Anna's Journal

[Anna Green]

Day 8- Holiday Challenge

Doing well today w/ food. Not much to say. Feel like I'm still recovering.

Morn: veg soup w/ 1/2 cup br rice, 1/4 stuffed bell pepper, sm potato

Afternoon: rest of the stuffed bell pepper (beans and rice stuffing), carrots, celery, ff bl bean dip, mostly greens and a little lentils soup

Evening: had veg pho and plain white rice. Stuffed. I had way too much rice noodles. Talked myself into not doing anything SAD or boozy and into getting pho which I've been thinking about since i read about it here somewhere- Jim's thing? Anyway, not MWL and obviously I don't know when to stop. I wasn't exactly sure what it was till I got it home and then eyes too big...you know. Oh well...no gumbo, no fried chicken, no martinis. Not bad for a "cheat."

Exercise: A walk? (edit: did not happen)

[Anna Green]

Day 9 - Holiday Challenge

Doing well, feeling good. I actually hit the gym today and I feel so relieved. It's as if things are more normal now and my body is saying thanks. This is the other thing. I did not eat much today- appetite down which is unusual for me. (I just had one of those moments when I get embarrassed realizing that I'm actually daily talking about my eating) Anyway, I had a lot to eat last night and wasn't hungry much today. If I had been eating SAD I don't think it would have mattered how much I ate yesterday, I would have still been hungry today. I think I'm responding to what should be a normal thing. I had a lot of good fuel yesterday and just did not need as much today. Nice.

Morn: sm potato

Aft: veg soup w/ a little br rice and greens

Eve: cup of bl bean soup, mashed cauli and potato and stuffed pepper.

Exercise: elliptical- 25 min, 15 min weights

[Dechen]

It is not a bad thing to talk about your eating on a daily basis. My dh and do it and it helps towards keeping us focused and on track plus, if people who may not have a great diet are around, it may spark some interest in them to make some changes. You never know. You my just turn out to be someones angel!

[kkrichar]

I love this post. I relate to all of it. I'm glad you're posting all this in your journal. It helps other people. It really does.

[kkrichar]

Am I losing my mind? I swear I just responded to a really post that I read in your journal and now I don't see it anywhere? I'm so confused. Anyhoo, I really loved that imaginary post you wrote.

[Anna Green]

Hi Dechen and kk, glad you get something from my ramblings.

i guess it doesn't matter that I sometimes think it's ridiculous to focus on food this way. What is more ridiculous is to make myself sick with it so if I have to come here and talk about what I'm eating every day so I can keep conscious about my eating then I will. Did ok yesterday. Went to the casino with my mother and sister (not my thing but to be with them) and they ate crabs at the buffet and I had potato, rice which I had them go back to the kitchen to get me the rice with no oil added , salad w/ some beans on top, broccoli and corn. Was filling- actually I was quite full but stayed away from the crabs so I did good. 2 beers while playing the machines- let me fess up. Not supposed to be doing booze till birthday to give myself some free time from it to help lose weight and reset my thinking.

Yesterday:

Morn: oats and broc, fruit

Aft: 2 sm potatoes dipped in ff bl bean dip, big salad

Eve: the above mentioned food

Exercise: just some stairs- not much

[Dechen]

My fil is a pastor and when he comes here I preach to him about food. DH and talk about it all the time. Nothing ridiculous about it. It is very therapeutic and educational. What is ridiculous is that I, a buddhist, have to point out to my fil, a christian pastor, what God intended people to eat and give him the Bible reference.
I think reinforcing a healthy life style by talking about it is a healthy and good thing

[Anna Green]

Day 10 Holiday Challenge

Dechen, I hear you. It is reinforcing. There is so much in our lives trying to influence us to eat crap that it takes effort for me to counter that with reality.

I cooked for my parents today. My father is sick- heart disease, Parkinson's, etc and going down hill fast. My mother has RA and I worry about her health. Anyway, I made Angeloj's butternnut risotto and it was wonderful. If you make it add some extra garlic and roast the butternut squash till very soft and browning in the oven first. So good. They liked it and did not miss the butter.

Morn: oats and broc, a few grapes

Afternoon: butternut squash risotto, kale/spinach/ shroon saute, beer w/ my dad (I know. sigh)

Eve: potato, veg curry soup and a handful of quinoa noodles

Exercise: not so much- a little- some walking lunges, a short jog to and fro the shed, running up the stairs. I'm trying to fit some in between my daily activities when I'm busy. Tomorrow, the gym.

[Dechen]

You keep talking about plant-food and I'll keep talking about plant-food and then our family and friends do it and their family and friends and eventually our steady drips of kind and informative words and li'l bitty drips of living that plant-based diet will wear away the stone of resistance, the rock of insistence on animal protein & refined fats and sugars.
I really do believe that. We are amongst pioneers here on this board and we go away from here armed with info and strengthened by our fellow pioneers, back into a hostile environment.
On that note...

Courage mon brave!
(In the original context: Be brave my friend!)

François-Marie Arouet aka Voltaire
21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778

[Mrs. Doodlepunk]

Beer with your dad - do it as often as you can. Trust me, you won't regret it later on.

[Birdy]

Hi Anna!
I totally agree with Mrs. Doodlepunk (Hello to you too).

I haven't been posting for a long time, mostly because my computer crashed and I have less personal computer time. But I check in most days and lurk!

I'm so sorry to hear that your parents' health is not good. I've been through that and it's very hard. You and they have a blessing by being nearby and being able to help and spend time with together. I wasn't around for my parents except in crises when I would fly out to Georgia.

I like what you wrote about exercise related to getting things done during the course of your day. I've been appreciating house and yard work as opportunities for exercise. The plantar fasciitis is almost completely resolved (finally). Hope yours is too.

Hugs!

[Anna Green]

Hey Ms Doodlepunk! It seems so normal, you posting in my journal, though it's been awhile since we've both been here at the same time. So so sorry about your mom. I've thought about you when I've been deciding how much time to spend with mine.

Birdy, good to see you too and glad you are around. Glad to hear your foot is better. What a relief, huh? I'm better too though still having some pain- in the foot, the hip and sometimes a knee. I'm thinking I may look into that book Pain Free that Burgess recommends and stay on track with eating and hope it goes away.

Ladies, I hear you about the beer w/ my father. I also know this past year I've been drinking too much. Only one other time in my life did I do that. Most of my adult life I didn't care much about it. I'd drink sometimes and then go weeks or months even without it. It's a wake up call. I want to go back to being how I was with alcohol. I like it, want to drink occasionally but if I continue drinking too much I will just have to not have it in my life. I haven't been drinking so much that it's impacting my relationships or work but I know it's been impacting my health- more weight, more risk for cancer, etc. Right now I have back that old feeling that I could take it or leave it. Nice.

So today I made some split pea and vegetable soup. Not great but I'll eat it. Also baked potatoes and butternut squash (wound up in the soup). Made oats and broc for the next few days breakfast, brown rice, veg burgers, a little pasta for the boy, and a green bean, corn and sweet potato salad. Will pick up some greens for salad tomorrow.

Morn: oats and broc

Aft: last of the curry veg soup and a little br rice, split pea soup

Eve: split pea soup and a garbanzo burger - no oils, bites of stuff as I cooked

Exercise: Had a date to walk with a friend and got rained out. Perhaps a little weight lifting. I did get my heart rate up a bit cleaning the porch, mopping, etc today. Not a couch potato anyway.

[Mrs. Doodlepunk]

Hey Anna. I'm sorry, I have absolutely NO business giving advice right now. I just read that about having a beer with your dad and thought how cool is that? What a nice memory for you to have in years to come. But. Obviously, if a person is struggling with alcohol my advice stinks.

Right now, you are where I was a year or two or four ago. Doing what I could to help my parents, trying to get my siblings to involve themselves. Most of them did what they could, and now I see how things have turned out and know I was right. Those of us who did as much as we could have no regrets. Or at least very few. The ones who didn't are having more problems dealing with it all. Having no regrets is a great place to be, even though it's hard to lose a parent, it helps to know that what we did made things better for them. I sure don't mean to sound self righteous, which is how some will take this. I just wanted to encourage you to keep on having beers or whatever it takes to give you and them both happy memories. It does make a difference.

[Dechen]

Have a glass of water and sit with your dad. My dad passed a few years ago and even though hes was he was a life-long alcoholic and very unpleasant at times I miss him. I don't know where my mother is. She moved and cut all contact 11 years ago. Make the most of your time with him. HUGS!

[Anna Green]

Day 13 Holiday Challenge.

Ms. Doodlepunk and Dechen, thanks for your wise words. I am spending many weekends w/ the folks. They need a lot of help.

Had to talk myself out of the crud today. That's where I'm at. Had a McDougall cup noodle instead. I'ts not the best food which is ironic because it gives me the emotional boost I need- just seeing the name and thinking of all of you.

Morn: garbanzo burgerd and pureed caulif, McDougall cup, potato

Aft: green bean, sw pot, corn salad, potato

Eve: split pea and veg soup

Exercise: about to go do stairs and plan for a long walk this eve.