Sorry for the late post today I have a pressing deadline and am trying very hard to stir up some motivation -- or at the very least to stay on task. It is a struggle ... which is very unusual for me. I am burned out ... but that is a topic for another thread.

I have stayed on path but haven't really amped up or doubled down or any of the things that would kick start a more aggressive approach to losing weight/increasing activity. The weather is going to be much warmer this week so that is a treat.

After this week, my workload should even out a bit -- something I really need both mentally and physically. I am sitting too much, straining my eyes too much and getting in a major mental rut. I need to treat this week like the last leg of a long run ... just gotta dig deep and sprint to the end. :)

How are you all doing?

DH went in for his annual check up Friday. His cholesterol is @ 215, his blood pressure 130/80, he's 66yo. He's just gettting over a month long bout of bronchitis/walking pneumonia...I thought he did OK. He hasn't been able to exercise hard, with a cold. Not being able to exercise hard makes a difference. We celebrated by going out for burgers & fries, a favorite of his....luckily nothing I crave. :0) I'm still toying with the idea of getting a dog...keeping me on a more regular walking schedule. Funky.... wishing you a boost of energy!

Hope your week settles down Funky - that is hard when you're so busy. It sounds like you're doing well with it though. I hope it eases up soon. Nicole - glad your DH was happy with his checkup. Dogs are good for walking! I took mine to the park this morning for about 45 minutes. He's getting older and that's about his limit.

I did fine last week until Friday - two weight training workouts and lots of pickleball. Mostly unprocessed foods, except bagels. I need back off that train. This weekend food was off the rails for about 24 hours though- I had potato chips, then party food, more wine than I needed, then more chip type snacks, pizza at midnight. And the next day I had a cheeseburger and fries!! It was a whirlwind of junk. I fasted last night through dinner and did well today so I think I'm back on track.

I'm continuing to concentrate on whole foods, fiber and protein. Luckily it's pickleball season so that keeps me pretty active. As long as I get my weight training in, I'll be satisfied.

Legomom, I had a weekend like that a few weekends ago. In the moment, you feel like you've completely derailed all progress, when, in fact, you can get back on track in a few days. I have to regularly remind myself of the overall journey.

Not much news to report here. My workouts have been good. My walking partner is back! I have incorporated more stretching and yoga, even for a few minutes, which feels really good. I'm still focusing on protein and at least 5 different vegetables every day, usually more.

A friend recommended tracking my fiber, which I did for a few days. I get enough on most days. I thought about adding psyllium husk to my diet, but I think I'm fine without it. I may revisit this, this summer, since I tend to eat fewer beans and lentils in warmer weather.

I'm still not sleeping as much as I should. I know why (I'm a night owl), and I know what I need to do. I have never had sleep problems per se, but I just don't sleep enough.

I stayed happy and healthy last week but this weekend I realized that I'm not going to be able to replicate my barn activity; and my calorie needs without those hours are just pretty low. It's funny that I'm kind of back to what I considered my set weight before I moved my horses home - kind of where my body lands with a not rigorous/not uninhibited eating or exercising routine. My weight is supposedly within healthy limits, so if I just keep an eye on processed food and sugar, and exercise at my not terribly rigorous daily level, here I'll be, I think.

I'm trying to decide if I want my pants looser enough to count calories. I just don't need many, so unless I actually prioritize keeping within that number, I think I'll keep carrying the extra five pounds. Which isn't the end of the world healthwise or emotionally.

Emotionally, DH and I attended a choir concert yesterday afternoon and they sang a beautiful number based on the famous verses from Ecclesiastes. When they hit "a time to keep and a time for letting go", tears started to trickle out of my eyes. I came home and read the entire verse, which I think will be my guide for awhile.

Funky, hope you hit a time to be renewed and rested soon!

I listened to a couple of podcasts recently that talked about how important protein and fiber are, especially for post menopausal women. I do know that when I briefly kept track of fiber previously, I had far fewer cravings for sugar and other junk. So, as of today I am keeping track of both protein and fiber. Sounds like I’m not alone! I hate ”tracking” stuff — it reminds me of tracking points on WW, and I found that made me almost obsessive about food. But it will be interesting to just keep track of those two elements and see how it affects me.

Now that tracking has become second nature to me it no longer seems obsessive, just something I do as automatically as I brush my teeth.. Some days I don’t even look at the calorie total, but I get a weekly summary from Lose It! and of course I also track my weight daily. Those metrics— two daily and one weekly— guide me with very little effort. This past weekend we had an Easter make-up for all those who were not home for the actual holiday. Honeybaked ham, cole slaw, potato salad, kale and beans and fennel, strawberry shortcake….it was a delicious Southern food fest! Monday morning when I got my weekly report I saw the macros and the scale kindly codified that information into a number 🙄 I already knew I was in dangerous territory without the report but there is something very compelling about hard data, for me anyway.

Today is my 700th day of consecutive tracking. I have not weighed every one of those days (sometimes we’ve been out of town with no scale and sometimes i was in a rush or just forgot) but I’ve weighed more than 90% of those days. IMO maintaining a weight is as or more important for me than losing, and it takes both mindfulness and resolve— and the accountability built into the daily measurement of food and weight— for me to maintain. Yesterday I walked the dogs on a very hilly route again, trying to make sure I am in shape for our next trip. Still doing the elliptical at the gym and have added a few workouts on various nautilus machines for strength and targeted toning (I’m talking to you, arms!).

I just downloaded a Fitness/ eating tracker. I really want to drink more water and increase my protein, so I appreciate your insights and experience with tracking.

Impressive, kswl! But, yeah, I don't do great with tracking either-- I am very competitive even if only with myself. You'd think that would be helpful in managing what I am eating but I get super obsessive and critical and often end up eating less than I should which doesn't help me in the long run. What works best for me is to track for a limited time (1-2 weeks) which helps me get into a groove and then I back off.

I have been focused on fiber for many years-- it really does make a difference in appetite management and in keeping my digestive system moving. As I have mentioned before, I don't restrict carbs but I do focus on the nutrient rich, high fiber complex carbs. And good thing for me, I generally prefer them to the simple carbs!

As for getting rest and a bit of a break, I appreciate the thoughts and wishes ... the good news is that things will ease up sooner than expected. The bad news is that they will ease up sooner because my deadline was moved from Friday to EOD Wed (due to a newly added request to have the CIO review my submission). Today and tomorrow are going to be long research/writing days -- and the person I need to work with is unexpectedly OOO today. I am determined to finish strong ... but really, I can only laugh at this point. I will be working well into the night on my birthday! I just cancelled my birthday dinner and I had already postponed my birthday trip later this week. What a way to ring in 60. I am considering this a serious wake-up call to find more work-life balance in my coming year.

Yuck on those changes Funky. That's kind of a bummer. I know a lot of people really don't care about their actual birthday, but I always like to have some plan, so I'm sorry your work is hindering your celebrations!

kswl- that is some seriously impressive tracking! Good for you.

I don't track calories, although I think a couple weeks of tracking would be good for me to see what my maintenance calories are, so maybe I can lose some more weight one day. But I do eyeball the protein and fiber throughout the day, mostly just trying to incorporate my meals around them in some way. @feathers - with all those veggies, I bet you do get to your goal!

Hope you had a good birthday, Funky, and you got to enjoy yourself a little bit.

Kswl, WTG on that tracking streak. I had about a year and a half going then when I got the vertigo last fall I got off track. But now I am back on for over 100 days. My weight is actually good in that I dropped a little bit. But now there are shortages of Zepbound just as I’m starting to see scale movement, and IDK when I will get my next refill. 😫 The pharmacists said they are getting them in but are sporadic.

DH is tracking his food, too, because we are a month away from our music festival, and he wants to be a little more comfortable.

So much to do this week and next with final exams and wrapping up the semester. I at least could get some time away to the Mustang 60th anniversary at the speedway. I also took my class to Pilates for a session. So, it’s been a good week. I have my own Pilates class today and then we have a faculty meeting this afternoon. But this weekend will be a lot of work on the computer.

Look at the sea of Mustangs behind me!

Sounds like a great week, GS .. just love your mustang (even if it is red LOL)! Don't do too much work this weekend... make sure to give yourself breaks/walks, etc.

I had a good birthday in the sense that it was a non traumatic transition to 60 lol. I did spend the entirety of my birthday (and a portion of the next day) working on a deadline-- a submission for a national award for my last project. It is exciting but it was a LOT of work and the deadline was moved up. The good news is that the executive reviews have gone super well-- only minor edits-- so I feel good about what I was able to accomplish. Still-- the official submission is a month away and it is a highly competitive award so all this work may not result in anything ... but still, it is an honor to have made it this far.

I will be celebrating with my sisters and some of my nieces this evening -- and with SO (from afar) this weekend (and then again when we go to NYC in May). I am all about celebrating Birthday Weeks .. and Months!

I held on more or less this week-- nothing great and I did have some indulgences: sister/niece had thai food delivered to my doorstep while I was working on my deadline .. and I had half a lemon coffee cake to eat over the week. Still, I did fairly well given the way the week played out.