level perspective, I read this study about short bursts exercise really having an impact -

What If You Don’t Have 30 Minutes?

Walking for 30 minutes after eating might not fit into your schedule, especially if you’re already doing other workouts during the week. Good news: Shorter bouts of low-intensity movement are also effective at taming glucose surges.

A randomized crossover trial compared post-meal metabolic factors, such as plasma glucose and insulin concentrations. Researchers worked with 70 adult participants, who completed three interventions, all lasting nine hours:

1. Continuous sitting for nine hours
2. Sitting for 15 minutes, walking for 30 minutes, and then sitting for another eight and a half hours
3. Sitting for eight and a half hours, but with 100-second bursts of treadmill walking every 30 minutes (a total of 30 minutes treadmill walking, plus sitting for eight and a half hours)

During the nine hours, all participants for all interventions drank a meal-replacement beverage at one, four, and seven hours. Participants in group #2 performed their 30 minutes of continuous exercise before consuming the first meal-replacement beverage.

Those who took the shorter activity breaks more regularly lowered both plasma glucose and plasma insulin compared to both prolonged sitting and the single bout of continuous activity.

Researchers posit that the smaller, more regular doses of activity may increase muscle permeability and keep GLUT4 ready for rapidly transporting glucose to fuel cells. Put simply: With regular low-intensity exercise, your muscles absorb excess glucose from your bloodstream more frequently, even if it’s done for brief periods (only 100 seconds every half hour!)

Also - I recently started ordering from misfits market for most of my groceries - I think their prices are competitive - and they offer lots of organic produce that is not available where I live. Everything I have received has been fresh and great quality. I especially love the organic lettuces that come prewashed. They make salads so easy.

https://www.misfitsmarket.com/

@Feathers11 - Great job on the exercise. I keep listening to podcasts and learning even more about how good it is for me - and I still can't make myself do the weight training/resistance work. I've got to find a solution to this issue.

Sorry, I know I missed commenting on some successes and updates above-- again, i celebrate you all but it's been easier for me to stick to the last few.

Pricklypear-- WOW! Down 3 sizes is amazing! I love those kinds of surprises. Also thanks for the recipe links!

Legomom -- I think I misled you .. I have been working but my work hours have significantly increased for about a month. I've worked 12-14 hr the last bunch of days. Still, it has a big impact on my routines. Thank you so much for sharing the research and benefits of multiple short bursts of exercise! I always feel like if it isn't 45min-1hr it isn't valuable-- which means I would run through a bunch of emails or review a document or whatever instead of a quick 10 min outside or on the treadmill. You've definitely have given me the spark to do what i can/when I can ... and I know it will help with the stress too!

Thank you too for your recommendation of Misfits. I've looked at them a few times over the years but worried about the quality. I will give them a try!

Love all this support, the recipes and information! You all are the best! 🤍

@Funkyart - I see, that's a super long day though for you.

https://www.startstanding.org/sitting-new-smoking/#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%20you%20can,is%20more%20treacherous%20than%20parachuting.

Maybe that is some more motivation to keep standing and moving as much as possible:) I have been reading a lot about the blue zones and their long healthy lives. They talk a lot about their diet, but I think their movement lifestyle is even more different than ours. My town isn't walkable at all - I mean it's safe to walk and nice, but I can't walk to eat dinner or the grocery store, or run errands. I have to drive. I think that their more consistent movement lifestyle - up and down stairs and hills, walking into town, a more manual lifestyle really pays off with the constant movement.

Like for me - wearing a CGM, I really can't eat many carbs at all and then go sit at my desk and work and not see a glucose spike. Yet, beans and complex carbs are a mainstay for these cultures. I think they must be working it off consistently through the day - unlike me who will sit most of the day and then walk for an hour. Anyway - that's just my very unscientific hypothesis :)

@legomom, the sit/stand thing is always an concern for me-- I have a genetic blood disease that greatly increases the chance of blood clots... and now that I am working at home, I sit much more than ever. I don't think a standing desk would work for me but I should consider one... in the short term I can definitely get up in move.

I think my neighborhood is similar to yours-- not all roads have sidewalks but it is safe and "walkable" .. but you can't really walk anywhere. You can walk the neighborhood. I would be ok with that except that my vision issues make it unsafe for me. I can best walk with someone in front of me-- which is a possibility maybe if i can get a walking partner. I basically have no depth perception, double vision and poor focus. I can't focus on moving things or changing focal points. I am best in full light with high contrast. I am a mess, huh? lol.

I really do love the idea of short stints of exercise-- i am going to start tomorrow! No-- now, I REALLY need to get up. My behind hurts!

ETA I think I could walk on a track without issues.. but since I don't drive that is a little bit of an issue. I may uber to a track once a week.. or try to rope a niece into walking with me. One also has some weight to lose so that's an option if she's game.

I have still been slacking on the exercise, but reading this makes me think that DH and I could easily go on a 30 min walk after dinner most nights. These days we mainly walk from the dinner table to the sofa (just binged the first season of Yellowjackets!). I think I’ll make that a plan for us. This week, I rode the Peloton for 20 min then did a 10 min arms workout on Mon.; walked 3 miles outside on Tues. (longest walk since May): and walked almost 2 miles yesterday. Nowhere near my pre-covid exercise routine but better than I have been. I am getting back to my better eating habits, too. I had lost about 13 lbs last year and have gained back about half that since May. Ugh.

Meanwhile, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I dolled up my tiny workout room aka corner of the basement with some wall decals.

Sue that space looks great!! My exercise space is boring with nothing on the walls. No wonder I do better exercising in the warm weather when I can go outside. I should put up some art and maybe get a cheerful rug because your rug really looks great in that space.

Also, I made the lentil curry and the fig arugula salad for dinner last night and both were good. I did half brown rice and half roasted small cauliflower florettes on which to serve the lentil curry.

Love your workout space, Sue-- I have similar plans but have made no progress. I have a few rugs saved as possibilities and that's about it. It doesn't get much cool air so I am guessing I will be more motivated come fall when it cools down.

My current obsession is pinkglow pineapple-- it was ALL i ate on Tues. Not proud of that but it is what it is. At least my calories were down.

I have a gathering this weekend and am committed to keeping it healthy... even with a cocktail or two. The week has been hectic and stressful so I think it will be good for my general health!!

Wow, amazing progress from pink and pricklypear! 👏

I did call to get an appointment for the weight management clinic, and the first available appointment is mid-November. Ugh. 😫 I did lose 2 lbs. this week. Being mindful of carbs and I did get good exercise. At least one good thing being back on campus is it is easier to get my steps in. I was supposed to be on campus for a faculty meeting yesterday, and there was a huge accident and the interstate was shut down for a couple of hours, so massive backup so I stayed home. OTOH, I used the treadmill for the whole meeeting while I watched on Zoom.

But I need to either do a consultation with an RD or use the program legomom used because I need to get started on the prediabetes NOW vs. 2 months.

Checking in, heard from my primary yesterday that yes, I do have Hashimoto’s but hopefully it will not be long lived. It certainly does explain just about everything I’ve been feeling /thinking /experiencing over the past three years. I should have been more proactive about the problems I’ve been having but between ny hisband’s and mother’s health maintenance schedules I just let it ride. My cardiologist has officially retired and I am establishing with a new one in September. The SVT is back under control and i haven’t had another identifiable episode of Afib, so hoping that continues.

I am eating healthfully but carefully, trying to get more sleep and better quality sleep. Sometimes I think if I could just sleep 8 hours each night I would be, as my Aunt Sarah used to say, right as rain!

Yes, any physical activity helps! What you accumulate matters. Even doing a few minutes walk post meals should also help with managing blood glucose. So, if you have 2 min, 5 min, do that multiple times per day. Now that I am back at work, when I get up to to to the bathroom at the other end of the building, I then willl do a couple laps on the track. Funky, if you can get to the track with someone that would be great.

I'm sorry about the Hashimoto's, Kswl. I was diagnosed with it in my 20s, and it's hereditary in my case. There's so little known about it. I hope your doctor is able to help you manage it.